A Different Kind of Spider

"Russell, are you in there?" It was Mike. For some reason, the kid had gone crazy and was pounding on the door.

Ashley grabbed Russell's shoulder and whispered, "Ignore him. Keep going. If no one answers, he'll leave on his own."

"Russell! Ashley! I know you're in there! If you don't open up, I'm calling Mom!"

A basin of cold water was dumped over them, and Ashley was furious.

Fuming, Ashley got dressed and was about to go out and beat Mike up. Russell soothed her for a while, telling her to calm down, then casually opened the door.

He stepped outside and gently shut the door behind him. Grabbing Mike by the shoulder, Russell pinned him against the wall and snarled, "Kid, if you don't give me a satisfactory explanation, I swear I'll beat you so badly even your mom won't recognize you."

Ignoring Russell's vicious expression, Mike said excitedly, "Russell, I went to Joshua's Spider Farm today. He discovered a kind of cricket that works like growth hormone. After the spiders eat it, they grow incredibly fast."

Russell gave Mike a surprised look. The kid had helped him trigger a World Quest. He had thought it would happen through Chris and Samantha.

Ding! The host has triggered a World Quest.

World Quest: Uncover the truth behind the Mutant Spider Incident and destroy the Mutation Source.

If the quest fails, you will remain in this world forever and be hunted by a tide of spiders.

Russell raised an eyebrow. This World Quest seemed a little too simple. The spiders had mutated because of Chemical Raw Material contamination... Could there be more to it?

Russell's first thought was that the quest had no difficulty, since he already knew the truth without investigating. His second thought was that there was another hidden truth—that the spider incident had not been caused by simple chemical contamination.

Besides, the World Quest used the word "destroy" for the Mutation Source, which made him wonder. Could the source itself be a living creature?

Lost in thought, Russell decided to visit the Spider Farm first, lest the plot spiral out of control and leave him caught unprepared.

"Kid, now that you mention it, I'm suddenly interested. I want to go take a look at Joshua's place."

Encouraged, Mike said happily, "Russell, I knew you'd say that. Girlfriends aren't nearly as fun as spiders. Let's go now."

Russell pressed a hand down on Mike's head. The Spider Farm was dangerous right now. The Mutant Spiders were like ticking bombs. He was not afraid alone, but taking Mike along was another matter.

"Ashley!"

Russell called into the room, and she opened the door and poked her head out.

"What is it?"

"Mike says spiders are more fun than you..."

Russell tossed out that line and drove away, leaving behind a dumbfounded Mike and Ashley, whose eyes blazed with fury. After he left, nonstop screams rang out from the house.

Russell had visited the Spider Farm a few days ago. Mike had brought him there, and he had met the Spider Keeper, Joshua—an older man who was single because he loved spiders. When someone turned a hobby into a career, they gained double the satisfaction. Joshua was exactly that kind of person. Though he lived in the wilderness, he was far from poor. On the contrary, he had made a lot of money raising spiders... except he did not have a wife.

The Spider Farm was outside town. For safety and environmental reasons, it had been built deep in the wilderness, far from residential areas.

Russell rode his motorcycle at full speed for fifteen minutes before reaching his destination. Almost instantly, he sensed a chilling danger. It felt as though thousands of eyes were watching him from the wooden house ahead.

His passive skill, Sixth Sense, activated. Russell chose to play it safe and did not rush inside. He shouted Joshua's name, and when he received no response, he picked up a rock and hurled it through the window.

Crash!

The glass shattered, and more than a dozen palm-sized spiders crawled out along the windowsill and charged toward Russell's motorcycle. They were Jumping Spiders.

Russell immediately turned his bike around and left. There was no need to think about it—Joshua was definitely dead!

After returning to town, Russell went straight to the police station. Chief Samantha was not there, so Deputy Pete received him. The whole town had only two officers, one chief and one deputy chief. It was great—everyone got to be an official.

Pete was a rather amusing middle-aged white man, slightly overweight. One look at him taught you a simple truth: baldness was not scary. Being bald on only half your head was.

Pete's hairline had receded all the way to the back of his head, but the curly hair around his ears still grew stubbornly. He had not shaved it all off. He chose to believe in his follicles and give them a chance to redeem themselves.

Middle-aged men who believed their hair follicles could make a comeback were generally not very intelligent, and they tended to cling to fantasies about their bleak reality.

Pete was exactly that kind of man. Hearing Russell's report, he did not take it seriously and assumed Russell was joking. Still, they were neighbors, and Russell had recently been getting cozy with Samantha's daughter. Pete did not pursue the matter as a false report and merely gave him a verbal warning.

Russell had no choice but to swear and make all sorts of vows before Pete finally agreed to go with him.

The World Quest was to "uncover the truth behind the Mutant Spider Incident and destroy the Mutation Source." It had appeared rather strangely. Russell estimated that his hundred-odd pounds would not even be enough to fill the spiders' teeth. Charging in headfirst would cost him cards, which was simply not worth it.

Looking at it from another angle, with the police around, there was no need for him to risk his own life.

Pete and Russell arrived at the Spider Farm. This time, Russell did not sense that dangerous feeling of being watched. Pete walked into the house as if he were taking a stroll, then ran back out in a panic.

When the flustered Pete saw Russell, it was as if he had found someone to rely on. "Russell, this is bad! Joshua is dead! What do we do... what do we do? Should we call the police?"

Russell: "..."

You're the damn cop!

Only after a long while did Pete come to his senses. He coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment and took out his radio to call Chief Samantha.

The signal was terrible. Only static came from the radio.

"Damn it, I need to get back to town first!"

Pete scrambled toward the driver's seat. Afraid Pete would crash, Russell shoved him into the passenger seat instead. "Pete, how was it inside? Were the spiders there?"

"Spiders!? What spiders? Other than a bunch of messy shelves, I didn't see anything..." Pete thought for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "Based on my years of experience, this was a home invasion robbery. During the struggle with Joshua, the murderer used a blunt weapon to kill him. Afterward, the murderer knocked over the shelves to destroy the crime scene, trying to confuse the police... meaning me."

Russell did not bother mocking Pete's idle speculation. Once he confirmed there was not a single spider in the house, his heart sank. These spiders were quite intelligent. They knew he would bring people back after leaving, so without sufficient strength, they had chosen to hide and build up their numbers.

Russell formed a hypothesis. If the spiders were not acting on their own and were not very intelligent themselves, then there was a second possibility: they were following the orders of a leader—the Mutation Source...