Spider

The last warmth faded from the workbench, and silence returned to the cave.

Lu Heng patiently cleared the clutter from the work surface. He folded the newly crafted Soft Leather Armor neatly and placed it against the stone wall within easy reach, then packed the two Insect-Repellent Ointment Bricks into a bark jar and put them in his storage space. The Black Iron Wood Short-Handled Crossbow and its bone bolts went beside the head of his bed. He sorted and stowed the raw mineral salt ore, ink-patterned rock crystal, Salt-Making Notes, and Salt-Infused Stone Pendant.

With all the day's supplies put away, the stone table stood bare. Only the glass-encased Body Enhancement Potion remained.

Firewood crackled softly inside the cave. The flames flickered steadily, lighting the glass tube. Lu Heng picked up the potion and closed his palm around it. Only with it between his fingers did he get a clear look at its tip-a slender, sharp metal needle was embedded in the front of the tube, gleaming cold white, keen and clear.

His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily as he swallowed.

Since arriving in this survival world of roaming beasts and barren vegetation, he had seen sharp claws, armored scales, plants, ores, and all manner of things fashioned from wild materials. Yet he had never imagined he would see a medical needle here, something that belonged to the human world. Familiar yet jarringly out of place, the sharp needle brought an inexplicable sense of pressure. His barely settled nerves tightened again.

Lu Heng sat firmly against the stone wall, planting both feet securely on the ground. He pressed his back against the cold stone to steady himself and made every mental preparation.

There was no way back and no hesitation. His protection was weak, and his body was ordinary. To survive in Frost Forest and the swamp region, he had to use this potion to grow stronger.

He gently flicked open the sealed clasp on the tube with his thumb, fully exposing the sharp needle. Gritting his teeth, Lu Heng aimed it at the flesh of his forearm and slowly pushed it in.

As the needle pierced his flesh, he felt only a slight prick, with almost no pain. The liquid passed steadily through the needle into his bloodstream, and his body felt calm.

But that calm lasted only three seconds.

The potion's warm power spread through his blood vessels, rushing from his forearm into every limb and bone. At first, only his skin felt warm, but the warmth intensified, turning into a burning heat that kept climbing through the gaps in his bones. A fine itching spread over his skin, as though countless tiny insects were slowly crawling through his flesh. The itch pierced deep, impossible to scratch or stop, leaving his entire body restless.

Before the itching faded, bone-piercing pain suddenly exploded.

The potion began reshaping his flesh. Sinews, bones, skin, and meridians were all torn and tempered by its power. Pain both heavy and sharp swept through him. Every inch of bone ached and swelled, his flesh tightening and tearing. Lu Heng clenched his fingers until his knuckles turned white, gritted his teeth, and pressed his tongue against his gums, forcibly holding back the muffled groans rising in his throat.

Endure it.

I have to endure it.

The cave was enclosed and safe. If he lost control and thrashed around, he would disrupt the rhythm of the potion's tempering and very likely suffer irreversible bodily damage.

He lowered his eyes and stared fixedly at the ground. Only one phrase remained in his mind, repeated silently over and over.

Endure it.

After an unknown number of agonizing minutes, the pain, burning heat, and crawling itch faded together. They had come fiercely and vanished cleanly.

Lu Heng went slack. Cold sweat had soaked his back, and he leaned against the stone wall, utterly drained, taking deep breaths to steady his breathing.

Looking down at himself, he saw a layer of sticky, murky grease seeping from his skin, covering his neck, arms, and limbs. The grease was a dull yellow and carried a powerful rotten stench, like the foul odor picked up after a long soak in rotting sludge and decayed humus. It was pungent and nauseating.

This metabolic filth had formed as the potion tempered his body, forcing out accumulated impurities and murky grime.

The heavy stench was overpowering, and the sticky grease coating his body felt extremely unpleasant.

After recovering some strength, Lu Heng braced himself against the wall and stood. He picked up the Wooden Spear leaning against the wall and slung the short-handled crossbow over his shoulder. After checking that the wooden door's brace was secure, he locked the cave entrance. Then he pulled his hide clothing snug, gripped his weapons, and set off for the forest tributary downstream from the cave.

He had to wash the filth from his skin as soon as possible. Otherwise, the strong rotten smell could easily draw nearby beasts from a considerable distance.

The cool forest breeze dispersed some of the stench. Lu Heng trod softly, constantly watching the bushes and the spaces behind trees along the way. His ears stayed alert to every rustle around him, and he held his Wooden Spear ready against a sudden attack. Advancing cautiously, he reached the bank of the gently flowing river without incident.

The tributary was shallow and clear, its current gentle. Bushes grew thickly around it, obstructing his view and concealing dangers.

Lu Heng did not lower his guard. He placed the crossbow on a rock within easy reach on the bank and laid the Wooden Spear beside him. From the corner of his eye, he kept watching for movement in the dense woods on both banks, ready for beasts to slip into the water and ambush him.

He removed his outer hide garment and stepped into the slightly cool river. Lowering his head, he scrubbed the greasy filth from his body, carefully rubbing every part of himself until all the rancid grease had washed from his skin. He also repeatedly scrubbed the hide clothing worn against his body, washing away the mineral dirt, stale grime, and strange odors clinging to it.

He remained tense throughout, listening in every direction and not daring to relax for a moment.

After washing, Lu Heng headed back to the cave with his weapons in hand, remaining cautious and alert all the way home. Only after entering and bracing the wooden door did he notice the notification light flashing continuously on his bracelet. Earlier, covered in foul-smelling grease, he had been concerned only with washing and had had no time to check his messages. He opened the notification, and a system panel appeared with the full set of data:

[Host: Lu Heng]

[Level: Beginner]

[Three attributes: stamina 8, constitution 8, agility 8]

[Personal profile: a novice survivor who has just embarked on the path of wilderness survival]

Lu Heng looked down at his arms, then stretched his limbs. He raised his hands, stepped forward, and made small jumps in place, carefully feeling the changes brought by the enhancement. His limbs no longer grew sore and weak as easily as before. His muscles and bones felt loose and light, and his senses were much clearer. Even the faint breeze inside the cave and the distant rustling in the woods reached his ears distinctly. He felt especially energetic, the fatigue accumulated over days of travel swept away.

Just as a little delight rose in Lu Heng's heart and he considered how much easier future exploration and hunting would be, a faint, irregular noise outside the cave interrupted his thoughts.

Warm charcoal ash remained beneath the fire. He added several thoroughly dried pieces of wood, and flames slowly rose, steadying the light inside the cave.

He raised his wrist and lit up the bracelet tattoo, taking out the salt-bearing ore and ink-patterned rock crystal obtained from the treasure chest on the flat ground that day. He also took out the Purification Notes found with them and crouched beside the fire to study the procedure.

The pages recorded only the full process of grinding, settling, and boiling, with clear instructions on heat and settling times.

The processing plant could not be used, so he could only try with stones, clean water, and the fire.

The coarse salt obtained after purification would also have a slight suppressive effect on supernatural mutated creatures, but it would neither deter nor harm ordinary beasts of flesh and blood.

He had not been in this frozen land for long. The beast meat he hunted contained small amounts of salt, enough to meet his daily needs without salt deficiency leaving him weak. Having unexpectedly found a large deposit of salt-bearing ore today, he could stockpile plenty for long-term use.

Lu Heng brought three broad, flat stone slabs from a corner of the cave and placed them beside the fire, simply dividing the space into four working areas.

The first slab was for crushing ore. The second would hold the stone bowl of mixed mineral powder while impurities settled. The third would hold a vessel for simmering brine over low heat. Finally, he left a small, cool corner for the boiled brine to solidify.

He gathered several sharp-edged stones, picked up the salt-bearing ore, and crushed the pieces on the slab one by one.

The ore was relatively soft and broke apart after a few blows. Repeated grinding reduced it to gray-white mineral powder mixed with fine sand, scattering fine dust over the slab.

Once all the ore was ground, he poured the powder into a large stone bowl, ladled in stored clean water, and stirred it several times by hand. The water instantly turned cloudy.

While waiting for the sediment to settle, Lu Heng took the opportunity to count the beast meat stored in the cave and confirmed that he had ample meat reserves.

After about fifteen minutes, a thick layer of sand and mud had accumulated at the bottom, leaving relatively clear, pale gray brine above.

He carefully tilted the stone bowl and ladled only the upper layer of brine into another shallow vessel. He discarded the muddy sediment full of impurities at the bottom rather than mix it into the brine to be boiled.

Boiling was the most time-consuming step.

Lu Heng spent the entire afternoon beside the fire, controlling its strength and slowly evaporating the water over low heat. Now and then, he lowered his head to check the brine level, preventing it from boiling dry and scorching the bottom. Along the way, he replenished it with several batches of settled brine.

The heat steadily drove off the water, and the liquid in the vessel gradually thickened.

Only when the daylight had vanished completely and the distant mountains had sunk into shadow did he move the vessel away from the fire and leave it in the reserved cool spot to settle and cool.

After a long time, all the liquid water in the vessel had evaporated, leaving dense, thick gray-white salt chunks firmly crystallized on the bottom.

Lu Heng tapped the vessel's side, removed all the coarse salt chunks of varying sizes, and stacked them in a dry corner of the cave.

All the ore mined that day had been processed, and this batch of coarse salt would last a long time. He placed the ink-patterned rock crystal separately. The notes mentioned no way to process it, so he could only put it away for now.

By the time he finished the whole procedure, it was pitch-black outside. The temperature plummeted, and the surroundings were so quiet that not a sound could be heard.

Lu Heng rested briefly beside the fire, his gaze falling on the neatly stacked coarse salt. He planned to seek out several more deposits of salt-bearing ore on future trips and build up his reserves. That would meet his daily salt needs and provide another thin layer of protection if he encountered supernatural beasts.

Just then, a persistent, rough scratching came from the cave entrance. The sound of something hard scraping stone drew closer, each scrape reaching clearly into the cave.

Lu Heng's nerves instantly tightened. He rose and grabbed the crossbow leaning against the wall, fastened the bolt pouch at his waist, and crept toward the wind-blocking stone slab.

Pressing his fingertips against the edge, he opened a narrow gap and peered outside by the firelight spilling from the cave.

In the thick darkness, a broad-bodied spider-like beast clung to the stone wall at the entrance. Its torso was nearly half a person's width, and eight long legs covered in stiff spines gripped the rock tightly. It remained motionless, its head aimed straight at the firelight shining through the door gap, refusing to leave.

Lu Heng raised his wrist. A faint blue glow from the bracelet quietly enveloped the beast outside, and text appeared in his vision.

[Species: Cave-Nest Spider]

[Grade: Black Iron]

[Description: an adult solitary spider beast that favors dry, enclosed rock caves as shelter. It searches the forest year-round for suitable caves and is extremely territorial.]

The text described only its habits, but its intentions were already obvious from the way it lingered at the entrance, refusing to leave.

The firelight leaking through the gap alerted the Cave-Nest Spider. It suddenly lunged, slamming its thick legs hard against the outside of the slab.

The heavy slab shook violently. A narrow gap opened where it met the stone wall, and the beast kept forcing its way into the doorway with the momentum of its impacts, intent on breaking through the barrier and entering the cave.

Lu Heng planted himself in the narrow entrance passage. This position restricted the beast's sweeping lunges, giving him a natural advantage.

He leveled the crossbow, aimed at the relatively soft area of the Cave-Nest Spider's chest and abdomen, and released the trigger. The short bolt sliced through the air, lodged in a gap in its carapace, and pierced its flesh.

The wounded Cave-Nest Spider abruptly went berserk. It repeatedly rammed the slab with all its strength, its legs battering the stone wall wildly. Fragments of rock kept breaking from the entrance, and the gap widened until half the beast's head had pushed inside.

One bolt alone was not enough to drive it back. Lu Heng set the crossbow aside, reached back for the Iron Axe leaning against the wall, and retreated half a step to give himself room to swing.

The Cave-Nest Spider seized the opening. Two long legs reached through the doorway first, their spiked tips thrusting straight at Lu Heng's limbs.

He sidestepped the sweeping legs. As most of the beast's torso lay exposed in the doorway, he gripped the axe handle with both hands and chopped down hard. The blade struck precisely into the soft tissue between sections of its carapace.

In severe pain, the Cave-Nest Spider curled violently inward. Its remaining legs battered the slab at random as it kept squeezing forward, trying to enter the cave and entangle him.

Lu Heng held the center of the passage throughout, never allowing the beast to break all the way inside. Whenever it thrust forward, he swung his axe at the weak points in its carapace.

After several exchanges, murky bodily fluid seeped continuously from wounds across the spider's body. Its movements had slowed considerably, and the force of its impacts had greatly diminished.

One final heavy axe blow struck a vital spot in its chest and abdomen. All the Cave-Nest Spider's long legs instantly lost their strength, and its body crashed to the ground outside the entrance. Its limbs twitched a few times, then went completely still.