Chapter 13: The White Silk Spider—The Black Widow!

"What's going on?!"

"Why are all the club bigwigs suddenly mobilizing in such a massive swarm after that loud bang?"

"Something must have happened!"

"Whatever it is, the tall ones will hold up the sky if it falls! We 'parasitic leeches' are perfectly safe and sound!"

News of the beast tide had not reached the "parasitic leeches" in the underground garage. They had only heard the commotion and then watched as the various factions of the club swarmed out. The scene clearly signaled that something major was afoot. However, these leeches showed not a hint of nervousness. Some, having nothing better to do, even ran to the garage entrance to watch the spectacle.

Suddenly, a voice rang out—

"Holy crap! Look over there! Is that Luo Shan?! Why, why is he walking with the Death Squad?!"

"Good grief! Is Luo Shan... is he crazy enough to join the Death Squad?!"

"No wonder he took so long to come back from the lucky draw! Look, that's Gao Chang! He joined Gao Chang's team!"

"He must be insane, trying to defy fate! He doesn't even want his life anymore!"

"And that loser Jiang Yi! He actually joined the Death Squad too!"

"Losers like them joining the Death Squad? That's pure suicide—they must think they've lived too long!"

"Exactly! They've only just joined the Death Squad a few hours ago, right? Zero experience, and they're already going on a mission!"

"They walked out upright, but they'll likely be carried back horizontally!"

"Back? They aren't coming back at all! They'll probably die out there, and there won't even be a corpse left!"

"Anyone close to them better take a good look now! You probably won't even have the chance to see their bodies later!"

"If you ask me, being a leech is the best! No suffering, no risking your life, just lying flat and rotting away—you can get by just fine for a lifetime!"

"Exactly! Look at Luo Shan and Jiang Yi, working themselves to the bone for nothing, only to live less comfortably and for a shorter time than us! Purely thankless effort!"

"I saw through it all before the apocalypse even started! Working for the capitalists is nowhere near as satisfying as just lying flat!"

"Right! You tell me, those people who struggle their whole lives, acting like beasts of burden for the capitalists—what good does it get them in the end?"

"They end up unable to afford a house! Unable to afford medical care! Living like dogs, worth nothing!"

"Anyway, I was already lying flat before the apocalypse. Now, being a leech is simply perfect!"

Most of the leeches were satisfied with the status quo, looking upon Luo Shan and Jiang Yi’s choices with nothing but disdain and mockery.

Elsewhere, Chen Liang, who enjoyed the luxury of a private room in the greenhouse, also saw Jiang Yi’s figure mixed in with the Death Squad from afar. Just that one glimpse made his heart skip a beat! Memories flooded back to when the apocalypse first began—that brave, powerful man!

Jiang Yi. It was definitely Jiang Yi!

Just watching that back, a wave of inexplicable panic surged in Chen Liang’s heart! But soon, he shook his head violently, cursing to himself:

Jiang Yi’s past power was just dumb luck—he’d drawn a powerful ability! But that ability had a time limit!

Once the seven-day limit passed... he was nothing but a pure, unadulterated loser!

Yes! A loser! A loser even worse than he, Chen Liang, was! To think such a loser would dare join the Death Squad! He was following the squad on a mission now! He couldn't possibly come back alive!

Yes! It was impossible for him to come back alive!

Chen Liang kept comforting himself internally, struggling to suppress the inexplicable panic in his heart.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yi naturally paid no mind to the judgmental gazes. He followed the swarming crowd toward the northwest of the villa area—the intersection of the beast tide’s spread and the club, as circled on Gao Chang’s map. That area was a well-landscaped camping ground with quite an open view.

"Holy shit?! What the hell is that?!"

Luo Shan, unaccustomed to his first mission, felt his face turn pale when he saw a mass of writhing black shadows surging toward them from afar. His exclamation naturally earned him several eye-rolls. Gao Chang kindly explained:

"Those are White-Silk Spiders, also known as Black Widows. If you ever get the chance to go on missions in the Beast World, you’ll find that these things are very common there."

Another Death Squad member added, "Black Widows move fast; it’s normal for them to be the first wave to arrive here. But don't worry too much. They look scary, but their combat power is actually quite pathetic. As long as you’re careful not to get entangled and strangled by the silk they spit, there’s basically no danger."

Gao Chang nodded. "But this is just the initial stage of the beast tide. As time goes on, other types of fierce beasts will likely spread over as well. Don't let your guard down during the fight."

This was directed primarily at Luo Shan and Jiang Yi. After all, they were the only newcomers in his team.

Luo Shan nodded to show he understood and then asked, "So, do these Black Widows have any weaknesses?"

As he spoke, he observed the other Death Squad teams already engaged in battle. He quickly realized that Gao Chang’s team was quite small—only nine people including himself and Jiang Yi. Other teams averaged nearly twenty members! The teams already fighting the Black Widows mostly operated in groups of four, attacking the spider legs. Of course, there were some in groups of three, two, or even solo!

Luo Shan wasn't stupid; he instantly guessed that those in groups of two or one clearly possessed some real strength.

As he was thinking, Gao Chang explained again, "As you can see, a fierce beast of this level is basically trash even in the Beast World. So, we don't need to look for weaknesses. Just work together to hack off their legs, then smash their heads."

Luo Shan nodded, but then realized: "But Jiang Yi and I..." He wanted to say they didn't have any weapons—were they expected to fight the Black Widows bare-handed?

Before he could finish, an impatient voice came from behind: "You two are the biggest pains in the ass!"

It was Sun Hao! Luo Shan was shocked to see him there. Wasn't Sun Hao in charge of the lucky draw for the leeches? Why was he here?

While he was puzzled, Sun Hao just rolled his eyes at him and announced to all the Death Squad teams: "The usual rules: those who don't have their own weapons, come to me to get one."

Seeming to consider the newcomers like Luo Shan and Jiang Yi, Sun Hao specifically added, "Once the beast tide crisis is over, you must return the weapons you checked out."

The other members seemed very familiar with this process. Many rushed over to Sun Hao to collect weapons. Luo Shan noticed that in some teams, almost everyone had their own private weapons and didn't need to go to Sun Hao, starting the fight immediately. Other teams, like Gao Chang’s, required almost everyone to borrow weapons.

Luo Shan was new and understood little, but he vaguely sensed that Sun Hao’s status in the club was not as simple as just managing the lucky draw. He seemed to be in charge of low-level supplies. Furthermore, the strength of the different squads varied—some were strong, some were weak. Gao Chang’s team was clearly among the weakest...

Luo Shan had previously admired Gao Chang, thinking him quite impressive. Now, his feelings were complicated.

Jiang Yi was fine. He had experienced all of this in his previous life. Now, it was just a matter of muscle memory. He walked over to where Sun Hao had piled the weapons and immediately spotted his target.

In truth, these weapons available for the Death Squad to use for free were mostly low-quality items drawn from white-tier lucky draws—things like knives, axes, and clubs. Jiang Yi was about to reach for his chosen weapon when he suddenly heard a sharp, mocking voice:

"Kid, you don't actually think you're clever enough to scavenge a composite bow that no one else dared to pick, do you?"