"My luck is just that bad huh?" Chen Fan knocked his head twice for stumbling across the nest of Demonhead Spider.
Comes with a body at least ten meters long, with eight limbs in six meters length each, this monster Demonhead Spider is at least twelve to thirteen meters wide on standing position.
But that's just a first impression.
As one of the hundred predators encyclopedia members, Demonhead Spider is well known for its production of metal silk and how flexible they are. Unfortunately, the praise on the metal silk are according to how high are the chances of capturing the enemies, and not about how good is the product.
This means it wasn't a piece of good news at all. If this is a business transaction, shouldn't Chen Fan get a lump sum of payment as the exchange?
"SHUA!" a piercing howl belong to some beast startled Chen Fan. Without further ado, he rolled himself to the side without any metal spider silk. Looking straight above him, Chen Fan noticed a school of Cultist Stonerunners wrapped into a cocoon, with only the head popping out.
[Toot]
-
[Cultist Stonerunner]
[Threat: 6]
[Weakness: Front Limbs/ Head]
[Drops:]
[Cultist Crystal Shards/Processable]
[Cultist Mineral Shards/Processable]
[Stonerunner's Bloodstone Hoof]
"This is a damn good opportunity, but it's dangerous as hell. If I got the guts to do it, I'm at least five Cultist Crystal Shards richer. With the chances to get the Bloodstone Hooves, my run this time will be totally worth it."
"But if I run the processing cube, the noise will disturb the Demonhead Spider. I can't open fire on the monsters too..." Chen Fan tried his best to find the best method to obtain as much material as he can until he did not notice a humongous spider threading closer to the cocoons.
"Shhh..." a web of silk is fired at the cocoon to cover the Cultist Stonerunner completely before two fangs stabbed inside. Cries can be heard faintly until the chrysalis shriveled like a dried persimmon. This scene took Chen Fan by surprise as he quickly hides from open view.
After devouring the food, the Demonhead Spider cut off the string holding this leftover, and it falls right in front of Chen Fan. The latter is too curious about what just happened earlier and tried to rip open the hole made by the spider's fang.
What's left inside was a shriveled corpse of Stonerunner, with most of its body liquid is absorbed by the Demonhead Spider. Lucky for him, two of the Cultist Stonerunner's hooves had grown into Bloodstone Hooves and was collected into his backpack without delay.
By wearing a glove as he tried his best to salvage the Metal Spider Silk, Chen Fan quickly completes what he's trying to do and escape from the same opening he came inside a little while ago. Tonight will not be a night for him to rest, after stumbling into the Demonhead Spider Nest of this size.
After he left the nest of the Demonhead Spider, Chen Fan headed further to the west, until he reaches the device informed him that there's an old Buddhist temple here suitable for him to rest for the night. After a little bit of searching, Chen Fan found the building and searched for a safe room fit for sleeping.
The fatigue from all these works brings him to slumber real quickly. It feels like just a few minutes passed, as he was greeted by the gentle sunlight the next morning. Like his previous morning, Chen Fan preheated the miner's ration provided and departed after half an hour.
His third day went very smoothly. Straight from Van-Tra, Chen Fan went through the town of Trang-Due until he stopped outskirt of the Tien-Tao Town. Expected by tomorrow afternoon, reaching Hai-Duong City is not an impossible task.
On his fourth night, Chen Fan made his stop outside of Tan-Ap and calculated his haul for these four days before going to sleep.
[14] Cultist Crystal Shards
[2] Cultist Mineral Shards
[3] Cultist Plant Extract
[2] Stonerunner's Bloodstone Hoof
[1] Pure Cultist Crystal
[1] Remains of Origin Alternative
"For my first mining attempt, this result should be quite positive." Chen Fan looked at the total pay he's going to receive when he returned to the Yubo Space Continent.
[Total: 57 Credits + Reward]
With the price of 1 Credit for the Crystal Shard, 2 credits for Mineral Shard and Plant Extract, 15 credits for the Bloodstone Hoof, and 3 credits for the Cultist Crystal, Chen Fan raked 57 credits for four days of hard work. Of course, he's facing the risk of losing his life in this line of job.
"Three days more and I'll be back to the Yubo Space Continent. For now, I'll have to stop being too greedy and play safe until I reach the Launching Zone. I wonder what kind of reward will the M.I.C gives me when I hand them the Origin Alternative's remain." Chen Fan put the device into sleep mode and get ready to sleep.
"HUOOOOR!!!" the cries destroyed his slumber, where it belonged to the most troublesome enemy, the Red Land Wyrm. Unhappy with it, Chen Fan put on all the equipment back to him and left in a hurry. The night chase forced Chen Fan to continue with his journey, where it cut short the time he took to reach the river separating Hanoi from where he was.
On the night of the fifth day, Chen Fan took a rest right on the Ferry Terminal which was abandoned for twelve centuries. Knowing that he will have to find a ride to cross the river, Chen Fan decided to make it happen on his sixth day morning.
But when he was awake on the sixth morning, Chen Fan is greeted with three soldiers standing by around him.
"Captain! He's awake." Sunmi shouted.
"Yo! Boy! Nice to meetcha, yo?" Black greeted in his own tune.
"You... My bag!" Chen Fan turned his attention on his equipment and noticed that except his backpack, all the other gear is still on the same way he placed the night before.
"Calm down, boy," Alex Park tapped Chen Fan's shoulder as he speaks. A few seconds later, an officer came into the room he's resting and extends his hand to greet this fellow.
"I am the captain of the security division under Hanoi's Launching Zone. You may address me as Captain Lee Yeon Sook. Did you rest well?" Captain Lee had a handshake with Chen Fan as he speaks.
"The one that called me earlier is Sunmi, my Explosive Specialist. This is Black, our Heavy Gunner. The one that tapped your shoulder earlier is Alex Park, the Medic. I have two more soldiers, Sam and Hayoung. Both of them are taking care of the hovercraft." Captain Lee pointed at each member as he introduces them.
"Can you please explain what's happening here please, Captain Lee?" Chen Fan is puzzled. Based on his position alone, it wasn't worth having Captain Lee and his team here to protect him.
"Well, to make thing easier to understand, I am here for the extraction and escort mission. Extraction is applied on the Origin Alternative in your hand, and escort is implemented on the miner. As the person that collected this treasure for M.I.C, the corporation will not mistreat you." Captain Lee explained.
"I know that's a little too much for you, but we have to move now unless we're looking forward to confronting the Red Land Wyrm." Captain Lee urge him to get ready quick as they're tied by a ticking bomb.
Only using four minutes to get himself ready, Chen Fan followed Captain Lee and his team as they left the terminal and went straight into the hovercraft.
Once the lever is pushed into its high moving speed, the hovercraft starts its operation of crossing the river. Halfway there, the Red Land Wyrm finally reaches this area but stops continuing due to the water.
"HUOOOOR!"
"HUOOOOR!"
The Red Land Wyrm howl in dissatisfaction watching at its prey.
Under the monster's gaze, the group successfully crossed the river and collected their hovercraft before keeping up with their journey. On the seventh day morning, Chen Fan and the group finally reach the Hanoi Launching Zone, with a shuttle already standing by to be launched in three more hours.
On their way here, Captain Lee is thoroughly surprised by Chen Fan's attentiveness and knowledge. Although this is his first mining exploration, to be able to escape from the chase of a Red Land Wyrm is not an easy feat.
Still, his best luck is in getting away from meeting the Diamond Primate King, said to have a fatality rate of 95% if encountered. After signing the returning application, Chen Fan board the shuttle and left New Earth along with sixteen other miners.
They're all in the same group as his entrance shuttle, but four of them is reported dead after their Handheld Device stopped sending the distress signal. Among the four deaths, one was actually the guy that owns the silhouette of the one thrown into the sky in his first meeting with the Red Land Wyrm.
But nothing shocks them even more compared to the sight when they're launch from the Hanoi Base.
Across the river, at least fifteen Red Land Wyrm is ravaging the city area outside of Hanoi, looking for outside delicacies.