Chapter 34: Everything is Over
"This is a spider raised by Uncle Liu next door. I saw it before when I went to visit with Grandpa!"
Zhou Jun stared at the wolf spider in the corner of the ceiling, his expression filled with astonishment.
Originally, even before it was shrunken down, he found spiders the size of his faceplate quite creepy. But now that it had been shrunk, looking at that wolf spider filled him with extreme fear!
"Why be afraid? If it dares to come down, watch how I smash it to pieces!" Ji Chang stared at the wolf spider in the corner, flexing his fists and saying confidently.
Faintly, a hint of metallic luster appeared on his hands!
"What? Mang Ge, don't mess around. This wolf spider even eats mice, we..." Seeing Huang Mang's posture of wanting to provoke it, Zhou Jun hastily interjected.
"What? It eats... eats mice?" Just a moment ago, Huang Mang was contemplating how to beat the wolf spider, but now his face froze, and he blurted out.
Hearing Zhou Jun's words, everyone had the same astonished expression.
Previously, with mice visiting their stronghold, they hadn't expected an even fiercer creature to arrive.
Spiders eating mice? This news made them feel like mice had suddenly become much cuter.
They even started to hope that the creature they encountered was a mouse right now, not a wolf spider...
After all, perhaps mice were only interested in food, but wolf spiders...
"This wolf spider isn't an ordinary spider. The largest wolf spider can reach a length of thirty-five centimeters. They are known for their speed, jumping ability, agility, and ferocious temperament.1 The back of a wolf spider is covered in fur similar to a wolf's hair, and it has eight eyes. Some wolf spiders have potent venom that can kill a sparrow, and larger ones can even kill a person." Chen Lingxue furrowed her brow as she explained.
Just knowing that the wolf spider ate mice had already been horrifying enough from Zhou Jun's words.
But now Chen Lingxue mentioned that wolf spiders could poison and kill a person...
Every one of them felt a cold sweat running down their backs.
Looking at the motionless wolf spider, they even started to feel a sense of dread.
They didn't know when the wolf spider had appeared.
But judging by its unmoving posture, it must have been here for a while, and they had just woken up...
"So, so what should we do now? Haven't they said that spiders have poor eyesight? It shouldn't be able to see us, right? Especially since we're so small." Dong Xuan's lips quivered as she looked at Ji Chang and spoke softly.
"It has eight eyes, how could its eyesight be poor..." Zheng Haiyu's mouth twitched a few times, and he pondered with a frown.
"He hasn't spun a web. We shouldn't need to worry, right? Even if he did spin one, as long as we're not trapped, we should be safe, right?" Wang Lingling, who had experience being trapped in spider silk, thought for a moment and said.
Listening to their words, it seemed like they had some reasonable points, and for a moment, their tense hearts relaxed slightly. However, Chen Lingxue's following words immediately raised their anxiety levels again, squeezing their hearts.
Even their breaths started to feel a bit constricted!
"Ordinary spiders indeed have poor eyesight, relying on web vibrations to catch prey. But wolf spiders are different from other spiders. Their vision is extremely acute, with eight eyes arranged in three rows. Four eyes at the bottom, and two each in two rows above, allowing them to clearly observe the prey's outline. So, they don't rely on webs to catch food!
They're called wolf spiders because they track and ambush their prey, much like wolves!
What sets them apart from other spiders is that all of a wolf spider's leg tips are sharp and claw-like!"
"Not good, let's get out of here!"
Just as everyone began to feel anxious, Ji Chang, who had been watching the wolf spider's every move, suddenly shouted loudly.
Before Ji Chang's shout even had a chance to fully descend, the wolf spider in the corner of the wall suddenly shot downward.
Its trajectory led directly to the desk where they were situated!
The reason Ji Chang hadn't immediately called for everyone to flee was the same as Dong Xuan and Wang Lingling's thinking.
However, upon hearing Chen Lingxue's description of the wolf spider, Ji Chang felt an impending danger. At the same time, the spider launched an attack!
Boom!
With a muffled sound, the wolf spider landed right in front of them.
The wolf spider that had just descended opened its large mouth and sprayed silk towards Wang Lingling, Chen Lingxue, and Dong Xuan.
Its speed was so fast that there was no chance to dodge!
In an instant, Wang Lingling, who had just taken off with Chen Lingxue and Dong Xuan, was engulfed in silk along with the two.
Seeing this, Huang Mang shouted explosively, "******!"
In the next moment, Huang Mang, now fully metallic, shouted again, "You all go, I'll hold off this wolf spider!"
After saying this, he charged at the spider.
Immediately following, Ji Chang's thoughts sparked, urging the ants to help, while simultaneously a concentrated surge of spiritual power flowed into the ant's body.
Having completed these actions, Ji Chang mounted a hornet and quickly approached Chen Lingxue and the others.
Dealing with this wolf spider was entirely impossible with their current strength.
To be precise, escaping from the spider's grasp would already require an enormous amount of luck, even if they were blessed by eighteen goddesses of fortune.
Seeing Huang Mang and the ant both moving to confront the wolf spider, Zhou Jun and Zheng Haiyu exchanged glances, then turned around and directed their extraordinary powers towards the spider.
Shockwaves, seemingly summoned out of thin air, bombarded the wolf spider.
Zheng Haiyu instantly formed two thick ice spikes and launched them towards the wolf spider!
However, before Huang Mang could get close, he was lightly kicked away by one of the spider's legs.
The shockwaves from Zhou Jun were easily neutralized by a fresh batch of silk from the wolf spider.
As for the two ice spikes from Zheng Haiyu, the wolf spider nimbly leaped to evade them.
Their attacks appeared slow, but they nearly arrived simultaneously.
Nevertheless, the wolf spider managed to neutralize or evade every single attack.
This demonstrated just how agile the wolf spider was.
Just as the wolf spider lunged toward Chen Lingxue, Wang Lingling, and the others, the ant intervened, grabbing hold of one of the spider's legs.
Empowered by Ji Chang's spiritual energy, the ant's strength skyrocketed.
Though the wolf spider was like a massive mountain compared to the ant, the ant held onto its leg tenaciously, rendering the spider immobile.
As the ant blocked the wolf spider's path, its eight eyes displayed a hint of surprise.
It was difficult to fathom that this tiny ant could actually obstruct its way.
Just as the ant obstructed the wolf spider, Huang Mang, who had been kicked away, flipped back onto his feet and charged recklessly towards Ji Chang.
Seeing their extraordinary powers prove ineffective, Zhou Jun and Zheng Haiyu hurriedly closed in on Ji Chang's position.
Before this, they might have thought that their extraordinary abilities could at least offer some resistance against the wolf spider. However, now they realized that was completely impossible.
At this moment, Ji Chang, who had just rescued Chen Lingxue and the others from the silk, immediately urged everyone to climb onto the backs of the hornets.
In Ji Chang's view, during this critical moment, the only way to truly escape from the wolf spider was by riding on the hornets and soaring high.
As for the newly built house...
Compared to the house, their lives were naturally far more important!
The others understood Ji Chang's thoughts and quickly climbed onto the hornets' backs.
However, just as Ji Chang urged the hornets to take flight, his heart trembled. In the next instant, a deafening roar reverberated through his mind.
Excruciating pain, as if his heart were being torn apart, forced Ji Chang to let out a mournful cry.
The reason for Ji Chang's agony was the ant that had been blocking the wolf spider. The spider had ripped the ant to pieces!
If it were any other insect, or even a regular spider that wasn't a wolf spider, the ant might have been able to handle it with Ji Chang's spiritual energy. But facing the wolf spider, the ant could only buy a bit more time for Ji Chang to escape.
Because the wolf spider was simply too massive, too powerful!
Having escaped its bonds, the wolf spider seemed extremely agitated. Without hesitation, it shot up in an instant, heading straight for the hornets!
Seeing this, the group looked at the immense shadow above them, and at Ji Chang, who was the only one capable of leading them to safety, only to be struck by the demise of the ant.
They knew... everything was over.