White-Silk Spider: Black Widow!

"What's going on?!" 

"Why did everything suddenly go crazy after that huge explosion? Even the club leaders are out in force!" 

"Something must've happened!" 

"Whatever it is, it's none of our concern. When the sky falls, it's the taller ones who hold it up! We Life Cachers are safe and sound no matter what!"

The news about the *Beast Tide* hadn't reached the Life Cachers in the underground garage. 

They only heard the commotion and then saw groups of people rushing out from the club, clearly on high alert.

But these Life Cachers weren't worried at all. 

Some of them, out of boredom, even went outside to watch the commotion.

Suddenly, a voice rang out— 

"Holy crap! Look over there! Isn't that Spencer?! What's he doing with the daredevil squad?!" 

"Wow! So Spencer finally snapped and joined the daredevil squad, huh?!" 

"No wonder he hasn't come back after drawing from the Slot Machine. Look, there's George! He's joined George's squad!" 

"He's gone mad, trying to defy fate! Does he not value his life anymore?" 

"And look at that loser Jexon! He's joined the daredevil squad too!" 

"Those two idiots joining the daredevil squad? They're basically hanging themselves—they've got a death wish!" 

"Yeah, they've been in the squad for just a few hours, no experience at all, and now they're going on a mission!" 

"They're walking out upright now, but they'll be carried back horizontal later!" 

"Carried back? More like their corpses won't even be brought back!" 

"If anyone here was close to them, better take a good last look. This might be the last time you ever see them, even dead!" 

"I'm telling you, being a Life Cacher is the way to go! No hard work, no risking your life. Just lying low, and you can scrape by your whole life!" 

"Exactly! Look at Spencer and Jexon, busting their butts just to die sooner than us. It's all pointless effort!" 

"I figured this out long before the apocalypse—working yourself to death for the system is nothing compared to lying flat and doing nothing." 

"Exactly! All those people who slave away their whole lives for the system, and what do they get in return?" 

"Not being able to afford a house! Can't even afford hospital bills! Living like dogs with nothing to show for it!" 

"I gave up before the apocalypse even started. Now being a Life Cacher is perfect for me!"

Most of the Life Cachers were content with their situation, full of disdain and mockery toward Spencer and Jexon's decision to join the daredevil squad.

Meanwhile, over in the larger tents, where Walter enjoyed the luxury of a private room, he too caught a glimpse of Jexon among the daredevil squad. 

Just from that distant glance, his heart skipped a beat! 

Images from the early days of the apocalypse flashed through his mind… 

Of that once brave and powerful man!

*Jexon.* 

There was no mistaking it—Walter's unease grew just from looking at that familiar figure.

Suddenly, a rush of panic surged through his heart as he remembered… 

*Jexon had once been incredibly strong,* 

but only because he had lucked out and drawn a powerful ability. 

Yet that ability had a time limit! 

Once the seven-day limit expired… 

Jexon had become nothing but a washed-up loser!

*Yes, a loser!* 

A loser who wasn't even worth comparing to Walter!

And now this loser had the nerve to join the daredevil squad? 

He was going on a mission with them? 

There was no way he would come back alive! 

*No way!*

Walter kept telling himself this, trying desperately to suppress the inexplicable fear that had taken root in his heart.

But Jexon, at that moment, was completely unconcerned with any of the eyes watching him.

He followed the large group toward the northwestern section of the villa district. 

This was the area George had marked on the map—the intersection between the spread of the *Beast Tide* and the club's territory.

It was an open camping ground with great visibility, surrounded by lush greenery.

"What the hell is *that*?!"

Spencer, on his first mission and still not used to it, saw a dark, writhing mass in the distance and his face went pale. 

His panicked exclamation earned him plenty of annoyed glares.

George, however, kindly explained, 

"That's a white-silk spider, also known as a black widow."

"When you eventually get a chance to enter the beast world on missions, you'll see that these creatures are very common there."

Another daredevil squad member added, 

"The black widow is fast, so it's no surprise they're the first wave to reach us."

"But don't worry too much—they look scary, but they're actually really weak."

"As long as you're careful not to get caught in their silk and strangled, they don't pose much of a threat."

George nodded in agreement, 

"That's right. This is just the early stage of the *Beast Tide*. As time passes, other types of beasts will start to come through."

"You need to be cautious throughout the battle and not let your guard down."

These words were mainly directed at Spencer and Jexon, the squad's newest members.

Spencer nodded to show he understood, then asked, 

"So, does this black widow spider have any weaknesses?"

As he asked, he observed the other daredevil squads already engaged in combat.

He quickly noticed that George's squad was relatively small, with only nine members including himself and Jexon. 

Other squads had almost double that number, with around twenty members each!

And among the squads already fighting, Spencer saw that most were operating in groups of four, each member attacking one of the spider's legs. 

There were also a few squads with groups of three, two, or even solo fighters!

Spencer wasn't stupid—he quickly deduced that the two-person and solo fighters were likely much stronger than average.

As Spencer was deep in thought, George explained further, 

"As you can see, the black widow spiders are low-tier beasts, even in the beast world."

"So there's no need to worry about specific weaknesses. Just team up and slice off their legs, then go for the head."

Spencer nodded but then realized something important, 

"But Jexon and I…"

He was about to say that neither he nor Jexon had weapons. Were they supposed to fight the black widows barehanded?

Before he could finish, a voice laced with irritation came from behind him—

"You two sure have a lot of questions."

The voice belonged to Hunter!

Spencer was shocked to see him there. 

Wasn't Hunter the guy in charge of the Life Cachers' Slot Machine draws? What was he doing here?

While Spencer was still confused, Hunter just rolled his eyes and addressed the entire squad, 

"Same deal as always. If you don't have your own weapon, come to me and get one."

Seeing the new faces in the squad, Hunter added a special reminder, 

"After the *Beast Tide* crisis is over, you're expected to return any weapons you borrow."

The other squad members seemed familiar with this routine. 

Several of them immediately lined up to get their weapons from Hunter.

Spencer noticed something else— 

In some squads, nearly everyone already had their own weapons, so they didn't need to borrow any from Hunter and could jump straight into the fight.

But in other squads, like George's, almost everyone needed to get their weapons from Hunter.

Though Spencer was new to all this, he began to pick up on the implications— 

It seemed like Hunter's role in the club went beyond just overseeing the Life Cachers' draws. 

He also managed some of the lower-tier resources. 

And it was clear that the various daredevil squads had varying levels of strength. 

Some were powerful, while others were weak. 

George's squad… was clearly one of the weakest.

Spencer, who had once admired George, now felt conflicted.

Jexon, however, remained unfazed. 

He had experienced all of this in his previous life, so everything felt routine now.

He walked over to where Hunter had laid out the weapons, quickly picking out his target.

Most of the weapons available were low-quality items from white-tier Slot Machines—things like knives, axes, and clubs.

Jexon was just about to grab the weapon he had chosen when a sharp, mocking voice interrupted him—

"Kid, you don't actually think you're clever, do you? 

That you'd be the only one bold enough to choose the compound bow, and no one else would dare?"