The First Death Appears!

Spencer's reaction was intense, as if something extremely dangerous had just happened! However, his panicked expression quickly turned to one of confusion in the next second.

Jexon, who had been casually chatting with him, nonchalantly bent down and thrust his sharpened shovel forward. The tip of the sharpened shovel barely grazed the ground as it swiftly stabbed upward into the black widow spider's abdomen!

With a sharp *"sssk"* sound, the massive black spider collapsed with a thud!

Black widows were ground-hugging creatures, with their abdomens only about ten centimeters off the ground. This low belly was their blind spot in combat, rarely ever targeted. Yet now, with a single, almost lazy sweep, Jexon had instantly killed the black widow that had attempted to ambush him!

What?! 

Even though Spencer himself could easily shoot a black widow through the head with his bow, it took him effort to pull back the string and aim. But Jexon… his movement was so casual, so effortless, that no one could even tell he had the same +5 attribute boost!

This scene stunned not only Spencer but also the other daredevil squad members nearby. They were completely dumbfounded.

Could this guy also be a hidden powerhouse?!

George, who was also fighting nearby, was equally shocked. He blinked hard in disbelief. 

"You... You! You're hiding your true strength, aren't you?" George exclaimed. "Wait..." George's eyes widened as he thought out loud, "Could it be… you also got the full attribute +5 boost?"

But before George could finish speculating, he suddenly shook his head. 

"No, no! You didn't even seem to use much strength to kill that black widow..."

Suddenly, George's gaze landed on the shovel in Jexon's hands. His realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. 

"It's the shovel!"

George then looked at the corpse of the black widow and finally understood: 

"You... You know the black widow's weak spot, don't you?!"

His words instantly caused a stir among the nearby squad members. 

Sure, killing a black widow with a single strike was impressive, but there were other powerful members in the daredevil squads who could do the same. However, knowing the black widow's *weak spot*? That was invaluable knowledge for the entire squad!

In an instant, all eyes turned to Jexon, filled with excitement and expectation. The look in their eyes was clear—they wanted to know more.

Jexon wasn't planning to hide this information. After all, the black widow was a low-tier beast. Any player with even a bit of strength wouldn't need to bother with weak spot tactics—they could simply take the spider down with brute force. It was only these weaker squad members who needed to rely on weak spot strategies to increase their combat efficiency.

So, without hesitation, Jexon generously explained, 

"Just as you guessed, I was able to kill the black widow in one strike because I targeted its weak spot. These black widows have a pair of small, protruding organs on their abdomen called spinnerets. The spinnerets connect to their internal silk glands, and that's their weak spot."

"In fact, the reason black widows crawl so close to the ground is to protect their weak spot."

The squad members around him nodded in sudden understanding. 

"So that's it! But it's not easy to hit such a low weak spot, is it?"

Their gazes soon fell on the shovel in Jexon's hands. They finally realized why Jexon had asked Spencer to help sharpen the shovel—it wasn't to make things difficult but because the shovel was perfect for targeting the black widow's weak spot!

After thanking Jexon profusely, many squad members rushed over to Hunter, requesting to switch to long-handled weapons like shovels and spades.

Hunter was stationed far back on the defensive line, so he hadn't seen what happened with Jexon. When he saw dozens of people running over to swap their weapons for shovels and spades, he was surprised.

Upon learning the reason, Hunter raised an eyebrow in disbelief. 

"So that useless Jexon actually knows the black widow's weak spot? No wonder he picked a shovel as his weapon."

Most people would have stopped thinking about it there. But as someone who managed the squad's resources and interacted with many people daily, Hunter's mind worked a bit deeper.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. 

Could it be… that Jexon already knew about the *Bloodthirsty Gu Swarm* and its +5 attribute boost? Could it be that Spencer merely snatched that opportunity from him due to bad luck?

It was possible.

Hunter had never taken Jexon seriously before. But now, for the first time, he began to pay closer attention to the "man with a death sentence."

Jexon... 

Hunter recalled that Jexon hadn't been with the Backstabber Club for long, and his remaining lifespan was very short. He was far too young to have such a limited lifespan, which meant that Jexon had likely gone through something significant before joining the club.

It was probably those experiences that led him to know the black widow's weak spot and the secret of the *Bloodthirsty Gu Swarm*.

So, what else did Jexon know?

Hunter thought about it for a moment but decided not to approach Jexon just yet. After all, the post-apocalyptic game had only been around for a month, and many people had unusual experiences. 

If Jexon managed to survive the *Beast Tide*, then his experiences might be valuable. If not...

Hunter shook his head and let the thought go.

On the battlefield, those who had swapped for long-handled weapons, even after learning about the black widow's weak spot, initially struggled to hit it accurately. It took multiple attempts before they began to master the technique.

Once they did, however, the situation shifted. Where it once took four people to handle a single black widow, now nearly everyone could fight them alone. The overall tension on their defensive line eased significantly.

But as time passed, the number of beasts flowing in from the *Beast Tide* increased. More black widows appeared, and other types of beasts began mixing in as well.

About thirty minutes into the *Beast Tide*, Jexon's nerves tightened. He remembered from his past life that it was around this time…

That the daredevil squads experienced their first casualty.

And sure enough, history repeated itself.

In the midst of the still manageable battle, a sudden scream rang out: 

"Brian!!"

The scream came from some distance away from Jexon's position. It took a few moments for the news to spread over to their side: 

"Someone's dead!" 

"It was a faster, deadlier beast than the black widow!" 

"I heard it was not only fast, but it's also incredibly stealthy! It killed someone and disappeared without a trace!" 

"And the guy who died, Brian, wasn't weak! He could take down a black widow by himself, even without knowing its weak spot!" 

"But he was killed in an instant without a sound!"

"What are we going to do? If even someone like Brian can be killed so easily, what chance do we have?!"

"Don't worry! I heard that Fan Hu's team has already started investigating the mysterious beast! They should take care of it soon!"

Fan Hu's team was one of the top three strongest daredevil squads. Their involvement in tracking down the mysterious beast didn't do much to ease the overall panic, though.

Until that beast was found and dealt with, everyone was still at risk of dying just like Brian.

This was the tragedy of the daredevil squads. Or rather, the tragedy of weaklings in this harsh new world.

In many cases, survival depended solely on luck.

Fear spread through the ranks of the daredevil squads, with members growing increasingly anxious.

Even Jexon felt the tension. 

The reason he had chosen the temporary +5 attribute boost over the more permanent "full attribute +1" option when picking his *Slot Machine* was to maximize his chances of survival in this very moment!

While the others could only hope that luck would protect them from the mysterious beast, Jexon wasn't willing to rely on chance.

He valued his life far too much—especially now, with his ability to specify *Slot Machine* rewards. His life was worth far more than a simple gamble on survival.

So, Jexon stayed cautious and focused entirely on survival.

With his +5 attribute boost, his combat instincts honed from his previous life, and his sharp intuition, he was confident he could avoid being taken out by the *Shadow-Eyed Cat*.

If he still got ambushed and killed… then the problem wasn't luck—it was him.

In his past life, the *Shadow-Eyed Cat* hadn't attacked him. But Jexon was aware of something called the butterfly effect. From the moment he had been reborn, things had begun to change, however subtly.

In the last life, the *Shadow-Eyed Cat* may not have targeted him, but in this life… who knew?

Jexon stayed alert, battling carefully.

Just as he effortlessly took down another black widow with his shovel, a flash of white light appeared in his peripheral vision. 

Then, Spencer's voice rang out, full of alarm: 

"Jexon, watch out!!"