Chapter 29: Extreme Heat, Spiders

Jiang Si pulled out a vial of serum from her backpack. Qin Shen kept his eyes fixed on her.

His intense gaze made Jiang Si uneasy. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Qin Shen looked away. “I’m fine.”
His reaction left her a bit confused.

Once Qin Shen treated his wound, they resumed their journey, spreading realgar powder along the way.

When they returned with water later, they wouldn’t have to worry about snakes anymore.

Suddenly, Qin Shen stopped again.

Jiang Linhai tensed. “Xiao Shen, what is it this time?”

Qin Shen pointed ahead and calmly said, “Watch out for spiderwebs.”

Everyone focused their eyes ahead.

Damn.

Through the hazy white mist, nearly two-meter-wide spiderwebs loomed faintly, densely spread across the forest.

Jiang Linhai was utterly shocked. “With webs that big, could there be man-eating spiders?”

Qin Shen nodded calmly—everyone was stunned.

“There really are? Then what do we do?!”

Had they known how dangerous this water-fetching trip would be, they would’ve investigated more thoroughly beforehand.

Niuniu was on the verge of tears. “Daddy, I’m scared the spiders will bite me.”

Lu Zhifeng handed her a gun. “Don’t be afraid, Niuniu. If they come near, just shoot them. They won’t bite you then.”

Niuniu, eyes red, nodded bravely. “Okay.”

Jiang Si had some knowledge about man-eating spiders.

As long as you didn’t touch the webs, they wouldn’t be provoked.

But if you did, the spiders would immediately attack—spitting sticky silk to entangle prey. Their sharp fangs carried deadly venom, paralyzing victims and liquefying them for consumption, leaving behind only a dried-up husk.

Jiang Si raised her torch to inspect. “Let’s try to find a way around.”

Shen Baoying looked closely at the webs, which appeared soft, and asked, “Can’t we just burn them?”

Jiang Linhai rolled his eyes. “You burn the webs, and the whole forest goes up in flames. How will we get water then?”

Shen Baoying bit her lip, visibly worried. “But we have to be this cautious every time we fetch water—it’s just too hard.”

Jiang Si sighed. “There’s water nearby. That’s already a big advantage. If we can’t go around, we’ll just have to be extra careful. It’s the apocalypse, after all.

No matter how hard it gets, we push through.”

She had a storage space—they were much better off than most.

Qin Shen led the way, and Jiang Si’s group followed closely behind.

The farther they went, the more spiderwebs appeared, leaving less and less space to move.

Suddenly, Jiang Si’s gaze fell on something ahead—her pupils shrank.

Several spiderwebs were tightly wrapped around human corpses.

Their eyes were shut, expressions serene, almost as if they were still alive.

Jiang Linhai’s voice trembled. “They look like they just died. The spiders might still be close!”

Qin Shen shook his head. “Their bodies have already been drained, just husks left. The spiders never left. Look up.”

Everyone looked up.

Dozens—no, hundreds—of glowing red spider eyes stared down at them.

The sheer number was staggering—thousands, maybe more.

Had the apocalypse mutated everything?

Niuniu couldn’t hold back a scream, but Lu Zhifeng quickly covered her mouth and comforted her, “Don’t be scared, Niuniu. You’re the bravest. If they come, you shoot them!”

Niuniu nodded silently, tears streaming down her face. It was heartbreaking.

Lu Zhifeng started regretting bringing her here.

Thousands of spiders were right above them. One wrong step, and they’d be dinner. Every move had to be careful.

The fog thickened, making the webs harder and harder to see.

Jiang Si was growing anxious. She asked Qin Shen, “How much further? Could the water source be covered in webs too?”

Qin Shen gave the same answer, “It’s different every day.”

Meaning—even if they kept going, they might still not reach the water. They might return empty-handed.

Or face even greater danger.

Jiang Si lifted her torch and scanned ahead. “If we can’t get out soon, let’s forget about getting water tonight. Try again another day.”

She could hide in her space. The others couldn’t.

With so many spiders above, it was far too dangerous.

Lu Zhifeng grew more concerned. “Maybe we should head back now?”

Niuniu had already been scared too much tonight.

She was still just a child and needed time to adjust.

Qin Shen was only guiding them for navigation. If they turned back, it wouldn’t affect him.

He said, “Next time might be even more dangerous.”

His words changed the faces of Jiang Si’s whole family and Lu Zhifeng.

More dangerous than this?

What could be worse?

Before anyone could ask, a single leaf fell from a tree and landed on a spiderweb.

The vibration traveled instantly.

Qin Shen’s ears twitched.

His expression changed drastically. “Run!”

Just as he shouted, the horrifying rustle of thousands of spiders crawling echoed all around them.

Damn it. The spiders were fully awakened.

Qin Shen charged forward through the webs. Everyone else followed closely.

In no time, everyone’s heads were covered in sticky spider silk.

The silk was naturally adhesive—thankfully, they still had torches that could burn it away.

They fled desperately with Qin Shen in the lead, while the spiders swarmed behind.

Whoosh—

Several spiders simultaneously shot silk, entangling Lu Zhifeng and Niuniu.

It stuck to their backs—the torch in Lu Zhifeng’s hand couldn’t reach.

He shouted frantically, “Save my daughter! Save her! She knows where to find the rest of the weapons—please, I’m begging you!”

Niuniu screamed, her voice breaking: “Daddy—Daddy—!”

Jiang Si and the others turned around and saw them entangled in silk.

Seeing that the spiders hadn’t caught up yet, Jiang Si doubled back, swiftly slicing through the silk with her dagger. “Run! Now!”

Lu Zhifeng’s eyes turned red with gratitude. He hoisted Niuniu up and raced after the group.

The spine-chilling rustling of the spider swarm continued—relentless in pursuit.

Jiang Si’s stamina wasn’t what it had been in her past life. She was gasping for air from the sprint—let alone the others.

Thankfully, the spiders weren’t particularly fast.

But they couldn’t keep running like this forever.

Panting, Jiang Si asked the unfazed Qin Shen, “Where exactly are we running to?”

Qin Shen glanced back and calmly replied, “There’s a cave I used before up ahead.”

“If we light a fire at the entrance, they won’t be able to get in.”

“Will there be time to gather firewood and light it?”

If not, she’d have to risk revealing her space and pull out gasoline.

But Qin Shen said, “There’s time. I left a barrel of diesel there. Just compensate me afterward.”

Jiang Si lit up. “Deal! No problem!”

Lu Zhifeng quickly agreed too. “Of course!”

The cave entrance was a long, slanted triangle.

Qin Shen was the first to rush inside. He grabbed the diesel and poured it all over the entrance. Once everyone was inside, he lit it up.

Jiang Si immediately pulled out water bottles from her backpack, wet cloths, and handed them out for everyone to cover their mouths and noses.

The raging fire formed a barrier, keeping the spiders outside.

Just as Shen Baoying was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she turned around—and let out a blood-curdling scream.