[Venom Arrow Shot]: Newly awakened skill. Allows the compression and long-range release of venom through the mouthparts.
Needless to say, this was a skill stolen from the Golden Mountain Toad. Bai Jie felt he'd finally moved beyond the days of having to personally sink his fangs into everything.
At the same time, his other skills had also undergone massive upgrades — most had reached max level.
His body length had broken the 40cm barrier. At this point, Bai Jie now required both of an adult's palms together just to be lifted.
Am I the biggest spider in the world right now? Bai Jie's thoughts wandered.
"Nyx, you've truly amazed me. I never thought I'd witness the birth of a Gu creature with my own eyes — let alone one I raised myself."
Zheng Yueling's voice suddenly drifted over.
A pair of jade-like hands actually opened the lid of the terrarium and reached in bare-handed to grab the tarantula!
"No biting your owner, now." Zheng Yueling said. A flash of pink-purple luminescence flickered through her pupils.
That emotionless synthetic voice followed right on cue:
[Unfathomable mental interference detected. Blocked.]
Bai Jie's mind shook violently — because he realized this was a chance for revenge!
With his Corrosive Venom, one good dose might just be enough to take Zheng Yueling out.
But Bai Jie hesitated. There were still too many variables. Chief among them, he had no idea whether Zheng Yueling harbored other means. What if she was immune to his venom?
What if she could counter-kill him?
Even more importantly, the truth behind the string of disappearances was still murky. Zheng Yueling's accomplices remained unidentified.
Better to wait and watch. When he had absolute confidence and had uncovered more of Zheng Yueling's secrets — then he could strike.
Bai Jie suddenly thought of something. He'd never checked Zheng Yueling's status data. Could the system display it?
All at once, that familiar, ethereal information template materialized before his eyes.
[Target]: Zheng Yueling (Symbiote)
[Vitality]: 10
[Body Length]: 168cm
[Status]: Stable
Bai Jie: "...?"
Little spider, are a thousand question marks dancing before your eyes right now...?
WHAT THE HELL!!!
On that [Vitality] field... did the system tack on an extra "0" by accident?!
And what in the world was a Symbiote?!
Thank goodness he hadn't made a move. Bai Jie secretly breathed with relief — he was half afraid Zheng Yueling would suddenly sprout nine clones and stomp him into a fine paste, one foot at a time.
Zheng Yueling cradled the Pink-Toed Laser Venom Spider with both hands, barely managing to hold it up, and scrutinized it with utter infatuation.
"So beautiful, so adorable. Pink and tender — melts a maiden's heart — yet still exudes a majestic, intimidating aura. That's you, Nyx." Zheng Yueling heaped on the praise.
Bai Jie couldn't take it anymore. A violent shudder wracked his body, and a cloud of urticating hairs billowed into the air.
Zheng Yueling's eyes went wide in disbelief. Then, visible to the naked eye, angry red welts bloomed across her fair skin.
"Nyx, what the hell is wrong with you?!" She flung the Laser Venom Spider back into the terrarium, let out a shriek, and scrambled frantically toward the bathroom.
Ah, satisfaction... Bai Jie stretched lazily.
She'd only said not to bite her — she never said anything about kicking hairs.
Besides, tarantulas spook easily. Kicking hairs when nervous is perfectly normal.
And from the looks of it, his max-level Urticating Hair Kick was far from lethal to Zheng Yueling.
...
Yongan City, Gaia Tech branch office building.
Inside a brightly lit room surrounded by scientific instruments, Chen Zhang lay prone on a waist-high operating table.
Beside him stood several figures in white coats — the quintessential researchers — along with a tall, stern-faced man in black and a quiet, graceful female college student.
The female college student was unmistakably Bai Jie's Class Monitor — Xia Qimeng. "Are you sure you're ready?" she asked.
"Mm." Chen Zhang answered flatly.
Xia Qimeng: "You need to understand — after this surgery, you'll never be the same boy you were before."
Chen Zhang immediately felt a chill down below. His expression twisted with alarm. "Isn't this a chip implant surgery? Why do you make it sound like a sex-change operation?"
"Pfft."
The tall, icy-faced man in black suddenly burst out laughing — but in a flash, he reverted to his stoic, aloof demeanor, gazing into empty space as if nothing had happened.
Xia Qimeng withdrew the strange look she'd shot at the icy man and turned a gentle gaze toward Chen Zhang. "I was just teasing you. Don't worry — while this chip hasn't hit the market due to policy reasons, its safety is still guaranteed."
"Indeed, classmate. The chip about to be implanted in you may not be the most powerful in our smart chip series, but it is the safest. You can rest easy." A researcher with thinning hair added.
Only then did Chen Zhang make a show of relief — though inside, his nerves hadn't eased one bit. "Good, then let's get started!"
Xia Qimeng nodded to the white-coated staff. "I leave him in your hands."
Then she walked out the door, with the tall, icy man in black following close behind.
"Uh... you guys aren't gonna change into scrubs or something?" Chen Zhang swallowed.
"Ah, don't worry, young man. It'll be quick. Over in a flash." A fresh-faced young woman reassured him as she began administering anesthesia. "After all, we are professionals."
"..."
If Chen Zhang hadn't verified that the branch office address on Gaia Tech's official website matched this location, and if they hadn't shown him a slew of credentials, he'd have been seriously worried he'd been duped into some black-market organ-harvesting clinic.
Drowsiness swept over him. Before he fell asleep, Chen Zhang saw two machines glide forward automatically while the rest of the white coats stepped aside.
Chen Zhang finally understood. So the robots were the ones doing the surgery.
...
Night fell. Zheng Yueling appeared on the livestream wearing a baseball cap and a mask, bundled up tight.
In response to the danmaku's questions, Zheng Yueling only smiled and explained she was having some allergy issues lately.
With Bai Jie's entrance, the fans' and viewers' attention quickly shifted to the gorgeous, stunning Pink-Toed Venom Spider:
[Is that really Nyx? Streamer, you sure you didn't swap in a different spider?]
[This thing is way too freaking huge.]
Bai Jie knew — he'd pissed Zheng Yueling off.
Because before his eyes, a long, slender Many-Banded Krait had appeared.
[Target]: Many-Banded Krait
[Vitality]: 0.9
[Body Length]: 1.8m
[Status]: Fair (Hungry)
"That's right. Some of our more knowledgeable viewers have already identified it — this is the fourth most venomous land snake in the world," Zheng Yueling narrated.
"The streamer is going all-in on her wallet today. How about those of you who haven't followed yet tap that follow button~"
Bai Jie was as shocked as the audience, because this Many-Banded Krait wasn't a mutant creature, yet its Vitality was a whopping 0.9.
"Hssssss..."
The Many-Banded Krait reared up, flicking its forked tongue. For the moment, it didn't attack — it had clearly never seen a spider as massive as Bai Jie before.
But Bai Jie couldn't wait any longer. He was itching to test his combat power after evolving.
FZZT!
An almost imperceptible tearing sound cut through the air. A milky-white water arrow abruptly shot from the mutant venom spider's mouth — leaving the Many-Banded Krait absolutely zero time to react before it cleanly pierced the underside of its jaw.
This was Bai Jie's newly awakened skill — Venom Arrow Shot.
The Many-Banded Krait instantly threw its head back and gaped wide, writhing in agony. Its tail, thick as a man's wrist, lashed viciously toward Bai Jie!
Bai Jie leaped away with lightning speed, evading the whip of the serpent's tail.
FZZT! FZZT!
His mouthparts opened and closed — two more milky-white venom arrows shot forth, melting into the Krait's vital point like spring rain dissolving into soil.