After leaving Zheng Yueling's home, Bai Jie wandered around the Beicheng Huayuan Residential Complex, moving carefully and not revealing his presence to any humans.
After all, at his current size, he was honestly rather conspicuous.
If discovered by residents, it would inevitably attract unnecessary trouble.
He had no desire to live a life of hiding and stealing scraps. And he also had reasons to stay in this complex for now.
Although Bai Jie didn't want to draw human attention, the truth was that ever since the battle against the five venomous creatures, he had become an internet-famous exotic pet.
Thanks to the spread through self-media and short-video platforms, not only had "Night Goddess Nyx" amassed a substantial fanbase —
in addition, a wave of exotic pet keeping had swept across the entire federation.
On one hand, large numbers of exotic pets died due to irresponsible ownership spurred by fleeting human whims. On the other, there were cases where humans, lacking professional handling skills, were injured or even killed by their exotic pets.
The sentiment online could only be described as both loving and fearing exotic pets.
It was worth noting that, due to Bai Jie's rapid growth and abnormal evolution, discussions about the long-lost Wu Gu arts and gu insects had once again surged to the forefront.
Bai Jie concealed himself in the waist-high vegetation within the complex, wandering while thinking.
There were three things he needed to do right now.
First, find a way to let Chen Zhang know he was okay for now — and inform him about the abnormal connection between Zheng Yueling and the Criminal Investigation Department.
But under no circumstances could he reveal that he had been reincarnated as a spider. It was too absurd. Who would believe it?
Besides, he didn't want to appear before Chen Zhang in this form.
Second, monitor and investigate Zheng Yueling, digging into the truth behind the serial disappearances and their true culprit.
Third, continue consuming venomous creatures to raise his vitality and evolve as soon as possible, moving toward the goal of shapeshifting.
Bai Jie was somewhat worried. If after transforming, he turned out hideously ugly, he might as well just stay a spider...
"Woof! Woof!"
Suddenly, a round of barking rang out. Bai Jie looked over, embarrassed.
Sure enough, a large Alaskan malamute was barking furiously at the bush where Bai Jie was hiding.
Shut your dog mouth! So noisy!
If only he had a skill that could make any creature tuck its tail and flee with a single glare.
Bai Jie had considered eating dog meat, but since dogs weren't venomous creatures, they couldn't be converted into vitality points — they'd only serve as emergency rations to top up satiety.
If a dog bites you, you can't bite it back, right? Way too degrading!
Both in his subconscious and conscious mind, Bai Jie still retained human thinking.
Hmph. Bark all you want. I'm above squabbling with you.
Bai Jie decided to follow his spider instincts — find a tree, spin a base, and once he'd settled in, carry out his next moves.
First, the base had to have a view of the entrance to Zheng Yueling's home so he could track her comings and goings.
Second, it had to be high, deep, and well-concealed.
The landscaping in this complex was decent. Bai Jie quickly identified the location for his base.
About half an hour later, Bai Jie had finished weaving his web at the crown of a lush, thick tree.
A densely woven, horizontally spread web, anchored to branches of varying thickness, like a hammock — a full 3 meters in diameter, wider than the largest terrarium at Zheng Yueling's home.
At the same time, Bai Jie had also arranged hundreds of silk threads, crisscrossing around his base (the hammock), serving as tripwires to detect any foreign intrusion.
"Ah, so satisfying. Setting up my own home — it really gives you a sense of accomplishment."
"Isn't this ten times comfier and more liberating than that witch's crate?"
Bai Jie lay belly-up, sprawled out, gazing at the deep night sky.
"Looks like that witch isn't going out today. Tomorrow, as soon as she leaves, I'll go take care of all the venomous creatures in her house."
The reason he hadn't done it this afternoon when he had Zheng Yueling subdued — first, because he had just evolved and was still somewhat weakened.
Second, he suspected the witch might still have tricks she hadn't used yet.
Third, he was afraid that if he devoured venomous creatures on the spot, he might not be able to suppress the drowsiness and fall asleep — at which point he'd be completely at someone's mercy.
...
The next day.
After confirming that Zheng Yueling had left the complex, Bai Jie once again snuck into that familiar house — one could say it was his "second visit."
The terrariums of all sizes and the venomous creatures were still in the living room.
Bai Jie nimbly came to a container holding an emperor scorpion and easily pried open the lid with his blade-tipped front legs.
What came next was, naturally, hunting time.
Using Poison Arrow Spray to kill targets with venom, or using Leg Blade Slash and Bladed Spider Silk to dice and slice them, or going straight for the mouth with his Devouring Bite skill.
Bai Jie discovered that among these skills, the most effortless and efficient was Leg Blade Slash.
"This pair of melee weapons is really handy."
In under fifteen minutes, all the venomous creatures in the living room had been executed by Bai Jie — roughly thirty of them.
What remained in the living room were a few non-venomous pets, like corn snakes and such, plus the little bugs used as feed.
Having personally dealt with so many venomous creatures, Bai Jie couldn't help but once again marvel at Zheng Yueling's bottomless pockets.
Keep in mind, during previous livestreams, there were daily losses from venomous insect deaths. Bai Jie had even seen Zheng Yueling restock her venomous insect inventory once, which showed just how deep her financial resources ran.
After the thirty venomous creatures were dead, Bai Jie didn't immediately start eating.
Instead, just like wrapping express delivery packages, he used spider silk to bundle up the corpses — already injected with Corrosive Venom — layer upon layer. Small bundles were tied together into one large bundle, then hauled back to his base.
He had to make seven or eight round trips to move everything.
Bai Jie's stamina had dropped considerably. His satiety fell to 58% — because he hadn't eaten much since his escape yesterday.
So, Bai Jie set his sights on the still-living silkworm pupae...
After a round of eating, his satiety barely rose to 70%.
Feeling content, Bai Jie decided to digest a bit and began searching Zheng Yueling's bedroom thoroughly.
He opened a drawer — that key was still inside.
Even though Bai Jie had eight legs and a pair of pedipalps, actually using a key to unlock something was still awkward and difficult.
It took considerable effort, but he finally managed to open the hidden door behind the wardrobe, revealing a secret chamber.
He had once found A Xiao inside here — and been caught red-handed by agents from the Criminal Investigation Department.
He peered inside, senses fully extended, but found nothing.
Suddenly, a mechanical, emotionless voice sounded, and a line of text appeared before his eyes:
[Faint spirit essence reaction detected. Searching for target location...]
What's this? Bai Jie instantly perked up.
[Search complete.]
In Bai Jie's perception, an extremely strange — yet sacred and pure — aura suddenly emerged.
He whipped toward the chamber's corner, concentrating his vision and his mental focus to the maximum. A metal case, roughly the size of a bedside cabinet, materialized out of the darkness.
Strangely, the moment Bai Jie's gaze fell upon the case, it reacted as if aware — abruptly radiating a pink-purple light.
"This is..."
Bai Jie approached the case, wanting to open it, but found it was locked with a combination lock.
I have to open it. I need it! This thought sprouted like wildfire and swiftly consumed Bai Jie's entire consciousness.
Yet, before Bai Jie could even make a move, the case opened on its own.
No — it would be more accurate to say the pink-purple glow forced it open from the inside.
Because the moment a crack appeared in the case, the pink-purple light immediately coiled around Bai Jie, swirling lightly around his body as if a pet had found its owner and was nuzzling for affection.
And the instant Bai Jie saw what was inside the case, he felt as if he'd been struck by lightning — frozen in place, utterly motionless.