So that was it...
Was his luck really this terrible? Reincarnated as a spider — and on top of that, a female spider!
And he'd spent all that time fantasizing about shapeshifting, praying he wouldn't turn out too ugly.
Fate had truly played a colossal joke on him.
Bai Jie wanted to cry but had no tears. Every sound around him faded away. He just stared blankly at the skill description for [Egg Laying].
A hundred emotions churned in his heart, impossible to put into words — and with no one to share them with.
He could only silently swallow the tangled mess of feelings alone.
After who knows how long, Bai Jie numbly turned his attention to the information on the other new skill, trying to distract his confused and panicked state of mind.
[Mutagenic Venom]: Newly awakened skill. A pink-purple venom, mildly toxic and non-lethal. Depending on the dosage, it can cause varying degrees of mutation in the poisoned target. Details as follows.
Micro-dose:
Grants the poisoned individual long-term access to a portion of the venom-user's supernatural abilities, with a slight increase in vitality (final value cannot exceed the venom-user's).
Moderate dose:
Can cause the poisoned individual to mutate toward the venom-user's race, manifesting similar physical traits. Supernatural abilities are further enhanced and permanently retained, with a significant increase in vitality (final value cannot exceed the venom-user's).
Full dose:
Causes unknown and uncontrollable mutations in the poisoned individual, with a large increase in vitality — but at the cost of shortening the poisoned individual's lifespan.
Furthermore, as the skill level and the venom-user's vitality increase, the poisoned person's abilities will also grow stronger. Conversely, they will grow weaker. Should the venom-user die, the poisoned individual cannot survive either.
"This... why am I thinking of Spider-Man? I can mass-produce superpowered people — is that what this means?"
Bai Jie muttered to himself, reading and re-reading this string of skill descriptions seven or eight times, confirming he hadn't misunderstood.
Bai Jie, reincarnated as a spider, abruptly realized — he had already attained supernatural abilities beyond his wildest imagination.
Abilities that could even influence the fate of ordinary people.
"I should have prepared myself long ago. From the moment I was reincarnated as a spider, this path was destined to be thorny. I'll just keep growing stronger like this — and go in search of the ultimate truth of life."
Perhaps to comfort himself, or to rally his spirits, Bai Jie set himself a grand goal.
Only by growing ever stronger could he fill that sense of loss and emptiness inside.
Bai Jie closed the Status Panel and looked toward the three spider eggs. His gaze softened.
He extended his pedipalps and gently stroked them, feeling the stirrings of life within even more vividly. Bai Jie suddenly felt some anticipation about meeting the little ones inside.
At least, in this world, mutant spiders would no longer consist of just him alone.
Come to think of it, back when he'd first arrived at university as a new student, it had been Chen Zhang who'd first gotten close to him. They'd spent that first day — lonely from moving to a new city for college — together.
"I wonder how that kid Boss Zhang is doing?"
At the very least, given that he now knew how eerie and dangerous Zheng Yueling was, Chen Zhang surely wouldn't become her next victim, right?
With that thought, Bai Jie gazed out toward Xingchuan University — but couldn't believe his eyes when he spotted a familiar figure at the complex's entrance.
That was... Chen Zhang?!
"What's he doing here? Judging by his route, he seems to be heading toward Zheng Yueling's place?!"
Bai Jie was horrified: That kid — was he some kind of jinx magnet?!
...
Chen Zhang, as agreed, had entered Beicheng Huayuan Residential Complex ten minutes before the appointed 6 PM.
He had made thorough preparations for today.
On one hand, he had undergone the smart chip implant surgery.
On the other, he hadn't come alone. Parked at the complex entrance was a commercial vehicle. Inside sat Xia Qimeng and security personnel from Gaia Technology.
Inside the commercial vehicle, Xia Qimeng watched Chen Zhang enter the complex, a flicker of nervousness and worry passing through her eyes.
"The smart chip won't fail. Chen Zhang hasn't shown any rejection reaction either. From the moment he came off the operating table until today, he's adapted perfectly. It's hard to believe an ordinary college student could adapt this well to the 'Turing 1954.'"
"Keep in mind — as a first-generation smart chip, the 'Turing 1954' isn't that seamlessly compatible with the human body. Generally speaking, there's supposed to be a lengthy adjustment period."
"However... it's also exactly because of this that the security division was willing to step in to protect his life. Because Gaia Technology has seen enormous research value in him. Am I right?"
Xia Qimeng turned to look at the cold, stern man in black in the passenger seat — Liu Wei.
Liu Wei's features were severe, humorless. He coldly spat out seven words: "You jest, Young Miss."
"Even just for your sake, lending a hand once is no problem. After all, you're the one who can mobilize the Yongan City chip team to perform this implant surgery on that kid for free."
Hearing this, Xia Qimeng's expression grew solemn as well. She said: "Good that you know. He's my classmate. You'd best not get any ideas about him."
Liu Wei leaned his arm against the car window, silent.
...
Chen Zhang came to a stop before a door. This was the address Zheng Yueling had sent him — the same one Bai Jie had told him before.
He raised his hand to knock but paused. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
At that moment, the door opened on its own.
"Junior Chen — you've come." Before him appeared a smiling, lovely face.
Chen Zhang walked inside and found the living room somewhat disorderly. The lids of many exotic pet terrariums had been pried open.
"Sorry, the place is a bit messy. A thief came at noon today. This is already after I cleaned up. I didn't expect you to be this punctual," Zheng Yueling said.
"A thief?" Chen Zhang looked at Zheng Yueling skeptically, unable to tell if she was joking.
Chen Zhang got straight to the point: "Now that I'm here in your home — can you tell me where Bai Jie went? And what you did to them..."
After closing the door, Zheng Yueling turned around and gave a soft smile. "You've come all this way to your senior's home. How about we eat something first?"
"Not necessary."
Chen Zhang shook his head and said solemnly: "Answer me! Were you the one who killed A Xiao? Was that security guard who went insane your scapegoat?!"
Zheng Yueling's smile slowly faded. Her delicate features grew calm — even somewhat indifferent. She stared at Chen Zhang in utter silence.
Chen Zhang felt his scalp prickle under that uncanny gaze. But recalling that he had the smart chip implanted, he quickly steadied himself and glared back without flinching.
After a silence so quiet you could hear a pin drop, Zheng Yueling spoke: "Fine. I can tell you."
"You've probably guessed. Little Jiejie, just like A Xiao — is already dead. And their disappearances — even their deaths — are connected to me."
She admitted it!
But at the same time, Chen Zhang had confirmation of his friend's death. Even now, Bai Jie's body had yet to be found.
Fury erupted in his heart. Chen Zhang wanted to charge at her — but he hadn't forgotten the purpose of this visit: gather sufficient evidence, unravel the truth.
Chen Zhang used two breaths to quell his rage. He probed further: "Why did you imprison A Xiao? Why did you kill them?"
His smart chip had already been automatically recording Zheng Yueling's words and actions in real time through his visual and auditory senses, simultaneously uploading to the network — far more effective as evidence than simple phone audio recording.
Now, all he had to do was dig deeper into the details behind it all.
Zheng Yueling lifted a lock of hair hanging before her chest. Her face broke into a smile: "I can tell you everything you want to know. But... can you actually get this evidence out of here?"
As her words fell, a mechanical voice suddenly spoke inside Chen Zhang's body:
[Smart Chip Notification: Network connection lost. Suspected unknown magnetic field interference. Searching for signal...]