"Lord Bai Zhi?"
No matter how Lin Binbin called out from beneath the spider nest tree, he received no response.
His black suit was slightly dirty and disheveled, and behind him were several hemp sacks filled with the bodies of many mutant animals.
These were the escaped mutant animals he had intercepted near the Containment Base, following Lord Bai Zhi's orders.
"Could Lord Bai Zhi be absent?"
Muttering to himself, Lin Binbin suddenly saw an effeminate man carrying bags of various sizes walk into his line of sight.
Lin Binbin's entire body immediately tensed, on guard as if facing an enemy, because he sensed an aura clearly different from that of ordinary people on the other party.
Moreover, there was a strange sense of familiarity.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Lin Binbin asked.
The effeminate man was naturally Agent No. 2 whom Bai Jie had subdued—Long Ge. He showed a look of disdain:
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?"
"This place is not somewhere an ordinary person like you should come. You wouldn't even know how you died." Long Ge said.
Lin Binbin frowned: "I'll give those words right back to you. Leave immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite."
He absolutely could not tolerate Lord Bai Zhi's secluded cultivation site being disturbed by outsiders.
And this newcomer had a pale face, effeminate features, and a sinister aura—clearly not a good person at first glance.
Long Ge's face instantly darkened.
The two thus stood in silence, glaring at each other with hostile eyes.
"Courting death!"
Long Ge suddenly barked, forming hand seals while chanting a Wu curse: "Hiss-hiss-hiss-hisssss..."
A giant black-armored centipede emerged from behind Long Ge's collar at the back of his neck.
"A mutant creature?"
Lin Binbin's gaze focused. "No! This man can actually control it."
"This place is desolate and uninhabited. Killing you, no one would ever know. Instead, I can use your blood essence to nourish my Gu Insect. Since you refuse to leave, then stay here forever!"
Long Ge laughed eerily.
As his words fell, the black-armored centipede transformed into a black arrow savagely lunging to bite Lin Binbin.
But Lin Binbin was long past the destitute vagrant he once was. With a push of his feet, his figure leapt several meters away, evading the centipede's bite.
How could the centipede give up the flesh and blood nearly in its mouth?
The black figure landed and rebounded, once again lunging at Lin Binbin with a whooshing wind.
Just as Lin Binbin was about to counterattack, the transparent golden little spider crawled onto his shoulder and shot three poison arrows in rapid succession—"swoosh swoosh swoosh"—all striking the black-armored centipede.
The centipede's airborne form suddenly froze, like a fighter jet struck by a missile, crashing down in a sorry state, convulsing nonstop.
"Thank you, little fellow." Lin Binbin gently stroked the little golden spider on his shoulder, saying softly.
"That is...?!"
Long Ge saw that spider as if beholding something terrifying. His expression shifted, his pupils contracted violently—he didn't even pay attention to his own injured Gu Insect.
"Y-You, how did you obtain that spider..." Long Ge's voice had become bizarrely hoarse.
"You want to know?" Lin Binbin shook his head and calmly walked toward Long Ge.
"Dead men have no need to know!"
Abruptly, a bloodthirsty gleam flashed through Lin Binbin's eyes, and murderous aura radiated from his entire body—this was the bearing tempered in the underground boxing arena.
Bang!
The air around Lin Binbin suddenly exploded, and his tall, upright figure vanished from the spot.
The next instant, he had already appeared beside Long Ge like a specter—raising his leg, bending his knee, and suddenly whipping it out!
A black streak slammed into Long Ge's face. Blood froth and shattered teeth flew together.
Although Long Ge could control Gu Insects, his physical fitness was far inferior to Lin Binbin's—after all, he had only absorbed a single drop of Mutagenic Venom.
Staggering backward more than a dozen steps, Long Ge collapsed on the ground with a thud, blood still flowing from his mouth, utterly wretched.
"Your blood..."
Gazing at the crimson that Long Ge was spitting out, Lin Binbin suddenly blanked out for a moment.
Greed surfaced in his eyes. His breathing grew slightly heavier as he slowly approached, his killing intent thick and solid.
"...has something I want. That is power."
"Kill you, and it will belong to me..."
Lin Binbin muttered to himself, clenching his fists.
If he were in a sober state, he would certainly notice something amiss. But right now, he had already been dominated by some mysterious and bizarre temptation, having lost basic thinking and judgment.
He now had only one goal—to kill Long Ge.
"Y-You, don't come closer!" Long Ge, his teeth stained with blood, shouted.
Long Ge kept retreating, then suddenly thought of something as if grasping at a lifeline: "Lord Bai Zhi! Is that spider connected to Lord Bai Zhi?!"
Hearing those four words, Lin Binbin's expression went dazed for a moment, before clarity returned.
"You know Lord Bai Zhi?"
...
In the dim spider nest shrouded by branches and leaves, eight eyes glowing with faint blue-violet light abruptly appeared.
After a long evolutionary slumber, Bai Jie had finally awakened. He had shed his molt and noticed Bai Huahua pressed tightly against his side.
The little snake had actually fallen asleep...
"This is it? Silly sweet thing is so unreliable."
The spider muttered inwardly, then calmly opened the Status Panel.
[Name]: Bai Jie (Bai Zhi)
[Title]: Demon Spider Bai Zhi, Night Goddess Nyx
[Race/Species]: Shadow of Dark Lightning (Demonic-Evil Body)
[Vitality]: 210
[Skills]:
Darkest Hour Lv.1 (NEW), Advanced Regeneration Lv.1 (NEW), Ten Thousand Binding Threads Lv.3, Spider Sense Lv.3, Advanced Intimidation Lv.6, Stealth Camouflage Lv.6, Mutagenic Venom Lv.8, Oviposition Lv.8, Leg Blade Cleave Lv.12 (MAX), Maul Lv.12 (MAX), Razor Spider Silk Lv.12 (MAX), Urticating Poison Needle Lv.12 (MAX), Poison Arrow Barrage Lv.12 (MAX), Corrosive Venom Lv.12 (MAX)
[Talents]: Poison-Refining Gu, Spirit-Devouring Body, Thunder Control, Night Affinity (NEW)
[Satiety]: 70%
[Body Length]: Leg Span 130cm
"That fourth meteorite fragment's spirit essence far exceeded my imagination."
Bai Jie looked at his Vitality value, even feeling a sense of invincibility. He truly couldn't imagine what kind of creature could break through the 200 Vitality barrier like he had.
Bai Jie was very satisfied. Aside from awakening two new skills, he had also awakened a new Talent!
A total of 14 Skills and 4 Talents.
He looked at the first new skill, and the skill analysis materialized before him.
[Darkest Hour]: Newly awakened skill. Consumes spiritual power to plunge oneself into darkness, greatly enhancing strength, speed, defense, recovery, and stealth ability. Also increases damage dealt to and reduces damage taken from dark kin. Duration: 10 seconds.
Enhancement effects and duration increase with skill level. At night, skill duration is five times the normal amount.
"Tsk..."
Reading this, Bai Jie inwardly drew a sharp breath.