Although he was cursing these people for being stupid in his heart, Brother Bing genuinely believed Ya's explanation.
Jiang Che must have something given by an evil spirit on him, something that could help him avoid some of their attacks.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why the Spider Evil Spirit would let him go unharmed even when passing so close.
The evil spirit had proactively given something to Jiang Che, and he instantly figured out its purpose.
Just like himself, Jiang Che was simply a tool being used to help the evil spirit find humans.
Compared to evil spirits, humans were better at finding those who were trying to hide.
And humans were also more capable of gaining the trust of other humans.
Often, as soon as an evil spirit got close—even if it was invisible—humans who were a little more sensitive would start to feel panicked and uneasy within a certain range.
But most people didn't notice it, only thinking it was pressure from the Dungeon itself.
The Blood Slaughter Evil Spirit Ya mentioned must've taken a liking to Jiang Che's blank, easily-trusted demeanor, so it gave him an item for self-defense—to keep him from being accidentally hurt by other evil spirits.
"Brother Bing, can you untie me first?" In just a few moments, Ya's vitality had already drained away, and her once delicate skin was visibly growing loose and dull, the texture turning coarse and withered.
"Brother Bing, can you take me to find the Spider Evil Spirit? I can help him search for humans and find prey, too." With the livestream on, Ya didn't bother hiding her real intention.
Shame? So what. A sullied reputation? Who cares?
As long as she could survive, become stronger, none of that mattered!
The people in the Dungeon would die sooner or later, even if she didn't sell them out herself.
"You must want a companion, doing all this alone, right?" Ya pressed on, not caring about her image. "Everyone says the strong walk alone and only the weak group together. I don't believe that at all. I think the strong need allies even more."
Brother Bing saw her interest and sneered, "Aren't you afraid I haven't told you all the dangers here yet?"
Ya felt the spider silk binding her body slowly dissolve; she knew Brother Bing was retracting it.
"At first glance, you and Jiang Che are both being used by evil spirits, but your deal is a bit sweeter than his." Ya weighed the sides: both were drawing in prey, but Jiang Che was only given tools, while the other side got straight-up powers.
Neither side was guaranteed to live until the end anyway, so pick whatever helped you most.
Ya shook her head and sighed in resignation, "Like having no abilities means you'll survive?"
With these words, she voiced exactly what everyone watching the stream was feeling. Brother Bing's appearance had changed a lot from before—now he looked like a mummified corpse, sucked of all flesh and blood.
Anyone could tell at a glance; it really fit the Spider's feeding habits.
No one knew what price Brother Bing had paid, but in the end, none of that mattered.
Survival was everything—nothing was more important than being alive.
"I can take you to Jiang Che." Ya had decided to throw Jiang Che under the bus. She could see that Brother Bing coveted that bracelet on Jiang Che's hand.
"Besides, a guy like Jiang Che can still be used. Didn't you see how I tricked him into dying earlier? He didn't even hesitate." Ya looked a little smug—she'd tamed Jiang Che well.
"That I believe." Brother Bing sneered with contempt in his eyes. "You lot are useless against normal people, but when it comes to mental cases, you're damn good."
When Jiang Che saw Ya, she had already been untied from Brother Bing's spider silk cocoon.
But Tuantuan, who he was holding by the hand, had a nasty look on her face.
Jiang Che was human and too far away to hear what Ya said to Brother Bing, but she was an evil spirit. This foggy area was her domain, and she could hear everything happening in the gray mist.
Every word the two said about scheming against Jiang Che reached her ears clearly.
"Daddy, are they really your friends?" Tuantuan stared up at Jiang Che with big, innocent, blinking eyes.
"Of course. Auntie Ya is even going to take us to find your mom," Jiang Che said, patting her on the head.
Jiang Che felt a little guilty. It was his own lack of ability that left their family unable to reunite.
Tuantuan squeezed Jiang Che's hand and glared coldly at the two people through the mist.
Jiang Che had no idea that the two of them were plotting against him.
Those two—Tuantuan sneered in her heart.
How dare they plot against her chosen prey!
Tuantuan could also sense Jiang Che's guilt and lingering regret floating in the air when he talked about his wife. Whenever he was asked where to go, his head was full of hesitation and confusion.
"Daddy, I won't leave your side, not even for a step." Tuantuan flashed a big grin.
As long as she was here, those two wouldn't get the chance.
Once they found Mom, it would be the death sentence for those two!
Jiang Che led her forward, and when he saw Ya and Brother Bing, he greeted them enthusiastically. "Thanks, Ya—without you, I'd never have found my daughter."
Their appearance was sudden—Tuantuan dragged Jiang Che right out of the mist. There were no footsteps, they just materialized behind Ya and Brother Bing.
The unexpected sound from behind made the two freeze, chills shooting up from their heels straight to their hearts.
Brother Bing's scalp even tingled; despite all the webs he'd arranged, he hadn't heard a thing. Although he couldn't cover everywhere like the Spider Evil Spirit, he'd tried to set up surveillance of his area.
Only after being caught by the Spider Evil Spirit did he realize what that sticky blood pooled on the ground was—a network of blood-red silk threads forming a whole carpet.
So saturated, so sticky, that it had turned to mud.
The moment anyone stepped onto that ground, it constantly sent signals to the Spider Evil Spirit.
He mimicked the setup around his own paths, yet Jiang Che still approached without making a sound.
And on top of that, Brother Bing could sense an aura on Jiang Che—a faint trace of something inhuman.
That oppressive, terrifying evil spirit aura unique to their kind.
And now, there was no human scent at all on Jiang Che!
"Jiang Che!" Brother Bing abruptly fell back a step. The scent on Jiang Che startled him, making him feel like he was face-to-face with the Spider Evil Spirit all over again.
Cold and dreadful.
The reason he couldn't detect a human scent on Jiang Che must've been the bracelet on his wrist.
He glanced over. On Jiang Che's right wrist was a bracelet made of a dozen tiny finger bones strung together.
That lovely pink shine showed the bones had been soaked through with layer upon layer of blood.
Brother Bing stared greedily at Jiang Che's bracelet. If he could get it, maybe—just maybe—he could break free from the Spider Evil Spirit's control, escape the Dungeon, and win his freedom!