English Translation
"It's all down to luck. Still, don't get too discouraged. The red-spotted crown spider is a king born among hundreds of millions of spiders—and kings are always different. If we can spot something out of the ordinary, we might just find it. If someone saw it once, it can be found again." Black Hornet tried to comfort him.
Li Juxu said nothing. A man could dream, after all. What if it came true?
The ground was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves. The top layer was fresh, while the ones underneath had rotted away. Each step sank softly into them, making him fear he might sink further. All kinds of unknown insects wriggled through the leaves. Li Juxu kept worrying they would crawl into his shoes.
"Wait—don't move!" Black Hornet suddenly said.
Li Juxu tensed and froze mid-step, eyes darting warily around, but saw nothing wrong.
"This mushroom looks harmless, but if you step on it carelessly, the consequences are serious." Black Hornet dug up an egg-sized mushroom from right under his foot. It was yellowish-brown, blending in with the leaves—Li Juxu hadn't even noticed it.
Black Hornet carefully placed it into a glass bottle and smiled. "When crushed, this mushroom releases an odor undetectable by the nose. It can knock a person out in seconds."
Li Juxu felt ashamed. A veteran was a veteran for a reason. He'd been watching the trees, completely ignoring the ground. Even if he had seen the mushroom, he wouldn't have avoided it—he never could've imagined something so small could be deadly.
"In a forest, you have to watch out not just for poisonous insects and snakes, but also plants. Most are harmless, but a small number are untouchable. Once I took a mission catching snakes in the woods. Thirteen of us went. A single Seven-Leaf Flower took down seven. A painful lesson." Black Hornet shook his head, his voice heavy with regret. It hadn't been his fault, but as team leader, he'd taken them out and couldn't bring them all back. No one could easily let that go.
Before they knew it, dusk fell. The already dim forest turned even darker. Li Juxu wanted to light a torch, but Black Hornet stopped him.
"Most insects and bugs are drawn to light. If we stay in the dark, nothing happens. Light a torch, and we break the balance—unpredictable dangers will come. You brought rations, right? Just eat those."
While Li Juxu ate, Black Hornet climbed a tall tree, dropped two ropes, and tied his sleeping bag into a makeshift hammock. Seeing Li Juxu's confused look, he smiled.
"In the woods, you can't sleep on the ground—too many bugs. Trees aren't safe either. Hanging in mid-air is the safest way. I'll sleep the first half of the night, you keep watch. Then we switch."
The mosquitoes at night were terrifying. Li Juxu thought he could grab a dozen with one swipe. Even eating became difficult. He lifted his mask, stuffed food in his mouth, then sealed it again. In just a second or two, bugs had already flown inside. He was grateful for Black Hornet's helmet. He couldn't imagine spending a night here without it.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, fierce gunfire erupted in the distance. He shot to his feet.
"About a kilometer and a half away. Too late." Black Hornet stood up, then sat back down at once.
Li Juxu followed suit. Black Hornet was right. On flat ground, 1.5 kilometers was nothing—a full sprint would take only a few minutes. But this was a forest, tangled with trees, crawling with venomous creatures, and pitch-black. Even 150 meters felt impossibly far. Judging by how intense the shooting was, they would arrive long after everything was over. Better to save their strength and look after themselves.
After a deafening explosion, only scattered gunshots remained. Then they fell silent. Everything went quiet.
Li Juxu guessed those men were dead. Seeing Black Hornet didn't mention it, he wisely stayed quiet too.
Once Black Hornet finished eating, he took his dagger, chopped some branches, and built a small platform about a meter high.
"Sit here and keep watch. After eight o'clock, the gray-spotted crown spiders start hunting. If you were in the tree, I don't think you'd handle it."
With that, he climbed into his sleeping bag and fell fast asleep.
Li Juxu admired his nerve. He could never sleep like that—not with mosquitoes buzzing like thunder. He popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth, his gaze sweeping nonstop. Part of him was on guard for danger; the other part secretly hoped the red-spotted crown spider would suddenly appear, ending the mission so he could go home.
But fate clearly ignored his prayers. Instead, gray-spotted spiders began emerging from nowhere: on leaves, branches, trunks… everywhere. Li Juxu didn't suffer from trypophobia, but even he felt his scalp crawl and his heart race.
The gray spiders spun webs at visible speed, catching mosquitoes. So that was what Black Hornet had meant by feeding time.
After staying in the dimness long enough, he could barely make out things a few meters away. Beyond three meters, everything was blurry. But Li Juxu was certain that beyond his sight, the spiders numbered even more. He fought the urge to turn on his flashlight, remembering Black Hornet's warning: once the balance was broken, everything would spiral out of control.
He wondered how the others were doing. Every now and then, he glanced at the sky. If anyone found the red-spotted crown spider early, they would fire a flare, and everyone could go home.
The pitch-black night, swarms of insects, countless gray spiders… For some reason, Li Juxu was overcome with intense longing—longing for Zhao Huier back on his home planet. Once she was cured, he would stay with her every night, watching the stars. On the Beast Planet, stars were rarely seen at night.
As time passed, the temperature dropped sharply. The insects thinned out. Sleepiness weighed on Li Juxu, his eyelids growing heavier. He checked the time: 21:58. He normally slept at 23:00, but he had no idea why he was so tired early. He knew this was no time to sleep. No matter how sleepy, he had to hold on—he was responsible for both their lives.
Just as he was drifting off, a sharp sense of danger jolted him awake. His eyes flew open.
Right in front of him, a giant maw lunged toward his face. Two curved, razor-sharp fangs glinted white, blinding in the dimness.
A snake.
He had no time to draw his gun or dagger. In a flash, he grabbed the snake's head, squeezing its jaws shut. Agony exploded across his body as the snake coiled tightly around him. Its strength was inhuman. For a moment, he felt as if he was being squeezed not by a snake, but by steel bars.
The pressure grew unbearable. His neck felt like it would snap. His already dented helmet cracked, the mask shattering into pieces. Li Juxu didn't care about the helmet. He could barely breathe, suffering horribly. He tried to call Black Hornet, but no sound came out.
Worst of all, as the snake constricted, his grip on its head weakened.
He was losing his hold.
What do I do?