Doomsday Awakening GL - Chapter 27
An Yimu suddenly remembered the bone knife used by that fourth-stage Bone-like Zombie. One strike from that bone knife had made a crack in her Spider Spear, clearly showing it was much more effective and had greater attack power than the spear. The Spider Spear needed constant caution when carrying it, as a moment’s inattention could lead to self-injury.
With this thought, An Yimu was intrigued. Seeing that everyone was utterly exhausted, she took her backpack, placed it under Lan Chang’s head, and quickly ran back to the previous battle site to search.
Sure enough, she noticed a shining spot. The bone knife was covered with a thin layer of sand but was still very bright, with a smooth, flat surface, as if it had been polished.
An Yimu picked up the bone knife and played with it for a while, instantly loving it. However, how should she deal with the Spider Spear?
Throwing it away felt wasteful. Keeping it was somewhat inappropriate. Should she give it to Lan Chang for self-defense? With Lan Chang’s vague personality, what if she accidentally injured herself? The poison on the Spider Spear was too sinister, and its onset was extremely fast.
Forget it, she would keep it for now.
Just as she was about to return to where the others were resting, she heard a rustling sound behind her.
She immediately turned back, looking alertly.
A stretch of yellow sand.
This place used to be a vegetable field contracted by farmers, but for some unknown reason, it was now covered with a thick layer of yellow sand, like a desert.
An Yimu put the bone knife behind her back, her attention highly focused, maximizing her hearing and sight.
Rustling sounds came from beneath the yellow sand. An Yimu saw a patch of yellow sand moving with barely perceptible motion.
She frowned. Had those spiders followed them? Were the mutated spiders beneath this yellow sand? She shuddered, turned around, and ran toward Lan Chang and the others.
A tremendous noise came from behind An Yimu, a sharp shriek cutting through the sky. The entire piece of land seemed to be lifted up. An Yimu lost her footing and tumbled down.
An Yimu jumped up and looked behind her, her heart pounding.
What kind of spider was that? The mutated spider was three meters high, four meters long, and one of its claws was six meters long. Its eight claws supported its massive body. The spider stood up on its hind legs, surrounded by the swirling dust it had kicked up.
That single cry almost made An Yimu’s legs buckle.
This was clearly a Mutated Spider King.
The apocalypse had only begun a few days ago. Had animals evolved to such a terrifying extent already?
The Spider King let out a long howl, its eight claws bent slightly, and with a fierce leap, its entire body lunged toward An Yimu.
An Yimu was greatly alarmed, stepping on a raised area to push off and jump away.
The sand and stones kicked up by the spider’s landing nearly buried An Yimu. An Yimu struggled to climb out, quickly maintaining distance from the Spider King, estimating that this Spider King had at least fourth-stage strength.
In that instant just now, she could clearly see the soft barbs on the Spider King’s lower jaw, all standing erect.
The Spider King’s attack failed. It turned its body to face An Yimu again, its black eyes filled with murderous intent.
It opened its mouthparts, and a blanket of white silk sprayed out.
An Yimu retreated while swinging the bone knife to cut the white silk. Perhaps because the Bone-like Zombie and the Spider King were of the same rank, the spider silk could not subdue An Yimu for a time, which angered the spider greatly.
The Spider King shook its whole body, and meter-long sharp spikes burst out from its body, making it look like a hedgehog, and it rolled towards An Yimu.
Perhaps the commotion was too loud, startling the few people who were resting. They were all light sleepers, immediately waking up at the slightest movement.
Xu Zhili’s face showed sheer terror. That gigantic mutated spider was beyond his scope of understanding, especially since even An Yimu, a third-stage Awakener, couldn’t handle it.
Gao Xiaolu watched the battle with a sullen face, neither speaking nor moving.
Wang Heng was originally a businessman, eloquent and persuasive, and had developed a beer belly over the years, looking very affluent. Seeing a girl fighting the monstrous beast immediately ignited a burst of courage in him. He roared and rushed forward.
Lan Chang was still unconscious and hadn’t woken up.
Qin Yumo glanced at the others who showed no intention of stepping forward. Naturally, she wouldn’t take the risk either, but she pondered whether they should flee. If An Yimu died, wouldn’t all of them be killed by this massive spider?
An Yimu’s injuries from the previous fight with the fourth-stage Bone-like Zombie had not healed. This strenuous activity caused her wounds to reopen, and her physical strength gradually flagged, forcing her into purely defensive dodging.
Just then, her peripheral vision caught Wang Heng rushing towards them with a cleaver. She couldn’t help but feel speechless. Was this man coming to his death?
The spider, unable to injure An Yimu for so long, was on the verge of going berserk. Its eight claws plunged viciously into the ground, grabbing the surrounding sand and stone, and spider silk sprayed profusely from its mouthparts into the air.
An Yimu covered her eyes with one hand to keep the sand and stone out, while constantly swinging the bone knife with the other.
Wang Heng was sent flying by the wave of dirt kicked up and slammed to the ground. Fear now crept into his heart. His initial rush was merely a moment of courage. Now, facing the giant mutated spider, the bl00d in his body felt frozen, and for a moment, he couldn’t find the strength to run.
An Yimu couldn’t open her eyes to observe, and with the constant whooshing sound of falling sand all around, she instantly panicked.
The Spider King stood up on its hind legs, and with a jump, crushed Wang Heng, instantly staining the yellow sand with bl00d. It then rapidly crashed into An Yimu. An Yimu was thrown high into the air. It seized the opportunity, stabbing one of its claws at An Yimu.
Losing the security of solid ground in the air, An Yimu immediately opened her eyes. The tremendous impact made her dizzy and disoriented. Squinting, she saw the spider’s sharp claw piercing towards her.
An Yimu could not dodge in the air and had no choice but to block with the bone knife.
Clang.
The claw did not pierce the bone knife. The force of the blow sent An Yimu flying a hundred meters away.
The Spider King was relentless. Small barbs, a foot long, hooked out from its claw. It suddenly exerted force and leaped towards An Yimu, poised to attack.
A hundred meters away, the Spider King instantly arrived.
An Yimu was waiting for this exact moment. She pushed off the ground with one hand, jumped up, and powerfully pushed off with her feet, thrusting the bone knife towards the Spider King’s abdomen.
The bone knife instantly sank into the Spider King’s abdomen, causing the creature to let out a miserable shriek.
Before landing, An Yimu pulled out the bone knife and rapidly retreated.
The Spider King was furious after being wounded. It roared at the sky a few times, then furiously charged at An Yimu with its entire body.
An Yimu dodged with light steps, and with a backhand, threw the Spider Spear.
Whoosh—
The Spider King was caught off guard and was pierced through the eye by the Spider Spear. The entire meter-long spear embedded itself in the Spider King’s eye.
An Yimu secretly let out a breath. The hand gripping the bone knife was almost stiff.
The Spider King struggled wildly on the spot for a moment, then suddenly fled in one direction, at a speed that was astonishing.
An Yimu knew the wisdom of not pursuing a desperate enemy, so she did not chase. While it was a pity not to kill the mutated spider—a fourth-stage mutated spider, the energy must be immense, perhaps enough for her to break through to the fourth stage directly—she was clear that she couldn’t kill this mutated spider yet. The spider had been careless and she had taken advantage of an opening to land a hit and make it flee. If it hadn’t left, it would be hard to say who would have won.
This entire series of battles took only a few short moments.
Xu Zhili’s surprise was unmasked. An Yimu could actually defeat this mutated spider? This… was she even human?
Gao Xiaolu’s expression remained calm, though his gaze lingered on the bone knife in An Yimu’s hand.
The few remaining people were still in shock, displaying admiration, jealousy, and awe.
As An Yimu walked back with the bone knife, she discovered that Wang Heng had died, crushed into a paste by the Spider King.
She closed her eyes, hiding the pain within, and only when she returned to the resting group did she see their varied expressions: the fear in Xu Zhili’s eyes, the scrutiny in Qin Yumo’s eyes, and the deepness in Gao Xiaolu’s eyes.
She couldn’t help but feel a chill. These people truly couldn’t beat the Spider King, and she wouldn’t blame them for that, but they had watched others struggle between life and death without lifting a finger.
After these two battles, even with her four-times-human physical strength, An Yimu couldn’t keep going. Her wounds had reopened, and the strong scent of bl00d assailed her senses.
She feigned calmness and sat down next to Lan Chang.
She couldn’t relax at all right now. She had coincidentally learned that killing a fellow human could also yield energy, even more than killing zombies. There was no guarantee that others didn’t know this. If these people learned about her current weakened state, it would inevitably provoke murderous intent.
After this experience, a high wall began to build up in her heart.
The disruption caused by the mutated spider left everyone sleepless. An Yimu was wary of them, and they were also wary of An Yimu. In this world, no one could be trusted except oneself.
Strength inspires admiration, but it is also lonely at the top.
The atmosphere became somewhat strange.
It was Xu Zhili who spoke first: “After we cross this area, barring any accidents, we can be back in the city in two days.”
Wang Heng was only a temporary companion, so his death didn’t cause much emotional turmoil for the others, only some reflection. Furthermore, in a way, Wang Heng had brought his death upon himself.
Qin Yumo sneered, looking sideways, “That depends on whether you’ll live to see it.”
Qin Yumo was telling the truth. Everyone knew they could soon return to the city, but whether they had the life to make it back was highly uncertain.
Xu Zhili’s face changed, and a hint of anger appeared, but he forcefully suppressed it.
Gao Xiaolu, who hadn’t spoken until now, coldly interjected: “After this field is the production factory, then we have to go through an agri-tourism village, and cross two highways to reach the outer city of Chongming City. Your ‘two days’ is only the travel time by car.”
Gao Xiaolu’s words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone, the kind poured over the head in the middle of winter.