Yun Luohe put the map away and, relying on memory, felt her way toward the Broodmother’s Nest.Along the route, she ran into several more ambushes from radiation-mutant spiders, but none of them were any match for Yun Luohe and Yuntun, and they posed no real threat.She slipped through a narrow cave mouth and quickly led Yuntun down to the underground lake.She’d picked up two Crystals here last time.Back then she’d treated them like treasure—materials she was badly short of.This time at the underground lake, Yun Luohe was actually more interested in the lake’s water and fish.She took out twenty oversized plastic barrels, each 50 L, had Yuntun fill them all, then pulled a fishing rod from her pack to try a few casts herself.By the time Yuntun had finished filling the barrels, Yun Luohe had landed two fish.[Lanternfish: Under-lake fish; flesh sweet with low brine odor]Perfect for Pickled Greens Fish and for whole-fish grilling.Each one ran about seven or eight jin, plump and heavy, just a bit ugly—probably a hassle to dress.This was an underground lake; there was no radiation fog in the cave, so the lake water hadn’t been tainted yet. Once hauled back, these twenty barrels could be run through filtration and purification and then drunk.She crossed the underground lake into another cavern, this one veiled in webs—gloomy, chill, and full of drafty cold.Yun Luohe remembered how ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) piles of cocooned corpses had once hung from these webs, and how you could slice them open for supplies.But the scene had changed drastically. Most of the cocoons had been cut open; the floor was streaked everywhere with green fluid, a messy runnel that never dried, always wet and slick.Yun Luohe examined it closely and found no clear clues—maybe someone else had come to reap this place. A few cocoons remained; she took what was left.[Golden Spider Silk ×14][Healing Essence ×2][Golden Spider Silk: An extremely tough spider silk with very high tensile strength and a faint luminescence. Used to craft high-grade armor, weapons, or as a superior thread substitute.][Healing Essence: Can be used to brew recovery potions that rapidly restore Stamina and HP.]All of it was exactly what Yun Luohe needed.As soon as she left that cavern, more spiders surged in waves to block her path.An uncountable mass of Golden-Shell Spiders and Silver-Back Spiders rushed her.But when Yuntun appeared, the spiders abruptly halted, hissing as if conversing with it.Yun Luohe could understand a little of their speech.They chattered for a long while—only to exchange introductions.Seeing how engrossed Yuntun was, Yun Luohe didn’t interrupt. They were no longer hostile anyway, so she simply pressed on—no time to waste.Soon they reached the Spider Queen’s den.A familiar chime rang.[Entered Spider Island Hinterland: Broodmother’s Nest][Quest: Complete the Sacrifice Ritual]Another sacrifice ritual.This time, Yun Luohe was going to choose the offerings with real care.Or better—let Yuntun choose.If Yuntun liked it best, offering that would be the safest bet.“Almost forgot—there’s a boss here.”When she glanced back at the giant spider, Yun Luohe’s lips lifted.This giant spider wasn’t quite the same as the first time she’d met it.The one before her was half a person tall; its golden carapace was mottled with crimson spots, and its eight long legs were bristling with needle-sharp spines.Its abdomen bulged like a massive venom sac, green toxin dripping at intervals.Before Yun Luohe could so much as ready a move, the giant spider shot forward like an arrow loosed, skittering on all eight legs, charging her with shocking speed.Yun Luohe was faster.A boss that had once required her and Yu Chenjin working in tandem, she cut down with ease on her own.It took her not even ten minutes in total.[Killed: Giant Golden-Shell Spider][Drop: Golden Spider Silk ×50, Golden-Shell Fragments ×10, Deadly Venom Chelicerae ×30, Golden-Shell Spider Egg ×1]The drop was twice as good as last time, and there was even a Golden-Shell Spider Egg—probably hatchable.Just as Yun Luohe finished scooping the loot, Yuntun scuttled back to her side, fresh from gathering a mass of intel from the spider crowd.After the radiation fog arrived, most spiders on the island were polluted and split away from the colony.The ones that still retained reason kept living down here in the caves. Life wasn’t exactly good, but under the Spider Queen’s protection, at least they didn’t starve.Spiders had ranks, too.Golden-Shells and Silver-Backs were not the same as Silverback Wolf Spiders.Silverback Wolf Spiders were the Spider Queen’s bloodline. Because of that, the spiders had already taken Yuntun for the Queen’s descendant.When Yuntun appeared, the whole group had gotten excited, ready to follow it. But Yuntun, worried it would cause trouble for Yun Luohe, refused to let them trail along and told them to scatter.“These are what I asked them for.”Yuntun dumped a heap onto the ground—coils upon coils of silk—so many the quantity made your scalp prickle.“They spin every day when they’re idle—if this isn’t enough, Hehe, I’ll go ask them for more.”“It’s plenty, plenty. That’s way too much.”Either of these silks counted as top-tier spider silk.Most folks weaving nets or twisting ropes only used black-spider silk—already quite flexible and strong.…They stepped down into the cave’s lowest level.Even the air wasn’t the same as before.Yun Luohe caught a whiff of flowers—sweet, cloying rot that made her skin crawl.The colossal transparent tree stood right ahead.Yun Luohe tightened her grip on the Mycelium Torch; the hopping flame threw jagged light and shadow across the walls.The tree soared ten zhang high, casting a cold sheen through the dark.Its bark was thin as a cicada’s wing yet unbelievably tough; within, pale-violet liquid flowed like a tree’s blood, circulating slowly.Blossoms on the crown exhaled that syrupy fragrance.A vast hollow at the trunk’s heart—like the tree’s womb—held hundreds of amber spider eggs in suspension.Each one cradled an unformed spiderling.So this part hadn’t changed at all.Yun Luohe walked up to the altar.“Baby Yuntun, do you feel anything special about this place?”Yuntun’s eyes glittered with excitement. “Hiss hiss—very familiar, very comfortable.”Lines carved into the altar’s surface began to seep dark-red liquid like congealed blood.Time to make an offering.Yun Luohe laid out a spread from her pack—Yuntun’s favorite foods—and told it to pick three it liked best.[Symbiotic Crystal, Blood Crystal, Obsidian, Ice Crystal, Abyssal Iron]She thought a moment and added a few special items—there was only one or two of each, so she’d never fed them to Yuntun.Fire Dragon Scale, Blood Crystal Core…Back then, Yuntun had hatched when an amber spider egg touched the seep from a Blood Crystal Core.So this probably meant something special to it.Yuntun studied the goods, then made its choice quickly.—Symbiotic Crystal, Fire Dragon Scale, Blood Crystal CoreYun Luohe felt her heart bleed. Of course it picked those.All of them were extremely rare.Fine. If she was spending blood this time, it had better pay out big.She set each item into the altar’s recesses in turn.The reaction this time was huge.A blood-mist streamed off the altar—It swaddled the transparent tree; the whole cavern heaved.The spider eggs in the tree seemed nourished—flowers around them flushed a brighter, richer hue.The eggs swelled, close to splitting.The statue bathed in golden radiance.Yun Luohe couldn’t help but lift her gaze straight into it; Yuntun sensed it, too, and let out a thrilled hiss!Yun Luohe’s chest surged.Something big was about to happen.The Spider Queen’s silhouette slowly took shape.[Sacrifice quest complete.][Congratulations—Sacrifice Achievement unlocked: Offered the three gifts the Spider Queen most desired.][The Queen descends. Speak your wish.]Yun Luohe held her breath, watching the Spider Queen’s phantom coalesce within the golden light.The figure matched the altar statue in every way, but the pressure it emitted was far more terrifying.The Spider Queen’s dazzling eyes swept over Yun Luohe and Yuntun. “Human, the offerings you bring… are very much to my taste.”Her voice rolled through the cavern with a strange glamour that pulled all focus to her, squeezing out thought.“Speak. What do you seek? Power? Wealth? Or…” She paused. “Immortality?”Countless thoughts flickered through Yun Luohe’s mind: legendary-grade gear, more resources.Like the complete blueprint for the Queen’s Cloak—the top equipment of Spider Island.But since she’d managed to see the Spider Queen’s true form, shouldn’t she make a wish that would be even more useful?“I want the power to cleanse radiation.”Yun Luohe was gambling on the Spider Queen’s ability—if she could truly obtain this power, at least this autumn would weigh far less on her.The Spider Queen seemed surprised; a shrill laugh spilled out. “Amusing… The source of the radiation fog is a sphere brimming with inexhaustible energy—the font of all strength. To purge the fog entirely is impossible.”“But…”Yun Luohe had known there’d be a “but.”“But there is a way to counteract radiation.”The Spider Queen looked at Yuntun.“That one—you took it from me, didn’t you?”She pointed at Yuntun.In the next instant, Yuntun’s body floated up, drifting to the Queen’s side.“It has absorbed far too many impurities and is no longer pure.”Her tone sharpened—clearly displeased.Yun Luohe didn’t dare speak. She suspected it was from all the odd things Yuntun had eaten. They’d made it stronger—but here, before the Spider Queen, they counted as impurities.The Queen set a hand on Yuntun’s head and sensed for a time.Then satisfaction touched her face.After that, she faced Yun Luohe again.“You cannot receive the power to counteract radiation—but as my descendant, it may yet inherit it.”Yun Luohe brightened. “If it gets it, that’s the same to me.”“You mean you’re willing to spend your wish on it?”“Of course. We’re bound by contract. We won’t be parted.”Yuntun chirred excitedly at Yun Luohe’s words to show agreement.The Spider Queen snorted, as if displeased by such intimacy between it and a human.Yuntun didn’t flinch—if anything, it chattered louder.Then the Spider Queen switched to speech Yun Luohe could fully understand and began to converse with Yuntun.Yun Luohe stood by. She could understand, but there was nothing else to do.Moments later, the Spider Queen set Yuntun down.“You little spider—you certainly have your own mind. Very well. Since you and I share the same bloodline, I can aid you in your evolution. But opportunity is also a trial. Whether you can endure it—that is up to you.”A golden beam dropped from above, engulfing Yuntun. Yuntun screamed with pain and exhilaration as its body began to change.The once silver-gray backplate gilded over with brilliant gold; all eight legs grew thicker and more powerful; the chelicerae flashed with a frigid gleam. Most striking of all, a crown-like golden sigil emerged on its brow.She’d thought that would be the end of it, but the next second the golden beam poured deeper into Yuntun’s body. It shrieked—a piercing, keening cry—shuddering without end. Every hair on its body fell away until it was a bald, hairless spider. Its color ran from gold to transparent and back to gold again; the previous patches of green, silver, and black all slowly transmuted to gold. The process was intricate—and excruciating.

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