The summit of the back mountain, the lair of the Gu-Devouring Demon Spider.
A little snake patterned with gold and white stirred awake, rolling over on the web and tumbling around twice.
"Slept so well..."
Since Bai Jie had reduced the stickiness of the floor web to its minimum, and the little snake's body was smooth and could secrete pure water between its scales, she could move about so freely.
She strained her perception, searching everywhere within the spider nest, but could not find the eight-legged figure she had hoped to see.
"Where's Big Sister Bai Zhi?"
"Huh? What's that smell? So fragrant..."
Bai Huahua bobbed her little head up and down, realizing that the spider nest was filled with a strange, exotic fragrance. She then followed the source of the scent deeper into the nest.
She discovered a molted husk in the corner, and her two ruby-like eyes instantly lit up.
"This is... Big Sister Bai Zhi's shed skin?"
...
Xingchuan University, the first morning classroom.
Chen Zhang and Wang Xiaofan arrived at the back row and took their seats. Classes hadn't started yet, but the classroom was already buzzing with chatter.
"Hey, did you guys hear about the fire on the school's back mountain last night?"
"Of course. And apparently, they found several human corpses up there!"
"Ah? Really? No wonder I heard so much noise outside last night, barely slept."
"Grandma's sake, I bet some couple finished up on the back mountain and lit a cigarette that started the fire."
"No way. They say the fire started on the shaded side. What couple would go mess around on the north face of the back mountain? It's gloomy as hell, crawling with poisonous bugs."
"True. That haunted place—one round and you'd catch a chill at best, or never rise again at worst."
Chen Zhang: "..."
Wang Xiaofan, for his part, looked utterly drowsy and showed zero interest in everyone else's discussions—he'd pulled another all-nighter gaming.
A thought suddenly flickered through Chen Zhang's mind: if Bai Jie were still here, he'd definitely be dragging him into complaining about last night's fire.
There was a time when Chen Zhang loved discussing campus mysteries too, because Bai Jie would always join in spinning tall tales.
But now... he was distracted, his mind only on where Wang Miaoyin might be.
And... what exactly had Bai Jie been through? And why wouldn't he show himself?
Just thinking about it filled him with an irrepressible unease.
He wanted to share the secret that Bai Jie was still alive, but held back, worried he might end up harming Bai Jie instead.
Just then, a delicate fragrance drifted into Chen Zhang's nostrils. He turned his head—it was Class Monitor Xia Qimeng, suddenly seated to his left.
That seat had always been Bai Jie's before.
"Are you sure Wang Miaoyin has something to do with He Jun's disappearance?" Xia Qimeng whispered.
"Ever since He Jun went missing, Wang Miaoyin hasn't come to class. Don't you find that a little too convenient? And I saw them together with my own eyes." Chen Zhang stared straight ahead as he spoke.
Xia Qimeng answered calmly: "I asked the New Media class's monitor. He said Wang Miaoyin took sick leave and has been staying in her dorm these past few days."
Chen Zhang snorted. "Guilty conscience."
Xia Qimeng gave Chen Zhang a helpless look.
"Since you suspect Wang Miaoyin is just like Zheng Yueling, you should know they have some kind of Anomaly abilities—not something ordinary people like us can handle."
"Leave everything to the Criminal Investigation Department and the Enforcers."
Chen Zhang was silent for a moment, then said: "Let's not talk about that. Gaia Tech contacted me. Specifically, Liu Wei reached out, hoping I'll cooperate with them."
"What!?"
Xia Qimeng's expression shifted. The words escaped her mouth: "They want you to participate in the human mechanization experiment?"
Realizing her voice was too loud, she quickly covered her mouth.
Chen Zhang nodded slightly. "That's right."
"They believe the smart chip has integrated exceptionally well with my body, and from the start there's been zero rejection. They think I'm very suitable for further mechanization modifications."
Chen Zhang's tone was very calm, as if describing something that had nothing to do with him.
Xia Qimeng frowned and sighed. "So they've got their eyes on you after all. Maybe I shouldn't have introduced you to get that chip implanted in the first place... They must have promised you all sorts of benefits, haven't they?"
She thought of Chen Zhang's family background—very ordinary. In a society where many wealthy families had purchased advanced smart devices to assist with learning, producing a student like Chen Zhang who made it into a prestigious university was no easy feat.
She assumed Liu Wei and the others had made Chen Zhang an offer he couldn't refuse.
Chen Zhang shook his head. "I haven't agreed yet."
"But the benefits are indeed tempting. Including a huge sum of money I probably couldn't earn in a lifetime, and a guaranteed job in Gaia Tech's security division after graduation."
Xia Qimeng looked at Chen Zhang with a complicated gaze. She felt that ever since Bai Jie went missing, he had begun to change somehow.
Chen Zhang used to be cheerful, like most guys full of hope for the future. But now, he seemed to have aged several years.
He definitely had something weighing on his mind.
"But what I care about most," Chen Zhang continued, "is actually the power I'd gain after mechanization."
"Liu Wei said Yongan City isn't very safe right now—same for the entire Federation. The future might be even more turbulent. Having strength you control yourself is crucial. Then I could help some people too."
"I don't want... to witness things like what happened to Jie-ge and He Jun ever again, happening right beside me."
"Or even become the seventh missing person myself."
Xia Qimeng withdrew her gaze, her lashes lowering to veil her emotions. She seemed to be staring at her nails.
She neither agreed nor disagreed, simply saying lightly: "Mm. Think carefully about it."
...
After a fruitless morning of staking out, Bai Jie felt a bit dejected.
It slowly made its way back to the back mountain spider nest—and then found an uninvited guest rolling around and around on its web...
"Excuse me. What. Are you doing?"
The cool, noble voice held a slight trace of huskiness.
"Ah, Big Sister Bai Zhi, you're back~?"
The little golden-white snake stopped her bizarre rolling behavior, raised her upper body, and happily slithered toward Bai Jie.
The little snake circled around the spider as she transmitted: "Sister, as soon as I woke up I noticed your home smells soooo good, so so good! Can you let me stay here?"
Bai Huahua cooed sweetly, then seamlessly added: "It's fine even if there's no water!"
"..."
Fragrance?
What fragrance? How could there be a fragrance in the spider nest!?
If there was any smell, it would be the Calamity Python's lingering fishy stench from yesterday and the acrid smoke of the wildfire.
Bai Jie dismissed it as the little snake hallucinating and firmly shook its head: "No. Go back to your pond."
Last night was already an exception. How could it let another girl stay over again?
Bai Huahua wilted instantly, flopping onto the web and playing dead.
Bai Jie: Heh.
The next second, the crackling sound of electric arcs and blue-violet light filled the spider nest.
The golden-white little snake's body shivered, and in a flash, she was gone without a trace.