As for Lin Binbin, Bai Jie also gave him two drops of Mutagenic Venom as a reward for bringing back the mutant animals.
But he did not dare give too much, lest uncontrollable mutations occur. At the same time, Bai Jie warned Lin Binbin to quickly strengthen his own physique—he could not overly rely on "Spirit Fluid" and must prevent qi deviation.
As of now, Lin Binbin had absorbed seven drops and Long Ge four drops. Fortunately, neither had yet exhibited the "external mutation" mentioned in the skill description.
After bestowing the Mutagenic Venom, Bai Jie transmitted solemnly:
"I have some other matters for you to handle..."
After giving his instructions, Bai Jie said no more, and the two men left overjoyed.
...
On the way down the mountain.
Long Ge couldn't help breaking the silence: "How did you first come into contact with Lord Bai Zhi?"
Lin Binbin gazed straight ahead, not answering the question: "Though I don't know why someone as weak as you could become an Agent, Lord Bai Zhi kept you for her own reasons."
"If you lose your due value, or dare to discuss Lord Bai Zhi behind her back like this again, I will personally execute you and seize the power within your body."
Long Ge's footsteps abruptly halted. His face darkened as he stared death-stare at Lin Binbin's retreating back.
But recalling Lin Binbin's earlier methods, he couldn't help shivering. He thought to himself: "No wonder he received Lord Bai Zhi's spider spawn to accompany him. I must display even greater strength and greater value than him."
He could see that the spider spawn on Lin Binbin's shoulder far surpassed any Gu creature in his possession.
...
Beicheng Huayuan Residential Complex.
Lin Binbin returned to his apartment, settled the little spider, then opened two recordings.
The first was a livestream that had blown up the entire internet this morning, documenting the battle between the war machine "Axe-Wielder: Xingtian" and the flesh mountain monster.
The appearance of the fusion monster had thrown people into panic, making them think a biohazard crisis had descended. Then the war machine descended like a god, suppressing the flesh mountain with thunderous means—a sight that stunned people while marveling at the federal government's capabilities.
But what drew the most attention was none other than a bizarre and bewitching giant spider.
Because it could actually turn invisible! Not only did it snatch the meteorite fragment from Xingtian's grasp, it also deployed an electric net divine ability to intercept rocket fire.
And the second recording was even more jaw-dropping. Though the footage was blurry and distant—seemingly a stealth recording—it showed the spider restraining Xingtian with nothing but spider webs.
That was the so-called "weapon of war," a giant mecha that embodied cutting-edge modern technology!
And yet, there it was, entangled in spider webs like prey, unable to move.
Scene after scene in the footage overflowed from the stone dam of the age, continuously scouring, destroying, and reconstructing humanity's understanding of the world. Rigid prejudices and established patterns trembled on the verge of collapse, crumbling into ruins.
Although social media platforms had entirely taken down all related video materials, they could not suppress private, peer-to-peer transmissions.
The vast majority of federal citizens had basically all seen this footage, which had even spread overseas.
Countless thoughts spread and grew like weeds in human hearts.
Among these thoughts, the most self-evident consensus was: "The world has changed."
Surrounding the bewitching giant spider—that is, Bai Jie—as well as the flesh mountain monster, public sentiment had sunk into panic over the unknown and disillusionment with modern weaponry.
And beneath the panic, there also grew a form of worship toward unknown, overwhelming power.
"So this is Lord Bai Zhi's avatar? To think it's terrifying to this extent."
"If even the avatar is this powerful, then what kind of mysterious existence must Lord Bai Zhi's true body be?"
Lin Binbin replayed the livestream recording over and over. In his star-like eyes, a faint light glimmered, taking on blue-violet hues.
Like an old ox stuck in a deep mud pit—unable to pull free.
Lin Binbin also noticed that on social media, someone had revealed that the bewitching giant spider had come from the venomous pet livestream of a female university student and had once been a pet spider named "Night Goddess Nyx."
However, most people held skepticism toward this. After comparison, they believed that not only were their body sizes vastly different, but their abilities were worlds apart—they could not possibly be the same spider.
At the same time, that bewitching spider seemed to have no desire to harm humans or to attack Xingtian—it had simply been there to seize the meteorite fragment.
Nevertheless, the name "Nyx" was retained, becoming what people called the spider that had humiliated Xingtian. This also, to some degree, echoed the reverence in people's hearts.
"Now the Yongan City government and the federal government have a real headache. Hmph, I'm afraid even the military region will be affected."
Just as Lin Binbin thought federal authorities would remain silent with sealed lips, a statement the next day changed his mind.
...
"The authorities ultimately couldn't withstand it and admitted that the meteorite fragments are highly likely the source of the animal mutations."
"Including me, this big spider."
Bai Jie glanced at the press release from the Yongan City government and sighed inwardly. This day had finally come.
The authorities pointed out that within the meteorites existed some sort of extraterrestrial virus.
These viruses could self-replicate, evolve, and through the meteorite's radiation, parasitize animal bodies.
They also mentioned that no cases of human parasitization had been discovered to date.
The organisms affected by meteorite radiation were classified into three categories:
Quasi-Mutant Organisms, Mutant Organisms, and Anomalous Organisms.
Among these, Quasi-Mutant Organisms, though carrying the mutation virus, were in a latency phase, so their behavior and appearance remained the same as normal—difficult to detect.
Mutant Organisms referred to those in which the mutation virus had taken effect, causing characteristic changes in appearance and uncontrolled attacks on humans.
Anomalous Organisms referred to those where the mutation virus had undergone unknown evolution, highly fusing with the host and thereby giving rise to some form of Transcendent ability.
And Bai Jie was classified by humanity as belonging to the third category—Anomalous Organism.
Beneath the official press release, Bai Jie saw reposts and comments from many netizens and media outlets, many of which were about himself:
[Strongly suspect that giant spider is the mastermind behind the flesh mountain monster's creation!]
Demon Spider: ???
Did you learn this blame-shifting skill from the Land of Liberty?
[Hoping the government and Enforcement Bureau quickly capture that terrifying spider, please please.]
Demon Spider: Born as a spider, I'm sorry.
[Honestly, this spider's a bit annoying—snatching food from the tiger's mouth, stealing humanity's hard-won fruits of victory. Should be caught and flogged dozens of times!]
Demon Spider: Heh heh, sorry, I'll do it again next time.
[This spider probably has no malice, right? Although it snatched the meteorite fragment, as long as it's caught and given proper education, it should still be reformable into a fine spider-girl.]
[Upstairs, how do you know it's a spider-girl?]
[So beautiful, and that big in size—how could it NOT be a spider-girl?]
[So certain? Seems like some people just want to "educate" Nyx—careful you don't get "educated" into a dried corpse by her instead!]
"..."
The demon spider silently put away the phone, stood on empty air, and questioned life itself.
Because his expectations for life after Transformation had suddenly become far less enthusiastic.