The moment Lin Yu uttered the three words "Run for it," like a starting gun had fired, he, Li Nian, and Flying Knife all bolted, each one running faster than the last.
The reason Li Nian and Flying Knife were so cooperative, aside from their full trust in Lin Yu, was another key factor...
The surrounding environment had simultaneously undergone a terrifying transformation.
The hanging spider silk, which had been gently swaying, suddenly began to thrash violently, dancing wildly in the air like living snakes.
Then, in an instant, the spider silk stretched, grew, and lunged in the direction the three of them were fleeing.
They burst out of the Taoist Temple, only to be greeted by an even more hellish scene.
The ground was splitting apart, rocks were tumbling, and from every crack, whether old or new, thick white spider silk was emerging.
What made it worse was that as the fissures widened, massive black spiders, each the size of a carriage wheel, began crawling out from the distant mountain ridges!
With their thick, armored shells and vivid red markings, these spiders looked like charging war chariots!
"What the hell," Flying Knife wailed. "Aren't these things supposed to come from underground?! How can they move freely under this scorching sun?!"
"You think this is Minecraft, where spiders burst into flames in sunlight?" Li Nian retorted bluntly. "They're living in Fire Hell, so they obviously have heat resistance."
"Even underground, these spiders live right next to lava."
Lin Yu added in confirmation.
"Then what do we do?" Flying Knife's voice cracked with panic. "Spiders and silk are coming from every direction! Where can we run?"
Lin Yu pointed straight ahead, toward the area swarming with the most spiders. "We run forward—that's the nearest exit from Twin Saw Mountain."
"Clearly, the spiders know that too," Flying Knife said pessimistically. "What now?"
Lin Yu let out a sharp whistle. Sanyang's massive body charged out from the side, snapping several strands of spider silk that clung to it and scooping up Flying Knife in one swift motion.
"Then you'll just have to trust Sanyang and Li Nian!"
As Lin Yu spoke, Li Nian turned to look at him.
"And you? What are you going to do?"
Lin Yu's path was already diverging from theirs.
"Escort the Darts, of course—you two run ahead, I'll catch up!"
He pulled out his Torch, lit it, and swung it in a wide arc to drive back several strands of spider silk. Then, in a few quick strides, he reached the cabin.
Though everyone inside had vanished... the carriage was still there!
Lin Yu kicked open the already broken, creaking cabin door.
The Mutilated Body, still chained with iron links, hung inside, its gray skin emanating a vibrant, bloody aura.
Without hesitation, Lin Yu drew his twin blades inside the cabin and severed the chains one by one. Then, grabbing a loose chain, he hoisted the Blade Demon Xie Chong's Mutilated Body onto his back.
He had no idea what this thing was for, but it was clearly of immense importance!
As he charged out with Xie Chong's Mutilated Body strapped to him, the surrounding spider silk seemed to grow even more frenzied, surging madly toward him.
But Lin Yu stopped holding back. He pulled out the [Corner of the Gloomy]—originally, under the blazing sun, Twin Saw Mountain had very few shadows.
But now...
The overwhelming, apocalyptic wave of spider silk and webs descending created immense pressure while also casting a wealth of...
Shadows!
"Swoosh!"
Lin Yu's figure vanished, disappearing into the darkness.
Then, he briefly surfaced for a moment before plunging into another patch of shadow!
After several successive leaps, Lin Yu quickly caught up with Li Nian and Flying Knife—they were already deeply embroiled in the spiders' encirclement, moving forward at a crawl.
Still, they weren't in a desperate struggle for survival.
Though the spiders seemed fierce, constantly lunging at Li Nian and Flying Knife, they were all repelled by an invisible barrier.
The source of that invisible barrier was a small mermaid statue in Li Nian's hand.
The mermaid statue, like a music box, opened and closed its mouth, singing a graceful, soothing melody.
The song radiated outward, forming layers of barriers and wards that blocked anything unauthorized from entering.
Seeing this, Lin Yu, still carrying the Mutilated Body on his back, immediately revealed himself.
"A Nian!"
He called out, then stepped inside the barrier.
Li Nian watched him return so quickly and smiled. "That was fast. I thought you'd take a while!"
"Well, since you're back, we can speed up."
As she spoke, Li Nian gripped the mermaid statue and quickened her pace.
Seeing Li Nian manipulate the barrier to smash aside spiders as she picked up speed, Lin Yu was surprised.
"I thought this thing would limit movement speed. Were you actually waiting for me?"
"We are comrades and companions after all," Li Nian said with a grin. "Besides... an employer is useless in a situation like this. Two people dragging one is always easier than one dragging one."
"So, Sister Zhu Ming, does this Mutilated Body have any effect on the spiders?"
Lin Yu looked at the spider silk and the spiders, now launching even more crazed attacks against the barrier, and shook his head. "No idea yet. Looks like it just makes these demons go even more berserk."
"How long can that thing of yours last?"
Lin Yu asked. Li Nian hesitated. "No clue. Maybe an hour or two? Or maybe just ten minutes?"
Hearing her uncertain answer, Flying Knife, who had relaxed a bit inside the barrier, became anxious again.
"Why are you so unsure about your own [Item]?! That's a huge margin!"
He stared at the frenzied spiders and silk outside, worry creeping back in.
Li Nian laughed. "Oh, employer... you really don't know me at all!"
"This [Item] might be mine now, but it belonged to someone else just two days ago."
Li Nian said, then turned to Lin Yu. "Oh, right, Sister Zhu Ming... recently, a few new experts have arrived in Jiangcheng. One of them is from 'Order,' and the other is a famous 'Third-Tier' expert, a bounty hunter from the 'Hunters' Association'..."
Lin Yu's composure cracked. "Don't tell me you stole from 'Demon Hunter Chris'?"
Li Nian was even more astonished. "Wow, you guessed that? Sister Zhu Ming, you're incredible!"
"How did you know he was in Jiangcheng?"
"Naturally, someone told me," Lin Yu said without elaborating. "Besides, this thing looks like it came from 'Pure Abyss,' and it's not low-grade at that..."
"And from what I know, Chris happens to be an expert skilled in the Pure Abyss power system."
Li Nian nodded at his words, then seemed to realize something and grinned mischievously.
"Heh heh... someone told you, huh? Then I think I know who it is!"
