Of course, Yang Xiaojin knew where Ren Xiaosu had gone, but why would she tell Cheng Yu?
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu was trailing “Old Xu” from a distance. Meanwhile, Old Xu was following the retreating tarantulas. Gradually, Ren Xiaosu realized the fog was getting lighter and lighter in the direction he was heading. When he entered a small valley, his vision became much clearer.
Earlier, Ren Xiaosu had realized something very strange. Although a lot of the people in the group had been attacked by the tarantulas, he did not see any corpses or bloodstains on the ground. There was something that did not make sense about it.
Therefore, under the assumption that these tarantulas were deliberately released into Mt. Shenchi by the Pyro Company, Ren Xiaosu felt that there were probably some other secrets to them.
Of course, if it got too dangerous, he would immediately return and bring Yang Xiaojin, Luo Lan, and the others out of Mt. Shenchi.
Ren Xiaosu was making his way cautiously inside the valley. The stone walls on either side of the valley were very dark. In fact, this valley was very similar to that slot canyon[1] back at the Jing Mountains. When he looked up, he could only see a tiny sliver of light shining through.
While he was looking up, Ren Xiaosu was surprised to see countless white silk sacs hanging from the stone walls. They looked like huge, tattered cocoons.
Ren Xiaosu was careful not to make a sound. Old Xu was watching the tarantulas from a short distance in front. If Old Xu got too close, it could get really dangerous.
Moreover, Old Xu could already see the tarantulas dragging some new cocoons up the stone walls and hanging the humans they had just captured.
The people in the cocoons were no longer visible. They were all wrapped in the thick spider silk and did not put up a struggle or resistance. It was as though they were already dead.
Ren Xiaosu scrutinized these “cocoons.” Perhaps this was how the tarantulas stored their food?
Therefore, the reason he did not see any bloodstains or corpses around just now was because the tarantulas had to drag their prey back to their nest before slowly consuming them.
At the spot where Old Xu was hiding, there were dark caves packed densely on both sides of the stone walls. No one knew where they led to.
Ren Xiaosu wondered whether those people who were captured by the tarantulas were still alive. He did not intend to take the risk to save them. Earlier, he had made a rough estimate of there being about a few hundred tarantulas in here.
Animals in the wilderness had a habit of guarding their food, and it looked like there was very little difference between tarantulas and wild animals. If he tried to rescue those people and the tarantulas started regarding him as an enemy stealing their food, things could get really bad.
Faced with these tarantulas, even Ren Xiaosu had no choice but to turn and flee.
But just as Ren Xiaosu was about to leave, he could see through Old Xu’s vision that some powerful flashlights were shining from the other end of the small valley.
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. Who were the people who were approaching? Why were they coming to such a place at a time like this?
When the powerful flashlights were shone against the stone walls, it made the tarantulas restless. Someone inside the dark valley said, “Looks like there’s a new batch of meat again. I wonder if there’s any superhumans among them this time.”
Another person complained, “As if superhumans are so readily available. The higher-ups are really asking for the impossible.”
“I heard a group of people from Mt. Wuzhai have just arrived. We might get some good stuff today.”
Ren Xiaosu listened quietly to their conversation. It was clear these people were part of the Pyro Company. Furthermore, the tarantulas here were probably kept by them for their hunting purposes.
Ren Xiaosu had been wondering about something. Even though the Anjing House had issued an order to intercept the Pyro Company, and even wantonly organized groups to head into the Sacred Mountains later, why didn’t the Pyro Company retaliate but simply allowed them in like that?
Ren Xiaosu surmised the Pyro Company might be using this opportunity to collect the DNA of supernatural beings!
Outside of the Sacred Mountains, the Pyro Company would have to spend a lot of effort in order to capture a supernatural being. Moreover, they might even suffer heavy casualties if they tried to do so in someone else’s territory.
But the Sacred Mountains were the Pyro Company’s home field!
Back at Stronghold 73, the Anjing House and the Pyro Company had been plotting against each other throughout. Their schemes were not inferior to each other either. The Pyro Company even used the tunnel to kill many of the experts from the underworld.
Therefore, it was also reasonable that the Pyro Company would use this plan to counter the various consortiums and the Anjing House’s supernatural beings.
But he could not understand why these five people would dare to come in here and steal food from the tarantulas. It was not like these tarantulas could communicate with humans, right?
Ren Xiaosu and Old Xu waited quietly, hoping to see the other party’s methods.
After the tarantulas sensed the strong light and threat, they started crawling towards the five members of the Pyro Company. The black and hairy tarantulas on the stone walls were so densely packed together that it nearly gave Ren Xiaosu trypophobia.
Suddenly, he saw through Old Xu’s vision a Pyro Company member take out a black box from his backpack. An ear-piercing sound reverberated through the valley. When those tarantulas heard this sound, they no longer bounded towards them. Instead, they scrambled like the tide into the dark caves on both sides of the valley walls. In an instant, they had all but disappeared from view.
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. It turned out the Pyro Company actually had a way to restrain the tarantulas. The sound produced by the black box might seem harmless to humans, but the tarantulas had an instinctive repulsion and fear of it.
A member of the Pyro Company laughed and said, “Hehe, these spiders really don’t learn. We wouldn’t have let them out if we didn’t thoroughly study their genetics and find out about their weaknesses.”
“Enough talking. Let’s hurry up and take the prey away,” another member of the Pyro Company said.
“Wait, someone’s there!”
One of the Pyro Company members had sharp eyes. They could even see Old Xu’s figure a few hundred meters away in this dim lighting.
“Who’s over there?” a Pyro Company member said with a raised voice.
Immediately, the five of them drew their sabers from their belts.
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and decided to leave. Since he had already learned a lot of information from the Pyro Company members here, there was no need for him to tussle with them. What if those spiders went crazy again and crawled out to attack him?
But just as he was about to leave, the palace suddenly spoke.
Ren Xiaosu’s expression darkened. Why did it have to assign a quest now of all times?
The Pyro Company members on the opposite side were closing in. They exchanged tactical hand signs with each other as they attempted to surround Ren Xiaosu by fanning out.
But before they could even take a couple steps, they heard a strange voice.
Immediately after, they saw Ren Xiaosu jumping rope and singing a nursery rhyme as he slowly approached. “Let’s paddle together… The boat will push away the waves…”
The five members of the Pyro Company were advancing towards him, but this sight shocked them so much they beat a hasty retreat. For a moment, they were wondering what kind of strange being they had encountered.
“What the fuck is this!”
“Could it be one of those freaks created by the researchers in the mountains again?!”
These people did not even show the slightest fear when they ventured into the tarantulas’ nest. But when they saw this strange person skipping and singing nursery rhymes in the dark valley approaching them, they got scared!
[1] A slot canyon is a long, narrow, deep and tortuous channel or drainageway with sheer rock walls that are typically eroded into either sandstone or other sedimentary rock.
