Chapter 227: Chapter 227

Chapter 227: Exploration of the Arachnid Demon Kingdom

The Arachnid Demons were accustomed to staying underground for long periods, yet they often surfaced to hunt.

Their prey included monsters, mutant creatures, and even humans across the various regions of the Polar Continent.

They also possessed strong submersive abilities, sometimes diving into the sea to hunt.

Their weapon of choice was the hunting silk they secreted themselves.

Once prey became entangled in that silk, it was almost impossible to break free.

The Level 0.5 Mobile Cities moved at tremendous speed—advancing like lightning—soon arriving before the entrance of the cavern.

They lined up in a long formation and entered one by one.

To facilitate observation, cameras had been installed throughout each city.

Those stationed in the Ice Dome Research Base could observe the scenery inside the tunnels through various screens, as well as the readouts of the Mobile Cities’ instruments.

It seemed the Arachnid Demons’ tunnels were crafted through a mix of excavation and corrosion.

According to Lin Mei’s analysis—

The Arachnid Demons first dissolved the rock layers using highly corrosive acid silk, then scraped out smooth, curved surfaces with their steel-hard limbs, and finally reinforced the structure with load-bearing silk.

A dozen minutes later, the Mobile Cities arrived at a vast open chamber.

This was clearly a central node of the Arachnid Demon Civilization’s tunnel network.

It resembled a grotesquely expanded beehive—countless tunnels converging, branching, and twisting, forming a labyrinthine three-dimensional maze.

Standing in the center of such a node felt as though one were at the junction of a colossal subterranean creature’s veins.

Every tunnel led toward an unknown fate.

And from the depths of the darkness, it felt as if some presence was silently watching.

The air unknowingly grew heavy and oppressive; even each breath carried a damp chill.

The echoes coming from distant tunnels made it impossible to tell whether it was the sound of the wind—

or the breathing of some living thing.

“Professor Lin, which way should they go next?” Li Ye asked instinctively.

“There’s no need to be too nervous,” Lin Mei replied. “For a first exploration, there’s no need to go too deep—just a rough survey will do.”

Under her direction, the five Level 0.5 Mobile Cities advanced.

The Level 3 Climbing Treads they were equipped with unfolded—appearing like spider limbs several meters long.

The Mobile Cities climbed the rock walls with spider-like agility, entering their respective tunnels.

Just then, a beeping sound suddenly echoed within the five Mobile Cities.

“What’s going on, Professor Lin?” Li Ye asked.

“That sound means the device has detected metal,” Lin Mei replied. “Clearly, this tunnel node contains magnetic silk.”

She immediately ordered the Special Forces to scout the nearby silk within the tunnels.

Before long, the Special Forces discovered the magnetic silk.

Unlike the faintly transparent silk of ordinary spiders, this one looked like a stream of liquid starlight forcibly solidified into threads.

The magnetic silk hung suspended within the tunnel, not stretching straight but instead rotating gently in a spiral, as if alive.

Lin Mei’s expression gradually turned solemn.

“In truth, the Arachnid Demons have already sensed our presence through these magnetic silks.”

Li Ye was momentarily stunned.

Had the Level 0.5 Mobile Cities really been discovered that quickly?

Lin Mei then instructed a member of the Special Forces to slowly bring his firearm close to several nearby magnetic silks.

As the weapon approached, the threads suddenly straightened into sharp, taut lines, sending rippling waves into the distance.

“Do you see that? The instant the Mobile Cities entered the tunnel node, the magnetic silk deployed here reacted and transmitted those vibrations,” Lin Mei explained. “The Arachnid Demons will soon sense those fluctuations and realize that enemy vehicles have arrived.”

Li Ye shook his head helplessly.

Such an arrangement by the Arachnid Demons was practically impossible to guard against.

The underground was their domain to begin with. For humans to explore it, they had to rely on metal tools and vehicles.

Lin Mei next ordered the team to test the magnetic silk’s strength.

According to the report, when within 10–20 centimeters of the silk, the soldier could already feel a faint magnetic pull.

As the distance decreased, the silk firmly adhered itself to the firearm.

“The magnetic force is that strong?” Li Ye exclaimed in surprise.

A look of deep reflection appeared in his eyes soon after.

He had to admit—the evolutionary methods of the Arachnid Demons were truly ingenious.

They did not blindly strengthen their own bodies, but instead evolved various specialized types of silk.

Combined with the terrain of their civilization’s habitat, they formed an exquisite countermeasure against humans.

The magnetic silk alone was already enough to severely restrain human vehicles and firearms underground—

let alone the other specialized types of silk.

“In the Wasteland, high-level monstrous civilizations always have their own unique ways of survival,” Lin Mei concluded.

“So, Professor Lin—does that mean the Arachnid Demon Civilization belongs to Natural Selection?” Li Ye asked.

Lin Mei shook her head lightly.

“That, I’m not certain,” she said. “But in past encounters, Natural Selection has neither deployed Arachnid Demons in battle nor used their silk. So they likely aren’t affiliated with them. Moreover, Natural Selection is extremely strict in choosing which monstrous civilizations to include, usually based on combat strength, so—”

He understood what Lin Mei meant.

In the eyes of Natural Selection, the world-class organization composed of highly evolved Monstrous Civilizations, the evolution of the Arachnid Demon Civilization perhaps still fell short of their standards.

Especially on the surface, the Arachnid Demons’ combat power was drastically reduced.

They possessed no vehicles, no Mobile Cities—at best, they could only serve as cannon fodder.

After the discussion ended, everyone continued to watch the screens.

Upon a closer look, they noticed that the five Mobile Cities were already covered with numerous strands of Magnetic Silk.

Lin Mei immediately ordered the Special Forces to remove them.

The magnetic silk that was detached from the cities wasn’t discarded but carefully stored on Lin Mei’s orders, to be brought back to the Ice Dome Research Base for study.

Just then, an alarm suddenly blared inside Ice Dome A3.

Following the sound, members of the Special Forces turned their attention to the Radar, discovering a red blip ahead.

However, when Ice Dome A3 illuminated the area with its Searchlight, there was nothing there but emptiness.

“Radar doesn’t make mistakes. There’s indeed an Arachnid Demon lurking there, waiting for a chance to attack you,” Lin Mei said.

“It’s using camouflage silk to conceal itself!”

Under her command, several Special Forces members quietly exited the city, anchoring themselves with hooks and taking positions before the Cannons, Heavy Machine Guns, and Light Missile Launchers.

“Listen for my signal. When the countdown ends, fire together,” Lin Mei said softly. “Five, four, three, two, one.”

As the countdown ended, Ice Dome A3 unleashed a barrage of firepower forward.

Under the bombardment of Level 3 Cannons, the Arachnid Demon’s carapace erupted into brilliant fireballs. Shrapnel and shockwaves shredded the rock walls, raining debris down upon its body.

The Arachnid Demon let out an ear-piercing shriek—a horrifying mixture of twisting metal and a baby’s cry—that echoed like a terrifying wail through the tunnel.

The autocannons followed, their bullet chains forming a crimson whip. Armor-piercing rounds tore bowl-sized holes into the creature’s body. Its steel-like shell finally gave way, shattering with a tooth-aching crack.

Most of its body was torn apart, yet it still struggled to charge forward, dragging a trail of thick slime from its torn abdomen.

One Special Forces member immediately raised a Grenade Launcher and fired a High-Explosive Grenade.

Upon impact, the explosion engulfed the Arachnid Demon’s remains in roaring flames. Its bodily fluids boiled and evaporated in the heat, its body twisting and deforming amid the inferno.

Its final convulsion slammed into the tunnel wall, creating massive cracks as rocks and dust cascaded like a waterfall.

When the explosions and smoke finally dissipated, only a twitching, charred corpse remained.

Oleg placed his hands on his hips and let out a long sigh.

“Seems the battle wasn’t too hard.”

Li Ye, however, focused on something else entirely.

“It’s safe now, right? Go check the Arachnid Demon’s loot.”

After the battle, the tunnel had become unstable, with several collapses and hollow sections.

But with the Jetpack and Climbing Claws, one Special Forces member easily reached the corpse.

“Twenty-two units of Level 3 Iron Ore, fifteen units of Level 3 Fabric, seventy-two Crystal Coins,” came the report.

Hearing this, Li Ye’s eyes revealed a flicker of surprise.

“The loot’s not bad.”

Yet compared to the Giants, it still fell a little short.

With the danger eliminated, Ice Dome A3 switched tunnels to continue the exploration.

Their view gradually expanded as the five Level 0.5 Mobile Cities advanced along separate paths.

In the tunnels crafted by the Arachnid Demons, the Mobile Cities’ Searchlights appeared tiny and feeble. The walls were no longer bare rock but coated in thick black liquid, bubbling with cyst-like sacs. When the cities’ Mechanical Limbs crushed the surface, they emitted sickly, sticky squelches.

Li Ye’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Is that... mycelium mats?”

“Yes,” Lin Mei replied. “The Arachnid Demons, like the Zerg, also possess the ability to secrete Mycelial Mats.”

She gave a brief explanation.

The Arachnid Demons’ mycelial mats were specialized for the Underground World, serving three main purposes.

First, the mycelial filaments combined with minerals within the tunnel walls to slowly repair cracks.

Second, they absorbed carbon dioxide to produce oxygen while filtering toxic gases. They stored geothermal heat during winter and cooled the tunnels during summer, maintaining constant temperatures in both tunnels and underground cities.

Third, the filaments contained bioluminescent proteins that emitted a cold glow through chemical reactions, providing illumination underground.

“Mycelial mats are actually quite nutritious and edible,” Oleg added.

Li Ye’s expression turned uneasy.

The mere thought of bugs crawling over those mats made him sick—eating them was out of the question.

A few seconds later, Ice Dome A4 detected an anomaly.

As it was about to enter another tunnel, alarms blared within the city.

Once again, the system had detected metal.

There was no doubt—something was wrong with this tunnel.

After a careful investigation, they finally discovered the cause.

The entire tunnel was covered in countless strands of Magnetic Silk.

Because of them, the tunnel generated a massive magnetic pull that even began drawing in Ice Dome A4.

Lin Mei immediately ordered a full reverse.

“This is a trap tunnel set up by the Arachnid Demons. Once a vehicle gets pulled in, it’s completely trapped,” she explained.

Ice Dome A5 soon encountered its own crisis.

The tunnel it entered was filled with Acidic Silk. When the Mobile City advanced inside, its mechanical limbs were unknowingly corroded more than halfway through.

Fortunately, the limbs had built-in sensors. Once damage was detected, alarms immediately sounded throughout the city—louder even than when Magnetic Silk had been detected earlier.

Ice Dome A5 quickly withdrew from the tunnel and entered another nearby passage.

Each Mobile City was equipped with spare mechanical limbs precisely for such situations.

Through the screens, they saw the removed limbs.

Dozens of Acidic Silks clung to them like maggots gnawing bone, tightly wrapping around the machinery.

The entire limb emitted dying groans as its once-precise gears and components warped and broke under corrosion. Lubricating oil leaked from ruptured pipes, mixing with acid into a bubbling, tar-like sludge.

The corrosion spread rapidly—the circuit boards were soon eaten away, green foam seeping from the integrated circuits as they curled, peeled, and melted into a semi-liquid metallic sludge.

All mechanical limbs were thus completely scrapped.

Seeing this, everyone broke into a cold sweat.

The Arachnid Demons’ traps were terrifying.

Had Ice Dome A5 been delayed even a few seconds longer, its limbs would have been entirely destroyed, and the whole Mobile City would have been slowly “melted” inside the tunnel.

If an ordinary creature had unknowingly stepped inside, it would’ve triggered the Acidic Silk and been reduced to liquid in moments.

“This trap makes no sense,” one Researcher said, trembling. “At least Magnetic Silk can be detected—but this one’s impossible to scout out.”

The Special Forces began urgently installing the new limbs.

Everyone watching the screens grew increasingly tense.

For a Mobile City, losing mobility was extremely dangerous—even underground.

And as if things couldn’t get worse, another round of alarms erupted within the city—

even louder than before.

The city’s radar detected three red blips rapidly approaching from afar.

It was clear that three Arachnid Demons had sensed the disturbance and were racing through the tunnels.

“How much longer until you finish replacing the limbs?” Li Ye asked sharply.

“Roughly five more minutes!” a Special Forces member replied.

Li Ye shook his head grimly.

Judging from the radar, the three Arachnid Demons would arrive in less than two minutes.

“It’s too late—prepare for battle,” he said in a deep voice.