Chapter 34

Densely packed, Chu Nan was greatly alarmed and took a few steps back.

The crowd was forced to huddle together, with sheer cliffs on both sides, leaving no room for movement or evasion. As Chu Nan retreated, Yuan Tengfei roared and pulled with both hands, but dozens of threads stuck to his body.

"Damn it!" With Yuan Tengfei's strength, he managed to pull off several threads, but his hands were also stuck together by the threads. The spiders, seeing that they had stuck Yuan Tengfei, retreated together, trying to pull him over.

Chu Nan grabbed Yuan Tengfei, his blood surging, and the power of a Level 2 Awakened being erupted. With a low roar, he pulled hard, trying to pull Yuan Tengfei back. Suddenly, the threads tightened, and the spiders shot forward like arrows.

These spiders used the force of the pull to launch themselves, moving so fast that Chu Nan couldn't even react.

Yuan Tengfei screamed as at least five or six spiders pounced directly onto his body and face.

Su Yao's face turned pale, and she swung her dagger, killing one spider. Yuan Tengfei struck with both hands, smashing another. Behind them, more spiders surged forward, spitting threads like a rain of arrows. Most of them stuck to Yuan Tengfei, and even a few stuck to Su Yao.

Su Yao was busy swinging her dagger to cut the threads, but even the dagger got stuck. Chu Nan grabbed her shoulders from behind and pulled hard.

With a "pop," the force was so great that Chu Nan almost made Su Yao fly sideways, and three spiders were pulled off and flew through the air.

Behind them, Tang Sanli cried out in alarm, but the situation was chaotic, and he stepped into thin air, falling directly into the central pit.

Chu Nan had no time to worry about him. He turned and threw Su Yao backward, snatched her dagger, and slashed at the incoming spiders.

With his Level 2 gene nucleus and the second-level activation of adrenaline, Chu Nan not only had immense strength, speed, agility, and reflexes, but his hearing and vision were also enhanced. He could clearly see the spiders' movements and, with three quick slashes, killed three of them.

Feeling the origin force flowing into his body, Chu Nan understood that these spiders were indeed mutated.

All of this was due to the terrifying mutations caused by the earthquake.

Originally, these spiders could not have been so large or so terrifying.

Although they all had pineal glands and origin force, these mutated spiders were very different from human Awakened beings, perhaps due to the differences in their genes.

Yuan Tengfei had at least forty to fifty threads stuck to his body, and seven or eight spiders had pounced on him.

He exerted all his strength, but even with several times the strength of an ordinary person, he couldn't pull off so many threads.

Chu Nan wanted to help him, but as soon as he cut one thread with his dagger, he realized a group of spiders was spitting threads at him.

"Brother!" Su Yao, who had been thrown back, screamed. At the same moment, Chu Nan roared and retreated, no longer trying to save Yuan Tengfei. Instead, he grabbed Su Yao and jumped into the pit where Tang Sanli had fallen.

If he didn't jump, he would also be stuck to the ancient ruins by countless threads, to be devoured by the spiders.

The pit where Tang Sanli had fallen had not been crawled into by any spiders since he fell, so Chu Nan was sure there were no spiders in the pit. Since Tang Sanli had not screamed in pain but only called for help, he had not been attacked.

Judging these two points, Chu Nan could decisively choose to jump into the pit with Su Yao, shouting, "Jump in quickly!"

Chen Mo had already retreated to the edge of the pit. Seeing Chu Nan jump, he trembled and, without waiting for Chu Nan to say anything, fell in out of panic.

Behind him, Tao Zhi roared, almost meeting the same fate as Yuan Tengfei. He frantically waved the bamboo poles in his hands, but soon they were all stuck with threads. Tao Zhi roared and grabbed the poles. Suddenly, with a series of "cracks," the poles were broken by his sheer strength. He let go, and the poles shot back.

The spiders that pounced on him were hit by the rebounding poles, and green fluid splattered as they exploded.

Although only a Level 1 Awakened being, Tao Zhi's strength was extremely terrifying, almost as strong as the Level 2 Awakened Chu Nan.

Tao Zhi had been fat since childhood and had grown fatter over the years. His strength had also increased, making him as strong as two or three ordinary people. After awakening, his strength became even more terrifying.

However, despite his great strength, his agility was hindered by his obesity, making him less agile than other Level 1 Awakened beings.

By breaking the bamboo poles and rebounding them, the group of spiders that pounced on him were knocked back. Hearing Chu Nan's roar, Tao Zhi came to his senses, moved his massive body, and turned to look. On both sides, dozens or even hundreds of spiders were surging out, forming a dense, black mass that surrounded him. Unless he had wings, there was no way to escape. Only the central pit had no spiders.

The spiders on both sides rushed over, and Tao Zhi took a step and jumped into the central pit.

Soon, the spiders from both sides met and completely covered the passage, which was about twenty meters long.

Chu Nan, who had jumped into the pit with Su Yao, found that Tang Sanli had already turned on the flashlight on his electric baton. The pit was deep and sloped downward, leading to an unknown place.

Su Yao was trembling and still screaming her brother's name, wanting to rush out to save Yuan Tengfei. Chu Nan roared and pushed her hard, saying, "If you want to go out and die, no one will stop you!"

Su Yao, who did not expect Chu Nan to scold her like this, was stunned. Chen Mo and Tao Zhi, who were behind her, also jumped down. The next moment, the entrance was blocked by black spiders.

"Quick, block the entrance, don't let them in—"

Chu Nan roared, holding Su Yao's dagger, and tried to guard the entrance. But threads were already shooting in.

Once stuck, the threads were very troublesome, and Chu Nan had to retreat. Soon, spiders started jumping in.

With a slash of the dagger, a spider that jumped in was cut open, and with a heavy kick, another spider was kicked into the side wall and slid down.

Spiders kept pouring in, and a large number of threads were being shot in. Chu Nan quickly realized he couldn't hold the entrance.

"Retreat—"

With a low roar, Chu Nan rushed inward, and Tang Sanli, holding the flashlight, led the way deeper into the pit.

Su Yao got up from the ground, tightly biting her lips, and followed behind Tang Sanli without saying a word. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she forced herself not to cry.

She understood that Yuan Tengfei was beyond saving.

Her father had taken Yuan Tengfei as a disciple since childhood, and they had trained together. In Su Yao's mind, Yuan Tengfei was like a brother to her.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she bit her lips hard to hold back. Behind her, the terrifying sound of spiders moving could be heard.

Chu Nan, Tao Zhi, and Chen Mo were all panic-stricken, rushing deeper into the pit.

The pit sloped downward, and a swarm of spiders followed closely behind, continuously shooting out threads. If they were stuck, it would be very troublesome.

"Quick, run faster, they... they are catching up..." Tao Zhi, who was at the back, shouted. The most terrifying thing was that their awakened state couldn't last long.

Tang Sanli, who was leading the way with the flashlight, heard the terrifying sounds behind him. The pit was dark and deep, and he didn't know where it led. Hearing Tao Zhi's shout, he panicked and suddenly stepped into thin air.

"Ah—" He screamed and instantly disappeared from sight. There was a large hole under his feet, and he fell in without noticing.

Su Yao, who was right behind him, was stunned and didn't have time to react whether to follow or jump over. She was pushed by the people behind her and fell in as well.

Tao Zhi, who was at the back, was already being chased by the spiders. He roared in panic, "Quick... come help me—"

His body was also stuck with threads.

Chu Nan turned around and slashed with his dagger.

He cut three threads, and several spiders pounced. Tao Zhi roared and struck a spider with both hands.

With a "bang," the spider was smashed into the side wall and exploded into a mess of fluid. The wall suddenly sank under the force.

Tao Zhi was stunned, not understanding what had happened. Suddenly, the entire pit started to rumble, as if a mechanism had been triggered. Chu Nan, who had just stabbed a spider with his dagger, suddenly lost his footing and fell in.

"What..." Chu Nan managed to say two words before he landed with a "bang," hitting the rocks and grimacing in pain. Then his body rolled down the slope.

After the rumbling of the pit slowly subsided, Chu Nan barely stabilized himself and found that there were no spiders around, but Tao Zhi, Tang Sanli, and Su Yao were gone.

He was alone in a small, empty cave, with a slope leading up to a hole about seven or eight meters high.

He must have fallen in from that hole.

"What's going on? Could it be that this so-called ancient ruin actually has many mechanisms? Did we trigger something... so it became like this?"

Chu Nan's mind raced, quickly concluding that this was the only possibility. Then, he suddenly knelt down and started to retch.

Not seeing any spiders around, he relaxed, but the aftereffects suddenly hit him, making him roll on the ground in agony.

After a while, the unbearable aftereffects slowly subsided, and Chu Nan lay in the dark, quiet cave, panting, feeling weak and exhausted.