Jiang Che tilted his head, utterly baffled—why did this whole group suddenly scatter and run off together?
In just a split second, all that was left on the bloody ground was a layer of footprints.
Then the man whose lower body looked just like a spider walked up to him, sniffing suspiciously in Jiang Che's direction.
Jiang Che stared back in confusion, his gaze lingering pointedly on that lower body—a full eight opened spider legs sprawled across most of the street.
The reason his footsteps sounded wet as he walked was that each of those eight legs wore a different shoe.
The Evil Spirit looked at Jiang Che in puzzlement. At first, he was just curious about what kind of prey Blood Slaughter had picked, but when the other three prey bolted, he suddenly realized that this particular target showed absolutely no fear at the sight of him.
Earlier, with the group together, all those scents of fear mixed up, so he couldn't tell who was who.
No wonder Blood Slaughter chose to mark and release this one—the prey level is way too high!
If someone like this ever feels fear, that'd be a true feast!
Looks like Blood Slaughter's about to get all the benefits here.
It wasn't that he had principles; he just knew he was no match for the Blood Slaughter family.
With just a glance at Jiang Che, he then chased after the three, leaving the viewers in the livestream green with envy,
[Not even catching him? Damn, that's way too chill.]
[So getting marked comes with perks and pitfalls—the perk is that wherever you are is safe; the downside is there's no way out—being tracked and located all the time. Others might have a slim chance if they're extra cautious, but this guy's just going to die a little slower.]
[I dunno if it's a plus or minus. What if he escapes before the evil spirit shows up?]
[Those three must be dumbstruck. Tried to toss the nut job to cover their escape, and turns out the evil spirit isn't even killing him.]
[Gotta check in on those three—this shit is killing me!]
...
At the moment, Jiang Che also started jogging. These people were supposed to help him find his wife—he couldn't afford to lose track of them now.
Right now the dungeon looked downright bizarre: three humans sprinting up front, the evil spirit stalking leisurely after them, launching spider silk now and then just to watch them struggle and burst into a desperate run.
It kept a steady pace—not fast, not slow—no matter how hard the people up front pushed themselves, it stuck close behind.
It was truly savoring the thrill of the hunt,
while Jiang Che jogged steadily behind them all.
"Wait, did Jiang Che die just like that? He couldn't even slow down the evil spirit for a second," Zhao Qi growled with frustration. He could feel spider threads firing at them from behind, trying to snare them.
But every time, those threads missed by just a hair. Thank god they were fast—each shot landed just behind them.
Sometimes he'd feel the silk stick to his heel for a moment, but he could always wrench free quickly.
They didn't dare look back, not even a sidelong glance over their shoulders.
If they'd looked back even once, they'd have seen the guy they said couldn't slow down the evil spirit for even a second—Jiang Che—was sticking tight right behind it.
When yet another thread wrapped around Zhao Qi's heel, he finally snapped.
He looked at Wang Bing, who was leading the pack, and pulled out his handgun from his jacket.
His target wasn't Ya running behind him, but Wang Bing up front.
Of course, Nurse Ya noticed Zhao Qi's move, but she clamped her mouth shut and said nothing.
One Jiang Che clearly isn't enough to satisfy the evil spirit behind them—if Wang Bing didn't die, it'd have to be her instead.
The moment he drew the gun, the livestream audience couldn't help but sigh.
[That's why so many bring weapons into the dungeon—not to fight the evil spirits, but to kill each other.]
[At this point, humans and evil spirits have probably split the kill count fifty-fifty.]
[Does running in front really help? Haven't you learned by now—never show your back to the enemy.]
[So Jiang Che's situation is actually the safest. Sure, he'll die, but he won't spend three days living in constant terror like the rest of them.]
...
The chat was full of envy for Jiang Che, thinking maybe he had it best after all—dying with a smile, like a three-day dungeon vacation.
Next second—BANG BANG—two gunshots rang out,
and two bloody holes burst open in Wang Bing's calves, blood pouring out, his strength gone, and he crashed to the ground.
He hit the ground and Zhao Qi snatched his gun away and tore past him at full speed.
Nurse Ya passed by Wang Bing, only glancing down to see those eyes burning with hatred and loathing.
"Zhao Qi, you bastard! Die screaming!" Wang Bing howled hysterically, face reddening, his voice ragged with anger he couldn't vent.
The evil spirit walked up to Wang Bing, let out a low laugh, then stooped to scoop him up in the palm of its hand.
It didn't bother chasing anyone else—these emotions had already been enough: resentment, rage, revenge...
Outsiders only ever think these evil spirits love to kill, but they've got it wrong—the spirits don't want human flesh at all.
What they want is just those delicious negative emotions from humans—those are what let them grow stronger.
He looked down at the catch in his hand—this one overflowing with sadness and despair, but mostly just venom...
Ignoring Jiang Che behind him, it left with Wang Bing, climbing away like a spider—feet sticking to the walls, and a few breaths later, vanished between the buildings.
But Wang Bing, now limp with despair in the evil spirit's grasp, saw Jiang Che still chugging after them, and couldn't understand: why wasn't Jiang Che dead?
The heavy, disordered footsteps behind them suddenly stopped; only then did Zhao Qi and Ya dare to steal a glance over their shoulders.
When they saw the Spider Evil Spirit was gone, they exhaled in relief, darting into a nearby building for cover.
Zhao Qi and Nurse Ya crouched together, their ragged breathing filling the abandoned room,
Nurse Ya shot a wary glance at him, but didn't mention the gunshots at all.
"The evil spirit got two people—doesn't look like it'll show up again anytime soon." Zhao Qi patted his chest, and only after a long while did his breathing calm down.
"It's a pity, though." Ya sighed.
"What's the pity? There's no shortage of nut jobs anyway—just find another one to throw to their death," Zhao Qi sneered at her. "You need to understand—your whole value is that you know how to handle them, how to control those crazies and spot their weak points. That's the only reason you're still alive."
Of course, he didn't say it was also because Ya was weaker than him, and besides, little nurses like her couldn't afford top-shelf hot weapons like his kind—at most, a fork or a knife, nothing special, no threat at all.
If danger struck, he was big and strong, and Ya was always the perfect disposable pawn.
"Why'd you guys run so fast? I almost couldn't keep up."