Venom infusion.
Whether it was Zheng Yueling's call taking effect or the sting of Bai Jie's fangs, the Giant Centipede abruptly reared its head.
Its two antennae swayed slowly. Its mandibles could be seen twitching, eager to strike.
In a flash, the Giant Centipede released the Salomon in its grasp and whipped its head toward Bai Jie in a violent lunge.
In that lightning moment, Bai Jie used his rearmost pair of legs to rapidly brush the urticating hairs from his abdomen, sending dozens — hundreds — of fine hairs drifting through the air.
But the hair kick didn't seem to affect the Giant Centipede much.
The Giant Centipede only paused for a split second midair before charging again at full speed.
Bai Jie had no alternative. He could only pour everything into accelerating the secretion and injection of venom.
Schlick!
The centipede's mandibles pierced the tarantula's abdomen without resistance.
Then, an alert echoed in Bai Jie's consciousness:
Due to Talent [Poison-Refining Gu], toxicity damage nullified.
Great... it hurts like hell...
Bai Jie had no time to celebrate. A searing, bone-deep agony radiated from his abdomen. Enraged, he kicked hairs and pumped venom at the same time.
The Giant Centipede tried to wrap its entire body around Bai Jie, but since their sizes weren't that far apart, the effect was minimal. Bai Jie kept injecting venom just as before.
A few seconds later, the Giant Centipede suddenly released its mandibles and began writhing in pain.
Bai Jie knew — the urticating hairs he'd kicked out must finally be taking effect. No wonder, after kicking out 80% of his hairs. He really was about to go bald now.
I'm going bald, but you're about to be going dead. Bai Jie sneered inwardly.
The urticating hairs couldn't kill, of course. At most, they'd make the Giant Centipede suffer for a while.
He pinned his hopes on the venom — which was stronger than a typical tarantula's.
With the backing of Skill · Basic Toxicity Lv.2, the Giant Centipede gradually stopped moving, only twitching occasionally.
But Bai Jie didn't let his guard down, because on the Status Panel, the Giant Centipede's [Status] still hadn't shown "Deceased" — it was "Weakened (Poisoned)."
"Hmm? Is Nyx about to take Gala out?" Zheng Yueling's voice came through.
The danmaku at that moment:
[Am I seeing this right? Gala's about to be finished?]
[Nyx is way too smart — knew to go for the ambush.]
[What ambush? When it's the Night Goddess we're talking about, you call that "striking first"!]
Suddenly, a reversal occurred.
As if playing dead had been its strategy all along, the Giant Centipede reared up once more and bit at the tarantula.
But in Bai Jie's eyes, the Giant Centipede's counterattack was nothing more than a dying spasm.
Its speed had clearly plummeted.
The tarantula reacted quickly, yanking out its fangs and lifting its upper body. Its powerful front legs easily clamped down on the Giant Centipede's head, and then its two fangs abruptly pierced through the head armor, mercilessly injecting more venom.
About a single breath later, the Giant Centipede's [Status] finally displayed "Deceased."
Tense but ultimately safe, the 32cm massive centipede had been taken down by the tarantula.
The latter contentedly began releasing digestive fluid.
Glug glug glug... Bai Jie silently provided his own sound effects.
In the danmaku, the Sub-Laser Tarantula's fans breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Many viewers who had originally rooted for the Giant Centipede switched allegiance to the Sub-Laser Tarantula. Only a minority mourned the Giant Centipede's loss with sighs and head shakes.
Some danmaku had rather... unique angles:
[Can someone tell me how much the streamer lost this round?]
[Not much, not much. I'd guess just about one month's allowance for her.]
But Zheng Yueling didn't seem too heartbroken. She chatted idly with the danmaku and moved the plastic box — formerly the Giant Centipede's home, now the Sub-Laser Tarantula's dining room — aside.
By the time Bai Jie made his exit, the livestream's viewer count had already broken past ten thousand. Zheng Yueling had received a flood of gifts.
"Thanks to AV Streamer Triangle Kick for the cruise ship."
"Nyx really has amazed me. Gala was a pity, but that's just nature for you — survival of the fittest, elimination of the weak." Zheng Yueling said, smiling.
Her amazement didn't just come from the Sub-Laser Tarantula's victory, but also from the unprecedented popularity the livestream had reached.
...
Over ten minutes later, Zheng Yueling had stopped making venomous creatures fight. Instead, she was now educating her viewers on exotic pet care knowledge.
Meanwhile, on Bai Jie's end, the prey's internals had only just finished dissolving.
After all, to a tarantula, the Galapagos Giant Centipede's size was simply absurd.
A system notification appeared:
[Because the target is a venomous organism, under the effect of Talent · Poison-Refining Gu, consumption will fortify Vitality.]
After a thorough suction feeding, that familiar hot sensation and drowsiness arrived. Bai Jie spun a web right there in the Giant Centipede's former home and fell asleep.
When he awoke again, it was the dead of night once more.
Bai Jie felt his perception had grown even sharper. He could even hear the soft, steady rhythm of Zheng Yueling's breathing in her sleep.
He couldn't wait to bring up the Status Panel.
[Name]: Bai Jie
[Title]: Night Goddess Nyx
[Species]: Amazonian Blue-Violet Laser Tarantula (Adult)
[Skills]: Urticating Hair Kick Lv.5, Spider Silk Lv.5, Bite Lv.5, Basic Toxicity Lv.12 (MAX)
[Talents]: Poison-Refining Gu, Spirit-Devouring Body
[Vitality]: 0.35
[Satiety]: 70%
[Body Length]: Leg Span 30cm
When he saw "Night Goddess Nyx" again, several black lines descended from Bai Jie's fuzzy forehead.
A thought suddenly struck him... this spider he'd become... could it be female?
BOOM!
That thought flashed through his mind like a lightning strike.
Uh... maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe Zheng Yueling can't tell the gender?
Or maybe Zheng Yueling just really likes the name "Nyx"?
Bai Jie suppressed the bitterness and terror in his heart and continued reading.
His skills had all leveled up, and [Basic Toxicity] had even hit max level. Bai Jie suspected it was tied to the intense toxicity of the Giant Centipede he'd consumed.
His body length had reached the 30cm class — meaning that with his long legs included, he was now very close to the Giant Centipede in size.
Moreover, he'd discovered that the nearly-bald state of his abdomen had been completely reversed: the urticating hairs had all grown back, even denser than before.
The changes brought by skill level-ups were enormous...
Unable to sleep again this night, Bai Jie decided to test the results of his skill progression and started spinning webs.
"As expected, the silk's viscosity and tensile strength have both improved substantially." Bai Jie assessed internally.
...
Early morning.
"Why are there so many webs?!"
"If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a wad of cotton candy."
When Zheng Yueling woke up in the morning and saw the breeding box filled with a dense mass of spider silk, she was dumbstruck.
"Nyx, what's wrong with you?"
As she spoke, Zheng Yueling started pulling at the webs with her hands — only to find them as tough as cord. It took real force to tear them apart, and they stuck firmly to her skin.
When she finally — after considerable effort — discovered the gigantic tarantula hidden beneath layers upon layers of webbing, she was stunned.
"Are you on steroids???"
...
Elsewhere, before the north gate sculpture at Xingchuan University.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" A woman wearing delicate glasses, exuding a quiet, bookish air, spoke flatly.
Her skin was as pale as freshly peeled water chestnut. Her eyebrows were long and elegant. Between her brows lingered a wisp of scholarly clarity. Her face was exquisite and utterly graceful.
"Class Monitor, it's been four days since Bai Jie vanished. Do you know if your uncle's side has made any progress?" Chen Zhang said, his face etched with gravity.
The quiet, refined beauty standing before Chen Zhang was none other than their Class Monitor — Xia Qimeng.
Hearing this, Xia Qimeng's gaze dimmed. "Even though you filed the report promptly, the CID doesn't have any leads yet."
"How could they not find anything? Didn't I tell them about Zheng Yueling's suspiciousness?" Chen Zhang's voice suddenly shot up.
"They saw the chat logs between me and Bai Jie too. Didn't they go search Zheng Yueling's place?"
He couldn't comprehend it.