Chapter 31: "It seems these Red-bearded Spiders have made this place their nest."
Scanning the interior of the carriage with the flashlight, the situation made one's scalp tingle; the sheer number of spider sacs indicated just how satisfied these Red-bearded Spiders were with the living conditions here.
“Employer Han, we... have to pass through here?”
Having witnessed the entire situation inside the carriage, Xiao Liu swallowed hard; even though he knew his question was somewhat redundant, he still couldn't suppress the sense of resistance in his heart.
“Otherwise, do we have any other choice?”
Han Nianling began to tie her long hair into a low ponytail to prevent it from being an inconvenience, tucking any loose strands under her coat; beside her, Zhong Jing also put on her hood and goggles, and tightened her cuffs and collar, leaving no gaps.
“Although Red-bearded Spiders don't actively attack people, their stinging hairs contain toxins.
If you don't want a Red-bearded Spider falling from above to crawl into your clothes and cause your skin to fester, then don't just stand there foolishly.”
Reminded by Zhong Jing, Xiao Liu could only forcibly suppress his aversion to spiders; all he could do was wrap himself up more securely, using this method to enhance his sense of security.
After a brief preparation, the three of them stepped into the carriage in an orderly manner; the narrow aisle allowed only one person to pass at a time, first Zhong Jing, then Han Nianling, and finally Xiao Liu.
Seemingly affected by the sudden sound of footsteps in the carriage, the reaction of the Red-bearded Spiders and spider sacs intensified considerably; under the cover of darkness, they could not be seen with the naked eye, only the sound of their crawling filled their ears.
Even though Uncle Lin had previously cleared a path, it was inevitable to get some cobwebs on oneself while passing through, and these highly resilient cobwebs would occasionally snag a few hiding Red-bearded Spiders; when feeling those Red-bearded Spiders crawl over her body through her clothes, even the seemingly calm Zhong Jing felt a wave of goosebumps.
The protection of their clothes minimized the danger from the Red-bearded Spiders, yet no one dared to be careless; the creators of the bloody smell were not these Red-bearded Spiders.
Many dried corpses remained in the carriage; these were victims from before the war.
From the incomplete bodies, it was clear that the loss of control of the subway had directly caused a large number of casualties.
Some had been gnawed by the Red-bearded Spiders until only a skeleton remained, while others had dried up beyond any edible value.
When they walked to the end of the carriage, a small pool of black blood on the ground made Zhong Jing stop; seeing Zhong Jing halt, Han Nianling and Xiao Liu behind her also stopped and became alert.
After making a hand gesture, Zhong Jing stepped forward, slowly squatted down, and touched the viscous liquid with a gloved finger; it lacked moisture but was not completely dry.
Then she looked towards the exit of the carriage... a walker, half of its brain pierced by a bullet, was lying on the ground.
Around it, more than ten Red-bearded Spiders were feasting, eating while cutting the corpse into small pieces and wrapping them in silk,.
This must be the source of the bloody smell.
“Found the body of a walker.”
Zhong Jing immediately turned her head and reported to the two people behind her, “Time of death was five minutes ago.”
Hearing her words, Han Nianling and Xiao Liu immediately gathered around; the illumination from three light beams scared away all the Red-bearded Spiders.
Having exited that carriage, they no longer needed to worry about the Red-bearded Spiders.
All of them took off their goggles to get a clearer view of the walker's condition.
Although it was just an ordinary walker, the information it revealed was far more grim than the walker itself.
“We are very lucky.”
Han Nianling suddenly said this seemingly random sentence, yet no one asked; both Zhong Jing and Xiao Liu understood Han Nianling's meaning.
They were indeed very lucky; in the transfer station they had fallen into, due to its enclosed nature, they hadn't encountered much danger.
The only thing that could be called dangerous was the parasitic vine attack; apart from that, there was nothing else.
And as for where this walker before them came from, they were all very clear in their hearts: only the next subway station.
Without external influence, a walker's movement trajectory was full of uncertainty; for this walker to have penetrated so deep into the subway tunnel meant that there must be something there that it wanted to escape from.
The three of them stood up; no one said much, but they had already prepared for battle.
They didn't know what was in the next subway station, but the danger was already certain.
Behind the first carriage was the tragic sight of various carriages having collided, but the gap left for passage was much larger; at least they no longer needed to pass through the carriages.
It wasn't just the previous section that was used as a dwelling by the Red-bearded Spiders; the entire train wreck site had become a vast habitat for Red-bearded Spiders, forcing the three of them to wrap themselves up again.
Fortunately, Uncle Lin had left a light stick in front of every explored path that allowed for quick passage as a guide, so they soon passed smoothly through this Red-bearded Spider habitat.
About two hundred meters further ahead, the dark environment eased considerably; above their heads, a few rays of light penetrated through a chasm-like crack, so they finally didn't need to rely solely on the small flashlight to see their surroundings.
While bringing light, it also brought a certain degree of danger; on the tunnel floor, a large number of huge boulders that had fallen from above were piled up, extending the so-called danger to above their heads.
“Up there... what happened?”
Xiao Liu couldn't help but look up, letting his gaze pass through those cracks, but he couldn't see anything besides a dim yellow.
“The area above us should be within the affected zone of that war. This reminds me... the next subway station isn't far.”
Having walked in the dark environment for so long, they had lost not only their sense of time but also of distance.
Han Nianling had long since memorized the subway line map, and by correlating it with the affected area, she quickly got a general idea of their location.
“We should be in Sector 02A, near Sector 01B. The next subway station is on the east bank of the JD River.， Nearby, there's a steel bridge built by the standing army.
If we can get back to the surface from there...”
“We can then cross the bridge directly, head north, and leave JD Ruined City.”
A voice from ahead picked up the latter half of Han Nianling's sentence; the familiar tone made them not wary of the suddenly appearing figure, but rather relieved.
“Uncle!”
Xiao Liu called out excitedly, but Zhong Jing immediately covered his mouth: “Remember: those stones above our heads wouldn't mind burying us at any moment.”
“What's the situation ahead.”
Uncle Lin's appearance was a shot in the arm for the team; the timing of his appearance here, combined with the distance to the next subway station, made it easy to guess that he had already completed a preliminary investigation of that place and was on his way back.
“Not very good.”
The brief joy of reuniting was dispelled by Han Nianling's question; the ensuing gravity made the others feel uneasy.
Although they were somewhat prepared, hearing it confirmed by Uncle Lin was still disappointing.
“The subway station ahead is occupied by a pack of Headhunter Wild Dogs, and their leader has already reached Tier 1... or maybe... Tier 2.”
Headhunter Wild Dogs?
Their hearts grew cold; Uncle Lin had only said one sentence, but it was enough to convey a dangerous signal to them.