The Eerie Water Spider

"Hold on just a little longer — just a little longer — it's almost green!"

"Damn it, more giant lizards are coming! If we don't leave now, we'll all end up as someone's dinner!"

"It's green! It's green!"

"Fall back, fall back!!"

The group fled the site drenched in sweat, barely short of an outright rout.

Not long after, swarm upon swarm of green-skinned giant lizards crawled out from the city blocks half-consumed by swamp, a suffocating tide of green that threatened to pack every last street to bursting. Their calls erupted from every direction in a ceaseless chorus, enemies on all sides. The Mages hurled every trick they had and ran, hearts hammering in their chests.

Fortunately, they had mapped out escape routes before entering the district. Had they bolted blindly, they might well have run straight into the jaws of those lizards.

"Damn it all — we barely finished scouting one area and we're already this wrecked. If we have to survey most of this city, half of us are going to end up dead?!" The chubby Luo Song gasped out the words between ragged breaths.

"Without Mo Fan here, we're missing a serious source of firepower. Dealing with these Demon-Beast swarms is a lot harder." Peng Liang couldn't help saying.

When it came to sheer destructive power, not even Mu Ningxue could match Mo Fan. With both Lightning and Fire — two of the most devastatingly offensive elements — and Dual Spirit Seeds in both, no matter how many Servant-class Demon-Beasts came charging, a handful of intermediate spells was all it took to sweep them away.

"Hmph. That troublemaker went off bragging he'd do the survey on his own. I give it no time at all before he comes crawling back with his tail between his legs." Liao Mingxuan sneered.

From initial reconnaissance to planning to execution, the whole operation had taken nearly two days. The survey devices, damn them, also attracted Demon-Beasts with sharp hearing on top of everything else — the team had to stand guard within range of each device for a solid three hours. Without a large group, it simply couldn't be done.

"Right — he's probably dead by now." Luo Song nodded, quietly hoping Mo Fan would just hurry up and die already. What kind of absurd luck did that guy have? Born with Dual Elements wasn't enough — he had to have Dual Spirit Seeds as well?!

"Afraid you'll be disappointed. According to my watch, he's heading our way right now." Zhao Manyan said.

Each of them wore a tracking watch — the needle pointed toward anyone else carrying the same device, with distance shown in rough approximations.

Zhao Manyan had been keeping an eye on his for a while now. Mo Fan had started moving in their direction about an hour ago...

His speed was remarkable, too. In Desolate City, where Demon-Beasts prowled freely, he wasn't hiding or sneaking — he was walking in a straight line, completely unhurried, bold as brass.

*Has Mo Fan's Gloom Wolf Beast successfully evolved?* Zhao Manyan couldn't help but wonder. How else could he move that fast — and travel so brazenly?

The group had secured their shelter ahead of time: a church that had held up remarkably well over the years.

Its builders had clearly thought about the passage of time. The stone used was a type that resisted plant growth, leaving the structure nearly wholly intact — sealed well enough that even the dust was far thinner than in the surrounding ruins. A quick sweep and it was livable.

Three people had been left behind: Song Xia, gravely wounded and still unconscious; Bai Tingting, who had been tending to her without pause; and Mingcong, tasked with protecting them both.

"They're pulling back, but the return route is blocked. Not sure if they'll make it back before dark." Mingcong received the message and relayed it to Bai Tingting.

Bai Tingting was kneeling at Song Xia's side, her weight settled into her full calves, her figure filling out her thin trousers in a way that left not a single crease — a sight that naturally invited a certain kind of imagination...

Mingcong was no saint. Seeing Bai Tingting absorbed in her healing, he let his gaze linger shamelessly, occasionally swallowing.

It was common knowledge that Liao Mingxuan had feelings for Mu Nujiao — he buzzed around her like a bee, only to be endlessly undercut by Mo Fan. As for Mingcong, he had never held any particular opinion of Mo Fan — until he noticed that Bai Tingting, the girl he had his eye on, treated Mo Fan with unmistakable warmth. Add to that Mo Fan's innate Dual Elements, which made him impossible to overlook, and Mingcong's goodwill curdled fast. When Liao Mingxuan, Shen Mingxiao, and Luo Song began openly ganging up on Mo Fan, Mingcong fell into line without a second thought.

Staying behind at the church had been his own idea. He was hoping to use the opportunity to get closer to Bai Tingting.

"Mingcong, go find some reasonably clean water — I need to wash her wounds." Bai Tingting directed him.

"Just use the drinking water."

"Washing wounds takes a lot of water. We don't have much to spare — save it for drinking." Bai Tingting said.

"Fine."

Mingcong picked up the water jug and headed out, turning over in his mind where he might find some...

He remembered spotting a pond thick with water plants on the way in. The water there should be clean enough for wounds.

He reached the pond without incident and lowered the jug into the water with barely a thought — while his mind kept drifting back to the way Bai Tingting's trousers had been stretched taut and round against her figure.

Bai Tingting was different from Mu Nujiao or Mu Ningxue — shorter, with a full, generous build rather than a slender one. Mingcong had never been drawn to thin women; he liked exactly this type, with curves that stood out in all the right places. She would feel wonderfully soft to hold, he imagined.

Under normal circumstances, most people in the dangerous expanse of Desolate City would have had Demon-Beasts firmly on their minds. But the worse things got — the more you were forced to huddle inside a crumbling church — the more easily darker thoughts crept in. Mingcong had watched plenty of a certain genre of film set in apocalyptic settings, and being here alone with Bai Tingting fit the atmosphere disturbingly well...

He had been away long enough that the particular appetite he had rarely gone a day without satisfying was making itself sharply known. The filthy thoughts multiplied, fantasy after fantasy drifting through his head unchecked.

The jug had been full for quite some time. Mingcong still hadn't noticed.

And when something that looked like a water spider crawled along his submerged hand and slipped up into his sleeve, he didn't notice that either.

The translucent creature scurried deeper inside his clothing — then simply crouched there, perfectly still, making no move at all.

*Enough daydreaming.* Mingcong gave himself a mental shake. *Standing here lost in fantasy gets me nowhere. Better to go talk to her — figure out how to win her over.* He wasn't some hopeless fool; he knew fantasizing got you exactly nowhere. The real task was charming Bai Tingting and taking things from there.

He turned and headed back to the church — unknowingly carrying his small, translucent stowaway along with him.

"Godforsaken place — bugs everywhere," Mingcong muttered, scratching at his back. He had the nagging feeling something had bitten him.