?Reading on mobile device The giant spider dug furiously, its massive body soon plunging deep into the earth. Eight Zero E-book Qin Feng remained calm, having already secured a signal transmitter in one of its wounds. Unless this creature swam all the way to the sea, it would never escape his sight. No one had ever heard of spiders swimming—so this concern was entirely unnecessary. Soon, through his tablet, he located the spider's lair. Though blind in its eyes, the spider successfully excavated a passage connecting with the original one. The lair lay deep underground, about fifteen meters below the surface, surrounded entirely by stone, with only a narrow path for entry and exit. What's the point of not entering the tiger's den to get the tiger's cub? For Qin, who rarely adheres to conventional wisdom, this principle seems like a myth. He prefers to strike from the unexpected rather than charge head-on. What about the stones? His flying sword isn't exactly a beginner. The flying sword began to spin rapidly, soon carving out a circular opening over twenty centimeters in diameter, directly leading to the spider's lair. The spider was severely injured, lying motionless in its nest, gently licking its wounds—surely, it had never suffered such a major setback since it was born. Thanks to its very presence, all other animals on the island, except for swift-flying birds, had been completely consumed. This spider had lived for more than five centuries, just as Qin Feng had suspected—it had indeed achieved spiritual refinement. Had it not been accidentally discovered by Qin's young master, it would have likely lived several more centuries. A sharp, piercing sound rang out overhead, prompting the spider to instinctively lift its head—only then did it realize its eyes were now blind. Crash... thunderous! A large boulder fell down, and the spider darted to the side, its frantic movements tearing open several wounds still in the process of healing, emitting sharp, plaintive cries. Of course, it wasn't just a single boulder—several artillery shells had also struck. Boom… boom… a series of deep resonances shook the ground, and Qin, the young lord, chuckled to himself, saying, “Even if I can’t kill you outright, you’ll be seriously injured—by the time you crawl out, I’ll give you a complete knockout!” After the explosion, the ground remained quiet for several minutes. Suddenly, a section of soil cracked open, revealing a large pair of claws. Swoosh— the flying sword arrived instantly, piercing the spider’s open mouth and plunging deep into its abdomen, where it began stirring vigorously. Before the spider had fully reached the ground, its internal organs were already mashed into a pulp. Its head tilted sideways and it went still. The sword then emerged from the wound on the spider’s back, swaying gently in the air, clearing the clinging fragments of flesh with precision. Qin stepped forward and kicked the spider squarely in the head, grumbling, “You’re big, aren’t you? Well, that’s just what I like—challenging the big ones!” He thought it was time to show Qingzi something special. Indeed, when the beautiful woman saw the massive spider corpse, she was utterly amazed—she had never imagined such a large creature existed. "Feng, you killed it, didn't you?" she asked. "Yes, surely you don't think it committed suicide?" he smiled. She glanced at it thoughtfully and added, "Growing up this big must have been quite a challenge—surely it would be protected as a species!" Qin Shao looked slightly embarrassed, saying, "This creature has such strong offensive power—bullet shells can't even knock it down. If it ended up in a human city, who knows how many people would perish!" "Ah, yes, you've certainly worked hard," the woman said, giving him a gentle kiss. Qin Shao, of course, wasn't about to be shy—he transformed the ordinary kiss into a full, passionate one. "Mmm…" Qingzi began to resist, though Qin Feng knew it wasn't the first time—wasn't she showing quite a bit of enthusiasm this time? He had originally dismissed it as unimportant, but as Clearo began gently patting his back—though the force was light, the pace grew increasingly rapid—he paused and asked, "What's going on? Could it be that Mr. Hirata, the old man, has noticed again?" Breathing heavily, Clearo said, "Look! Something has flown out of the spider's head—it's glowing!" Qin, the young lord, turned to see indeed a pearl the size of a pale yellow egg, radiating a soft white light, slowly emerging from the spider's ruptured skull and rising steadily upward. "Then perhaps," he murmured, "this is the legendary inner essence." He reached out and caught the glowing orb in his hand. The orb began to resist, trying to escape his grasp, and Clearo exclaimed, "It's so strange—it seems eager to run. Don't let go!" "Of course not," he thought, and with a mental effort, he enclosed the orb within his talisman, during which it continued to struggle. Without the inner essence, the giant spider's body rapidly shrank, eventually shrinking down to the size of a palm. Qingzi, who had witnessed the entire process, was even more astonished. "Wow, truly a refined being," he said with a smile. "I just wonder what use this inner essence serves—I'll ask Vivian about it when we get home!" "Who's Vivian?" Qingzi asked. Oh no, he'd accidentally revealed that. He smiled and said, "Vivian is one of your close friends. You'll meet her when we return to China!" "Ah," Qingzi replied. She was a thoughtful girl and knew not to ask questions that should remain unasked. The two walked hand in hand away from here, to the beach. Hirata Ichiro, seeing them unharmed, finally relaxed, his heart settling back in his chest. He smiled and asked, "Xiao Feng, was it you who caused the explosion just now?" "Me." "Qin made a few small lies, saying: 'I noticed a few stones that didn't look right, so I had them blown up. Uncle, have you made contact with the captain and the rescue team?' 'Should have been established already. They've been busy for quite a while,' he replied. The three of them boarded the plane together. The co-pilot didn't wait for him to ask, but volunteered: 'Boss, we've made contact with the Chinese side. They've dispatched a maritime patrol vessel heading our way, and another frigate is also en route, not far away. We expect them to arrive in about four hours!' 'Good. Then we'll just wait another four hours,' he said with enthusiasm. 'You two have done a great job. When we return to China, I'll give you a bonus!' The two captains were delighted—what could be better than receiving a bonus? Ichiro Harada kept looking at the window on the side, his brows furrowing as he said, "Are you certain we have to wait for four hours? Aside from those two ships, are there no other vessels active in the vicinity?" The captain replied, "No, that's exactly what China has stated—they're certain there are no ships in this area at the moment!" "Mr. Captain, why do you ask this?" the co-pilot was puzzled. The elderly man pointed out the window, saying, "How do we explain those three ships? From their appearance, they should be cargo vessels, yet their course is directly heading straight toward us!"