Chapter 248 – Tanis – Arachnid
Arachnid. This is a temporary name given to that giant shell spider.
It did not attack immediately like experienced beasts of prey do. He slowly looked us over and looked at the liver.
The legs in the shape of a huge spider look as hard as diamond stone, and seem like they could split a rock in one fell swoop.
The joints, which are generally weak points, are also hidden by cleverly crossing the carapace.
There is hair all over the body, but it is not fine hair like a tarantula. It is a long, flexible fur reminiscent of a cat’s whiskers. Either way, it’s just disgusting.
“Youngman, lie down and hide at the edge. It moves slowly.”
I said without even looking at Solaver behind me.
“I’ll help too!”
“I am heartbroken, but that weapon will have no effect on him.”
The Thunder Cannon is a weapon specialized in blowing away human-sized enemies through shock waves. It is useless against a monster of such a huge weight class.
“At least let me play the role of bait. It’s like I dragged you all the way here, so you can’t hide alone.”
“Your body cannot keep up with our movements. Hide in a reasonably dark place. That way, I can fight with peace of mind.”
“… I understand.”
The 4th stalkers have already lowered their bodies as low as possible and are ready to jump out at any time. The muzzle is pointed at Arachnid without shaking.
“Shhhhh-!!!”
A roar like the sound of metal attacked us. No one has ever heard a spider cry, but I think that’s exactly what it would feel like if it actually cried.
The moment it took the first step of charging, it fired all at once. The place we were aiming for was snow. It is the vulnerability of all living things.
With the sound of a series of explosions, the skin burst and a disgusting black-grey liquid flowed out. There is also a white liquid mixed in that appears to be eye juice.
The loud roar quickly turned into a tearing scream.
No matter how strong a monster is, if its eyes are destroyed, it will lose its balance and fall into panic. But he was different.
Thud! Thud! An earth-shaking roar approaches us.
Even though he was blind, he rushed straight towards this direction. It wasn’t just about rushing in out of pain.
We immediately scattered in all directions, and he chased after one of them. The unlucky winner is Echo.
“You blow your eyes, but you perceive your surroundings just fine?”
Echo escaped with all his might, and I and the other robots chased after Arachnid and fired.
Powerful explosive shells exploded repeatedly on its surface, but it was difficult to completely pierce its extremely thick shell.
A broken shell, a bit of flesh, and a lot less blood flowed. That is just a blow to the level of ‘shaking it off.’
Kwazijic!
The mushroom-shaped tree blocking Arachnid’s path was instantly split in two and fell. Now the distance between him and Echo is just a few meters.
Meanwhile, Echo, who was running away without looking back, put his gun behind his shoulder and pulled the trigger.
Ta-ta-tang!
Arachnid’s already broken face is further crushed and a scream of pain resounds.
It was a shooting technique that was possible thanks to the shared view screen of the auxiliary camera and other colleagues, and the athletic ability of the stalker model.
Kwaang!
A huge spider leg crashed down where Echo was. The rocky ground erupts as if exploding. Its power was at the level of a battering ram.
Echo, who narrowly avoided it, rolled two times and got up as if bouncing from the recoil.
At the same time, the Arachnid’s fur in that direction stood up as if sensing air movement.
“Damage!”
In an instant, Arachnid turns his head and charges like an angry bull towards the fleeing Echo.
It is a stalker model that will easily surpass even the world champion in sprinting, but it cannot be compared to Arachnid in terms of stride length.
As the temple-pillar-like legs started pounding, they caught up in an instant. If you hit it just once, it will turn into a lump of scrap metal.
However, Echo does not take it lightly. While running away, he suddenly stopped, sat down like a frog, and kicked his back with all his might.
Arachnid was momentarily taken aback by the sight of his prey slipping under his stomach. He changed his posture awkwardly and revealed his face to us.
Immediately, five gun muzzles burst into flames, and blood and flesh poured out.
Pump!
Even the appendages around the mouth were completely shattered and fell off.
“Shaaaaak-!”
It screamed hysterically and shot white discharge from its mouth at us.
At first it was in the form of a round sphere, but it suddenly spread wide across the sky. It’s a spider web!
The way it worked was reminiscent of the capture net gun I used during the shelter retrieval operation.
The spider webs, which were white at first, quickly turned transparent as they flew.
We ran at full speed and got out of range.
“Shaaaaak-!”
But it spewed out a second and third web of spider webs.
Avoiding it itself wasn’t difficult, but the problem was that the space to step was getting narrower. The spider web spread on the ground looked as sticky as a mousetrap. Perhaps this was his plan.
Arachnid, who was spitting out spider webs, paused for a moment and spit out something else.
Wedge!
A lump of yellow liquid flew away with a tremendous noise. At the end was Tango, in charge of autonomous weapons.
Cheeeeek!
The digestive juices that narrowly missed flew in all directions as if exploding. It emits white smoke from everything it touches, and it is so strong that it can even melt rocks.
[Shot. Minor damage.]
Tango said.
He was running, steam rising from his Achilles tendon. It was still fast, but it felt strangely clanky.
Arachnid resumed his charge towards Tango.
Kwaaang!
A 2-meter natural rock pillar along the path shattered, scattering stone fragments. In front of him is Tango, who is running away with his back turned.
Due to the difference in leg length and the damage, the distance between the two quickly narrowed.
A faint murderous intent flashed between Arachnid’s eyeballs, which were mushy and flowing with bodily fluids.
That moment.
Beep.
A small electronic beep emanated from the ground.
Boom.
Something pops up from the ground.
Kwaaaaang!!!
A large explosion occurred beneath Arachnid’s ship. The huge body seemed to have taken all the pressure as a pack of boats and rolled over in the same way it had been running.
“Shh… Shhh…”
Perhaps this was a blow that was too hard for him to bear, and he collapsed without being able to chase Tango who was only 5 meters in front.
Two strands of pink intestines were flowing out from part of its stomach and were being dragged on the ground.
“Sigh-!!!”
The roar of evil shakes heaven and earth. But now I know. There is fear in it.
The guy stared at us for a while, then spasmed for a moment and spat out a lot of stuff from his mouth.
These are the remains of flying squirrel-like creatures that I ate earlier. The digestive juices are so strong that all the skin has already disappeared.
Thud! Boom!
Arachnid ran without even looking at us and disappeared beyond the hill from which it appeared.
[We are chasing you.]
Charlie, the explorer, chased after him, kicking trees and rocks with acrobatic movements.
It’s not about chasing the guy and killing him, but checking to see if he’s really running away, and if so, in what direction and how far away he is.
“Phew… Are you okay, old man?”
I looked in the direction where Solaver was hiding, but there was nothing there.
“Young Master?”
I was worried that I might have been caught up in the aftermath of the battle and fell off a cliff, but it was for nothing.
“Don’t worry!”
With his camouflage cloak fluttering, the old man crouching flat appeared.
Flap! The sight of him wearing a large cloak wrapped around his body and walking with the dusk in the background is so cool.
“If anyone sees it, it will look like I killed that guy alone.”
“I just followed your instructions faithfully, Commander.”
With him laughing heartily, we headed downhill.
[The entity name Arachnid escaped. There are many large and small canyons, trees, and caves below, making full observation difficult.]
Charlie, who had chased after him, returned and reported.
A healthier ecosystem existed between the target area and the research center than before.
“What way to detour?”
[Doesn’t exist. Several routes that appear to be natural caves have been discovered, but it is not clear where they lead. There is not enough battery to fly a drone.]
Drones are not the only problem with batteries. The robots that have been with us reliably until now also have limitations. There is no time to go back.
Looking down the slope, you can see dozens of small canyons forming a strange ecosystem.
I saw the flesh and blood stains that Arachnid shed.
“I wish he would stop paying attention to us and leave.”
We formed a formation and went down the steep road.
It even feels like the research center in the distance is beckoning them to come to them. A sense of elation and strength overflowed through my body.
* * *
“Urajil.”
Ta-ta-tang!
I cursed as I shot at the baby spiders that were the size of puppies.
Not even an hour has passed since I started taking steps full of hope.
It became clear to me that you can’t expect anything from the outdoors on this planet.
This canyon area we were passing through looked like a pretty beautiful ecosystem when seen from the outside.
After entering, it was peaceful for a while, and I was able to see a variety of non-hostile animals and plants. Would you say it is a healing point of an arduous journey?
However, the moment we went deeper, the environment suddenly changed. You have entered Arachnid’s nest.
“Upper left!”
At Solaver’s words, bullets were immediately fired in that direction.
Between the broken pieces of wood and sap, a piece of exploded spiderling meat falls.
After that, what seemed to be at least 10 baby spiders followed.
About half of them stopped chasing because they were greedy for the meat of their dead brothers and sisters, and their predatory habits were our only ally.
Moreover, we couldn’t just run forward.
“Keeeeek-!”
This is because there were walkers in between. Were they brought here after hearing the sound of a gunfight?
Poop!
Without even firing a bullet, he picked up the speed at which he was running and struck the bullet with the butt of the gun.
The guy falls down with the sound of his cheekbones collapsing.
I tried to get up and chase after him in anger, but it was impossible.
“Kieek-!”
Walker’s cries were strangely distorted as he looked back at the baby spiders biting at his heels.
Soon, the second and third spiderlings appear and bite the spider’s thighs and shins.
Walker killed one spider, but soon he was covered by baby spiders and fell to the ground.
“I guess those spider-like things were not infectious agents.”
Infectious agents are basically non-hostile. Even if the species are completely different, they are similar to cows and chickens, and only in a few exceptional cases do they prey on or attack their own species.
They don’t rush in and attack first like that.
[Attack at 10 o’clock!]
The wide-spread spider web missed us by a narrow margin.
“That damn bastard!”
The culprit was the Arachnid adult that was defeated by us. It jumped over the hills and canyons, preying on our gaps.
Cheeeeek!
While I was shaking off the baby spiders, I fell down in shock at the yellow liquid flying towards me.
– Gooooong!!!
Even though he avoided a direct hit, he even activated acceleration to avoid the splashing droplets.
Even if it is a spider web, the digestive juice attack is fatal even if it misses. Must be avoided at all costs.
In the midst of hectic pursuit from behind and attacks from the sky.
[Traps found ahead.]
Charlie warned.
A walker was suspended in the air between trees. Without further explanation, it is probably a spider web spun by Arachnid.
It seemed like the baby spiders had already eaten all the food, so only the almost inedible parts remained.
Only one guy was gnawing on the remains when he made eye contact with us.
Bang!
Pieces of crushed spider meat and drops of blood form on the spider web.
There were several such spider web traps spread out. Fortunately, there were leaves and walker corpses hanging around, so it was not difficult to distinguish them.
“Keeeeek-!”
A little further away, there are baby spiders feasting on walkers that have just been caught.
The sight of a walker writhing convulsively biting and chewing its snout evoked many different emotions.
“Just pass by.”
Robots aiming guns were stopped.
“The distance is far anyway, so we won’t chase you. Let’s save ammunition.”
Although they are a threat to us and have a nightmarish appearance, they are part of the ecosystem that preys on infectious agents and prevents pollution of the planet.
I didn’t necessarily want to kill him first. Of course, there is nothing we can do if they attack us.
[Fire incendiary bombs!]
Several spiderlings blocking the front turned into a ball of fire and struggled. The spider web they were hanging on also burned and broke in an instant.
“Shhhhh!!!”
The roar of an Arachnid adult was heard from a hill ahead.
Boom!
At the same time, there is a dull noise of hitting something.
“That crazy guy!”
Arachnid was hitting a rock that was about half as big as his body on a hill.
Ujikkeun!
A rock that was hanging precariously rolls towards us along the slope. Everything in front was crushed flat.
As I said before, the area we pass through is a terrain formed by dozens of large and small canyons.
The surprise attack of falling rocks rolling along the crevices of the canyon was quite threatening.
“Damn it! “Stop following me, you son of a bitch!”
After barely escaping by throwing his body, he shouted.
“We have no hard feelings towards you! Even if they catch all of us, there won’t be many parts to eat!”
But there’s no way he would understand. It had already disappeared to hide its true form and look for another surprise opportunity.
Meanwhile, it was also clearly revealed how many infectious agents it had been hunting.
At a glance, Walker’s characteristically mutated remains were seen hanging in spider webs here and there.
“Look over there.”
There is another village where Solaver pointed. It’s bigger than the place I first passed by, but it’s quite close from here.
“It seems like these spiders were blocking all the infectious agents coming from that direction.”
“Should I say it’s amazing or should I criticize it?”
Even when my life is threatened, I feel relieved to see something like that. I guess I too have been exposed to a lot of infectious agents.
It is finally time for this troubling chase to come to an end.
The area receiving benefits close to the terraformer village ended and a rocky area appeared. It is clearly outside Arachnid’s territory from here on.
Was he upset to see his enemy-like prey escape?
“Shhhhh-!!!”
Wow!
After tasting bitterness, the guy who had been chasing me from the highlands and keeping me in check descended himself.
However, there were countless spiderlings swarming all over its body. It looks like they brought some reinforcements.
As soon as Arachnid landed, baby spiders poured down to the ground.
Of course, we didn’t just watch.
The incendiary bombs fired all at once exploded all over his body.
The large body became a ball of fire, and flames penetrated the inner flesh that had been ruptured and exposed during the first battle. In particular, the taste of fire that travels through the intestines and into the stomach seems to be unbearable.
A roar filled with pain rings out.
Instinctively, I tried to extinguish the fire by rubbing my body on the floor, but the ignited oxidizer did not go out easily. Only the baby spiders were crushed by the violent movement.
In the meantime, there were some baby spiders that approached us.
Paaaaang!!!
I was swept away by Solaver’s thunder cannon and flew back tens of meters.
“Stop shooting. Everyone run! Save ammo!”
We ran without even looking. There really isn’t much left to get to the lab.
“Kkeeeee… Kkeeeeek-!”
When I glanced back at the faint sound of a scream, I saw that he had barely put out the fire by rolling around in the sand.
Or it could be that the blood and body fluids of the baby spiders that were crushed like grapes while rolling around put out the fire.
It stumbles and looks at us for a moment, but then it seems to give up and turns back to its nest.
“Hey you bastard!”
Instead of running, I stopped midway. His eyes are still turned this way.
“We were dirty together, let’s never see each other again!”
The guy didn’t understand at all, but he raised his middle finger and waved it vigorously.
“But don’t die. “It eats a lot of infectious agents.”
Haha!”
Solaver laughed out loud when she saw my funny joke.
“That’s a good attitude. An attitude of tolerance when it comes to life-threatening enemies that are part of nature’s cycle. That’s it. “They will continue to contribute to preventing infection on this planet.”
“Don’t overestimate. “It’s because ammunition is a waste.”
You have a habit of praising everything.
We found some free time and walked while catching our breath. Now we have really reached the end of the march.
When I left the slope, it felt like the lab was fixed in the distance and not moving at all. But now, I can feel it approaching in real time with every step I take.
“I never thought I could come this far.”
We finally reached the research lab complex.
Silver-white, extremely futuristic-looking structures. Each one seems to show off their presence, as if boasting that they contain the essence of science and technology.
In front of the main gate, Solaver had tears in his eyes.
“It’s too early to be impressed. It’s like we’ve finally entered the finals. “Nothing is over until the vaccine is in our hands.”
“Of course!”
Sola Ber nodded her head fiercely.
“Young Master, please open the door…”
The moment I gesture to the old man in front of the main gate of the research center.
White light came down from the scanner above the front door and scanned my face.
[□■□□■■□□■■■.]
A voice with a strange, indescribable tone spoke an alien language.
I couldn’t understand it, but the suit’s built-in interpretation device displayed subtitles on the visor.
-Identity verification completed. Welcome to visit. Agent Seo Jin-su.
As she passed me, Solaver tapped her on the shoulder.
“You don’t need to ask me anymore. “Now you are the rightful heirs of all this.”
Gooooo!
With a heavy sound, the tightly closed front door began to open.
Beyond that, the scent of darkness and death overflowed.
But at the end, there will be a hope sleeping that will drive away all this despair.
Vaccine. The fruit of all sacrifices.
We have come to retrieve it.
