Having gone through so many events, Chen Shouyi was no longer a rookie who would be startled into a panic by a slight anomaly.

He quickly felt for an arrow, scanning the surroundings.

Before long, he spotted his target inside the glass wall on the fourth floor.

Its body was a beautiful silver, with a hint of metallic sheen, and compared to the somewhat bloated physique of an ordinary giant spider, it appeared more petite, with a sleek and streamlined form.

If an ordinary giant spider could be described as a burly laborer, this silver giant spider was like an aristocrat among spiders, magnificent and stunning.

At the first sight of it, Chen Shouyi's pupils constricted, sensing a hint of danger.

The two locked eyes from a distance.

The next moment, Chen Shouyi suddenly drew his bow and shot an arrow.

The arrow flew like light, disappearing in a flash, too quick for the naked eye to catch.

With a "boom!"

The glass wall shattered, and the arrow, after penetrating through, embedded more than half its length into the ceiling, its tail violently quivering, emitting a buzzing sound.

However, the silver figure had already vanished without a trace.

He hadn't hit it at all.

Chen Shouyi immediately drew another arrow, nocking it onto the bowstring.

His face was solemn as he turned around, searching.

Where?

Where did it hide?

Suddenly, he glimpsed a flash of silver light from the corner of his eye, his gaze turning cold as he swiftly sidestepped and shot another arrow.

Unfortunately, aside from breaking a lot of glass, he achieved nothing.

This feeling was quite terrible; in a daze, it seemed as though he had become the prey.

He took a deep breath, glancing back at the mall entrance, just over thirty meters away, easing his heart slightly.

This silver giant spider gave him a strong sense of unease; its movement speed was too fast, challenging even for him to track.

Just as he turned back, an anomaly occurred.

A side of the fourth-floor glass suddenly shattered, and Chen Shouyi swiftly sidestepped to see a silver figure leap from the fourth floor, spreading silver wings, and shooting towards him.

The wings flapped at high frequencies, creating a grand buzzing noise in the surrounding air.

It could even fly.

Seeing the swiftly approaching silver figure, a flicker of surprise crossed his heart, yet his hands moved without hesitation.

Chen Shouyi instantly loosed an arrow, which grazed the silver figure, embedding right into the ceiling. His brows furrowed, but he was too occupied to mind, quickly drawing another arrow and shooting once more.

Yet, surprisingly, the silver creature was incredibly agile even in the air, continuously dodging the arrows.

Cold sweat seeped across Chen Shouyi's back as he frequently shot arrows while beginning to retreat rapidly.

Facing the rapidly approaching silver giant spider, he finally felt the pressure of death, provoking an impulse to turn and flee.

But he knew well that turning would be certain death.

One can imagine, that once he turned, perhaps the next moment would be his end.

He gritted his teeth, relentlessly shooting arrows. Though they were futile, they successfully hindered the creature's approach.

A few steps later, he retreated to the street.

After shooting another arrow to momentarily force back the terrifying silver creature, he swiftly dashed to the left and stepped away from the entrance, leaping five or six meters high, and then caught a broken window on the second floor mid-air, swinging his body into the second floor of the mall.

He hastily took a few steps, crouching in a corner, pretending to be a corpse, holding his breath without moving.

Where he stood, ironically, a young female corpse lay beside, her chest and abdomen hollowed out, her face contorted, eyes bloodshot and staring at Chen Shouyi in death like an unyielding challenge.

As if mocking his cowardice, he instinctively avoided her gaze.

...

The grand buzzing sound persisted.

Like a passenger plane flying low, causing the surrounding glass to tremble slightly.

At this moment, the trembling sound grew louder and louder.

Soon, a massive shadow cast over the window like the shadow of Death, hovering motionlessly, the silver giant spider seemingly peering inside through the glass.

Chen Shouyi shrank into the corner, holding utterly still.

After several seconds, the shadow vanished swiftly, allowing him to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Chen Shouyi patiently waited another half minute, only standing up when there was no more commotion around.

He went to the window for a look; the silver figure had vanished completely, having evidently moved elsewhere.

He leaped down from the window.

The street was deserted, a strange scent of blood and smoke lingering in the air, the rumble of cannons occasionally resounding from afar.

The sun had already turned westward; unbeknownst to him, it was nearing evening.

Thinking of the vanished silver giant spider, a pall of gloom descended upon his heart, prompting him to quickly make his way home, not daring to linger outside.

A few minutes later, seeing his peaceful residential area, he finally exhaled in relief, his whole body relaxing.

...

The shoes he left behind in the morning were still there, neither picked up by anyone nor tossed into the trash.

He grabbed the shoes and went up to the fifth floor.

"Thank heaven, thank Buddha, you finally came back; I was worried sick. Why is there so much blood on you? Let me see if you're hurt," Mrs. Chen, who had just relaxed seeing Chen Shouyi return, immediately expressed concern.

"Mom, I'm fine, the blood is someone else's, not a scratch on me," Chen Shouyi quickly replied, his voice somewhat weary, setting down the shoes.

"Really nothing wrong?" Mrs. Chen asked, worriedly.

"Look at me, do I have a problem?" Chen Shouyi patted his chest, then changed the subject, "Mom, can we have dinner now, I'm starving."

Besides having breakfast, he hadn't eaten all day. Coupled with intense exercise, his stomach was burning with hunger.

"Dinner's long been ready; I'll take it out now," Chen Dawei snapped back to reality, hurriedly heading to the kitchen, with Chen Xingyue and Song Tingting following suit to help.

Chen Shouyi fetched a full set of clothes from the bedroom and went into the bathroom.

Hedong City's tap water and natural gas had not been cut off, as essential public infrastructures; once electricity was out, they immediately switched to steam power, though how long they could sustain it was unknown.

He stripped off his clothes and turned on the tap, pouring near-freezing water over himself.

He scrubbed vigorously, washing away all the stench and blood.

...

At dinner, Song Tingting grew restless, her face anxious.

The time was already 5:30, yet neither of her parents had returned.

"Don't overthink, they should be at work; it's too dangerous to go home now," Mrs. Chen reassured her, "Tonight, you can squeeze in with Xing Yue."

"Yes, your dad's place is an important protection unit, surely with military defenses, and your mom's at the prosecutor's office right next to the city government, it shouldn't get dangerous, don't worry," Chen Shouyi also comforted.

"I know!" Song Tingting displayed a resilient smile, lowering her head and eating heartily.

...

At night, Chen Shouyi quietly listened to the outside artillery fire; though his body was utterly exhausted, he still turned over restlessly, unable to sleep.

"Kind giant, what's happening outside, is it thundering?" The Shell Lady beside him asked curiously, her eyes glimmering in the darkness, turning to face Chen Shouyi.

"Child, don't ask so many questions, just sleep," Chen Shouyi said.

"Hmmph, I'm not a child!" Shell Lady retorted, disapproving, "I've seen countless sunrises and sunsets."

Is that the point of what I'm saying?

"So tell me, how many sunrises and sunsets have you seen?" Chen Shouyi asked.

Shell Lady blanched, angry, "You silly giant, it's so many, I'd be exhausted counting them."

"Then stop bragging and sleep."

"Hmph, I'm not bragging," Shell Lady huffed, turning away and ignoring him.

The bedroom fell silent.

Chen Shouyi turned his head, staring dazed out the window, the blood-red moonlight seemingly heralding a bloody night.

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