Chapter 313
However, Jake chose not to let the crawler wander the streets on its own. Instead, he decided to accompany it. He remembered how distressing it was to watch his Rank I ten-legged crawler being killed by a walker. He definitely wasn’t willing to lose this one, too.
Sure, now that the Creation Chamber had memorized the genetic code for the Rank IV Superior acid-spitting ten-legged crawler, he could easily spawn more such creatures via the Hive Nexus. Still, after investing so much time and effort into evolving this specific spider, he felt an attachment to it and didn’t want to risk losing this particular creature.
So instead of letting the crawler roam the streets alone, he gave it a mental command to follow him while staying out of sight to avoid detection by enemies. He exited his lair and made his way to the roof. The crawler always followed him, effortlessly scaling vertical surfaces.
Jake approached the parapet and jumped down. Once he landed, he turned and looked up, eager to see what the crawler would do. The long front legs of the spider wrapped around the parapet as the creature peered over it. More of its body came into view as the crawler looked down, assessing the drop.
Jake was certain that his creature wouldn’t suffer much—if any—damage from a jump. The tall, thick grass might also soften its landing somewhat. Still, the crawler opted not to take that risk. Crawling over the parapet, it scuttled down the wall and approached him, waiting for further instructions.
Picking a random direction, Jake settled into a brisk jog, and the spider followed. For the next several minutes, he roamed the streets, with the spider easily keeping pace alongside him.
Jake was sure that if he accelerated to his top speed, the spider wouldn’t be able to keep up. But as long as he moved at a moderate pace, the crawler had no trouble staying just two steps behind him.
Eventually, they encountered a lone walker, aimlessly wandering in circles in the middle of the street. Jake stopped at a safe distance to prevent attracting the ex-human’s attention. The crawler halted at his side as well, completely hidden from sight by the deep grass.
It was time to see how well the spider would perform in a fight against a lone walker. Jake sent a mental command to his creature to attack. The spider immediately obeyed, scuttling through the grass toward the unsuspecting enemy.
Jake watched with keen interest. The crawler was much more powerful than the previous one he had allowed to roam the streets. Would it succeed in defeating the walker without meeting the same fate as its predecessor?
The crawler stopped at a distance from the walker. The ex-human remained blissfully unaware. Nothing happened for a moment. Then a glob of acid flew through the air and splattered against the walker’s chest. The potent acid immediately began to eat away at the mutant’s flesh.
The ex-human snarled in rage, possibly in pain as well. It glanced around, searching for the attacker. The crawler remained completely hidden from sight. Although the walker faced the direction of the crawler, it couldn’t detect it. However, the ex-human was aware of the acid shot coming from that direction.
The mutant moved forward, scanning its surroundings. In the next moment, two events occurred at the same time. First, another shot soared through the grass. The mutant noticed it and tried to dodge the projectile. It succeeded only partly, as the acid glob struck its shoulder instead of its chest again.
That’s when the walker finally managed to discern the ten-legged creature hidden within the thick grass. Snarling triumphantly, the walker lunged at its enemy. Unfortunately for it, the spider was far too fast and agile to be caught. It easily evaded the ex-human’s outstretched hands and scurried around the walker.
Jake couldn’t see the crawler, but he deduced its movements from the swaying grass it traversed. The crawler had positioned itself behind the walker. As for the ex-human, it had lost sight of its foe, failing to track its movements.
As the mutant straightened, it scanned the area, searching for the spider. The crawler launched another acid projectile at the walker, this time aiming at its back. Fueled by rage, the walker spun around and immediately charged toward the spider.
It wasn’t clear if the mutant had actually noticed the spider or if it merely ran toward where it expected the enemy to be. The crawler didn’t allow itself to be caught, easily evading the mutant once more. This time, the ex-human paid attention to the spider’s movements. It gave chase, trying to catch the spider, but it evaded its claws yet again.
For the next several seconds, the walker tried to catch the crawler, but the spider successfully evaded it each time.
While the walker wasn’t dead yet, the damage it had sustained was taking a toll on its body. One of the mutant’s arms was completely unresponsive, dangling at its side. Its shoulder, heavily damaged by acid, was barely attached to the ex-human’s body, flesh and bone heavily ravaged by acid. The mutant’s movements were sluggish and clumsy.
The walker was obviously dying, so all the spider needed to do was evade its claws until the ex-human finally succumbed to its wounds. However, the crawler had something else in mind. At one point, it launched an acid glob at the walker’s ankle.
The acid quickly ate away at the ex-human’s flesh and bones, causing it to collapse face-first to the ground. The crawler immediately scurried across its back, tightly wrapping its long legs around the walker’s head. Then, the spider sank its fangs into the back of the mutant’s head, easily breaking through the skull.
The walker extended its good hand toward the spider, but its strength had waned, leaving it unable to dislodge the creature. Its claws barely scratched the spider’s body, leaving only shallow marks. That was the full extent of the damage the ex-human could inflict on the crawler.
The mutant struggled for a few more seconds as the spider plunged its fangs deeper and deeper into its head. Then the mutant’s body convulsed one final time before becoming still. The crawler released its hold on the mutant’s head. Climbing down to the ground, it scuttled to Jake, coming to a stop at his side.
Enemy Killed. +100 XP
Jake couldn’t remember the last time he felt such excitement in his life as a mutant. The crawler managed to take down the walker with surprising ease. Its movements were fast and agile, and its acid shots were precise and powerful.
The crawler was quite smart as well. Instead of getting close to its opponent, it maintained a distance, utilizing its powerful acid-spitting ability instead.
It hadn’t emerged completely unscathed, but the scratches it had sustained were shallow and didn’t ooze any mana. While the walker was too weak when it lashed out with its claws at the spider, Jake was sure the spider’s enhanced resilience to damage also played a crucial role in its survival. Its tough exoskeleton absorbed the attack, allowing it to withstand the strike without significant injury.
He noticed that the scratches the crawler had sustained in battle were closing rather slowly. His spider would definitely benefit from an Enhanced Regeneration ability.
Anyway, the result was even better than Jake had hoped. If a single Rank IV crawler took down a walker so easily, he couldn’t help but wonder what a group of such creatures could accomplish.
His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the rumble of an engine coming from behind. He spun around but saw no vehicles. Judging by the noise, it was clear the unseen vehicle was getting closer.
Jake waited, not bothering to hide. If it was Los Demonios, he could handle them easily. If they were regular survivors, he would let them be. His spider remained deep within the tall grass, well out of sight. Jake mentally instructed it to stay hidden.
Finally, a black vehicle emerged from the side. It turned toward Jake and drove in his direction. The red demon skull painted on its hood made it clear it was Los Demonios. Jake decided to wait for the vehicle to get closer before launching his attack.
To his surprise, the car began to slow down, coming to a complete stop thirty yards away. It wasn’t the typical technical or SUV favored by gang members. Instead, it was a muscle car, its sides reinforced with armor plating, yet without any visible weapons.
Behind the steering wheel sat a male human wearing a red scarf wrapped around his neck. From Jake’s vantage point, it appeared there was no one else in the car.
For a moment, the man and Jake stared at each other. Then the bandit slowly opened the door and got out of the car. He was armed with a huge pistol holstered at his hip, but he refrained from drawing it.
This was certainly an unusual situation. It was clear that the man wasn’t inclined to fight, so Jake stood in the same spot, completely motionless, waiting to see how things would play out.
The man fixed his gaze on him for a few seconds, then called out to be heard over the distance, “You’re Jake, right?”
Jake nodded.
“Good,” the bandit continued, a smirk creeping across his lips. “I’m not here to fight, as you may have already noticed. I have a message for you. From Skullface. You best pay attention to my words, Jake. It’s really important. You need to hear this.”
Jake silently waited for the man to elaborate.