Chapter 14: Growing Stronger by Combing Hair

The web of flesh and blood bound the three tightly, constricting ever more. Though the web dragged them forward at a sluggish pace, the trio was nevertheless pulled inexorably toward the gaping maw of the spider-human abomination.

Observing this, Fanbian was beside itself with excitement, convinced that victory was within its grasp; it already regarded these three as its next meal. Much to Fanbian's irritation, however, the captives within the flesh-web showed none of the terror it had anticipated. Each appeared utterly at ease, unfazed by their predicament. Qin Qisan even lounged there, leisurely combing his hair with a toothless wooden comb.

At that moment, Lin Yu cast a disdainful glance at Master Lu not far off and laughed. “Seems even a level-19 bug like this can’t be underestimated. I hadn’t meant to stir up such a commotion, but now things are getting out of hand again. What now? Who’s taking the fall this time?”

“Well, Boss Lin, your rank is highest, so naturally the responsibility is yours. I think you ought to set an example,” Wu Miaoran replied coquettishly.

“Don’t try to flatter me to death. It was me last time, and the time before that, too. It’s true a leader should take responsibility, but you can’t expect the boss to be the scapegoat every single time,” Lin Yu muttered, still being dragged along.

“Boss, after all, our two contracts last much longer than yours. Why not just sacrifice for the team once more? As compensation, I’ll let you take eighty percent of this month’s livestream earnings. How about it?” Wu Miaoran offered.

The mention of a cut tempted Lin Yu, but before he could respond, Qin Qisan—whose rear was nearly chafed raw from being dragged—suddenly spoke up. “No need to argue. This damned bug ruined my comb and my hairstyle. Today, I’m taking it down myself!”

Before Qin Qisan even finished, Master Lu burst into raucous laughter. “Ha ha ha! So you’re arguing over who should die first? No need for discussion—let me make the choice for you. Aren’t you so-called food-review streamers always boasting that your fans get the first taste? Then today, I’ll eat the lady streamer first. Any objections?”

Qin Qisan didn’t answer. Instead, he kept combing his hair, while with his other hand he seized the flesh web.

Surprisingly, the web immediately halted. Qin Qisan set down his comb and asked, “How many strokes did I do?”

“Four,” Wu Miaoran replied.

“Good, shouldn’t get out of control, then.” With that, he tucked the comb into his shirt, then gripped the flesh web with both hands and tore it apart with ease, as if ripping a sheet of paper.

Master Lu gaped in disbelief, shouting, “That’s impossible! This web is tougher than steel rebar—how could you tear it apart with your bare hands?”

Qin Qisan had no interest in explaining. Clenching his fists, he strode toward the spider-human monster, which was blocked at the stairwell.

Fanbian was aghast. Though Qin Qisan looked every bit the ordinary man, his aura had transformed utterly—he was almost unrecognizable from just moments before. A terrifying presence radiated from him, increasing with each step, pressing in with overwhelming force.

Parasitic insects, like the common creatures of the wild, are keenly attuned to danger precisely because of their own weakness. At this moment, Fanbian sensed an unprecedented sense of mortal peril, as though stared down by a natural enemy, or by death itself.

Terrifying—this man was utterly terrifying…

Realizing things had gone awry, Fanbian understood it would have to fight with every ounce of its strength just to stand a chance. Without delay, it directed Master Lu to plunge his right hand into the body of the spider-human monster. “Merge—devour this one!”

Fanbian commanded the creature to consume Master Lu’s body. In an instant, the monster absorbed his right hand, then his entire arm, and finally swallowed him whole, its form shifting as it did. The process took less than two seconds, like a blob of sludge engulfing a living person.

After the merger, the spider-human’s body swelled massively. Its hairs became bristly and rigid, all six arms bulged with powerful, corded muscles, each segment gleaming with a strange sheen. Its fingers grew thick and long, tipped with jet-black, razor-sharp claws as keen as blades.

A moment later, the berserk monster flexed its arms and shattered the sturdy golden bubble imprisoning it, breaking free.

Sand and rubble flew; the creature roared in fury, wild and violent as a beast unchained. Qin Qisan had already drawn near. The monster’s bellow rang with deafening volume.

Without hesitation, the rampaging creature hurled itself from the stairwell, smashing the entrance to pieces with its bulk, raising all six massive claws to seize Qin Qisan as he approached with measured steps.

“Die, accursed human!”

Expressionless, Qin Qisan gently pushed with both hands, effortlessly deflecting all six claws. Then, with a single punch, he struck the creature’s abdomen.

A thunderous bang—the monster’s belly exploded, leaving a gaping, bloody hole, a nauseating stench billowing forth.

The punch was simple, yet devastatingly powerful.

The berserk creature howled in agony, spitting forth a scarlet tendril of flesh, aiming to ensnare Qin Qisan’s neck. But with astonishing speed, Qin Qisan caught the tendril, yanked it free from the monster’s mouth, and wound it around his own hand.

Blood spurted from the monster as its eight eyes darted wildly in terror, its claws flailing frantically at Qin Qisan. Yet every frenzied attack was neutralized by Qin Qisan single-handedly, each assault accompanied by the crisp snap of breaking bone.

With every attack, Qin Qisan snapped another of its limbs.

In less than a minute, Qin Qisan had felled the raging creature.

The spider-human monstrosity collapsed into a pool of blood, the torn flesh tendril dragging its grotesque stomach out through its mouth. Its six arms and two legs were all mangled and ruined, limbs scattered haphazardly.

Qin Qisan dusted off his hands and once again tidied his hair.

His dignified appearance was more than a weapon—he possessed another formidable ability. When consciously activated, this power allowed him to awaken the body’s eight extraordinary meridians while combing his hair, granting him terrifying strength for a short time.

The more strokes of the comb, the more meridians awakened, and the greater the boost to his physical abilities. But the strain on the body increased accordingly. After six strokes, strength and agility reached unmeasurable levels, but at the risk of death.

At that moment, Qin Qisan had activated four meridians; a single punch now carried the force of two tons. Even if the spider-human had been forged of steel, it would have stood no chance.

No sooner had the berserk monster fallen dead than a rushing, tidal sound began to surge from below the stairs. Moments later, a dense swarm of black spiders crawled up from beneath—all of them native spiders, clearly summoned by Fanbian to reinforce it.

The spiders swarmed upward in endless waves, squeezing through every gap.

Though Qin Qisan’s strength had increased dramatically, there was no good way to deal with such numbers. He decided to use the fallen monster’s body to block the stairway and hold back the spiders.

Just then, Lin Yu shouted, “Don’t touch that corpse—Fanbian is trying to escape in the chaos!”

With that, he raised his Mist-forged Head and hurled a massive golden bubble, which instantly enveloped the monster’s corpse.

Almost simultaneously, a seemingly insignificant blood-red spider scuttled out of the monster’s body, trying to slip away amidst the confusion. But it was a moment too late and was caught within the golden bubble.

It scratched furiously at the bubble’s wall, clawing until it finally lost all strength.

Fanbian had long realized it stood no chance against Qin Qisan. In the end, it planned to use the rampaging monster as a shield while it escaped among the summoned spiders. Unfortunately for it, Lin Yu saw through the ploy at a glance, and Fanbian was left utterly defeated.