Road Survival, I Have a Hint System!

"What is this place? Why is it so cold?"

Looking at the pitch-black, eerie basement, Zhang Tuohai couldn't help but frown.

To put it in perspective, the outside temperature was around 30 degrees Celsius. If it weren't for the need to hide his shotgun, he might have considered just wearing his stab-resistant vest to search for items.

However, this basement was dark and frigid, and the chilling air made him shiver even through his coat, which clearly didn’t make sense.

Even if this basement didn’t see sunlight for years, something was definitely off.

"System, is there any danger down here?"

[There is a huge mutated desert spider in the basement.]

[Mutated Desert Spider: A mutated creature caused by some radiation, with a massive body, sharp limbs, and a mouth filled with toxins. It can spit webs and prefers to liquefy its prey into protein. It fears strong light and flames.]

[Overall assessment: Low danger.]

"Is that so?" Hearing the system's explanation, Zhang Tuohai sighed with relief.

Since the system assessed the danger as low, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Zhang Tuohai organized his gear, took out a powerful flashlight and his shotgun, and, mimicking tactical moves from movies, cautiously entered the basement.

Creak, creak.

The old stairs groaned under his weight.

Zhang Tuohai carefully shone the flashlight on every inch of the ground, afraid a giant spider might pop out from somewhere.

As he turned a corner, he suddenly found a spacious area ahead.

Before him was a massive stone chamber.

The chamber was about three meters high and at least two to three hundred square meters in size.

Inside the chamber were rows of wooden racks, each filled with various bottles.

Each bottle contained an insect.

There were locusts, sandworms, centipedes, ants, but mostly various types of spiders.

Black, red, white, multicolored—various species filled the chamber.

Looking at the bottles, Zhang Tuohai felt a bit uneasy; breathing seemed somewhat difficult.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound from the corner of the chamber.

Zhang Tuohai quickly turned the flashlight in that direction.

To his shock, he saw a giant spider, standing nearly two meters tall, glaring at him from less than five meters away.

The spider had a body with alternating black and red stripes, stood two meters high, and its forelimbs gleamed like steel. Its mouth was the size of a basin, and its eight large compound eyes were fixed on him.

"Damn!"

Zhang Tuohai nearly fell to the ground in fright.

Although he had prepared himself mentally, he didn’t expect the giant the system mentioned would be this big!

A two-meter-tall spider—wouldn’t that scare you? Eight eyes staring right at you—doesn’t that chill you to the bone?

What was most terrifying was that behind it lay a pile of shriveled, white cocoon-like things.

There was no need to ask; those were definitely prey it had caught before.

Hiss—

The mutated desert spider opened its mouth and let out a strange screech, then raised its forelimbs and lunged at Zhang Tuohai.

The mutated desert spider moved incredibly fast; before Zhang Tuohai could react, its sharp limbs struck him.

He was sent flying, crashing down onto the stairs, feeling a sharp pain in his chest.

Zhang Tuohai quickly looked down to inspect his wounds.

He sighed in relief when he saw that his stab-resistant vest was intact, with no blood seeping out. It was probably just bruising; he was in no serious danger.

Seeing his injuries weren't severe, Zhang Tuohai relaxed a bit and quickly readied his shotgun for a counterattack.

At that moment, he noticed something unusual.

The mutated desert spider was not taking the opportunity to rush him; instead, it was retreating.

This behavior puzzled Zhang Tuohai.

After observing, he discovered the reason for its retreat.

When he fell, the flashlight he was holding accidentally shone right in the mutated desert spider's eyes.

It was clear the mutated desert spider was very afraid of strong light, constantly backing away, trying to escape the beam.

"So, this is what it means to fear strong light."

Having identified the spider's weakness, Zhang Tuohai felt a surge of confidence.

He forced the mutated desert spider into a corner using the flashlight, then raised his shotgun and began pulling the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of 12-gauge shotgun pellets struck the mutated desert spider.

Though the spider looked terrifying, it was still a physical creature, not beyond the realm of ordinary biology.

The 12-gauge pellets easily penetrated its body, causing it to stagger back with each shot.

"Looks like it’s just a showpiece." Zhang Tuohai felt more assured and continued to pull the trigger, emptying all seven rounds in the chamber.

At this point, the mutated desert spider resembled a sieve, riddled with blood holes, looking like it might collapse at any moment.

Seeing this, Zhang Tuohai quickly reloaded another seven 12-gauge shells, preparing to finish off the spider.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the system suddenly chimed in.

[If you don’t want to face a horde of more agile mutated desert spiders, don’t kill it.]

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Tuohai furrowed his brows.

[When the mutated desert spider is near death, it will lay eggs and give birth to offspring, and may even accelerate the hatching of larvae inside itself. If you kill it now, it will speed up the hatching of its larvae, and you will then face over 20 faster, more agile mutated desert spiders.]

"Twenty?!"

Hearing that number, Zhang Tuohai nearly bit his tongue off.

One mutated desert spider was already hard enough to deal with; if 20 came at him all at once, he would surely be done for.

"What should I do? Is there any way to get the orange supply box hidden here?"

If possible, Zhang Tuohai didn’t want to give up on the orange supply box.

[Use the strong light to restrict its movement, turn to the back of the third row of cabinets, and the orange supply box will be there. Take the supply box and escape.]

"Got it."

Zhang Tuohai took a deep breath and aimed the flashlight beam at the mutated desert spider’s eyes.

Hiss—

The mutated desert spider screeched and retreated to the side.

Hiding in a corner, it continuously avoided the beam of light.

Seeing this, Zhang Tuohai cautiously made his way to the back of the third row of cabinets.

Looking down, he indeed found an orange supply box placed on the bottom shelf. It would have been hard to spot if he hadn't walked over.

"How insidious."

Zhang Tuohai muttered a curse under his breath.

If it weren’t for the system's hints, he might have almost been trapped here.

Zhang Tuohai spat and picked up the supply box, carefully backing toward the exit of the basement.