Ivy

On the boarding bridge leading to the airplane, the woman naturally took Xue Ming's arm, while the man carried the luggage with a polite and friendly smile.

The two appeared no different from a couple who had been together for many years.

At that moment, the woman asked nonchalantly, "Have you ever heard of 4i?"

Xue Ming was stunned; he couldn't understand the term she used.

As a mystic scholar, he considered himself quite knowledgeable, yet no matter how he searched his knowledge base, he could find no relevant information.

"Sorry, I don't know."

The woman let out a soft chuckle. "It's fine, you'll find out soon enough."

He maintained a polite composure. "If it would help in getting along with you, I can look into it, or perhaps... try it?"

"Mm-hmm, that would be for the best."

After a brief ascent, the flight stabilized. Xue Ming sat in his seat, opened a notebook, and began searching for recent information.

In an era where information databases were almost entirely controlled by Kowloon Information Enterprise, this old-fashioned notebook was more conducive to information encryption and storage.

Of course, Xue Ming had nothing to encrypt or communicate; he was only doing this to put on an act for the woman.

His attention was entirely on her, whether it was the snowy white skin glimpsed beneath her nightgown or the milky smoothness of her complexion, it all stimulated his nerves.

If he were to kill the woman right now, what were the chances of not being caught after the plane landed?

The thought had just emerged when it startled him.

This almost uncontrollable, bloody desire filled him with fear, and a fine cold sweat broke out on his back.

Why was he so obsessed and desperately longing to kill her?

Before leaving that observation well, he considered himself a man of integrity, free from any bad habits, and his mental health evaluations had always been good.

Could it be...

Xue Ming thought of a possibility. It was likely due to the influence of the Eight-Spider Progenitor.

A few nights ago, he had connected with its consciousness and seen with his own eyes that magnificent, spectacular, and beautiful holy remains.

The flourishing and surging life force contained within had moved him to tears.

He knew he had become hopelessly infatuated with this life form that was more beautiful than any god.

Words were pale; no matter how he explained it to others—including his colleague of many years—no one would understand him.

He did not resist this consciousness erosion from the holy remains; if anything, he was enjoying this memetic contamination.

He could clearly feel that he was merging into a part of that beautiful being.

He could give everything, even his life, for the Eight-Spider Progenitor, but on the condition that before leaving Red Heaven, the plan must not have any setbacks.

Before handing over the secret document, he had to restrain this desire. Everything was for that beautiful life.

His fanatical worship suppressed his desire, and Xue Ming cleared his mind, closing his eyes to rest. The bloody images in his mind gradually faded away.

On the counter board, time passed minute by minute.

In his half-asleep state, the airliner suddenly began to shake violently. Everything in the world was rocking up and down.

Thunder and lightning began to roar outside the cabin windows. With a deafening boom, an explosion sounded from behind.

Fierce winds howled as they rushed into the cabin, and countless pieces of luggage were swept away by the terrifying airflow.

Xue Ming opened his eyes in a panic, only to find that a hole had been torn into the cabin behind him.

Countless people were screaming as they were pulled from their seats and hurled outside in an instant.

The black cloud veins were like a mountain in the sky, stretching for ten thousand miles. The lightning storm raged.

Looking from a distance, a tiny black speck flashed at a fixed frequency, attempting to break through the obstruction.

The cabin was already in a state of chaos. Scraps of paper and sharp iron fragments flew everywhere through the air.

A section of the ceiling collapsed, and sparks from electrical wires flashed before being sheared into two parts by a massive force.

Like an executioner's blade meant for decapitation, it suddenly flew toward Xue Ming's neck.

He screamed, clutching his head and ducking, as the iron fragment grazed his neck. But at that moment, a pair of ice-cold arms wrapped around his throat.

When he looked up, fear made his scream even louder.

The woman had somehow stopped breathing, her soulless eyes staring at him. A terrifying bloodstain had appeared on her neck, which then began to separate.

This plane, twelve thousand meters in the air, was plummeting at a speed of hundreds of meters per second.

Explosive flames filled the entire cabin, and the passengers' screams merged into a series of notes.

Every time a note was played, it meant someone had been thrown out of the cabin by the fury of nature.

Even with his ears covered and eyes shut tight, the screams faded away one after another in Xue Ming's ears, and this mental torture still made him suffer.

Just then, a pair of soft hands caressed his cheeks. He saw slender forearms, and looking further up, Xue Ming froze.

He saw long legs and a pure white dress.

This sense of familiarity made Xue Ming blur out almost absentmindedly, "A-Ling..."

But the sound was cut short before it could fully leave his throat.

Between the crazily intersecting light and dark flashes, he saw that ferocious spider face on the girl's neck.

Four pairs of compound eyes reflected his different faces in this out-of-control, pale world. A pair of spider fangs made a hissing sound as they slowly writhed.

That brief moment of loss and disappointment was replaced by fanatical worship the instant he locked eyes with this beautiful creature.

He heard the voice coming from her fangs, hoarse and ethereal, as majestic as a god's, as if a command was being forcibly written into his brain at that moment!

"Danger..."

"Wake up..."

The light and dark alternated more and more frantically, as the lightning and pale lights fought to consume each other. His consciousness broke at the line of clarity.

The black and white world flickered, flickered, flickered before his eyes...

Opening his eyes again, Xue Ming jerked awake from his seat.

A strong heart palpitation made the entire world feel dizzy and unstable. He turned to look around; the plane was still flying steadily.

Peace and harmony filled the cabin; everything from before had just been his dream.

"Phew." He let out a long breath.

Xue Ming glanced at the woman beside him, who was sound asleep under a cashmere blanket. All his desires had vanished, and the terrifying dream from before flashed through his mind.

Just then, a bolt of lightning flashed outside the window, and the cabin began to shake.

A broadcast sounded, with the captain using a relaxed tone to reassure the passengers not to be nervous.

He explained that the plane had just encountered turbulence, which was a perfectly normal phenomenon.

Xue Ming, having just experienced a nightmare, did not think so. He instinctively looked out the window.

Thunder rumbled, and lightning flickered among the mountainous dark clouds. Heavy rain beat against the wings with a faint rhythmic pitter-patter.

Just as he thought his nerves were simply too tense, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a hair-raising sight.

Just now...

Was there someone standing on the wing?

The moment the thought occurred, Xue Ming leaned against the window like a madman.

Lightning exploded, the wind swirled the clouds, and the rain poured over the heaven and earth.

In the midst of nature's fury, a sharp bolt of lightning split a rift in the horizon, illuminating the dark night sky.

It also illuminated the wing above the red navigation light. The robust silhouette of a man was half-lit by the lightning and half-hidden in the shadows.

He walked with steady steps on the wing, slowly making his way toward them.

Reflected in the man's pupils was the Queen of Spades.