Black-headed Wasp had not only trained Cao Gang — many hunters in the settlement called him Master. Several team leaders, like Cao Gang, had started under him.
In a way, Li Juxu should call him grandmaster.
"I see you don't have night-vision goggles. I happen to have a spare pair."
Black-headed Wasp held out a pair of sunglasses-style goggles. On the temple was a logo of two overlapping triangles: ZhengSan Industries. They were the undisputed top brand in optical lenses. Even their cheapest night-vision goggles cost 450,000 copper coins.
The pair he offered had dark green frames made of a new composite material with perfect elasticity and shape retention. It resisted sweat, blood, tears, and rain without slipping. Li Juxu had looked into this exact model — it retailed for 1.28 million copper coins. He shook his head. It was far too valuable. As badly as he wanted it, he couldn't take it.
"Take it. I really do have two, or I wouldn't be so generous."
Black-headed Wasp pressed the goggles into Li Juxu's hand, then pulled out an identical pair from his pocket. Li Juxu's hand froze mid-refusal.
"The boss is loaded. He gave these to me on a previous job," Wasp chuckled.
Li Juxu might still have refused almost anything else — but night-vision goggles could save his life. He'd just lived through tonight's horror and never wanted to repeat it.
If the enemy had thrown flashbangs instead, he would have been blinded and helpless for several seconds — long enough to be killed dozens of times over.
Black-headed Wasp quietly told Li Juxu something:
There had been three other snipers in the team. Unfortunately, all three had died in the ambush. Two from rocket blasts, one from a headshot by stray fire.
Now Li Juxu was the only sniper left.
This information was critical. Being the sole specialist was nothing like being one of many.
The battle must have delayed them, because the convoy now sped up instead of slowing down. Li Juxu glanced at the speed — holding steady at 58 km/h. At night, on terrible roads, that was extremely dangerous. And ambushes were still possible. Whatever the mission, Pu Shaoyun was in a desperate hurry.
Wasp didn't elaborate. He knew what to say and what to keep quiet — true hunter discipline.
The whole team held their breath, but nothing else happened.
When dawn broke, everyone exhaled in relief. Visibility was high during the day; ambushes were much easier to spot. They ate breakfast on the move without stopping.
At 9:48 a.m., the vehicles halted.
They had arrived.
Before them lay a forest of bizarre, alien trees — unlike any species Li Juxu had ever seen, big and small. The armored vehicles could go no further.
At last, Pu Shaoyun revealed the mission.
"Inside this forest live Gray-Spotted Crown Spiders. Not long ago, someone spotted a king spider has emerged — a Red-Spotted Crown Spider. Our target is to capture it alive. Remember: only alive. If the Red-Spotted Crown Spider dies, the mission fails."
One of Pu Shaoyun's aides held up a printed picture showing two spiders: one gray, one red. The red one was their target.
"The sooner we find it, the sooner we go home. Catch it within three days, and I'll give each of you an extra 200,000 copper coins." Pu Shaoyun stressed. "One last warning: there may be others after the spider. They will be hostile. Stay sharp."
Another aide handed each person a small glass vial for containing the spider.
"Staying together is safer, but splitting up is far more efficient. I suggest you form small groups and search separately. This is just a suggestion — decide for yourselves. Any other questions?"
Pu Shaoyun looked at the group.
He was the team leader in name only, bringing them here — he would not enter the forest.
Everyone agreed with this. He was the employer; if he died, who would pay them? Besides, the main mission was catching the spider. If they had to protect Pu Shaoyun too, the difficulty would double.
"Can you tell us about the Red-Spotted Crown Spider's behavior?" one member asked.
"Honestly, I don't know much. Size is about as shown. Adult Gray-Spotted Crown Spiders are as big as goose eggs. They like to hide on the undersides of leaves. Highly venomous, extremely aggressive. My advice: don't let it get within striking distance."
"Any antidote?" another asked.
"Sorry. I searched the entire settlement — there is no antidote for their venom. So be extremely careful." Pu Shaoyun shrugged helplessly.
With the key questions answered, people began pairing off in twos and threes. Naturally, they stuck with those they knew. Team composition came second.
Although Li Juxu was the only sniper, no one approached him except Black-headed Wasp. A few hunters tried to team up with Wasp, but he turned them down — only agreeing to one person.
The three of them formed a squad and entered the woods.
Others vanished into the trees as well. Some went alone — for true elites, more people didn't always mean more strength. It just raised the chance of dead weight dragging the team down.
As soon as Li Juxu stepped into the forest, a bone-chilling cold washed over him. Visibility plummeted. A faint unease pricked at him.
In all his years as a hunter, he had only taken one mission in a forest. After that, he never wanted to enter one again.
Forests held too many unknown dangers: insects, snakes, toxic plants, miasma… any could kill silently. Humans could somewhat sense other people approaching, but they barely noticed a crawling ant.
He hated this kind of uncontrollable risk.
He hadn't known the mission would be in a forest. If he had, he might have hesitated.
"Let me introduce you. This is Night Owl — sniper."
"This is my long-time partner, Lynx. Close-quarters combat specialist. Once fought off six blood wolves alone, killed three with just a dagger and escaped."
Black-headed Wasp's tone made it clear how highly he valued Lynx.