[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-player-reboot":3,"chapter-player-reboot-player-reboot-chapter-40":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Player Reboot",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2272005,4438,"Chapter 40: The Spider","player-reboot-chapter-40",40,"\u003Cp>Li Cheng immediately understood the significance of this drone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His sense of the rhinoceros beetle’s location was stronger than his sense of distance—it was like a ray pointing toward the beetle’s direction, not its distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, with the green laser projected by the laser designator, the intersection of the two rays marked the exact position of the Ink-Spider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of a pizza shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Found you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’ve been spotted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Zhixia clenched her lips tightly, holding a Molotov cocktail, her gaze locked on the cargo passage leading to the mall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rustling sound of leg movements from that direction grew closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Ling frantically jumped back and forth, spitting out silk to stick to the iron door and seal it shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang! Bang! Bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy objects slammed against the iron door, shaking loose clouds of dust. Yang Ling’s woven web held for less than ten seconds before tearing apart; she had no choice but to retreat quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the iron door shattered into ash, Yuan Zhixia hurled the Molotov. The glass bottle shattered on impact, spilling flammable liquid in all directions, igniting a towering wall of flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front-line spider monsters instinctively recoiled from the fire, hesitating—but those behind surged forward, shoving their kin into the flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spider monsters engulfed in fire let out piercing shrieks; their highly developed nervous systems generated far greater pain, causing them to charge wildly for a short distance before curling their eight limbs in agony, lying on their backs as they burned to charcoal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Molotovs were effective—the passage filled with crackling flames—but more spider monsters ran forward, stepping over their fallen comrades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Zhixia pulled the pull-tab from an aluminum Pepsi can and hurled it forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The magnesium flashbang struck the ground, erupting in blinding light and deafening noise capable of burning eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thunderous blast echoed through the cargo passage, shaking many spider monsters into dizziness, halting their advance temporarily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Zhixia drew her Glock from her hip, gripping the grip tightly with her right thumb, pressing her left hand against the back of her right hand, aligning both thumbs parallel to the barrel to maximize stability, then firing repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gunfire rang out; five spider monsters that had barely escaped the passage were shot down, but several others dodged the bullets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Zhixia lowered her pistol, threw a smoke grenade, and shouted, “Go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Got it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Jiaying strained to control the drone, guiding Li Cheng’s position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when the distance between them widened and the remote’s LCD screen displayed 【Poor Signal Connection】 did she toss the remote toward the mall, leaving the drone in passive hover, then sprinted after Yuan Zhixia and Yang Ling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where is this? Why am I so exhausted?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange daze spread through his mind; Li Cheng sprinted down the corridor, his damp, messy hair stuck to his forehead—he didn’t know if it was his own blood or green fluid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His memories were a tangled mess; he didn’t know why he was here or what he had been doing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only one thought remained in his mind: attack toward that vague direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should this be ending soon?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That vague sensation moved slower and slower within the mall, as if nearing its end, finally halting in front of a music shop on the fourth floor playing soothing blues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both sides were nearly spent; if the battle didn’t end now, he would collapse from exhaustion, and the other would bleed to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the final strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden insight struck him; Li Cheng leaned forward like a cheetah, his thigh muscle fibers stretching like silk, unleashing surging power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lunged forward, bouncing off the floor, railing, ceiling, and walls, then suddenly slid sideways, bracing himself with his left palm, bending his right arm upward, the bone blade pointing skyward as it scraped something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sticky resistance along the blade first grew strong, then faded; Li Cheng ended his slide, pushed up from his palm, and spun around sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That vague sensation finally stopped, grew clear, and solidified into the shape of a Longji Rhinoceros Beetle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It hung in midair, flailing its legs helplessly, while beneath it lay a vast, invisible yet undeniably present entity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Longji Rhinoceros Beetle suddenly dropped a few feet—signaling that the colossal entity had finally crashed to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Cheng brushed his hair back, and suddenly a voice echoed in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Critical reaction detected. Eligibility award program auto-initiating.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Eligibility award program completed. User’s initial name: Li Cheng】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【User level: LV1】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Current experience: 0\u002F100】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Equipment: None】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Items: None】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【User identified as initial eligible. Newbie guidance program auto-initiating.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Eternal Night approaches. The Killing Ground descends.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Gods have fallen. A hundred ghosts roam at night.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You may step forward and announce the arrival of this new era to the world, or vanish into darkness and watch others struggle to survive.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Free your mind. Embrace your fate. This is an absolutely real game. This is the Earth Killing Ground.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this is what a player is?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Cheng pressed his lips together, dragged his weary body, and plucked the Longji Rhinoceros Beetle from midair, his palm immersed in an invisible, gently flowing, viscous blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The effect of 【Gene Hunger】 activated again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that’s how it works.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The information pollution trait was the Ink-Spider’s innate passive ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who saw it would quickly forget it upon looking away; surveillance footage of it would rapidly distort; creatures it consumed would have their very “existence” erased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, the Ink-Spider was an entity of the Shadow Realm, capable of freely opening and closing it. Its cost to maintain the Shadow Realm was far lower than that of the Chosen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why the Ink-Spider and its kind could remain freely within the Shadow Realm, hidden beneath the watchful eyes of the Special Affairs Bureau.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Information pollution was the Ink-Spider’s essence—but since it wasn’t absorbed by 【Gene Hunger】, Li Cheng inherited only its ability to freely open and close the Shadow Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slowly raised his palm, then clenched it tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Jiaying and Yuan Zhixia, who had just sprinted out of the parking lot and reached the subway platform, had seen countless spider monsters chasing them one second—and the next, all spider monsters vanished abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, they didn’t disappear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Zhixia looked around; the subway platform lights glowed brightly, and the faces and bodies of passersby bore no shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had left the Shadow Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are these two girls cosplaying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s some realistic-looking pistol.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd noticed Ye Jiaying and Yuan Zhixia—hair disheveled, still smelling of gunpowder—and whispered among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon they noticed the enormous spider nestled between the two girls—its size comparable to a medium-sized dog, with half a human face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aaaaaaah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is that thing?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd screamed and fled; distant bystanders, unaware of what had happened, were swept up in the panic, running away from the platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Phew.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Zhixia spun her Glock, slid it back into her hip holster, glanced at Ye Jiaying’s bewildered face and Yang Ling’s dazed, vacant expression, sighed, and sat heavily on a bench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rest for a bit. The police and the Special Affairs Bureau should arrive soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Chapter Complete)\u003C\u002Fp>",1197,"2026-06-19T22:31:22.154Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","409aea7b3b19b94397ff50a55666bc5910d73ab4bdb3762ddd4f3cf9b1b20286","player-reboot-chapter-41","player-reboot-chapter-39",612,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fplayer-reboot-cover.jpg"]