Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Bai E raised the machine gun and unloaded a barrage of bullets at the attacking giant spider.

The first was to test its quality, and the second was to make some noise and see if it could draw the attention of the refugees.

If there were monsters in this area, what about the resting refugees? Would they be attacked?

There were only a dozen or so fighters to begin with, and two had died in the battle with the orcs; now, they were short-handed and definitely unable to fully guard the team of over four hundred people through the night.

In order to explore the ruins, he had ventured a bit far from their location, perhaps the sound of gunfire could penetrate the distant space and awaken them from their weary slumber.

While firing the gun single-handedly, Bai E also began to back away as he opened the voice channel and warned all the warriors of the joint squad, "Enemy encounter! Repeat, enemy encounter. A large number of giant spiders have appeared about five kilometers to the southwest of the encampment, stay alert."

More intuitive than the voice were the machine gun shots in the background.

All the warriors, already asleep, were instantly awakened; no one was more familiar with the sound of gunfire than them.

After all, they had spent nearly half their lives to such noises.

It was Bai E!

He had found the enemy.

"What's going on… Didn't we scout ahead?" Captain of Squad 1 woke up with a furrowed brow.

It wasn't as if they had simply picked a spot to sleep; nighttime rest involving so many people naturally required assured safety.

"Bai E said it's five kilometers away… We didn't search that far in detail."

After all, there were only a dozen or so warriors, and as they spread out in a circular range, each could only scout a limited area. The further the radius, the more ground to cover, and they didn't have the energy for that.

"…"

The captain didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, he swiftly stood up, "All hands on alert, wake the refugees."

If it was possible to fight, they would, for finding a spot to shelter from the wind and rain for a comfortable night's rest wasn't easy. The day's journey had left everyone nearly dead tired, needing rest to recover.

But if the enemy was too numerous and strong, and they couldn't be stopped by their handful of warriors, they definitely had to run.

The warriors who had received the order began to wake the nearby refugees.

"Hey! Wake up."

"Everyone, wake up, get them all up."

"Bai E has spotted the enemy, we might have to move at any moment."

Rustling noises spread among the scattered crowd, and some refugees, with sharper ears, had already been jolted awake by the distant gunshots in the silent night.

"Enemies?"

Elder Gilder approached several reliable confidants who were generally dependable, "Count the numbers, see if anyone is missing."

They trusted him to lead, so he had to be worthy of their trust.

At all times and in all places, he needed to consider every member of the team.

"Yes!" Everyone dispersed.

Only Gilder stayed where he was, clutching the blanket that Kiro Lan and Morphie had brought to him, looking worriedly towards the area where the two children had been.

The two said they were going out with Bai E, and now that E had encountered the enemy, he wondered if he could protect the two little ones while fighting.

But if it was E… Surely it would be fine, right?

…

In the wilderness, far from the city, one must always be prepared to face all kinds of dangers.

After issuing orders and seeing that everyone had come to their senses and were preparing, Squad 1's captain once again asked over the voice channel.

"Bai E, what's the enemy?"

"Spiders…" Bai E's voice was terse as he dodged an opponent's three lance-like sharp claws with a swift sidestep while the bullets from his machine gun never ceased pelting the round body of his foe.

Compared to their bodies, the spider's particularly long and narrow claws were indeed their most powerful weapon.

The giant spiders, of course, wouldn't just stand there and take the hits, but these low-intelligence creatures could only launch instinctual hunting behaviors and had almost no resistance against the bullets.

The seemingly hard carapace and the needle-like hairs on it were easily torn apart by the bullets, with the thick biological tissue and body fluids being ripped and flung about by the metallic storm.

After emitting a low growl, the eight spear-like claws finally flattened on the ground, no longer moving.

But Bai E's expression was far from relaxed.

The attributes of the spiders killed by firearms flickered on the panel ——

[??? (Beast): Health Points 0/245; Defensive Power 8; Action Power 0%; Traits: Genetic Mutation...]

[Genetic Mutation: Originally just a native species of the planet, they have been infected with alien genes. The original genes and the alien genes have mutated to create a perfect host among their vast numbers. Now, their size can grow almost unlimitedly, as long as there is enough food, they can take over the entire world. Current: Large Beast (Life Upper Limit +50, Physical Performance +3).]

Of course, it was not particularly impressive; its strength and speed weren't especially high, even worse than the previously encountered orcs, it just had a bit more health.

And the one that attacked him was already one of the larger ones in sight, the other smaller spiders probably had even lower attributes.

The drop rate subtitles also complemented the abilities of these monsters from another perspective ——

[??? (Beast) —— To drop when killed with a "Lucky Strike": Guaranteed (Mutant Spider Claws*400, Battle Experience 1250 points); Possible (Trait: Web-Slinging, Trait: Alien Genes)]

This was already the one with the highest drop rate...

It was clear that the individual combat prowess of these creatures really wasn't up to much.

But there were just too many of them.

Just counting those currently in sight, a quick glance revealed dozens.

Genetic mutation coupled with the spiders' terrifyng breeding efficiency...there's no telling how many more there are that haven't appeared yet.

To restore normal usage of this relic, it seems necessary to first clear out these "guardian beasts"?

But that was obviously not the immediate concern.

If he didn't regroup with his teammates soon, he would still be able to escape at any moment using his Gun Fighting Skill, but it would spell trouble for these two children.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Let's go."

Bai E, holding a gun in one hand, started sweeping fire at the spiders that were gradually closing in, while his left hand drew a pistol from his waist and handed it back without looking, "Can you shoot? Take it."

The pistol had limited stopping power, but it could still have some lethal effect on the smaller spiders.

With so many of them, if they truly swarmed him, he'd have a hard time blocking them all; any that slipped through would have to be dealt with by the kids themselves.

"I can," Kiro Lan's voice was calm and steady.

As he spoke, Kiro Lan's gaze was tightly focused on the details of Bai E firing the gun—

The movements of holding the gun, the muscle exertion, the stability of the posture…everything was turned into knowledge that could overcome instinct, infusing it into his body.

She had always been a quick learner since she was young…

"How about you?" Bai E didn't linger on her but asked the little boy Morphie instead,"Do you need a gun?"

He carried two pistols with him.

But he noted that when the boy arrived, he was holding a machete from an orc for self-defense, and he wasn't sure if the boy had any special training.

If he had a specialty, a machete for close protection might be even more useful than a pistol for self-defense.

"No..." Morphie shook his head, scenes of Bai E decapitating spiders with the bayonet mounted on the machine gun replaying in his mind, "but I think I should be fine."

"Okay."

Both children had not only a strong will but also the courage to fight.

After the incident with the demon, the willpower of the two children seemed to have increased, and their voices were equally firm at this moment.

They were not afraid of these monsters...

He was spared the step of having to comfort and encourage them.

"They are just spiders!" Bai E's voice was like the warm sun of winter, instilling endless confidence in people, "Don't be afraid!"

"Da-da-da-da!"

Bai E retreated steadily, the three-round bursts from his machine gun never ceased.

Apparently believing they had finally grasped the vulnerability of their prey, the spiders, which had been approaching slowly from all directions, no longer kept the pressure of their encirclement tight.

Instead, they launched a collective sprint!