The woman's mouth never opened the entire time, yet her voice clearly echoed within our minds.

It was obvious from what she said that she was no ordinary spider, and she had known about the three of us for a long time.

With that realization, there was no longer any need to keep up appearances; we all sprang up from the ground at once.

The instinct for survival made our movements faster than we could have anticipated.

The three of us lunged forward almost simultaneously, sliding beneath the giant spider’s legs on either side.

The woman’s head twisted unnaturally, casting a venomous glare our way.

The giant spider was not as clumsy as expected; it leaped up, spun mid-air, and then propelled its eight legs in a coordinated motion, quickly gaining on us.

Though the great spider was fast, we had already slid a distance toward the cavern entrance.

Seeing the massive spider closing in rapidly, I shone my flashlight down into the chasm, confirming the intricate network of web strands remained. "Jump!" I yelled urgently.

The other two instantly understood and prepared to fall.

At that critical moment, Da Xiong, showing selfless awareness, jumped first, knowing that if the webbing couldn't support his weight last.

Da Xiong cried out as he spiraled downward like a bowling ball.

Fortunately, a few sturdy strands of silk not far below managed to intercept his fall.

However, Da Xiong snapped those strands and plunged a bit further before finally catching hold again.

Seeing he was safe, we jumped down together.

The strands Da Xiong broke clearly complicated our own descent.

We weren't slowed down immediately, resulting in greater momentum upon impact, which caused us to break all the surrounding webbing as we landed near him.

This sent the three of us tumbling down again until we had snapped seven or eight strands before we managed to stabilize precariously.

We were wrapped in silk like zongzi the entire way, coupled with the complex twists and tumbles, leaving us dizzy, nauseous, and sick to our stomachs—this was far more thrilling than bungee jumping at an amusement park.

After a moment to recover, I used significant effort to clear the webbing clinging to me, then went to help Da Xiong and Nie Chuan disentangle themselves.

Just as the three of us finally dealt with the silk mess, a massive, dark silhouette plummeted rapidly toward us from above.

The giant spider stuck itself to the wall using silk from its spinnerets and plunged directly down, just like us, though with far more grace.

"Children, come to me; you cannot escape,"

That raspy voice sounded like static interference from a radio, vibrating in our minds as the spider neared.

"What do we do now? The webbing down there is much sparser than before; there’s no way we can jump again," Nie Chuan whispered to me, his voice tight with tension.

I furrowed my brow deeply, momentarily stumped for any solution.

While I hesitated, the gigantic spider swiftly landed on the wall beside us, turning its back to us and raising its abdomen.

I recognized this as its standard posture for firing silk, so I quickly pressed both their heads down.

Sure enough, the moment we ducked, a mass of silk shot over our heads, adhering to the opposite cavern wall and forming a dome-shaped ball of webbing.

I knew that if we had been hit by that earlier, we would have quickly ended up like the human cocoons outside the bronze doors.

"Think of something fast! Or we’re dead," Da Xiong tugged my sleeve anxiously.

As he spoke, the great spider adjusted its position, facing us squarely, raising its two massive fangs, and lunged forward.

Seeing the fangs glittering coldly, aimed straight for Nie Chuan and me, my heart sank.

But then, a flash of fire erupted behind us—a roaring blaze sprung up.

The spider, caught mid-air, abruptly stopped itself, pushing off several horizontal strands with its eight legs, rebounding back against the wall.

Nie Chuan and I turned back to see Da Xiong holding a lighter, having set that dome-sized ball of silk alight.

Flames and smoke instantly filled the not-so-spacious vertical shaft.

"You fools! Setting this place alight will kill you yourselves!"

The giant spider’s voice was thick with fury, yet I detected an underlying fear of the fire.

But at that moment, I had no time to dwell on it; the web dome crackled and popped, spitting countless sparks upward, which rained down onto the lower strands, instantly turning the vertical shaft beneath us into a sea of fire.

Before I could process it, the strands beneath our feet suddenly gave way, and we plummeted downward.

Evidently, the webbing supporting us had also caught fire.

The roaring wind of our descent filled my ears. I struggled to turn my head and look behind me, realizing we were falling directly into a conflagration.

Before I could utter a word, our clothes were ignited by the wild, flying strands of burning silk.

However, the strong downdraft quickly snuffed out the small flames.

I knew that while we wouldn't burn to death, we were certainly going to be smashed upon impact.

The other two shared my realization; their faces, illuminated by the flames, looked indistinguishable from the dead—a mask of sheer terror.

Just as the three of us slipped into despair, a thought suddenly sparked in my mind, a single clear intention.

The thought was: Insect Princess, if you can save us, I will help you pull out your sword.

The moment this thought crossed my mind, I heard a loud buzzing from behind as countless beetles, their bodies rimmed with fire, surged toward us.

Our descent abruptly slowed, as if we had landed on a soft mattress.

But this sensation was fleeting; very soon, a sky-obscuring swarm of insects completely covered our vision.

I only heard the incessant buzzing, losing the will to futilely slap away the creatures attempting to crawl into my ears and nostrils, and simply squeezed my eyes shut.

Everything happened so fast, perhaps two seconds later, I felt something cold and solid press against my back. I reached out and touched it—it was the ground.

I sprang up from the earth only to find myself in absolute darkness, surrounded only by the humming flight of the insects.

Then I heard Da Xiong’s voice: "Damn, I think I'm alive."

Just as I was about to respond, three rotating beams of light pierced the darkness from above—I recognized them as our flashlights. I stepped forward and firmly caught two of them.

The third was also securely caught by a large, fleshy hand.

We retrieved the lights and illuminated each other, confirming that all three of us were unharmed.

The insects that had been swirling around us vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a puddle of green fluid on the ground—the remains of the bugs we had crushed.

"Insect Princess... Where is the Insect Princess?" I knew she must have saved us, so I swept my flashlight beam around.

I was genuinely surprised that this somewhat unusual Yao guai had actually rescued us.

I felt that regardless of whether she was a Yao guai or not, we owed her a debt of gratitude.

"The story of the farmer and the wolf... who truly saved whom, and who will prove ungrateful? I, too, am afraid..."

At that moment, a faint, ethereal female voice echoed in my mind.

"Insect Princess! Where are you?" Hearing that voice, I suddenly called out.

This time, the Insect Princess's voice completely vanished, leaving behind a deathly silence.

"Those insects just now..." Nie Chuan approached to speak.

I nodded at him, saying, "Yes, she saved us."

Da Xiong and Nie Chuan both looked at me, their eyes holding an unreadable expression.

"Strange, it's broad daylight, why is it still so dark here? Is my phone clock wrong?" After a moment, Da Xiong grumbled.

I checked my phone too; it was indeed two in the afternoon.

Just as we were wondering what was happening, a sudden rush of air swept over our heads, and a sphere of light appeared overhead.

Then, a massive fireball descended from the sky.

Directly beneath the fireball, we scrambled desperately to flee to either side.