Chapter 110: Sea Competition 17
Beneath the Water Fern Grass lay the Stones of Water. They were oval-shaped blue stones, their surfaces so smooth they looked as if they had been painstakingly polished.
Kai York had complete faith in Moira Lynch’s words.
The two of them started from opposite sides, harvesting the Water Fern Grass.
While harvesting the Water Fern Grass, Moira made sure to collect the Stones of Water from the ground as well.
The Stones of Water weren’t very numerous. After gathering for half a day, they had only managed to fill a small basket.
As they reached the middle of the patch of Water Fern Grass, Moira suddenly felt something hard underfoot, pressing painfully into the sole of her shoe.
The area where the Water Fern Grass grew was very flat. Even if it was a Stone of Water, its size felt wrong.
After clearing away the surrounding Water Fern Grass, Moira bent down and felt around the spot with one hand. Sure enough, she touched something round and lumpy, half-buried in the ground.
She called it half because the other half was embedded in the earth.
This was no challenge for Moira. With a bit of force from her fingers, she pried the object straight out of the ground.
She had originally thought it was an oversized Stone of Water, but what appeared before her was a round Crystal Ball.
Inside the Crystal Ball was a translucent flower.
The flower was like a work of art, lifelike within the Crystal Ball. Or perhaps, it was actually alive.
Moira saw the flower tremble slightly a few times.
She counted nine petals in total. Each one was half-translucent and half a faint, ethereal blue, giving it a beautiful and dreamlike appearance.
Her intuition told Moira this item was anything but simple.
She tossed the Crystal Ball into her storage space, planning to study it properly after this round of the game was over.
What Moira didn’t know was that after being tossed into her storage space, the Crystal Ball, as if with a mind of its own, rolled straight toward the pool containing the Water-cooling Stone.
The moment it entered the water, the entire surface of the pool began to emit pulses of blue light.
Just then, a pair of fluffy white paws appeared at the water’s edge.
Meanwhile, Moira and Kai York had finally finished harvesting all the Water Fern Grass. It wasn’t tiring work, but having to stay bent over for so long was starting to take a toll on their backs.
After resting for a while, they decided to leave, but not by the way they came.
Moira extended her spiritual power and quickly found a path out—the only one. But Kai York held out his hand, felt the air currents, and said first, "Let’s go. I’ll lead the way."
After leaving the area where the Water Fern Grass grew, the pair walked in one direction for some time.
Suddenly, Kai York stopped and whispered, "I have a bad feeling about what’s ahead."
Moira didn’t say anything, because she had sensed it too. There was something up ahead.
’But we’ve come so far. It would be a waste of time to turn back now.’
They exchanged a look and decided to scout things out before making a decision.
They advanced cautiously for a while longer.
Suddenly, Moira noticed white, thread-like strands appearing on the walls.
[Cleanser Spider Silk: The Cleanser Spider is an arachnid that loves cleanliness and detests all things dirty. The silk it spins has a powerful cleaning effect.
PS: The Cleanser Spider despises having its territory sullied. Anyone who breaks this rule will be devoured as food.]
"Patience, look up the Cleanser Spider’s weaknesses."
’Looking like we do now, if we just waltz in there, there’s a good chance we’ll end up as spider food.’
[The Cleanser Spider cannot tolerate its own body being dirtied. Once soiled, it will have a complete breakdown. Fire is the natural enemy of all insects.]
’Looks like there are two options, then.’
Moira suddenly tapped Kai York, who was walking ahead of her.
Pointing to the white strands on the nearby wall, she said gravely, "I suspect there’s a silk-spinning creature nearby, maybe a spider or a silkworm. Do you know how to make a torch?"
Kai York shook his head and said in a low voice, "No, but I can try. I’ve seen video tutorials on it before."
"Okay."
Moira rummaged through her Space Button for the necessary materials, substituting with other items for whatever she didn’t have.
Ten minutes later, a makeshift torch was successfully crafted.
Worried one torch wouldn’t be enough, they made two more as backups.
After lighting the torch, the two of them continued forward.
Along the way, the white spider silk on the walls grew denser and denser.
Kai York walked in front, while Moira collected all the visible spider silk into her possession.
They walked on like this until they finally reached the end of the tunnel, where a white nest, completely encased in white spider silk, appeared before them.
Moira looked around, her eyes lighting up. ’So much silk!’
Soon, she noticed many cocoons made of white spider silk hanging inside the cavern.
Some of the cocoons were shriveled, while others were still quite plump.
’These cocoons must be the Cleanser Spider’s food. The shriveled ones have been eaten, and the plump ones haven’t been touched yet.’
The cocoons were packed densely together, hanging all over the cavern.
And down below, a spider, snow-white from head to toe, lay motionless.
Moira had originally considered inviting the Cleanser Spider into her storage space, but seeing this scene, she decided against it. ’Better not.’
Seeing such a huge spider, Kai York, as the party’s muscle and the one who had chosen this path, decided to have Moira go first while he covered the rear.
But Moira stopped him.
She took out two extra-thick masks from her Space Button, handed one to Kai York, and put the other one on herself.
To Kai York’s confused look, Moira produced a Sucking Mushroom.
The next second, a foul-smelling black substance sprayed out of the mushroom, landing squarely on the Cleanser Spider’s snow-white body.
The Cleanser Spider, which had been sleeping, snapped its eyes open.
Its eight red eyes darted around, and the moment it saw the stain on its body, it had a complete breakdown, letting out a piercing shriek.
Its enormous body shot to its feet and it began to rampage around the cavern. Its thrashing caused many of the cocoons overhead to fall to the ground.
But the Cleanser Spider couldn’t be bothered with them now; all it wanted was to get its body clean as quickly as possible.
And so, after rampaging for a short while, the Cleanser Spider fled through an exit on the other side of the cavern.
It would settle the score with whoever had sullied its body when it got back.
Only after the Cleanser Spider had left did Moira and Kai York emerge.
Kai York looked at Moira with admiration. She had dealt with the giant spider so easily.
"Can I ask... what exactly was in that mushroom?"
Hearing this, Moira glanced at the Sucking Mushroom in her hand, smiled, and said softly, "Farm manure."
The color drained from Kai York’s face for a second when he heard those two words. If he recalled correctly, farm manure was...