"That vessel is where the signal disappeared," Tardium said.

He crushed a tiny spider on his right arm before looking through his binoculars. Everywhere around him were trees with countless spiders running on them. He had to tear many spiderwebs apart to move from one place to place, getting them all over his clothes.

"A Broodmother once lived here," Constrien said. Before the group of scavengers disappeared, they reported that the Broodmother had left her base. If the report was correct, the vessel was relatively safe.

"If the Broodmother was still here, the spiders wouldn't be out here," Tardium said.

"I sense a large amount of Fons," Cyania said.

She cast a spell formation that collapsed into a green translucent arrow. With a snap of her finger, it soared to the vessel covered by a thick layer of pure white fog. The green arrow morphed into a swarm of petals. They scattered with the faintest wind.

The fog engulfed the petals, though the air pressure cleaved it in half for a moment, revealing the general layout of the vessel. The moss and vines covered the metallic exterior while the dirt rooted it in place. The moisture from the blossoming flowers attracted insects to form a community around them.

"The fog is Fons. The Arachna strangely didn't destroy the internal circulation system," Tardium said.

He mapped a rough layout and projected it on the ground. Though he had prepared a big database regarding the vessel models, he couldn't identify the type of the vessel he sketched. It wasn't something an ordinary person could easily get.

"Is it a military model? This is troublesome," Constrien said.

"We better be careful. It might not be the Arachna that killed them," Tardium said.

It wasn't uncommon that some bandits would loot others in the wilderness. Without anyone to enforce the laws, the wasteland outside the cities became a survival of the fittest. The scavengers might lose their lives because of an ambush.

"No one comes out," Tardium said.

With him watching and Cyania monitoring Fons, they could detect if there was anyone inside the vessel. Despite waiting for almost fifteen minutes, there was no sign of any human, though they might be waiting in the darkness.

"The interference field is confirmed. The internal circulation system is running. We'll be entering the forcefield shortly," Constrien said.

He detailed his journey to the radio and waited for a confirmation notification. Once he finished, he hid it in a sneaky place and informed his team to prepare.

They took ten minutes to check everything. Constrien led his group down the slope and approached the vessel with Tardium and Mucia in the middle. Cyania and Canaris were the last to come after the group had scouted the area.

Constrien operated a small circular disk and tossed it at the fog. It vibrated and expanded into a mini drone which four propellers spinning in four corners. The object, the Fog Repeller, blew a gentle breeze and repelled the fog. It formed a safe zone that group could stick close while still having extra awareness of the surrounding.

"Boss, the dust is killing me," Tardium said as he waved apart the swamp of dust assaulting him.

Because of the lack of maintenance and cleaning, the vessel became deserted, with dirt and soils covering its metallic design. Tardium's exclamation raised a point of reasoning. Without any human, no one would dust the place.

As they dived deeper, the group encountered the Arachna's corpses but no human. They presumed that the team of scavengers managed to kill the Arachna, though they couldn't come back to harvest the remains because of something unexpected.

Because of the scattered corpses, the chance of human intervention lessened. No human would betray the others during a battle against the Arachna. Even if it happened after the fight, they would have harvested the corpses, too.

"Wait," Constrien said.

He gestured for his team to freeze and listened for a muffled sound. In silence, a series of munching echoed in front of him. The spiderlings groaned and ravished on a human corpse, growling and eating mindlessly.

Tardium rolled an electric grenade forwards before counting down to zero. A series of electricity lit the area up and shocked the spiderlings. The group shot them with their silenced guns, killing them before they could scream.

With their advanced silencing equipment, only smokes and the sounds of bullet shells dropping echoed. The soft thuds of the spiderling corpses didn't raise any attention of the Arachna in the other room.

After Cyania cast a life-signal spell, the group began to dissect the spiderlings for their sample and heart. The Arachna's material sold for a good deal if it was undamaged.

With the chaotic flow of Fons, Cyania could only scan as far as she could see. She could forcefully combat the overwhelming Fons in the air, but it would weaken her overall combat ability. In an unpredictable situation, she wouldn't waste her Fons like that.

"Not even his head was spared," Constrien said.

He inspected the headless corpse and found a few belongings and guns. The man died trying to kill the Arachna, but with his limited resource, he got overwhelmed.

"One downed. Four to go," Tardium said.

According to the detail of the Mission, the scavengers had five humans and one supportive android. Though they only needed the humans, the Mission paid a big bonus for scavenging the android. If the first victim laid here, the rest mustn't be far.

After the group found the nametag, they advanced to another room. As they progressed further, the fog thickened, reducing the Fog Repeller's effectiveness. They had to slow their pace as a result.

Like before, Constrien gestured for the group. He listened to the spiderlings. Their number was higher than before, but it wasn't too many. Their size was also smaller than the ordinary spiderlings.

Constrien and Tardium aimed at the general direction of the spiderlings and waited for Cyania to prepare an emergency spell formation. They followed the same pattern of using an electric grenade before finishing off the spiderlings.

They took out the spiderlings with ruthless efficiency. After making sure the room was clear, Constrien approached the corpses. The spiderlings had ruined their equipment and appearance, making them unrecognizable.

"An android?"

Away from the two corpses, an inactive android donned in maid-like uniform leant against the wall, her body twitching from the strayed electricity. Her internal circuit got damaged, causing her to stumble and fall against the floor.

"Prepare for a confrontation!" Constrien shouted before activating his energy shield.

He didn't expect such an unfortunate event. The android was in a blindspot that coincidentally got too close to the electric grenade. The group had no way of knowing her presence.

"Protect me, I'll clear the fog," Cyania said. She activated Canaris's beast form before designing a spell formation with her Fons. "Be ready."

As she pushed her hand through the formation, it collapsed into a storm of wind and blew the fog away. The dust kicked up and dissipated out of the room, revealing the metallic design of the vessel. A muffled creaking noise resounded from above.

On the ceiling, countless spiders crawled. They wandered in random, threatening to fall from their place and cover the group at any given moment.

Tardium looked around in panic. The walls trapped him while the ceiling gave him a sense of impending doom. At the corners of the room, the security cameras remained watching, scrutinizing his every move. The room had transformed into a perfect prison.

He gasped and pointed his gun at the ceiling, though he resisted pressing the trigger. If he accidentally caused them to fall, he might really die from the shock.

"Mucia, I'll prepare a flamethrower. You'll have to protect me."

Mucia unsheathed her rapiers and positioned them in an elegant stance. They lit up and roared in metallic noise. They sparked lightning that shot in and out. In the middle fo the handle, a Fons battery supplied the electricity.

"Miss, we'll be relying on you," Constrien said.

He sidestepped to stand between his group and the fog outside of the room. As long as came from the front, they must overcome him first.

"My lady, I'll protect you," Canaris said.

He towered over Cyania and surveyed the surrounding with vigilance. If any spiderling came close, he would rip it into pieces. His lady must be safe no matter the cost.

"They're coming," Tardium said while assembling his flame thrower.

He knew his destructive capability wouldn't work well within the enclosed space. He could only provide additional firepower while setting up supportive machinery.

Through the thick fog, silhouettes of the spiderlings began to emerge.