She had an exquisitely sculpted, oval face like carved jade. Her slender brows arched long and fine, her eyes like pools of clear water, her skin like mutton-fat jade. Without a trace of makeup, she still appeared utterly enchanting. She also possessed a slender, soft waist one could barely encircle, and a full, swelling bosom a single hand could scarcely cover—curves so exquisite that even the loose pajamas couldn't hide their alluring, rounded contours.
So beautiful.
Bai Jie was nearly certain—this was the most beautiful woman it had ever laid eyes on.
At the same time, it felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. It racked its memory searching, but the crucial clue seemed to have been forcibly erased. No matter what, it couldn't recall.
"Wh-what... what is it?"
Xia Qimeng slowly, inch by inch, turned her head toward the pajama girl, her expression slightly unnatural.
She wanted nothing more than to put as much distance as possible between herself and this person—the suspected protagonist of a campus legend.
"Don't you hear a sound?"
The pajama girl said with a completely serious expression.
"What sound?"
Was she referring to that eerie cat's meow from earlier?
The moment Xia Qimeng asked, she heard exactly what sound the pajama girl was talking about.
Rustle, rustle...
A massive, skin-crawling noise—as if a thousand antennae were crawling right next to her ears, carrying a dank, clammy, sticky sensation.
Hiss, hiss...
The sound grew more and more pronounced. The pajama girl's voice suddenly sank, carrying a trace of urgency: "Come to my side, quick."
Xia Qimeng was still bewildered when she witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
One after another, enormous brownish-black oval shadows—with two long, slender antennae atop their heads—crawled out from the corners of the hallway. This was accompanied by the rustling sound of crawling and Xia Qimeng's suddenly sharp intake of breath.
Even Bai Jie, suspended from the ceiling, nearly fell off from a shudder. Inwardly it raged: "What the hell kind of nightmare creatures are these?!"
"What... what is that?!"
Xia Qimeng's face drained of all color. She hastily moved closer to the pajama girl.
"What else could it be? Isn't it obvious? Cockroaches." The pajama girl said, as if this were utterly routine.
That's right. Those blackish-brown oval shadows were indisputably cockroaches—in dense, teeming swarms!
Their bodies were flat, their antennae long and thin. Their six legs were covered in bristles. Their two pairs of wings faintly vibrated, as if ready to lunge into flight at any moment.
Even more terrifying: the smallest of them was the size of a slipper, while the largest was comparable to a suitcase...
[Target]: Toxin-Eroding Cockroach (Variant)
[Vitality]: 1.8
[Body Length]: 40cm
[Status]: Stable
"..."
Seeing this sight, Bai Jie had gone numb. Its human memories screamed at it to flee this place immediately—while its spider instincts howled at it to reduce these revolting pests to ash in an instant.
And as for the faint spiritual essence on these cockroaches?
Heh. You can keep it.
Even if it were delivered right to Bai Jie's mouth, it wouldn't swallow—the sheer revulsion was too much!
Back when it had just reincarnated as a spider, the things it ate were at least barely tolerable: mealworms, silkworm pupae, and the like. It had never, ever eaten cockroaches!!
"This is already the third wave. But the scale and numbers far surpass the previous two. This isn't going to be easy." The pajama girl said grimly.
"Is this the apocalypse? What are we supposed to do?!"
Xia Qimeng was on the verge of losing her mind. She wasn't afraid of snakes, wasn't afraid of spiders—but these cockroaches, carrying countless bacteria and viruses on their bodies, were what she feared above all else.
The pajama girl seemed to notice Xia Qimeng's discomfort and offered words of consolation:
"Don't be afraid. Little roaches aren't actually that dirty. Cockroaches are a deeply misunderstood species, because they're constantly grooming themselves, secreting a layer of wax over their own bodies. If you pick one up and look closely, you'll see it doesn't have a speck of dirt on it, and no parasites either."
"They don't eat feces—at most, they'll nibble on your food. Creatures like flies, mosquitoes, and fleas are the truly filthy ones. Plenty of malaria, plague, and the Black Death have been caused by them. But there's never been a single epidemic in history caused by cockroaches."
"So you see, cockroaches are actually quite friendly toward humans. Unlike mosquitoes, which are born needing to drink human blood to survive. At the same time, cockroaches are naturally beneficial—they eat dead branches and fallen leaves, helping with decomposition."
"It's just that now, in human environments like houses, there aren't any dead branches or leaves. So they can only eat your leftovers. Combined with the fact that they're unfortunate-looking, a bit of an eyesore, and their reproductive ability is far too vigorous... well, they've ended up with the bad reputation they have today."
"All in all, it's a modern demonization."
Hearing this, Xia Qimeng gave the pajama girl an extremely strange look. "So how do you plan on dealing with these cockroaches?"
Without a moment's hesitation, the pajama girl answered: "Kill them all."
Xia Qimeng said doubtfully, "With just... you?"
The pajama girl shook her head slightly and shot Xia Qimeng a glance. "Of course not just me. There's you too, isn't there?"
Xia Qimeng's face went bloodless. "Me? You're telling me to—sure, I can smack a cockroach with a slipper, but ones this big... do you think I'm enough to feed them?"
At the same time, she pulled out her phone with trembling hands. "I'm calling for help... Where are the law enforcers? Why haven't they shown up yet?!"
"The law enforcers won't come." The pajama girl said with confident certainty.
"Why not?"
"Because I've already set up a barrier."
Xia Qimeng: ???
As they spoke, the two of them were already completely surrounded. Beyond a three-meter radius in every direction, there was nothing but a dense, swarming mass of black insects.
Even the demon spider had retreated directly above their heads, unwilling to be brushed by a single cockroach. And Xia Qimeng, at this moment, no longer had the presence of mind to worry about this invisible anomaly that was the demon spider.
"There's something off about this pajama girl. I'll hold off on acting for now—let's see what she does." Bai Jie thought to itself.
Bai Jie fixed half of its attention on the pajama girl, yet detected no spiritual essence reaction whatsoever.
And the outcome did not disappoint Bai Jie's expectations.
The pajama girl's moist, glistening lips parted ever so slightly. From her mouth came obscure, rustling syllables—while simultaneously, from deep within her throat, emerged solemn, arcane words:
"Nine-Tails. Come to your master's aid at once."
As the words fell, a swath of illusory, clear light suddenly bloomed from her chest. It condensed into a pink silhouette, which dropped to the ground and transformed into a fox with nine tails.
"Oh—"
What an absolutely gorgeous, stunning fox.
Both Bai Jie and Xia Qimeng's eyes lit up, as though they had just discovered hidden treasure. Even the immense revulsion brought on by the swarms of cockroaches was greatly diluted.
The fox's undercoat was pure and pristine, white as snow. Its back and face were draped in vivid and endearing pink fur, which shimmered with a captivating luster even in the dim light.
Its head and face were perfectly rounded, its nose dainty and its eyes alluring. Its pupils were like ice crystals. Two fleshy, long ears perked up adorably. Its figure was full and broad. Its legs and the base of its tail were thick and robust. Its nine long, bushy tails swayed without any wind, the tail fur long and dense—one look and you knew they'd be incredibly soothing to the touch, pure stress relief.
[Target]: Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox (Semi-Demonic-Evil Body)
[Vitality]: 108
[Body Length]: 90cm
[Status]: Healthy
(Weak spiritual essence reaction detected.)
"A semi-demonic-evil creature with Vitality this high! And it doesn't even look like it's losing control—how is that possible?!"
"And its spiritual essence reaction... is only weak?!"
The demon spider stared on, utterly failing to comprehend.