Ethan hurriedly raised his hands to protect his head.
'I damn well knew it. This thing is definitely going to eat people. And they still have the nerve to call it a passenger vehicle?'
Ding!
And right at that moment.
The bell rang again beside Ethan's ear.
The pain he had imagined, and the scene of being swallowed by the lamp spider, did not happen.
Plop!
Instead, something landed on top of his head.
Ethan reached up and wiped it, sticky and slimy, and carrying a strong stench of rancid slop.
'Could it be…'
Ethan looked up. Above his head were countless sharp, cold-glinting fangs.
The lamp spider hadn't bitten down. Instead, it suspended its massive head in midair, staring straight at Ethan with two rows of red eyeballs.
Its gaping mouth hung open, and saliva dripped from its sharp teeth straight onto Ethan's head.
Because of its enormous size, its saliva wasn't just a drop. It was practically a whole basin's worth.
And the lamp spider's drool smelled like several tons of rotten fish and dead shrimp left to ferment. It almost knocked Ethan unconscious from the stench.
"Don't be rude to distinguished guests!"
Smack!
A voice suddenly came from atop the lamp spider.
Immediately afterward, a long whip lashed down onto the lamp spider's head. The lamp spider cried out in pain.
Hiss!
It let out a miserable screech, then shook its thick, long neck. Only then did it obediently lower its head to the ground, open its mouth wide, and retract its sharp teeth.
"Distinguished guest, it's getting late. Please board the vehicle as soon as possible," A deep male voice spoke from atop the lamp spider.
Ethan looked up, and saw that on the lamp spider's back, there was actually a man wearing a top hat, seated there. He held a long leather whip in one hand, and a very dim kerosene lamp in the other.
But because of the distance, and the weak lighting, Ethan could only make out that the man had a thick, bushy beard. As for what he actually looked like, he couldn't see clearly.
When the man saw Ethan look up, he very politely removed the hat from his head, placed it over his chest, and gave a courteous little bow.
"Honored guest, please board the vehicle quickly! Don't wait until those troublesome fellows come out. If that happens, leaving will be a bit of a hassle!"
"Board… board the vehicle?"
Ethan stared at the lamp spider's pitch-black mouth. Inside it was a long, dark-purple tongue that looked almost poisoned.
He really couldn't bring himself to walk in.
"Boarding is fine, but can I sit on top instead?"
"Hehe! If the honored guest doesn't mind being carried away by the things in the mist, then I don't mind," the driver chuckled, then asked in return, "Coming up?"
"Then forget it. I'll go inside."
Ethan swallowed hard. That freezing, near-death sensation from before was something he truly did not want to experience again.
If it was death either way, then he might as well gamble.
"Honored guest, please!"
The driver made an inviting gesture.
At the same time, the lamp spider angled the light on its head, illuminating the path in front of Ethan.
"Gulp!"
Ethan swallowed silently.
'No matter how dangerous the road ahead, there is always light along the rugged path.'
'Terrifying is one word.'
'I'll only say it once.'
"Hiss!"
Ethan took a deep breath.
Then he cautiously stepped forward with one foot, tentatively placing it into the lamp spider's mouth.
The inside of the lamp spider's mouth was soft. He couldn't tell whether it was the flesh inside its mouth or its tongue, but the sensation was like stepping on a thick layer of moss.
Soft and squishy, with a watery give underfoot. Using shopping site terminology, it was a poop-stepping sensation.
That feeling shot straight from Ethan's sole up to the top of his head, making him so nauseated that goosebumps exploded all over his body.
Σ( °△°|||)︴
Luckily, the lamp spider didn't react at all.
It seemed to silently approve of Ethan's actions. It neither moved nor resisted.
With no other choice, Ethan steeled himself and stepped in with his other foot. And the moment both feet entered the foul-smelling mouth of the lamp spider.
The ground beneath him suddenly moved. Immediately after, a huge tongue whipped around Ethan, and before he could even react, he was already sent straight into the lamp spider's belly.
"Holy crap!"
Ethan was instantly tossed around until stars danced in his vision.
But once he stood back up and looked around, he was completely stunned by what he saw.
Originally, he had assumed the inside of the lamp spider's belly would be filled with disgusting gastric fluids, or sticky internal organs.
But to his surprise, the inside of the lamp spider was actually pretty clean.
It was like a small private compartment, about five or six square meters in size.
The floor was covered with a fuzzy red carpet. Although the four walls were covered with fist-sized fleshy nodules, benches had actually been installed along the sides for passengers to rest. Thick cushions were even placed on the seats, making them look rather comfortable.
But Ethan didn't dare go sit there. No other reason.
He was afraid of brushing up against those purplish-red nodules behind the seats. Forget bursting them. Even touching them felt disgusting, okay?
But just at that moment.
Hiss! Hiss!
The lamp spider seemed to suddenly start moving.
Ethan was violently jolted. Unable to keep his balance, his whole body tilted sharply to one side.
He hurriedly reached out to brace himself against the wall, trying to steady his body.
And then, Ethan felt a sensation in his hand that was impossible to describe.
It was like pressing against soft flesh, but the outer layer of that flesh was coated in something slimy, which instantly smeared all over his hand.
"Ugh~"
Ethan hurriedly shook his hand.
Trying to fling off that layer of sticky stuff.
But it clung on in an eerie way. Even after flinging off the big globs, smaller bits still stuck, as if no matter how hard he shook, it would never come clean.
And at this moment, that damn lamp spider was still crawling nonstop. Inside its body, the jolting was even worse.
Without holding onto the wall, Ethan couldn't stand steady at all.
With no other choice, he plopped his butt straight down onto the carpet.
At least the carpet didn't seem that dirty. At the very least, it wasn't sticky, right?
But after Ethan sat down, he realized he had been wrong. Turns out those weren't fuzzy carpets at all, but some kind of fleshy fibers. Each strand looked like red coral from the deep sea, and damn it, they even moved.
"Holy crap!"
Ethan was truly on the verge of a breakdown.
And outside the lamp spider, the sound of a whip cracking could be heard from time to time. It sounded like the driver was either whipping the lamp spider or driving away the mist monsters.
Going back out was obviously impossible now. Ethan could only grit his teeth and endure it.
To make himself less afraid, Ethan simply closed his eyes.
'Out of sight, out of mind!'
But, the inside of this lamp spider just wouldn't let him have any peace.
He kept hearing faint rustling sounds, like something was crawling around inside the cabin.
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