Chapter 898: Chapter 894: The Giant Spider Chapter 898: Chapter 894: The Giant Spider “Seems like a mine shaft?”

In front of the dark entrance, Bi Fang didn’t dare to approach rashly.

Faced with the unfamiliar cave, Harley was even more cautious than Bi Fang, head hung low, shoulder muscles tensed and bulging, eyes fixedly staring straight ahead, silently observing.

This stance was like a car that has been ignited, though not yet accelerating, it was clearly ready, engine running, prepared to move at any moment.

The audience was also visibly excited.

[Really? Is there actually a mine shaft here?]
[Nonsense, have you forgotten what Master Fang mentioned before, that Kenya is rich in minerals?]
[Then what kind of mine is this, could it be a gold mine?]
[Gold mine, damn, wouldn’t that mean striking it rich?]
[Get rich? As if it’s your turn, aren’t you dreaming? If there were really gold inside, would it still be abandoned here?]
[Seems like it though.]
“The edges of the cave have a lot of angles and scratches, and there are many fragments scattered around. These are obvious signs of artificial excavation.”

“If it were a natural cave, its edges would be quite smooth from weathering, of course, there’s also the possibility of cracks formed by landslide or rock splitting, but considering the terrain here, it’s clearly not the case.”

Whether the cave is man-made or natural is something that can usually be recognized at first glance.

Since it was artificially created, there certainly wouldn’t be such an effort for no reason; there must be sufficient benefits hidden within to drive people to undertake such a massive project.

Bi Fang offered a brief explanation, then put down his backpack to lighten his load, and started to jog backwards, with the cheetah quickly following suit.

After running back some forty or fifty meters, Bi Fang looked up to encompass the surroundings in his view.

A slope strewn with rocks.

No, it would be more accurate to say, dozens of slopes strewn with rocks.

For the surrounding ten-plus kilometers, it was no longer a flat wide savanna, but had turned into “hills” of jumbled stones like seen here.

The stones, under the blazing sun, showed a distinct yellow brightness with sharp edges.

From a distance, it appeared as if they were composed of pixel blocks.

Interspersed among these pixelated slopes there were occasional patches of green grass, like the few remaining strands of black and gray hair on a balding man’s head.

“Now look at the rocks around us.”

Bi Fang looked down, found a loose piece of yellow stone, dug it out, and threw it down the slope.

The stone tumbled down, breaking into several pieces as it collided with other rocks midway, not very hard.

Bi Fang dusted off his hands: “It’s Kimberlite rock, probably a Kimberlite mine. There might be diamonds being excavated inside.”

[What’s Kimberlite rock?]
[I guess it has something to do with diamonds]
[You’re really a genius]
[It’s time for the favorite show-off moment]
Bi Fang laughed: “There are two typical types of primary diamond deposits, one is the potassium-magnesium peridotite type, and the other is Kimberlite, which is the most common type in Africa.”

“This type of rock is very unstable. When exposed to air, it rapidly decomposes into a yellow, brittle substance known as ‘yellow ground’, just like what we just saw, easily breaking into small chunks.”

“Opposite of yellow ground is ‘blue ground’; below the weathering zone, Kimberlite rocks are dark blue-grey, much harder, and are known as blue ground, or fresh Kimberlite.”

The audience, after hearing the analysis and confirming that what lay before Bi Fang was indeed a mine, and potentially a diamond mine at that, became excited all at once.

In recent days, the waning viewer count began an uptrend once again.

“I just knew Old Fang knows everything.”

“When in doubt, ask Master Fang.”

“6666, gotta go in and check it out.”

“If there’s a hole, it must be drilled into, right?”

“Hurry, hurry, hurry, go in and look, what if you can find something shabby?”

“Don’t rush, as usual, we’ll first make a torch.”

Bi Fang didn’t hurry back to the mine, but searched nearby for a stick of the right size and thickness, along with some small branches and tinder, then returned to where he’d dropped his backpack, and took out two pieces of flint stone, followed by animal fat and rope.

The rope, soaked in the animal fat until it absorbed enough, was then wrapped around one end of the stick.

“Animal fat burns well, but it’s hard to ignite, we need to start a small bonfire first and then use the flame to light it.”

Several thin sticks were built into a pyramid shape, with the very top covered in a layer of tinder composed of woody fibers, finally, he struck the flint stone together.

The entire process was smooth and efficient.

For Bi Fang, starting a fire in the wilderness had become as simple as eating and drinking.

Soon, a blazing bonfire appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Bi Fang slung his backpack on again, torch in hand, and cautiously entered the cave amid the audience’s anticipation.

Compared to the bright midday outside, the cave was dark, and the light almost completely disappeared after four or five meters, plunging into pitch blackness, with the only source of light being the torch in Bi Fang’s hand.

In the confined and narrow space, sounds echoed and overlapped, amplified many times over, making footsteps and breathing sounds very distinct.

The orange glow of the fire shone on the yellow rock, somewhat dazzling and causing one to slightly lose their sense of distance.

Not only that, but as Bi Fang walked alongside the right wall and switched the torch to his left hand to check out the left wall, he discovered a huge spider quietly perched there.

What was even more astonishing was that the spider was not only massive but also capable of spinning webs – a cursory glance suggested the web’s diameter nearly exceeded half a person’s height!

And there wasn’t just one spider; several large webs draped down, threatening to completely envelop Bi Fang, with the nearest one just shorter than an arm’s length away.

This quickly startled the audience.

Even Bi Fang himself was taken aback, his back breaking into a light sweat.

With his strength and level, he feared little when facing head-on challenges, except perhaps tigers and lions; most of the time, he wasn’t afraid to take things The Hard Way. It was creatures like venomous snakes and spiders, the more insidious adversaries, that could easily lead to a sudden and unexpected downfall.

But such a large web.

Web sizes exceeding a meter are rare in nature.

There were also many locusts stuck to it – it was unknown whether these were part of the swarm they had encountered a few days ago.

Bi Fang didn’t approach rashly; spider webs are very resilient, but they fear fire. Getting his torch close enough might bring disaster upon these spiders.

Observing the palm-sized spiders not far away, Bi Fang pondered in his mind.

Palm-sized spiders, webs with a diameter of one meter…

“It’s the Komachi Spider, not dangerous.”

Bi Fang recognized it.

“This giant spider species is large but non-venomous to humans, though their bites can be fierce.”

“Their webs usually exceed 1 meter in diameter and are very strong, capable of capturing smaller birds, bats, or lizards.”