Chapter 899: Chapter 895: Three Holes Chapter 899: Chapter 895: Three Holes The mine tunnel, over two meters high, was spacious enough for easy movement.

Bi Fang, holding a torch, carefully avoided a huge spread of spider web, his eyes showing astonishment.

The light from the fire disturbed the giant spider that had long lived in darkness, causing it to tug its white threads as it hid in the corner of the wall.

“I can’t believe we encountered a Komachi Spider here, quite rare.”

The audience undoubtedly felt surprised upon hearing this, recalling the scene where strange fish were discovered in the Underground River in the desert.

Both settings were caves, giving a strong sense of deja vu.

Could it be that Komachi Spiders are also very rare?

Bi Fang nodded, “This spider was accidentally discovered by researchers while examining museum specimens and was subsequently cataloged.”

“To find a living specimen, scientific expedition teams went to South Africa several times for exploratory studies, but found nothing, leading people to worry that Komachi Spiders had gone extinct.”

“It wasn’t until later that a South African researcher accidentally discovered a male and two female Komachi Spiders in a park, confirming that the Komachi Spider still survives.”

First there were specimens, then records, such occurrences weren’t rare.

Before biological science became systematic, adventurers had already left their mark around the world.

Upon encountering rare and peculiar creatures by chance, people would capture them, make specimens, and regard these as trophies and talking points of their adventures.

As for what species these creatures were and their uses, no one really cared.

Those listening to the stories only saw them as badges of courage.

Gigantic beetles, insect-eating plants, blood-red corals–such were considered exotic treasures.

Similarly, spiders capable of weaving exceptionally large webs were certainly not to be missed.

Once the adventurers were dead or met with accidents, many specimens could have been lost, further treasured by descendants or donated and sold to museums.

Then, one day hundreds of years later, thanks to the meticulous efforts of a certain recorder, those specimens collecting dust in museum corners could once again reappear.

However, after centuries, the original species of some specimens might have already gone extinct, never to be found alive again.

“I don’t know how many Komachi Spiders are left in the wild, but I’m sure they are not abundant.”

Bi Fang said cheerfully, “So it’s quite fortunate to see one here, we’re really lucky.”

The chances of finding something overlooked in a normal abandoned diamond mine are slim.

Even if the mine owner disregarded small, high-purity fragments of diamonds, miners closing down the site wouldn’t overlook them.

Unless it’s not a regularly abandoned mine or you’re lucky enough to dig up a rock wall, revealing a long-unseen diamond of considerable clarity.

Hence, Bi Fang did not come in with the expectation of finding anything valuable, it was more about satisfying his and the audience’s curiosity.

Seeing the rare Komachi Spider now was a delightful surprise, truly justifying this “venture.”

“Let’s move on,” he said.

Bi Fang avoided the spider web and progressed deeper into the mine.

The darkness grew more profound, and instead of becoming narrower, the mine seemed even more spacious.

This made the audience feel more anxious, and Bi Fang’s movements became even more cautious.

“Everyone, when you are exploring or stranded in the wild and encounter a cave full of spiders, be very cautious–not because the spiders are poisonous, but because the existence of numerous spiders in a cave suggests the possibility of higher trophic level organisms.”

What does the possibility of higher trophic level organisms imply?

Many viewers expressed confusion.

“It’s simple, first, the cave has a lot of spiders, which proves it’s been abandoned for a long time as animals had occupied the mine.”

“Secondly, spiders are also part of the food chain, they are not on the top. Many venomous snakes like to eat arthropods. Caves are their preferred environments, and with food available, larger, more venomous species of snakes are the real threat.”

“As for spiders, they actually aren’t much of anything.”

Bi Fang held up a torch and moved forward slowly, carefully, and with caution.

At the same time, he engaged in some knowledge exchange with the viewers.

“It might be different from what most of you imagine, but spiders pose a very small threat to humans.”

“For one thing, most spiders are very wary and will avoid contact with humans. If forced, they would give a warning before attacking.”

“For example, the Australian Funnel-Web Spider will lift its front two or four legs as a warning. When you see this behavior, you should stay away.”

“So far, scientists have not found any cases of spiders proactively attacking humans, including the common species we encounter, such as the Jumping Spider, Domestic Phantom Spider, Greatwood Spider, and so on.”

“On the other hand, most spiders are not venomous, and even if they are, their size is too small. Even if you were bitten by a highly venomous spider, the bites are generally self-healing.”

“Currently, we only discovered 7 types of spider venom that can harm humans, including the venom from the Australian Funnel-Web Spider which can cause human fatality. However, as long as antivenom is administered within 15 minutes, one can be out of danger.”

“The venom of the remaining 6 types is currently not considered to directly cause human deaths.”

“For instance, the infamous highly venomous Black Widow is one of the remaining six, with a venom 15 times more potent than that of a rattlesnake’s. However, due to its small size, it’s almost never fatal.”

“In Ugly Country, about 2200 people get bitten by Black Widows each year, but there has yet to be an authoritative report of death. Its venom can cause muscle pain, abdominal cramps, and rapid heartbeat at most. Victims can recover without medical help unless they happen to have cardiovascular diseases.”

“Moreover, spiders rarely inject all their venom in one go.”

Spiders can precisely control the amount of venom they release, whether attacking or defending, and they don’t use up all their venom at once.

Venom is a spider’s weapon to capture food; they budget its use meticulously.

A larger cricket might get more venom, a tiny fruit fly less, and each meal is planned with a specific amount of venom.

If a spider uses up all its venom at once, it would take weeks to replenish.

This means that without their venomous weapon, the spider might starve for several weeks.

Even if you squeeze the spider’s belly, it won’t release all its venom at you.

“You are not spider food, and it wouldn’t want to waste its precious and limited venom on you.”

“Small quantity, small injection, leads to only one outcome.”

“Venom is not a virus, it cannot replicate itself. The amount won’t increase; injecting venom into the human body is like dropping cyanide into the ocean, you cannot kill anyone.”

“Of course, dropping it into the ocean is an exaggeration, but the idea is similar.”

“Even in last century’s Australia, there were only 13 reported deaths caused by spiders.”

[Disliked]
[“Bite You Hard”]
[Wow, is that really how it is? I’m greatly shocked.]
[My fear of spiders has suddenly decreased a lot.]
Along the way, Bi Fang didn’t make any special discoveries, just some symbols on the walls perhaps used by the miners in the past for communication or random doodles.

Until after about thirty to forty meters, the tunnel suddenly widened. The height hadn’t changed much but the width had reached nearly ten meters.

At the same time, three different tunnel openings appeared ahead.