Just after dawn, Xie Lun was awakened by the piercing sound of a motorcycle engine outside the window. It was obvious that the motorcycles outside had been modified, and the air waves emitted from the exhaust pipes were particularly harsh. It was obvious that there was a group of will-o'-the-wisp teenagers outside.
"Scarlett, stop for me...come back..."
"Goodbye, Mom, you don't have to prepare lunch and dinner for me anymore."
Amidst the roar of laughter, the motorcycle engine roared loudly, and with a deafening "chug" sound, it quickly went away.
Xie Lun didn't even have to guess, he knew it must be Feilan's daughter who was disobedient and ran away from home secretly and went out with some unscrupulous people.
"Alas, every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite."
Sherron sighed, pulled the quilt over, covered his head and continued to sleep.
The breakfast made by Fei Lan was very simple, with a fried egg sandwiched between two slices of toast and a layer of tomato sauce spread on the outside. Although the taste was mediocre, Xie Lun still ate his portion out of politeness.
"Sharon," Mike asked Sherron while eating a piece of bread, "can you accompany me to meet a friend this morning?"
Xie Lun smiled and said: "What kind of friend?"
"Dr. Derek, he has a lot of spiders in his house." Mike's expression changed and he whispered, "But because of those spiders, people in the town say he is crazy."
"Spiders?" Sherron narrowed his eyes, "Mike, aren't you afraid of spiders?"
Mike shook his head vigorously: "I think spiders are wonderful and cute."
There is definitely something wrong with this kid's psychology.
Xie Lun thought to himself.
Seeing Xie Lun's silence, Mike cautiously asked: "Xie Lun, are you still afraid of spiders?"
Xie Lun smiled and shook his head: "I am an adult. You guys are not afraid of me, and I am not afraid either."
"Then can you go with me? Mom won't let me go alone. I think she will agree if you accompany me."
Xie Lun looked at Feilan, who lowered his head in panic, not daring to look at Xie Lun at all.
Xie Lun smiled, reached out and patted Mike's head: "Okay, when will we set off?"
"Now."
"Now? Are you full?"
"I've been full for a long time."
The anxious Mike pulled Sherron out of the house, leaving only Fei Lan and Tina at home.
Looking at Feilan, who was sitting there, absent-mindedly looking out the window, a strange smile suddenly appeared on Tina's face. He stood up and walked forward. Before Feilan could react, he reached out and lifted her smooth chin, and said with a smile: "Deputy Sheriff, I think there are some things that we need to talk about, are you right?"
"Huh?"
Feilan looked at Tina with a strange smile on her face and subconsciously tightened her collar.
It was obvious that Mike didn't have many friends in the town. At least the children of the same age he met on the road not only ignored Mike, but even stayed away, seeming to be very afraid.
Through Mike's description along the way, Sherron could also tell that the weirdo named Derek was probably his only good friend.
After all, in the whole town, only this young man and the old man like spiders.
Perhaps this is also the reason why other children are unwilling to play with Mike. After all, in the eyes of many people, creatures like spiders look very scary.
Derek lives in a relatively remote area, on the edge of a swamp. There is no road at all in front of my house, only a narrow path almost covered by weeds.
Xie Lun could only park the car on the side of the road. Under Mike's guidance, he walked along this slippery dirt road for nearly half an hour before he saw a few wooden houses.
"Derek, are you up? Come out quickly, I'm bringing a new friend today."
Mike ran up excitedly and knocked hard on the door for a long time. Then the moss-covered wooden door creaked open, and an old man with gray hair poked his head out.
Derek's image did not go beyond Sherron's imagination, and he fit the image of a scientist obsessed with some kind of research. His face was unshaven, his hair was messy, he was wrapped in a nightgown that had not been washed for who knows how many years, his feet were covered with socks of different colors, and he was wearing two unglued plastic slippers...
"Ah, it turns out to be the cutest little Mike. Long time no see."
"Uh... Derek, we met yesterday, have you forgotten?"
"Really? Haha... probably," Derek's face changed when he saw Sherron standing behind Mike. He pulled out a shotgun from the door, pointed at Sherron and yelled, "You, stop! Say, who are you? Are you here to steal my research results?"
"..."
Xie Lun was a little speechless. If he hadn't seen the shotgun in the old madman's hand, the muzzle of the gun was rusty, he would have pulled out the gun and shot him in the head.
"Derek, stop. He is not a bad person, he is my friend." Mike kicked Derek's knee hard and said angrily, "If you keep doing this, I will never come to see you again."
"No, I know I was wrong." Derek quickly threw the gun behind the door and stretched out his hand to Sherron with some embarrassment, "So you are Mike's friend. If so, then you are also my Derek's friend. ."
Looking at the dirty palm in front of him, with a few unknown hairs even stuck in his fingernails, Sherron had no intention of shaking hands with it, and went straight to the point and asked: "I heard from Mike that you are an expert on spiders. At home, They keep a lot of spiders, so I plan to come and visit."
"You actually want to come and visit?"
Derek looked at Sherron in disbelief, and it took him a while before he reacted. He quickly reached out and combed his hair, straightened his nightgown, and opened the door wide: "Okay, welcome, warm welcome... In so many years, besides Mike, this is the second person who wants to visit these little darlings of mine." Where are the people."
Before entering, Xie Lun smelled a fishy smell. He took out his handkerchief, covered his mouth and nose, and entered the house bravely. A small light bulb with a low wattage was lit in the dim cabin.
The yellowish light barely illuminated the situation inside the wooden house.
The small wooden house was filled with rows of iron shelves, and various large and small glass boxes were stacked on the shelves. In these glass boxes, there are various kinds of spiders.
"Most ordinary people's fear of spiders is due to their unique appearance, but in fact, after understanding the habits of spiders, they should be even more afraid."
Derek laughed at Sherron and walked ahead to introduce: "Spiders are typical carnivores, and they are very cruel and cunning when it comes to hunting. According to the way they hunt, spiders can be roughly divided into two categories. , one is a web-building spider, and the other is a wandering spider."
"It's easy to understand web-building spiders. This type of spider uses webs to set up traps in the air or on the ground. Once prey breaks in, this spider will inject it with a shot of 'digestive enzymes', which is equivalent to to anesthetics."
"The prey infected with digestive enzymes will first fall into a state of coma and suspended animation, and then the internal muscles will gradually begin to liquefy, and then the spider will begin to suck the juice from the prey's body. In the end, the prey will only have a shell left, and what is inside All gone."
Listening to Derek's description, Sherron moved his neck uncomfortably.
"Are you scared? In fact, this way of eating is relatively mild. At least the prey will not feel the pain of death. The hunting of wandering spiders is even more terrifying."
As he spoke, Derek pointed to a glass box next to him: "For example, the wolf spider, which is relatively common in our Americas, is a typical wandering predator killer."