Apocalypse Metamorphosis

A Narrow Escape

At this moment, the giant slug's struggle intensified, causing it to repeatedly crash into the dirt road, leaving small dents behind.

Seeing this, Alex Knight couldn’t help but feel a surge of fear. If he hadn't dodged quickly, a direct hit from the slug would have surely broken his bones, if not left him unable to stand.

While the slug was struggling, Alex didn't just stand by and watch. He poured salt into his hand, and during a brief moment when the slug was exhausted, he applied a handful of salt to its wound. The slug convulsed violently once again.

The constant application of salt prevented the slug's wound from healing, causing bubbles to form and fluids to ooze out, changing from blue to bluish-green.

By the time Alex had nearly run out of salt, the giant slug had finally stopped moving.

The slug's appearance had completely changed from its original state. Its once plump body had become shriveled like a dried corpse, its vibrant blue color turned into a sickening bluish-green. The surrounding area was covered in puddles of bluish-green fluid emitting an almost suffocating stench.

Taking a whiff was akin to swallowing a lump of waste that had been fermenting for days.

For Alex, who had just survived a deadly battle, this stench was no longer a big deal.

His mind registered some changes on his attribute panel, but Alex had no time to check it. Instead, he found a stick and cautiously poked the giant slug from a distance.

The slug was truly dead. The stick poking into its body confirmed its lifelessness.

Finally, Alex breathed a sigh of relief, and the previously suppressed fatigue and pain surged up, making him collapse to the ground, not wanting to move.

But Alex knew he couldn’t relax just yet.

Where there was one giant slug, there could be a second, a third, or even more powerful monsters!

He needed to get back! Right now, his rented apartment was the safest place.

With this in mind, Alex struggled to his feet, ready to return to his apartment. Just then, he caught a faint scent in the air.

The scent was peculiar, not like any flower or chemical perfume Alex knew, but more like the enticing aroma of cooked meat.

This aroma made Alex's mouth water.

He found it strange. He had eaten until he was almost full at the convenience store, so why was he feeling hungry again so soon?

Sniffing the air like a dog, Alex noticed the surrounding area reeked of the slug's decomposing fluids, making the enticing aroma even more prominent.

After circling around, Alex determined that the scent was coming from inside the giant slug.

Honestly, when Alex got close enough to sniff the slug, he nearly vomited. The mixture of the putrid and fragrant smells was unbearable.

But no matter how unpleasant, Alex couldn't give up on discovering the source of the scent. Initially, his stomach just grumbled a bit, but the aroma soon made him ravenous.

Poking the dead slug with his finger, Alex realized he was in a dilemma. Without a proper knife, he couldn't deal with the slug's tough skin. Even in death, its hide remained resilient.

Fortunately, while rummaging through the slug's wound with a stick, Alex found his lost dagger.

Well, what was left of it.

The slug's blue fluids had corroded the dagger, reducing its size significantly. The horn handle had completely dissolved, and the blade had shrunk from its original ten inches to less than four, resembling a broken pencil knife.

Alex wiped the remaining blade with a rag, surprised at its condition. Despite the corrosion, the blade seemed heavier than before, and after wiping, it gleamed brightly, as if coated in mercury.

Clearly, this dagger had undergone some unusual changes after being exposed to the blue fluid.

There was no time to investigate further. Alex made a makeshift knife by securing the blade between two pieces of wood with some cloth.

Then, bracing himself against the stench, Alex used the small knife to cut along the slug's previous wound.

The stench was overwhelming. As soon as he opened the slug, the intensified foul smell hit him, making him gag.

After dry heaving, Alex fought through the smell, using a stick to poke around inside the slug's body.

Hmm?

What’s this?

Alex pulled out a fist-sized meatball connected to several blue tendons, which led to the slug's antennae. When Alex touched the meatball, a spark of electricity emerged from the antennae.

Hmm? Alex speculated that this meatball might be the slug's electric organ.

Some Earth creatures can generate electricity, like the well-known electric eel, which can produce a high voltage of up to 650 volts to kill its prey.

But the slug's organ was different. It felt hard, semi-transparent, with some liquid inside. When Alex brought it closer, it emitted a tantalizing aroma.

That’s it! The enticing aroma came from this meatball.

After securing the meatball, Alex poked around the slug's body with the stick but found nothing else of interest. He returned to the convenience store, grabbed a few compressed biscuits, packed his backpack, and prepared to leave.

Hmm, he needed to check on that man before leaving. Alex walked over.

The man's back was badly burned, emitting a faint smell of cooked meat. He showed no signs of life.

Alex marveled at the power of the giant slug's electricity.

It takes a lot of voltage to break through air resistance, and though the air was moist and less resistant, it still required over 100,000 volts to travel twenty meters in an instant.