Apocalypse Metamorphosis

slug menace

After rubbing his face and forcing himself to calm down, the cautious Alex Knight didn’t rush outside. Instead, he started searching the rooms, looking for anything useful.

He found a dagger, a disposable lighter, three empty liquor bottles, a pack of salt, and a small backpack. The dagger was an unexpected find from John Lee’s drawer. Alex had always thought John was an honest and quiet guy who wouldn’t harm a fly. It was surprising to find such a weapon hidden away by someone who seemed so docile.

As the saying goes, still waters run deep. John Lee might have seemed harmless, but it turns out he was hiding a bit of a wild side. On the surface, he seemed quiet and harmless, but inside, there was a restless spirit, suppressed by his surroundings.

The blade of the dagger was slightly rusted, but it was still far better than any rusted pipe. After grinding it against a sharpening stone for a bit, the blade regained its edge, much to Alex’s satisfaction.

The lighter would be useful for starting fires and providing light. The empty liquor bottles could hold water and also serve as makeshift weapons. As for the salt, it was indispensable.

Oh, and there were a few p**n magazines in John Lee’s drawer. Although they were a bit old and tattered, they could come in handy for, well, certain necessary functions. Alex wasn’t keen on using leaves for hygiene, no matter how tough things got.

With things the way they were, Alex knew his only goal was to survive in this altered world. Any potentially useful resource couldn't be overlooked until he found a way back to normalcy.

He sheathed the dagger at his waist, grabbed an empty liquor bottle in his right hand, and packed the rest into the backpack. With great caution, Alex opened the front door and stepped out into the world.

A gust of autumn wind blew, lifting a few dried leaves from the ground. The chill made Alex shiver.

After a moment, he laughed at himself for being overly nervous. He rounded the flowerbed and stood at the entrance of the courtyard.

This was the suburban area of Green Lake City. As the city expanded and the economy grew, local farmers found a way to increase their income by converting their homes into rental properties. It was a decent source of income.

White-collar, gray-collar, and blue-collar workers struggling to survive in the city would rent these cheap houses, paying the price of having to wake up an hour or an hour and a half earlier each day to commute to work, eating breakfast on the go, and squeezing into crowded buses and subways.

This situation wasn’t uncommon in major cities across the country.

Given this, it was no surprise that the area outside the courtyard gate was littered with garbage, with farmhouses lining both sides of the dirt road.

There wasn’t a single person in sight. Some of the courtyard walls had partially collapsed, adding to the desolation and making Alex’s heart grow colder.

Fortunately, Alex was mentally prepared for this, so he wasn’t entirely hopeless.

Alex crept along the courtyard wall, remembering a small convenience store not far ahead. Though it mainly sold knock-off and substandard food and drinks, it could still quench his thirst and hunger.

After a short walk, he saw the storefront. The sign was half broken, leaving only the words "Fat Mama." The aluminum rolling shutter was partially missing, leaving a gap for entry.

Alex crouched and slipped into the store.

The store was dimly lit, so Alex lit the lighter, and the small yellow flame illuminated the interior.

He squinted and searched carefully. Most items were rotten and moldy, but after some effort, Alex found two boxes of bottled water and a box of unknown-brand compressed biscuits.

Whether the bottled water was drinkable or not, Alex didn’t care as his throat felt like it was on fire. He twisted open a bottle and gulped it down.

Ah, bliss!

After drinking more than half the bottle, Alex felt immense relief.

Happiness, he thought, is finding what you need most after a lot of effort.

He packed the bottled water and compressed biscuits into the backpack. The backpack wasn’t large, so it only fit five bottles of water and ten packs of biscuits.

Alex stashed the remaining water and biscuits in a corner of the store for later.

After all this, Alex felt a wave of exhaustion. The recent events had worn him out.

Hmm? Suddenly, Alex heard something. He grabbed an empty bottle in his right hand and reached for the dagger at his waist with his left, cautiously moving to the front of the rolling shutter and peeking outside.

In just one glance, every muscle in Alex’s body tensed!

On the street, scattered with plastic bags, a man in a T-shirt and jeans was running, panting heavily. About two meters behind him, a slug-like creature, as thick as a wrist and about a meter long, covered in a blue, slimy substance, was slithering after him.

Creatures like slugs are never considered cute, no matter their size. The only words to describe them are disgusting.

Alex didn’t find the giant slug disgusting; instead, he felt a chill down his spine and worry for the man running for his life.

Alex recognized the man. He had seen him a few times at a noodle stand, wearing a security guard uniform and enjoying fried noodles. He didn’t know his name.

The giant slug must have sensed Alex’s presence or noticed his movement because its antennae turned toward the store.

Between the antennae, blue sparks began to form, and a ring-shaped mouth full of tiny, sharp teeth opened, creating a visually shocking scene.

There was no doubt that this giant slug wasn’t harmless. Its teeth alone indicated it wasn’t a herbivore.

Seeing the giant slug slow down, the man in front sped up, trying to escape.

But at that moment, a bright blue arc of electricity shot from the slug’s antennae, covering the five-meter distance in an instant and striking the man.

Electricity coursed through the man’s body, knocking him to the ground in an instant.