After All Species Mutated, I Activated Cheats [Apocalyptic] - Chapter 10

Lu Mian had originally intended to scavenge salt from the residents above the 9th floor. However, in this humid coastal region, people barely had the heart to stockpile vegetables, let alone seasonings. Consequently, he hadn’t managed to find much at all.

Deciding to change tactics, he took what little salt he had and headed back downstairs. Along the way, he tracked down owners who hadn’t left their homes, explained how to deal with the leeches, and asked them to help search other units. Meanwhile, he made his way to the convenience store at the base of Building 1. He pried open the door, gathered every last grain of salt in the shop, and hauled it all away in a single trip using a small trolley.

Fortunately, the store’s stock was plentiful. Leading the remaining survivors, he hurried back as fast as possible, arriving just in time.

Lu Mian grabbed a megaphone and shouted to the stunned crowd, “Quick! Scatter the salt! Use as much as you can!”

Snapping out of their daze, the people frantically tore open the packaging and flung salt across the floor. Lu Mian focused on hurling bags from the trolley into the center of the swarm, while the others pushed forward from the perimeter.

Leeches living in inland freshwater are terrified of salt. Upon contact, their soft bodies reacted as if they had been dropped into a vat of boiling oil. In an instant, the entire rooftop became a chaotic sea of twitching mollusks. The swarm “boiled” as row upon row of elongated leeches writhed in agony.

Lu Mian led his team toward the center of the encirclement. Everywhere they stepped, the leeches died in droves.

The Leech King clamped its mouthparts shut, ceasing the secretion of smaller leeches.

The two groups finally reunited.

“Thank God you made it!” Lin Feng exclaimed.

Lu Mian tried to calm the rising heat in his body, the intense physical exertion had left him sweltering. “Sorry, there were quite a few people left at home. It wasn’t safe for them to stay there, so it was better to take a gamble with us on the roof. It took some time to get everyone together.”

“You made the right call,” Chen-ge said. “Looking at the situation, we were worried about the people back in their units. Now that you’ve brought them out, we can breathe easier. Now, we just need to deal with these big bastards on the roof!”

Lu Mian’s expression turned solemn as he pushed the capabilities of his compound eyes to the limit. He quickly analyzed the situation before speaking. “The salt works, no doubt about it. The small leeches can’t stand it, but those larger ones are much hardier. They’re intelligently avoiding the salt grains. Plus, the rain is constantly diluting the salinity on the ground. They’re trying to wait us out!”

He let out a slow breath, his gaze scanning the area. “Pay attention. I estimate there are several hundred medium-sized leeches. There are at least seventy or eighty that are waist-high, and nearly forty giant leeches that are two-stories tall. Toss in the Leech King, and we’re completely surrounded. Fortunately, the normal-sized ones have very little resistance to salt, so we can catch our breath for a moment.”

Old Wang’s face was twisted in misery, his legs feeling weak. His greatest fear was mollusks, including earthworms, slugs, and caterpillars, they caused him a visceral, physiological dread. “Lu… Xiao Lu! Think of something! If this goes on much longer, your Brother Wang might actually faint!”

Lu Mian sighed. “I’ll try…”

He picked up a fruit knife someone had dropped, grabbed two bags of salt, and threw them into the air above a twenty-inch-long leech directly in front of him. With a swift, practiced motion, he hurled the knife.

After a soft thud, white salt crystals rained down on the creature.

The unlucky leech began to struggle violently, its plump body flailing erratically with a wet, slapping sound. The surrounding leeches scurried away to give it space.

Seconds later, a dark red liquid began to seep from its body. It curled up, its struggles weakening until it finally became a leaf-shaped slab of flesh, lying motionless on the ground.

Lu Mian did the math. They only had fifty or sixty bags of salt left. It took at least two bags to kill a twenty-inch leech, and they still had the waist-high ones and the Leech King to deal with. The salt clearly wasn’t going to be enough.

Just then, the rain began to let up. Compared to the previous blinding downpour, it had slowed to a light drizzle.

Leeches rely heavily on water to survive, and these massive specimens were even more dependent on it. The lessening rain was a huge disadvantage for them.

The leeches clearly sensed the urgency. They all began to writhe. Because the humans were surrounded by salt, several giant leeches tried to approach but recoiled from the stinging crystals. Finally, after a moment of hesitation, they began crawling toward the Leech King.

“What are they doing?” Chen-ge asked.

Lu Mian frowned, gripping his salt bags. “Probably nothing good!”

The crowd watched in disbelief as the unnaturally large leeches converged on their leader. The Leech King opened its mouthparts once again.

A pungent, metallic scent of blood wafted from the bright red maw. It was impossible to guess how many creatures this King had drained to reach such a size. The rows of white, backward-facing hooks continued to rotate, but this time, no small leeches crawled out from the base.

Instead, the giant leeches crawled methodically into the King’s mouth, one after another. It wasn’t just the ones on the roof, leeches of all sizes began pouring out of the stairwells and into the King’s maw. Only a ring of giant leeches remained around the humans, acting as a living wall to prevent their escape.

For a moment, several writhing chains of insects formed across the rooftop. Some emerged from the entrances, others formed from the perimeter. Like streams flowing into an ocean, leeches from all directions converged and resolutely crawled deep into the Leech King’s throat.

The King’s body began to swell at a visible rate. Gradually, the space behind it could no longer contain its massive bulk, and its heavy tail began to drape over the side of the building.

This state lasted for a full five minutes.

“The damn thing is charging up an ultimate move!” Old Wang shouted.

“We have to find a way to stop them!” Lin Feng urged.

Chen-ge’s face was grim as he gripped his sharp blade. “How about we just rush it and stab the big one?”

Xiao Sun swallowed hard. “We can’t even get out, can we?”

Lu Mian stared fixedly at the Leech King’s mouth, his mind racing through potential solutions.

Moments later, the flow of leeches from the stairwell finally ran dry. The Leech King looked like a plastic bag that had been stuffed to the bursting point. Its black-and-yellow skin became somewhat translucent, and they could faintly see individual leeches being dissolved and absorbed within its gut.

The Leech King painfully closed its mouth. As its skin adjusted to its new size and absorbed the nutrients, it grew thick and leathery. By now, its tail had reached the ground over ten stories below!

This was a monster large enough to completely envelope the entire building!

Lu Mian’s breathing slowed. The visual impact of the Leech King was staggering. He never imagined that a creature usually only seen in specific environments could one day appear before him with the proportions of a prehistoric beast.

He stared at the massive, circular suction cup, which was now two stories high. A powerful sense of dread rose within him, making his heart hammer against his ribs.

He felt like he was overlooking something, something vital.

Just then, his eyes caught sight of the silver iron door lying nearby. He nudged Chen-ge. “Chen-ge, what happened to that?”

Chen-ge snapped out of his trance and glanced where Lu Mian was pointing. “That’s the rooftop door. Man, you should have seen it. That thick iron door was ripped apart by the leech’s suction! I only realized today how terrifying that suction force is!”

Lu Mian sucked in a sharp breath. Chen-ge’s words triggered a spark of realization.

Suction cup… suction force… mouthparts.

Lu Mian’s face went pale. He grabbed the megaphone and screamed, “Look out! Find something solid and hold on tight! The thing is going to start inhaling!”

The warning seemed sudden, but the crowd was already terrified. Given that Lu Mian had just saved them, no one doubted him.

Panic erupted. The rooftop was mostly bare, and the only things to hold onto were basic fixtures like water tank railings.

Fortunately, Lu Mian’s warning was timely. Just as the last person found a secure grip, the Leech King opened its mouth again!

The cavernous maw faced them directly. A suction force comparable to a massive vacuum pump surged toward them. Screams filled the air as people were lifted off their feet. Knives, clubs, and tools flew toward the gaping mouth. Many people even lost a shoe to the wind. The Leech King accepted it all, swallowing the debris without discrimination!

“Holy shit! It’s trying to swallow us whole!” Old Wang yelled.

“Dammit!” Chen-ge roared. “Is this beast cheating? How does it have a move like this!”

“Think of something, fast!” Lin Feng shouted.

“Waaaaah!” Xiao Sun sobbed.

Amidst the chaos, Lu Mian spotted the trolley full of salt. It was wedged in a lucky windbreak, still holding dozens of bags. He looked at the Leech King, and a wild, reckless idea began to take root.

He turned toward Lin Feng, shouting over the roar of the wind, “Lin-ge! Give me your knife!”

Most people couldn’t even keep track of their weapons in this wind, but Lin Feng, a veteran, held onto his out of habit.

Lin Feng struggled to raise his hand and handed the blade to Lu Mian. “What are you planning?”

Lu Mian opened his mouth but was immediately choked by a blast of air. After a coughing fit, he managed to reply, “Like the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’m going to send myself in!”

With that, Lu Mian let go. He was instantly pulled toward the Leech King’s mouth at a terrifying speed!

“Xiao Lu!!!”

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