After All Species Mutated, I Activated Cheats [Apocalyptic] - Chapter 13

As dawn broke, Lu Mian was jolted awake by a persistent pounding on his door. He blinked, glancing at the alarm clock on his nightstand, it was only five in the morning.

Letting out a massive yawn, he stumbled out of bed with his eyes half-closed and called out toward the door, “Coming!”

Old Wang’s signature booming voice drifted in from outside, intentionally drawing out every syllable, “Xiao! Lu! Time! To! Get! Up!”

Lu Mian yawned again and pulled the door open. “What’s going on?”

Old Wang was standing there in a white tank top and boxer shorts, sporting a messy “bird’s nest” of hair and sleep crust in the corners of his eyes. He had clearly been dragged out of bed himself.

“My friend,” Old Wang said, “while you were sleeping, the world outside decided to change.”

Amused by his dramatic tone, Lu Mian played along. “And what does it look like now?”

Old Wang grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out. “Come on, come on. Let me show you a miracle.”

Lu Mian rubbed his gritty eyes and followed Old Wang downstairs with a lazy stride. Given Old Wang’s casual demeanor and his penchant for jokes, Lu Mian figured it wasn’t a life-or-death emergency, so he didn’t rush.

As they stepped out of the Building 1 lobby, Old Wang turned around with a flourish. “Welcome to Jurassic Park.”

Jurassic Park? What kind of nonsense is he…

Lu Mian shook himself awake and focused his gaze beyond the doorway.

A crowd of neighbors had already gathered, most of them dressed haphazardly, having clearly just rolled out of bed like he had. By the growing morning light, his eyes landed on the small courtyard between Building 1 and Building 2.

The complex had always been well-landscaped with various trees. Over the years, they had grown to about three or four stories high. But now, the trees that were supposed to be four stories tall had surged to over ten stories overnight.

His sleepiness vanished instantly. “How is this possible?”

Old Wang ran a hand through his messy hair. “No clue. Overnight, these trees acted like they were on steroids, growing like crazy. God knows what happened.”

Lu Mian walked forward in his slippers but nearly slipped when he stepped on something slick.

Looking down, he saw a bright green leaf. He leaned over to pick it up and was surprised by its weight. It was a leaf from a camphor tree, common in the south. Usually, they were quite small, but this one was as large as his two palms put together.

“I remember these trees were normal yesterday,” Lu Mian muttered.

“No kidding,” Old Wang replied. “When we hauled the Leech King’s carcass down yesterday, we even crushed a few branches.”

As he spoke, Old Wang seemed to realize something odd. “Wait, where is the Leech King’s body?”

Lu Mian frowned and tossed the giant leaf into the bushes. “Let’s go find it.”

He took a few steps toward the dense thicket but was suddenly jerked back by his collar.

He turned to find Lin Feng standing behind him. “Brother Lin?”

Lin Feng’s expression was grim. “You’re going in there? We have no idea what the situation is inside that greenery now. You can’t just go charging in. What if there’s something dangerous lurking?”

Lu Mian swallowed hard and gave an awkward smile. “You’re right, we weren’t thinking. But we have to find a way to see if that carcass is still there.”

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. “You think the trees’ sudden growth is linked to the Leech King?”

Lu Mian nodded. “When I came down yesterday, I ran into the uncle from 402 in Building 3. He said he bought a Venus flytrap a month ago. When the leeches swarmed the night before last, he’d left it on the balcony. The next day, it suddenly had several new traps and had grown significantly. My guess is it made a meal out of a few leeches.”

Lu Mian paused, a flicker of discomfort crossing his face as he recalled the image of himself “draining” the flytrap. He quickly continued, “If that theory holds, then these trees have been absorbing nutrients from the Leech King’s body since last night.”

Lin Feng thought it over for a moment. “Follow me.”

He led them toward the other side of Building 1.

“Look at this,” Lin Feng said. “The trees here aren’t normal either.”

The far side of Building 1 bordered the edge of the complex. Beside the high perimeter wall stood a row of Norfolk Island pines.

Just like the trees in the courtyard, these pines had shot up tremendously overnight.

Lu Mian looked at the trees and then at the building levels. “They’re growing here, too, but it’s much more extreme in the courtyard. Look, these pines are only about eight stories high, but several trees in the courtyard have already overtaken the roof.”

Old Wang stepped back several paces to compare the two areas. “Xiao Lu is right. The ones over there are much taller. It’s pretty obvious.”

“But Brother Lin is right as well,” Lu Mian added. “Even without a Leech King on this side, the growth rate of these pines is completely unnatural.”

Just then, a slightly nasal voice spoke up from behind them. “Is looking at our own complex enough for you? Want to go for a drive?”

Lu Mian turned to see Brother Chen, looking scruffy with several days’ worth of stubble.

The group headed to the basement and piled into Chen’s SUV. The car rolled slowly out of the garage and onto the main road of X City.

Without exception, the roadside trees were growing at a frantic pace. After being indoors for just a few days, the trees had tripled in height. The tall power poles suddenly looked tiny by comparison, and the buildings on either side were completely obscured. For a moment, all they could see was a street full of towering forest.

“As I suspected,” Lu Mian noted, “this plant growth isn’t entirely dependent on the Leech King. Something must have affected the soil environment or the fundamental growth cycle of the vegetation.”

Sitting in the passenger seat, Old Wang rolled down his window and stared outside. Suddenly, he pointed. “Look! There’s a crowd over there!”

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing. A group of people stood on the sidewalk at a crossroads, milling about in a chaotic commotion.

Since the strange events began, none of them had left the complex. First, they didn’t know the situation outside and didn’t want to risk it, second, the recent horrors had left them exhausted. Any moment of peace was spent collapsed in bed. Their plans to scout for information had been delayed until now.

“Should we head over?” Brother Chen asked.

“Yeah,” Lu Mian replied. “Let’s see what’s happening and ask them what they know.”

Chen drove toward the intersection and pulled over about ten meters away from the crowd.

The men adjusted their pajamas, preparing to step out, when a sudden wave of panic swept through the crowd. Everyone began screaming and sprinting toward the car.

“Wait! Turn around! Now!” Lu Mian shouted.

Brother Chen looked confused but didn’t hesitate to pull a sharp U-turn. “What is it? What happened?”

Lu Mian turned around, staring through the rear window at the fleeing crowd. “Something is chasing them!”

“This is bad,” Lin Feng muttered.

Because of his size, Old Wang had been relegated to the front passenger seat. He tugged at his seatbelt and twisted his body to look back. “Holy sh*t! What is that thing!”

About a hundred meters behind them, several creatures, at least three meters tall, were hunting the crowd.

Their skin was a sickly green, with long antennae twitching on their heads. Their faces were inverted triangles dominated by massive compound eyes. At the very bottom of their faces, several whisker-like appendages swayed back and forth, hiding a blood-dripping mouthpart that opened and closed as if chewing on remnants of food.

They had three pairs of legs. The hind legs were thick and powerful, supporting their entire weight. Their massive abdomens occasionally brushed the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

The middle legs were incredibly hard, like steel needles, letting out a piercing screech as they scraped against the concrete, leaving white gouges in the road.

Their slightly raised front legs were clearly designed for feeding, their ends lined with rows of sharp, tiny barbs.

They seemed poor at walking, as the coordination of their six legs was almost non-existent. Moving forward on foot was a struggle, so they simply unfurled two pairs of translucent wings and moved in half-flights, appearing to leap forward across the distance.

A heavy silence fell over the car. Everyone stared blankly at the three-meter-tall monsters, unable to process the sight.

“Are those… praying mantises?” Old Wang stammered.

“I think so…” Lu Mian whispered.

Lin Feng let out a sharp breath.

Lu Mian exhaled slowly. “Mantises are carnivorous insects.”

These things were born to eat meat.

Brother Chen floored the accelerator. “God damn!”

The moment he spoke, the mantises caught up to the crowd. People scattered, but some couldn’t escape the monsters’ reach. One person was snatched up by a giant mantis.

The creature pinned the person to the ground, hooked them with its barbs, and lifted them toward its mouth.

Lu Mian saw clearly as the whisker-like appendages picked up one of the person’s legs and fed it into the mandibles. Then, with a sharp toss of its head, the mantis tore the entire leg off at the hip.

A blood-curdling scream echoed down the entire street.

Inside the car, everyone’s skin crawled, and the hair on their arms stood on end.

Old Wang turned away. “I can’t watch this! F*ck!”

“Move! Go!” Lin Feng urged.

With a grim expression, Brother Chen pushed the car to its maximum speed.

But just then, several more giant mantises leaped out from the back of the crowd. These newcomers ignored the fleeing people and set their sights directly on the car. Lu Mian gasped, “Not good! A few of them are coming after us!”

“Why are they chasing us?” Lin Feng yelled.

Lu Mian’s face was deathly pale, his heart hammering against his ribs. “We’re in a car, to them, we’re just a container of pre-packaged fruit. Of course they’d pick the one with the most meat. Mantises usually start eating from the limbs. If they catch us… drive! Faster!”

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