After All Species Mutated, I Activated Cheats [Apocalyptic] - Chapter 16

Lu Mian shifted his weight, narrowly dodging Alan’s mantis leg, only to be struck squarely by a spray of shattered porcelain tiles.

He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, putting his head down and bolting in the opposite direction. “Damn it! Run, run, run!”

The narrow alleys were called such not because the main paths were particularly tight, but because the area was filled with countless inconspicuous little paths that interconnected. There were no dead ends. As long as someone familiar with the terrain was leading the way, it was entirely possible to find a way out when all seemed lost.

At this moment, among the four of them, there happened to be someone who knew the terrain like the back of his hand!

Brother Chen had grown up in these narrow alleys and knew every nook and cranny. He led them through a series of twists and turns, successfully putting several streets between them and Alan. Just as it looked like their “way out” was right in front of them, they were blocked halfway by a literal hunk of meat.

This was a narrow path that only allowed one person to pass at a time. Old Wang, being somewhat sturdy, had been walking sideways the whole way, but as luck would have it, he ended up getting stuck between two walls right at the end.

Lu Mian struggled to push Old Wang from behind, his forehead dripping with sweat. “Brother Wang! You have to squeeze forward yourself!”

Old Wang kicked his feet desperately, his head so wedged he couldn’t even turn it smoothly. “I am pushing! Ow, take it easy!”

Brother Chen urged, “Hurry up, hurry up! Alan is about to catch up!”

Hearing the sounds drawing closer, Lu Mian felt a surge of anxiety. He took a deep breath and stepped back a few paces. “Sorry, Brother Wang!”

With that, Lu Mian raised his foot and delivered a solid kick to Old Wang’s rear.

Old Wang yelled, “Ow, for crying out loud!”

With Old Wang’s agonizing cry, the long-blocked path finally cleared. Lu Mian and the others scrambled over Old Wang, who was now lying on the ground ahead, and leaned against a wall to catch their breath.

Lu Mian looked down at his bruised and battered legs, hissing as the cold air hit them. Only now did the countless small wounds caused by the flying debris start to sting like needles.

Lin Feng looked at the unfamiliar surroundings, the vigilance in his eyes not wavering. “What is this place?”

Brother Chen chuckled. “This used to be our secret base. It has all the little things our parents wouldn’t let us play with, billiards, arcade games, game consoles, snacks, even cigarettes. Because the environment here felt naturally secure, all of us rebellious kids loved running here.”

Lu Mian carefully surveyed the surroundings and quickly understood.

This was an enclosed space surrounded by four identical three-to-four-story buildings, covering about eighty or ninety square meters. The top was sealed with a roof of translucent tempered glass.

From the outside, these buildings looked like ordinary residential houses with their main entrances facing the main road. The other side of the walls consisted only of the load-bearing structures, while the rest was open-plan, covered by full-length rolling shutter doors.

The four households ran four different types of shops. The one furthest in was an arcade, further out was an eatery, followed by a snack shop, and finally a stationery store. That billiards table had been provided by the stationery store.

Food, entertainment, and supplies, they had everything.

Old Wang struggled to get up and hid behind a concrete wall like the others. He looked down at the abrasions on his shoulder with a look of helplessness. “If I’d known, I would’ve trained less. Being this bulky isn’t always a good thing. Even Old Lin didn’t get stuck like I did.”

Lin Feng let out a soft chuckle, stood up, and patted Old Wang on the shoulder. Without a word, he walked toward the shop fronts.

Old Wang asked weakly, “Old Lin, where are you going?”

Lin Feng walked into the eatery. “Looking around.”

Lu Mian narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the eatery. A large, spray-like brown stain on a corner wall caught his attention. Those were the marks left behind by dried blood.

He propped up his sore body. “Brother Lin, wait for me.”

The eatery wasn’t large, containing only four or five scattered tables. The edges of the old wooden stools had been worn smooth, and many of the stool legs were reinforced with coils of thin iron wire.

Further in was the eatery’s kitchen, separated by two halves of a floral-print curtain. Through the gaps in the fabric, one could faintly see the yellowed tiled walls of the kitchen, a cutting board that was half-worn down, and… a small section of a foot wearing a cloth shoe.

Lu Mian and Lin Feng exchanged a glance and then cautiously approached the kitchen.

Though the kitchen was old, it had been kept very clean. Lu Mian stood before that small section of a leg, his stomach churning.

It really was just a section of a leg. The break wasn’t clean. A long strip of shredded meat clung to the remaining skin, looking like fat that had been intentionally torn away. The yellowed flesh had an oily sheen.

This small piece of a limb was already somewhat bloated, and the meat still hanging onto the bone stretched the cloth shoe tight. Flies buzzed back and forth over the severed limb.

Near this fragment consisting only of an ankle and a foot were large patches of dark red or brown semi-dried liquid, along with some rags stained with bits of flesh.

Old Wang and Brother Chen followed them in. Upon seeing the scene in the kitchen, everyone’s faces turned a bit pale.

Old Wang stammered, “This…”

The air was thick with the smell of rotting meat. Lu Mian frowned and said in a low voice, “Ever since we entered these alleys, something has felt wrong. It’s too quiet in here.”

As he spoke, Lu Mian grabbed a white towel hanging on the wall and covered the severed limb. “The giant mantis made so much noise, yet not a single person came out to see what was happening. Not even anyone peeking through their windows to watch the commotion. It seems that, aside from that mantis guy, there are likely no other living people left in these alleys.”

A silence spread through the kitchen. After a long while, Brother Chen asked softly, “All… dead?”

Lu Mian looked up, trying to think of a way to put it that wasn’t so cruel. But after turning the words over in his mind, he found it was futile. “I don’t know how much you remember of what that mantis guy said. ‘They all ran away,’ ‘Not enough to eat.’ Just those two sentences make the situation in these alleys clear.”

He stood up and led the others out. “Don’t be too pessimistic. ‘Ran away’ is at least good news. It means quite a few people made it out. Things might not be that bad.”

Brother Chen sat on a square stool with his head down, looking quite dejected. “These alleys used to be so lively. With the snack street gaining a reputation, there was a constant stream of people coming and going. How did it turn into this in just a few days…”

This was a question none of them could answer, and a stifling atmosphere took hold.

Just then, a loud bang erupted near their ears. A green, barbed mantis leg slammed down right between them, sending fragments of concrete flying everywhere.

Lin Feng shouted, “Look out! Duck!”

Old Wang yelled, “Run, run! Alan’s green friends are here too!”

The group bolted out of the shop at high speed, only to be forced into the neighboring stationery store by the glass roof crashing down from above.

In the chaos, Lu Mian looked up. Those mantises had pierced through the glass roof and were crawling down one by one!

Lin Feng pulled the rolling shutter all the way down while the others crouched miserably among the shelves of the stationery store.

Lu Mian said, “We can’t keep going like this. Once they eat us, they’ll go to the residential complex for the others. We have to find a way to take these mantises out!”

Brother Chen replied, “That’s easy to say, but we can’t beat them!”

Lu Mian pondered for a moment. “I remember, is there a swimming pool about a hundred meters east of these alleys?”

Lin Feng asked, “Do you have a plan?”

Just as Lu Mian was about to speak, a mantis leg pierced through the rolling shutter. The shelf in front of them was knocked over, pinning itself against the next shelf. Their range of movement was reduced to a triangular area between the two shelves.

Lu Mian got a mouthful of dust but didn’t dare move recklessly. That mantis leg even fumbled with the shelf, seemingly searching for them. After a long while, the leg retracted.

Lu Mian nudged forward and then whispered, “Most mantises are parasitized by horsehair worms. Once these worms mature, they control the mantis to seek out water sources, making the mantis jump into the water so the worms can burst out of the body. After the mantis’s body is destroyed from the inside out, it’s a one-way trip to death.”

At this point, Lu Mian thought back to Brother Chen’s car, and the hair on his body stood up again. “Do you remember how Brother Chen’s car was totaled? Those worms that exploded from the mantis’s abdomen were horsehair worms. They were all ‘raised’ by that mantis guy. There’s no reason only one would be parasitized. So, what we need to do now is help these giant mantises find a water source!”

Lin Feng agreed, “I think that works!”

Brother Chen raised a hand and spoke weakly, “Um…”

Old Wang excitedly pushed Brother Chen’s hand down. “Then what are we waiting for! Let’s go!”

Lu Mian added, “Wait! We still need to grab a few things!”

Lin Feng asked, “What?”

Lu Mian replied, “Lighters! They’re on the shelves, everyone take a few. Also, if possible, I think there were two gas tanks in that kitchen earlier. It would be best if we could take those too! We need a backup plan. In case the water source doesn’t work, we can still blow them up! But who’s going to carry the gas tanks?”

Beside them, Brother Chen raised his hand again. “I’m saying…”

Lu Mian interrupted, “Brother Chen? Maybe not. You’re so thin, can you carry it?”

Lin Feng said, “Old Wang and I will take one each!”

Brother Chen snapped, “Damn it! Who wants to carry a gas tank! I’m trying to say, if you’re looking for a swimming pool, there’s one right in the middle of these alleys! There’s no need to struggle to get outside!”

After a moment of silence, the group began to move while grumbling.

Old Wang felt his way along the wall to the rolling shutter. “If there was a swimming pool this close, why didn’t you say so sooner!”

Brother Chen picked up an oversized plastic box and held it over his head, looking a bit aggrieved. “Did you give me a chance to speak?”

As they spoke, the noise outside began to fade. Lu Mian kept a close eye on the sounds outside the shutter. The sudden silence made his skin crawl.

Lin Feng lowered his voice. “What’s going on? Did they leave?”

Lu Mian swallowed hard and stiffly turned his head to look behind them.

Behind them, the tightly closed door had been opened at some point. The owner’s massive compound eyes, evolved from human eyes, were staring at them without moving. Behind him, the purple-red Alan held up his forelegs, the feelers near his mouthparts swaying back and forth.

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