Chapter 14: The Giant Frog

Returning to the living room, he opened the refrigerator and found two bottles of mineral water and one bottle of soda inside. Confirming they were unopened, Su Li placed them in a plastic bag and took them.

Su Li had been thinking about finding a more effective weapon with greater lethality, but unfortunately, he didn’t see anything better than the cleaver and the iron hammer. For now, he still had to use the cleaver and hammer.

Aside from the three bottles of water, Su Li’s biggest discovery was a plastic storage box. The box was quite large, a 170 L size, and contained a lot of clothes.

Su Li was thrilled when he saw it and quickly took all the clothes out.

“I was just wondering what to use to store water. This thing can hold a lot.”

Su Li was already planning his departure. Besides food, water was the next big concern.

Although the outside world was entirely covered in water, no one knew if it was clean or safe to drink. Su Li decided to take advantage of the remaining time to boil and store more water. Since he lacked insulated containers, taking a large amount of hot water wasn’t practical, but he could take cooled boiled water, which was at least much cleaner and safer.

The most troublesome issue was the lack of containers to store a large amount of cooled boiled water. Although he had some cups and bottles at home, they held very little. Seeing this large storage box now made Su Li overjoyed. A box this large could hold over 100 liters of cooled boiled water, enough to last him for many days.

In addition to the storage box and the three bottles of water, he also carried back a small bag of rice, oil, salt, and seasonings he found in the kitchen.

The half-bag of rice made him particularly happy. Having rice meant he could cook, and for him now, with food running short, this small bag of rice was more precious than anything.

He carefully moved the oil, salt, and rice into his bedroom and stored them. Afterward, Su Li continued to boil water in the kettle while also cleaning the storage box.

Unsure if the plastic box could withstand scalding hot water, Su Li dared not pour it in immediately. He left the boiled water to sit for a while, and only when it wasn’t so hot did he pour it into the storage box.

For the next period, Su Li prepared more hot water while constantly monitoring the situation outside.

He eagerly hoped a few more transformed monsters would appear so he could gather ten Spiritual Sources, but unfortunately, there was no movement around, and no new monsters showed up. The entire world seemed to have quieted down.

In his boredom, Su Li considered many possibilities. He even thought about taking a rope, climbing to the roof, lowering himself down, opening a window from the outside of the neighboring apartment, and checking for food.

After considering it for a while, he ultimately decided it was too dangerous and gave up the idea. If a transformed monster were to suddenly attack while he was dangling on the rope, he would be completely defenseless, and it would be disastrous.

The day ended just like that. The storage box was full of cooled boiled water. Su Li sealed the lid tightly and carefully moved it into the bedroom. He moved all his important supplies into the bedroom and piled them together.

The sun had disappeared beyond the horizon. Su Li looked out from the balcony and saw the distant sky painted crimson by the sunset, like a raging fire. Su Li knew this was called a fire cloud. It looked stunningly brilliant, but his own heart was filled with heavy emotion, and he stared at the distant fiery sky in a daze.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass echoed from the corridor outside.

The sound startled Su Li, making him jump, but his alarm was immediately replaced by anticipation.

Had a transformed monster finally appeared after such a long wait?

He was waiting for them. He was only four monsters away from collecting ten Spiritual Sources.

Su Li grabbed the cleaver and hammer but didn’t open the security door right away. Instead, he pressed his face against the peephole to check the corridor, wanting to see how many monsters were outside.

What he saw was a pile of corpses—the bodies he had moved out earlier and stacked in the corridor. At that moment, following the sound of glass breaking in the corridor, a colossal creature was slowly climbing in through the corridor window.

Su Li couldn’t help but quietly gasp, momentarily afraid to make a sound.

What he saw wasn’t a transformed monster, but an ugly creature he had never seen before.

The monster looked like a giant frog, with a triangular head and a wide, flat body. Its back was covered in numerous granular warts. It was nearly two meters long, about the size of a round table, and entirely green. A single enormous eye grew in the center of its head. This was the kind of creature that should only exist in books or movies. In reality, Su Li had never heard of such a terrifying and bizarre life form.

Su Li remembered reading on a popular science channel that the largest frog in the world was the Goliath frog, which could reach 30 centimeters in length, and with its hind legs extended, was nearly one meter long. But compared to this one-eyed monster, the Goliath frog was insignificant. This giant frog was several times larger than the Goliath frog.

Su Li held his breath, watching the giant frog open its massive, bloody mouth. A blood-red tongue shot out from within, wrapped around the thigh of one of the corpses, and began to drag it outward.

Su Li saw that the frog’s open maw was lined with dense, tiny teeth. The bloody tongue pulled the corpse’s thigh, and the mouth snapped shut, biting down on the leg. The fine rows of teeth chewed on the corpse’s thigh like a plow, tearing the flesh and exposing the white bone underneath.

“It’s definitely this thing.” Su Li’s eyes narrowed slightly. His hands, gripping the cleaver and hammer, involuntarily tightened, causing the veins on the back of his hands to bulge. Clearly, he was very nervous, as he was now certain that this colossal, one-eyed frog was the same unknown aquatic creature that had previously filled him with unease.

Judging by the appearance of the gnawed thigh, all the previously damaged corpses were its handiwork.

How powerful was this giant frog? Could he defeat it now? He had finally gotten a chance to catch it on land. Should he take this opportunity to kill it?

If it returned to the water, the danger would be far greater.

Countless thoughts raced through Su Li’s mind in a flash, but he wasn’t completely confident. He didn’t know the giant frog’s strength. Staring at the security door in front of him, he couldn’t muster the courage to open it.

“Charging out to fight it now is too risky. The safest thing is to wait until I get four more Spiritual Sources and become stronger. Then I’ll figure out how to kill it. Since it was able to climb up today, I should be able to lure it up again next time.”

With this idea in mind, Su Li couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh, and his tightly clenched hands slightly relaxed. Just then, the giant frog, which was still chewing on the corpse, suddenly tilted its head. The massive eyeball in the center of its flat head swiveled and suddenly focused on the security door.

(End of Chapter)