The Giant Frog

Returning to the living room, Simon opened the refrigerator and found two bottles of mineral water and one bottle of beverage, all unopened. He placed them in a plastic bag and took them away.

Initially, Simon had hoped to find more effective weapons than the kitchen knife and hammer, but no superior alternatives presented themselves. For now, he could only rely on these rudimentary tools.

Apart from the beverages, Simon's most significant discovery was a large plastic storage box, measuring 170 liters, filled with various clothing items. Delighted, Simon promptly removed all the clothing from the box.

"I was just wondering what to use to store water. This thing can hold quite a bit," Simon remarked as he admired the storage box.

Simon was already planning his departure from this place. Besides food, another critical consideration was water. While the outside was submerged in water, its potability remained uncertain. Simon decided to boil as much water as possible while he still had time. Due to the lack of insulation, carrying large quantities of hot water was impractical, but having cold boiled water would at least ensure cleanliness and safety.

Currently, the most troublesome issue is the lack of containers suitable for holding large quantities of cold boiled water. Though there are some cups and bottles at home, they hold very little. Upon seeing this storage box, Simon naturally rejoiced. Such a large container could easily hold over a hundred liters of cold boiled water, sufficient for his needs for many days.

In addition to the storage box and three bottles of water, he also brought back oil, salt, spices, and a small half-bag of rice found in the kitchen to his room. The discovery of this half-bag of rice filled him with immense joy, as having rice meant he could cook. For him, facing food shortages, this small amount of rice was more precious than anything else.

Carefully placing the oil, salt, and rice in his bedroom, Simon continued to boil water with the kettle while cleaning the storage box. Unsure if the storage box could withstand the scalding hot water, Simon dared not pour it directly in. Instead, he let it cool down for a while before pouring the water into the storage box.

Over the next period of time, Simon prepared more hot water while intermittently observing the situation outside. He eagerly hoped for several more mutated creatures to appear, allowing him to gather the ten spirit sources he needed. Unfortunately, there was no movement around, and no new mutated creatures appeared. The entire world seemed to have quieted down.

In a moment of boredom, Simon pondered many things, even considering using a rope to climb onto the roof, then lowering himself down to open the window from outside and explore the adjacent house for food.

After some consideration, he ultimately deemed it too risky and abandoned the idea. After all, while he lowered himself with the rope, he would be vulnerable. If mutated creatures suddenly attacked at that moment, it would be troublesome.

Thus, the day ended like this. The storage box was now filled with cold boiled water. Simon tightly closed the lid and carefully moved it into his bedroom. He had moved all these essential supplies into the bedroom and stacked them together.

The sun had disappeared from the horizon. Simon looked out from the balcony and saw the distant sky painted a fiery red by the setting sun, resembling a blazing fire. Simon recognized it as a "fire cloud," its brilliance and beauty striking, yet his heart was filled with suppressed emotions as he gazed at the fiery sky in the distance, his expression somewhat distant.

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

This sound startled Simon, making him alert, but soon he was more excited than frightened.

Had he waited so long only for mutated creatures to appear again?

He had been waiting for them. Now, he was just four mutated creatures away from gathering ten spiritual sources.

Simon grasped the knife and hammer, but instead of immediately opening the security door, he peered through the peephole into the corridor outside. He wanted to assess how many mutated creatures were out there.

What met his gaze was a heap of corpses, those he had previously piled along the corridor. But now, with the sound of shattering glass, a colossal creature was slowly climbing in through the corridor window.

Simon couldn't help but inhale lightly, momentarily unable to make a sound.

What he saw was not a mutated creature, but an unfamiliar and grotesque beast.

The creature resembled a giant frog, with a triangular head and a wide, flat body covered in granular warts. It measured nearly two meters long, almost the size of a round dining table. Its entire body was emerald green, and right in the center of its head was a massive single eye. It was a creature one might only expect to encounter in books or films, a reality Simon had never imagined such a terrifying and bizarre creature could exist.

Simon recalled from a documentary he had once watched that the largest frog in the world was the African Goliath frog, which could reach up to 30 centimeters in length and nearly a meter in total span with its hind legs stretched out. However, compared to the monstrous frog-like creature before him, with its single large eye, this African giant frog seemed minuscule in comparison, as this creature was several times larger.

Simon held his breath, watching as the gigantic frog opened its gaping maw, from which extended a blood-red tongue. It curled around the thigh of one of the corpses, dragging it outwards.

Simon observed the frog's cavernous mouth with its densely packed rows of fine teeth. The blood-red tongue seized the thigh of the corpse and pulled it towards the awaiting jaws. The upper and lower rows of teeth clamped down on the thigh, tearing into the flesh as if plowing through soil, revealing stark white bones.

"It's the one," Simon murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. Gripping the knife and hammer tightly, his hands tensed, veins protruding on the backs of his hands. Clearly, he was anxious, for he had confirmed that this gigantic frog with its enormous eye was indeed the elusive aquatic creature that had unsettled him before.

Examining the mangled thigh of the corpse, it became evident that the previous mutilated bodies were all the work of this creature.

Was this gigantic frog truly formidable? Could Simon confront it now? After patiently waiting for its ascent onto land, should he seize this opportunity to eliminate it?

Otherwise, once it returns to the water, the danger will be much greater.

Simon's mind raced with countless thoughts in an instant. However, lacking complete confidence, he hesitated before the reinforced door, unable to summon the courage to open it.

"Now, rushing out to fight it would be too risky. The safest course of action is to wait until I gather four more spirit sources, grow stronger, and then plan how to deal with it. Since it managed to climb up today, it should be lured up again next time."

With this idea in mind, Simon let out a sigh of relief involuntarily. His hands, which had been clenched tightly, relaxed slightly. Just then, as he contemplated, the gigantic frog devouring the corpse suddenly tilted its head. The enormous eyeball in the center of its flat head rolled around, then abruptly turned toward the direction of the reinforced door.