Su Li was staring directly at the peephole of the security door. In his eyes, it felt as though that massive single eye was peering through the peephole, fixed on him.
An inexplicable chill ran down his spine. The giant frog suddenly stopped gnawing at the corpse, pushed off with its hind legs, and its enormous body charged forward like a gust of wind.
Su Li’s hands tightened. The peephole was suddenly blocked by the monster, and he could see nothing. Then came a deafening bang—the security door shook, and dust rained down from the doorframe.
The giant frog slammed into the security door with immense force. Two consecutive loud bangs followed, and the door rattled violently. Su Li’s scalp tingled as he stepped back. Though the frog couldn’t break through the door, the impact was so powerful that dust from the surrounding walls fell in clumps. He could only imagine the sheer strength behind those blows.
“Good thing I didn’t risk rushing out. This thing’s strength is terrifying.” Su Li watched the security door shudder from the impacts, his scalp crawling. He knew the giant frog was far stronger than him. If he had charged out earlier, even armed, the outcome would have been grim.
The giant frog kept ramming the security door. Su Li saw the doorframe tremble, and fine cracks appeared in the lime where it met the wall, followed by a cascade of lime dust.
Even though he knew the frog couldn’t break through, the violent shaking still made him tense up. He gripped the cleaver and hammer tightly, veins bulging on the backs of his hands like tiny earthworms.
Suddenly, the pounding stopped.
“Did it give up?” Su Li hurried forward again, peered through the peephole, and saw the giant frog facing the security door, backing down the hallway to put some distance between them. A large gash had split open on its flat head, with blood slowly seeping out.
The frog retreated about five or six meters, paused briefly, then suddenly pushed off the ground with all four limbs and charged at the security door again, moving as fast as the wind.
Watching this, Su Li’s scalp prickled. “So persistent? Even injured, it won’t quit. This thing is really stubborn.”
A thunderous crash erupted—this impact was louder and more violent than before. More fine cracks spread across the lime walls around the doorframe, and a shower of tiny lime particles fell.
Then the giant frog backed up again, gathered its strength, and slammed into the security door once more.
This repeated several times. The wound on its head grew larger, but not much blood flowed out. Watching it, Su Li knew it couldn’t break the door, yet deep down, a creeping fear took hold.
This kind of crazed, relentless monster was truly terrifying. If he ever faced it head-on, it would be a fight to the death. Thankfully, the security door was sturdy enough to hold.
Standing behind the door, Su Li watched through the peephole as the giant frog retreated again. The wound on its head was now even more gruesome, but the bleeding had completely stopped. Not only that, a faint layer of fuzzy white fuzz was sprouting from the wound. At first, it was barely noticeable, but as the frog backed up again, the fuzz became more distinct.
“It’s spirit source,” Su Li said, taking a deep breath.
He watched the frog put more distance between them, expecting another charge. But this time, instead of rushing forward, it turned, leaped suddenly, and crashed heavily into a hallway window.
The window frame bent outward from the impact. Its flat body squeezed through, and with a splash, it disappeared from the hallway, plunging into the water outside.
“It finally gave up.” Watching it leave and return to the water, Su Li breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Then a thought struck him, and his fingers involuntarily tightened. He spun around and looked toward the balcony.
His balcony was very close to the hallway.
Thinking about how the giant frog had relentlessly rammed the security door, even bleeding without giving up, how could it suddenly change its mind and leave?
Unless…
The possibility hit him like a shock. Just as he looked toward the balcony, he heard a loud splash. A massive dark shape leaped up from the water outside the balcony, its front legs gripping the window ledge. A flat, ugly head poked through.
The wound on its head was now covered in fuzzy white fuzz, like a giant mouth mocking Su Li’s naivety. Its huge single eye widened, the eyeball rolling around, exuding an indescribable menace.
A strong sense of danger sent a chill through Su Li’s heart, and his mouth went dry. He had seen firsthand the speed and terrifying force with which the frog had rammed the security door. If it hit him, the consequences would be disastrous.
But Su Li didn’t hesitate. He charged forward.
This was his only chance—before the monster fully crawled inside. If it got into the living room, everything would be over.
Having fought and killed so many mutated corpses before, Su Li had gained some combat experience. He knew this was no time to fear death. He lunged with full force, swinging the cleaver and hammer simultaneously.
The cleaver aimed for the gash on the giant frog’s head, while the hammer targeted the rolling eyeball on its face.
If he could destroy that eye, his chances of winning would skyrocket.
The giant frog had just stuck its head through the window, its front legs resting on the sill. It seemed not to expect Su Li to react so quickly, charging without a moment’s hesitation.
Everything happened in an instant. The monster didn’t retreat. Instead, it opened its massive maw wide, revealing two rows of tiny teeth. Its blood-red tongue shot out like an arrow.
It wasn’t just fast and strong—its tongue was a deadly weapon, made of powerful muscles, its primary tool for capturing prey.
Su Li saw a blur and smelled a foul stench. Sensing danger, he instinctively dodged left, but couldn’t fully avoid it. A sharp pain exploded in his right shoulder, as if struck by an iron whip. He cried out, the hammer flying from his hand, and he crashed heavily backward.
He never expected the frog’s tongue to have such terrifying power. His right shoulder was torn open, and the force sent him flying.
The giant frog pushed with its front legs, squeezing its body through the window. The bent window frame couldn’t stop it.
As soon as it landed, it lunged at Su Li.
Su Li hit the ground and rolled to a stop in front of a tipped-over sofa. Seeing the massive dark shape charging at him, he gritted his teeth against the searing pain in his right shoulder, grabbed the sofa, and roared. Channeling all his strength, he swung the sofa like a weapon, slamming it down at the frog.