Xu San San sprinted desperately toward the small flatbed cart, unaware that she had long been targeted by the Mutated Bullfrog behind her.
The Mutated Bullfrog was deeply displeased with this “two-legged beast” that had disturbed its slumber. Its basketball-sized eyes locked tightly onto Xu San San’s figure, while the tympanic membranes on either side of its triangular head rhythmically expanded and contracted.
Suddenly, with a thunderous “Ribbit~”, the Mutated Bullfrog opened its massive mouth and shot out a long, thick red tongue.
The red tongue moved with incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, it accurately wrapped around Xu San San, who was still desperately fleeing a hundred meters away.
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Xu San San let out a series of uncontrollable screams, instinctively looking down at the bright red tongue tightly coiled around her waist. The tongue constricted with immense force, and the densely packed barbs stabbed into her, causing intense discomfort.
Before she could even consider whether these barbs carried venom, Xu San San felt herself suddenly yanked into the air and swiftly pulled backward.
With no time to hesitate, she pulled out a surgical knife with her left hand and stabbed fiercely into the red tongue, while raising surgical scissors with her right hand and snipping hard at the nearest barb!
The sudden turn of events came too quickly. The Mutated Bullfrog, startled by the pain, let out another thunderous “Ribbit!” and flung its tongue, sending Xu San San flying through the air.
“Thud!”
She landed face-down on the ground, limbs splayed, in a classic “dog-eating-dirt” fall.
But there was no time to rest or recover. Clutching her weapons tightly, she endured the pain, scrambled to her feet, and dashed toward the handcart.
Just as she neared the small flatbed cart, the Mutated Bullfrog behind her let out another “Ribbit!” and launched another tongue attack!
This time, Xu San San and the small flatbed cart were both swept up together.
Clearly enraged by the earlier stinging pain, the Mutated Bullfrog tightened its grip even more in its fury, and the retraction speed was faster than before!
Xu San San could only hear the wind whistling past her ears as a sense of weightlessness overwhelmed her body.
It’s over… I’m afraid today is the day I meet my end…
Everything happened too fast. Before she could even finish her silent lament, there was a loud “Thwack!” as she was halted by a tremendous force. Due to inertia, her body slammed heavily against the handcart before bouncing back into the air, her head throbbing with pain.
It turned out that the long tree trunk tied to the handcart was firmly wedged diagonally across the Mutated Bullfrog’s gaping mouth.
The situation had unfolded so abruptly that even the frog itself likely hadn’t anticipated its feeding process being interrupted by a mere piece of wood. But how could it accept defeat?
Frustrated by the obstruction, the Mutated Bullfrog burned with rage. The tympanic membranes on both sides of its cheeks rapidly swelled and contracted as it opened its mouth wide:
“Ribbit!”
“Ribbit!”
“Ribbit!”
Enormous sound waves erupted from its mouth, venting the Xeno-beast’s fury!
How could it give up on prey already in its grasp?
The Mutated Bullfrog’s tongue swayed left and right, trying to find the right angle to swallow both Xu San San and the handcart in one gulp.
But the tree trunk was genuinely long. Despite the Mutated Bullfrog’s massive size, no matter how wide it stretched its mouth toward the back of its ears, it couldn’t reach 8-9 meters in width!
Xu San San dangled in mid-air, facing the crimson maw mere inches away. As the Mutated Bullfrog’s tongue twisted and turned, she was swung up and down, left and right.
Staring into the mucus-filled, gaping mouth and the bottomless esophagus within, she clenched her fists, closed her eyes briefly, and thought:
I can’t just wait for death. I must fight back actively if I want to survive!
She picked up the surgical knife and surgical scissors again, aiming at the previously attacked spot, and began a rapid, fierce series of stabs.
The Mutated Bullfrog shrieked in pain, its cavernous mouth emitting thunderous “ribbit” sounds that made Xu San San’s eardrums ache.
But it clearly despised this prey to the extreme. Enduring the agony, it refused to release its tongue, instead tightening its grip even more fiercely.
Xu San San finally saw red—in this post-apocalyptic world, it was either kill or be killed.
At this life-or-death moment, she pressed on without retreating. Even as she felt her waist might be crushed in two, she refused to stop her assault.
“Ah!!!!”
Xu San San roared, swinging her arms even more wildly. The blade of the surgical knife and the tips of the surgical scissors relentlessly pierced the same spot, splattering her face with gushing blood.
But she seemed completely unaware, gritting her teeth as she hacked away with deadly force. Soon, a large, bloody hole appeared on the long tongue.
Xu San San didn’t stop there—she only grew more ferocious. The surgical scissors plunged straight into the center of the bloody hole and cut outward, while the surgical knife, not to be outdone, stabbed from the hole and sawed back and forth on the other side.
The wound gradually widened. It seemed the long tongue was about to be split in two.
The Mutated Bullfrog, overwhelmed by this fierce onslaught, thrashed its head and tail, barely able to withstand the assault.
Finally, Xu San San felt the pressure around her waist weakening. Seizing the moment when the tongue fully released her, she raised the surgical knife and stabbed forcefully into the red flesh inside its mouth, hanging by one arm from the edge of the Mutated Bullfrog’s massive jaws.
The Mutated Bullfrog cried out in pain again, wanting to extend its tongue once more to sweep away this annoying “two-legged creature” at its mouth.
But its tongue now bore a gaping hole, bleeding profusely. Any attempt to curl it caused excruciating pain, severely hampering its attack speed.
Xu San San gripped the handle of the surgical knife embedded in the mouth with her left hand, raised the surgical scissors in her right, and thrust them into the tissue on the right side of the mouth. Like climbing a ladder, she pulled out the left-hand knife, swung her body to the right, quickly found her footing, raised her left arm again, and stabbed at the perfect moment to stabilize herself. Then, she withdrew the right-hand scissors and thrust them fiercely to the right again…
In this manner, using the surgical knife and scissors as anchors, she alternated hands and steadily made her way toward the corner of the Mutated Bullfrog’s mouth.
The Mutated Bullfrog could no longer directly ensnare Xu San San with its tongue, but the searing pain at its mouth drove it to near madness. It shook its head violently from side to side, trying to fling this detestable “two-legged creature” off.
Swinging through the air, Xu San San remained unyielding, tightly gripping her surgical knife and scissors, resolutely executing her plan.
Finally, she “climbed” to the corner of the Mutated Bullfrog’s mouth. After catching her breath briefly, she raised the surgical scissors without hesitation and stabbed fiercely into the Xeno-beast’s right cheek!
But the expected “squelch” never came—instead, her right hand met soft, stubborn resistance.
The frog’s skin was this thick!
Xu San San was stunned.
I refuse to believe I can’t pierce it!
After another round of relentless attacks, the results were disappointing—not even a scratch!
Oh no! A miscalculation!
Xu San San gritted her teeth, tightly gripping the surgical knife in her hand, struggling to maintain her balance. Frowning deeply, she quickly considered her options.
Sweat soaked her clothes and drenched her hands. From gripping too hard, red marks had already formed on her palms, and the sweat-slicked surgical knife/scissors began to slip. As the Xeno-beast’s movements grew increasingly violent, Xu San San nearly lost her grip on her weapon several times.
She had to end this quickly!
Changing tactics, she began violently stabbing a vulnerable patch of soft tissue inside its mouth.
Sure enough, the Mutated Bullfrog shrieked in pain again, its eardrums on both sides contracting violently in and out as it let out deafening “ribbit, ribbit, ribbit” cries.
“Now’s the time!”
Seizing the moment when its right eardrum rhythmically bulged outward, Xu San San raised her surgical scissors and stabbed fiercely.
“Pop!”
The eardrum burst!
“Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit!”
The Mutated Bullfrog immediately thrashed wildly. Xu San San swiftly stabilized her posture, using its momentum to contract her core and thrust upward, swinging the surgical knife in her left hand with all her might.
“Thud!”
The surgical knife plunged into the Mutated Bullfrog’s right eye!
Injured in its right eye, it clearly regretted provoking this “two-legged beast.” Its hind legs sank and pushed off, launching it dozens of meters into the air.
“Not good! It’s trying to escape!”
Worried the Mutated Bullfrog might leap beyond the protective shield’s range, Xu San San accelerated her movements. Recalling details from her lab classes, she began “dissecting” deeper through its eyeball.
Suspended mid-air and constantly swaying in all directions, she found it difficult to leverage any force. Her “dissection” progressed slower than expected, but as her surgical knife dug deeper, the Mutated Bullfrog’s leaps grew increasingly sluggish. Finally, in a dense forest five kilometers from the melon field, it collapsed completely and died.
As the Mutated Bullfrog fell, Xu San San finally exhaled in relief, completely drained of strength, and dropped straight to the ground…
“Huff… huff… huff…”
Her heart still pounded wildly as she gasped for air, only now realizing her limbs were numb and completely immobile.
“Damn! Did I get poisoned?!”