Volume One: The Spiral Carvings Chapter 21: Cave Exploration Log 4: The Giant Leech

The four eyes of the giant red-headed centipede ignited, glowing a deep, crimson red. It sensed Feng Ming’s presence immediately.

Rumble!

It lunged toward Feng Ming at terrifying speed. In its frantic urgency, its iron-hard body slammed repeatedly against the stone walls of the passage, shattering the rock like tofu. Its two rows of razor-sharp, barb-covered legs left deep, cavernous holes in the ground as it tore forward.

Feng Ming let out a cold snort. Driven by madness and having lost all reason, he engaged the giant centipede in a desperate battle. While parrying the creature’s attacks, he glared at Chen Fan, who was hiding inside the safe, his eyes burning with hatred. He loathed Chen Fan—if not for him, Liu Fugui would never have met such a gruesome end beneath the fangs of a giant spider. And now, this damned man had lured a giant centipede to his doorstep!

He had killed many intruders before, but never with such grueling effort. It was exhausting. What infuriated him even more was catching a glimpse of the safe door swinging open; Chen Fan had poked his head out, staring straight at him as if watching an entertaining show. But Feng Ming had no choice; locked in a life-or-death struggle with the centipede, he had no time to deal with Chen Fan.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan finally understood why Feng Ming was hunting him. From his vantage point, he could see golden light radiating from Feng Ming’s body, with the characters "Feng Ming" hovering above his head. Chen Fan’s brow furrowed. He could tell that Feng Ming was a Level 1 mutant—immensely powerful. Even with the "Zhen" mantra, victory was not guaranteed.

After weighing his options, Chen Fan tucked the safe away and, under Feng Ming’s furious gaze, ducked into the bone-filled grotto. Beneath his feet lay layers of skeletons piled five or six meters high, with countless centipedes hidden within, ready to strike at any moment. He clutched an insecticide spray and began drenching the ground.

A hissing sound filled the air. Yellow-headed centipedes poked their heads out repeatedly, only to shriek and recoil the moment they touched the spray. At the same time, Chen Fan began to feel dizzy and nauseous; he knew he was being poisoned. It wasn’t the centipedes’ venom, but the insecticide itself. Inhaling the fumes over time had taken its toll.

Moments later, he emerged from the grotto to find two massive tunnels ahead. He glanced at the left one; the ground was marked with two rows of holes, and a foul, putrid odor wafted from within. Clearly, this was the lair of the giant centipede. He peered into the depths and recoiled in terror, stumbling back several steps. In the heart of the cavern, there were five massive, dark silhouettes—no, they were five giant red-headed centipedes! Each was a powerful, Level 1 mutant creature.

A deafening roar erupted as the centipedes detected his scent, surging out of the grotto toward him. The ground shook with a thundering rumble, causing rocks to tumble from the ceiling. Terrified, Chen Fan didn’t hesitate. Ignoring the pain in his body, he bolted into the right-hand tunnel. The giant centipedes followed, their screeching roar echoing like thunder.

He felt the air quality improving, signaling he was nearing an exit. As he pressed forward, his pace slowed. After another kilometer, he stopped dead in his tracks when a blinding light appeared ahead. The ground before him was submerged in a foul, yellow sludge, within which countless insects were writhing. These creatures were enormous, thicker than a grown man’s arm. In just a few seconds, he spotted over a hundred types of insects, each more grotesque than the last.

He took a few cautious steps, finally seeing the world outside the tunnel. Before him lay a vast, boundless expanse of yellow marshland, like a giant lake, bordered by a dense, pitch-black forest. Pairs of green eyes flickered in the tall grass on the shore; they had keen vision and seemed to have spotted him from far away. Chen Fan looked away, his expression turning grave. A crushing sense of crisis washed over him, and for the first time, even the resilient Chen Fan felt a surge of panic, his heart hammering against his ribs.

The yellow marsh was mysterious and clearly lethal. He knew without a doubt that powerful monsters lurked within; to step inside was to court certain death.

Rumble!

The five giant red-headed centipedes had caught up. Their massive red heads pressed together as they closed in on him. One hundred meters. Eighty meters. Fifty meters. Thirty meters.

Chen Fan’s heart pounded, feeling as if it might burst. He glanced around, took a deep breath, and stepped his right foot into the yellow sludge, sprinting forward.

*Crunch, crunch.* As he entered the water, a swarm of insects surged toward him. While not as large as the centipedes, their mouthparts were razor-sharp; one bite could be fatal.

*Roar!* The five giant centipedes stopped at the edge of the yellow water, hissing at Chen Fan and spewing clouds of green mist. They were furious, unwilling to let their prey escape, but they feared the marsh and dared not follow. Instead, they stood tall, their red heads fixed on Chen Fan, waiting.

Chen Fan stepped out of the tunnel and plunged into the yellow water with a splash. The marsh was like an abyss. He swam toward the shore using a breaststroke, the water biting cold. The yellow sludge stung his eyes, blurring his vision.

*Hiss!* He was nearly paralyzed with fear. A tidal wave of insects was erupting from the water, swarming toward him. They filled the space in every direction, layer upon layer, like a surging black tsunami. And within this endless sea of insects lurked a terrifying behemoth!

His eyes widened in horror. It was a yellow-and-green patterned… leech!

The leech was gargantuan—thirty or forty meters long, weighing at least two hundred tons. Its arched back was as broad as a hill, reflecting the sunlight. It opened its massive maw, swallowing hundreds of thousands of insects in one gulp, clearing the way for its true prey. To the creature, Chen Fan was a rare delicacy—his chemical sensors told him so.

The mouth was a circular void, seven or eight meters in diameter, lined with rows of sharp, yellow-white fangs that spiraled down into its throat like a grinder. The bite was precise; once caught, there was no escape.

"I'm dead!" Chen Fan’s eyes bulged, the skin around them splitting. The behemoth cast a massive shadow over him, making him feel like an ant beneath a mountain.

*Roar!* It lunged, its massive mouth snapping shut. If he were caught, he would be reduced to pulp.

He had no choice but to use his old tactic. Just as the jaws were about to snap shut, he dumped everything from his system inventory into the creature's mouth. *Crunch, crunch.* The giant maw was suddenly jammed with debris, including four or five massive boulders weighing hundreds of pounds. Chen Fan huddled inside his metal safe, bobbing like a fallen leaf, feeling utterly defenseless.

He pulled the pins on three or four grenades and tossed them out.

*Boom!*

The earth-shattering explosion forced the creature’s maw open, sending plumes of flame and thick smoke billowing out. Terrifyingly, its fangs were indestructible, and its flesh was so elastic that the heat and shockwave only tore a small gash, failing to inflict a fatal blow.

*Snap!* The creature bit down repeatedly, its jaws slamming shut a dozen times in seconds, giving Chen Fan no room to counter. The creature roared, tilting its head back and spewing high-temperature flames into the air like a fire-breathing monster.

*Roar!* Enraged, it opened its throat—a black abyss. In a state of pure terror, Chen Fan gripped the edge of his safe as he tumbled into the darkness.

*Hiss!* He landed in the monster’s stomach. It was a mirror of its maw, lined with thousands of rows of sharp fangs, each covered in fine, black barbs. Swarms of black-and-white insects swirled around him, some partially digested, others still writhing. Simultaneously, high-concentration sulfuric acid digestive fluids began to pour in from all sides. His safe began to melt instantly, irregular holes appearing in the metal.

Chen Fan went mad. With bloodshot eyes, he threw the rest of his grenades.

It was like a dormant volcano erupting after millennia. The inferno filled the stomach, roasting the endless insects into charcoal and instantly vaporizing the digestive acid.

*Boom!* The shockwave tore the stomach open, expanding it wider and wider.

*Squelch!* The creature let out a heaven-shaking roar as its stomach was cooked and shredded by the heat. A deluge of blood rushed in, engulfing Chen Fan.

He bobbed in the blood, his face pale. The monster was still alive! It thrashed violently, its walls of flesh constricting from all sides. He was out of options. He had to use the "Zhen" mantra.

His injuries were healing, but thanks to the Life Serum, the process was excruciatingly slow. The deep fissures in his flesh remained unhealed, and the damage to his meridians from the last use of the mantra had barely repaired by ten percent. At best, he could sustain the mantra for less than five seconds. If he didn't break out of this cage of flesh by then, he was dead.

*Rumble.* He spread his fingers, and thick red electrical currents surged from his body, wrapping around him. He drove upward, trying to pierce the flesh, but it was too elastic to penetrate. After several failed attempts, panic set in—he had less than three seconds left!

He looked at the exit above, electricity sparking in his eyes. He transformed into a bolt of red lightning, thick as a barrel, and blasted upward!

*Rumble!*

The creature’s maw was forced open again. It was as if a pool of red lightning had been embedded in its throat, with endless current clinging to every fang. With a deafening roar, Chen Fan shot out of the maw like a red streak of light and slammed onto the shore.

He clenched his fist, and the hundred or so grey wolves circling him exploded into gore across the black forest.

A second later, the "Zhen" mantra faded. Chen Fan’s body contorted; the fissures in his flesh had been stretched wide, and his muscles were no longer clinging properly to his bones, leaving him feeling loose and sagging. He felt as if he might fall apart at any moment.

*Roar!*

In the yellow marsh, the creature opened its massive maw, roaring in pure, unadulterated fury.

It was immensely powerful. Though only a Level 1 mutant, its sheer scale meant almost no other Level 1 mutant could stand against it. Chen Fan had only survived by the skin of his teeth, a feat he could be proud of.

He cast one last look at the behemoth and limped away into the distance, feeling as though death was finally catching up to him.