Chapter Sixteen: Mutant Lizard

Carter watched warily above, knowing trouble was coming from the sound of footsteps.

Currently, the most dangerous things on Earth, apart from zombies, are mutant creatures.

Encountering dozens of zombies descending from above wouldn't make Carter bat an eye, but facing mutant creatures was not as simple.

Carter had learned about the horror of mutant creatures from the survival manual last night. Even the weakest of them would have a strength equivalent to Level Ten.

With Carter's current strength at Level Five, he had an advantage in speed against zombies, but when it came to facing mutant creatures, that advantage disappeared. Mutant creatures with slow reactions were undoubtedly huge monsters with astonishing armor-like defenses. If Carter encountered them now, he would be wiped out without a fight.

However, the mutant creature that could enter the staircase probably wasn't large in size, but its speed...

The moment Carter felt that mutant creatures might appear, he began to think of strategies non-stop.

"Thud" The footsteps grew closer and closer. Carter understood that running was not an option. Out in the open, he might be even less of a match for mutant creatures. What Carter hoped for now was that the mutant creature wouldn't be too formidable.

"Mutant lizard."

Carter's breathing became heavier because as he looked up from the railing of the stairs, a leg covered in scales appeared in his field of vision.

Last night, when Carter was earnestly learning about mutant creatures from the survival manual, he realized that mutant creatures were even more terrifying than zombies in the future.

The most likely mutant creatures to appear in cities were mutant rats, mutant cats, and mutant dogs. However, due to different human preferences, it wasn't strange for some weird creatures to appear, and these creatures were often pets kept by humans.

A chameleon was just one of them.

Seeing the leg covered in scales, Carter's heart indeed skipped a beat, and it started pounding violently.

As the mutant lizard slowly descended, its entire body was now fully visible to Carter. It was over three meters long, as thick as a water bucket, with bloodshot eyes, and a fierce expression. It was truly terrifying for Carter to encounter a mutant creature firsthand, even more terrifying than described in the survival manual.

"If it's less than ten meters long, it should be a newly evolved mutant lizard." Carter was initially nervous, but as danger approached step by step, he unexpectedly calmed down. Once calm, his mind began to analyze the mutant lizard continuously.

The information Carter learned from the survival manual last night was now fully reflected in the benefits it brought him. Without much thought, knowing that it was a mutant lizard, all the relevant information appeared in Carter's mind.

From the information, Carter learned that as long as the mutant lizard's length did not exceed three meters, it belonged to the first level. Its strength was equivalent to about ten adults, but with its armored protection, its defense could reach Level Fifteen.

Looking at this information, Carter couldn't help but gasp. Just a few days ago, creatures like this lizard, only about twenty to thirty centimeters long, were easily dealt with by a casual kick. But now, they have turned into monsters with the strength of over a thousand kilograms.

Fortunately, Carter now possessed the 'Silent Annihilation' blade, which was no problem for dealing with mutant creatures below Level Twenty. However, the mutant lizard's strength was twice that of Carter's, so victory or defeat was evenly matched.

"If I can avoid getting hit by the mutant lizard, there's a chance of winning." Carter took two steps forward. Many actions couldn't be performed on the stairs, but the platform around the corner of the stairs was different. Moreover, with walls on both sides, they could act as some obstruction to the mutant lizard's attacks.

"Hiss."

Perhaps Carter's unexpected move of not retreating but advancing enraged the mutant lizard. Its mouth, the size of a basin, opened wide, emitting a sharp and piercing sound.

Its fist-sized eyes were wary of the knife in Carter's hand.

Mutant creatures had a certain level of intelligence, and perhaps the knife in Carter's hand gave it a sense of danger.

"Hiss."

The mutant lizard hissed again. At the same time, its three-meter-long body moved sideways, and a tail over two meters long swiftly swept towards Carter.

"Bang."

As the mutant lizard swung its tail, Carter's body moved, squatting down just in time to dodge the attack.

The mutant lizard, with its strength of over a thousand kilograms, struck the railing of the stairs heavily, making a loud sound.

The usually sturdy iron railing, shaken vigorously, was completely deformed and on the verge of collapse.

"If this force had hit me, I might not be able to get up now." Although Carter was mentally prepared, seeing such a monstrous strength was still shocking.

However, the area of the staircase was too narrow for the mutant lizard to unleash a full-force attack against Carter. After retracting its tail, the mutant lizard swept horizontally again, and the wall on the other side of the staircase cracked.

"Hiss."

Missing twice in a row and seeing Carter charging at it, the mutant lizard became even more aggressive. Unable to retract its tail in time, the mutant lizard roared furiously and lifted its head, opening its bloodshot mouth wide to bite at Carter.

"A good opportunity." After dodging the lizard's tail attack just now, Carter moved away from his original position. Thus, the strength was concentrated on his legs. When the mutant lizard swung its tail again for the second attack, Carter used a three-meter-high jump, not only evading the second attack of the mutant lizard but also, with the force of this jump, rushing towards the mutant lizard's body.

Just as Carter had imagined, unable to retract its attack weapon, the tail, the mutant lizard could only use its mouth to attack Carter.

And what Carter most wanted to see now was what was happening right in front of him. As the mutant lizard's mouth was about to reach Carter, a black light flashed, directly piercing into the mutant lizard's mouth.

Carter had already anticipated that the mutant lizard would make such a move. When he jumped just now, the blade was facing downward. When the lizard's mouth was about to bite him, Carter threw the Silent Annihilation blade, which turned into a black light, into the lizard's mouth.

With Carter's strength of over five hundred kilograms, the already sharp Silent Annihilation blade effortlessly pierced into the mutant lizard's mouth.

"Hiss."

The mutant lizard was struck by Carter's blow,

 and the intense pain pushed its already fierce temperament to its peak.

"Die."

Knowing that it was impossible for the mutant lizard to spit out his blade, Carter's body, which had just leaped high, didn't land on the ground, but used the force of falling to accurately step on the mutant lizard's head.

With powerful force, Carter closed the lizard's open mouth shut.

"Hiss."

Part of the blade had already pierced its mouth, causing immense discomfort. Then, being stepped on the head by Carter, the entire blade penetrated the mutant lizard's throat and mouth.

The intense pain made the mutant lizard completely lose control. Its body, including its tail measuring five meters long, kept rolling in the staircase, crashing.