Gluttonous Aberrant

Most of the Zombie in the factory area have already collapsed.

The ground was littered with severed limbs and bones, and black blood flowed in thin streams, meandering along the cracks in the ground into the depths of the factory. The air was thick with a pungent stench of decay and burning, making one feel nauseous.

Lu Heng cleaved the head of the nearest ordinary Zombie in two with a single stroke; the sound of the blade cutting into the skull was exceptionally crisp in the empty factory area. He flicked the black blood off the blade and glanced across the other side of the factory.

A dull, rhythmic thud came from deep within the factory, as if something was violently breaking through obstacles. Each impact caused the ground to tremble slightly, dust to fall from the factory walls, and the emergency lights overhead to sway, their light and shadow flickering on the walls.

Lu Heng gripped the Deboning Knife tightly, his Mental Energy instinctively surging into the blade, causing pale blue light patterns to illuminate.

The sound of the impact grew closer.

It's getting fiercer and fiercer.

boom--

A wall deep inside the factory suddenly exploded, sending bricks and steel bars flying everywhere. A piece of brick the size of a fist grazed Lu Heng's cheek and dented the iron door behind him. From the dust and smoke, a huge figure burst out, accompanied by a strong stench of decay.

Lu Heng took a half step back, his gaze fixed on the object.

It was a full size larger than a normal Zombie, with abnormally swollen muscle tissue that almost burst through the skin. Its dark red skin was covered with thick blood vessels, as if something was constantly wriggling under the skin.

The most striking thing is that mouth.

His mouth split open to his ears, revealing layers of teeth between his upper and lower jaws. The teeth were three rows of interlocking teeth, each one a translucent grayish-yellow, covered with bits of flesh. A dark red tongue, about half a meter long, protruded from his mouth, constantly licking the black blood remaining at the corner of his mouth, making a wet, sticky sound.

Hungry... hungry... hungry...

A muffled, rapid sound came from his throat, not like a roar, but more like some kind of uncontrollable instinctive reaction.

But what really sends chills down your spine isn't that mouth.

Its belly—where its skin was—was swollen with another, extra mouth. The lips were everted, there were no teeth, only a thin, long tongue protruding from within, twitching and licking unconsciously in the air. The mouth on its belly was also making sounds, low, gurgling swallowing noises, intertwined with the "hungry... hungry..." in its throat, forming a nauseating double groan.

Lu Heng raised his left hand, and the scanning beam from his Wristband shot towards the Zombie, the pale green light screen sweeping across its massive body.

Two seconds later, a message popped up--

[Gluttonous Aberrant]

Grade: Bronze Tier

A mutant among Zombie. Originally an ordinary Zombie, it accumulated enough flesh and blood energy within its body to reach a critical point due to prolonged and continuous consumption of the corpses of its own kind and other flesh and blood, triggering a deep mutation and advancing to the Bronze Tier. It has an almost instinctive greedy desire for all flesh and blood, and consuming flesh and blood can continuously strengthen itself.

After scanning the information, Lu Heng's gaze returned to the Gluttonous Aberrant.

It stared intently at Lu Heng.

It wasn't because Lu Heng was blocking its way, nor because it felt threatened—it was purely because of the living, breathing scent emanating from him. In this thing's eyes, he wasn't an enemy.

It's food.

Lu Heng gripped the Deboning Knife tightly, instantly channeling his Mental Energy into the blade, causing pale blue light patterns to suddenly illuminate.

He did not test him.

The Deboning Knife was raised high above his head, and a blue arc of light drew a sharp trajectory in the gray factory area, slashing straight at the face of the Gluttonous Aberrant.

The Gluttonous Aberrant has moved.

Its reaction speed far exceeded that of ordinary Zombie. It stomped its hind legs on the ground and instead of retreating, its massive body advanced. It opened its mouth, which stretched to its ears, and pounced on Lu Heng with a strong, stench.

Both mouths opened simultaneously; the upper one bit into Lu Heng's arm, while the lower one's tongue shot out and curled towards his waist.

Lu Heng's eyes narrowed, and he abruptly changed direction, twisting his body to the side to narrowly avoid the attack of the Gluttonous Aberrant. The foul-smelling wind brushed past his ear, and the tongue on his stomach almost wrapped around his waist. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an ordinary Zombie that wasn't quite dead yet, dragging half its body across the ground, its grayish-white fingers unconsciously digging into the earth.

He kicked out with his right foot, stepping on the Zombie's waist and using the momentum to lift it up.

He kicked the entire Zombie away, sending it flying straight into the Gluttonous Aberrant's face.

The Gluttonous Aberrant instinctively reached out and caught the flying Zombie.

Its movement paused for a moment.

Then the mouth on its stomach suddenly opened to its limit, and the tongue shot out, wrapping around the Zombie's body and dragging the entire ordinary Zombie into the mouth in its abdomen.

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of bones cracking was clearly audible, and black blood seeped from the corner of the mouth on the stomach, flowing down the dark red skin. The chewing sound lasted less than three seconds before the entire Zombie was swallowed clean.

Gluttonous Aberrant finished devouring the Zombie, it seemed even more excited. Its gaping maw opened wider, its dark red tongue frantically licking the air, making even more rapid sounds.

Hungry... hungry... hungry...

It locked onto Lu Heng again, its hind legs bracing for power, the muscles bulging violently beneath its dark red skin.

Lu Heng did not back down.

He glanced around—there were still seven or eight Zombie corpses lying on the ground, some with severed limbs, some split in two, but most of their bodies were still intact.

He moved.

Instead of charging at the Gluttonous Aberrant, he rushed towards the nearest Zombie corpse. He shoved the Deboning Knife into the ground, grabbed the corpse by the shoulders, lifted it up, and hurled it at the Gluttonous Aberrant.

The Gluttonous Aberrant was charging forward when a Zombie corpse weighing over a hundred pounds came hurtling towards it. Its instincts beat its reason—it stretched out its hands again and caught the flying corpse.

The momentum of the charge was broken.

The mouth on its stomach suddenly opened, the tongue shot out, wrapped around the corpse, dragged it inside, chewed, and swallowed. Another three seconds passed.

Lu Heng didn't give it a chance to catch its breath.

He had already rushed to the second body, picked it up, and tossed it over.

The Gluttonous Aberrant had just finished swallowing one when a second one was thrown in front of it. It instinctively caught it, and the mouth on its belly opened again.

The third one.

Lu Heng's pace quickened: lifting, swinging, turning, lifting again, swinging again. He gave the Gluttonous Aberrant no chance to attack, each Zombie corpse hitting its face precisely, forcing it to keep catching and swallowing.

When the fourth one was swallowed, the Gluttonous Aberrant's behavior changed.

The mouth on the stomach closed more slowly. The tongue's extension was reduced by almost half, and it seemed to be struggling to wrap around the corpse. The chewing time increased from three seconds to five seconds.

It is digesting.

There is a limit to the rate at which something can be consumed.

Lu Heng's eyes narrowed, and he bent down to pick up the fifth corpse and toss it over.

The Gluttonous Aberrant caught it, but the mouth on its stomach didn't open immediately. The tongue flicked, failing to entangle, and the corpse slipped from its grasp, crashing to the ground.

It paused for a moment.

Then the mouth on the stomach convulsed violently, emitting a muffled thud, as if forcibly digesting the contents of the stomach. The large mouth in the throat emitted a sound different from "hunger"—a low, painful whimper.

It couldn't swallow it anymore.

Lu Heng pulled the Deboning Knife out of the ground and poured his Mental Energy into it, causing the pale blue light patterns to shine to their fullest extent.

The Gluttonous Aberrant raised their head, their mouth agape to its limit, letting out a hoarse roar. The mouth on their stomach remained tightly closed, digestive juices seeping from the corners of their mouths, dripping onto the ground and corroding small pits.

It stopped trying to devour.

The combined pain of hunger and indigestion drove it into a frenzy. It stomped its legs off the ground and charged toward Lu Heng with its massive body, nearly twice as fast as before, each step shattering the concrete beneath its feet.

Lu Heng gripped the Deboning Knife tightly and charged forward.