While Xia Yiâs frustration was merely about clothing, many others were clawing for their survival.
Due to the tsunami, a number of people had planned to scramble out of the cities along the ocean. Here, we must praise the extensiveness of movies for having covered all kinds of disaster scenes. Even those who hadnât watched movies could imagine the past Indian Ocean tsunami, as well as the Japanese earthquake last year⊠Everyone knew to retreat to a high place.
And while the tsunami had left mass destruction, it had also provided plenty of dead fish.
Those who were capable had long escaped, leaving behind whoever couldnât find food and dared not go somewhere else. These people believed that it was safer to stay by the ocean and consume what it provided. Many fought with their lives for the pitiful amount of fishes and shrimp that laid on the beach after the tides flowed out. Soon, those who were older and weaker had no choice but to give up this promising land. And even if some of them wanted to sneak in to grab something during the night, they could only heavily rely on their luck.
A group of gangsters whoâd once roamed the darker parts of the city gathered dozens of people together; with their knives and pipes, the group crowned itself king of the beach. However, the reason why their leader hadnât yet been backstabbed wasnât due to his subordinatesâ loyalty, but instead because of the girlfriend heâd gotten together with before the world had collapsed. This woman, who used to be a certain kind of âladyâ, was a special ability user.
For some people, they could have no regard for the law, care nothing about their actions, and be a complete scumbag of society, but still be absolutely genuine towards their relationship. This couple was one of them. Before the apocalypse, the man didnât judge the woman for âstanding on the streetâ; after the apocalypse, the woman didnât leave the man for another ability user or some other big shot with more resources and guaranteed safety.
The fall of mankind didnât change their relationship much and they continued to be all lovey-dovey, constantly uncertain about whether tomorrow would be their last. The only difference was that previously, all this was because they were destitute and had to scavenge around the shady areas of town, whereas now, they werenât sure whether they could actually live to see the next morningâs sun.
Plenty of people had proclaimed true love to be a stroke of luck and insisted on the importance of treasuring every day spent by the significant otherâs side. Yet when it really came down to it, most did everything they could to save their own necks once trouble came knocking. Humans were honestly complex creatures. Whether it be inner qualities or personalities, nothing could explain this odd match of fate. All that could be said was that simple âgoodâ couldnât disprove all âbadâ, and vice versa.
Frankly speaking, there wasnât much food on the beach anyways. Especially in these recent days, where there seemed to be an obvious decrease in what washed ashore. This realisation worried everyone.
Was the apocalypse beginning to destroy other organisms?
No matter how carefully they scavenged the sands, all they could find were shells and seaweed.
It was better than nothing; the people treated their discoveries as best as they could before gobbling them up.
With their predicaments, fresh water was a luxury item. It was impossible for them to use it for washing and cleaning. Theyâd boil it the best they could with seawaterâ as for those who didnât even have a pot, they had no choice but to eat things raw.
When a dark shadow appeared on the oceanâs surface, those with good eyesight crowded in and began pushing and jostling.
They thought seaweed or some other kind of algae was floating over.
A-Mei, the female ability user, was the only one to display a perplexed expression.
Amongst the echoing of the waves were some strange noises; though incoherent, they were very rhythmic.
âMad Dog, this is our territory! You bastards better fuck off!â
âWho said only your guys need to eat and my boys donât? Iâm telling you, donât think that your bitch is strong just because sheâs an ability user! Itâs not like sheâs the only one in China!â
A bald man with scars down his face looked pervertedly at A-Mei, boasting, âEver heard about Zhou-Ge? Heâs the number one ability user who even gave the army a good beating! A water-user! And this is the ocean! If you know your place, you should be running with your tails between your legs! That bitch of yours is all old and dryâ the boys wouldnât even consider her if they wanted to play!!â
The man finished his claim with a loud, mocking laugh.
A-Mei was clearly unsettled, but not because of the other manâs insult. In her early years, sheâd become one of those âladiesâ because she didnât have a choice. If she wasnât mentally strong enough, she wouldnât have been standing here today. No, what she was afraid of was that âZhou-Geââ Zhou Liang.
The city wasnât big and was settled right beside the Bohai Sea, near Beijing. So theyâd all heard of Zhou Liangâs name.
It was said that this man was a terrifyingly powerful wielder who could form ice blades out of thin air. Apparently, he could easily take on hundreds of people all by himself. They were on the beach and A-Mei couldnât tell who Zhou Liang was in the crowd. But she did understand that the odds were not in their favour and wanted to leave. However, this was a matter of pride; how could A-Meiâs man back down? If he left like a wimp today, he wouldnât be able to command his brothers in the future. All these dozens of people were relying on this beach to survive!
The clash was over quickly.
A dozen or more blades of ice cut into the menâs wrists. Unable to hold their weapons, they could no longer fight.
The group of gangsters retreated dejectedly, unwillingly giving up their grounds. A-Mei didnât have the chance to distinguish who was the one named Zhou Liang. She knew that these days, women were the quickest to suffer. The fact that she was almost thirty actually served her more good than bad; if she was any younger or prettier, itâd be difficult to leave quietly and safely like tonight!
She then heard the strangely-jarring sound again.
âWoah, itâs crabs! So many huge crabs!â
Cheers rose from the beach behind them, and A-Mei felt a pang from her armâ her man was gripping her elbow too tightly.
âWe could go to other citiesâŠâ
China was very big. If they couldnât be by the ocean, then they could go to the mountains, where they wouldnât have to worry about food either.
But A-Meiâs words were interrupted by a shrill scream.
Before anyone could react, several other horrified hollers followed, piercing through their eardrums.
The gangsters turned around in shock. The clouds were heavy tonight, leaving little room for the moon to shine through. Yet despite their surroundings being difficult and virtually impossible to see, the people could smell the strong tang of blood in the wind.
Ever since the apocalypse began, it was common for people to kill for food. Usually, it was either a clean kill or a swift kick to get others tumbling out of their wayâ never would anyone spend time torturing their victims. The hoarse screams seemed never-ending, as if someone had had all of their limbs chopped off and was twitching hopelessly, begging for a quick death.
âWas the ability user a psychopath?â The gangsters trembled slightly.
A-Meiâs ability was wind-related, allowing her to hear some of the faintest sounds. In a matter of seconds, all colour had drained from her face.
âMonster! Help! Monster!! Zhou-Ge, help!!â The devastated shriek sounded almost inhuman; it came from the bald man who was boasting so proudly just minutes before.
There wasnât enough time for A-Mei to examine what had happened on the beach. She could only yell as loud as she could, âRun, boys! Run!â
Sprinting mindlessly, the gangsters fled until the screams faded into the night before climbing an apartment building, trembling with fear. Reaching the rooftop patio, they locked the doors and gazed out towards the beach, trying their best to work out what had happened with the minimal moonlight shining through.
This building only had six levels. As an old apartment, it wasnât very tall. Still, upon first glance, the gangsters thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.
If that wasnât the case, then why were the proportions all wrong?
âHoly⊠Thereâs such gigantic⊠crabs?â
Dark red crabs of three to four metres wide clambered onto land from the sea. Their movements were surprisingly agile as they easily caught up with the escaping humans. Large pincers clamped down on the people, dragging them into the depths of the waves. Given their large size, these crabs couldnât turn too well. Whenever they couldnât catch their prey with their pincers, they raised their eight, long legs; the sharp ends of their legs stabbed with great accuracy, caging the struggling humans. As crimson blood stained the ground, more crabs climbed out from the ocean.
Since some of them couldnât find prey, these crabs began ferociously fighting amongst themselves, hoping to tear a dying human from their companionsâ legs or pincers.
More and more crabs crawled fiercely, and the strange sound that A-Mei had heard in the beginning was coming from their eight legs that clicked whenever they walked. Like real spiders, these crabsâ bodies hung off the ground. Their shells were extremely hard, not appearing to be affected at all when someoneâs knife slashed down hard upon them.
Those who had waited excitedly on the beach for food had no idea that they would be greeted by nothing but the grim reaper.
âBig B-Bro, what should we do? The monsters are coming!â
The gang members who were peering out from the roof had fallen to the ground, completely petrified.
âDonât worry, theyâre crabs. They shouldnât know how to climb stairsâŠâ Before A-Mei could finish her attempt at comfort, they heard a scream from downstairs. The crabsâ large and heavy bodies pressed against the pipes lining the wall and broke the second-floor windows with ease.
Everyone trembled violently, their faces drained of any colour.
This was once a spacious coastal city, but the people currently scramming for their lives didnât have the time to hide somewhere safe before the monsters caught up to them. Judging by the way they attacked â first stabbing their sharp legs down, then smashing the heads and necks with their pincers â these were clearly monsters who consumed humans regularly.
In fact, the same situation was occurring around the world, day and night, on every shoreline.
These monsters madly searched for food, migrating as they did so.
âThey should be Macrocheira kaempferi from the Inachidae family, also known as âkiller crabsâ.â
Though the base in Beijing couldnât obtain video footage, the description was enough for the Academy of Science to make a judgement.
âSpider crabs werenât this large to begin with and stayed around 3600m underwater. However, because the past Soviet Union repeatedly poured nuclear waste into the Sea of Japan, these crabs have undergone a horrifying mutation. They began migrating to shallow seas in great numbers. Since the end of the last century, there have been numerous cases of killer crabs attacking humans along the Sea of Japan. Their eyes protrude from their shells, and given their excellent eyesight, they can hide in the water and watch the surface. Once they spot a human, they will swim over to attack. Their victims usually drown or die of blood loss⊠and most terrifyingly⊠they have been recorded to climb ashore since before the apocalypse fell! On land, they crawl at a speed faster than the average running human! These crabs often followed the rising of the waves to spring attacks on tourists on the beach. Theyâve also attacked fishermen in their boats⊠and the worst thing is that they live in groups! Out of all the sea monsters, these crabs are the ones we know best⊠Theyâre also the ones that have brought the greatest harm to humanity! <sup>1</sup> This backstory is fictional. While Japanese spider crabs may be real creatures in our world, they have not been reported to attack humans. â
âDammit!â An old general slammed a fist on the table.
âIn the end, they are marine creatures that cannot stay too long on land. But that does mean humans can no longer approach the ocean, nor can we attempt to fish at sea⊠Historically, every advent of these crabs had been around the Sea of Japan. So why would they come all the way to Bohai Bay?â
The Academy of Science had an unfortunate hypothesis.
There was no need for further explanation because everyone came to the same conclusion.
The peninsulas and island countries on the other side of the ocean mustâve been ravaged clean by these monsters! The remaining survivors had then hid inland, leaving no choice for the killer crabs but to migrate.
âCan we hope for these monsters to go elsewhere?â
Chinaâs southeast coastal line had always had the highest population densityâ even during pre-apocalypse times.
âGoddammit, I couldâve totally smashed them to smithereens before with the tanks!â
A similar roar echoed in the deep sea.
ăNothing! Nothing edible is left! How dare these spider crabs?!ă
ăNo, they should not be able to travel at such a speedâŠăSiren calmly placated the starving sea monsters. ăThaumasâă
Very well, the SMB was live and running.
ăWhat happened? Why are those spider crabs in the Mariana Trench?ă
ăItâs reproduction, Siren. The unusual climate has led them to think that spring has come and that they should be entering into the time of breeding. Some of them were washed ashore by the tsunami, eating plenty of humans in the process. They have propagated in large numbers⊠Theyâre now travelling everywhere, dragging any and all food back to feed the younglings⊠Theyâre crawling around the seas hereâ Damn! Theyâre trying to attack me too!ă
ăThaumas, are you alright?!ă
ăItâd take centuries before these guys could eat me, but Siren⊠theyâre not afraid of infrasonic waves! Argh ⊠Theyâre coming on altogetherâ Iâm swimming slower and slower!ă
The silver tail sliced through the water as Siren delivered his resolution.
ăJust wait, Thaumas, we are coming now! We must kill these spider crabs or else we will not find anything to eat in the Pacific next year!ă
1
This backstory is fictional. While Japanese spider crabs may be real creatures in our world, they have not been reported to attack humans.