Chapter 150: Shadows in the Villa

Inside Victoria’s villa, flashlight beams swept across the dusty living room, illuminating overturned furniture and debris scattered across the floor.

Max stood near the entrance, the Red-Haired Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey crouched beside him. Its golden fur shimmered beneath the lights, but its hollow eyes remained unsettlingly vacant.

Nearby, Blaze clenched his mechanical fist. The metal joints creaked, the sound sharp in the otherwise quiet room.

"Search every room," he ordered. "Check the basement, too. I want to know if anyone is hiding here."

More than a dozen men spread throughout the villa. They opened cabinets, searched bedrooms, and overturned furniture. Two of them forced open the basement door and descended into the darkness, their flashlights cutting through the stale air.

Inside his Survival Space, Ethan watched their movements through the light screen.

His gaze shifted to his system panel.

The cooldown for Time Stop had finally ended.

A faint smile touched his lips.

’Now might be my chance.’

He studied Max, paying particular attention to the monkey beside him.

His plan was straightforward. Teleport out, activate Time Stop, eliminate Max before he could react, and take the Red-Haired Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey.

If everything went smoothly, he would finally obtain the Mental Ability Core he wanted.

Ethan rose to his feet.

But before he could activate Teleportation, an overwhelming surge of Spiritual Power swept across the villa district.

His smile vanished.

The mysterious Quasi-SS-Rank expert!

Ethan immediately abandoned the idea of leaving his Survival Space.

He stood perfectly still, carefully sensing the terrifying presence beyond the walls.

The pressure was unmistakable. Whoever that person was, their strength far exceeded his own.

Ethan possessed a Quasi-S-Rank Space Ability, giving him exceptional mobility and several powerful ways to attack. However, none of that guaranteed victory against someone of such overwhelming strength.

If the mysterious expert discovered him and decided to intervene, even escaping might prove difficult.

’So much for an easy kill.’

Ethan clenched his jaw.

The Red-Haired Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey was already under Max’s control. With that monster of a person lurking nearby, obtaining its Mental Ability Core had become far more difficult than he had anticipated.

He slowly sat back down.

’Should I abandon the idea and search for another mutant animal with a Mental Ability?’

The thought left him frustrated.

He had already spent considerable effort tracking the monkey. Giving up now was hardly satisfying, but he had no intention of risking his life for a single Core.

Survival came first.

"Ethan? Are you all right?"

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

He turned.

Daisy approached with worry written across her face. Debbie followed close behind, accompanied by Tessa, Sofia, Penny, and Evelyn.

They had evidently noticed his troubled expression.

Before he could answer, Debbie and Tessa stepped forward and placed their hands on his shoulders.

Soft healing energy flowed into his body.

The lingering pain from the monkey’s earlier mental attack gradually faded. The pressure inside his skull eased, and the tension in his neck began to loosen.

Ethan exhaled slowly.

"I’m fine. Just a little headache."

Daisy didn’t look convinced.

She clenched her fist, frustration flickering across her face.

"Then let us go out with you. There are more of us now. If we work together, we can help."

"No."

Ethan’s reply was immediate.

He looked at her seriously.

"That mysterious man is at least Quasi-SS-Rank. None of us can handle someone like that. And with Max and Blaze working together, going out now would be no different from walking into a trap."

Daisy’s expression fell.

She wanted to help, not sit safely inside the Survival Space while Ethan faced danger alone. But she understood that his refusal wasn’t an insult to their abilities. He was trying to keep them alive.

The others fell silent.

Ethan softened his tone.

"Get some rest. I’ll figure out another way."

After a moment, the women reluctantly turned to leave.

Their footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

But when Ethan looked back at the light screen, he noticed that Evelyn hadn’t followed them.

The young woman remained about three meters away, hugging her arms. Her shoe traced small circles in the black soil as she nervously gathered her thoughts.

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Want to talk to your aunt?"

The Space Anchor Point made contacting Victoria easy. If Evelyn missed her, he could connect them without much trouble.

But Evelyn shook her head.

"No."

She bit her lip, twisting the hem of her floral dress between her fingers.

"Brother Ethan... about the promise my aunt made to you..."

Her voice grew quieter.

"Please don’t ask her for it anymore. I’ll do it in her place."

Ethan stared at her.

For a moment, he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly.

Then a mischievous smile spread across his face.

’What is this girl thinking?’

He deliberately drew out his response.

"Oh? Do you even know what I want?"

Evelyn’s face turned crimson.

The color spread from her cheeks to her ears, and she lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes.

"I..."

Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her dress.

"Whatever you want, I can do it for my aunt."

She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

Ethan watched her struggle for another moment, thoroughly amused by her embarrassment.

He stood up, brushed the dirt from his trousers, and gestured toward the nearby temporary room.

"Come with me."

Evelyn hesitated briefly before obediently following him inside.

The room was simple, with a bed against one wall and a sofa opposite it. A small table stood in the corner, its surface bare except for a folded cloth.

Ethan sat on the edge of the bed and pointed toward the sofa.

"Sit."

Evelyn perched nervously on the cushion, keeping her back straight and her hands clasped in her lap.

Ethan leaned back.

"All right. Start."

Her head snapped up.

"Huh?"

She stared at her, her eyes wide.

"N-now? Right now?"

"Of course." Ethan raised an eyebrow, deliberately adopting a stern expression. "Unless you want me to wait until hell freezes over?"

Evelyn’s lips trembled.

Her eyes slowly reddened.

She had heard enough stories about the Apocalypse to know what could happen to beautiful women when society’s rules collapsed. Her aunt had warned her that desperation could turn ordinary people into monsters.

Evelyn had drawn her own conclusion about the promise Victoria had made.

She believed Ethan wanted her body.

And because he had saved her, she felt she owed him something in return.

She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

Then she reached behind her back and found the zipper of her floral dress.

Her fingers trembled as she pulled it down a few centimeters, exposing her collarbone.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Ethan’s startled shout made her eyes fly open.

He had retreated to the far corner of the bed, clutching his shoulders and staring at her as though she had suddenly grown horns.

Evelyn froze.

"I... I wasn’t..."

Her hand remained suspended in midair.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then Ethan pressed a hand against his chest, wearing an expression of exaggerated outrage.

"I saved you, and this is how you repay me? By trying to take advantage of me?"

Evelyn’s mouth fell open.

"What?"

"If I’d known you were this kind of person, I should have left you with Blaze and his men!"

She stared at him in utter disbelief.

Wasn’t he the one who had brought her into the room?

Wasn’t he the one who had told her to start?

How had she somehow become the guilty party?

"You... you..."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she pointed at him with a trembling finger.

"You shameless hypocrite!"

The words escaped before she could stop herself.

Evelyn froze.

Ethan blinked.

Then he burst into laughter.

He hadn’t expected the timid girl to snap back so fiercely. Her furious expression, flushed cheeks, and trembling voice made it impossible for him to keep a straight face.

"All right, all right. I’m done teasing you."

He raised both hands in surrender.

"Come here. I have something for you."

Evelyn sniffed and glared at him suspiciously.

Ethan reached into his Survival Space and produced a yellow Elite-grade Core.

The moment she saw it, her expression changed.

She recognized it immediately.

Victoria had awakened her Ability thanks to the Core Ethan had given her. Evelyn also knew how precious these objects were. In the Apocalypse, people risked their lives hunting mutant creatures for even a chance to obtain one.

Yet Ethan held it out as casually as if he were offering her a piece of candy.

"W-why are you giving this to me?"

"The promise I asked your aunt to make was to help me test the effects of a Core."

Ethan placed it in her palm.

"Since you’ve decided to fulfill that promise in her place, the Core belongs to you."

Evelyn stared at the object resting in her hand.

His explanation sounded reasonable, but she couldn’t quite believe it.

He had already given Victoria a Core. Surely, he hadn’t needed to ask her aunt for a promise just to test another one.

Perhaps he was simply giving Evelyn an excuse to accept the gift without feeling indebted to him.

The realization made her chest tighten.

Since the Apocalypse began, she had witnessed people fighting over scraps of food. She had seen strangers abandon the injured to save themselves and watched desperation strip away whatever kindness people once possessed.

She had also seen the despair in her mother’s eyes after the terrible things that had happened to their family.

For a long time, Evelyn had believed that genuinely good people no longer existed.

Yet Ethan had rescued her, protected her, and now offered her something incredibly valuable without asking for anything in return.

Her lips began to tremble.

"Wah..."

She could no longer hold back.

Evelyn threw herself into Ethan’s arms and began sobbing.

He stiffened immediately.

"Hey... what’s wrong?"

Her tears quickly soaked through his T-shirt.

"Evelyn, stop crying. You’re going to drown me at this rate."

But she only cried harder, clutching his shirt as though she were afraid the moment she let go, his kindness would disappear.

Ethan awkwardly patted her back.

He was used to dealing with bloodshed, dangerous enemies, and life-or-death battles. Comforting a young woman who was crying her heart out in his arms was a different challenge altogether.

"All right, all right. It’s just a Core. You don’t have to cry over it."

Gradually, Evelyn’s sobs began to subside.

Then she realized how tightly she was holding him.

Her face turned scarlet.

She scrambled backward, wiping her cheeks with both hands, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

"I... I’m sorry."

Ethan waved away her apology.

"Forget it. Just use the Core."

Evelyn nodded quickly.

Still embarrassed, she looked down at the yellow object in her hand. She knew that consuming a Core was the fastest way to absorb its energy.

Taking a deep breath, she placed it in her mouth and swallowed.

The Core’s energy erupted almost immediately.

Evelyn’s eyes widened as warmth spread down her throat and through her body. She instinctively tensed, expecting pain, but the sensation was surprisingly gentle.

It felt like sinking into a warm bath after spending hours in the cold.

The energy flowed through her limbs, spreading into her muscles and bones. A faint glow appeared beneath her skin before gradually fading.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the unfamiliar sensation.

At the same moment, a system notification sounded inside Ethan’s mind.

Ding!

Ethan’s expression changed.

He stared at the system panel, then read the notification again.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

’Wait... what?’

He checked it a second time, certain he must have misread it.

But the words remained unchanged.

For the first time since Evelyn had entered the room, Ethan completely forgot about teasing her.

Something unexpected had just happened.