Chapter 34: Ice Blades

Ethan pulled the iron gate shut behind them.

The group stood in the courtyard, taking in their surroundings. The perimeter wall was old and weather-stained, but it was still high enough to keep ordinary zombies out.

Ethan turned to Daisy.

"Scan the building."

Daisy nodded and released her Spiritual Power, sweeping through the office building from the ground floor to the roof. A few seconds later, she shook her head.

"No living creatures. No zombies either."

"Good. Let’s go."

They crossed the courtyard and entered the building.

The first-floor lobby was coated in dust. Spiderwebs hung from the corners of the ceiling, and a few dead insects lay scattered across the floor. Despite the building’s abandoned appearance, the doors and windows were still intact.

Ethan found an office with a window facing the courtyard. The door was locked, but he pulled a thin piece of metal from his Survival Space and used it to force the lock. The door clicked open.

"We’ll stay here tonight."

Debbie lowered herself onto the floor and adjusted Nina in her arms. The little girl had already begun eating, her tiny hands gripping the bottle.

Ethan glanced at them.

It was strange. Ever since Nina had met him, she had barely cried or fussed around him. Back at the villa district, Daisy had even joked about it.

"She probably thinks Ethan is her dad. Why else would she be so comfortable around him?"

At the time, Ethan had laughed and leaned toward Nina.

"Come on, sweetheart. Call me Daddy."

To everyone’s surprise, Nina had actually made a soft, childish sound that resembled the word. Ethan had been so pleased that he had grinned for the rest of the evening. Debbie, however, had quietly turned away, her eyes slightly red.

In a world where everything had collapsed, Ethan had become a small piece of stability in the lives of the mother and daughter.

Now, inside the abandoned office, Daisy took a seat beside the window. Every few minutes, she extended her Spiritual Power to check the surrounding area.

Rose and Sofia had already entered the Survival Space with Ethan to help organize their supplies.

Ethan stood near the doorway, looking out at the darkening courtyard. Far in the distance, the enormous head of the Snake King was still visible above the ruined villa district. It resembled a black reef rising from the wreckage, its steel-like scales reflecting the last rays of sunlight. The sight alone made the entire horizon feel threatening.

About half an hour later, Rose returned from the Survival Space with a piece of charcoal in her hand. She began writing an inventory directly onto the wall.

"We’re almost finished," she said. "There are ten bags of rice and ten bags of flour. Five boxes of assorted frozen meat. Five boxes of compressed biscuits. Five boxes of instant noodles. Fifty cans of assorted food. We have enough bottled water for roughly thirty days."

She paused to check the figures again.

"We also have eight gallons of diesel left. The generator should last around thirty days if we use it carefully. Clothing, cleaning supplies, and other necessities should be enough for a while."

"That’s not bad," Ethan said.

Rose’s expression remained serious. "There is one problem. The oxygen inside the Survival Space is still limited. The soil also can’t be used for farming yet, and people can’t stay inside for too long."

Debbie wiped Nina’s face with a clean cloth before speaking. "What about an oxygen generator? If we find one and connect it to the generator, could it replenish the air inside the Survival Space?"

Rose’s eyes brightened. "That might work. If we can solve the oxygen problem, we could grow crops inside and survive there much longer, even if the outside world becomes completely overrun."

Ethan nodded slowly. "We’ll need to search a hospital or a medical supply store. We should also look for more fuel while we’re at it." He glanced at his hand. His Space Ability still hadn’t fully recovered from the recent battle. "Once I’m back to full strength, I’ll scout the surrounding area tomorrow morning."

For now, their food supply was stable. That meant Ethan could focus on strengthening the women’s abilities.

When night settled over the building, the group pushed several office desks together and turned them into three makeshift beds. Ethan covered the surfaces with mattresses taken from the Survival Space.

Nina had already fallen asleep in Debbie’s arms. Daisy lay on the outer side of the nearest bed, her breathing gradually becoming slow and steady. Rose and Sofia shared the middle bed. Rose had closed her eyes, but Sofia was still awake, playing with a few water droplets above her palm. The droplets floated in circles, catching the moonlight from the window.

Ethan approached the bed and lowered his voice.

"Rose, I need to speak with Sofia about strengthening her ability."

Rose opened her eyes. For a moment, she looked from Ethan to her daughter. She had heard the sounds coming from Ethan’s room the previous night. She had also heard him mention that his Space Ability had evolved. She knew what that implied. Her fingers tightened slightly around the blanket.

After a moment, she nodded. "Just be gentle."

Ethan blinked. He didn’t notice the hidden meaning behind her words. "Of course."

He turned toward Sofia. "Sofia, come with me for a minute."

Sofia immediately sat up. When she followed Ethan into the neighboring office, moonlight spilled through the corridor windows and painted her face silver. She kept her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Her cheeks slowly turned red.

She had also heard the commotion from the third floor of the villa the previous night. She was eighteen, not a child. She understood more than her mother probably realized. Now, being called into an empty room alone with Ethan made her heart pound.

Ethan noticed her nervous expression. "Relax. I only want to help you improve your ability."

Sofia nodded quickly. "Okay."

Once they entered the neighboring office, Ethan closed the door. He reached into his Survival Space and retrieved a gray-white crystal core. It was the core he had obtained after killing the mutant dog earlier that day. He held it out to her.

"This is for you."

Sofia stared at the crystal core. "For me?"

"Your Water Ability needs to become stronger. You’ll be able to help the group more if you can control it properly." Ethan placed the core in her hand. "Take it."

Sofia looked down at the crystal core. She remembered what Ethan had told her before. He wasn’t giving her gifts for no reason. He wanted everyone around him to become stronger because their strength would improve their chances of surviving.

After a brief hesitation, she raised the core to her mouth and swallowed it. The crystal core dissolved instantly. A cool current spread through her body, flowing from her throat to her chest and then into her limbs.

Sofia’s pupils began to glow with a faint blue light. Water droplets formed around her, floating in the air without falling. A thin layer of frost gathered around her fingertips, and several sharp ice crystals slowly took shape. Her Water Ability was evolving rapidly.

[System Notification: A mutant dog crystal core has been gifted to a female with a Beauty Score of 98.]

[Base Return: 200x.]

[Target emotional response detected: Surprise and trust.]

[Limit Break Bonus triggered.]

[Return: S-Rank Space Core. The host has already fused with this ability.]

[New Skill Unlocked: Space Anchor Point.]

[Space Anchor Point: Set one coordinate. Allows one one-way teleportation to the marked location per day, regardless of distance. The coordinate can be reset.]

[Sofia’s Water Ability has evolved.]

[New Effect: Condense water vapor into ice blades.]

Ethan’s eyes widened as he read the skill description.

A teleportation coordinate that ignored distance. This was exactly what he needed. At the moment, the Survival Space still couldn’t support human beings for extended periods. He couldn’t simply leave Debbie, Daisy, Rose, Sofia, and Nina inside indefinitely. They needed a safe place outside. With Space Anchor Point, he could mark their location and return to them whenever necessary. It was practically a fast-travel point from a video game.

Ethan’s expression brightened. This changes everything.

"I can make ice blades!"

Sofia’s excited voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She raised her hand. Several thin ice blades hovered between her fingers, their edges shining coldly in the moonlight.

Ethan smiled. "Good work." He reached over and gently ruffled her hair before tapping her forehead with one finger. "Just be careful. Don’t point those at yourself."

Sofia froze. Her face turned bright red. She had misunderstood his earlier words, and now her mind immediately began imagining something else. Her eyelashes trembled as she quickly closed her eyes.

Ethan watched her for a moment, confused. Then he turned toward the door. "Come on. We should get some sleep."

Sofia opened her eyes. Ethan had already opened the door. Moonlight spilled across his back, and his expression was completely calm. There was no sign that he had intended anything inappropriate.

Sofia stood there for a few seconds, stunned by her own assumptions. Then she hurried after him.

The moment they stepped into the corridor, they nearly ran into Rose. She was standing outside the office, clearly having listened to the conversation. The three of them stared at one another. The silence became painfully awkward.

Ethan was the first to recover. "Everyone should get some rest. Let’s go."

He turned and walked back toward the main office. As he moved, he sighed inwardly. As expected of mother and daughter. Their imaginations are both dangerously active. If not for the system’s restrictions, he might have played along with their misunderstanding. Unfortunately, the rules were clear. He had no intention of damaging his future rewards over sex.

Rose quickly took Sofia’s hand and led her back to the bed. Even after lying down, Rose’s heart was still beating hard. When Ethan and Sofia had left, she had worried that he might act recklessly. That was why she had followed them and listened outside the door. But she hadn’t heard anything unusual. Instead, she felt relieved. And a little suspicious.

Beside her, Sofia touched her forehead and glanced toward Ethan. He stood near the doorway, his tall figure outlined by the moonlight. Her face began to burn again. She hurriedly closed her eyes, but her heartbeat refused to settle.

Then Daisy suddenly sat upright.

Her expression changed.

"Ethan," she whispered. "Five people have entered the courtyard."

Everyone immediately went still.

Daisy focused on the emotions she sensed. "They’re nervous, but they’re also greedy."

Ethan’s body tensed. A thin distortion formed around his fingertips as he prepared Spatial Cut. Moonlight spilled through the window and reflected in his cold eyes.

It seemed the night was far from over.