Chapter 35: Mercy Is a Luxury

The footsteps in the courtyard grew louder.

Ethan pressed himself against the window and looked outside through the darkness.

When he recognized the man leading the group, he let out a quiet breath.

In the Apocalypse, mercy really is a dangerous luxury.

The man was Uncle Bob, the middle-aged survivor Ethan had rescued from a swarm of zombies earlier that afternoon. But the frightened, helpless man from before was nowhere to be seen. Uncle Bob now gripped a steel pipe, his face twisted with greed.

"Kid, stop hiding!" He raised the pipe toward the office building. "Hand over everything stored in your space, or you’re dying here tonight!" He paused, then grinned viciously. "And those four women? Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of them before selling them to someone who can afford them."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. His gaze dropped to the steel pipe in Uncle Bob’s hand. He had given it to the man earlier that day. At the time, Uncle Bob had been overwhelmed with gratitude, repeatedly claiming that he had finally met a good person. Ethan had no idea when the old man discovered the secret of his Survival Space. Apparently, it had been enough to turn gratitude into greed.

"Debbie, take Nina into the Survival Space."

Ethan’s voice was cold. Spatial Cut was already gathering at his fingertips. Debbie immediately picked up the startled Nina and moved toward him. A moment later, mother and daughter vanished into the Survival Space.

Ethan opened the office door and stepped into the courtyard. The blade in his hand caught the moonlight.

"I saved your life this afternoon," he said. "And this is how you repay me?"

The four men behind Uncle Bob spread out, surrounding Ethan. They carried steel bars, machetes, and other crude weapons. The tallest and thinnest of them spat on the ground.

"Gratitude? Morality? None of that matters anymore!" He tightened his grip on a machete. "Whoever has supplies makes the rules. Hand over everything in your space, or we’ll cut off your arms and see how long you can keep fighting."

Ethan didn’t answer. He simply raised his hand.

Two pale streaks of light flashed across the courtyard. They struck the wrists of the two men standing at the front with surgical precision.

"Ah!"

Their screams shattered the silence. Two severed hands fell to the ground, still wrapped around their weapons. Blood sprayed across Bob’s face. His expression collapsed. The steel pipe slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a sharp clang. His knees buckled, and a dark stain spread across the front of his trousers.

The other men stood frozen. They had been blinded by greed. How could someone who traveled through the Apocalypse with four beautiful women be harmless?

Ethan stepped toward Uncle Bob and pressed the edge of his sword against the man’s throat. The cold steel made Bob’s teeth chatter.

"Why are you doing this?" he stammered. "After everything I said this afternoon..."

Ethan’s eyes remained emotionless.

Bob swallowed hard. "I saw you make things disappear this afternoon. I knew you had some kind of treasure. I thought..." His voice trembled. "My neighbor told me to rob you. He said we could take your supplies and become powerful. We could build our own base!"

Ethan pressed the blade slightly deeper. A thin line of blood rolled down Uncle Bob’s neck.

"So that’s what this was."

Bob’s pupils shook. "Please, don’t kill me! I can give you supplies! Our base still has food and other useful things. Let me go, and I’ll take you there. You can have everything!"

Ethan studied the wrinkles on the man’s face. He remembered Bob’s desperate expression that afternoon when he had claimed to have a paralyzed mother waiting for him. The memory made Ethan smile. There was no warmth in it.

"Tears and lies are cheaper than zombie spit in the Apocalypse."

The sword moved. Uncle Bob’s plea ended abruptly.

The remaining four men turned and ran. Ethan didn’t bother chasing them. Spatial Cut flashed across the courtyard, slicing through their ankles. The men crashed to the ground, screaming and clawing at the dirt. Ethan approached them one by one. A few minutes later, the courtyard fell silent. The smell of blood spread through the cold night air.

Ethan collected the five weapons and stored them in his Survival Space. He then searched the bodies for anything useful. The four accomplices had nothing worth taking. Uncle Bob, however, carried a piece of folded cardboard. Ethan pulled it out and unfolded it beneath the moonlight.

It was a hand-drawn map. A location had been marked with a red circle. From the surrounding landmarks, Ethan recognized the area as a mountain forest on the other side of the highway.

That must be the base he mentioned.

He ran his fingers over the rough cardboard, studying the marked location. The place was isolated and surrounded by forest. If it was secure, it could become a better shelter for the group.

Ethan folded the map and returned to the office. Daisy was still sitting beside the window, her Spiritual Power spread throughout the surrounding area. Ethan used Space Teleportation Ability to bring Debbie and Nina out of the Survival Space.

"It’s handled," he said.

Debbie glanced toward the courtyard. "What happened?"

"We need to move. The blood will attract zombies and other survivors." Ethan placed the map on the desk and unfolded it. "I found a possible shelter. It’s not far from here, and it looks secluded. We should take a look."

The women gathered around the map. They had all come to rely on Ethan. Whenever he made a decision, they trusted that he had a reason. After a brief discussion, they agreed.

The marked location was hidden deep inside the mountain forest. The group walked for nearly half an hour before finding a dense wall of bushes and vines. Behind it was a narrow opening. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a natural hollow in the mountainside. But the map led them directly to it.

Daisy stopped near the entrance and closed her eyes. A moment later, she shook her head. "There are no signs of living creatures inside."

Ethan moved the vines aside. Behind them was a stone door so well concealed that it would have been nearly impossible to find without the map. He placed both hands against it and pushed. The heavy door groaned open. A damp, musty smell drifted out.

Ethan switched on his flashlight and entered first, with the others following close behind. A passage roughly five meters long led deeper into the mountain. At the end, it opened into a large underground chamber.

Ethan found a switch on the wall and pressed it. The lights flickered. Then the entire space brightened.

Everyone stopped.

The underground facility covered nearly one hundred square meters. Six bedrooms lined the left side, while several gambling tables stood on the right. It had clearly been an underground casino before the Apocalypse. In the corner, the indicator lights on a refrigerator and freezer were still glowing.

Ethan checked the equipment. "They’re still working." He examined the ceiling and noticed several ventilation grilles. "The vents lead to the top of the mountain. Fresh air should be able to circulate through here." He pointed toward the refrigerator and freezer. "There’s also a generator supplying power. We can store frozen meat inside. It should last as long as the electricity holds."

Rose opened the refrigerator and looked inside. "There are still five boxes of frozen pizza rolls."

"That’s a good start," Ethan said.

He continued inspecting the facility until he reached the innermost room. It was larger than the others and had a small balcony. In reality, the balcony was part of a modified ventilation shaft, but it opened toward the mountain forest and offered a clear view of the outside.

Ethan stepped onto it and looked around. The location was hidden, defensible, and far enough from the highway to avoid immediate attention. He focused his mind.

A system notification appeared before him.

[Space Anchor Point set.]

[One-Way Teleportation available once per day.]

Ethan looked back at the underground facility. Now I have a way to return to them.

For the next seven days, the group remained inside the underground casino. No one ventured outside. During that time, Ethan used the gift system to replenish their supplies by giving items to the four women. Their stockpile increased by two hundred barrels of bottled mineral water, one hundred bags of rice, seventy bags of flour, and fifty cans of assorted food.

The sudden arrival of so many supplies naturally raised questions. But the women had learned not to ask questions Ethan clearly didn’t want to answer. Ethan kept the items intended for future gifts in one corner of the Survival Space. The rest of the returned supplies were distributed throughout the underground facility and stored properly.

The Apocalypse was unpredictable. If Ethan left and couldn’t return for several days, the women needed enough food, water, and fuel to survive without him.

On the eighth day, at three in the morning, Ethan stood inside the master bedroom of the underground casino. The women gathered around him.

"I’m leaving soon," he said. "I’ll move under the cover of darkness. Once the sun comes up, it’ll be easier for someone to spot me."

Debbie’s eyes reddened. "Please come back safely."

Ethan reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I will."

He turned toward Daisy. "Don’t use your Spiritual Power constantly. Just keep watch over the area and conserve your strength."

Daisy nodded. "I understand."

"I’ll be back by this evening at the latest. If I’m not back by then, don’t come looking for me." Ethan looked at all of them. "I have the Survival Space. As long as I can get inside, no one can kill me."

The women nodded solemnly.

A few minutes later, Ethan left the underground casino with his sword at his side. The stone door closed behind him. From inside, he heard Nina begin to cry. Debbie’s soft voice immediately followed, trying to calm her daughter.

Ethan stopped in front of the concealed entrance. For a moment, he looked back. Then he turned and walked into the mountain forest.

Behind him were the people he had chosen to protect. Ahead lay the Apocalypse. There was no easy way back.

By the time the horizon began to pale, Ethan had reached the National Highway. He glanced over his shoulder toward the mountain forest. Somewhere inside those trees was his Space Anchor Point. It was more than a teleportation coordinate. It was the one place in the Apocalypse he needed to return to.

His next destination was Silvermont General Hospital. He had to find an oxygen concentrator as quickly as possible. Not only would it help solve the Survival Space’s air problem, but it would also allow him to return to the others sooner.

A gust of wind swept across the highway, carrying the distant howls of zombies. Ethan tightened his grip on his sword and quickened his pace.

He knew this journey wouldn’t be easy.

In the Apocalypse, danger rarely announced itself in broad daylight.