Chapter 40: Last Teleportation

The sun was setting when Ethan reached the gas station to the west.

It was already six in the evening.

He had stopped here several times before the Apocalypse to refuel, but the place looked completely different now. The pumps stood dead. Windows were smashed. Weeds had started pushing up through cracks in the concrete.

Ethan checked the storage tanks one by one.

Empty.

Every single one.

Someone had already stripped the station of anything useful. Nearly forty days had passed since the Apocalypse began. Fuel had become just as valuable as food, water, and medicine. Any gas station that hadn’t been picked clean was probably being guarded by someone.

Ethan entered the small office and searched through the drawers. He eventually found a map showing the locations of several gas stations around the suburbs. The closest one was three kilometers away.

It was getting dark, so Ethan decided to spend the night here. If the next few gas stations were also empty, he’d head to the Logistics Park. Rose had mentioned the place before. If there was still diesel anywhere nearby, a logistics park was one of the few places worth checking.

Ethan had just stretched out on the office sofa when~

Whoosh.

The sharp sound of wings cutting through the air came from the roof.

Ethan’s eyes snapped open. His heart jumped. He immediately got up and moved toward the broken window.

He looked outside.

His pupils contracted.

The Flying Zombie was hovering above the gas station. Her dark-green eyes were fixed directly on him.

Ethan’s expression hardened.

She looked different from the last time he’d seen her. The golden edges of her wings were several times brighter, and the pressure coming from her body was noticeably stronger. She had clearly consumed a large number of Cores, possibly even the Cores from Evolved Zombies. Dark-red blood still stained her claws. Every powerful flap of her wings sent a faint metallic smell through the air.

"Hiss!"

The Flying Zombie suddenly shrieked.

Then she dove.

Her claws shot straight toward the back of Ethan’s neck. Her speed was nearly thirty percent faster than when they’d fought in the villa district. The force behind her claws even seemed to tear the air apart, leaving three faint trails behind them.

Ethan didn’t hesitate.

Space Teleportation.

The instant the thought crossed his mind, his body vanished. He reappeared two hundred and fifty meters away on top of an abandoned truck.

The Flying Zombie missed. She twisted in midair and immediately came after him.

"Again?"

Ethan’s expression darkened. He couldn’t afford to waste time. He activated Teleportation again. His body disappeared and reappeared on the roof of an abandoned warehouse.

The Flying Zombie followed almost instantly. One powerful flap of her wings sent her onto the roof. Her dark-green eyes were filled with murderous intent. She hadn’t forgotten him. The pain Ethan had caused when he’d torn one of her wings had clearly turned into an obsession.

Ethan didn’t give her a chance to attack. He flipped through a broken skylight and landed inside the warehouse, rolling across the floor to absorb the impact. He immediately got back up and crouched low, moving toward the adjacent section of the building.

The warehouse smelled of rust and mold. Stacks of cardboard boxes filled half the room, most of them containing what looked like old, expired snacks.

Then Ethan heard voices.

His footsteps stopped.

There were people inside.

"Who’s there?"

Several men rushed out from the other side of the warehouse, steel pipes gripped tightly in their hands. The man leading them had most of his face wrapped in bandages. Blisters covered the exposed side of his face.

Ethan recognized him immediately.

Talon.

Standing beside him was Blaze, his injured shoulder wrapped in thick gauze. Eight other men followed them.

Talon’s eyes widened when he saw Ethan. Then they turned bloodshot.

"Ethan?" His expression twisted with hatred. "You actually showed your face." He tightened his grip on the steel pipe. "I never thought we’d run into you while gathering supplies." A vicious grin spread across his face. "Looks like the damn Apocalypse finally gave me a break."

Blaze’s expression was equally hostile. Despite the pain in his shoulder, he raised his hand. Small whirlwinds began forming around his fingers.

"Talon, stop wasting time." His eyes locked onto Ethan. "Kill him."

Ethan ignored them.

His attention remained fixed on the skylight above. A shadow moved across the floor.

The Flying Zombie was coming.

He had only one Teleportation left. He couldn’t waste it.

"Get him!"

Talon waved his hand. The eight men immediately charged. Steel pipes swung toward Ethan from different directions.

Ethan stepped sideways. The first pipe missed his head by inches. He raised his hand. Spatial Cut flashed through the air. A thin white line crossed the attacker’s throat. The man froze. Blood sprayed from the wound as he dropped his pipe and collapsed.

Ethan didn’t stay to watch. He sprinted deeper into the warehouse. Rows of metal shelves stood ahead, giving him plenty of cover.

"Trying to run?"

Blaze sneered. He thrust both hands forward. Two Wind Blades shot toward Ethan’s legs. The blades screamed through the air. They were noticeably faster than before. Blaze’s Ability had clearly grown stronger.

Ethan jumped. The Wind Blades skimmed beneath his shoes and slammed into the floor. Sparks flew. Ethan landed on top of a shelf. He was about to move again when~

Clang!

A pair of claws suddenly tore through the skylight above. They hooked around the shelf’s metal crossbeam.

Crack!

The steel bent under the Flying Zombie’s grip.

Everyone froze.

"Damn it!" One of Talon’s men went pale. "Why the hell is that monster here?"

The others tightened their grips on their weapons, but their hands were visibly shaking.

The Flying Zombie forced half of her body through the broken skylight. Her dark-green eyes swept across the warehouse. Then they locked onto Ethan.

She shrieked.

Her wings slammed downward. A violent gust tore through the warehouse. Cardboard boxes flew everywhere. Dust filled the air. Everyone lost sight of each other.

Ethan’s eyes sharpened.

Now.

He swung his hand. Spatial Cut swept horizontally across the warehouse. The support pillars of the shelf snapped. The entire structure collapsed. Boxes crashed to the ground, forming a wall between Ethan and Talon’s group.

Ethan immediately moved. He sprinted behind a large wooden container at the opposite end of the warehouse.

"He’s over there!"

Blaze spotted him. Three Wind Blades ripped through the container’s wooden boards. They screamed past Ethan’s head. He ducked. The blades narrowly missed him.

Then flames suddenly flew through the gap.

Talon’s voice followed. "Let’s see where you run now!"

A cluster of fire shot toward Ethan.

Boom!

The warehouse roof exploded. The Flying Zombie tore through the corrugated metal and forced her entire body inside. Her claws immediately grabbed the nearest man. He didn’t even have time to scream.

Rip!

The claws tore him in half. Blood and organs splattered across Talon’s face.

Talon’s expression went blank. "Holy shit!"

The color drained from his face. He completely forgot about Ethan. He turned and ran toward the back door.

Blaze panicked as well. He unleashed Wind Blades at the Flying Zombie. The blades struck her wings and were casually deflected. Blaze’s injured shoulder suddenly gave way under the strain. He gritted his teeth as the old wound reopened.

"Damn it!"

He had no choice but to follow Talon.

Ethan watched the chaos unfold. His eyes narrowed. This was his chance.

He raised his hand. Spatial Cut flashed three times. The last three men following Talon didn’t even have time to react. Two were struck across the throat. The third lost his knee. All three collapsed.

"Ethan!"

Blaze looked back. His face twisted with rage. "You bastard!"

But he didn’t dare stop. He stumbled through the back door after Talon. Talon was already gone. He had abandoned his own men without hesitation.

Ethan considered pursuing them.

Then the Flying Zombie turned toward him. Her dark-green eyes locked onto his body.

"Hiss!"

She lunged. The force of her wings created such a powerful gale that Ethan struggled to keep his footing.

Damn it.

He had no choice. He activated his final Teleportation. His body disappeared. He reappeared behind a truck near the warehouse entrance.

Ethan immediately crouched beside the tire, breathing heavily.

A few seconds later, the Flying Zombie smashed through the warehouse’s back wall. She emerged from the rubble. Then stopped.

She was less than three meters away.

Ethan’s muscles tensed. He was ready to fight if necessary.

But the Flying Zombie didn’t attack.

Instead, she lowered her head. Her nose twitched. She sniffed the air several times. Then something changed in her eyes.

Wariness.

She slowly took two steps backward. Her gaze moved between Ethan’s left arm and the warehouse’s back door.

Ethan remained perfectly still.

The Flying Zombie stared at his injured arm for several seconds. Then she suddenly shrieked. With a powerful flap of her wings, she shot into the night sky.

She didn’t pursue him.

Ethan stared after her. "What the hell...?"

He looked down at his left arm. The gauze was completely soaked with blood. That was the only thing that had changed. The Flying Zombie had clearly reacted to the wound. As if she’d smelled something she didn’t want to get close to.

Ethan’s expression slowly darkened.

What could possibly make that monster hesitate?

Then a thought crossed his mind.

The Snake King.

Ethan’s body stiffened. He remembered the pale-green mucus that had splashed onto his left arm during his encounter with the Snake King. He’d wiped most of it away. But some of it had already seeped into his skin.

Could the Snake King’s scent still be clinging to him?

Was that what the Flying Zombie had sensed?

Ethan let out a bitter laugh. "Great."

The Flying Zombie wasn’t going to chase him anymore. But if the Snake King’s scent really was still on him, that created a much bigger problem. A monster at that level could potentially track him. And if it could track him...

It could track everyone at the underground casino too.

Ethan’s expression became serious. He needed to stay away from the underground casino as much as possible. The Snake King’s scent was effectively a beacon. It could attract the Flying Zombie. Or worse...

The Snake King itself.

The night wind grew colder. Ethan pulled his windbreaker tighter around his body. He needed somewhere safe to spend the night.

More importantly, he needed to figure out how to get rid of the Snake King’s scent before it became a death sentence.