Chapter 107: The Investigation

Ethan stood in the quiet room for a long moment, letting out a slow breath. A faint, knowing smile touched his lips as he recalled Tessa’s system profile: Rarity: 100. He had zero intention of letting a target of that caliber slip out of his grasp permanently. But first, he needed to thoroughly test the limits of his brand-new power.

For the next several minutes, Ethan quietly experimented with the Breath of Corrosion. He started with small, mundane objects. A stainless steel spoon dissolved into slag within three seconds of contact. A thick steel reinforcing rod lasted slightly longer, its surface bubbling furiously before the entire cross-section collapsed into harmless black dust. Concrete proved to be slightly more stubborn, but not by much; when he pressed his palm flat against a structural pillar and released a steady, controlled stream of mist, the hard aggregate began to soften. Fine cracks spider-webbed outward, and heavy chunks of masonry broke away. Within ten seconds, a deep hollow had been eaten straight through the concrete.

Ethan withdrew his hand, shaking his head slightly. The destructive output was genuinely terrifying. If he managed to close the distance on a powerful adversary, even thick heavy combat armor wouldn’t save them from turning into liquid.

However, there was one major catch: the energy consumption was astronomically high. After barely five minutes of casual testing, nearly half of his total available spatial-spiritual energy had been drained. He cut the test short before mental fatigue started to set in.

Incredible power, but it burns through reserves fast, he thought. I can’t afford to spam it recklessly. There’s no point having an SSS-Rank skill if I knock myself out before a serious fight even peaks.

Once his energy reserves had partially recovered through natural baseline meditation, he walked back toward the bedroom, ready to bring Sofia out of the survival space. But right as his fingers neared the door handle, a sharp, frantic hammering rattled the front door.

Ethan stopped dead in his tracks. Another series of violent knocks followed, much faster and infinitely more desperate than before. A deep frown pulled at his brows as he turned away from the bedroom and strode back toward the entrance.

When he swung the door open, Tessa stood in the hallway alone. Her face was deathly pale, and her chest heaved with ragged, panicked breaths. Her dark hair was completely disheveled, and she kept violently glancing back down the dark corridor as if a pack of wolves were snapping at her heels. The thin black shirt clung damply to her skin from a hard run, outlining the soft, rapid rise and fall of her full breasts, while her tight jeans hugged the sharp curve of her hips and the round shape of her ass as she shifted her weight in sheer terror.

"Ethan!"

She practically threw herself forward, wrapping both hands around his arm with a death grip. "Please, you have to help Trevor!"

Ethan looked down at her white-knuckled grip, then slowly raised his eyes to meet her wide, frightened gaze.

"What happened to him?"

"We were cornered on the lower level. A group of armed men ambushed us, stole all the supplies you just gave us, and... and they said they were going to execute him!"

Her fingers dug deeper into his sleeve. "Please, Ethan. You’re the only person in this whole godforsaken complex who has the power to stop them."

Ethan didn’t move immediately. A deep, instinctive warning bell rang in the back of his mind. Something about this entire scenario felt intensely wrong. Trevor had only left the apartment a short while ago. How had a gang of armed thugs managed to track them down and rob them so blindingly fast? And more importantly, why were they threatening to execute a coward like Trevor instead of just taking the food and walking away?

"How many men are there?" he asked calmly.

"More than ten. Maybe fifteen total." She swallowed hard, her throat bobbing. "And one of them... one of them has a freakish Ability. I saw his skin turn completely gray and hard. It looked like solid rock."

Ethan’s expression remained as smooth as glass. A petrification-based Ability. That could occasionally prove annoying against an ordinary, untrained survivor, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make his pulse quicken. He was already a fully advanced Quasi-S-Rank powerhouse. His One-Way Teleportation had expanded to fifty daily uses, his Spatial Cut could slice through steel fifty times, and his spatial rifts could be deployed ten times. With an arsenal like that, even a well-coordinated human ambush was little more than a mild inconvenience.

Still, he wasn’t stupid enough to walk blindly into a trap without a plan.

"Show me where they are."

He grabbed his heavy coat from the hook, slung it over his shoulders, and stepped out into the stairwell. Tessa immediately turned and bolted down the concrete stairs, her boots striking hard against each step. The sound echoed in the tight space, sharp and frantic.

As they descended, the air grew colder. The raw, chaotic noise of the apocalypse pressed in from outside. Somewhere below, a mutated zombie released a long, guttural howl that rolled up the stairwell and bounced off the concrete walls. Another answered from an alley not far away, closer this time. The residential complex was losing the last of its daylight. Shadows thickened in the corners of the landings. Broken glass glittered faintly on one step. A dark smear marked the wall near a shattered window.

Ethan kept his attention sharp, tracking every turn and every open doorway. The stairwell was narrow. Anything waiting around the next corner would be on them before they could react. Tessa hurried ahead without slowing, glancing back every few seconds to make sure he was still following. The worn jeans tightened across her ass with each downward step, and the damp shirt pulled against her chest when she looked over her shoulder. Ethan noticed, but he did not let it pull his focus. The building was too quiet in the wrong places, and the howls outside were getting closer.

Tessa hurried ahead, her boots clattering against the concrete steps. Every few seconds she looked back over her shoulder to make sure he was keeping pace. With every stride, her worn jeans tightened sharply across her ass, and when she glanced backward, the damp fabric of her shirt strained against the soft weight of her chest. Ethan registered the sight, but his focus remained locked entirely on the tactical layout around them.