Chapter 117: The Slaughterhouse Pack

12:00 PM. Air-raid Shelter.

Sunlight streamed down through the reinforced ventilation shaft, casting pale, slanting columns that illuminated the gray dust drifting lazily through the still air. Yet despite the bright afternoon brightness outside, it did little to ease the heavy, suffocating tension hanging over the underground shelter.

Ethan sat quietly at a sturdy wooden table, checking the system’s gift distribution list in his mind.

Apart from Tessa and Sofia, whose cooldown timers had not yet expired, the other women in the sanctuary were eligible to receive gifts once more. He rose from his seat and began distributing food and clean provisions among them one by one. Although none of the interaction gifts triggered a rare Bonus Drop this time around, the consistent resource returns from their Base Return multipliers provided enough cumulative supplies to comfortably support the entire group for another two months.

Ethan carefully set aside dedicated rations for the people remaining behind in the relative safety of the library shelter: Elena, Haley, Aria and her young daughter, Sasha, Zara, the Eira sisters, and the four women they had previously rescued from the Museum. He also made sure to leave five loaded rifles and spare ammunition boxes for their perimeter protection.

The rest of the core group would accompany him outside into the unpredictable ruins.

Debbie and her daughter, Daisy, would provide vital healing support and tactical combat coverage. Tessa would remain on standby to help replenish his spiritual energy reserves, while Sofia would stay close to look after Rose, who still lay deep in a coma.

Taking everyone permanently inside the pocket dimension of the Survival Space wasn’t a viable option right now. Given his current spatial oxygen storage limit, he could only sustain a group of people inside the dimension for about ten days before the air quality began to degrade. He needed to conserve that safety net carefully.

After gathering the necessary tactical gear and rations, Ethan brought Debbie, Daisy, Tessa, and Sofia into the Survival Space, walked to a clear perimeter wall, and activated Teleportation.

Two consecutive, high-speed spatial jumps carried them far beyond the defensive zone surrounding the library, depositing them deep into an unmapped commercial district.

He brought Daisy outside the dimension and waited patiently while she closed her eyes, extending her Mental Ability outward in every direction to survey the terrain.

Her expanded perception spread silently through the surrounding streets, probing for any active signatures of life.

"There are a lot of chaotic emotional fluctuations to the northeast," she reported, her eyes snapping open. "They feel very aggressive. Greedy, too. It almost feels like a pack of wild hyenas fighting over scraps of meat."

Ethan narrowed his eyes, looking toward a row of distant industrial warehouses. "Let’s go see what we’re dealing with."

He took Daisy by the hand and activated Teleportation once again.

The urban landscape blurred into streaks of gray and brown. A moment later, they materialized safely outside the rusted, corrugated iron gates of an abandoned slaughterhouse.

The stench hit them immediately like a physical blow. A heavy mixture of stale blood, rotting meat, and damp concrete choked the air. Rusted iron meat hooks hung menacingly from overhead ceiling rails, and shattered plastic crates littered the weed-choked yard. Beyond a half-open sliding loading door, dozens of large, dark-blue hyenas were crowded furiously around the massive carcass of a Mutant Beast cow.

There were more than fifty beasts in the pack.

Their powerful, bone-crushing jaws tore savagely into the tough hide, snapping thick ribs and ripping away bloody chunks of raw flesh. A few beasts occasionally raised their bloodstained heads to snap and growl viciously at one another before diving right back into the frantic feast.

Ethan studied the pack briefly, his expression calm. "Stay close to the wall. This should be quick."

He couldn’t risk firing his submachine gun here. The deafening gunfire would echo across the district, attracting every wandering zombie or hostile beast within a mile and turning a clean hunt into a nightmare.

Instead, he drew his combat sword and blinked out of sight, reappearing directly behind the rear flank of the pack.

Before the nearest hyena could pivot its head, Ethan unleashed a swift, sweeping Spatial Cut.

A sharp, silver distortion swept cleanly across the yard. Three massive hyenas dropped instantly, their bodies sliced cleanly apart before their nervous systems even registered the attack.

The rest of the pack instantly abandoned their meal.

"Awooo!"

More than fifty pairs of eerie, glowing green eyes whipped around to lock onto Ethan. With a chorus of feral snarls, the entire pack surged forward in a coordinated charge.

Ethan vanished into thin air just as the front-line hyenas lunged at his position. Their powerful jaws snapped shut on empty air, and several crashed heavily into one another in their desperate momentum to reach him.

He reappeared near the loading dock and swung his sword in a wide arc. Spatial Cut tore through the leading animals, forcing the remaining beasts to scatter wide. When they quickly regrouped and flanked him from multiple directions, he released his secondary ability.

Breath of Corrosion.

A thick, roiling cloud of black mist poured across the concrete floor. The moment the volatile mist touched the charging hyenas, their coarse fur began to blister and their hides turned pitch black. They let out shrill, agonizing howls, stumbling blindly away from the corrosive zone.

Ethan kept moving fluidly, using short-range Teleportation to prevent himself from getting cornered against the brick walls. Every single time the pack attempted to close the distance, a spatial blade broke their formation.

The brutal engagement dragged on for ten intense minutes. By the time the dust settled, the slaughterhouse yard was littered with carcasses. The few surviving hyenas had either been cut down or fled terrified into the adjacent ruins.

Ethan stood alone amidst the carnage, breathing steadily as he scanned the perimeter. Only when he was certain nothing else was stalking them did he begin harvesting the kills. He split open the skulls one by one, recovering twelve Cores in total: ten ordinary-grade and two elite-grade.

The Mutant Beast cow carcass had already been picked completely clean of its core long before they arrived.

Ethan picked up one of the ordinary Cores and crushed it between his teeth. A crisp, brittle crunch sounded, and a meager stream of warm energy spread through his chest.

[Energy Points +50. Current Energy Points: 1,050/100,000. Rank: Quasi-S-Rank.]

"That’s barely a drop in the bucket," he muttered with a frown.

He still required nearly ninety-nine thousand more Energy Points to break through to true S-Rank. At this sluggish rate, consuming ordinary Cores alone would take an impossibly long time. He stored the remaining ordinary Cores and set the two elite-grade ones aside for future system gifting.

Just as he finished wiping his blade, the concrete ground beneath his boots suddenly shuddered.

A deep, resonant growl rolled outward from the pitch-black depths of the slaughterhouse.

Ethan snapped his head around. Something massive and predatory was stalking through the shadows.

A gigantic brownish-red hyena emerged slowly from the loading door, its heavy paws striking the concrete with bone-rattling thuds. It was nearly the size of a full-grown pony, boasting a thick, bristling mane that burned with an eerie, supernatural blue fire. Tiny sparks drifted constantly from the corners of its slobbering mouth, leaving scorch marks wherever they touched the ground.

It was easily three times larger than the elite hyenas he had just slaughtered. More unsettling was the suffocating pressure radiating from its frame. Even before it launched an assault, Ethan could tell this beast was hovering right on the threshold of Quasi-King Rank.

His expression hardened instantly. "A Fire Ability?"

The Hyena King lowered its massive head, a deep rumble vibrating through its massive chest. Then, its jaws snapped wide.

A blinding pillar of white-hot fire erupted straight toward Ethan.

He teleported sideways, appearing several meters away. The roaring flames smashed into the spot where he had stood a second prior, blasting the concrete into gravel and scorching the earth.

The attack wasn’t finished. The stream of fire twisted unnaturally in midair, tracking his movement with terrifying speed.

Ethan’s eyes widened slightly. He blinked away again.

The torrent of fire swept past, scorching the hem of his coat before detonating against the brick wall. Bricks exploded outward, and burning debris rained down across the yard.

It can track my spatial trajectory?

He raised his palm and unleashed Breath of Corrosion. Black mist surged forward to meet the beast. But instead of retreating, the Hyena King charged straight into the toxic cloud.

Its blue mane flared brilliantly. The corrosive mist instantly ignited, producing a violent, backdraft explosion of superheated air that rolled straight back toward Ethan. He threw up a forearm to protect his face, but the intense heat still scorched his skin, forcing him to stumble backward.

Its flames can detonate my corrosion.

Before he could recover his balance, the Hyena King lunged. Ethan activated Spatial Cut, slicing a deep wound along the beast’s thick neck. Black blood sprayed the ground.

Instead of crying out blindly, the beast twisted its muscular body and fired three razor-sharp bone spikes from its tailbone. They streaked through the air trailing blue fire. Ethan tried to teleport away, realizing too late that the spikes were calculated to intercept his landing point. He threw himself sideways mid-stride.

One spike grazed his left shoulder. Pain flared, and the stench of burned flesh filled the air. He hit the ground hard, rolling before springing back to his feet.

"Damn it, you’re smart."

The Hyena King circled him, its blazing mane casting flickering blue light across the yard. It was not just physically powerful; it was actively learning his combat patterns, anticipating his teleports, and utilizing fire to restrict his movement.

Minutes ticked away, and Ethan’s internal energy steadily dwindled. By the time half an hour had passed, his breathing was ragged, and smoke rose from his burned arm. He gritted his teeth. At this rate, I’m going to lose.

Not willing to burn through his remaining energy on a losing trade, Ethan activated Teleportation and ducked back into the safety of the Survival Space.