Chapter 155: The Green Sanctuary and the Mountain Shadow

At seven in the morning, he spotted a white fence surrounding an ecological farm.

Much of the property had survived the Apocalypse. Peach trees, ginkgo trees, and ornamental shrubs still stood among the overgrown paths, their leaves sparkling with morning dew. Weeds had pushed through the gravel, but the trees themselves looked healthy, their trunks thick and their canopies full. Ethan paused at the fence for a moment, listening. No mutant beasts moved among the rows. Only birds stirred in the upper branches.

Ethan smiled.

This was exactly what he needed.

He approached a three-meter-tall ginkgo tree and pressed his hand against its trunk. The bark was cool and slightly damp under his palm. His Space Ability activated, transporting the entire tree into his Survival Space. The sudden absence of the trunk left a shallow depression in the soil. He stepped through the portal and immediately used Plant Growth.

Rustle!

The branches spread, fresh leaves unfurled, and the roots dug deep into the black soil. Within minutes the tree looked as though it had stood there for years. The air around it carried a clean, green scent.

Ethan then returned to the farm and began collecting peach trees. Each one took careful positioning so the roots would not tear when he pulled them into the Space. Evelyn helped accelerate their growth once they were inside, causing pink flower buds to bloom across the branches. The petals opened one after another, soft against the darker leaves. However, after tending to ten square meters of greenery, she grew pale and struggled to remain standing. Sweat beaded along her hairline.

"Brother Ethan, I can’t continue. I’m exhausted."

"Then rest. I’ll handle the rest."

Plant Growth was powerful, but its energy consumption was enormous. For every hundred square meters of greenery he accelerated, Ethan needed approximately four hours to recover. He could feel the drain each time he finished a section. His limbs grew heavy, and his breathing turned shallow until Debbie or Tessa stepped in to steady him.

He repeatedly traveled between the farm and his Survival Space, while Debbie and Tessa helped replenish his energy. White light and soft green radiance washed over him in turns. The ache in his muscles eased, but the fatigue returned quickly once he resumed the work. By midday, he had transplanted more than half the trees. Dirt clung to his sleeves and the knees of his pants. The women looked equally worn, their faces drawn from constant ability use.

The system panel displayed:

[Green Tree Coverage: 310 square meters.]

The Survival Space was beginning to feel alive. Fresh greenery surrounded the lake, and the air carried the pleasant scent of leaves and damp earth. Sunlight filtered through the new canopy in shifting patterns. For the first time, the open sky above the Space felt less empty.

As Ethan prepared to rest, he noticed twenty movable villas standing in a corner of the farm. They sat in two uneven rows, their white walls streaked with dust and their roofs littered with fallen leaves. Their windows were broken, and dust covered their walls, but their structures remained intact. Some still contained beds and sofas. A few doors hung open, revealing overturned chairs and scattered cushions inside.

"What an unexpected surprise!"

Collecting them would solve the accommodation problem inside his Survival Space. The women had been sleeping on the ground or on makeshift beds for too long. Proper rooms would change that.

Unfortunately, each villa occupied fifty square meters, and collecting four would nearly exhaust his Space Ability. Ethan spent the next several hours repeating the same exhausting routine: collecting villas, returning to recover, then going back for more. Each transfer left him light-headed. Debbie and Tessa continued helping him, their foreheads covered in sweat from constantly using their Healing Abilities. They sat beside him between trips, saying little, simply keeping the light of their abilities steady until he could stand again.

By eight that evening, the last villa had finally been collected. Ethan returned to his Survival Space and collapsed beneath a willow tree beside the lake. His back rested against the trunk. The bark pressed through his shirt, but he was too tired to shift. Twenty villas now stood around the water. The women were already cleaning them, wiping dust from the furniture and sweeping the floors. Soft voices drifted across the lake as they worked, occasionally calling to one another about what they found inside.

Watching them work, Ethan couldn’t help smiling. For once, the place felt less like an emergency shelter and more like a home. The sound of brooms and the quiet splash of water from the lake made the Space feel settled. He closed his eyes, intending to rest for a moment.

Before he realized it, exhaustion carried him to sleep.

Meanwhile, deep in the suburban mountain forest, the Underground Casino was filled with dread.

Wendy knelt beside Kate, pressing disinfectant-soaked cotton against her bleeding wounds. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to stop the blood. The cotton turned red almost immediately. Kate’s golden wings hung limply behind her, their feathers torn and stained crimson. Her face was as pale as paper, and blood continued trickling from the corners of her mouth. Each shallow breath made the wounds along her side weep again.

"Sister Kate will be fine," Stella whispered, clenching her fists. Her knuckles were white. She stood near the doorway, glancing between Kate and the surveillance screen. Her voice was thin.

But her trembling voice betrayed her fear.

That morning, Kate had challenged the mutant eagle again, only to discover that it had broken through to King-Rank. The battle had turned into a nightmare. The eagle opened its beak and unleashed a bolt of blue-white lightning. Kate had previously been able to glide beyond the attack’s effective range, but the creature’s lightning now reached targets within a thousand meters. She had nowhere to escape. The bolt tore through her wings and blasted her body out of the sky. She struck the ground hard, barely conscious, as the eagle descended to finish her. Only by risking everything and activating her Wind Ability had she managed to escape. Even then, she had barely made it back to the casino alive.

Wendy pressed another cotton pad against the wound, but her hands shook. Blood soaked through the second pad as quickly as the first.

"We don’t have a Healing Ability strong enough to save her," she whispered.

On the surveillance screen near the entrance, the enormous eagle continued circling above the trees. Its sharp eyes scanned the ground, clearly searching for Kate. The shadow of its wings passed over the casino roof every few minutes. Neither woman dared to leave. They were trapped.

Then Kate’s fingers twitched. Wendy hurried to her side, leaning close.

"Sister Kate? Can you hear me?"

Kate’s lips parted. Her voice was barely audible.

"Ethan... Space..."

Wendy froze. Was she asking Ethan to come and save them? But they had no way to contact him, and they didn’t even know where he was. Outside, the King-Rank eagle continued circling, its shadow passing over the casino entrance. Kate’s breathing grew weaker. Wendy looked helplessly at Stella, tears welling in her eyes. They needed help urgently, but stepping outside meant risking death at the eagle’s claws. And with Kate bleeding so heavily, they might not have much time left.