Chapter 156: The Forest of Silence and the Hunt

1:00 PM.

Ethan stood on the deserted road leading into the suburban mountain forest.

The asphalt beneath his boots was cracked and broken, with weeds growing through the gaps. Tall grass had swallowed much of the roadside, and abandoned vehicles sat rusting beneath the trees.

He scanned the area with a puzzled expression.

"Strange. Where did all the Viper Swarms and red ant swarms go?"

He had traveled all the way from the city center without encountering a single Mutant Viper.

That was unusual.

According to what he remembered, this mountain forest should have been crawling with venomous snakes and enormous red ants. It was supposed to be one of the more dangerous areas on the outskirts.

Yet there was hardly any movement.

Only the wind rustling through the trees disturbed the silence.

’Did the Snake King abandon its territory?’

Ethan narrowed his eyes.

He couldn’t think of another explanation.

What he didn’t know was that the Viper Swarm had already left.

On another road leading toward the city center, tens of thousands of Mutant Vipers were moving in a massive wave. Their bodies slithered over the asphalt, through abandoned cars, and across the roadside vegetation.

The ground seemed to move beneath them.

High above the swarm, an enormous Mutant Eagle circled through the clouds. Every so often, it folded its wings and plunged toward the ground, snatching a snake from the rear of the group with its sharp talons.

It continued hunting until the last of the Vipers crossed the boundary between the suburbs and the city.

Only then did it turn around and fly back toward the mountain forest.

By that time, Ethan had already ventured half a kilometer into the woods.

He stopped at the edge of a hidden mountain hollow.

The moment he looked down, his expression changed.

The hollow was filled with corpses.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Mutant Red Ants lay piled on top of one another. Their bodies were as large as ordinary rats, and their red shells had been cracked open. Some had been crushed so thoroughly that their remains were barely recognizable.

At the top of the pile lay an especially enormous corpse.

Its purple-black carapace was as thick as armor, and its body was nearly the size of a small piglet.

The Ant King.

Ethan stared at the sight.

’Someone wiped out the entire swarm?’

He nudged a broken ant shell with his boot, then looked deeper into the forest.

This wasn’t the work of an ordinary survivor.

Whoever had killed the Ant King and its entire swarm possessed enough strength to dominate this part of the mountain.

Ethan tightened his grip on his sword.

He didn’t know whether the culprit was another human or a powerful mutant beast, but he had no intention of finding out the hard way.

He continued cautiously.

The suburban forest covered approximately ten thousand square meters. Its trees were considerably thicker than those at the ecological farm, with towering pines, birches, and firs growing close together.

Beyond this patch of woodland lay an even older forest known as Sunset Ridge.

Kate had once mentioned encountering a thousand-year-old Mutant Turtle deep inside it.

Ethan had no intention of testing his strength against something like that.

Not yet.

His immediate goal was to collect the trees in this area and transplant them into his Survival Space.

It would help him meet the requirement of five thousand square meters of tree coverage while also preparing the space for future expansion.

He approached a pine tree so thick that one person couldn’t wrap both arms around its trunk.

Placing his palm against the rough bark, he activated his Space Ability.

A faint distortion spread through the air.

The tree vanished.

Inside his Survival Space, it appeared in the prepared soil, its roots settling into the black earth.

Ethan activated Plant Growth.

The branches stretched outward, and dark green needles spread across them. Its roots gradually took hold, securing the tree in its new home.

Satisfied, he returned to the forest and continued working.

One tree after another disappeared.

He transplanted them, accelerated their growth, then moved on to the next.

The afternoon passed quickly.

By four o’clock, his energy was nearly depleted, forcing him to return to his Survival Space.

The place had changed considerably.

Peach trees and ginkgo trees now stood alongside pines and firs, creating a small woodland around the lake.

The air was noticeably fresher, and the green canopy gave the entire space a more natural atmosphere.

Near the lake, Evelyn was crouched in a vegetable garden, using her Plant Growth Ability to accelerate the seeds.

Cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and other vegetables were already growing in neat rows.

"Brother Ethan, you’re back!"

Evelyn looked up with a bright smile.

There was dirt on her cheeks, and a few strands of hair had fallen across her forehead. She looked more like a mischievous girl playing in a garden than someone living through an Apocalypse.

Ethan smiled.

"How’s the garden coming along?"

"Pretty well! The vegetables are growing much faster than I expected."

He nodded and looked around.

Sofia was wiping Rose’s cheeks with a damp cloth. Penny was practicing her Light Blade on the open ground beside the lake, sending thin streaks of light through the air.

Tessa sat near the life crystal stone, concentrating on cultivating her Ability.

Debbie was sitting outside one of the villas with Nina in her arms, enjoying the afternoon sunlight.

Nearby, Daisy was entertaining the little girl, making her laugh with silly faces.

It was a peaceful scene.

For a moment, Ethan simply stood there and watched.

The women had gradually settled into a routine. Some cultivated their Abilities, others tended the garden, and the rest worked on making the villas comfortable.

There was still a long way to go, but the Survival Space was beginning to resemble a small settlement rather than an empty pocket dimension.

With eight hundred square meters of tree coverage, the air was remarkably clean. Even the sunlight filtering through the leaves seemed warmer.

Ethan stretched his arms.

’I’ll push harder tonight. If everything goes well, I should be able to reach a thousand square meters.’

His thoughts drifted to the previous night, and an amused smile appeared on his face.

Last night, he had given Sofia an Elite-grade Core and asked her to look after Nina for the evening.

Sofia had glared at him, accusing him of being improper, but she had still accepted the Core and returned to her villa with the little girl.

Not long afterward, the system had notified him that he had received two thousand Energy Points.

There had also been another notification.

[Without triggering a Bonus Drop, gifting another Core of the same grade to the same recipient will result in a 50% reduction in the Energy Points returned.]

In other words, if he gave Sofia another Elite-grade Core, he would receive only a thousand Energy Points.

Ethan hadn’t been particularly bothered.

He had other people he could give Cores to.

Besides, the night hadn’t ended there.

He had happily invited Debbie and Daisy into his villa. Even now, the memory of their embarrassed expressions made him smile.

Once he returned to his villa, Debbie and Tessa had also come over to help replenish his energy.

They were already accustomed to the process. Neither of them seemed particularly embarrassed anymore.

Ethan had originally planned to return to the mountain forest at eight.

However, he was interrupted by a familiar little voice.

"Daddy!"

Nina had climbed onto him and was calling out in her sweet, childish voice.

Ethan opened his eyes.

The little girl was lying against his chest, looking up at him with bright eyes.

He chuckled and lifted her into his arms.

"What’s wrong, little one?"

"Daddy!"

She repeated the word, apparently satisfied with herself.

At the doorway, Debbie watched them with a faint smile.

Ethan looked at the little girl and gently rubbed her head.

For a brief moment, the dangers outside seemed very far away.