Chapter 124: The Viper Swarm

Ethan turned his head away from the screen and looked directly toward Debbie, who was standing nearby. "Debbie, come with me into the recovery room. I need another dose of your Healing Essence."

She glanced between his serious expression and the violent scene playing out on the light screen. "You can’t possibly be serious. You’re thinking about going back out there right now?"

"I’m not rushing out blindly. I need to get my physical condition and energy completely maxed out first," Ethan replied firmly.

Debbie understood the grim reality without needing further explanation. Without wasting another second, she followed him into the adjacent recovery room.

Ethan sat down on the edge of the cot and took her soft hand. "Activate your Ability."

Debbie nodded, a concentrated look crossing her face.

Bright golden light spread across her palms, and her warm Healing Essence began flowing smoothly into his mouth. The familiar, comforting warmth immediately eased the lingering aches in his back and rapidly restored a portion of his heavily depleted spiritual energy. The physiological healing effect was solid, but the natural recovery speed was still slower than what Ethan needed to face a Quasi-King beast.

Outside, the fierce battle was rapidly drawing to its bloody conclusion.

He could hear the muffled, earth-shaking roars echoing faintly through the Survival Space’s audio feed, and every ticking second made his instincts urge him to move faster.

Just then, the recovery room door clicked open.

Tessa stepped into the doorway. She froze the moment she saw Ethan sitting with Debbie, her cheeks instantly flushing a deep, embarrassed crimson.

For a brief second, she looked as though she wanted stammer an apology and retreat. Instead, she hesitated, biting her lip.

"Sorry... I can come back later," Tessa murmured, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Ethan called out.

Tessa stopped dead in her tracks, her shoulders tensing. "What is it?"

She glanced nervously at the glowing golden energy transferring from Debbie’s hands. "I... I think I might actually be able to help you accelerate your recovery rate."

Ethan raised an eyebrow, looking at her. "How so?"

Tessa’s cheeks reddened even further, but she stepped fully into the room and lowered her voice. She explained quietly that her Life Link Ability possessed a secondary trait: the capacity to actively purify and stabilize foreign energies. If she combined her resonance with Debbie’s Healing Essence, she believed she could dramatically increase the speed and efficiency with which Ethan’s body absorbed the restorative properties.

She wasn’t one hundred percent certain the dual-ability combo would work smoothly.

But given the desperate situation, she was willing to try.

Ethan studied her focused expression for a brief moment before giving a decisive nod. "All right. Let’s do it."

Tessa stepped closer to Debbie, extending her hands over their joined grip. She gently channeled her pale-green spiritual energy to filter and refine the golden Healing Essence before passing it directly into Ethan’s system.

The physiological difference was instantaneous and staggering. ℯⅇ𝙡.

The refined Healing Essence entered his meridians with virtually zero resistance, and the exhausted energy pools within his body began replenishing at nearly triple the previous speed.

Ethan’s eyes widened in genuine surprise. It actually works.

The lingering pain across his torn muscles vanished entirely. His injured left shoulder regained its peak explosive strength, and the heavy, sluggish fatigue weighing down his limbs evaporated into nothingness.

Tessa concentrated heavily on maintaining the delicate energetic bridge, her face growing visibly paler as the intense mental strain mounted.

After several uninterrupted minutes, Ethan felt a surge of vitality so complete that he stood up smoothly from the cot.

"That’s enough, Tessa. Stop," he said softly, gently catching her arm before she could overexert herself to the point of fainting.

Tessa exhaled a long, shaky breath, nodding weakly as she leaned against the wall.

Ten minutes later, Ethan’s physical injuries were completely healed, and his internal energy reserves were fully maxed out at his absolute peak.

He flexed his fingers, feeling the terrifying density of spatial power humming through his veins, then lifted his combat sword from the table. The performance boost was staggering.

"That was infinitely more effective than I anticipated," Ethan acknowledged, looking between the two exhausted women. "We’re going to need to practice this synergy. If we can optimize this recovery cycle, it will give us an incredible tactical advantage in the future."

Debbie and Tessa exchanged a brief, shy glance, their cheeks still lingering with a faint pink flush.

Ethan didn’t dwell on the intimate moment, as time was running out.

The chaotic battle outside was reaching its final moments, and he needed to evaluate the aftermath.

He stepped back out and checked the light screen.

The landscape of the amusement park had transformed drastically. The ground was littered everywhere with the lifeless carcasses of slaughtered mutant beasts. All six Elite-Level Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys lay dead, alongside the eight elite bats that had joined the ambush.

The Tiger King had ruthlessly consumed several of their Cores right on the spot.

Its thick golden coat was heavily matted with dark blood, and the oppressive aura radiating from its frame had grown noticeably denser and more terrifying.

The two surviving Leader-Level monkeys were in full retreat, fleeing desperately in opposite directions. The remaining Leader-Level bats were scattered high across the morning sky, retreating into the distance.

The Tiger King let out a low, satisfied rumble and locked onto its next victim.

It lunged fiercely after one of the fleeing Leader-Level Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys, disappearing rapidly between the ruined commercial buildings with terrifying velocity.

Meanwhile, the red-haired monkey fled in the exact opposite direction.

It wasn’t moving nearly as fast as the other fleeing beasts. Its body swayed unsteadily as it ran, and the bright red psychic glow that had surrounded its head earlier was entirely gone.

The prolonged, high-intensity use of its Mental Ability had clearly drained its spiritual sea dry, leaving it vulnerable.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. There is our opening.

He grabbed his sword, secured his gear, and strode toward the exit portal of the pocket dimension.

With his energy fully restored and his spatial abilities completely reset by the new day, if he moved quickly, he could intercept the exhausted monkey before it managed to vanish into the ruins.

Without wasting another word, Ethan activated Teleportation and stepped out of the Survival Space.

The crisp, chilling morning air struck his face instantly.

He materialized quietly on top of a weathered rooftop overlooking the amusement park perimeter and immediately spotted the red-haired monkey stumbling desperately between two abandoned buildings below.

It was roughly a thousand meters away.

Ethan raised his hand, preparing to channel his spatial coordinates for a long-range teleport.

Then, a foul, nauseating fishy odor suddenly washed over his senses.

His hardwired survival instincts screamed a frantic warning.

Whoosh!

Something massive and heavy shot violently out from the dense vegetation below.

Ethan twisted his torso sideways at the last possible microsecond as a thick, scaly shape whipped viciously through the air right where his legs had been standing. He landed hard, rolled expertly across the rough gravel roof, and came up instantly with his sword raised in a defensive guard.

A harsh, vibrating hiss echoed menacingly from the surrounding bushes.

Then another. And another.

More than a hundred aggressive Mutant Vipers emerged simultaneously from the overgrown vegetation, their long, scaly bodies sliding in a horrific, writhing mass across the pavement.

Some of the vipers were as thick as a grown man’s forearm; others were smaller, leaner, but moved with terrifying, lightning-fast speed.

At the very center of the writhing swarm, a massive serpent reared its hideous head high into the air.

Its body was nearly as thick around as a large basketball hoop, and its dark, oily scales glistened venomously in the sunlight. Its forked tongue flicked rapidly between its jaws as its cold, reptilian eyes locked onto Ethan.

A Leader-Level Mutant Viper.

Ethan’s expression darkened into an absolute storm.

The snake pack had ambushed him at the exact worst possible moment—just as he was preparing to close the distance on the monkey.

He cast a quick glance toward the distant rooftop where the red-haired monkey was still struggling to escape. Damn it. Not now!

Then, a sudden, burning sensation flared across the skin of his left forearm.

Ethan glanced down.

The dark, intricate mark of the Snake King was emerging beneath his skin, glowing with an ominous, pulsing purple light as though something were heating it intensely from within.

The surrounding vipers reacted instantly to the energetic signature.

Every single snake head snapped sharply toward him.

The entire swarm began hissing in unison, creating a deafening wave of noise.

The massive Leader-Level Viper opened its monstrous jaws wide, revealing two curved, dripping fangs leaking greenish, highly concentrated neurotoxin.

The tactical reality hit Ethan with brutal clarity.

The Snake King had marked him as its primary prey across the city, and that lingering mark was actively acting as a beacon, drawing all local reptilian followers straight to his location.

The entire swarm surged forward as one.

Ethan raised his blade, channeling his spatial coordinates.

He activated Teleportation.

Nothing happened.

His expression froze in disbelief.

He tried to force the spatial fold again.

Still nothing.

Then, a cold, automated system notification flashed across his mental interface:

[Daily Teleportation uses exhausted.]

For a terrifying moment, Ethan simply stared at the blank air.

He had burned through his remaining spatial jumps during the brutal rooftop battle against the bats.

Now, surrounded by more than a hundred deadly Mutant Vipers with a Leader-Level beast leading the charge, his absolute most reliable escape route was completely sealed.

In the distance, the red-haired monkey was finally disappearing over the horizon.

The swarm of vipers was closing in rapidly, blocking every exit.

And the massive Leader-Level Viper was lunging forward to strike.

Ethan gripped the hilt of his sword tighter than ever, his breathing steadying into an icy rhythm.

"Damn it all!"

The first viper lunged through the air.

Ethan stepped forward with lethal precision, bringing his blade down in a clean arc that split the snake’s head completely in two before its fangs could graze his coat.

A second viper struck blindly from the right. Ethan twisted his wrist, slicing through its neck before kicking its thrashing body away as three more serpents surged aggressively toward his boots.

He retreated deliberately toward the sturdy structural wall of the rooftop structure, refusing to allow the writhing swarm to encircle him completely.

The snakes spread across the gravel roof, sliding over each other in a desperate search for an opening in his guard.

Ethan raised his sword, taking one deep, centering breath of the cold morning air.

He had missed his golden opportunity to hunt the red-haired monkey.

But he was entirely unwilling to die here in the dirt.

Not today. Not like this.

The massive Leader-Level Viper hissed viciously and launched its heavy body directly toward his throat.

Ethan stepped right into the heart of the attack, his dark eyes burning with cold resolve.

"Come on, then."

His sword flashed like silver lightning.

The desperate battle for sheer survival had officially begun.