Chapter 1152: Blue Means Run

Only eight of those white-furred apes were charging their way—but every single one radiated an overwhelming presence.

From the glow of their crystal cores alone, Ethan could tell: the

weakest

among them were Tier 11.

And the lead ape... the crystal core in its forehead was a deep, luminous blue—something Ethan had never seen before.

Below Tier 6, cores were red. From Tier 6 to Tier 11, they were purple.

Blue?

Blue meant one thing only: Tier 12.

Stage C.

A beast that had lit up the second star in the constellation path—a true elite among elites. A monster beyond explanation.

Even now, Ethan, with all his strength and Teleportation ability, felt zero urge to fight.

None.

He’d encountered a few powerful mutant beasts already and assumed the ceiling here was around that level.

But Stage C?

That was a whole different realm.

He’d seriously need to reconsider whether staying in this region was worth it. The threat level here had just shot far past what he was prepared for.

Across the clearing, the Bloodfang Wolves had gone still too. Even they looked shaken—actually

scared

.

And this was the first time Ethan had ever seen it: those savage, fearless Bloodfang Wolves... showing fear.

The white-furred apes reached the battlefield.

Without slowing, one of them grabbed a nearby Bloodfang Wolf and bit straight into it like tearing into a snack.

Crunch.

It clamped down with massive jaws and bit through the wolf like it was nothing, then swallowed with a satisfied grunt, licking the blood off its massive hand. The others followed suit.

Wolves leapt at them—dozens of them, a rabid blur—but they didn’t even try to dodge. They didn’t need to.

Bloodfang Wolf fangs sank into thick fur and muscle and didn’t pierce so much as the skin.

Then—

"Awooo!"

The Tier 10 Bloodfang Wolf howled, long and sharp—and its entire pack turned tail and ran.

They didn’t even glance at Ethan and Goldie.

The wolves were flat-out fleeing for their lives.

Ethan didn’t hesitate for a second.

"Go, Goldie—

now!

"

Thankfully, the white-furred apes either hadn’t noticed them or just didn’t care. Their attention never strayed from the Bloodfang Wolves. They didn’t bother to chase or scan the surroundings.

That was enough for Ethan and Goldie.

They bolted—heading the complete opposite direction from the wolves.

The Tier 10 Bloodfang Wolf, evidently still unwilling to give up, sent a handful of its fastest subordinates after them.

But now that they were free of the encirclement, Goldie could finally run full tilt.

And when he ran, he was fast.

Way faster than the wolves.

They lost their pursuers after just a few minutes of weaving through the trees, looping around twice to make sure they weren’t being followed.

Eventually, they reached the valley where Chris and the others were hiding.

The team was on edge when they arrived, clearly sick with worry.

But the moment they saw Ethan and Goldie drop in, relief swept through the group like a gust of fresh air.

"Captain, you made it back!" Chris called out.

Everyone rushed over, grinning ear to ear.

"Captain, you’re insane! I mean, I figured

you’d

make it out somehow, but you’re telling me you brought

Goldie

with you too? With that many Bloodfang Wolves chasing you down? How the hell’d you manage that?" Skinny Pete gawked.

The others chimed in too, all of them wide-eyed, clearly dying for the story.

"Uh..." Ethan scratched the back of his head. "Honestly? Luck."

Then he told them everything that had just happened.

"

Stage C?

" someone gasped.

Every face went pale. Eyes wide.

Ethan gave a sober nod. "Yep. Confirmed."

"This forest is a lot more dangerous than we expected. Now that we’ve found Nugget, I’m planning for us to pull out. We need to power up more before coming back."

"Because if something like

that

notices us?" He shook his head grimly. "We’re not even getting the chance to run."

Sure, there was truth in that old saying—

nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But Ethan wasn’t looking to gamble the entire team’s life on it.

If Stage C mutant beasts hadn’t shown up, the risks here might’ve been acceptable. Now? It was like dancing on the edge of a blade—one wrong move, instant death.

Truth be told, they’d already scored big.

His spatial storage ring was stacked with Tier 9 Bloodfang Wolf corpses. Once extracted, that essence would be more than enough to push Chris and the others to the peak of Tier 9.

After they made it out and solidified themselves in the outside world, hitting Tier 10 would be far more realistic.

Then they’d return.

Only

then

would they be ready to start reaping the rewards from something like the Titan Ape zone.

This place would be their power-leveling dungeon—but only when they were ready.

Rushing it would just get them killed.

"Sounds good, Ethan. We’ll follow your lead," Big Mike nodded firmly.

The rest echoed the sentiment. News of a Stage C beast had shaken them deeply.

"Alright. Get some rest. Recover fully," Ethan said.

"Got it."

"Ethan... do you think Sophia’s still alive?" Henry sat down beside him, eyes fixed on the sky, voice low.

The person who got his parents killed and treated his sister like a toy—he didn’t want her dead that easily. That’d be letting her off too light.

Ethan looked over, tone calm. "I get what you’re thinking. But in a place like this? Forget Sophia—even staying alive for the rest of us is a stretch. So..."

"I know," Henry sighed. "But I just can’t let it go. Feels like there’s a fire burning in my chest I can’t put out."

"I get it." Ethan gave his shoulder a firm pat. "But no matter how she died... your parents’ vengeance? That’s settled."

"...Yeah."

They rested a while longer. After half an hour, the team had more or less recovered.

Ethan took the lead again, guiding everyone back the way they came.

They moved through Ironback Rat territory without a hitch, passing straight through without resistance. Soon, the dense terrain gave way to a grim familiarity—the marked boundary of Titan Ape territory.

The moment they stepped in, everyone’s alertness spiked.

They had real beef with the Titan Apes. If one of those monsters spotted them, the entire tribe could come down on them like an avalanche.

But strangely... the area looked deserted. Not a single Titan Ape in sight.

Even Ethan found that odd.

Ten minutes in, just as they were starting to relax, Ethan suddenly stopped cold.

His face shifted—surprised.

"Titan Apes?" someone whispered.

Ethan shook his head, brows slightly furrowed. "No. People."

"...People!?"

Everyone froze, then their eyes went wide.

"You mean people native to this place? Do they look human?"

"No," Ethan said, scanning the area. "Looks like... Silverfox Squad. Survivors."

"There are still Silverfox Squad members alive?!" Henry’s voice went tight with sudden hope.

"Yeah. Few dozen of them—up in a tree, hiding."

"Let’s go!"

They moved quickly and quietly toward the coordinates Ethan had seen.

Up in the thick canopy of a massive tree, dozens of Silverfox Squad members crouched silently among the branches. No one dared move. No one dared breathe too loud.

After surviving by the skin of their teeth, every heartbeat felt precious.

"Rachel... we can’t just keep hiding like this," a young man whispered. "Even if the Titan Apes don’t find us, we’ll starve to death eventually."

"What do you want me to do?" said a woman in her thirties, frowning. "The exit’s sealed off. Those Titan Apes aren’t going anywhere. We’ll wait—for however long it takes."

"And what if they

never

leave?"

"Then I’ll

still

take this over being caught. I’d rather starve than end up like the captain." Rachel shuddered at the memory, her whole body tensing.

"Yeah... screw that," muttered another guy. "Better to starve than be eaten like some livestock. Still can’t believe the captain got us into this mess. We were doing just fine back at the compound. Why the hell come out to a place like

this

?"

"Word was, the captain pissed off someone in the Fallen Star Squad," another teammate said under his breath. "Had to flee Compound-9. I think it had something to do with Emily."

"What, like they tried to steal Emily for her ability?"

"Could be. But even if that’s the case—why not just give her up? Why run this deep? No one’s worth

this

."

"Unless someone was trying to kill everyone to cover their tracks..."

"Captain must’ve done something shady to Emily," someone else muttered. "No way this all adds up otherwise."

"Quiet," Rachel hissed suddenly. "I hear footsteps."

Everyone shut up at once, holding their breath as they pressed flat against branches and bark, trying to disappear into the tree.