Chapter 1162: They Worked. I Cooked

Capítulo 1162: They Worked. I Cooked

After getting their feelings out of the way, the white-furred apes immediately started inhaling the meat. In just a few bites, each of them finished their portion.

Ethan had only roasted a single wolf, and eight white-furred apes had split it—of course it wasn’t anywhere near enough.

They licked their fingers clean, practically to the point of biting them off, then stared at Ethan with wide, pleading eyes.

“Roar…”

(So good. Want more.)

Ethan smiled. He’d deliberately roasted only one at first. This was exactly the reaction he wanted.

“I can keep roasting,” Ethan said with a grin, starting to guide them toward doing actual work for him. “I’ll grill meat for you, and you help me dig out crystal cores.”

“???”

The white-furred apes looked at him, puzzled. Clearly, they didn’t understand.

So Ethan walked over to a Bloodfang Wolf corpse, smashed its skull open, pulled out the crystal core inside, then pointed at the core and pointed at himself.

These white-furred apes really were smart. They understood what he meant almost immediately.

But they didn’t just nod and agree.

Instead, each ape grabbed two Bloodfang Wolf corpses and tossed them in front of Ethan.

The message was simple: We’ll help you pull out crystal cores, sure—but you roast all of these.

Ethan looked at the dozen-plus Bloodfang Wolf bodies and didn’t hesitate for even a second.

“No problem!”

“Roar…”

The moment Ethan agreed, the white-furred apes got visibly excited. One of them punched down at the corpse under its feet—

Bam!

The head caved in like rotten fruit. Then it casually dug out the crystal core and immediately moved on to the next one.

Watching that, Ethan’s mouth curved up.

This was going even smoother than he’d imagined…

He didn’t waste time either. He started processing the wolves one after another.

When he was done, he set up more than ten grills, skewered each Bloodfang Wolf, and roasted them all at once.

As flames sprang up in a line, that unique aroma rolled through the hollow. The white-furred apes started digging out crystal cores with even more enthusiasm.

No one would’ve believed it—apex predators from the very top of this world’s food chain… helping a human harvest crystal cores.

Before long, one white-furred ape came over, grinning ear to ear, both hands piled with crystal cores.

Ethan’s eyes lit up. With a flick of his hand, he swept every last core into his spatial storage ring.

The ape’s eyes went huge at the impossible sight.

But only for a moment.

Its gaze immediately slid back to the roasting meat, drool spilling down again.

“Not done yet,” Ethan said, waving it off. “Go on—keep digging.”

“Roar.” The white-furred ape answered obediently, then trotted off to continue harvesting crystal cores like it had the best job in the world.

Meanwhile, Chris and the others reached the Void Realm exit without running into any trouble.

Just like Ethan predicted, the Titan Apes had taken massive losses in that battle. They were probably licking their wounds back at their nest. The exit was completely unguarded now.

The group slipped through the passage and returned to Earth.

“Whew…”

Breathing Earth’s grimy air, they still let out heavy sighs of relief.

The air inside had been fresher, sure—but it was too damn dangerous. In three days, they’d almost died more times than they could count.

Earth was better. Even with zombies around, at their current strength, they didn’t need to fear much.

“I wonder how the captain’s doing…” Mia said, worry creeping into her voice.

“Relax,” Chris said. He knew Ethan well. “If Ethan chose this, he’s got a plan—and he’s got confidence.”

“Yeah, but what do we do now?” Sean asked. “Wait here for Ethan, or head back to the compound in Clearford City?”

“Let’s wait in a nearby town,” Chris decided. “That way if Ethan comes out, he can find us immediately.”

“Alright.”

Over on the other side…

The Titan Apes retreated back to their home valley.

They didn’t come back alone, either—Sophia came with them, carried the entire way on the Titan Ape leader’s shoulder.

Sophia really was beautiful. Otherwise Mark wouldn’t have been willing to play the devoted lapdog for so many years.

But her looks weren’t exactly within a Titan Ape’s aesthetic range.

The only reason the Titan Ape leader had kept her with him was simple: the Titan Ape group didn’t have any females left. The leader was planning to use her to continue the bloodline.

The atmosphere in the valley was crushingly heavy.

This battle had wrecked them. The Titan Ape troop had started with more than eight hundred—now there were only a little over four hundred left. Half their numbers, gone.

Even four Tier 10 Titan Apes had died. For the apes, it was like getting kicked while they were already down.

What made it worse for the leader was how pointless it all felt. The more it thought about it, the more it felt like some hidden hand had been stirring the mess from behind the scenes.

In a foul mood, the Titan Ape leader carried Sophia toward a cave, like it was making a point—staking its claim.

Up on its shoulder, Sophia went pale, her fingers digging into her own arms like she was bracing for impact.

She knew what was waiting for her in the dark.

When he returned, his movements were looser, the tension bled out of him.

“Roar…”

(Where are those damned people?)

The Titan Ape leader bellowed down at the others.

“Roar…”

(No idea. We were all fighting—we didn’t have time to look for them!)

“Roar…”

(Then go guard the exit again. I don’t believe they won’t leave!)

“Roooar…”

(What if they already got out?)

“…”

The Titan Ape leader’s brow furrowed.

Just then, Sophia came trembling out of the cave.

Honestly, Tier 7 Enhanced bodies were built different.

When the Titan Ape leader saw her, its eyes suddenly lit up, and it strode straight toward her.

Sophia jerked back, heart in her throat—she thought it was going to go again.

But once it stopped in front of her, it didn’t touch her.

“Roooar…”

(You’re with them, aren’t you? You should know where those people are!)

“???”

Sophia stared at it, completely lost.

The Titan Ape leader scratched its head, then started gesturing wildly—pointing, waving, acting it all out. After a long minute, Sophia barely pieced together what it meant.

It was looking for people like her. Humans.

Sophia’s eyes flickered.

She didn’t know exactly who it wanted… but that didn’t stop her from using the opening.

“I know where they are,” Sophia said, nodding firmly.

The Titan Ape leader’s eyes brightened.

“Roar!”

(Take me to them!)

It hoisted Sophia right back onto its shoulder.

Sophia pointed ahead.

The Titan Ape leader led a large group of Titan Apes in the direction she indicated.

Before long, they arrived at the Void Realm exit.

“???”

The Titan Ape leader stared at Sophia, confused.

Sophia pointed at the exit and said, “They’re outside.”

The Titan Ape leader’s heart sank.

So they really had taken advantage of the chaos and escaped during the fight.

“Come on,” Sophia said, pointing again. Excitement flashed in her eyes. “I’ll take you out.”

How strong the Titan Ape leader truly was, she couldn’t predict.

But she knew this: once it got outside, it would be able to sweep through everything.

At that point, revenge wouldn’t just be possible—it would be easy. Even storming Clearford’s compound and taking it for herself would stop being a fantasy.

She’d lost so much.

It was time she got paid back.