Alex stared at Ethan without a moment's hesitation. Judging from his Crystal Points, Alex believed he was now a match for Ethan.
Furthermore, he was surrounded by a group of powerful companions. If Alex had previously needed courage to confront Ethan head-on through sheer force, now he felt no intimidation from raw power alone.
Ethan looked at Alex, his expression shifting between gloom and astonishment. Although he had previously sensed a potential threat from Alex, the danger posed by the zombie tsunami had temporarily suppressed any thoughts of confronting him, leaving the issue for another day once the crisis was resolved.
Luckily, Alex's squad had been decimated. The leader-type zombie had summoned the zombie tsunami back, and Alex had narrowly escaped death, leaving Ethan to believe he was truly gone.
Unexpectedly, Alex reappeared about two weeks later. His Crystal Points had reached approximately 400. He had subdued the Black Cloud Leopard and even gained a new companion with 200 Crystal Points…
This sudden appearance caught Ethan completely off guard.
Not to mention whether it was appropriate to attack Alex now — even if Ethan wanted to, he had no idea how he could possibly defeat them.
"Chief, what brings you to me today?" Alex asked bluntly, staring at Ethan.
Ethan took a deep breath, suppressing his inner restlessness, and said, "I heard you just returned, so I have something to discuss with you…"
Ethan then informed Alex that a zombie was hiding within the base. Naturally, he asked Alex and his team to do their utmost to locate the hidden threat.
To be able to launch a surprise attack and assassinate a Level 3 Awakener, this hidden zombie must itself be at Level 3.
Although Alex harbored some resentment toward Ethan, when it came to the base, Alex naturally took the lead.
After all, this base had been founded by his father — a labor of love. Alex naturally hoped it would thrive if possible.
After a brief discussion about how Alex and his team could help, Ethan and his men departed.
Leaving Alex's house, Ethan's face was so gloomy it looked as if water might drip from it.
As night fell, Alex and his team dispersed, searching for zombies hiding within the base. The residents of Greenridge Base had already gone home early, locking their doors.
At night, the fear seemed to intensify, as zombie attacks usually occurred under the cover of darkness.
Of course, Alex and his team's primary focus was on Daniel. With his land-manipulation abilities, he was exceptionally skilled at detecting zombies hiding underground.
Daniel spent the entire night exploring most of the base, but found nothing.
Surprisingly, no one encountered any zombie attacks during the night — which was also good news.
In the following days, the Greenridge Base combatants, including Alex, conducted nightly searches. Daniel also walked back and forth through the base several times, but still found nothing.
And so, about two weeks passed. After searching for half a month, no one had found the hidden zombie. Similarly, no one had encountered any zombie attacks during this period, and the fear among the survivors at Greenridge Base gradually eased.
"The zombies' movements have been getting less intense lately. It seems they may have left the base long ago…" Claire occasionally remarked when Alex and the others gathered.
Her words drew nods from Daniel, Max, and the others standing nearby.
No one had been attacked in half a month, and Daniel had scoured the Greenridge Base for days, even circling it several times, yet couldn't detect any zombies hiding underground. Perhaps the hidden zombies had truly left.
"Well, if they've really left, that's a blessing," Alex nodded.
Daniel hadn't found any signs for so long, and no one had been attacked by zombies, so Alex felt confident that the hidden zombies might have truly departed.
Perhaps the leader-type zombies knew that, with the plant-type zombies hiding underground, there was no chance of success, so they summoned them back.
Whatever the case, the story of the zombies hiding in the Greenridge Base seemed to have come to an end with a whimper.
Lily, perhaps because they had been apart for over half a month, had become even more dependent on Alex since his return. For the past two weeks, she had been practically inseparable from him.
Over the past two weeks, Alex had noticed a significant improvement in Lily's strength. The development of her Nature-type Snow-Snow Fruit had also advanced, and her power was growing stronger.
Even Lily had reached the level of a Level 3 Awakener, and Alex was naturally pleased for her.
Speaking of which, Alex now realized that the power around him had truly reached an astonishing level.
There were four Level 3 Awakeners: himself, Claire, Daniel, and Lily. Adding the Ink Cloud Leopard, this force was truly formidable, and all of them were combat-focused Awakeners.
Of course, the stronger his power grew, the more Alex feared Ethan might attack him.
Furthermore, with the hidden zombies and the threat of the zombie surge outside the Greenridge Base resolved, Alex felt that Ethan now had more time and might strike at any moment.
As Alex had anticipated, Ethan seemed to be diligently cultivating his relationships with the other council members in the days that followed, hoping to gain their support.
Naturally, Alex had been taking action during these days, spending more time with the council members he had a good relationship with.
The zombie crisis had been resolved, the zombies had retreated to Ashen City, and the hidden zombies had disappeared for no apparent reason. The entire Greenridge Base had returned to a peaceful life.
However, this peace was relative to the ordinary survivors. Anyone with a little sensitivity could notice that the atmosphere of the entire base seemed to have changed in recent days. There was a faint sense of oppression before the storm.
That night, Alex stayed in his room, quietly looking at his palm.
It had been nearly a month since he returned, and the computer-like pattern on his palm had gradually been completed.
Buzz!
Finally, when the pattern was completed, the palm of his hand turned into a vortex of time and space, and Alex was sucked in without any resistance, starting his Sixth World Crossing journey...