Now, Logan was 70% sure that unlocking the gene lock was related to intense life-or-death situations.
"You liar!!"
Ashley still wanted to question Logan, asking why he didn't keep his word.
However, the next second, she collapsed to the ground, her body convulsing violently.
"Eight seconds."
That was the time it took from Ashley dodging the bullet to collapsing.
Logan watched her closely.
This time, Ashley hadn't lost consciousness, but her body was reacting just as it had the first time.
"Does it hurt?"
Logan observed that the side effects of unlocking the gene lock were far more severe on Ashley than what he had observed before.
This time, blood seeped from Ashley's ears, nose, and the corners of her mouth, and her eyes were filled with bloodshot veins.
Ashley couldn't make a sound. She stared at Logan with an unmistakable look in her eyes:
Kill!
Seventeen minutes later, the side effects of the gene lock subsided, and Ashley finally fell unconscious.
Logan pocketed his handgun and stabbed a knife into Ashley's heart, ending her life.
He glanced at his watch; it was already past 3 a.m.
It was time to leave.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to store the bodies of Dr. Blackwood and Ashley in his space, just in case someone might later discover something from the bodies.
Outside, strong winds had picked up at some point, causing the windows of the Taekwondo gym to rattle.
The indoor temperature, which had been around ten degrees before they slept, had dropped to around ten degrees Celsius, and the outdoor temperature was likely only five or six degrees.
Logan changed into warmer clothes from his storage, then grabbed his flashlight and quietly left the South City Arts Academy.
The dark streets were silent, and puddles of water left by the hail were still visible on the ground.
After walking for a few hundred meters, Logan pulled out a shared bike and strapped the flashlight to the front.
He pedaled towards the South City Cross-sea Bridge.
With several bodies in his space, although they were preserved and wouldn't rot, the thought of storing them alongside so much food was unsettling.
Logan decided to dispose of the bodies under the cover of darkness.
After traveling a few kilometers, the surrounding area began to fog up, and visibility decreased.
On the road, he occasionally spotted a corpse or two, victims of the hailstorm.
Some had their heads crushed, with their brains splattered across the ground. Others were bloodied, with pools of blood spread across the street.
The eerie silence and the grotesque sight of the bodies in the dark made the scene exceptionally terrifying.
But Logan remained indifferent. He had seen far too many corpses during the apocalypse and had long since become desensitized to such sights.
The hailstorm had hit South City at night. If it had occurred during the day, as it had in Harbor City in his previous life, the death toll would have been even higher.
...
Twenty minutes later.
Several bodies splashed into the sea one by one, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
Logan also took the opportunity to wash the bulletproof SUV, cleaning all the bloodstains from the interior before driving the SUV back to his safe house.
At this time of night, it was unlikely anyone would be out, and even if someone heard the sound of the car, they wouldn't see who was driving.
With the high clearance of the SUV, he didn't need to stop to move any corpses out of the way; he could just drive over them.
It was much more convenient than riding a shared bike in the cold wind.
Logan naturally wouldn't foolishly choose to keep biking in such freezing weather.
As he drove through the city, some people heard the sound of a car passing by their building.
"Honey, wake up! I think I heard a car!"
"Go back to sleep, darling. You must be dreaming."
...
"A car? Is there really still a car running?"
Someone opened a window and glanced outside but quickly shut it again as the cold wind whipped into their face.
...
The roads were occasionally blocked by corpses and debris, so Logan kept his speed at a moderate 50-60 kilometers per hour.
As dawn broke, Logan parked the SUV back into his space and switched back to riding the shared bike.
As the day grew brighter, Logan noticed more hurried pedestrians on the road than there had been the day before.
And almost all of them were young adults.
Yesterday, many had still been wearing short sleeves, but today, everyone had donned long-sleeve jackets, although most of them still looked too thin for the weather.
Just as Logan had expected, in South City, a city where it was nearly summer year-round, the residents were almost completely unprepared for winter clothing.
The fog was thickening, and snowflakes were starting to fall, an occurrence almost unheard of in South City.
Even the most oblivious people were starting to realize something was wrong.
Those who had been rushing to buy food yesterday were now scrambling to buy warm clothing and blankets.
Many people were so cold their lips had turned blue, but despite the biting cold, they had no choice but to go out.
At home, the elderly and children were in dire need of cold-weather supplies.
But how many of the family breadwinners would survive the day to return home?
The blizzard was approaching.
Logan saw some people, unable to bear the cold, smashing the windows of closed shops.
They ripped down curtains or took whatever they could to keep warm.
Order was beginning to collapse.
In the apocalypse, anything was possible when it came to survival.
By around 6 a.m., Logan finally arrived back in Dragonsrest Village, where his safehouse was located.
The mountain where his safe house was located lay behind the village. He would either have to go around the village or pass through it.
Knowing the nature of the Dragonsrest Village residents, Logan naturally chose to take the longer route around to avoid unnecessary trouble.
But today, a group of villagers was gathered right on the road he had to pass.
...
On the cement road outside the village.
More than ten villagers, armed with kitchen knives, hoes, machetes, and wooden clubs, had formed a circle in the middle of the road.
Loud shouting could be heard from the group.
"Hit it! Hit it!"
"Kill it!"
"Ethy, go for it! It's freezing, and I've been craving a hot pot with dog meat for a while now!"
"What are you scared of? It's just an animal! There's so many of us!"
"Yeah, why don't you go first?!"
In the center of the villagers, a severely wounded dog snarled at them, baring its teeth and growling menacingly.
From its size, it was clearly a large dog, though its coat was filthy, covered in black and yellow dirt, hiding its true color.
Its round eyes were filled with ferocity, and its sharp, bloodstained teeth gleamed as it bared its fangs.
What was even more surprising was that the dog had heterochromatic eyes—its left eye was sea-blue, while its right was blood-red.
"It's just an animal! We have so many! How could it bite us to death?! Kill it, and we'll each get several pounds of meat. You can't even buy meat at the market now!"
The one speaking was Ethan Brooks, the same man who had tried to extort Logan outside his safe house a few days ago.
Though Ethan Brooks made sense, no one wanted to go first.
They were all waiting for someone else to draw the dog's attention so they could take it down safely.
Who would want to be bitten for nothing?
Finally, the village elder, the oldest among them, made a decision:
"Enough. Ethan, Hank, you two are the strongest here. You go first."
Ethan Brooks and Hank exchanged a glance, reading each other's thoughts.
Hank grumbled in dissatisfaction:
"Uncle, if you say that, I'll just go home. Why do Ethy and I always have to take the lead?"
Ethan chimed in, supporting Hank:
"Exactly. Last time, I had to go up the mountain, and it ended with my dad breaking his arm. I still haven't gotten a penny from that bastard!"
Yesterday, Ethan had spent half the day shouting and banging on the door of Logan's safe house, exhausting himself, but Logan never came out. He was already in a foul mood.
Now he was out of money, having spent thousands on medical bills.
Ethan swore to himself that the next time he saw Logan, he would make him pay.
Who could have guessed—speak of the devil, and he appears.
The sharp screech of brakes pierced the air, and Logan, his vision obscured by the snow and fog, didn't notice the villagers until he was only a dozen meters away.
The villagers saw Logan, and Logan saw them.
Raising his machete, Ethan pointed at Logan and bellowed:
"You brat! Finally found you!!"