บท 63: Chapter 63: Max Knight's Evolution
The alert jolted Logan out of bed, heart racing.
Within two meters?!
That meant whatever the source beast was, it was in his room!
What kind of source beast could bypass his shelter's defenses and enter his room?
Every hair on Logan's body stood on end.
But after scanning the room, he realized that apart from himself, the only other living being there was Max Knight, lying on the carpet.
There were no other creatures.
Max Knight had woken up from the noise and was now looking at Logan, their eyes meeting in confusion.
Seeing Logan awake, Max Knight happily approached, wagging his tail and nuzzling him.
After a few moments, Logan finally figured it out.
The source beast the Cornucopia had detected was none other than Max Knight.
He was utterly shocked.
Upon closer inspection, Max Knight didn't appear to have changed much externally.
However, the gruesome wounds on his body had scabbed over completely overnight.
Even the sutures Logan had done were mostly healed.
At this rate of recovery, Max Knight would likely be fully healed in just a few days.
What an incredible healing ability!
Once the shock passed, Logan was filled with joy.
"I've actually become partners with a source beast?"
For once, Logan grinned, revealing his full set of white teeth. He patted Max Knight repeatedly.
Max Knight's heterochromatic eyes seemed even more expressive, with the blue one becoming clearer and the red one more intense.
Beasts that evolved into source beasts also had increased intelligence, so Logan extended two fingers and asked:
"How many is this?"
"Woof woof!"
"And how about this?"
"Woof woof woof!"
"How much is this plus this?"
"Woof woof woof woof woof!"
...
After some testing, Logan confirmed that Max Knight's intelligence was roughly equivalent to that of a ten-year-old human child.
It was possible that with further learning, his intelligence would increase even more.
Carefully, Logan removed the stitches from Max Knight's wounds.
He guessed that Max Knight had already absorbed a substantial amount of source material prior to this, reaching a critical point for evolution.
That was likely why he had evolved after consuming the pills Logan had given him.
After removing the stitches, Max Knight licked Logan in appreciation.
"Good boy," Logan said, patting Max Knight's head.
Just like before, Max Knight wagged his tail happily upon hearing Logan's praise.
The evolution into a source beast hadn't changed Max Knight's temperament at all.
Throughout the rest of the day, Logan continued observing Max Knight, confirming his earlier thoughts.
He had a strong feeling that Max Knight would become his greatest asset aside from the Cornucopia.
...
Three more days passed.
The snowstorm continued, turning the city—one that had never seen snow before—into a frozen wasteland.
Temperatures had plummeted to below -30°C, and at night, they dropped even further, reaching -50°C or lower.
Although Logan had never been to South City in his previous life, he remembered that Harbor City had experienced temperatures of -50°C on the fourth day of the apocalypse, with nighttime lows reaching -80°C.
By now, the temperatures in the north must have dropped to between -70°C and -90°C.
Had Logan been in Harbor City, he would have seen that the daytime temperatures there had already reached -60°C, with nighttime temperatures falling to -80°C or even -90°C (-130°F).
In the far north, anyone equipped with thermal imaging devices would have noticed that almost no living beings remained.
The cities near the northernmost regions showed no signs of life.
This extreme cold apocalypse was even harsher than the last.
...
During these days, Logan stayed in his safehouse, eating, drinking, and practicing the Health Preservation Technique with Max Knight.
Outside, the temperature was over -30°C, but inside, thanks to the stove, it was a comfortable +20°C (68°F).
While other survivors bundled themselves in all the clothes, curtains, and bedsheets they could find, struggling to fend off the bitter cold, Logan lounged in his safehouse in shorts and a t-shirt.
On days when he worked up a sweat practicing the Health Preservation Technique, he even treated himself to a glass of freshly squeezed juice.
The continuous snowstorm had left many survivors in the high-rises they had once been proud of now regretting their choice.
After the snowstorm shattered their windows and glass doors, cold wind howled through their homes, leaving the apartments in ruins.
Not only was there no electricity, but the water pipes had frozen solid as well.
With no running water, survivors resorted to collecting snow in basins and buckets to melt for use.
After cracking numerous plastic containers, they finally remembered to dig out their long-forgotten stainless steel basins.
When the natural gas supply was cut off, those without propane were left eating cold food, waiting helplessly for rescue.
But Logan, having sealed his well beforehand, and with water pipes running six meters underground into the safehouse, still had access to water.
And even if the well froze, he had installed a stainless steel water tank beneath the safehouse when it was built, ensuring his water supply remained unaffected.
Every day, Logan enjoyed roasted meat, hotpot, and fish stew.
When he was bored, he watched shows he had downloaded and even started giving Max Knight a basic education.
Aside from not being able to go outside to play, and needing to shovel snow occasionally, his life was hardly different from before the apocalypse.
The villagers at the foot of the mountain, however, were faring much worse.
After fleeing from Logan, another dozen or so people had been killed by the mutated wild boar.
When those who had stayed behind realized that within just a few hours, the group of dozens had returned with their numbers significantly reduced, chaos broke out.
Upon hearing what had happened on the mountain and losing their village elder, the villagers were in turmoil.
Some wept and wailed, some wanted to seek help from the security officers, and others prepared to arm themselves and head up the mountain for revenge.
The village was a chaotic mess.
Then the snowstorm hit.
Though the villagers had lived in South City for decades, they had no real experience in dealing with the cold.
The windows in their self-built homes were not as thick as the soundproof glass used in the city.
On the first night, most of the windows in the village shattered due to the sudden temperature drop, compounded by the fierce snowstorm.
Fortunately, the villagers had some wood and other basic construction materials stored at home. They managed to repair their homes enough to survive the night.
But by morning, one-third of the villagers had fallen ill with fevers.
Even with the makeshift repairs, their windows were still drafty, and many families had to move their beds into windowless rooms or ground-floor living rooms.
However, the villagers were better off than those in the city in some ways.
Most households still used propane tanks, and many cooked with wood stoves.
They also had candles and flashlights stocked up, so food and lighting weren't major issues.
But as the snowstorm continued for days, many of the sick villagers couldn't hold on any longer.
Several elderly villagers quietly passed away in the howling storm.
...
On one particular morning, those fortunate enough to wake from their sleep found that the blizzard, which had raged for several days, had finally ceased.
Even the long-lost sun had reappeared in the sky.
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