CHAPTER 320: CHAPTER 320 THREE DAYS LATER

Liam slid his arm behind Ann’s neck and pulled her gently toward him, wrapping her in a sudden embrace that caught her off guard. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to.

Ann let out a small gasp at first, surprised, but quickly melted into the hug. His touch was warm, steady, familiar.

Liam brought his other hand up and ran it through her hair, deliberately tousling it until the neat waves she’d managed to comb earlier turned into a chaotic mess.

Ann squealed softly. "Hey!" she laughed. "It took me like five minutes to do that!"

Liam smiled lazily, still running his fingers through her tangled hair. "Five minutes too long."

Ann tried to look annoyed, but the way her eyes shone and the grin spreading on her lips gave her away completely. She was happy. Genuinely happy for the first time in weeks.

Liam raised her chin with two fingers and looked into her face. Her hair was a mess now, wild and all over the place—but somehow, it made her look even more attractive. Something about her being that unfiltered, that real, only made her hotter. Her eyes, her lips, her soft expression... everything screamed warmth.

He didn’t hesitate.

He leaned in and kissed her.

Ann blinked for a moment, then responded instantly. Her arms wrapped around his torso as she pulled him closer, kissing him back with a soft urgency that had been buried inside her for far too long. She missed this—his kiss, his breath, the way his lips felt against hers. She missed him. All of him.

Their kiss deepened just for a moment, then Liam pulled away slightly, still grinning, his forehead resting against hers.

Then, without warning, he let himself fall back onto the bed, his back hitting the mattress with a soft bounce.

"I need a long nap," he mumbled, eyes already halfway closed.

Ann looked at him in surprise. "What? Wait, what do you mean by—?"

But before she could finish the sentence, Liam was already breathing evenly, eyes shut, completely knocked out.

Ann stared at him, speechless for a moment.

He looked peaceful. Like everything inside him had finally quieted down. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw him like this—so still, so unburdened.

She lay beside him and gently pulled the blanket up. Then, with a soft sigh, she reached out and ran her fingers lightly across his cheek. His skin was still warm.

"Thank you," she whispered.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Ann closed her eyes... and felt peace.

———

Liam didn’t know how much time had passed.

When his eyes opened, the room felt completely different. There was no pain stabbing into his skull. No dizziness. No fire crawling under his skin. The weakness that had been clinging to him was finally gone, replaced by a slight soreness in his arms and legs—manageable. It felt like he had just walked out of a battle... and won.

He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. The bed beside him was empty.

Ann was gone.

He scanned the room, but there was no trace of her. No sound. Just a neatly folded blanket and the faint smell of citrus shampoo lingering in the air.

Liam stretched his arms over his head and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His muscles protested a little, but nothing major. Compared to how he felt before, this was paradise.

"Guess I should clean up," he muttered to himself.

He got to his feet and made his way to the back section of the room where the showers were rigged. He stepped in and let the water wash over him. When he emerged, he was fresh, his hair damp, dressed in clean clothes—black pants and a fitted charcoal t-shirt.

He felt... alive again.

Liam walked out of the room and made his way toward the core. The hallway was quiet, save for the distant hum of machinery. As he approached the central control area, he expected to hear Dickson complaining about something or Vanessa typing like a maniac.

Instead, there was only a soft, almost whisper-like voice echoing from the front console.

He walked in and spotted a figure hunched slightly, eyes fixed on one of the larger screens, lips moving as she mumbled under her breath.

The girl was alone, completely focused on what she was watching.

Liam stepped closer, then saw her side profile—and recognized her instantly.

Seo-yeon.

"What’s going on?" he asked.

His voice broke the silence.

Seo-yeon gasped and nearly jumped out of her seat. Her head snapped to the side. When she saw Liam, her jaw dropped slightly.

"Y-you’re awake?" she stammered.

Liam raised a brow. "Why are you looking at me like that? I just took a nap. Isn’t it normal I’m awake?"

Seo-yeon blinked and shook her head like she was trying to reset her brain.

"No, Liam... you’ve been asleep for three days."

He froze.

His brows furrowed as her words sank in.

"...What?"

His voice was quiet, low, but his expression said everything. Eyes wide, jaw clenched slightly, disbelief spreading across his face like a wave.

Three days?

Liam’s expression shifted slightly as he absorbed Seo-yeon’s words. Three days of sleep. That explained why he felt so different, so rested.

Still, he didn’t feel like wasting time dwelling on it.

"Guess I needed it," he muttered.

Seo-yeon turned back toward the screens, but Liam stayed put, watching her carefully.

"What’s been happening while I was out?" he asked.

Seo-yeon was quiet for a moment. Her fingers hovered above the keyboard, and her eyes stayed glued to one of the monitors for a few seconds longer before she slowly turned in her chair to face him.

"A lot," she finally said.

Liam tilted his head. "What do you mean, a lot?"

Seo-yeon turned the chair completely around now, facing him fully, her tone more serious than before.

"Since the event three days ago... everything’s gone downhill fast. The city’s barely recognizable now."

Liam furrowed his brows. "Explain."

Seo-yeon leaned back slightly in her chair. "During the past three days, the city’s population dropped to about forty percent. Most people left. Evacuated. The roads are packed, the trains out of the city are overloaded. Everyone who could run... ran."

Liam didn’t respond right away. He crossed his arms slowly, listening.

"There’s no proper leadership left," she continued. "The police are overwhelmed. And the freaks, they’re getting bolder. Breaking into banks, looting shops, setting fire to random buildings. It’s chaos out there. Pure chaos."

Liam’s jaw tightened. "So... the system collapsed."

Seo-yeon nodded. "Pretty much."

Liam exhaled slowly, pressing a hand against the side of his neck. He didn’t need a mirror to know that this was worse than he thought. He had expected chaos, maybe even panic, but this level of collapse in just three days?

"What about the Crimson Hand?" he asked.

Seo-yeon paused for a second.

"They’ve disappeared."

Liam’s eyes narrowed. "Disappeared?"

She nodded again. "No activity. No signals. No movement. They’ve gone completely silent. Not even the regular street rumors are giving us anything."

Liam blinked slowly, then tilted his head again. "Wait... how do you know about the Crimson Hand?"

Seo-yeon gave him a small smirk. "Vanessa filled us in while you were asleep. She said it didn’t make sense to keep us in the dark anymore. She gave us the rundown—who they are, what they’ve done, what we’re dealing with."

Liam nodded slowly. He had figured that conversation would happen eventually, but not while he was out cold.

"She didn’t hold back," Seo-yeon added. "We even know about the Boss."

That actually impressed him. Vanessa must’ve finally decided to bring the others into the inner circle. Maybe she was done underestimating them. Or maybe she realized that if they were all going to survive what was coming, they couldn’t afford to keep secrets.

But then Seo-yeon’s voice pulled him back to the moment.

"There’s something else," she said.

Liam turned his attention back to her.

"Even though the Crimson Hand has disappeared... someone is still handing out the serum."

Liam’s eyes darkened. "What?"

She nodded again. "Not the full-strength version, but a diluted one. The new users aren’t setting buildings on fire or glowing green, but they’re faster. Stronger. Tougher. At least for a while."

"Who’s giving it to them?" Liam asked.

"No one knows yet," Seo-yeon said. "That’s the worst part. Whoever it is, they’re working underground. No name, no face, no pattern. They’re just distributing it to thugs, low-tier criminals, gang wannabes. The streets are crawling with them now."

Liam ran a hand over his mouth slowly. "This is going to turn the entire city into a war zone."

"I thought the same," Seo-yeon replied. "But... there’s something different about these new versions. We analyzed some blood samples from the ones Vanessa and Lilith fought two days ago."

Liam raised a brow. "Lilith kept them alive?"

Seo-yeon gave a small shrug. "Alive long enough to extract what they needed."

"They found out the serum had been diluted. Big time. It still boosts physical performance, but the effect only lasts for about thirty minutes. And there are no signs of the user catching fire or losing their mind the same way the others did."

Liam let out a quiet breath. "That’s... actually a relief."

"It is," she agreed. "If the real version of the serum had gotten into the hands of random criminals, we’d all be buried by now."

Liam nodded again, processing everything.

"Where is everyone?" he asked after a moment.

Seo-yeon glanced back at the monitor, then returned her gaze to him. "They followed a lead."

"A lead?" Liam repeated.

She stood up now, stretching her arms briefly before continuing. "A possible location. Vanessa got tipped off through one of her informants. There’s a chance it could be connected to the Crimson Hand’s base of operations. Or at least a storage point."

Liam straightened slightly. "And she took everyone with her?"

"Yes," Seo-yeon said.

"Ann too?" Liam asked.

"Yeah."

"Kelly?"

Seo-yeon smiled faintly. "She wouldn’t miss it for the world."

Liam scratched his head, frowning. "That sounds like a dangerous mission."

"It is," Seo-yeon said softly. "But they’re not stupid. Vanessa and Lilith are with them. If anything goes sideways, they’ll handle it."

She looked at him with a surprising amount of confidence now, her earlier stress fading slightly.

"Besides," she added, "I doubt anything can go truly wrong when those two are leading. Total badass."

Liam nodded unconvincingly.