Passing by the SUVs, Logan felt multiple eyes fall on him.
"It's only a couple hundred meters," Logan muttered, his breath rasped.
Summoning what little energy he had left, Logan looked around him, wary of any other people coming after him.
'While it isn't necessary, David's father could easily have me killed if he wanted to bury this incident,' Logan worried. 'As long as I'm alive, anything can be done. That's all that matters.'
Continuing on, he saw countless more SUVs parked at the side of the road with countless more men in suits spread out everywhere.
'Hell, it looks like some of them are on top of apartments too,' Logan thought, confused.
'Whatever it is, I couldn't care less.'
Exhausted and in immense pain, he felt numb to everything around him.
Reaching the final street he had to cross in front of his apartment, he noticed a few armored SUVs with what appeared to be engravings written within the armor.
Just as he stepped off the curb, a man wearing a suit and sunglasses blocked his path..
"Are you Mr. Mercer?" The man asked, expressionlessly.
Confused, Logan looked at the man. "I'm Logan Mercer, yes."
"Wait here, please," the man said, reaching for his earpiece as he took a few steps back.
"What?" Logan asked simply, too tired to think.
He'd gone completely numb from the pain, barely holding on to his consciousness while he waited for the man to come back.
Waiting for minutes, Logan felt his consciousness drift away.
Finally, he couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed on the ground.
Then, darkness and silence.
After an unknown amount of time, he felt something warm again. Then he heard it — a low beeping noise, followed by mumbles of an unknown voice.
Logan blinked, blurring the lights above him.
'Where am I?'
His entire body ached, but he no longer felt the pain coming from his side. As he moved his arms in an attempt to sit up, he felt a tug on one of them and realized he was hooked up to an IV.
'Hospital? I can't afford that,' Logan thought, panicked.
Trying to sit up, a soft chime sounded from beside his bed.
"You're awake," a calm, unfamiliar voice said.
Logan turned his head. Beside him sat a mature woman in a nurse uniform, holding a tablet with some kind of blue hologram above it.
"Please try not to move too much, sir," the woman asked very politely. "You've been unconscious for 8 hours."
"8 hours?" Logan repeated, squeezing the words out of his mouth.
"Where... am I?" he then asked, looking at the unfamiliar high-tech environment.
"Sir Silas is coming over here as we speak to explain your situation," the nurse replied, bowing her head slightly.
A few minutes went by as Logan lay there in utter confusion.
Observing around him, he saw all kinds of holograms of the human body and equipment that seemed way too fancy for a regular hospital.
'Also, who is Sir Silas?'
'Whatever happens next, even if I'm in debt the entire rest of my life, at least I still survived.'
As Logan sunk deeper into his thoughts, he heard heavy footsteps come from the other side of the door.
Looking up, Logan saw two metal doors slide open as a tall, middle-aged man stepped through.
"I see you've woken up," the man said calmly. Measuring Logan with his cold eyes, the man gave a nod.
"Logan Mercer, age 18, assumed orphan, F-rank affinity," the man continued, as if reading off a script.
"Who are you?" Logan asked, cautious.
"Silas Verrick. Director of Internal Operations for the Mercer Estate."
There was no arrogance in his voice, as if it wasn't impressive in the slightest.
But Logan's heart skipped a beat.
He'd heard of this man before on several news reports. This man had an S-rank affinity and held a diamond-grade core.
He was responsible for leading a large attack party to a particularly difficult S-rank cave a few years ago, which had been a wide success.
'His primary Blue-Ice affinity was a widely discussed topic for a long time after that.'
'But what would someone like him want with me?'
"What do you want from me, Mr. Silas?" Logan asked politely, not wanting to risk offending him.
He stepped closer and tapped something on his wristband. A screen blinked into existence beside Logan's bed, displaying a heartbeat line and a glowing image of Logan's face, his name, and underneath it: GENETIC MATCH – 98.7% | STATUS: BLOODLINE CONFIRMED.
"I am here to inform you of your inheritance," Silas said. "The core Mercer bloodline is gone. Missing, presumed dead. That makes you the only known heir with verified lineage."
"Wha..." Logan couldn't speak, his mind blown away.
"So whether you've earned this or not, you are to inherit the family businesses and fortune," Silas continued calmly.
"Wait, what?" Logan finally managed, his voice cracking as the words left his mouth. "You're saying… I'm supposed to take over one of the most powerful families in the country?"
He shook his head, accidentally ripping the IV out of his arm as he sat up. "But that doesn't make any sense. I'm just a nobody."
Silas didn't react, most likely already expecting a reaction like this.
He waited until Logan calmed down — which, to his surprise, happened quickly.
Logan sat still, still breathing heavily as he stared at the floor. Filled with disbelief and confusion, countless thoughts ran through his mind.
That's when Silas spoke.
"You were indeed a nobody. But that part of your life is over now."
He turned slightly, tapping his wristband again. The screen beside the bed changed — now displaying a series of holographic images: massive estates, private academies, and a long, branching family tree that stopped at Logan's name.
"All these assets and connections are yours now," Silas said.
Logan looked at the holograph with interest, but he'd also figured out that this wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.
"So all of this just… falls to me?" he muttered, his eyes fixed on the hologram.
He didn't sound excited anymore. Just confused. Careful.
Silas gave a faint nod, arms behind his back.
"Legally, yes."
Logan's eyes stayed on the estates and holdings spinning in front of him.
"Legally, huh," Logan muttered. "So I guess that makes me a target now, too."
It wasn't a question.
Silas didn't flinch. "You became a target the moment the system confirmed your blood."
A faint chill went up Logan's spine.
He didn't know a lot about corporate wars or succession laws, but he'd lived long enough to know that people killed for money and a massive amount of it had just landed on his back.
"Why me? And why now?" Logan asked, confused. It had been a year since the Mercer family had disappeared, after all.
"Your father anticipated certain… complications," Silas explained. "He left standing orders. If no member of the primary bloodline was found or returned within one year, all claims and responsibilities would pass to the closest verified relative."
"And that's me," Logan muttered.