The night deepened, and the campfire flickered in the forest, casting mottled light.
Sharp adamantium claws glinted coldly in the firelight when the fake Logan, like a bolt of lightning, pounced on Victor. The gust of wind caused by his charge disrupted the flames, making them flicker.
Victor narrowed his eyes and quickly dodged, claws extended, engaging in a fierce struggle with the fake Logan.
Laura, crouching by the campfire, watched the two suddenly engage in combat, momentarily lost. Her glassy eyes scanned the two men, her head tilted in confusion.
The fake Logan's metal claws were incredibly sharp, dancing in the darkness, scattering cold light. The surrounding trees were swept by the cold blades, splitting branches instantly, the branches falling in the firelight.
On the other hand, Victor's tiger claws were equally formidable. Every punch he threw produced a dull whistle, his explosive power—combining speed and strength—allowing him to handle even sneak attacks with ease.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of dull crashes echoed in the silent forest. Claw against claw, fist against fist, every move was a deadly blow. In just a few minutes, both men's chests were covered in scratches, their clothes completely torn; the horrific wounds were too painful to look at. Crimson blood seeped out, dripping onto the grassy path.
Boom!
Their eyes glowed with ferocity, their murderous instincts burning. Simultaneously they threw punches, their fists colliding. The powerful force instantly created a hurricane; the campfire flickered. The two men were thrown back by the force, rolling through the grass, blood pouring from their fists.
Dissipating their energy, they quickly stood up and charged forward, throwing themselves back into the fight.
The stalemate didn't last long. Victor's aging body couldn't withstand a prolonged fight. Although his explosive power remained, his stamina was much lower than before, and his strikes slowed down.
The fake Logan seized the opportunity, grabbing Victor's arm and pulling it away with force, while his other hand closed into a fist and smashed into Victor's chest.
Boom!
The dull blow echoed again; the terrifying force sent him flying, crashing hard against a large tree behind him. The trunk shook and leaves scattered everywhere.
Cough!
Victor stood up with difficulty, coughing up blood. A piercing pain shot through his chest, but he gritted his teeth and endured it, staring fixedly at the approaching fake Logan, his eyes icy. He leaped forward again.
The two were engaged in a fierce battle once more, the scene chaotic.
But Victor, lacking stamina, finally couldn't resist the fake Logan's relentless onslaught. He caught an opening and a punch hit him in the chest.
In that moment, the fake Logan unleashed a savage and terrifying power. Victor felt his chest cave in, coughing a mouthful of blood, and his body was sent flying instantly, crashing hard into the campfire. The flames scattered and Victor's clothes caught fire, sending sparks everywhere.
The heat made Victor panic, and he rushed to reach out to put out the flames on his clothes.
Zas!
Seeing this, the fake Logan's adamantium claws shot out, pouncing on Victor again, their cold light shining. Victor narrowed his eyes sharply, unable to dodge them.
Just as the steel claws were about to pierce Victor, in an instant, a dark figure pounced on him, knocking down the fake Logan.
"Are you okay?" Logan asked Victor behind him, his gaze fixed on the fallen impostor.
"It's nothing." Victor gasped, watching Logan's figure as he stepped away, but he didn't dare relax for a second. He asked in a low voice: "Are you the real one or an impostor?"
The impostor, created with Logan's genes, was too similar to the real Logan, which made him suspicious.
"When you were a kid at the manor in Canada, you would dig a small hole in the bathrooms and used to peek at the maids while they were bathing. You thought no one would find out, but..."
"Shut up." Before Logan could finish, Victor quickly interrupted him: "Don't you ever mention that again!"
That said, he quickly changed the subject, looking at the fake Logan who had risen in the darkness, and said in a grave voice: "This guy's abilities are no less than ours when we were young. Those biologists took great care of you, creating clones one after another."
While speaking, he couldn't help but look at Laura.
"X-24." Logan stared at the clone in the darkness, remembering what Donald had said in that abandoned laboratory.
Dr. Rice used more than twenty test subjects, but in the end, he only managed to successfully cultivate two Wolverines: the perfect Laura X-23 and the slightly flawed X-24. Clearly, the one before them was the flawed one.
Although flawed, his claws were still made of Adamantium, and his healing factor was comparable to that of a young Wolverine, making his combat power not to be underestimated.
"No wonder he's your 'son,' he's practically identical to you." Victor, after recovering some strength, stared at X-24, whose claws glinted menacingly in the darkness.
"An impostor is still an impostor!" Logan sneered, extending his own claws with a sharp gaze.
However, the expected charge from X-24 didn't materialize. Instead, he simply stood still, his gaze fixed on Logan, without making any other move.
Just as Logan was wondering what was happening, a series of rapid footsteps approached from afar, followed by blinding flashlights illuminating the forest.
A group of heavily armed soldiers surrounded Logan and his companions in perfect formation, with dozens of rifles aiming at them, ready to riddle them with bullets at any moment.
Logan's heart sank. He quickly pulled Laura close and scanned the group.
"More than sixty, a fairly large force," Victor said, brandishing his claws with a grave and threatening voice.
Logan's gaze turned cold as he observed the nearby cave, frowning. He had originally planned to lure them to that cave, since it was practically his territory, but now it seemed the plan was going to fail.
"Logan, we meet again."
Dr. Rice emerged from the crowd following him, with a sinister smile drawn on his face, as if he were looking at caged prey. "You can't take that girl. Hand her over and I guarantee you will suffer less."
Logan turned, staring fixedly at Rice. "Do you think you can defeat me with this gang?"
"If you were younger, I certainly would have multiplied the number by ten. For now..."
Dr. Rice was barely halfway through the sentence when he clearly saw Logan's face, and his expression suddenly froze. "Wait, your face... how is it that you have rejuvenated?"
He realized that Logan now looked at least ten years younger, with far fewer wrinkles and gray hairs than in the photos he had seen before!
Logan chuckled. "What? Surprised? If it weren't for your genetically modified foods suppressing it, I might even be younger."
"That's impossible!" Rice's gaze suddenly darkened. "Your X-gene weakened long ago; there is no way you have rejuvenated!"
Logan narrowed his eyes, raised his steel claws, and said with a mocking expression: "Perhaps my abilities have evolved? Those genetically modified foods might no longer have any effect on me."
Rice was stunned, but he reacted; his face instantly revealed greed. "Logan, you are a gem. Even in your old age, you can still create all kinds of possibilities. Your genes are still fascinating."
He looked at Victor and added: "You and Laura return with us, and I will spare the others, including those little ones from your so-called Eden."
Obtaining Logan's genes and exploring the secrets of X-gene evolution was far more valuable than anything else! He had participated in the development of genetically modified foods, so he knew how strongly they suppressed the X-gene. That Logan's X-gene could autonomously evolve under such suppression was simply a biological miracle!
"Don't even think about it!" Victor stood in front of Logan, staring at Rice. "No one is leaving with you tonight!"
Then he turned to Logan and whispered: "I'll hold them off while you take Laura. This time, let me protect you!"
Victor's words comforted Logan, who smiled and said: "No need, we can leave together."
Victor, bewildered, turned to look at Logan and noticed the confidence on his face, somewhat puzzled. An X-24 and more than sixty soldiers were no match for him.
"Wait for my signal. When I tell you to get down, get down." Logan pressed Laura's head with one hand and patted Victor's shoulder with the other.
"What?" Victor was startled, and then he noticed the red flash in Logan's eyes. In that crimson gaze, he perceived a profound danger, the smell of death.
"Get down!" Logan roared suddenly, pressing hard on Victor's shoulder.
Hearing this, Dr. Rice immediately felt something was wrong.
In the next instant, crimson heat beams erupted from the dark forest, spreading intensely, instantly withering the surrounding grass, evaporating the moisture in the air and raising a mist.
Shoosh!
Two beams of red light illuminated the entire forest, mercilessly sweeping away all the surrounding enemies.