Apocalypse—Bonds of Abundance

Chapter 007: The Girl Trapped in the Frozen Street I

Williams stared at the floating words, struggling to process what he had just seen.

He had remembered the apocalypse, prepared for the coming cold, and secured enough wealth and resources to survive it.

But nothing in his previous life had prepared him for a system that claimed it could create the very things humanity was about to lose.

More information began scrolling across the translucent blue interface, listing several locked functions: heat generation, food creation, clean-water production, atmospheric purification, and electricity generation.

Williams studied the list carefully. Most of the functions remained inaccessible, though a basic thermal ability was already available. However, even that required him to fulfill the system’s initial conditions before he could make full use of it.

Before he could investigate further, another warning appeared.

—First bond must be established before primary functions unlock—

Williams narrowed his eyes at the message. A bond? What exactly did the system mean by that?

He focused on the question, and the interface responded almost immediately.

–A genuine connection built through mutual trust, meaningful choice, and shared commitment–

Williams understood that he could not simply buy someone’s loyalty or force them into an agreement. The system demanded a genuine connection, something that money and coercion alone could never guarantee.

Yet the exact nature of the bond it required remained unclear.

Outside, the wind howled with increasing ferocity. A transformer exploded somewhere nearby, flooding the street with a flash of blue-white light before plunging several houses into darkness.

Moments later, screams echoed through the neighborhood as residents began to realize that the sudden freeze was far more dangerous than an ordinary spell of extreme weather.

Williams clenched his fist as the blue interface continued to glow before him. He had already experienced one apocalypse and paid for it with his life.

This time, he intended to do more than simply survive. He would seize every advantage available to him and ensure that no one could ever put him at the mercy of others again.

As if responding to his determination, a final message materialized on the interface.

—First bond target identified: Elena Voss. Distance: 1.8 kilometers. Vital condition: deteriorating—

Williams raised his head, staring toward the darkened city beyond the mansion walls. The strange System had given him a target, and the warning about her deteriorating condition suggested that he had little time to act.

“Elena Voss,” he muttered, studying the floating interface as the name glowed in the cold blue light.

He had never met her. Not in his previous life, which had ended barefoot in the snow, nor in any memory he could recall.

Yet the system had singled her out, displaying her location and deteriorating condition as though their meeting had already been decided.

He focused on the questions forming in his mind, and the interface responded almost immediately.

–Elena Voss. Age: 23. A medical student completing her clinical placements at a teaching hospital two districts away. Intelligent, physically capable, and fiercely independent. Current status: outside, attempting to help an injured stranger while the temperature continued to plummet–

Williams read through the information twice. The System offered no further explanation, nor did it promise that Elena would accept his help.

It merely indicated that their encounter could provide the foundation for the genuine bond required to unlock its primary functions.

His jaw tightened. Whatever the System expected of him, he would have to figure it out along the way.

The map expanded across his vision, revealing a narrow street less than two kilometers from the mansion.

Swirling snow had already begun to bury the road, and visibility was rapidly deteriorating. Under normal circumstances, the distance would have been insignificant.

But with traffic lights failing and ice spreading across the streets, even a short journey could become dangerous.

Williams considered sending a security team to retrieve Elena. The idea seemed reasonable enough, but he quickly dismissed it.

The System had identified her as his first bond target, and he suspected that sending someone else in his place would not satisfy its requirements.

If he wanted to unlock the System's abilities, he would have to go himself.

After checking the mansion’s emergency heating system and exchanging a few words with the site manager, Williams prepared to leave.

He changed into insulated winter clothing, pulled on waterproof boots and heavy gloves, then shrugged into a thick emergency coat. He also packed a medical kit, thermal blankets, bottled water, and a compact battery-powered heater into a weatherproof bag.

Every item served a purpose. He had no intention of dying for a stranger on the first night of his second life, especially when he had worked so hard to prepare for the apocalypse.

The head of security intercepted him at the inner door, his brows furrowed with concern.

“Keep the gates sealed,” Williams instructed. “If the power goes out, prioritize the completed safe rooms and switch to the backup generator. Don't wait for instructions from the city.”

The security chief studied him, his expression growing more serious. “Sir–you truly believe this is that bad?”

Williams met his gaze without hesitation. “Look at the temperature readings. Look at what's happening to the buildings. The entire neighborhood is already losing control.”

He offered no further explanation. There was little point trying to convince someone who had yet to understand the scale of the disaster. Williams stepped through the door before the man could ask another question.

The moment he emerged outside, the severity of the freeze became impossible to ignore.

The street had changed dramatically in the short time he had spent inside. Cars crawled through the snow, their headlights illuminating narrow paths through the swirling white.

Several abandoned vehicles sat at awkward angles against the curb, their drivers apparently having given up on reaching their destinations.

Pedestrians hurried along the sidewalks with their heads bowed against the wind, their faces strained with fear as they searched for any open building that could offer shelter.

An emergency alert crackled through a nearby public-address speaker, urging residents to remain indoors and conserve electricity. The recorded voice maintained a reassuring calm, as though the city were dealing with an ordinary winter storm.

Williams shook his head slightly and pulled his coat tighter. Then he continued forward.