Steven could only grumble because Zayn won the argument. They got into the danger zone in New York City because Zayn was the boss, but with some terms and conditions from Steven. It would be fatal if they entered the level four danger zone with no way out.
Despite having several war vehicles and advanced weapons, the entire squad could be annihilated.
"!?" Angie suddenly sensed the presence of several high-tier intelligent creatures around the big city. They were the subject of her hunt!
Two, four, seven, and some more! Many exciting creatures caught her attention. She grew more and more excited as they entered deeper into the city area. She had no idea whether the other parties could sense her presence. Still, she would lay low by hiding her aura perfectly as usual.
Angie couldn't hide her excited expression, and Zayn could notice it. She looked left and right like a happy girlfriend on her first holiday. Unfortunately, Zayn interpreted it as something else.
"You seem happy and excited today, Angie. After we've tested our potent formula, we'll head over to that warehouse right away. Hopefully we can find a high rank monster here." Zayn glanced sideways and smiled in amusement. He could see Angie had the same passion as him.
"!~" Angie just nodded. She hoped to hunt four high-end bounties before heading to their hidden cheese cellar this afternoon.
Yet, the vehicles around Zayn's car suddenly stopped at a toll gate.
"Hmm?" Zayn was feeling confused. He thought they had agreed to enter New York City.
"Boss, we will be parking our vehicles here. We cannot bring the source of the noise any further or we may invite danger. Everyone, park the cars and turn off the engines!" Rico informed everyone via walkie-talkie.
After all the vehicles were parked in a relatively safe place, everyone went down from the overpass to the urban highway below.
"Grrr..." A black dog as big as a car with two heads growled as it sensed something approaching. However, Zayn's entourage hid before the big dog could realize their presence.
"!?" Steven screamed in his mind. They hadn't even entered the downtown area yet, but he could have seen the world's hell.
New York was already filled with many scary monsters and zombies. It was only a glance, but he could notice there were at least one or two powerful giant monsters in each block. This city was a massive den of monsters with countless zombies!
*Fwoosh* *Shatter*
Zayn threw a vial of blue liquid at the giant dog monster waiting for them near the exit. The vial shattered as it hit the dog's back. The blue liquid soon spread a subtle fragrance with devastating effects in all directions.
*Sniff* *Sniff*
"Bark, bark!" The two-headed big black dog could smell a scent that was so delicious and intoxicating. The dog went crazy to find out where the smell was coming from but couldn't find the exact source of the scent.
The surrounding monsters and zombies soon were also attracted by the scent. They rushed to the big black dog like crazy.
"!?" The big black dog was still too busy looking for the source of the intoxicating smell, but the approaching monsters made the dog aware its life might be in danger. Because of that, the big black dog rushed away as fast as possible.
*Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble*
Hundreds of monsters rushed after the big black dog like no tomorrow. Still, that situation made the surrounding area clear of monsters and zombies.
"Wow, boss. What formula did you throw in? It was insane and incredibly effective at getting those monsters to flee." Rico was stunned to see no monsters in the streets below.
"Stop talking and quickly run. We must find a safe spot to test some potent formulas for strong monsters. In this city, there are many ultra-dangerous monsters, the overlords. Move, move." Zayn took Angie's hand and rushed to a large building far from them.
"!?" All soldiers rushed to quickly follow Zayn. They didn't want to be left behind. They didn't wish to fight those monsters, only to be surrounded and die as zombie food.
"..." Zayn looked up and decided to use an apartment building as their spot to conduct field tests on the strong monsters nearby.
Psst, boss, why are we going to an apartment building? Places like this usually harbor the most surprise attacks from zombies. Rick whispered close to Zayn.
"Among all the buildings, this place still looks intact with a destruction rate below twenty percent. Isn't that a bit strange? Look at the other buildings and compare them with this place." Zayn pointed at the buildings around them but didn't stop in his tracks or let down his guard.
"..." All of the soldiers once again looked at the condition of the apartment building they were in, then compared it to the other facilities.
The place had several cracks in the walls, broken glass, blood on the floor, holes in the wall, and many others. However, the damage level was not as significant as other buildings.
The other building was like a typical building from a dead city. However, this apartment was still intact, with moderate damage.
"Perhaps, this place is the nest of a powerful monster?" Rico muttered softly.
"That could be possible, but we can't confirm it right now. We'll be waiting upstairs and setting up a game between the powerful monsters that happen to pass by. Don't act outside of my orders or I won't save you if anything should happen." Zayn glanced at everyone to convey his warning. He then went upstairs with Angie.
"Roger." Rico and the other soldiers gulped their saliva with some nervousness. They didn't know why, but they felt that Zayn looked confident and not scared at all. Angie was too.
If their boss was undaunted, they would follow along and see how this field test would turn out.
When they reached the third floor, a burly zombie clad in tattered office clothes came through the stairs.
It was not yet time for them to get involved in a clash, and avoiding the danger was an option for now.
"!!!" Zayn noticed the danger and immediately gestured for everyone to hide in a small room in the corner of the corridor.
*Tap* *Tap*
"???" The sizeable burly zombie stared at the corner of the room in surprise. He felt that something was watching him from there, but no monsters were hiding in this place.
"!?" Zayn was surprised to see through the wall with his spiritual eyes. He could clearly see the other party was not a human but a mid-rank burly zombie.
For a glance, there was nothing ordinary about the zombie. However, Zayn's speculation changed when he added that the burly zombie was carrying a plastic bag of packaged food. It was like an office man who had just returned from a convenience store. It was not the usual behavior he would encounter from a zombie.
"Something is interesting about a zombie that just came. I want to observe its movements and behavior. Exercise caution, and prepare your weapons for any possible danger." Zayn signaled to the soldiers and went out of the tool storage room.
He and everyone else followed the burly zombie to the fifth floor.
Yet, soon everyone was surprised that a zombie banged his head into an apartment door. It might look like odd behavior, but it was as if the zombie was knocking on the door.
After a few seconds, the burly zombie put the plastic bag filled with packaged food on the floor and walked away with confused zombie movements.
Zayn glanced at Angie in confusion. He couldn't understand why that burly zombie did that and that zombie didn't look like an intelligent zombie either. So, what was the zombie's goal in knocking on the door and leaving food there?
"???" Angie was more curious about why Zayn was interested in that mid-rank zombie. That zombie didn't even catch her attention.
Zayn heaved a subtle sigh and followed the zombie again to find out more. He could ask some people to check the room later.
However, the door to the room suddenly opened from the inside, surprising everyone because they were on an open path while following the burly zombie.
"!?" The burly zombie looked back in reflex, surprised to find many armed humans there.
"!!!" Zayn and the soldiers were also surprised because the burly zombie noticed their presence. They pointed their advanced rifles at the burly zombie. However, the thing that made everyone wonder was the one who opened the door from the inside.