A cute little girl around twelve years old opened the door. She was about to pick up the plastic bag, but she was soon stunned to discover the presence of a group of armed men. "E-eh?"
The little girl looked aside and found the burly zombies still around. Because of that, she immediately closed the door again in fear.
"!?" Zayn blinked his eyes a few times. He never thought that he would meet a little girl in this apartment.
That little girl was a human or not? Maybe a little monster, the one who was guarding this place!? Zayn wondered, but the burly zombie looked displeased with the situation.
"Wait, that little girl is a human or not? Is she a zombie with the intelligence they speak of?" Steven widened his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he had just seen. That burly zombie delivering a plastic bag of packaged food to that little girl? How did it happen!?
"Grisella isn't a zombie! Are you human soldiers or zombies!?" The little girl called out from behind the iron door.
"We are the fifteenth elite squad from New Jersey base. If you are human, get out now and we will protect you, little survivor from New York." Zayn gave a positive response without delay.
*Clack*
The door was opened wide, and the little girl rushed to take cover among the armed soldiers.
"..." The burly zombie looked at the little girl with a complicated look, but he had no intention of acting anymore.
"..." Zayn could notice the change in gaze from the burly zombie's shattered face. He had no idea what had happened, but he assumed that this zombie was intelligent and had a relationship with this little girl.
"You are Grisella, right? Do you perhaps know the burly zombie that's quiet over there?" Zayn turned to the girl behind him, but he didn't take his eyes off the mentioned burly zombie.
"Grisella doesn't know who she is. He is a zombie, but he often delivers food here. After the zombies invaded the base, everyone left and died. Grisella was separated from papa, and he never came back. Grisella kept waiting, and waiting, but he never showed up. Can you take Grisella to meet papa?" Grisella looked up with a teary gaze.
"I can't guarantee you will meet your papa, but we can give you a safe haven." Zayn put his hand on the little girl's head. He then looked at the burly zombie and tried to talk to the other party. "We will take her with us to a safe place. If you can understand what I'm saying, please leave. She is safe now, and you no longer need to look after her."
"..." The burly zombie did not respond. He only tilted his head to look at the little girl, but she was scared and didn't want to look at him.
After that, the burly zombie looked at everyone's face, then turned around. He went to the railing and jumped down.
"Hmm... Let him go." Zayn spread his arms to the sides and looked down. That burly zombie fell from the fifth floor and landed perfectly on the street as if there was minimal gravity. That zombie then ran and went somewhere.
"Wow, that zombie is the intelligence one? He can understand what you're saying and back off in peace, boss." Rico once again felt amazed. Zayn could communicate with ghosts, and now zombies!?
"I'm more suspicious of that big zombie's behavior. It's as if he still has clarity. It was the first time for me to meet an intelligence zombie. However, didn't they say the intelligence ones only appear at rank four and above?" Steven was suspicious and confused.
"Yeah, ranks three and below are no more intelligent than a beast with survival instincts." Rico nodded in agreement.
"Haha, that could happen. They keep evolving because of the zombie virus. It's scary to imagine the situation of a world with lots of super zombies and ultra dangerous monsters in the future. I hope that humanity still has hope." Zayn sighed and shook his head. He then went to check Grisella's hiding room.
However, he could only find it was just an empty room with a folding bed. "Grisella, I would appreciate it if you could tell us about your situation. However, please follow us for now. We need to conduct a field test first."
"Grisella is scared and hungry." Grisella held her growling tummy.
"You used to eat food brought that kind of zombie? He surprisingly knows food that hasn't been contaminated with a virus. He even wrapped it in plastic. Are you sure you don't know that kind of zombie? He is probably a relative of yours who still has some memory before becoming a zombie." Zayn checked the contents of the plastic bag and was able to confirm his claim.
"Zayn, not a single zombie still has the memories they once possessed before they became one. They become full-fledged monsters without exception." Steven sighed and corrected Zayn's wrong perception.
"Hmm, that may indeed have been proven true. However, we can't rule out the possibility. Or, that zombie already knows Grisella. His priority to help her is still strong even though he's already become a zombie." Zayn shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea which one proved correct, but he was not so dumb as to believe only one assumption.
"Grisella has no other choice. Is this dangerous? Grisella can't remember that zombie. He might be papa's friend? Papa has a lot of friends!" Grisella scratched her head.
"It's safe to eat as long as it's wrapped-, well... Give her some bread and water. That's more secure than these ones." Zayn stretched out his hand towards the soldiers.
"Here." Rico gave the little girl a large piece of bread and a bottle of water.
"Thank you." Grisella accepted that and immediately devoured it like a starving little girl.
"We're going to the sixth floor." Zayn gave a gesture, and everyone left with him upstairs.
Zayn and the soldiers surveyed the surrounding area with their binoculars for the presence of high-rank zombies or ultra-dangerous monsters nearby.
"You're Grisella, right? Do you know how New York base was destroyed in the stampede?" Rico approached the little girl near Zayn.
"It all happened because a giant snake appeared in the middle of the city. All the monsters and zombies fled in all directions, feeling threatened? That's what Grisella heard, but never saw. Everyone panicked and fled from the base. Grisella also ran away with papa, and we took shelter here. However, someone came and they took papa away. Papa hasn't been back since that day..." Grisella mumbled glumly.
"Is your papa strong?" Zayn asked with a smile.
"Papa is the boss of thousands of employees and goes to the gym every afternoon. Papa can lift Grisella with one hand without any effort! He is strong like superman!" Grisella raised her hand cheerfully.
"I see. If your papa is superman, then he might just be alive somewhere. He's just lost. Maybe he will meet you one day." Zayn glanced at the top of a building in the distance.
He could notice someone was watching them, but he let it be because he knew the other party's identity. It was the same burly zombie as the previous one.
Above all else, Zayn was interested in meeting the giant snake that Grisella was referring to.
"!?" Angie could sense some target that caught her attention was moving on the building in the distance. She intended to hunt now.
At that moment, Zayn and the soldiers were too busy looking for test subjects while keeping an eye on the area. They didn't realize Angie had left the group.
*Rumble*
A noise came from a distance, and a giant rhino-like monster entered everyone's sight. Zayn decided to test his first potent formula on that monster.