Following the soldier, they traversed a long tunnel.
This air raid shelter had been transformed into a research institute, with a row of laboratories visible on the right side of the corridor.
Through the glass windows, you could see various test vessels and equipment, as well as some large machines they did not recognize, it all looked pretty high-tech.
At the end of the tunnel was Director Jones's office.
After the soldier knocked on the door, he stood guard outside.
The one to greet the four of them was a woman in her early forties.
Wearing a white lab coat with glasses, her hair somewhat disheveled looking like it had been a while since it was tended to.
Add on the fact that she probably regularly stayed up late, which left her looking pale and haggard like a tired auntie.
"Mr. Liu, you're still alive, that's great."
Director Jones showed a smile.
"Hehehe, I'm not so easy to kill, little Jones."
Mr. Liu looked gratified.
"But how did you get here, Mr. Liu, don't you live on the East Coast?"
"It's a long way from there, and the city is swarming with zombie beasts..."
After exchanging pleasantries, Director Jones expressed her doubts.
She knew Mr. Liu was very capable, but these zombie beast swarms were obviously not something a few humans could manage.
"These three escorted me here."
"Without them, I would never have made it safely through West City District."
Mr. Liu introduced Ree and the others to her.
It seemed like they had arrived by fire truck, safe and fast along the way.
The actual situation, however, was not so easy and relaxed.
The fire truck was a fire truck after all, even if Ree drove it like a tank, it was not a real tank.
So, during the journey, they encountered a few impassable road obstructions, such as abandoned vehicles blocking the road, collapsed overpasses, or large billboards, etc.
Each time they encountered this situation, they had to get out of the car to clear obstructions.
Such behaviour easily attracted zombie beasts, but they were all taken care of by the trio.
"Superpowered users?"
After listening to Mr. Liu's story, Director Jones fell into deep thought.
She had no doubts.
Because the other party was able to traverse the zombie-beast-riddled West City District, this was a well-established fact.
Additionally, with her status and position, she indeed had heard of the existence of some extraordinary talents.
In that case...
"In that case, please follow me, everyone."
After thinking it over, she decided to show them the results of her experiments over the past three weeks.
[Do you accept the hidden mission: Further Study the Zombie Beasts - 0/1]
The surprise pop-up startled Ree and the others.
And so, they promptly followed.
"Director Jones, what does this research institute do?"
On the way there, Mossy Mushroom could not help but be curious.
Looking at these devices and equipment, seemed more intricate than simply pharmaceutical production.
"Human body research."
Director Jones grinned as the light overhead flickered.
The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit eerie.
For a moment, Ree and his companions didn't know what to say.
"Little Jones, don't scare people."
"They're actually just some very ordinary experiments, I've been a volunteer myself."
Mr. Liu began to explain.
"Rest assured, all of our experiments here are safe, lawful, and ethically compliant."
The light no longer flickered, and Director Jones's expression returned to normal.
In the midst of the conversation, they passed through an iron gate guarded by a soldier.
What drew Ree's attention was that there was a team of soldiers guarding the place, equipped with heavy machine guns.
Most importantly, the muzzle of the machine gun was actually facing the iron gate.
That is to say, the soldiers stationed here were not preventing anyone from coming in, it seemed more like they were preventing something from getting out.
After a face scan by Director Jones, the iron gate slowly opened.
Inside was another iron gate.
After passing through three thresholds in a row, they finally arrived at a laboratory.
"This…"x4
When they saw the situation inside the lab, Ree and his companions were all shocked.
It wasn't the tool, equipment, or instruments that mattered, but that at the far end of the lab there was an iron cage.
Inside the iron cage...there were a few caged zombie beasts.
In the middle of the room was a glass room, containing a surgical bed, upon which laid a headless dissected zombie beast.
"Incredible, Little Jones, we are struggling just to survive."
"You guys even dare to capture zombie beasts for experiments."
Mr. Liu seemed to understand what the other party wanted them to see.
"They are species that have never appeared in the World before, how could I let go of this rare experimentation opportunity?"
"Moreover, aren't we currently researching the solution for zombie beasts?"
Director Jones laughed and led the group to the iron cage.
Upon getting closer, everyone realized that this iron cage was situated inside a one-way glass room, and the zombie beasts' eyes were all covered up.
They could see the zombie beasts, but the zombie beasts couldn't see them.
And because the glass room was sealed, they also couldn't sniff out their scent.
"Let me show you something interesting, Little Chen, Little Wang."
As Director Jones spoke, she called over a researcher and a soldier.
The soldier surnamed Wang was tall and burly, with bushy brows and solid facial features, his long-term training resulted in sunburnt skin, making him exude an aura of manliness.
All in all, he was a handsome young man.
In comparison, the researcher Little Chen looked inferior, his irregular work schedule and job pressure made him appear drained.