Gwen silently covered her lips and stepped back. The carnage was too horrifying to watch, but she couldn’t look away.

’How can there be something this strong?’

She remembered the past, where she had literally been a sheltered princess. She remembered touring Manhattan in a luxurious car, accompanied by a police and army convoy.

Yet the world had already changed so much. Now, creatures that defied logic were already appearing.

Reymond placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, "Relax, the dragon is helping us clear those zombies. If it can really whittle down their numbers, then we might have a chance to escape to Jersey City."

Gwen blinked, realizing what he said was true. The more zombies the River Dragon killed, the higher their chance to escape was.

"You’re looking at it from the wrong direction, Reymond," Selene shook her head, her expression grim. "This doesn’t make the situation better. It worsens it."

"Worsen?" He was confused.

Selene pointed at the streets below them and said, "Look."

He turned, and his eyes widened. The River Dragon was slaughtering the zombies in droves, and now they were scattering through the city.

Instantly, panic flooded his chest, "We need to leave! Now!"

The three of them immediately rushed down the floors of the skyscraper, heading towards the ground floor.

Before she left the rooftop, Selene saw a zombie covered in bone armor appear to confront the River Dragon.

It was small compared to the marine monster, but its aura was no less terrifying. She didn’t have the luxury to witness their battle.

"Faster, faster, faster," Reymond chanted in a low voice as they rushed down the stairs.

Sometimes, he’d jump over an entire section of the staircase while the two girls followed behind him.

By the time they finally exited the skyscraper, the street was already crawling with zombies.

Reymond only paused for a few seconds to take a look. Immediately after assessing the situation, he picked up his pace and began rushing back towards the hotel.

Selene and Gwen ran beside him, alert and guarded.

"We need to leave the city completely. Even the hotel wouldn’t be safe anymore," Selene said as she conveniently jumped from car to car, covering more distance.

"You’re right! We need to escape fast!" Gwen said through gritted teeth, her heart throbbing in her chest.

Seeing a zombie lunge at her, she immediately pulled an arrow and fired at it.

[You have slain a Level 8 Zombie!]

More zombies noticed them and began targeting the group. Selene waved her hand, sending out ten ice bullets that killed a corresponding number of zombies around them.

The messages flooded her vision, but she wasn’t distracted in the slightest. She glanced at Reymond, then nodded.

Receiving the nod from her, he paused, then hammered his leg into the side of a car behind them.

It was instantly pushed back, crashing into zombies that were trying to catch up to them from behind.

’That should stall them for a while,’ He thought, smoothly increasing his pace until he caught up to Selene and her friend.

"Goddamn, I wish we had a phone which we could use to call Leon or something!" He lamented in frustration as he jumped over another car and used his back foot to kick it behind him.

"That’s true," Selene nodded, glancing behind them. "We’ll need time to get into the bus. Time we don’t have."

"But... they should have heard that roar too, right? They must be alert," Gwen chipped in, her chest swaying to the rhythm of her run.

Reymond nodded, "That’s true. I hope they’re at least prepared for anything."

Unsheathing his sword, he stabbed into a zombie’s chin and lifted it into the air, then slammed it to the ground behind him.

[You have slain a Level...]

Pulling his sword free, he immediately continued sprinting, rushing after Selene and Gwen.

The brown-haired archer also pulled out a few arrows, placing them onto her bow and firing at the encroaching zombies.

A quarter of an hour later, the three evolvers finally saw the Plaza Hotel in the distance. About two hundred meters behind them, the scattered zombies were still spreading.

"Isn’t that...?" Gwen looked up in surprise.

"GET IN THE BUS!"

Miguel’s loud voice reached them from afar, and they instantly realized that the rest weren’t caught off-guard. It seemed they had somehow anticipated it and were prepared.

’Good. At least Leon isn’t a dumb man,’ Selene thought.

The three immediately rushed into the bus that was being manned by Richard, and Miguel swung the door close.

Not even a full second after they boarded the bus, Richard slammed the accelerator and the bus sped off.

Finally, they had a moment to breathe. Running in panic for over fifteen minutes was draining, even more than staying to face lots of zombies.

Gwen patted her chest and looked around. Everyone was in the bus, their expressions grim. Richard, Little West, Miguel, Feline, Marie, Nora, the three extra students, Reymond, Selene, herself, and...

"Wait..." Her eyes slowly widened. "Where’s Leon and Cassie?!"

Miguel’s expression darkened, "Shortly after you left, Boss sent Cassie on a mission to go scout someplace. However, she still hadn’t returned when he noticed the disturbance. So while he got us ready, he went to look for her."

Selene quietly facepalmed, ’Another cliche scenario.’

"This..." Gwen was tongue-tied, not knowing what to say.

On the other hand, Selene appeared much calmer.

"Before he left, did he give you any orders or directions?"

Still at the wheel, Richard nodded.

"He asked me to pass through the Grand Central district and head toward the East River. From there, we’d regroup at the Williamsburg Bridge and escape to Brooklyn."

Hearing this, Selene quietly nodded, ’Just as I thought. He’s quick-witted.’

Reymond’s expression hardened. "Initially, we were heading to Jersey City. But now, we are going in the opposite direction. Sounds really awful."

"Well, survival comes first anyway," Marie gave him a frail smile, holding onto her child who was clinging to her tightly.

’Boss... you better meet us at the Williamsburg Bridge.’