"Forget regretting that we couldn’t leave to Hoboken," Gwen started, a faint smile of relief on her face. "We should be glad that we’re actually alive."

The others nodded, agreeing with her. If Selene and her friends hadn’t gone out to scout the area, there was a high probability that they might have been trapped in Manhattan, unable to leave the hotel while preventing zombies from entering.

’It’d have been a disaster. I really don’t want to die to the jaws of a zombie,’ Reymond chuckled internally.

"If we want to reach Jersey City, we have only two routes," Leon said, showing two fingers. "One is to return to Manhattan and reach Hoboken. Another is to pass through Brooklyn and somehow reach Staten Island. Neither option seems feasible for now."

"Manhattan is a no. The zombies there would be over a million," Reymond said with caution in his voice. He had personally seen the zombie horde and knew how many zombies were there. Even though the River Dragon had killed some of them, he doubted that they had reduced to less than a million.

Gwen understood his concern and agreed, "If we can’t really go back to Manhattan, then we’ll have to aim for Staten Island."

Selene nodded, her expression cold. "That wouldn’t be easy. We know nothing about Brooklyn’s state right now. Moving blindly is the worst decision we could make."

"But damn. I can’t believe the world has really become so much harder," Miguel grumbled. "I miss the old days I spent with my gramps."

Leon glanced at him but didn’t say anything. To say he wasn’t tired would be a lie, as the world seemed to be forcing them into a corner.

’Clara...’

He thought about his sister, but immediately shut off the thought. If he entertained it, then he was going to overthink. And overthinking only wastes a person’s time in different simulations of the mind while ignoring reality.

"Then our main priority should be scouting this place, isn’t it?" He asked, gently closing his eyes.

Everyone looked at him and agreed. They needed to gather information about their surroundings, and see if there was anything worth noting.

"In that case... Cassie, inform Marie that you guys are to scout the east wing tomorrow. Remember, do not go too far."

The black-haired girl nodded obediently, her blue eyes flashing with a peculiar glint.

Then, Leon turned to Selene. "I’ll be covering the west wing. You and your friends should check the north."

Before the silver-haired girl could nod, Gwen interrupted and said, "I’ll go with you!"

The living room fell silent, and everyone directed strange gazes at her. Realizing that she might have sounded comical, she immediately rephrased her words.

"I mean... we were a team back in Manhattan, right? Besides, it’s dangerous for you to move alone in uncharted territory."

Leon studied her expression for a few seconds, then nodded with a faint smile, "Alright. We’ll leave early tomorrow morning."

Gwen was secretly relieved in her heart, and a beautiful smile bloomed on her face.

She nodded, "Hm."

Earlier, when Selene had spoken casually about the possibility of Leon dying, she had felt a great deal of discomfort and unease, like she didn’t want such a thing to happen at all.

Naturally, she didn’t want anyone in their team to die, but Leon’s case felt... different. Perhaps she hadn’t realized it, but she was beginning to care for him more than she usually would.

Selene threw her a puzzled look, but she only smiled and shook her head. In the end, the silver-haired girl said nothing.

Reymond smiled and said in a determined tone, "Then Selene and I will scout the north. Hopefully, Brooklyn isn’t as dangerous as Manhattan."

Chuckling, Richard muttered to himself, "Haha, we already survived a zombie horde. What else could go wrong?"

He immediately felt several glares converging on him, causing him to shrink into the couch. He might have said those words to himself, but as evolvers, everyone could hear him perfectly.

"Don’t jinx it," Miguel gritted his teeth. He was already frustrated with the fact that they were being forced to run around like prey.

If something even worse happened... he didn’t dare entertain the thoughts.

Just then, Cassie spoke up, her question directed at Leon.

"In the case we encounter other human survivors, what do we do?"

Leon tapped his chin and answered casually, "If they’re ordinary humans without firearms, and they need help, then you might rescue them. If they’re evolvers like us... then let their intentions towards you decide."

Cassie’s eyes glittered strangely, "That means I’m allowed to kill if necessary?"

Leon’s lips twitched at her bluntness, but he nodded.

Gwen looked visibly disturbed by the idea of killing fellow humans, but remembering that not everyone was good, she swallowed her words.

Leon looked around and asked, "Where are those three?"

"You don’t know their names?" Reymond asked, visibly surprised.

He had at least expected everyone to know each other’s names after spending weeks together.

Leon simply shrugged and answered, "Why should I bother? They’re dispensable, after all."

A frown appeared on Reymond’s face, but he decided to set aside unimportant matters for now.

He sighed and answered Leon’s first question. "They’re upstairs preparing dinner for everyone."

Hearing this, Leon was satisfied and stood up. He glanced at Cassie and said to her, "Once dinner is ready, notify me."

The girl nodded quietly, then watched him return upstairs.

’What... is boss currently thinking?’

Meanwhile, as Leon returned to his room, a particular thought nagged at him.

’Those big zombies at the bridge—they didn’t have any ability. Does that mean that not all Tiered creatures have abilities?’

That seemed wrong, as every Tier One creature he had faced usually possessed an ability or two.

Therefore, how could those four zombies have none.

’Could it be related to that Vicious Vine? Thyra said it produces mana... so, it probably accelerated their growth and pushed them to Tier One before they could awaken their own abilities.’

Now, this theory made more sense. Although he wasn’t sure, he was going to lean more on this.

Besides, he could always ask Thyra once he got back to his room.