The thorny black bus slowly climbed onto the bridge, its pace slowed since it had to make weird turns to avoid the cars littering the bridge.

At some point, everyone got irritated by the slow pace so Leon and Miguel had to step out and push off the cars blocking their way.

This helped them increase their speed, even if only by a bit.

The echoes of the catastrophic battle taking place in Manhattan echoed behind them, the faint trembles reaching the bridge weakly.

Once their path was cleared briefly, Leon and Miguel returned to the bus. Just as Leon settled into his seat, Nora jumped into his embrace, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Daddy is so strong! Pushing big cars! Hehehe."

A bitter smile crossed his lips at her words. Although he felt like clarifying the misunderstanding, there was a reason he decided against that. He knew telling her the truth would make her sad, and he didn’t want any unnecessary emotional drama.

Besides, the girl wasn’t that dumb to truly believe he was her father, right? It must be a child’s coping mechanism.

After a moment of silence, Reymond narrated what they had seen at Hudson River to the others.

"Fuck... for real? A dragon came out of the river?" Miguel gasped in surprise, his breathing slightly labored.

After all, he had just been outside clearing the path of the bus while chasing after it to avoid being left behind.

Just like him, everyone else inside the bus was stunned. The idea of a gigantic River Dragon seemed inconceivable in their minds.

However, seeing how seriously Reymond spoke, they realized he wasn’t exaggerating at all.

’That River Dragon. Could it already be Tier Two?’ Leon thought to himself.

He wasn’t sure, but he believed the possibility was high. This made his heart troubled, as he realized the world was growing faster than he could keep up.

He hadn’t seen anything like an Evolved Wyvern, talk more of killing it. Even if he could, the chances of surviving were low.

Besides, there was still the other mutated plant root that he needed to get.

’Really. It feels like the whole world is against me.’

Clicking his tongue, he turned to Selene. The silver-haired lady sensed his gaze and turned to him.

Then, she said calmly, "I also saw that Bone-Armored zombie go confront the River Dragon before we left. It must be the one holding back that monster for now."

Leon’s eyes widened faintly, and he nodded. "I see..."

Earlier, Cassie had reported that Marcus’s camp was completely empty, meaning everyone there had been killed by the Bone-Armored zombie chasing after their leader.

’It was still a Tier One Evolved Zombie last night. Perhaps eating them all brought it to Tier Two...’

Inwardly, Leon felt his heart tremble, and he was filled with the urgency to complete his evolution requirements.

Suddenly, Richard’s worried voice came from the front.

"Uh, guys? I think we might have a little protest ahead of us."

A protest?

Everyone was confused, and when they looked towards the windshield, they understood. Several meters away from them, a group of over five hundred zombies were clustered right at the center of the bridge.

They all stood motionless, forming a circle around something with their backs facing the bus. Despite the vehicle drawing close, they didn’t even flinch or turn.

"Stop," Leon instructed Richard, then placed Nora into the seat beside him. "Stay here. Daddy’s coming, okay?"

She blinked and nodded innocently, a wide smile on her lips.

Getting off from the bus, Leon held an AK-47 in his hand, expertly raising it to target the zombies.

Although he had no knowledge of firearms use, his Martial Mastery trait had ingrained such skills in him.

Therefore, to say Leon was a top expert in firearms was not an exaggeration. He decided to take out these mob zombies without using mana or wasting his strength at all.

Beside him, Reymond also raised his gun, then glanced at him.

"You know how to shoot?"

It was surprising. After all, guns weren’t common items before the apocalypse started. Unless you joined the army, no one was allowed to use firearms and train with them.

Of course there were exceptions like hunters and people with high status. For Reymond, he was among the latter.

His family was highly influential, and he was trained by armed personnel, so he had some knowledge about how to use firearms.

However, it was clear that Leon belonged to neither category. He obviously wasn’t from a rich family, and the way he held the gun proved something.

It wasn’t the way of a hunter too. This left Reymond puzzled. Was Leon secretly a gangster in the past?

Seeing the confusion and doubt in the young man’s expression, Leon rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"I do, but how I do isn’t important. Focus."

Reymond smiled faintly, then turned to the oblivious zombies.

"Fire."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several shots rang out in less than a minute, and the zombies dropped like flies, hitting the cold ground seconds after their heads were penetrated.

[You have slain a Level 9 Normal Zombie!]

[You have slain a Level 9 Normal Zombie!]

[You have slain a Level 9 Normal Zombie!]

[You have slain a...]

Soon after taking down a dozen zombies, Leon lowered his gun and frowned. He glanced at Reymond, seeing the same frown on his face.

"They’re all Level 9?"

The two men echoed, then glanced back at the small zombie horde that was now turning to them. Five zombies lunged at the two humans but were instantly killed after taking two or three bullets to the head.

"Same," Leon’s brows furrowed.

Beside him, Reymond nodded too, his confusion spiralling.

From behind, Selene and the others approached them.

"What’s the matter?"

Reymond glanced at her and said, "The zombies... they seem to be of the same level."

Hearing that, Selene was perplexed, just like the others. However, they weren’t given the luxury to speculate. After killing all the Level 9 zombies in the outer ring, the other zombies had finally noticed their presence and were already rushing towards them at high speed.

"Miguel." Leon called calmly.

The next moment, the blonde guy leaped into the air with his hammer raised and slammed it towards the ground.

BOOM!