"Commander Adler, you’re here."

Milton Adler waved his hand. "Alright, everyone’s here. Let me make some introductions. This is the Chief of Staff of the command center, Edwin Warren. Warren, these thirty to forty people are all the members of this operation. And this young lady is the leader of this operation, Flora Bloom."

Edwin Warren didn’t seem to show any surprise at Flora Bloom’s gender or age, politely nodding to the group by way of introduction. Seeing this, Flora Bloom also graciously shook his hand and made conversation.

"Chief Warren, these two are my assistants."

Neal Wallace and Ethan Monroe each extended a hand and introduced themselves.

"I’m Neal Wallace."

"I’m Ethan Monroe."

Ethan Monroe had never interacted with such high-ranking officers from a military base in his life, and his face was alight with excitement. He only settled down after a glare from Flora Bloom.

"Hello. I’m a staff officer from the command center. Commander Adler has asked me to brief you on the general situation in Azuregard City to lay the groundwork for your upcoming operation."

Flora Bloom followed Edwin Warren to a large-screen computer monitor and looked at the display.

Edwin Warren began to explain.

"Our current location is the Azuregard City Naval Base, right here. Our objective for this mission is a large flour processing plant fifteen kilometers from downtown Azuregard City. We need to bring back two truckloads of flour to alleviate the food crisis at the Naval Base."

Displayed on the large screen was a satellite map. Flora Bloom and the others could clearly see zombies constantly roaming the ground below. The city streets, the skyscrapers, even every blade of grass on the ground, were all crystal clear.

’Incredible! This satellite map is practically real-time imagery. You can see the current situation of any locked position.’

’If only I had a system like this. In recent years, the nation poured immense financial, material, and human resources into satellite research and development. It didn’t just lead to major breakthroughs; now, the importance of those results is truly apparent.’

"The city center is teeming with zombies; it’s impossible to break through their lines and reach the flour mill on foot. However, if we set out from Navy Avenue, we can go straight to the suburbs. From the suburbs, the flour mill is only five kilometers away—very close."

Hearing this, Flora Bloom understood. ’Now that the route and the objective are clear, we should be able to get moving.’

But then, Edwin Warren and Milton Adler looked at the satellite map and sighed.

"Alas, both sides of Navy Avenue are occupied by unknown, evolved marine creatures. Any living thing that tries to pass through gets attacked. A team we sent out previously was unaware of this, and they were all killed. This is the footage from that moment, transmitted back by the satellite system."

On the screen, a massive, spherical swarm of needlefish instantly turned a convoy, men and vehicles alike, into a sieve, riddling them with holes. Not a scrap of flesh remained on anyone; their deaths were horrifying.

But when Flora Bloom saw the swarm of needlefish on the screen, she exchanged a look with Neal Wallace and Ethan Monroe. Their eyes held a flash of understanding.

"So, Navy Avenue is currently impassable. We can only find a relatively safe path through the urban area of Azuregard City. This is the safest route I’ve been able to find for you. Take a look."

As soon as Edwin Warren finished speaking, a route map appeared on the screen. It stretched from the main gate of the Naval Base to a small path, then twisted and wound its way toward the suburbs.

"I discovered this path during a road survey a few days ago. Within a one-kilometer radius of this path, there are almost no zombies. So, as long as we can safely get through the initial 1.5 kilometers of city roads and onto this wider main road, we can then enter this small path and smoothly reach the flour mill. According to satellite scans, there are only about 1,500 zombies on the more dangerous initial stretch of road. However, our convoy is equipped with machine guns, which will be more than enough to deal with them. The probability of success is very high."

Flora Bloom stared at the so-called "safest path" on the screen for a long time without blinking, her brow deeply furrowed.

"I think if we take the route you’re suggesting to the flour mill, the success rate will be exactly zero."

At Flora Bloom’s words, all of the dozens of people present turned to look at her.

"Impossible. This is the safest route, calculated and planned by me."

Flora Bloom gave a scornful laugh. "The team that set out for the flour mill before—you planned their route too, didn’t you? And what was the result?" Flora’s words were blunt, hitting Edwin Warren like a club to the head. His expression flickered through a range of emotions.

"You people underestimate the apocalypse. Take the swarm of needlefish that attacked the convoy in that video. Had any of you ever seen anything like that before?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"And about this path. You say it’s safe? In my opinion, this path is the most dangerous trap on the entire route."

"This path is the longest segment of the planned route to the flour mill. No zombies within a one-kilometer radius? Did you look at the frequency and location of zombie appearances beyond that one-kilometer mark? Or the density of the hordes every time they appear? Don’t you analyze any of that?"

"The zombie appearances beyond one kilometer from the path have too much randomness; they can’t be used as reliable data points. Besides being strong, those zombies are just mindless beasts. They have no intelligence. We don’t need to worry about them." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Hearing Edwin Warren’s words, the scorn in Flora Bloom’s smile deepened.

"You really think zombies have no intelligence? We humans are evolving in this apocalypse, with superpower users emerging. Why wouldn’t the zombies? We’ve encountered Second Level zombies before. A Second Level zombie already possesses rudimentary intelligence. It can command First Level zombies to lay ambushes or attack. They can even set traps and wait for prey to enter their territory before surrounding them.

"I can tell you with absolute certainty that if we follow your plan and take that path, not even a god descending from heaven could save us."

Flora Bloom’s words left not only the thirty soldiers dumbfounded, but also caused Edwin Warren and Milton Adler’s faces to turn grave.

"Are you telling the truth?" Before Edwin Warren could speak, Milton Adler shot to his feet, staring at Flora Bloom with an intensely serious gaze.

Flora Bloom said calmly, "Second Level zombies are just one type. Gradually, even some animals will be affected by the virus and turn into zombie monsters. They’re far more formidable than regular zombies."

Edwin Warren suppressed his indignation and glared at her. "If you think the route I planned is unsafe, then you tell me—which route is safe?"

The corners of Flora Bloom’s mouth curled up as she looked at Edwin Warren. "We’re taking Navy Avenue."

Edwin Warren suddenly laughed out loud at Flora Bloom’s words.

"I say, young lady, did you not see those creatures on both sides of Navy Avenue that attack humans? They strip a person down to a skeleton before you can even fire a shot, and even suck their blood dry!"

Flora Bloom suddenly stood up and walked to the front of the large screen. She looked at the alarmed yet serious Milton Adler and the thirty-one soldiers and said:

"I’m the leader of this mission. That means all operational orders should come from me, correct?"

Milton Adler looked at Flora Bloom with a puzzled expression, but he still nodded. ’This Flora Bloom... could it be she really has a way to deal with those numerous and incredibly powerful sea monsters?’

"That’s right. You’re the leader. If you’re confident enough, you can make the final call."

Flora Bloom smiled faintly.

"Naturally, I’m confident enough to get everyone through Navy Avenue safely."

If she had known how dangerous Navy Avenue was before arriving at the Naval Base, Flora Bloom would never have dared to be so bold. But now... no one knew better than her whether Navy Avenue was safe.

"However, Commander Adler, I’m quite interested in this satellite positioning system of yours."