At the Naval Base command center, Milton Adler and Edwin Warren were sitting together, watching a satellite recording of a segment of Navy Avenue.

This left both of them in disbelief.

They had previously tried all sorts of methods to traverse Navy Avenue, but they were always forced back by that swarm of terrifying marine creatures. Without large-scale suppressive weaponry, it was simply impossible to use Navy Avenue to get to the flour mill.

This Flora Bloom... just what method did she use to get her convoy through completely unscathed?

Those incredibly aggressive marine creatures didn’t even show themselves. The area on both sides of the guardrails was so calm it was as if they didn’t exist at all.

But the bloody reality of their past attempts made him hesitant to try again so easily. He could only conclude that Flora Bloom must have used some special means to ensure their safe passage.

Suddenly, a soldier knocked and entered, whispering something in Milton Adler’s ear. Milton Adler waved his hand to show he understood.

"Keep an eye on them for me. Notify me immediately if anything happens, understand? Especially that girl, Flora Bloom. I have a strange feeling about her, but I can’t put my finger on it. Pay extra attention to her for me."

"Yes, General."

Milton Adler returned to the armory at the Naval Base. It was close to the plaza but was a standalone building. He walked to a conference room, and even before opening the door, he could hear the indignant clamor of Korean being shouted from inside.

He pushed the door open and went in. Evan was covered in injuries, his combat fatigues were in tatters, and he was so filthy from head to toe that he looked like a beggar who had been living in a dumpster for a month.

Beside him, a Korean girl and two other Koreans were angrily saying something.

"Colonel Evan, what happened? Where are the others?"

Evan was the leader of the group Flora Bloom had encountered on Highway 320, and it was also Cynthia Grant’s original team. They had accepted a mission to go out and find these three Koreans.

They had already lost several teammates during their search for the Koreans. After abandoning Flora Bloom, they went to find a vehicle, hoping to quickly get off the highway and onto an entrance ramp. But while searching for a car, Sienna Kensington accidentally triggered a car alarm, attracting more than ten nearby zombies.

They had just fought a battle with zombies, so the superpower users were low on energy, and those without superpowers had little stamina left. Faced with zombies drawn by the sound, their only option was to run.

However, it was as if they had kicked a hornet’s nest—or a zombie nest, rather. From the wreckage of cars along that stretch of highway, zombies began to appear one after another, in twos and threes.

And that wasn’t all. From a car next to Sienna Kensington, a dog with crimson eyes suddenly leaped out.

The dog was a medium-sized breed, but more than half of its fur had rotted away, and what remained was matted with blood and some unknown fluid. One side of its abdomen had been torn open by something, exposing its internal organs. The putrid stench emanating from it was unbearable.

This was, without a doubt, a zombified dog.

Sienna Kensington successfully hit the dog with a Fireball, but the flame was extinguished the moment it touched the dog’s body, having no effect at all.

They knew they couldn’t even defeat this one dog, let alone the horde of zombies chasing them from behind.

The zombie dog, enraged by Sienna Kensington’s Fireball, leaped up, about to bite the human girl who had attacked it.

Sienna Kensington’s heart leaped in terror. She turned and ran toward Sandra and Holly, crying for help.

However, Holly, who had no combat ability, saw the zombie dog behind Sienna Kensington and was so frightened that she scrambled behind Sandra, grabbing her collar. She was too scared to move, even forgetting to run.

The zombie dog chased Sienna Kensington for a moment, getting hit by several more of her Fireballs along the way. Although the Fireballs had no effect, they drove it into a feral rage. Seeing the two human girls not far from Sienna Kensington, it took a huge leap and, a second later, pounced on the one in front, knocking her to the ground.

The fresh human flesh was exceptionally delectable. The zombie dog bit down on the girl’s neck, and the spray of blood made its eyes glow even redder. It ignored the two remaining girls and began to enjoy its feast right there on the spot.

Evan wanted to save her, but the zombies from behind had already caught up, and he was forced to keep running by Frederick Lyon, who was practically carrying him. Charles Sawyer saw his sister being eaten and instantly lost his mind. The soldier’s bloodlust surged, and he pulled the pin on a grenade, charging toward the zombie dog to take it down with him.

But it wasn’t over. The grenade exploded, killing many of the zombies and blowing the bodies of Charles Sawyer and Sandra to pieces, but it failed to kill the zombie dog.

Having lost its meal, the zombie dog let out a furious howl at the sky and resumed its chase after the fleeing survivors.

By the time they ran off the ramp, of the entire team, only he, Holly, and the three Koreans were left. Everyone else had ended up in the stomachs of the zombies and that zombie dog along the way.

Evan knew of the dangers that lurked on both sides of Navy Avenue. He had led the four survivors onto it with the determination to die. He had thought that even if they were killed, the pursuing zombies—especially that unkillable zombie dog—would be attacked by the mysterious marine creatures.

But the expected crisis never came. At the entrance to Navy Avenue, the pursuing zombies and the dog seemed to sense something; they hesitated for a long time before finally retreating.

Evan didn’t know that the Naval Base had become the safest place in Azuregard City. Flora Bloom’s order to the ten Japanese horse mackerel leaders was not to attack any humans traveling on Navy Avenue. Therefore, only non-human creatures, such as zombies, would receive a warning if they tried to enter the territory. This was how Evan and the others, after their desperate dash onto Navy Avenue, managed to save their own skins.

After Evan finished recounting the mission, he said with a face full of sorrow, "General Adler, for this mission... although I brought back the targets, only Holly and I are still alive from my team. I failed as a leader."

"Oh? That would be Holly, the one who awakened a Water Ability, correct?" Milton Adler’s eyes narrowed. ’A Water Ability User,’ he thought. ’If she’s trained properly, could she become as formidable as Flora Bloom?’ He recalled how Flora Bloom had manipulated water to diminish the power of his Fire Element attacks. ’If I had a superpower user like that under my command, she would be a tremendous asset.’

More importantly, he had originally been skeptical about the "zombified creatures" Flora Bloom had mentioned before. But based on the experience Evan just described, that dog was definitely one of the zombified creatures she had spoken of.

’Are grenades and firearms really useless against them?’ he wondered. ’If we let these things evolve and grow stronger, will humanity even have a future? It’s a shame Sherman Lynch is missing; the keys and passcodes for the heavy weaponry disappeared with him. If I had those weapons, I could even send men to eliminate some of the zombie hordes outside the base and expand the survival zone for the public.’

’From the sound of Evan’s report, they don’t know that Flora Bloom’s group is still alive. To be able to face a horde of dozens, even hundreds of zombies, including Second Level zombies, and not only deal with them easily but also arrive at the base unscathed... It seems I’ve underestimated Flora Bloom and her people.’

The trio of Sienna Kensington and her guards found Evan’s report incredibly dull. Finally, she couldn’t help but speak up. "Hey, are you the one in charge here?"

Milton Adler shot a cold glare at Sienna Kensington for her provocative question. How could a little Korean girl possibly withstand the piercing gaze of a battle-hardened veteran? She was immediately frightened into silence.

Her two Korean bodyguards, however, were unfazed by his powerful presence. One of them stood up and asked, "My name is Mindy Quincy, and I am Miss Sienna’s personal bodyguard. Excuse me, but when can you arrange for an escort to take us back to our country?"

Milton Adler looked at the three Koreans with utter contempt. He had never held any fondness for their "small country." If this were a time of war, he would have long since led his troops to crush such a "treacherous and ugly little nation" and claim it for Veridia.

’A seven or eight-year-old girl with such a complete lack of manners,’ he thought. ’I have no idea what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was thinking, ordering a military rescue for them.’

Ignoring the three Koreans, Milton Adler patted Evan’s shoulder and said comfortingly, "I’ll have Hugh Warren take you to get some rest. Go back and focus on recovering from your injuries."