World Evolution Apocalypse: I Possess The Extraction Ability

’At this rate, we’ll be swarmed from all sides and get drowned in a sea of zombies.’

Leon frowned, then reached out and grabbed Cassie’s hand. He lifted her in a princess carry, then suddenly jumped.

Cassie’s eyes widened as her surroundings blurred. She could barely make out the figure of the buildings around her.

’He’s a lot faster than me. As expected, boss is simply too OP!’

Her blue eyes that failed to see anything tangible except blurry buildings were shining brightly as she enjoyed the feeling of being carried.

Soon, however, Leon was forced to stop as something ambushed him. Still carrying Cassie, he turned his back and let the unnaturally long claws land on the sheath of his sword.

He was forced back to the ground, and he landed with a bang. Without wasting time, he put Cassie down, then reached for his greatsword.

"No need," Cassie stopped him with a smile.

She unsheathed the dagger by her waist, then rushed at the zombie that had ambushed them.

It was a black zombie with unnaturally long claws and dense thigh muscles.

It was hanging from the roof of a nearby building, looking at the two humans, when Cassie suddenly dashed at it.

She jumped on a parked vehicle and threw her dagger up, aiming for the zombie’s head.

It tilted and dodged, but the blade struck its arm that was anchoring it to the roof.

It flinched—not from pain, but from discomfort. The flinching caused it to fall from above, landing on the car beside Cassie.

She delivered a sharp kick to its chest and retrieved her knife. Dodging two fast swings of its claws, she wheeled behind it and stabbed into the back of its head.

The zombie froze, then twitched. Finally, its movement completely went still and its arms dropped to the side.

[You have slain a Level 17 Killer Zombie! +4 Strength points!]

[You have leveled up to Level 18! +9 Stat points gained!]

’Yes!’

She cheered inwardly at her success, then rushed to meet up with Leon.

"Boss, lift me again!"

She sounded strangely excited. Leon rolled his eyes and picked her up. Then, he resumed running.

He hadn’t expected her to make quick work of the zombie. This showed that she was growing stronger faster than he had expected, and the thought pleased him.

’That means I’d be able to send her on dangerous missions that I’d normally do by myself.’

He thought as he sprang off the roof of a car, deftly landing on an extended balcony. Then, he ran along the railing and jumped onto the rooftop of the next building.

Occasional tremors still reached this side of the city, proving that whatever was happening around Hudson River was insanely brutal.

’The roar, the quakes... There’s no way that bone-armored zombie I encountered last night isn’t involved.’

Thyra had mentioned something about a Zombie King yesterday, so perhaps that bone-armored zombie was the Zombie King of this Manhattan horde.

’Can’t believe our plan to somehow reach Jersey City was crushed just like that.’

It was really regrettable. However, there was nothing he could do about it. Even if they were strong, they couldn’t fight against hundreds of thousands of zombies, and whatever was shaking Manhattan to the core.

Besides, if he had delayed their departure by even a day, they would’ve been trapped inside the Plaza Hotel while the zombie horde spread around them.

Still, heading to Brooklyn was a last-minute decision. He considered passing through Times Square and reaching Port Newark via the waters. However, given how urgent the situation seemed, he couldn’t work with that.

’Ahh, the crops I was planning to harvest and store. All gone, damn.’

Once again, he regretted having to leave Manhattan so early.

Suddenly, he felt the building beneath his feet trembling, and he immediately jumped off it, returning to the street.

A moment later, it collapsed to the ground in ruins and debris. Leon didn’t glance back to observe.

The city was still trembling and the zombies were still spreading.

Catching a glimpse of the zombies trampling on each other as they ran, Cassie asked, "Why does it seem like they’re not actually chasing us?"

Leon slowed his pace and answered her. "That’s because they’re running from something."

"Running? I thought they were mindless," Cassie frowned, her arms tightening around his neck.

He nodded and clarified, "They were. But now they’re being controlled by a leader."

Feeling another large tremor, he suddenly looked up and saw all the glass windows of a skyscraper shattering, sending down a rain of glass shards.

’Crap!’

Leon instantly switched to his highest speed, causing Cassie’s heart to lurch. He managed to evade the rain of shards—barely.

"That was too fast!" Cassie protested, though she didn’t struggle.

Rolling his eyes, Leon switched to jumping from one vehicle to another.

"You’ll have to bear through it."

She pursed her lips, but didn’t say anything again. Instead, she quietly endured the dizzying ride.

Leon deftly avoided the natural disasters caused by the battle happening at Hudson River, and made his way to the Grand Central Terminal.

The first thing he saw was a massive rectangular skyscraper that dominated the skyline around Grand Central.

’MetLife.’

Leon recognized the once-glorious building. But now, it had been reduced to a lone, desolate building. Several of its windows were shattered, giving it the right apocalyptic vibe.

Leon paused and shifted his gaze lower. The area was populated with office buildings and abandoned cars and buses.

The street was completely jammed, with a few zombies stuck inside or between the crashed cars.

Cassie took a glance too, her brows furrowing.

"Ugh. This place is too crowded. Very much like what I’d avoid on a normal day."

Leon took a breath, then hopped onto the roof of a commercial bus.

The Grand Central Terminal was revealed before him. With thick stone walls and arched windows, the structure looked grand and imposing. It was surrounded by a statues, but Leon didn’t even pay attention to them.

Instead, he looked towards the dark entrance of the terminal, then rushed forward.