way to prepare for the BOSS battle. Ailer could guess who was behind it, after all, of the eleven scavengers in the sewers… ugh, of the eleven scavengers, only Bai Mu left with Thorn; the others either parted ways beforehand or left with ulterior motives.
After separating from Thorn, Ailer collected quite a few firearms and some gold and jewelry.
Before leaving the Dream, he had been secretly observing the rendezvous point, and after finding the checks there very strict, he gave up the idea of contacting it.
He planned to wait until the people at the rendezvous point left before leaving.
But unexpectedly, before he could do that, he left the Dream first, carrying only a gun and some broken items. His body felt as if it had been splashed with corrosive liquid, causing him immense pain.
Why did this happen? Ailer didn't understand, but after seeing the car, he felt it must be related to being far from the source of the Dream.
That car must have been brought back by Bai Mu; the other party had been moving with the sewer corpses and must have successfully left the Dream through 'Torn'.
Eller even suspected that White Curtain was the one hiding the truth. While some actions appeared to be led by Thor, White Curtain had actually long been preparing to escape the Dream.
However, White Curtain wasn't there to figure it out; the most troublesome thing right now was the sewer corpse that had already opened its eyes.
Watching the sewer zombie's movements, Matt and the others held their breath in tension. Thor's deathly gray eyes stared at Matt and the others.
Among them, the gambler was the most seriously injured. In trying to avoid the two zombies' attacks, the gambler's large movements had caused his wounds to reopen, and he was bleeding.
The smell of blood attracted Thor.
"Awooo—!"
A roar erupted from Thor's mouth. Matt and the others felt a gust of wind, a mixture of fear and hope.
Under the watchful eyes of several people, Thor raised his arm, a string of grenade pull rings hanging from it. Its strength was immense; it pulled the rings without any hesitation.
Matt and the others, slowly retreating, widened their eyes: "Get out of the way!"
Boom!
The roar of the zombie Thorn abruptly stopped.
"???" At the sewer entrance, feeling a slight tremor, a police officer dropped his hamburger. He was the officer who had spoken with Matt a few hours earlier.
Chaos erupted where the explosion had occurred; no one expected it to happen so suddenly. The officers who reacted looked at the sewer entrance and immediately called for backup.
They thought it would be a relaxing job where they could spend the whole day without patrolling, but how could this have happened so suddenly? There shouldn't be any particularly dangerous monsters in this sewer, and even if there were, they wouldn't explode.
Since the explosion had already happened, it should have been handled by more professional people, not by officers like him going in to get themselves killed.
Inside the sewer.
A suppressed wail escaped the gambler's lips as he collapsed to the ground, feeling his already rotting skin being scraped raw again; the pain in his back almost made him faint.
Matt and the others weren't feeling well either. The car had blocked part of the blast, but this was a sewer.
The shockwave from the explosion couldn't dissipate effectively, so they were the ones suffering. Fortunately, they had retreated a considerable distance before the zombie Thorn stood up.
A severed arm fell in front of Matt. Seeing it, Matt immediately stood up in disgust. This thing was undoubtedly infected with a virus, and he didn't want to get infected even with his enhancement serum.
"Boss Matt, what do we do next?" Buddy asked, somewhat panicked and helpless.
He used to work with Matt cleaning the sewers, and during recruitment, he hid among the new recruits so he could coordinate with Matt in case of emergencies.
"What else can we do? Get out of here. Damn it, will these viruses turn Rota City into a zombie city too?" Matt gritted his teeth. What could they do now? They should hurry and call for help.
Since the enhancement potion had already been used, there was no fear of it being taken back. Even though their bodies suffered severe corrosive damage, Matt could still feel the power within his body.
He hadn't kept much of the looted gold, but the increased power was more important than money.
Right now, he just needed to get the professionals to deal with the situation quickly; a zombie-infested city like Rota wouldn't do him any good.
Thinking of this, Matt glanced at Eller. Eller was in much better condition than him, and if he wasn't mistaken, there was a vial of vaccine at Eller's feet when he returned.
That gun from the alternate dream… considering all the broken valuables, Eller bringing back a complete handgun was pure luck.
At his feet were only some gun barrels, broken bullets, and other things.
"Phew~ That was quite a commotion." After confirming that the zombie Thorn had been killed, Bai Mu immediately ran away. Compared to the disheveled Matt and the others, he seemed unharmed.
Although his clothes were torn, his injuries had healed. Due to the fog, his strength and stamina had increased, and he didn't feel particularly tired running with a rather heavy backpack on his back.
He first arrived at the sewer exit. The police officers who were originally there were gone. Several days might have passed in real time, or perhaps not so long, because there were no signs of a 'search and rescue' in the sewer.
Bai Mu quickly left. Even if he might face questioning later, he wanted to put his things away first. The police officers he passed along the way let him know that he didn't need to call the police.
Once on another street, Bai Mu appeared much like an ordinary person. As he walked, he pondered the connection between the sewer corpses and the 'hero' Thorn in the alternate dream.
The alternate dream originated from the sewer corpses, and Thorn played a crucial role in it. He was immune to the side effects of the virus, could be enhanced by it, and even brought the vaccine out of the city.
But Thorn's special abilities seemed to be limited to the Great Bear City. Outside of that city, his abilities seemed to diminish?
Otherwise, Thorn should have excelled against attacks, whether powerfully or pathetically, he should have been able to repel the invaders.
A strong repelling would be typical of superhero stories, while a desperate defense followed by reinforcements is typical of movie heroes. But the corpses in the sewers turned into zombie bosses.
Perhaps Thor was captured and modified in the alternate dream?
Not long after, the sewer entrance was sealed off. Matt and the others who emerged were taken to the hospital. They were unlucky souls who were 'passively' drawn into the alternate dream, and even more remarkably, they returned alive.
They also brought back information from the alternate dream, varying in importance.
Alternate dreams rarely connect, but their backgrounds often share similarities, and some technological knowledge from them can be applied to reality.
Therefore, Matt and the others received excellent medical treatment and even a relief fund upon signing an agreement.
Inside the sewers, workers in protective suits were busy. One worker picked up a small piece of black debris from the ground and put it in a bag. They were members of the Alternate Dream Processing Bureau in Rota City, specializing in handling alternate dreams.
Other staff members meticulously inspected the surrounding area, recovering the corpses and leaving no stone unturned, even for small pieces of flesh. The vehicle was transported away after a thorough cleaning.
Uncontrolled Dreams rarely leave behind large items, and this type of vehicle would be almost impossible to find during a Dream Annihilation, yet it appeared here.
Furthermore, the gunman named Eller had retained a handgun and a vial of unidentified 'medicine'—his luck was truly exceptional.
As for the other gold fragments and other items… those were standard Dream Annihilation remnants.
This section of the sewer has been sealed off and will undergo even more rigorous cleaning.
The intelligence brought back by Matt and his team has made the Dream Annihilation Bureau extremely concerned. A city teeming with zombies—if not handled properly, this situation could potentially unfold in parts of Rota City.
Fortunately, they have relevant experience in dealing with this; although the virus is dangerous, prevention and cutting off the source are key.
(End of Chapter)