"Excluding the deceased Nathan and Wendy, the other members of the management team are also second-tier adepts! Dominic has second-tier power-type abilities, Theodore specializes in second-tier defensive capabilities, and Ian possesses the rare second-tier healing abilities."
"How does this healing ability work?" Elijah couldn’t help but ask.
"According to Ian himself, as long as he doesn’t die instantly, he can slowly heal from any severe injury," Wendy explained.
"Slow healing?" Elijah thought about Bella’s passive healing ability, which seemed somewhat similar.
At the same time, he recalled the bizarre slow healing of the awakened on the second underground level, whose flesh wounds seemed to regenerate mysteriously.
"Is Ian somehow connected to the strange healing of those underground level-two awakened?"
"Yes! When Ian advanced to the second tier, he gained this additional ability. While at the first tier, he could only heal himself, at the second tier, anyone who consumes his blood or flesh enters a temporary healing state. However, this state doesn’t last long, and its effectiveness is limited," Wendy clarified.
"The awakened on the second underground level, treated as ’flesh mushrooms’, consume ’healing pills’ made from Ian’s flesh and blood in advance!"
Thinking of those ’flesh mushrooms’ on the second underground level, Wendy involuntarily recalled another strange discovery.
Because the flesh and blood of those awakened are not like zombie flesh, with risks of mutation, they are prioritized for the management team and Matthew!
At that time, Theodore, who was not yet a second-tier awakened, found that his abilities greatly improved after consuming the flesh and blood of another defensive awakened.
Matthew, upon learning this, conducted numerous tests confirming that consuming the flesh and blood of another with the same ability indeed rapidly enhances one’s strength.
So he simply allowed Theodore, a defensive adept prisoner, to consume the flesh and blood of the other, and Theodore broke through to the second tier in a very short time!
Wendy then thought of Elijah, who shares the same abilities as Matthew.
She hesitated: should she tell Elijah about this?
All these thoughts of Wendy’s were heard by Elijah, who had been using his mind-reading ability all along.
Elijah suddenly realized!
The final puzzle was finally solved!
He finally understood why in his previous life, Matthew insisted that Nathan invite him to join his team, threatening to kill him if he refused!
It turns out Matthew had this plan all along!
If zombies can eat humans, why can’t humans eat zombies?
Ancient experience tells us that cannibalism is common in times of food scarcity. Why feel immoral?
When survival is difficult, why care about such things?
Zombie meat tastes surprisingly good! And so on. This made some people accept or at least not oppose eating zombie flesh!
Of course, those strongly opposed were locked in the underground, becoming flesh mushrooms that could regenerate endlessly!
Some chose to pragmatically keep quiet, even if they disagreed inwardly.
Others, more straightforward, said they wouldn’t eat but also wouldn’t oppose or stop others!
Wendy gleaned these insights from monitoring their psychological states.
Matthew reluctantly accepted this group but prioritized Wendy’s surveillance.
At the first sign of resistance or escape, he would immediately capture them.
Since Ian ascended to the second tier and gained the ability to heal others, the situation escalated.
After all, awakened flesh and blood were more effective and had no side effects.
Once they tasted it, they didn’t want to go back to eating zombie flesh.
Ian’s healing ability took three days at the shortest and up to a week at the longest, making awakened flesh seem insufficient.
So, it was easier to capture those "suspicious" individuals and use them as flesh mushrooms.
This not only reduced internal pressure but also eased the urgency for flesh consumption.
"Can you identify those who haven’t been hypnotized and genuinely accept eating zombie flesh as nothing wrong?" Elijah asked after Wendy’s comprehensive introduction to the base.
"It’s possible... But with so many people, how do you plan to handle them?" he queried.
"Naturally, they’ll be killed to prevent further escapes and harm to others!" Elijah stated impassively.
"Of course, we can’t solve everything at once. It has to be gradual, or chaos will ensue. That’s why I keep Matthew around," Wendy added, looking at Matthew, whose limbs were broken and lying like a puddle of mud, unconscious in a pool of blood.
She then reflected on Elijah’s decisive handling of over a dozen lives, realizing his truly ruthless side.