Wendy was extremely excited; if it weren’t for Abigail and Kylie being around Elijah, she would have clung to him and dragged him to her room.
After arranging the tasks for the next day and reminding them to collect spirit plants and corpse cores, they ended their training and began dinner.
After dinner, Elijah didn’t forget those who had been imprisoned and tortured.
Thanks to Ian’s passive healing ability, most of them had nearly recovered the flesh in their legs.
Elijah still went around healing each one personally.
During his treatment, two individuals regained some stability and sanity.
Elijah assigned Hayden to help them with their emotional recovery, as they had shared experiences and could empathize with each other.
Over the next two days, the entire group began to function smoothly.
Besides thoroughly enjoying his time with Abigail, Elijah gained a few loyal followers among the mentally scarred individuals who had gradually recovered.
When they learned that Elijah had defeated and killed Matthew, they were immensely grateful.
Elijah specifically selected the first person to recover, a strength-type ability user, and contracted him.
He then tasked him with leading the other recovered individuals to gradually take over the hotel’s security and to continue caring for those who hadn’t fully recovered.
That day, Elijah received good news.
A regular person who had gone out with Theodore had luckily found a zombie grass plant in a location Elijah had suggested might contain spirit plants.
Theodore’s team cleared the zombies in the area and brought back the zombie grass.
Elijah then had Ian’s team return and used the zombie grass to create an awakening potion, rewarding the person who had found the spirit plant.
This individual, under the watchful eyes of the entire group, drank the potion and successfully awakened a defensive ability, becoming an awakener.
Seeing this, the eyes of other regular people in the group lit up with hope.
Elijah took this opportunity to announce an internal rewards and punishment system for the group.
"So the next tasks are, first, to continue clearing the road to the mall storage base. Second, to send a team southward. Once I return to the coastal district, I will have my people on that side expand southward as well. Eventually, we’ll meet up in the southern district, establishing a route for easier communication and exchange in the future," Elijah explained.
Although traveling through the city center would be the shortest route, it was filled with too many zombies to ensure safety.
"Understood!" the squad leaders responded in unison.
Elijah continued with other arrangements, such as having Hayden participate in external missions, alternating with Ian and Theodore, allowing team members to rest.
The hotel’s security was entrusted to the new squad leader, Logan, the first among the formerly imprisoned individuals to recover.
Finn’s team would assist with defense, along with those rotating back for rest, ensuring ample security for the base.
If any spirit plants were found after Elijah’s departure, they were to be handed to Yvonne for cultivation, with the awakening potions to be distributed upon his return.
After finalizing the group’s future plans, everyone dispersed.
Lillian, who had been observing the meeting, seemed hesitant to speak. "Lillian, do you have something to say?" Elijah asked curiously.
"Are you really leaving in a couple of days?" Lillian asked. Discover exclusive tales at mvl
"Yes, but don’t worry, Lillian. You can come with me," Elijah reassured her.
"I want to... but the journey is too dangerous, and I’m worried about Nora," Lillian replied.
"I see..." Elijah pondered for a moment. "If you’re concerned about the dangers, you can stay with the YLK group. I’ll visit periodically, and once the routes are established, my visits will be more frequent."
"I’ll think about it," Lillian nodded and returned to her room.
Elijah sensed that something was off with Lillian’s recent behavior but couldn’t pinpoint the issue.
He had tried using his mind-reading ability but discovered that Lillian’s sense of good and evil seemed to shield her from Wendy’s mind-reading.
He couldn’t understand why, ultimately attributing it to a possible mutual counteraction of their mentally-aligned abilities.
Elijah returned to his suite, where Abigail and Kylie were playing cards out of boredom.
They had found it to be an entertaining pastime, with Abigail using the games to sharpen Kylie’s wits.
Daisy had once used similar methods to enhance Abigail’s mental acuity and memory.