At lunch, Elijah dined with Nora. The little girl had grown sturdier and chattered incessantly, proudly presenting the Dancing Grass for Elijah to examine.
Together, they spent some time observing when the Dancing Grass would dance.
Lillian, having finally finished her grooming, emerged slowly.
This time, Elijah felt a mix of reluctance and shyness from Lillian during their intimate moments.
It was different from their last encounter, which had been in the dead of night.
Despite the initial discomfort, there was an overwhelming sense of indulgence and abandon that Elijah found deeply satisfying.
After their meal, Elijah took Nora to see Yvonne and check on the Red Fruit No. 2 she was cultivating, as well as the spirit plants YLK group members had found recently.
Elijah was pleasantly surprised to find not only several zombie grasses but also a Blood Spirit Grass.
Blood Spirit Grass, being stronger than zombie grass but slightly weaker than Crystal Grass, was particularly effective for strength and speed type awakeners.
The specimen was close to maturity. Once the road to the southern suburbs was cleared, it could be used to test Gabriel's potential for advancing to the third tier.
Since Elijah had been away, the spirit plants had been growing unchecked, which was a waste.
He decided to harvest all the mature zombie grasses and use them to create advancement potions. He then rejuvenated the plants with corpse cores as nutrients, allowing them to continue growing.
Yvonne had performed well during Elijah's absence, taking good care of the spirit plants.
Red Fruit No. 2 had been harvested twice, though most had been exchanged by the second-tier management members.
Ordinary people and awakeners were eagerly saving up corpse cores and contributions for their own potions.
After discussing with Yvonne, Elijah informed her that once the southern suburbs road was cleared, she and the spirit plants would be moved to Azure Isle and handed over to Katherine and Bella.
This would also minimize the risk of leaks regarding the cultivation of spirit plants.
Elijah had overseen operations at YLK for two days, and the road from the western suburbs to the southern suburbs was now fully cleared.
Lillian, on the other hand, watched Fiona and the others with a nervous expression. She only relaxed when Olivia finally got out, confirming that no one else was coming.
Elijah introduced Fiona to everyone and then took them on a tour of the YLK group's base.
Following this, a meeting was held with the management team, Quentin, and the leaders and team captains from various gathering points.
The meeting was straightforward, focusing on the coordination between teams for cleaning the mall's storage base.
In fact, Elijah could have had only YLK group members handle the cleaning, as YLK was now fully under his control.
Allowing only YLK members to clean the base would mean that the mall's storage base would also be entirely under Elijah's control.
However, Fiona advised against this approach.
After effectively controlling the waterfront area, the west and south suburbs of Neoville City, and possessing numerous resources at Neoville City International Port, Fiona harbored greater ambitions.
Her plan was to expand northward and continue to control the old town area, thereby securing almost all of Neoville City except for the central three districts.
This would allow them to focus on surrounding cities or gradually clear zombies from the central districts.
The ultimate goal was to establish a unified force led by Azure Isle.
Despite Elijah's abilities allowing Azure Isle to control almost all gathering points with second-tier ability users and manage the only advancement channel, they were still a minority compared to the many ordinary people and ordinary awakened individuals in Neoville City.
To control these ordinary people without relying solely on abilities and to give them a sense of belonging, it was necessary to offer tangible benefits beyond just the management's rule.
Thus, Fiona suggested involving individuals from other smaller and medium-sized gathering points, similar to how Neoville City International Port operated. By symbolically offering them a share of the "profits," these smaller gathering points would be more motivated and support Azure Isle's rule.
Elijah agreed with Fiona's suggestion, which led to this meeting.
People from outside the YLK group were immediately excited upon hearing about the mall's storage base. After all, who hadn't shopped online at the mall?
They understood the value of such a storage base, which was on par with Neoville City International Port.
Moreover, in terms of improving and enhancing post-apocalyptic living conditions, a storage base was clearly superior, as it contained items that people would use and consume regularly.
Hearing that YLK group members had already opened the roads and started clearing zombies inside made them even more eager.