"Really?" Elijah couldn't help but swallow hard, seemingly drawn in by Gavin's description of the future.
"Of course it's true, Quentin. Let tell you, this place is freaking amazing. I was in a survivor community before, just over a dozen of us, and we got wiped out by a mutated zombie. I was the only one lucky enough to survive. Then, you know what happened? So people from YLK Group passed by and effortlessly took down the mutated zombie!"
Gavin recounted, a mix of fear, gratitude, and admiration in his voice.
"So I decided to follow them back here, determined to beco an Awakened."
"These people here are really sothing. I hope I can beco Awakened too!" Elijah chid in.
The two continued chatting for a while until Gavin checked his watch and announced, "It's about ti for dinner!"
Just then, Wendy returned and nodded at Elijah. "Everyone, gather in the lobby. Once we're all here, we'll go to the cafeteria for dinner."
"Got it, Wendy!" Elijah replied promptly.
"Dinner ti, let's go!" Gavin eagerly dashed towards the hotel lobby.
Elijah followed closely behind, while Wendy continued knocking on other doors. Soon, people started coming out of their rooms one by one, gathering in the hotel lobby.
Elijah noticed the group of survivors who had arrived earlier that morning, including the bespectacled man. They all seed in good spirits, but sothing struck Elijah as odd.
"Where's Finn, the college kid?" Elijah wondered aloud. "I rember he ca with this group. He's the only Awakened among them." Experience new stories on m v|l e'-
Before Elijah could dwell on it further, Wendy stepped forward to address everyone. "Alright, now that everyone's here, follow to the cafeteria for dinner!"
After Wendy finished speaking, she walked ahead with everyone following closely behind. Elijah went along with the crowd and arrived at the cafeteria. At the entrance, Elijah noticed sothing unusual—four robust, seemingly Awakened n stood guard there, their eyes casually scanning the crowd.
Instinctively, Elijah switched to Lillian's perception ability and imdiately sensed that all four n glowed a vivid red.
"Why are they so hostile towards , or rather, towards us newcors?" Elijah wondered.
He refrained from probing further, wary that there might be other perception users who could detect his ability usage.
However, in that brief glimpse, Elijah noticed a multitude of densely packed figures underground, so green, so yellow, and even so so red they bordered on black.
"There are many people underground, and even zombies, possibly mutated ones... So, the notion of the underground being just a garage or warehouse is likely a lie," Elijah murmured to himself.
"There must be many secrets hidden underground. I'll need to find an opportunity to investigate. But for now, I need to get through this current situation first. There's probably sothing fishy even in this cafeteria," Elijah observed discreetly.
Outside, darkness had fallen, with only a few lamps in the hotel barely illuminating the surroundings enough to avoid complete darkness.
Inside, people entered the restaurant one by one.
There were large round tables that could seat seven or eight people, as well as smaller rectangular tables for four.
Standing inside were seven individuals, including one Elijah had seen earlier in the mall, the somber and composed man standing beside Dominic.
These seven clearly weren't waitstaff; they looked more like security personnel. Elijah grew even more perplexed.
At that mont, Wendy warmly welcod everyone and began assigning seats.
Elijah chose a small rectangular table nearby, and Gavin, still smiling, sat down next to him.
Across from them were two individuals from the group with bespectacled n.
Once everyone was seated, Wendy clapped her hands. Imdiately, several young won erged from what appeared to be the kitchen area, each pushing a cart laden with food. Even before the carts reached them, the diners beca restless, catching a whiff of the grilled ats, ribs, and large bones piled high on the carts.
The aroma filled the air, making everyone salivate.
Most of these survivors hadn't eaten much, if anything substantial, since the virus outbreak nearly a month ago.
Now, faced with not just any food, but succulent at, they couldn't resist. They rushed to the carts, grabbing handfuls of at and bones.
"Except for a few, this is the first al for most of you here at YLK Group. So, we've prepared a lavish dinner for you all! As long as everyone works diligently here at YLK, such feasts won't be uncommon!" Wendy announced warmly, then stepped aside.
The new arrivals eagerly rushed to the carts, so grabbing at and bones by the handful. Elijah's tablemates joined the frenzy.
However, Elijah didn't move. He stared at the at on the cart, his expression one of disbelief and suspicion.
"What the hell kind of at is this?" he thought to himself.
"It's been nearly a month since the apocalypse. Without electricity for refrigeration, where did all this at co from, and why are they giving such large quantities to a group of newcors?" Elijah couldn't fathom it.
"Unless they found a continuously powered cold storage or so livestock farm nearby. But that's unlikely," Elijah reasoned internally.
"Firstly, for a cold storage, I doubt any backup power could last a month after the main supply went out. Secondly, there aren't any large livestock farms near Neoville City. It's unrealistic to transport such quantities from neighboring counties," Elijah reasoned further.
"So where did this at co from, and what kind of at is it?" Elijah's suspicion deepened.
Just then, Gavin returned to the table with two trays, each holding several pieces of at and bones. He enthusiastically pushed one tray towards Elijah.
"Why aren't you digging in, Quentin? Luckily, I brought so over for you. Dig in!" Gavin encouraged, grabbing a piece of at and biting into it, the juices running down his chin.
"Mmm, tastes amazing!" Gavin exclaid.
At the sa ti, the other two at their table returned with at and bones. They wasted no ti in devouring their portions.
Elijah glanced at his plate and the bones and at on it, growing increasingly uneasy.
"These bones... why do they look so odd?"
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