Elijah was taken aback by Gavin's question about why he wasn't eating. Gavin had already finished gnawing on a bone and looked at Elijah with curiosity as he seed lost in thought.
"Well... do you know what kind of at this is?" Elijah hoped Gavin, who had tasted it, could shed so light on the mystery.
"What at? I couldn't tell, but it tastes darn good! Why, do you have so dietary restrictions?" Gavin replied, picking up another piece of at and enjoying it thoroughly.
"It's not that, but I'm a vegetarian, actually. I never eat at," Elijah quickly ca up with an excuse.
"Oh, I see. That's a sha then, because this at is delicious! Since you're not eating, I'll have yours too!" Gavin said cheerfully, transferring the at from Elijah's plate to his own.
"Go ahead, enjoy it," Elijah said with a nod, glancing around the cafeteria. Everyone seed engrossed in their al, and the supposed security guards were watchful, eyes fixed on the diners.
Your journey continues at m v|l-e'-
At that mont, Wendy noticed Elijah hadn't touched his food and approached him.
"Elijah, is everything alright? You haven't eaten anything," Wendy asked with concern.
Elijah repeated the excuse he gave Gavin.
"I see... we overlooked that. Just a mont," Wendy said, heading back to the kitchen. Soon, she returned with a plate of vegetables and bread.
"These vegetables are usually reserved for the Awakened... but giving them to you shouldn't be against the rules," Wendy explained, implying Elijah was considered an Awakened as well, so it was permissible.
Elijah understood Wendy's implication. He looked at the plate—two cucumbers and a few lettuce leaves. The bread was vacuum-sealed.
"These should be fine," Elijah thought, thanking Wendy and starting on the bread.
Satisfied that Elijah had sothing to eat, Wendy moved away. anwhile, Gavin eyed the cucumbers and lettuce with great interest.
"Bro, mind if I have so of those? All this at is getting a bit heavy," Gavin asked eagerly.
"Go ahead, help yourself," Elijah replied casually.
Gavin wasted no ti grabbing a cucumber and crunching into it, the sound remarkably crisp.
"Quentin, why did that woman say it wasn't against the rules for you to eat?" Gavin asked between bites.
"Maybe... she took a liking to ?" Elijah rubbed his chin, not entirely convinced.
"Damn!" Gavin cursed, glancing at Elijah's rather handso face and then at his own.
"Anyway, damn old lady!" Gavin muttered, then took another bite of the cucumber.
Just then, at the table next to Elijah's, soone stood up abruptly. Their body began to contort strangely, and their throat emitted peculiar noises, almost like...
A zombie!
In the restaurant, Elijah glanced over at the table next to him where three other individuals stared in horror at a person who had suddenly stood up.
It was clear they suspected this person was about to undergo zombie transformation.
At that mont, several seemingly security personnel who had been observing them closely swiftly approached.
Drawing knives, they decisively stabbed the person in the back, disrupting the spinal nerves. The suspected zombie imdiately collapsed.
The commotion drew everyone's attention, so unable to contain their gasps.
"Don't panic, everyone! You've probably experienced it yourselves—people turning into zombies for no apparent reason! That's what happened just now, but our group's awakened individuals took care of it beforehand!"
Upon hearing this, recalling their own experiences, the crowd quieted down.
Those unfamiliar with the transford person continued eating heartily.
In the apocalypse, nothing mattered more than a full al.
As the awakened individuals dragged away the incapacitated zombie, the restaurant regained its lively atmosphere.
Elijah, however, couldn't shake the feeling that the security personnel had known soone would transform and had acted with practiced efficiency, suggesting it wasn't their first ti dealing with such incidents.
Even as they dealt with the transford individuals, the awakened ones remained vigilant, observing everyone closely.
Just as people were finishing their als, two more individuals showed signs of transformation, promptly controlled by the vigilant security.
Given their previous experience, the crowd remained composed despite three transformations during a single al seeming unusually high.
Reflecting on the larger population here compared to their previous gathering places, it seed less surprising.
Instead, due to the tily actions of the awakened individuals, they felt a sense of unprecedented security. After everyone had eaten their fill, Wendy led them back to their respective rooms.
Once most people had gone in, Elijah seized the opportunity to approach Wendy.
"Thank you for looking out for . I want to contribute more to our group. Is there anything you need my help with?"
"There will be, but not right now... Rest up for today!" Wendy appraised Elijah briefly before smiling. "Alright..."
Elijah smiled awkwardly and then hesitated. "Wendy, earlier you ntioned arranging for to et the boss. Do you know when that might happen?"
Wendy's expression flickered strangely at his question, but she quickly replied, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. Tomorrow, I'll make the arrangents! For now, I need to get back to work. The people on the second floor haven't eaten yet!"
"Oh, okay. Take care, Wendy!"
Watching her disappear down the hallway, Elijah returned to his room.
"The people on the second floor... if what she said is true, they must be the ones who passed so kind of test?"
Elijah contemplated going to see them, but fearing discovery, he decided to rest in bed for a while. He planned to venture out quietly later, when the night was still.
...
At 3 AM, when most people were asleep, Elijah quietly got up. Instead of acting impulsively, he activated Lillian's perception ability.
At this hour, he wagered there wouldn't be anyone who could sense his use of this power. He needed to observe carefully.
As his ability activated, nurous clusters of light orbs filled his vision. "So many people?"
Elijah was astonished to see not just newcors on the first and second floors, but also a significant number of figures on the third and fourth floors—roughly around thirty individuals.
"According to Wendy, the third floor houses awakened individuals, and the fourth is managent, likely also awakened. That ans there are over thirty awakened individuals here!"
It seed unbelievable to Elijah. He continued scanning upward.
Fortunately, the upper floors had fewer people, just four figures, all distinctly crimson. "Matthew must be among them!"
Elijah felt an urge to confront him imdiately but reconsidered given the unusually high number of awakened individuals here.
He decided his priority was to unravel this mystery.
And the key to solving it lay in...
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