Apocalypse Rebirth: Beauties Surround Me

Chapter 199: Spirit plants

After some questioning, Elijah finally learned that Lillian was not yet 40 years old.

The reason her daughter was so grown-up was due to an unintended pregnancy when she was young.

Since their families knew each other, they decided to get married and have the child.

Even so, Lillian's appearance did not match her age. Elijah could only attribute it to her profession in running a spa and beauty salon, which must have helped her maintain her looks exceptionally well.

As they chatted, Lillian ate, and Elijah revealed some of his abilities.

This clarified Lillian's earlier confusion about why so many zombies were around Elijah and under his control.

Elijah's strength stemmed from his ability to mimic the powers of those he had contracted.

The more Lillian heard, the happier she became. Elijah's strength meant greater safety for her and Nora. Understanding Elijah's mimicking ability, Lillian guessed part of his intentions and proactively suggested that Elijah contract her.

Elijah successfully implanted the Seed of Consciousness in her, confirming that Lillian's abilities were indeed similar to Olivia's.

Their conversation, especially through the Seed of Consciousness and the contract, made them much more familiar with each other.

As the evening grew darker, Lillian, having eaten and regained some energy, stretched lazily and said to Elijah, "It's getting late. Nora might be awake. I'll go check on her."

Lillian noticed Elijah wasn't responding. When she looked closely, she saw he was staring intently at her chest.

When she had stretched her arms, her chest had become particularly prominent, capturing Elijah's full attention.

Blushing slightly, Lillian instinctively covered her chest with her hand. Elijah, snapping back to reality, took out some more food from his backpack.

"It's time to check on our daughter. Take these so she won't go hungry," he said.

"Our daughter?" Lillian retorted playfully but didn't refuse, putting away the food and water.

"Get some rest," Lillian said, then left the room with the supplies.

Watching Lillian's swaying figure disappear, Elijah felt a bit regretful. Suddenly, Lillian's head popped back into view.

"Once our daughter is settled, I'll come back to find you..." she said before disappearing again.

If it weren't for Elijah's enhanced senses confirming she had indeed come back, he might have thought he imagined it.

"Coming to find me late at night? That must mean..." Elijah chuckled to himself.

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As night fell, Elijah started feeling hungry, so he ate some food while contemplating a problem. Lillian's earlier description of the Tier 3 zombie had a flaw.

Lillian didn't know that the zombie possessed intelligence and merely believed that her sensing ability and good luck had allowed her to avoid it.

However, Elijah had a different perspective.

The Tier 3 zombie had discovered Elijah's group and had patiently observed them before launching a surprise attack.

It had precisely targeted Abigail and Elijah, the core members, and had resisted the lure of the corpse core.

Each of these points indicated that the Tier 3 zombie's range of activity extended beyond this residential area and that it was both rational and cunning.

The Tier 3 zombie had been able to kill everyone else in the community, so it seemed unlikely that it hadn't noticed Lillian.

Its constant presence in the area, with only occasional forays to hunt, suggested that something in this community attracted it.

"Lillian mentioned that the zombie came here while chasing a survivor from the community, who was also an Awakened but ultimately died at the hands of the Tier 3 zombie. Could it be that the survivor had something the Tier 3 zombie wanted? After killing the survivor and failing to find it, the Tier 3 zombie has been lingering around here, unwilling to leave," Elijah speculated.

Elijah had a rough idea that what could attract a Tier 3 zombie were likely spirit plants, spirit beasts, or a high-grade corpse core. "There's no rush to leave tomorrow. I'll search the area first."

While Elijah pondered, Lillian returned to her room and found that Nora had already woken up on the sofa.

"Nora, are you hungry? I found some food for you!" Lillian hurriedly approached and handed the food Elijah had given her to the little girl.

"Aunt Lillian, I'm not hungry," Nora said, her large, bright eyes pretending to be strong. But no sooner had she spoken than her stomach growled.

"You say you're not hungry!"

Lillian affectionately stroked her head, knowing the child was trying to be considerate.

Since the vicious zombie arrived in the vicinity, depriving them of food, Lillian had reduced her own intake, leaving more food for the child.

At first, Nora hadn't noticed, but she gradually understood.

She started eating smaller portions at meals, stopped playing with her toys, and spent most of her time lying on the sofa, sleeping.

Lillian initially worried that constant sleeping was unhealthy, but since Nora showed no adverse effects, she let it go, guessing that the girl slept more to conserve energy and require less food.

She lovingly hugged the child, whose body had become very thin, lighter even than before the apocalypse.

This was a child still in her growth phase! Lillian felt a pang of heartache but quickly felt happy.

The vicious zombie was dead, and now there was a strong person they could rely on, promising better days ahead.

She eagerly shared this news with Nora, encouraging her to eat the food she brought back, assuring that more would follow.

Nora looked up at Lillian, listening intently to her description. Lillian didn't know if she fully understood, but when she finished, Nora exhaled like a little adult.

"Aunt Lillian thinks that uncle is a good person, so he must be. And that uncle is really amazing! He beat the bad guy who hides. Now I can be at ease!" Nora said.

Lillian smiled warmly. "Can you eat well now?"

"Yes, yes!" Nora eagerly picked up the food and started eating.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Abigail, who was directing the zombies to keep watch, suddenly felt a strange vibration coming from the building in front of her.

Not only did she sense it, but the Tier 2 zombies under her control also felt it and collectively turned toward the building, eager to rush inside.

Abigail quickly controlled the group to stay calm and swiftly entered the building, guided by her intuition, until she stood outside a door on the first floor.

At the same time, Elijah sensed an abnormal fluctuation in the consciousness link and wondered what was happening.

He rushed out of his room and ran downstairs. When he reached the ground floor, he saw that Abigail had controlled the zombies but was nowhere in sight.

Using the consciousness link to determine her location, Elijah found her in a room on the first floor.

"What are you doing?" he asked upon entering, seeing Abigail huddled in a corner with her back to him, her shoulders occasionally twitching.

Startled, Abigail turned around, looking like a cat caught stealing food. She covered her mouth, chewing as she mumbled, "Nothing... nothing!"

"Nothing?" Elijah was skeptical of her furtive behavior and looked around the room, especially at the spot where she had been squatting.

Thanks to Daisy's enhanced night vision, he quickly spotted a flowerpot with a nearly bald plant, only one wilted leaf remaining. Around this single drooping leaf floated tiny, almost invisible, glowing specks.

"Spirit plants?" Elijah exclaimed in surprise.