"Hmm? Spirit fish is back again? Could it be..." Elijah nced at the remains of the corpse that Whitey had been gnawing on and immediately activated Sophia''s perception ability!


    Sure enough, a fish about a meter long came rushing over at an extremely fast speed.


    At this point, it wasn''t afraid of Whitey anymore, heading straight for the female zombie''s corpse and began devouring it with its sharp mouth wide open.


    Sophia and Hannah ran over, surprised, asking, "What''s going on?"


    As Elijah picked up a harpoon, he exined his spection about certain fish species being unaffected by the zombie virus.


    Then, seizing the opportunity, he hurled the harpoon with force.


    Like a bolt of lightning, the harpoon tore through the air, piercing the surface of the sea and impaling the Spirit fish.


    Although Elijah hadn''t switched to his strength abilities, his own strength was considerable, far surpassing human limits.


    If it weren''t for the harpoon''s multiple prongs at the tip, it would have pierced through the fish''s body.


    Even so, the harpoon''s prongs dug deep into the Spirit fish''s body.


    At first, the Spirit fish struggled and wriggled, but eventually went still.


    Blood scattered from the wound, catching Whitey''s attention.


    Whitey immediately stopped eating and pounced towards the Spirit fish.


    "Stop!" Elijah quicklymanded Whitey to halt, then retrieved the harpoon.


    Reluctantly, Whitey nced at the Spirit fish before returning to continue feasting on the female zombie''s corpse.


    "Elijah, you''re amazing!" Sophia eximed.


    "Just so-so!" Elijah chuckled, removing the Spirit fish from the harpoon.


    "Do you notice any difference between this one and the Spirit fish we encounteredst time?" Elijah tossed the Spirit fish onto the ground for Sophia to inspect.


    "There''s still a difference. The one we caughtst time resembled a bluefin tuna, while this one looks more like a sea bass. But both have simr traits: they''re not veryrge in size, yet both of these Spirit fish have grown to about a meter and undergone physical changes, making them look unlike their original forms," Sophiamented.


    "Yeah! So it seems that no matter what kind of fish, after evolving, there will be significant changes in their physical form, either increasing in size or converging towards a certain direction," Elijah remarked.


    "It''s possible. Otherwise, these two fish seem to belong to different species, but after bing Spirit fish, they give off a sense of being rted," Sophia agreed.


    "Enough of that! Today''s mission isplete. Let''s head back!" Elijah shook his head, cing the Spirit fish into the freezer to preserve it.


    Although this Spirit fish had eaten some zombie meat, it hadn''t consumed much and hadn''t digested it, so it shouldn''t have much impact.


    Elijah definitely wouldn''t eat it, and he wouldn''t let the others either. But there was still a dog at home, right?


    He could let Yello taste it first, and if there were no problems, he could ask Gabriel if he was willing to try it! If not, it didn''t matter; he could just give it all to Yello and see if Yello would awaken into a spirit beast.


    Then, if Yello had no problems after eating it, they could experiment by feeding a regr fish with a corpse core to see if it could evolve into a Spirit fish.


    If all of this went smoothly, then they would have found another path to be stronger.


    After finishing up, Elijah noticed a fishy smell on himself and quickly rinsed off in the yacht''s shower.


    When he returned to the deck, Sophia had already reeled in the anchor, the yacht was underway, and Hannah was lying on a lounge chair, her eyes closed as if asleep.


    Considering Sophia had been in the sea for a while, she probably needed a wash too, so Elijah headed to the helm.


    "I''ll take over driving; you go take a shower!" Sophia''s sea-drenched clothes were drying, making her feel sticky.


    She happily responded, "Sure, thanks!" Then she vacated her spot and dashed off for a shower.


    Elijah nced at their current approximate position and continued steering ording to the course set by Sophia.


    After about ten minutes or so, Sophia finished showering and returned to the helm.


    "I''m done washing up. Let me take over driving," Sophia said as she walked back into the cockpit.


    Elijah turned his head and was immediately captivated.


    Sophia had just showered, and there was still a hint of moisture on her, making her wheat-colored skin look even more radiant.


    Despite not having as fair aplexion as others, her skin was exceptionally smooth, something Elijah had deeply experienced in the sea.


    What caught his attention even more was that she had changed into another swimsuit, the kind with minimal fabric, just like the one she wore before, a two-piece suit with very little material.


    Compared to the previous ck swimsuit, this one was predominantly warm-toned, with a pure white top and sky-blue bottoms.


    Paired with her wheat-colored skin, she looked stunning.


    "What... what''s up?" Sophia felt self-conscious under Elijah''s intense gaze.


    "Nothing... just think you look really pretty in this outfit!" Elijah''s gaze wandered over her, admiring.


    This made Sophia even more embarrassed, especially when she remembered his antics in the sea earlier!


    "I... I''ll drive the boat," she tried to change the subject.


    "Sure, perfect timing. Last time you were teaching me how to drive, but we stopped halfway. Shall we continue?"


    Elijah sat in the chair, scooting back slightly to make room.


    He patted the tiny space next to him, signaling for Sophia toe over.


    Sophia hesitated, thinking back to the ambiguous teaching sessionst time and recalling Elijah''s words about continuing when they got back.


    Was this what he meant?


    "Professor Sophia?" Elijah called her.


    "Huh?" Sophia snapped out of her thoughts, blushing even more at Elijah''s address.


    But she saw Elijah gesturing for her to join him, so she finally walked over.


    The space between the driver''s seat and the steering wheel wasn''trge, so as Sophia moved over, her body inevitably brushed against Elijah''s.


    Both of them harbored unusual thoughts, and that simple contact felt magnified, causing their hearts to race uncontrobly.


    "Since you''re calling me Professor, I''ll teach you properly!"


    Sophia said, settling in close to Elijah.


    But with the limited space and Elijah not adjusting the seat, they ended up almost embracing.


    "Okay, Professor Sophia! I''ll study diligently!" Elijah''s voice was serious, but his body couldn''t help but lean forward, his hands resting on her slender waist.


    Sophia''s body trembled slightly as she gripped the steering wheel, trying topose herself. "Let me exin to you what these gauges are for," she said, trying to maintain herposure.


    "Okay," Elijah replied earnestly, his hands subtly moving.


    And at that moment, his hand slipped into Sophia''s few items of clothing...