"Quentin, there are quite a few people in your gathering ce, and you have also witnessed the harm that good people suddenly turning into zombies can cause to the gathering ce!"


    Quentin nodded, not quite understanding why Elijah brought this up.


    "I can give you another piece of information: Awakened ones don''t have the sudden corpse-changing issue," Elijah chuckled lightly. "That''s why you only recruit Awakened ones..."


    Quentin understood.


    "Elijah, may I ask how many people are in your gathering?" a young man who had spoken earlier asked.


    "What''s your name?" Elijah inquired.


    "Zachary! Just call me Zachary," he replied.


    "Well, there aren''t many of us, just eighteen people," Elijah said.


    "Hiss!" Zachary and the others beside him gasped. Eighteen people meant, ording to Elijah''s criteria, eighteen Awakened ones! And they didn''t have to worry about turning into corpses.


    With such strength, survival in the apocalypse would be a breeze. They could even dominate the region.


    Zachary and the others looked at Elijah with newfound admiration. Unfortunately, they didn''t meet Elijah''s recruitment conditions and couldn''t receive his help, leaving them feeling deeply disappointed.


    "Elijah..." Quentin envied their situation and wanted to say something but couldn''t find the words.


    Suddenly, Fiona spoke up. "Elijah, it''s not impossible to make them part of our group."


    Quentin and the others looked at Fiona in surprise, their hopes reignited.


    "How so?" Elijah nodded slightly, appreciating Fiona''s suggestion.


    "Think of it like starting apany. They can be our wholly-owned subsidiary. We won''t interfere with their operations, just maintain a hierarchical rtionship on paper. What do you think?" Fiona proposed with a smile.


    "What does that entail?" Quentin asked eagerly.


    "Just like forming an alliance in a martial arts novel. We are the leaders, able to request unity on certain matters but not interfere with the operations of their factions," Fiona exined.


    Quentin and hispanions understood easily through these examples. They exchanged nces, seeing the excitement in each other''s eyes, then turned to Quentin.


    "We have no objections, Elijah, or should I say, Boss..." Quentin and the others looked at Elijah expectantly.


    Being stared at by a group of tough men made Elijah ufortable. "Alright, let''s leave it at that. Since it''s unlikely we can truly control their influence just by name, we''ll have to rely on the Seed of Consciousness in the end."


    "I tentatively agree," Elijah added.


    "Great!" Zachary and his brothers cheered, clenching their fists in joy.


    "Boss, what''s next?" Quentin asked eagerly.


    "It''s urgent. We''ll discuss the details of our allianceter. For now, let''s go help you deal with those mutated zombies. Quentin, lead the way!" Elijah instructed.


    "Alright, from now on, you''re our boss. We''ll follow your orders," Quentin said, turning to his men. "You too. Elijah is our boss, understood?"


    "Yes, Quentin!" Zachary and the others immediately bowed slightly to Elijah. "Hello, Boss."


    "Oh... no need for that. It''s starting to feel like the mafia here. Let''s move on. Quentin, you''re a bit older than me, so I''ll call you big brother. Let''s go!" Elijah said.


    "Boss, don''t you need to go back and gather your mutated zombies?" Quentin asked, puzzled.


    "No need. They''re just second-tier zombies," Elijah replied casually.


    Upon hearing Elijah''s words, Quentin didn''t feel arrogant but rather understood that it should be this way. How else could hemand the loyalty of seventeen subordinates?


    Without further hesitation, Quentin led his group towards their gathering ce. Elijah and his group didn''t bother with vehicles; the ce wasn''t far, just a few kilometers away.


    Soon, they reached the intersection before the mall, an area Elijah and Quentin had cleared multiple times, so there were hardly any zombies left. asionally, a few emerged from nearby office buildings and residential areas.


    Without hesitation, Elijah and his crew dispatched these zombies, Quentin leading a few of his men to swiftly eliminate them.


    After killing the zombies, they adeptly cracked open their skulls to extract the cores, collecting them in a unified effort.


    As Elijah observed the bags being filled with corpse cores, totaling dozens, he suddenly understood something.


    Why did that second-tier mutant zombie continue to chase them even after Quentin and the others had run so far?


    It must have known the purpose of the corpse cores, hence the relentless pursuit.


    However, Elijah kept this spection to himself. They hadn''t fully controlled their power yet; it was too early to reveal anything.


    Heading south from the intersection toward the mall, they walked another hundred meters and spotted a mutant zombie about half a meter taller than the usual ones.


    "Boss, it''s this zombie! Strange, why isn''t it chasing us but standing here?" Quentin wondered aloud.


    The zombie wasn''t at their usual gathering spot, but it wasn''t far either. If they didn''t deal with it, it would expose them every time they entered or left.


    Elijah took out his binocrs and took a distant look.


    He saw that where the mutant zombie lingered, there were many zombie corpses piled up from Quentin''s previous cleanups.


    What could hold back a mutant zombie, preventing it from pursuing even the corpse cores? Elijah''s mind raced with possibilities.


    "Could there be spirit nts?" he wondered aloud, unable to think of any other exnation.


    "Boss, what''s our next move?" Quentin looked to Elijah.


    "Let''s get closer again," Elijah replied. Despite his suspicions, he wasn''tpletely certain yet and wanted a closer look.


    So they advanced further. The mutant zombie clearly noticed them this time but didn''t charge.


    Instead, it paced more restlessly nearby, asionally roaring in their direction, seemingly trying to intimidate them into leaving.


    These behaviors of the mutant zombie only strengthened Elijah''s belief that there were spirit nts there.


    "What''s going on?" Quentin noticed something was off too. "Before, this zombie would have torn us apart at sight. Why the restraint now?"


    Fiona observed Elijah''s noticeably excited expression and whispered, "Do you know what''s going on?"


    "There are spirit nts there," Elijah whispered back.


    "Really? Thatplicates things," Fiona replied softly.


    In an instant, Elijah understood Fiona''s concern.


    Such abnormal behavior from the mutant zombie would raise questions, especially for Quentin and his crew who had been chased by it before.


    If they discovered spirit nts near the mutant zombie, they would undoubtedly have doubts. After all, they had helped Elijah gather them previously and even traded for one.


    "No worries, we''ll tell them the truth about spirit nts when we find them, andpensate them. Even if they got theirs first, one person''s awakening in exchange is worth two for us. Anyone would agree with that calction!" Elijah reassured.


    "I''m just afraid they might try cultivating them secretly next time," Fiona frowned.


    "Let them try. I''ll tell you, besides Be''s ability, I haven''t seen anything that can make spirit nts propagate or regenerate," Elijah said confidently.


    Relieved by Elijah''s certainty, Fiona nodded. They exchanged a few more whispered words, while Quentin assumed they were strategizing.