He ran while thinking to himself, having just given Abigail seven second-tier corpse cores, with thest three being very recent.


    Based on previous experience, Abigail couldn''t possibly digest them so quickly.


    So, the only thing that could have spurred her advancement must have been the spirit nt she consumed!


    What''s more critical is that Abigail hadn''t finished eating the entire spirit nt; there was still some left, enough for her to advance to the third tier.


    No wonder the third-tier zombies had been relentlessly searching for this spirit nt.


    Obviously, the grade of this spirit nt might be even higher than Crystal Grass! Elijah''s heart was filled with both joy and worry!


    By the time he returned to where Lillian and the others were hiding, the fluctuations in the consciousness connection had subsided, and Abigail hadpleted her advancement.


    Elijah was relieved to find that the consciousness link was intact, and Abigail remained under his control.


    Thus, upon reaching the door, instead of hurrying back, he tried to emte Abigail''s third-tier abilities.


    As he sessfully mimicked her abilities, Elijah felt his skin be even harder than before.


    When his arms collided, they produced a metallic "ng."


    He drew a dagger and forcefully shed his own arm; with his current strength, he could only break through a bit of flesh, unable to harm the tendons and bones.


    Of course, self-inflicted wounds were inherently limited, but even if he went all out, it would probably only deepen this wound a bit.


    He could feel unprecedented enhancement of his skeletal structure this time.


    In fact, when he used second-tier defensive abilities, he could feel that his bones had been strengthened, but they were still within the scope of carbon-based bones.


    But now, he felt that his bones were as hard as steel,pletely different from before.


    "Is this the ability of Copper Skin and Iron Bones? With such defense, one could practically dominate the apocalypse!"


    Elijah muttered to himself, the new ability giving him more confidence for the actions toe.


    After adapting to the third-tier Copper Skin and Iron Bones ability for a moment, Elijah slowly walked into their hiding ce.


    Lillian was the first to notice Elijah''s return, but she didn''t greet him; instead, she was soothing Nora, who was asleep.


    Nora had been waiting for Uncle Elijah to return so she could tell him that she had been keeping an eye on the spirit nts.


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    Unfortunately, despite starting to replenish food and water normally, her body was still weak from prolonged use of abilities, and she fell asleep before Elijah returned.


    Seeing this scene upon entering, Elijah didn''t disturb them and went to find Abigail instead.


    Unseen by him, in the instant he turned away, Lillian''s gaze towards him was filled withplexity, mingling shame and regret.


    Abigail was in another room, and when Elijah entered, he caught her demonstrating her abilities, her whole body shimmering golden.


    Upon seeing Elijah, Abigail immediately pounced on him, hanging onto his body and joyfully eximing, "Master, I''ve advanced!"


    Elijah held her hips, watching her increasingly lively spirit, feeling a wave in his heart.


    "Is that so? Then, Master must thoroughly inspect!"


    "What? Lillian seems to know you?"


    After a beneficial physical and mental check-up, Abigaily in Elijah''s arms, recounting what had happened during his absence.


    To Elijah''s surprise, Lillian appeared to be acquainted with Abigail.


    "Yeah, she asked me a lot about school stuff, seems like she and I were ssmates. I even went to her store for beauty treatments, but I don''t remember a thing!"


    Abigail sighed in frustration, tapping her forehead. Besides remembering Daisy vividly, she slowly regained some instinctive memories ormon knowledge.


    Even memories of her own parents weren''t very clear.


    In a way, Abigail was essentially apletely reborn self-aware personality, markedly different from her past self in behavior, demeanor, and temperament.


    This was the reason Lillian initially hesitated to confirm their connection!


    "Speaking of which, Lillian did mention having a daughter... could she have been your ssmate? Since you don''t remember, ask Daisyter, she might know!" Elijah suggested.


    "I thought of that too. I mentioned Daisy to her, and she seemed quite interested!" Abigail replied.


    "Well, in any case, it''s a good thing," Elijah nodded, deciding not to dwell on the matter. Currently, the most important thing was how to deal with Matthew''s issue.


    A quiet night passed.


    Early the next morning, Nora ran over to Elijah to report that she had kept a close watch on the spirit nts. Elijah praised her thoroughly, and Nora left happily.


    After breakfast, Elijah exined his n. Lillian voiced her concern, "Are you sure you''ll be alright on your own?"


    "Don''t worry about that. There''s no one in this world who can harm me!"


    Elijah sounded a bit self-assured, though his defenses weren''t as exaggerated as he imed.


    Therefore, Elijah needed to either take Abigail along on his mission or ensure she stayed within five kilometers of the YLK Group.


    "But your safety is also a concern!" Elijah furrowed his brow, then continued, "Today, you''ll stay hidden here while I take the stealth zombies..."


    Thinking of potential telepaths on the other side, Elijah added, "...and Nora to scout their headquarters. Once we confirm its location, we''ll move nearby together!"


    Elijah outlined the n roughly, aiming for stability above all else.


    Nora was excited to hear she''d be apanying Elijah, and while Lillian had concerns, she didn''t object.


    After finalizing their ns, Elijah instructed Abigail to protect Lillian with the other zombies while he carried Nora and the stealth zombies toward the supermarket where the YLK Group members had been seen the day before.


    As Elijah stepped out, he spotted the survivors from yesterday in the distance, heading toward the mall with bundles in tow.


    Before departing, Elijah had explicitly instructed Nora that this mission was like arge-scale game of hide-and-seek—they couldn''t speak or be discovered.


    Nora obediently stayed in Elijah''s arms, herrge eyes curious as she looked around.


    With Nora and the stealth zombies'' abilities, Elijah wasn''t concerned about being detected.


    "Well, this makes things easier. Let''s just follow them," Elijah smirked and quietly trailed near the group.


    They arrived safely at the mall, where many more people had gathered, along with several trucks being loaded and unloaded with supplies.


    Dominic, whom Elijah had seen yesterday, greeted the influx of people with a rare, feigned smile of hospitality, directing everyone onto a truck to return with other transport vehicles.


    "With this fresh blood supply, our strength will increase significantly again!"


    Fatso eximed after the busy work, walking over to Dominic, ttering him and even licking his lips involuntarily.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t forget your credit; I''ll tell the boss when we get back!" Dominic responded excitedly.


    "Thank you very much!"