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 seemed lost in thought.


    "Well... do you know what kind of meat this is?" Elijah hoped Gavin, who had tasted it, could shed some light on the mystery.


    "What meat? I couldn''t tell, but it tastes darn good! Why, do you have some dietary restrictions?" Gavin replied, picking up another piece of meat and enjoying it thoroughly.


    "It''s not that, but I''m a vegetarian, actually. I never eat meat," Elijah quickly came up with an excuse.


    "Oh, I see. That''s a shame then, because this meat is delicious! Since you''re not eating, I''ll have yours too!" Gavin said cheerfully, transferring the meat from Elijah''s te to his own.


    "Go ahead, enjoy it," Elijah said with a nod, ncing around the cafeteria. Everyone seemed engrossed in their meal, and the supposed security guards were watchful, eyes fixed on the diners.


    Your journey continues at m v|l-e''-NovelBin


    At that moment, 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 moment," Wendy said, heading back to the kitchen. Soon, she returned with a te of vegetables and bread.


    "These vegetables are usually reserved for the Awakened... but giving them to you shouldn''t be against the rules," Wendy exined, implying Elijah was considered an Awakened as well, so it was permissible.


    Elijah understood Wendy''s implication. He looked at the te—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 something to eat, Wendy moved away. Meanwhile, Gavin eyed the cucumbers and lettuce with great interest.


    "Bro, mind if I have some of those? All this meat is getting a bit heavy," Gavin asked eagerly.


    "Go ahead, help yourself," Elijah replied casually.


    Gavin wasted no time 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 me?" Elijah rubbed his chin, not entirely convinced.


    "Damn!" Gavin cursed, ncing at Elijah''s rather handsome face and then at his own.


    "Anyway, damn olddy!" Gavin muttered, then took another bite of the cucumber.


    Just then, at the table next to Elijah''s, someone stood up abruptly. Their body began to contort strangely, and their throat emitted peculiar noises, almost like...


    A zombie!


    In the restaurant, Elijah nced 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 moment, 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 immediately copsed.


    Themotion drew everyone''s attention, some 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 transformed person continued eating heartily.


    In the apocalypse, nothing mattered more than a full meal.


    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 someone would transform and had acted with practiced efficiency, suggesting it wasn''t their first time dealing with such incidents.


    Even as they dealt with the transformed individuals, the awakened ones remained vignt, observing everyone closely.


    Just as people were finishing their meals, two more individuals showed signs of transformation, promptly controlled by the vignt security.


    Given their previous experience, the crowd remainedposed despite three transformations during a single meal seeming unusually high.


    Reflecting on therger poption herepared to their previous gathering ces, it seemed less surprising.


    Instead, due to the timely 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 me. 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 mentioned arranging for me to meet 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 arrangements! 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 some kind of test?"


    Elijah contemted going to see them, but fearing discovery, he decided to rest in bed for a while. He nned to venture out quietlyter, 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, numerous clusters of light orbs filled his vision. "So many people?"


    Elijah was astonished to see not just neers on the first and second floors, but also a significant number of figures on the third and fourth floors—roughly around thirty individuals.


    "ording to Wendy, the third floor houses awakened individuals, and the fourth is management, likely also awakened. That means there are over thirty awakened individuals here!"


    It seemed 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 immediately 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 ity in...