Chapter 12: Is it just my imagination?
Bella hesitated, but Elijah just went into the kitchen to fetch the sharpening stone. This unconsciously relieved Bella, and her body relaxed.
Elijah observed her closely, finding Bella's state quite amusing. As he was about to leave, he lightly patted her on the back with his right hand!
"Ah!" Bella exclaimed, turning her head to see Elijah walking away as if nothing had happened, unable to help but grumble, "You annoying guy..."
Elijah faintly heard Bella's muttering and felt a sense of joy in his heart. It seems it might work out...
Perhaps something good will happen tonight?
With a peculiar sense of joy, Elijah took the sharpening stone to the bathroom and carefully began sharpening the tip of the trekking pole.
After a while, Bella also finished cleaning up the dishes.
Seeing Elijah busy, she organized the materials collected in the morning.
Seeing the solar charger, she felt very happy and quickly placed it in a sunny spot to charge her phone.
With this, there would finally be some light at night.
After finishing all these tasks, Bella realized she didn't feel tired at all.
"Is the effect of martial arts training this good?"
she muttered to herself, unable to resist starting to practice in the living room.
In the living room bathroom, Elijah was still sharpening, and the tip of the trekking pole was beginning to take shape.
Seeing Bella's graceful and charming posture in the living room, he couldn't help but feel a little itchy in his heart.
Maybe it's time to teach her the second set of movements? Some of the moves inside are quite difficult, and detailed guidance is necessary!
After Bella finished the first set of exercises, Elijah walked out of the bathroom and said, "You're already very proficient in this set of movements. Let me teach you the second set!"
Bella's cheeks were slightly flushed from the recent exercise, and a few drops of sweat glistened on her nose.
She remembered the physical contact when Elijah taught her the movements last time, and the inexplicable atmosphere between them during lunch.
Her heart trembled!
"I... I'm a bit tired, maybe next time!" She dared not.
Even though she had mentally prepared herself, she still hesitated, afraid to take that step.
"Your own training is more important. Don't let me affect you. After all, you're in more danger outside. Every bit of training adds to your safety!"
Bella gently approached Elijah and took the trekking pole from his hand.
"I'll take a break and help you sharpen it. You make the most of your time to train!"
Bella's consideration for him made Elijah feel somewhat guilty.
He had to focus all his energy and firepower on training, leaving him completely exhausted.
Bella came over again to help him relax his muscles, this time consciously maintaining a distance.
After finishing, she immediately went back to sharpening the trekking pole, without any hesitation or procrastination.
The day passed in the strange behavior and atmosphere between the two.
...
The fourth day of the apocalypse.
Elijah still woke up early, and to his surprise, Bella was also up early today.
The meal was already set on the table.
"Just the porridge is left. You can start eating!"
Bella shouted from the kitchen.
She still looked beautiful today, although the atmosphere between them was somewhat strange yesterday.
But today, she was still wearing short shorts, with a sleeveless T-shirt on top, exposing her snow-white arms and complementing her long, beautiful legs.
"Are you going out today?"
Bella brought the porridge over and sat next to Elijah, unlike before when there was always some distance between them.
"Yeah, we gathered a lot of food yesterday, but not much water, so I need to go out and find some!" They chatted while eating.
If someone unaware saw this scene, they would probably think they were a married couple living together.
Breakfast was quickly finished. After a short rest, under Bella's attentive service, Elijah got dressed and prepared to go out again with the trekking pole Bella had sharpened yesterday.
"Be careful, I'll be waiting for you at home!"
Bella said, like a wife advising her husband before he leaves.
A warm feeling surged in Elijah's heart, feeling quite gratified. The feeling of someone caring and waiting for him to return home didn't seem so bad after all?!
With a gentle demeanor, he set off, his heart seemingly drawn towards warmth yet entangled in heroic ambitions.
He shut the door behind him, shaking his head. His eyes regained clarity, filled with determination.
He went straight to the fourth floor, where he vaguely heard the commotion of zombies from this unit yesterday.
He didn't immediately unlock the door; instead, Elijah lightly knocked on it.
If someone was inside, he could politely retreat, and if there were zombies, he might not startle them.
"Ah... groan..." Indeed, the sound of zombies came from inside, although it wasn't very clear through the door.
"Judging from the sound... it's a bit distant, probably trapped in the bedroom!" Elijah didn't rush to conclusions.
If this person was sleeping in the bedroom before turning into a zombie and didn't have the intelligence to open the door afterward, they might still be trapped inside.
Conversely, if it were a zombie, it would have likely approached the door upon hearing the noise, and he would have heard it clearly.
After waiting for a moment, Elijah knocked on the door again, and the same noise came from inside.
Confirming that no one was there, he began to tamper with the door lock.
With a "click," the lock opened. Elijah clenched the trekking pole in his right hand and cautiously opened the door.
The layout of the room was the same as upstairs, and no one was in the living room.
The door to the side room made a banging sound when hit, and the sound of a zombie could be heard from inside.
"As expected..." Elijah entered the room.
It was obviously a girl's room, with predominantly pink decorations.
There were many plush toys, and several pieces of women's underwear were hanging on the balcony, all made of scanty fabric.
Despite this, he didn't let his guard down.
He briefly checked a few rooms to confirm no one was inside before approaching the closed bedroom door.
"This is a good opportunity to control this zombie!"
Elijah's most useful ability was to control zombies for his own use, but the premise was to inject the seed of consciousness into the zombie's body.
He had missed the chance during the previous encounter in the hallway due to the urgency.
Now, with the environment on his side, he could control the zombie well.
Returning to the living room, Elijah blocked the bedroom door with a sofa and chairs to prevent the zombie from rushing out when the door opened.
He also tied a rope to the door handle from his backpack.
Since the bedroom door opened inward, he could control the size of the gap with the rope.
Everything was ready, but Elijah felt uneasy.
He had a feeling that someone was watching him, but when he checked the room again while moving things, he found no place where someone could hide.
"Is it just my imagination?"
Elijah shook his head, not thinking much about it and slowly turning the door handle.
When the door opened slightly, a hideous-looking woman stretched her head out.
Veins bulged on her face, her eyes were black and red, her pupils gray, devoid of any vitality.
Blood residue remained at the corner of her mouth, which unconsciously opened and closed like a beast, emitting terrifying growls.
Her body kept trying to squeeze out through the gap, intending to bite Elijah.
Using the rope, Elijah firmly held the door handle with one hand to prevent the door from fully opening.
Then, he pricked his finger and flicked the fresh blood into the zombie woman's mouth. This set of actions was done smoothly and skillfully.
With the blood containing the seed of consciousness entering the zombie woman's body, an invisible bond immediately formed between her and Elijah.
The raging zombie woman immediately quieted down. Elijah controlled her to move away from the door, fully opening it and peering inside the room.
There was no one else inside. At this moment, the zombie woman's figure was fully revealed.
She wore only a pink camisole on her upper body, exposing large areas of fair skin.
Her lower body was clad in extremely short shorts, with her long legs standing straight and slender.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone