Chapter 43: Disappointment
Elijah was overjoyed.
He carefully approached and used a dagger to dig out the zombie grass along with the soil.
Then, he took out a police water cup, placed a corpse core inside, covered it with soil, and then put the zombie grass in.
The water cup was not the most suitable container, but he didn't have a better way to carry it at the moment.
He wasn't planning to cultivate it anyway; as long as it grew to three or more leaves, Bella could try awakening her abilities.
Stuffing the cup with the zombie grass into the side of his backpack, Elijah searched carefully but didn't find anything else of value.
He then rejoined Daisy. Seeing his happy expression, Daisy asked, "Did you find something good? You look so happy."
"Indeed, I found another piece of zombie grass. Now Bella can finally awaken her abilities!" Elijah replied.
"Wow, that's great!" Daisy sincerely rejoiced.
The two didn't linger and proceeded to climb over the wall.
On the way, Elijah had a sudden realization.
The person who awakened abilities in the previous police station might have eaten this piece of zombie grass!
He naturally didn't have that opportunity now, but Elijah considered that he had helped them break free from their shackles.
As for the future, it would depend on those people themselves. The two continued eastward.
Thanks to the people from the police station continuously going out to collect supplies in the past few days, the road eastward was cleared very clean, and the two didn't need to do anything themselves.
Soon, Elijah and Daisy reached the coastal road.
The people in the police station were luring zombies to the north, but they were going to the south next.
Fortunately, this road was very wide, an eight-lane expressway, even better than some highways.
The journey ahead was still long, so the two didn't plan to walk.
They found an electric tricycle near the street.
Daisy volunteered to drive, while Elijah sat in the back, keeping watch. They headed southward.
Occasionally, Elijah took out the map and made some markings on it. Finally, as dawn broke, they could see a small island on the horizon.
Elijah breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally here! After a night of traveling, Elijah and Daisy were finally about to reach their destination."
In the distance, where the sea met the sky, a golden light slowly lit up, bringing a glimmer of brightness to the dark night.
"The sunrise! So beautiful!"
Elijah exclaimed. Daisy, however, wasn't very excited and just made a slight sound of agreement.
Elijah looked towards the distant coastline, where he could already see the vague outline of a small island.
He then glanced at the map; there was still about four or five kilometers to go.
But before that...
"We're almost at Seabreeze Terrace. Let's rest there for a while, regain our strength, and then head to the island," Elijah suggested.
Daisy's spirits lifted at his words. "Thank... thank you, Elijah!"
"Silly girl, didn't I say? Family doesn't say thank you!" Elijah ruffled her hair. Daisy pouted, reluctantly letting him touch her.
At the next intersection, Daisy adjusted their direction and turned west.
There weren't many neighborhoods here, so there weren't as many people, and there were hardly any cars or zombies on the road.
Under Daisy's driving, they soon arrived at the entrance of Seabreeze Terrace.
The parking barrier at the entrance of the neighborhood had already been knocked askew, but unlike Elijah's neighborhood, there were no cars blocking it.
Inside the security booth, a security zombie saw the electric tricycle approaching and let out a terrifying roar, banging its hands against the glass.
Unfortunately, it was trapped inside and couldn't get out.
Afraid of alerting more zombies inside, the two got off the tricycle.
Elijah instructed the mutated female zombie to watch the vehicle while he and Daisy entered "stealth mode" and slowly walked into the neighborhood.
Daisy led the way, and after walking a distance, the two stopped in front of a villa.
It was a three-story villa, though not directly connected to the adjacent one, as there was a courtyard wall in between.
Each household here had its own independent courtyard, which wasn't small and could accommodate two cars.
Daisy stood in front of the gate, her expression somewhat sorrowful.
Elijah looked at the wide-open iron gate and the bloodstains scattered on the ground, knowing that Daisy already had some unpleasant guesses in her mind.
He stepped forward and hugged Daisy's shoulder.
"How about I go in first to check, and you wait outside for a while?"
"No need, Elijah. I've already prepared for the worst! Whatever happens, I need to see them with my own eyes..." Daisy's gaze was firm.
"Alright! I'll be right by your side!" Elijah believed she wasn't a fragile person.
The two entered the house, following the bloodstains on the floor.
Elijah deliberately made some noise, causing zombies to growl in the neighboring house, but there was no movement from Daisy's parents' house.
"Are they not inside?"
A quick glance around the yard revealed no hiding places except for a car.
Elijah looked into the car but found no trace of anyone.
Moreover, there were no signs of blood on that side of the car.
The security door of the house was also open, so they cautiously entered.
At the entrance, the blood abruptly stopped.
"No one..." Daisy said with a glimmer of hope.
She and Elijah quickly circled through several rooms and even checked the basement.
There was no sign of anyone, nor were there any zombies.
The interior of the house was tidy, with no signs of disturbance.
"If there had been zombies inside, the place would have been in chaos. The current situation can only mean that Uncle and Auntie are not at home," Elijah concluded.
"But how did the door get open? And the bloodstains..." Daisy was both relieved and disappointed.
Not seeing her parents' bodies meant there was a possibility they were still alive, but the bloodstains in the yard troubled her.
"Maybe someone got injured and sought help from Uncle and Auntie, so the blood might belong to another person!" Elijah suggested another possibility.
There was also the likelihood that the person turned into a zombie, Daisy's parents didn't notice, got bitten at the door, turned into a zombie, and then was lured away by other disturbances.
But Elijah didn't voice this speculation.
Daisy might figure it out, but wasn't it better to hold onto a glimmer of hope? After all, they hadn't seen any bodies.
"Yeah," Daisy took a deep breath. "Elijah, let's go!"
"Aren't we going to rest here for a while?" Elijah was surprised.
"No, while it's not fully bright yet, let's hurry to Azure Isle!"
Daisy rallied.
"Otherwise, if we miss this opportunity, we'll have to wait until night to use our abilities again. We still need to go back to pick up Bella and Charlotte. There's no time to waste!"
And the sooner they moved in, the more time and energy she'd have to search for her parents in the neighborhood.
She wasn't holding out much hope anymore; finding her parents' bodies for burial would suffice.
Elijah probably guessed some of Daisy's thoughts and didn't say anything more.
The two rushed back to the entrance of the neighborhood, reunited with the mutated female zombie, got on the electric tricycle, turned around, and continued on the coastal road.
Finally, they completed the last few kilometers before full daylight.