บท 7: Is there really no rescue coming?

After Bella finished the first set of movements, her face was slightly flushed, not from exhaustion but from feeling Elijah's intense gaze.

"How...how was it? Was it okay?" Bella tried to suppress her embarrassment.

"Not bad. Your basic movements are almost there, but there are some subtle differences and gaps," Elijah approached and asked Bella to demonstrate the first movement.

"For example, here, while bending, you need to take a deep breath, adjust your center of gravity, and focus on engaging your thigh muscles," Elijah gently adjusted Bella's thighs with his hands and pointed out the muscles that should be engaged.

Bella's face turned even redder. But seeing Elijah's serious expression, she bit her lip and made the corrections as he instructed.

"Mm, very good!" Elijah stood aside, observing the corrected movements, and instinctively rubbed his thumb and index finger together.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. It was like peeling a boiled egg...

"The key to the previous movements is to focus on breathing and coordinate with the leg strength. Now, let's move on to transitioning to the second movement!"

Elijah instructed Bella to continue, and whenever she made a mistake, he immediately stepped in to correct her and point out the proper breathing technique.

After completing all eight movements, Bella was slightly sweaty. Elijah glanced outside; the sun had disappeared, and the sky was starting to darken.

"Alright, let's stop here for today. It's getting dark outside.

You can practice this first set of movements for the next couple of days until you've mastered them, and then I'll teach you the rest.

Now, let's go cook dinner; otherwise, we won't be able to see soon!" Bella wasn't physically tired, but she felt hungry, so she went to the kitchen to cook.

While she cooked, Elijah stretched his body. Feeling optimistic, he practiced the movements two more times.

"Not bad. The body strengthening is progressing quickly. At this rate, maybe the day after tomorrow I can go out, or at least clean the corridor..." Elijah thought to himself.

Though he felt he could go out tomorrow, for safety's sake, he decided to practice another day.

For dinner, Bella made braised pork with potatoes.

Knowing Elijah wouldn't be able to resist the meat, she decided to stew it all together, letting him enjoy it to the fullest.

Bella, too, uncommonly ate two small bowls. Usually, she ate very little carbohydrate for dinner to maintain her figure.

By the time they finished dinner, it was completely dark outside.

Without the colorful neon lights and light pollution, the surroundings seemed particularly dark.

"I remember there's a candle in the TV cabinet. Let me light it up. While there's still water, you can go wash up," Elijah said.

He rummaged through the TV cabinet in the dark.

Fortunately, the change in lighting wasn't abrupt, and his eyes had already adapted to the darkness, allowing him to see the rough outlines.

Soon, a small flame flickered in the living room, illuminating the room.

"I'll wash the dishes first!"

Bella remembered Elijah mentioning that there might be a water stoppage at night, so she washed the dishes first before returning to her room to freshen up.

Elijah glanced outside; the sounds of the zombies had increased significantly. Compared to daytime, the night was the zombies' playground, and they became more restless.

The human cries and wails were also more frequent.

"We need to hurry with the training!"

Elijah felt a sense of urgency and clenched his fists, continuing his training in the darkness!

Bella finished freshening up quickly.

Seeing Elijah so focused on training, she didn't disturb him.

She placed the candle in the living room and slowly returned to her room.

The candlelight illuminated Elijah, casting a long shadow. Time passed, and at some point, the candle extinguished.

Elijah lost track of how many times he had practiced; all he knew was that his body was sore and weak, unable to exert any more strength, so he had to stop.

Checking the time, it was almost 11 o'clock, and with his exhausted body, he made his way into the bathroom.

After a night of practice, not only was his body sore and weak, but he was also covered in sweat.

While there was still water, he needed to wash up quickly.

Supporting himself, Elijah finished washing, changed his clothes, dried his hair, and finally crawled into bed, exhausted, quickly falling asleep.

He slept soundly that night, not even dreaming for a second, a luxury in the past year of the apocalypse.

When Elijah woke up again, the daylight was already bright.

Glancing at the time, it was just past seven o'clock.

Feeling refreshed, Elijah stretched lazily, hearing a cacophony of cracking joints.

His muscles were no longer sore, but instead, he felt an indescribable lightness. It was as if there was endless strength within his body.

Reaching out to the bedside table, Elijah effortlessly lifted the weight of the cluttered cabinet, which weighed nearly fifty or sixty pounds.

This lifted his spirits immensely! Before, he couldn't say he was weak, but he was only at the level of an average person.

But now, he felt that his strength rivaled that of a weightlifter or boxing champion.

Elijah's current physical fitness was almost at the limit achievable by normal humans. Continuing to train would push him into the realm of non-human strength, enhanced by the virus.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..." Suddenly, his stomach rumbled like a drumbeat.

Elijah's mood immediately soured as every cell in his body roared with hunger.

Getting stronger came with a price... But it was a price he was willing to pay.

Walking into the living room, Bella's door was still closed, indicating she hadn't woken up yet.

Elijah had to make breakfast himself, so he went into the kitchen and heated up two packs of instant noodles.

As for why he didn't cook... If things hadn't changed in the future, there would already be a water and gas shortage by now!

After a simple breakfast, Elijah resumed his training.

Today, he was determined to push beyond human limits! But as he started warming up, he saw a pale figure run into the kitchen.

He couldn't help but stop his training, sighing inwardly as he watched.

This woman... she's getting bolder and bolder.

Does she really think I'm not a man?

Bella didn't sleep well last night. Fear and confusion about the future kept her tossing and turning, with the occasional roar of zombies and the screams of humans in the darkness causing her to have continuous nightmares, often waking her up.

It wasn't until early morning that she fell into a daze and slept again.

When she woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky.

It was quiet all around.

If it weren't for the emptiness and the red bloodstains on the glass of the opposite building, she would have thought that everything from yesterday was just a nightmare.

"I almost forgot, last night I closed the windows to block out the noise from outside. No wonder it's so hot!"

Bella gradually woke up, feeling uncomfortable with the sweaty dampness on her body due to the stuffy environment inside.

She struggled to get up and opened the window, feeling the warm air rush in.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly, but the neighborhood was empty, devoid of any signs of life.

There were no more loud car horns, no bustling square dancing, no sounds of children playing... Everything seemed so harmonious and quiet.

Bella suddenly had a feeling as if she were the only one left in this world.

Fear and panic surged in her heart...

Fortunately, at that moment, there was a sudden "ding" from the neighboring living room.

Bella instantly thought of one name—Elijah!

A sense of joy surged in her heart, like a traveler in the desert finding an oasis. He was exercising!

Bella felt a little relieved. She walked into the bathroom to prepare for a shower. But the next moment, she froze in place.

"The... water's stopped?"

She suddenly remembered what Elijah had said.

"I don't know when there will be rescue... With the power outage now, I guess the water and gas will soon be gone too..."

Bella immediately rushed to the kitchen, turned on the gas stove, but heard only the constant clicking of the ignition, with no gas coming out.

"The gas... has stopped too!"

A sharp question popped up involuntarily in her mind: Is there really no rescue coming?

"What's wrong?"

Elijah stopped his workout and stared straight at Bella, unable to help but mutter inwardly, "This woman is getting bolder and bolder. Does she really think I'm not a man?"