No

"Ahem... is that true?"

"Who's there?!"

Qi Tong sat up abruptly and saw Yang Ao through the crack in the door, carrying several plastic bags.

Unlike his daytime appearance in iron plate armor, Yang Ao was now dressed in sportswear, his well-proportioned body full of athletic appeal.

His face was somewhat handsome too.

Most importantly, he was clean!

By the fourth month of the apocalypse, nearly everyone had given up on bathing and washing clothes.

Even if they had some water left, they would at most use it to wash the important parts.

"Who are you?" The other women did not recognize him either.

The Iron Man from earlier, wrapped in animal-hide clothing and covered in iron armor, with a helmet smeared in blood, had left behind no recognizable facial features at all.

"Oh? You can't recognize me without my sword at night?"

Li Jie had found his build familiar long ago and had guessed that he might be the vicious-looking Superhuman from earlier.

"You're the Superhuman from today! You're so handsome~"

Su Lele blushed a little too. She had not expected the person who saved them to be a young, handsome man.

Zhao Hong held up her two E-cup breasts, her gaze fixed on the food in Yang Ao's hands, her eyes filled with longing.

"I'm Yang Ao. You'll get to know me in the future."

Yang Ao looked at the several beauties, each a little grimy but beautiful in her own way, and his heart blossomed with joy.

Brother Jin truly had not deceived him!

A mature beauty, a married woman, a younger student, and an office worker—all present!

Mature beauty Li Jie: "Hello, Brother Ao!"

Younger student Su Lele: "Brother Ao~"

Married woman Zhao Hong stared straight at the plastic bags in Yang Ao's hands. "Is that food? It's still steaming."

Qi Tong noticed the steaming bags as well and asked warily, "Mr. Yang, what do you need? We were about to rest."

"Hey! It's still early. Why not come in and sit for a while?" Li Jie quickly cut in.

Qi Tong frowned at that.

"Hehe, I won't go in. There's food in these bags—hot rice, stir-fried dishes, and a chicken carcass."

As the women listened to Yang Ao's introduction, they could not help swallowing hard.

This was hot food!

Ever since the power went out, how long had it been since they had eaten a hot meal?

Without hot water, they could only eat cup noodles dry!

They had survived until now on instant food and bottled water!

This week, they had even begun rationing food. Each person only got one piece of bread and a few mouthfuls of water a day.

These bags of food held a fatal attraction for them.

"Gulp. Is this for us?" Zhao Hong seemed to have nothing left in her eyes but those bags of food.

Li Jie was also looking at Yang Ao expectantly. She flirtatiously sent him a seductive glance. "Handsome, what I said earlier still counts, you know~"

"Mm." Yang Ao kept a blank expression, though inwardly he was ecstatic.

"You're so nice, Brother. You even brought us food at night." Su Lele suddenly thought of something.

Qi Tong inwardly cried that this was bad and said seriously, "If we want these things, what do we have to give in return?"

Although Qi Tong had a loose mouth, she was the woman with the strongest principles among them. In the three months since the apocalypse began, she had never done anything improper.

Because she believed that as long as she held fast to her bottom line, she would eventually embrace the light.

Today's rescue had originally lifted a corner of that light before her.

But the Superhuman's nighttime arrival made her...

Yang Ao saw Qi Tong's wary expression and immediately guessed what she was thinking. He smiled confidently.

"I never force any woman. I said it during the day—labor can be exchanged for food. The same applies tonight."

They all understood at once.

Qi Tong's expression darkened, while Zhao Hong looked conflicted as she stared at the food, but neither said anything.

After doing some calculations in her heart, Su Lele said in a coquettish voice, "But, Brother, you still haven't said what kind of work we'd be doing."

Li Jie gave a charming smile, with no resistance whatsoever. She was only afraid that he would not be interested in her. After all, her reputation at the company had never been good. A little digging would reveal what she used to be like.

"Brother Ao, just tell us what you like. It's getting colder and colder, and the food will get cold soon."

Yang Ao chuckled. "Don't."

Uh...

Li Jie was so moved that tears streamed down her face. She grabbed Yang Ao's hand and cried, "Brother Ao, choose me."

Yang Ao: "..."

Su Lele was speechless. Was that what he meant?!

Now her hopes were even greater. She sweetly moved closer.

"Brother, I'm the exact opposite of her~ I just graduated from college."

"Hiss."

Although the women before him did not look particularly presentable, that only reflected their most natural state. Yang Ao believed that if they all took a bath, they would definitely be transformed.

They would be no worse than those little internet celebrities from before the apocalypse.

They had already reached the standard for getting on his RV.

Ahem. Although he was someone else's underling now, he still occasionally missed his former dashing days.

"Ahem. Well, tonight's work is... massage. Those with better skills get priority. Who wants to come? Sign up voluntarily."

Yang Ao deliberately shifted the plastic bags in his hands, revealing some of the food.

White rice, fish-fragrant shredded pork, and roasted chicken carcass.

The scent of food constantly teased their saliva and tested their bottom lines.

Other than Li Jie, the other three hesitated. They were not at the point where they would starve to death if they did not eat. They could still hold out for a few days.

"Oh, right. Those who sign up tonight can take a bath inside."

Shen Jin had told him that they had already connected to clean groundwater here, so there was no need to worry about water usage at all.

Three months into the apocalypse, the world's factories had almost all shut down, and water plants had stopped operating. The groundwater, whose levels had been dropping year after year, had suddenly become abundant.

And the natural filtration of deep groundwater perfectly cut off the spread of the virus.

"What?! You're actually luxurious enough to let people bathe?" Su Lele knew that her pretty face was now covered in dust, with less than a tenth of its former radiance left.

And someone as ambitious as her naturally wanted to restore her appearance.

Only then could she...

"I—"

Before she could finish, Qi Tong grabbed her.

"Brother Ao, please wait a moment. Let us discuss it."

Qi Tong pulled the others into the room, shut the door, and said quietly, "Don't be foolish! We haven't figured out what's going on here yet, and you already dare to go in with someone else? You don't seriously naively think you'll just be giving a massage, do you? How many people are inside? What exactly will happen? No one knows! At least here, we can look out for each other. They'll have to show some restraint."

Seeing Li Jie's unconvinced expression, Qi Tong glared at her, picked up her chess set from beside the bed, and held it up.

"Do you know why I'm good at using knights and rooks in chess, while I only use bishops to lure others into trading pieces?"

The others shook their heads blankly.

"Because bishops always need to rely on others to be powerful."

The women were stunned. "..."

Then Li Jie smiled kindly at Qi Tong. "Sister Tong, everyone has her own choice. I'm willing to bear the consequences."

She pulled up her visibly torn black stockings and walked out with a carefree air.

"Brother Ao, let's go. I happen to have studied massage for several years. My skills are amazing~ Hehe."

"Mm. Then come with me."

Su Lele had already made up her mind, but after hearing Qi Tong's words, she began to hesitate again.

Her expression kept changing. Seeing Li Jie hook her arm through Yang Ao's and prepare to leave, she gritted her teeth and followed them.

"I'm coming too!"

Zhao Hong glanced toward the room where her husband was, her eyes misty with tears. Without a word, she sat down on the bed.

"Ah..."

Inside the room, Qi Tong held her stomach and sighed.

Shen Jin looked at the current mission progress through the system interface, feeling deeply troubled.

Settlement residents: 29/30, residence time: 0/7

"Looks like I'll have to bring Kind Auntie over tomorrow. I wonder if her boyfriend's battery has run out yet."

Was it a trap, or would he really get a Kind Auntie for free?

"Huh? Where's Yang Ao?"

P.S. One of my friends, "Did Li Commit a Crime," once said, "If I could choose my life, I'd rather keep it simple. A teacup, a thatched hut, an acre of fertile land, and a hundred million in savings. Simple is good."

Then he took a tiny fraction of the bank interest and casually tossed a 1,500 Qidian Coin reward to some flop author.