“Hey, hey… You’re all women, right? You can’t always expect a man like me to do all the cooking! Besides, I still need to patrol. What if something jumps out at us? Are you going to fight it off?” Hu Laoda furrowed his brows as he watched Zhang Hong walk over with a heavy iron pot in hand. Shaking his head in refusal, he swiftly turned and climbed atop a gas cylinder, rifle in hand, ciming that he was keeping watch.

  “Anyone here know how to cook?”

  Seeing Hu Laoda unwilling to do the cooking, Zhang Hong sighed and looked around at her sisters. But aside from Hu Laoda, every single one of these delicate women shook their heads like rattles, not a single one knowing how to cook—and they weren’t even ashamed of it!

  “Big Sis, I can only cook rice in an electric cooker. If I try to make a dish, you’d probably want to strangle me.” Jiao Jiao shrugged helplessly.

  “Don’t look at me, I don’t know how either. Seriously, is there no one here who can cook?” Zhang Hong was nearly on the verge of fainting from anger. What kind of women were these? Were they all like her—pampered dies who just sat around waiting to be served?

  “I’ll do it, then. I never thought you’d all be more spoiled than a mistress like me.” To Zhang Hong’s surprise, it was Cao Mei who took the iron pot from her hands. She sighed and added, “But let’s be clear—I’ll cook, but you all handle the washing, chopping, and fire-building.”

  “As long as you can cook, that’s enough!” Zhang Hong beamed, happily handing the pot over to Cao Mei. She quickly assigned tasks: “Jiao Jiao, take a few people and gather some firewood. Xiaohua, Bingbing, you two handle the washing and chopping.” Then, personally leading a few others, she set up a makeshift stove. Only after wiping the sweat from her forehead did she approach Lin Tao and say, “Master Lin, while we’re cooking, why don’t you take off your clothes and let me wash them for you? I bet there’s plenty of water in that rooftop tank.”

  “Alright.” Lin Tao agreed without hesitation. Though he had only changed his clothes that morning, after a full day of crawling and fighting, they had already started to stink. Besides, he didn’t feel self-conscious—after all, which of these women hadn’t already seen him? Without a second thought, he stripped off his T-shirt and pants in front of Zhang Hong, handing them to her before retrieving a pair of boxer shorts from his bag in the car. He had worn the same thing st night.

  Zhang Hong found a long dder and leaned it against the office building. Nimbly climbing up, she ran to the stainless-steel water tank and gave it a few heavy pats before excitedly calling down to Lin Tao, “Master Lin, there’s plenty of water! But you’ll have to come up here and make a hole.”

  “Hahaha… Hongjie, you’re already dripping before Master Lin even gets up there? A whole year without a man, and you’re this desperate? Now he’s even climbing up to ‘make a hole’?” Jiao Jiao, holding a dry tree branch, ughed so hard she nearly fell over. It wasn’t her fault—Zhang Hong’s words were just too suggestive. The women around them burst into ughter, nearly doubling over.

  “Jiao Jiao, you—” Zhang Hong’s face turned crimson as she realized how ambiguous her words had sounded. Furious, she pointed at Jiao Jiao. “Say one more word, and I’ll tear that smart mouth of yours apart!”

  “Oh? Hongjie, you said it yourself! I’ll be waiting to see if you’ll really throw yourself at Master Lin.” Jiao Jiao giggled, tossing the branch beside the stove before skipping over to Lin Tao, who was sitting by the car, smoking. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her voice sweet and coquettish. “Master~ You mustn’t pick Hongjie tonight! Not tonight, not ever! Just let her wait until she can’t take it anymore—then she’ll be the one begging for it!”

  “Uh… I think I’ll just go handle that water tank. You all could use a bath after dinner, anyway.” Lin Tao, unable to handle Jiao Jiao pressing her soft chest against him, quickly stood up, awkwardly escaping to the rooftop.

  Once on the roof, he discovered that the tank was actually a fire reserve water tank. But instead of using his gun this time, he took out a spare alloy knife and carefully punctured a hole at a slightly higher position. By the time Zhang Hong had filled two pstic buckets, the water level had just about reached the hole’s opening, stopping the flow naturally.

  “Master Lin, take off your boxers too and let me wash them. You didn’t change them st night either… Don’t bother going to the car, just do it here. I’ll turn around, okay?” Zhang Hong had already soaked his clothes in the water. Gncing at him with pyful eyes, she noticed his hesitation and let out a soft ugh before turning away.

  When Lin Tao finally tossed his boxers into the bucket, Zhang Hong turned back around, squatting down and picking them up with a bar of soap. As she began washing, she suddenly paused, noticing a distinct white stain. Startled at first, she then gave Lin Tao an amused look, her voice dripping with teasing. “Master~ Did the girls tease you too much st night? Looks like you had a little accident~”

  Lin Tao’s face turned an unnatural shade of red. Just as he was about to gre at Zhang Hong, his eyes accidentally drifted down her slightly open shirt colr. From this angle, he could see a generous portion of her full, ample chest, tightly held by a pink ce bra. The sheer size and softness of them made them look like freshly baked buns, tempting enough to make any man want to reach out and squeeze.

  Acting on instinct, Lin Tao quickly crouched down, using his position to discreetly cover the awkward “tent” forming in his boxers. Awkwardly, he muttered, “Do you have to be so blunt?”

  “Heh~ What’s wrong with being straightforward? The world is barely holding together. Who even cares about being ‘proper’ anymore? Besides, all of us here—you can have any one of us if you want.” Zhang Hong’s eyes shimmered with desire as she gazed at Lin Tao. Then, suddenly biting her lip, she shyly asked, “How long has it been for you?”

  “Uh… a month… maybe almost two months?” Lin Tao answered stiffly. As if trying to hide his discomfort, he lit another cigarette and took a deep drag.

  “No way! You really haven’t touched Cao Mei or Xiaoxue? I don’t believe you!” Zhang Hong looked at him skeptically. Lin Tao, hunched over like a prisoner under interrogation, sighed and answered honestly, “I just met them recently. I really haven’t.”

  “Oh? So before them, you had someone else?” Zhang Hong’s fingers absentmindedly scrubbed Lin Tao’s underwear, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. “Who was she?”

  “She cimed she was some famous Hong Kong supermodel… named Sisi. When I found her, she was starving in a tiny survivor camp mostly full of women. I felt bad for her, so I gave her a few packs of instant noodles. But she tched onto me, insisting on repaying me with a night together. When I left, I gave her the whole damn box of noodles.” Lin Tao took another drag of his cigarette, his face filled with bitter amusement. Thinking back, it felt like he was the one who got taken advantage of.

  “What? Sisi? Not just a supermodel—she was a lingerie model, too! I remember news reports saying she turned down a million-dolr offer for a single night in Taipei! And you got her for a box of instant noodles? Damn, you really hit the jackpot. So, how was it? Did she live up to the hype?” Zhang Hong teased, nudging him with her elbow.

  “It wasn’t exactly a dream come true, okay? She hadn’t bathed in months, and her face was filthy. Honestly, if she showed up clean in front of me now, I wouldn’t even recognize her.” Lin Tao forced a ugh, looking helplessly at Zhang Hong.

  “Hah! And she was already skinny as hell before. Imagine a half-starved supermodel—she probably felt like a sack of bones, huh?” Zhang Hong chuckled, then leaned in closer, her voice dripping with seduction. “Master~ Just say the word. If you fancy anyone, let me know. We all owe you, after all.”

  “Come on, it’s not about that…” Lin Tao’s gaze flickered.

  “Don’t py coy. Be honest with me—do you want it tonight?” Zhang Hong nudged him again, her smile sultry.

  Lin Tao hesitated, then swallowed hard and gave a small nod.

  “If you could pick one of us… would it be Bai Ru, Jiao Jiao… or me?” Zhang Hong whispered, her eyes dark and smoldering.

  “…”