"Lingling, you don’t have to be like this. No matter how dirty you girls think you are, you’re still much cleaner than us men. Don't be fooled by my clean clothes—I haven’t had a proper bath in almost a month. I even missed yesterday’s downpour!" Lin Tao casually sat on their spring mattress, took the chopsticks from Lingling, and said, "Lingling, go boil some more water."

  Seeing that Lin Tao wasn’t the least bit bothered by their supposed ck of cleanliness, Lingling and Axue let out a breath of relief. When she heard him ask for hot water, Lingling quickly grabbed a transparent gss cup from the bedside, picked up a small kettle, and said, "Brother Lin, do you want some water? We boiled this just for you, and it’s cooled down now!"

  "That’s probably your drinking water for the next few days, isn’t it?" Lin Tao chuckled as he took the cup from her hands. Then, he turned around, opened his backpack, and pulled out several packs of instant noodles, along with a few bottles of mineral water. Handing them to the stunned Lingling, he said, "Tonight, let’s switch things up—instant noodles for everyone!"

  "Yay! That’s amazing!" Lingling cheered, grabbing the supplies and rushing outside to boil water. Who would have thought that something as mundane as instant noodles—once a meal she ate to the point of nausea—would now be a rare delicacy, a feast fit for kings?

  Lin Tao sat on the bed, casually chatting with Axue. Even Cao Mei, who had been feeling awkward, knelt beside him and started massaging his shoulders, pying the role of a dutiful servant.

  From Axue, Lin Tao learned that every man in this underground shelter had to take turns forming groups to scavenge for supplies. Women, on the other hand, weren’t required to go out—provided they could support themselves. This left them with two choices: either find a man to rely on or, like Axue and her group, use their bodies in exchange for food.

  The girl who had peeked out from the neighboring room earlier had chosen the same path. She used to be an elementary school English teacher, an outstanding woman with an equally remarkable boyfriend. However, she found the men here beneath her standards, so she followed Axue’s example—trading her body for survival. Her unique selling point? Moaning in fluent English to attract customers.

  Lin Tao didn’t offer much of an opinion. He had always maintained a neutral stance on such matters. In his view, even in an apocalyptic world, women could still rely on their own strength to survive rather than depending entirely on men. After all, in desperate times, the power a woman could unleash wasn’t necessarily inferior to that of a man.

  It didn’t take long for Lingling to finish boiling the water. She swiftly prepared four bowls of instant noodles, one for each of them. Soon, the long-lost aroma of instant noodles filled the room. The three girls stared intently at their bowls, swallowing hard as if they might devour the entire dishware along with the food.

  Lin Tao couldn’t help but chuckle at their reactions. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a vacuum-sealed block of luncheon meat, tossing it to Michael, the dog sprawled on the floor. Then, under the envious gazes of the girls, he took out several sausages and handed each of them two.

  "Eat up. If it’s not enough, I have more. Don’t even think about stashing them away for ter!" Lin Tao smirked, seeing right through their intentions as he lit a cigarette.

  Lingling and Axue blushed at being exposed but obediently unwrapped their sausages and took small, careful bites. Cao Mei, however, had no such restraint—she eagerly tore into hers without hesitation. Lin Tao gnced at her. If looks alone were considered, she was undoubtedly one of the most attractive women here. Even through the sheer bck fabric draping her, her ample chest stood proudly, outshining the others.

  As they ate, Lin Tao suddenly noticed that Lingling and Axue were crying. They sobbed as they chewed, tears rolling down their cheeks.

  "Seriously? It’s just a sausage, not some mythical dragon meat!" Lin Tao said, bewildered.

  "We… we haven’t eaten sausages in almost a year!" Lingling wiped her tears, looking at Lin Tao with the face of a pitiful, teary-eyed kitten. "I almost forgot they even existed!"

  "Unbelievable. If I had known, I wouldn’t have given them to you!" Lin Tao joked, puffing on his cigarette. Just then, the curtain separating the adjacent space was suddenly yanked open. The English teacher, who had been eavesdropping, sniffed the air before striding in.

  "Wow, instant noodles and sausages?!"

  She was now fully dressed—if one could call it that. A red tank top, stained and darkened with grime, clung to her torso, paired with nothing but bck cotton panties. Nothing else. A few rebellious strands of hair peeked out from the edges of her underwear, giving Lin Tao an unexpected shock.

  Wiping the sticky remnants of some unknown fluid from her face with a rag, she swallowed hard while staring at their food. She plopped down next to Lingling and clung to her arm. "Lingling, do you have any more instant noodles? Let me have some, please? I’ll trade you two pounds of rice for a pack! I’m starving!"

  "Stop shaking me! You’ll spill my soup!" Lingling sighed, exasperated, before pointing to Lin Tao. "Don’t ask me. It’s his food."

  The woman’s eyes lit up, and her lithe body melted onto Lin Tao’s p. Pressing her not-so-full chest against him, she gazed up at him with a sultry expression. "Big brother, please have mercy on me. If I don’t eat soon, my poor little bunnies will starve ft!"

  "I have both instant noodles and sausages. Get off me first." Lin Tao quickly nudged her away—not because she was unattractive. In fact, she had the looks and figure of a second-tier actress in the pre-apocalyptic world. But the smell… a mix of sweat and an unshakable stench of men’s musk. No matter how beautiful she was, that odor was enough to kill any desire.

  "I knew you were the best!" She giggled, batting her shes at him flirtatiously. "And if you still have energy tonight, come to my pce. I don’t just eat sausages—I’m really good at licking them too. I can moan in English like a foreign girl. You’ll love it!"

  Lin Tao shook his head, exasperated, handing her some food. Watching her delight, he mused to himself, I do have a thing for teachers, but if only you didn’t smell so bad…

  After eating, they chatted a bit before Lin Tao decided to rest. At his insistence, Lingling and Axue gave up their pn to stay with him, reluctantly going to squeeze into the next room with the English teacher. Meanwhile, Cao Mei sat quietly, biting her lip and looking hesitant.

  "It’s te. Go get some sleep," Lin Tao said, leaning against the wall.

  "I… I cleaned myself before you came. I used two days’ worth of drinking water…" Cao Mei whispered, her gaze a mixture of hope and vulnerability.

  "I can tell. You’re not just clean; you’re also very beautiful. More so than any woman here. But so what? In the apocalypse, beauty is the least valuable thing. Go rest. Don’t overthink it."

  Cao Mei paled but obediently helped remove Lin Tao’s shoes before leaving. She gnced back at him multiple times as she disappeared behind the curtain.

  Lin Tao sighed. He knew exactly what these women wanted—a protector, a stronghold in this broken world. But his own circumstances were far more complicated than they appeared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t mind taking care of dozens, even hundreds of people. After all, humans were social creatures. He had no desire to be the st man standing, despite how romantic the movies made it seem.