"Bastard!"
Tang Ling watched the distant sailboat, stomping her foot angrily.
"What kind of person is he!"
"Does he really think we can’t survive without him?"
"Who cares! Fine, no team then! Hmph!"
She turned around, fuming, and threw the Mechanical Crossbow onto the ground.
"Manyun-jie, let’s go!"
"I refuse to believe that with my skills, I can’t support the three of us!"
"As long as I find some more metal materials, I can upgrade this broken crossbow into a repeating one!"
"By then, we can take down thugs and Sea Monsters ourselves!"
Beside her, Bai Taotao didn’t speak, but her cheeks were puffed out as she glared angrily in Lin Ji’s direction.
Clearly, Lin Ji’s dismissive attitude earlier had upset this little lolita as well.
More importantly...
Her chance for food was gone.
"Sigh..."
Shen Manyun looked at her two indignant teammates and shook her head helplessly.
She adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, her eyes filled with worry.
"Tang Ling, don’t say things in anger."
"Our situation... is actually quite grim."
Tang Ling was taken aback. "How is it grim? Aren’t we doing fine? We even upgraded the boat."
Shen Manyun gave a bitter smile.
She pointed to the empty cabin.
"But we have no food left."
Those words instantly silenced Tang Ling.
Right.
They had been drifting on the vast ocean all day.
Thanks to Tang Ling’s talent, they had upgraded the raft to LV2 with minimal materials, avoiding the fate of sunburn.
But...
Their supplies were pitiful.
Throughout the day, they had only salvaged two packs of nearly expired bread and a box of instant noodles.
Although Tang Ling had used a found blueprint to craft a rudimentary Water Purifier,
its purification efficiency was poor, taking half a day to produce just one bottle of clean water.
That was the entire day’s ration of food and water for three people.
And it had been consumed long ago.
Now, all three of them had empty stomachs.
The feelings of hunger and thirst grew increasingly intense as night fell.
Especially for Bai Taotao.
This little lolita was already physically weak and had little strength; aside from being cute and spacing out, she could hardly help with anything.
Now, she was so hungry that her small face was pale, lying weakly against the railing.
"This is only the first day."
Shen Manyun sighed, her voice heavy.
"If we still can’t find food and water tomorrow..."
"Never mind killing Sea Monsters, we probably won’t even have the strength to stand up."
Tang Ling bit her lip and fell silent.
Though she was proud and tsundere, she wasn’t foolish.
She knew Shen Manyun was speaking the truth.
In this world, survival came first.
Without supplies, everything else was empty talk.
"That Lin Ji..."
Shen Manyun looked at the sailboat glowing faintly in the distance, her expression complicated.
"He’s a smart man."
"He didn’t reject us because he truly looked down on our talents."
"On the contrary, it’s because he values them too much."
Tang Ling was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Shen Manyun smiled bitterly.
"He’s... taming a hawk."
"He saw our current predicament, knew we urgently need supplies and shelter."
"So he deliberately refused, deliberately kept us at a distance."
"It’s to make us feel despair, to leave us with nowhere to turn."
"Until we’re so hungry we can’t bear it, forced to abandon all our dignity and beg him..."
"Then, he’ll have absolute control."
"By then, the price we’ll have to pay..."
Shen Manyun didn’t continue.
But Tang Ling and Bai Taotao understood.
The faces of all three instantly flushed red.
Especially Tang Ling. Recalling Lin Ji’s brazen gaze when he looked at them just now, she felt a chill run through her entire body.
That man...
Wants more than just teammates.
He wants complete enslavement!
"In your dreams!"
Tang Ling gritted her teeth. "I, Tang Ling, would rather starve to death, die outside, or jump from here than compromise with such a despicable person!"
Shen Manyun looked at the agitated Tang Ling and simply sighed softly.
She said nothing.
In this cruel world...
Dignity?
That’s the cheapest thing of all.
Perhaps after tonight, Tang Ling will understand this truth.
...
Meanwhile.
On Lin Ji’s sailboat.
Inside the rain shelter, the light was somewhat dim.
Gu Yihan sat by the bed, glancing outside with some concern.
"Lin Ji..."
She hesitated but couldn’t help speaking up.
"Just now... weren’t you too harsh?"
"Their talents are exactly what we need most right now."
"Especially that manufacturing type, Tang Ling. With her, our equipment upgrades could progress much faster."
"What if they really leave?"
As the young lady of the Gu family, she understood some methods of managing people.
But she had never seen someone like Lin Ji, pushing away talent that came knocking on their door.
Lin Ji leaned against the headboard, idly playing with the empty crystal ball in his hand.
Hearing Gu Yihan’s words, he smiled.
"Leave?"
"Where can they go?"
"In this vast ocean, besides here with me, where else can they find refuge?"
He turned his head, looking at Gu Yihan’s delicate face.
"Young Lady Gu, you must remember."
"This is survival in the apocalypse."
"When people are fighting for their lives, they can unleash unimaginable potential."
"They’ll also do things they never dared to imagine before."
"Right now, they still carry that arrogance from their school days."
"If that arrogance isn’t worn down, even if they board the boat, they won’t truly follow my commands."
"Then, they’ll only become hidden dangers to the team."
"What I want isn’t three proud young ladies."
"But three obedient dogs."
"Or perhaps..."
Lin Ji paused, his gaze turning profound.
"Three absolutely loyal servants."
These words were spoken nakedly and cruelly.
Making Gu Yihan shudder.
She looked at Lin Ji, suddenly feeling this man was somewhat unfamiliar.
But at the same time, there was an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
Because only such a coldly rational leader could lead them to survive.
After speaking, Lin Ji’s gaze drifted intentionally or unintentionally toward Su Qingyue in the corner.
Su Qingyue was curled up there hugging her knees. Hearing this, her body trembled violently.
She knew.
These words weren’t just for those three women across the way.
They were also for her.
If she didn’t obey...
The consequences would likely be terrible.
"Alright, don’t overthink it."
Lin Ji clapped his hands, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
"Gu Yihan, you take the first watch tonight."
"Su Qingyue, you take the second watch."
"I have a feeling tonight... might get lively."
After saying this, he lay directly on the bed and closed his eyes.
Leaving two women with complicated feelings, gazing at each other in the night.
Lin Ji leaned against the simple wooden bed, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, his mind was racing.
His gaze subtly swept over Su Qingyue, curled up in the corner.