Miss Doctor, did you not sleep well last night?

"Generator, building materials..." Looking at the panel before him, Xue Feng nodded in satisfaction. The intelligence had refreshed in a timely manner. Since that was the case, if he could gather enough generators and building materials today, it would only take a few days before the villa’s defense system was fully upgraded.

With this thought, a faint smile played on Xue Feng's lips. Then, he turned to the last entry. As before, the information format was identical, even specifying the exact location and the individual's abilities.

But as Xue Feng looked at it, his expression suddenly changed. "Wang Xinyu... Could it be?" At the sight of this name, a figure instantly surfaced in his mind: height, 158 centimeters; 36D; long hair...

Ahem! That wasn't the point.

What mattered was, Xue Feng realized, this name was exactly the same as his first love back in high school.

"I remember, after graduating, she was accepted into a prestigious medical university," he mused. "And she was a stellar student—I often saw her name in the papers..."

"Could it really be such a coincidence?"

Regardless of whether it was her or not, Xue Feng decided to go and see for himself. Someone highly skilled in medicine was a rare asset in this post-apocalyptic world. After all, with society in ruins, basic services like transportation and healthcare were no longer operational. In the past, a minor injury might cost a few hundred yuan at most; now, without timely treatment, it could easily cost half your life.

While Xue Feng was lost in thought, An Xiaowei woke up, feeling as though her whole body might fall apart. The inside of her thighs was bruised red, and her waist was so stiff she could barely straighten up.

Still... she rather enjoyed this state.

Remembering the events of last night, An Xiaowei grinned to herself and slipped her right hand under the quilt. "Alright then."

Sensing movement under the covers, Xue Feng grabbed her wrist with a laugh. "Already restless so early in the morning? Caught you red-handed."

Instead of embarrassment, An Xiaowei pounced on him. "I was exhausted last night. How about you take the initiative today?"

While the two of them flirted, You Haoyun also woke up. Her condition was even worse than An Xiaowei’s. The uninhibited passion of last night had been more thrilling than her first time, and even after a full night’s rest, she still felt weak all over, barely able to lift her arms.

Hearing the playful commotion beside her, You Haoyun blushed, half-tempted to join in. Yet it had only been two days, and she felt too shy, so she could only pretend to sleep.

But there were serious matters to attend to during the day. Xue Feng, naturally, didn’t allow the mood to go too far. After teasing An Xiaowei, he pulled the still-pretending-to-sleep You Haoyun into his arms as well, playfully tormenting her until she pleaded for mercy.

Just as things were heating up, Xue Feng withdrew decisively. "Enough—there’s work to be done during the day. Our battle continues tonight."

"Alright..." Both women, though unsatisfied, nodded in agreement.

They dressed and got out of bed. As soon as Xue Feng stood up, he noticed Nie Xiaoyue. Her face was drawn and haggard—she clearly hadn’t slept well.

That didn’t add up.

He hadn’t included her last night. More importantly, she looked just as exhausted as the other two women.

The realization dawned on him instantly. "Doctor Nie, did you not sleep well last night? You look even more tired than Xiaowei and Haoyun."

At first, Nie Xiaoyue didn’t catch on, but as Xue Feng finished his sentence, her face flushed bright red. Had he noticed what she’d done last night? That shouldn’t be possible... But if not, why would he compare her to the other two?

Her mind a muddle, Nie Xiaoyue stubbornly insisted, "I—I was thinking about the villa renovations last night. Yes, that’s it! I stayed up planning the upgrades, so I didn’t sleep well."

"Oh, is that so?" An Xiaowei stepped out as well. As a fellow woman, she immediately saw through Nie Xiaoyue’s awkwardness. With a mischievous grin, she asked, "Doctor, why do you look so worn out? Don’t tell me you were eavesdropping all night?"

"Of course not!" You Haoyun chimed in, "Our doctor here is so upright, she’d never do such a thing!"

The two of them bantered back and forth until Nie Xiaoyue’s face turned crimson.

Xue Feng watched the scene unfold, quickly understanding what had transpired. He knew well that winning her over would not be as simple as with An Xiaowei or You Haoyun. Nie Xiaoyue was smart, capable, and a technological prodigy—a classic strong woman. But because of that, her pride was formidable. If forced, she’d rather break than bend.

The only way was to guide her slowly, bit by bit, until she could no longer resist herself. Then, everything would fall into place.

"This can’t be rushed," Xue Feng mused with a faint smile. "It must be done gradually, step by step..."

He turned and left the room, heading into the courtyard. The dogs hadn’t been fed yet today. Retrieving two crates of food from his storage space, he opened them and called out to the vigilant sentries.

"Come here, come here—"

At the sound of his voice, the dogs, who’d been keeping an eye on the surroundings, immediately turned and trotted over, tails wagging and tongues lolling, gathering by his side.

Under Xue Feng’s direction, all eighteen dogs began to eat quickly.

"Good dogs." Xue Feng stroked their heads affectionately. Dogs were truly loyal—give them enough food, and their devotion was unwavering. Unlike people...

People required strategy and effort.

He glanced at the largest, most robust dog in the pack—the one he’d previously fed with a mutant crystal.

In just a day, its physique had grown even more powerful. Its coat gleamed black and lustrous, its limbs were strong, and it was visibly larger than before. Standing on all fours, it now reached Xue Feng’s waist—on its hind legs, it would be as tall as a person.

"The mutation is very effective," Xue Feng nodded with satisfaction. It wouldn’t be long before he had a fully mutated dog at his command.

With this in mind, he took two more mutant crystals from his storage. The dog’s eyes immediately locked on the crystals, clearly finding them irresistible. Without teasing, Xue Feng tossed the crystals into its bowl.

"Is it really okay to feed dogs that stuff?" Nie Xiaoyue, who’d been watching all along, finally asked. If she remembered correctly, these were harvested from zombie brains... Was it really alright to feed them to dogs?

Xue Feng offered no lengthy explanation. Standing up and dusting off his hands, he said, "If it wants to eat them, why not? There’s no problem. I could feed them to you too—want to try?"

Nie Xiaoyue pulled a face of disgust. Xue Feng ignored her, waving to An Xiaowei and You Haoyun. "Let’s go gather supplies."