"You! Are you messing with me?!" Xie Li shouted furiously.
Chen Du finished chewing a mouthful of fried rice and smirked. "Once you come to your senses and join me, you can eat whenever you want. But for now, no."
After saying that, Chen Du paid no further attention to Xie Li, who was trembling with rage, and went back to the sofa, wolfing down the remaining fried rice.
His reason for giving Xie Li a bite of the fried rice wasn't out of the goodness of his heart. He was simply worried that if she went hungry for too long, she might forget what food tasted like. After several days of starvation, a single bite of delicious fried rice wouldn't fill her stomach; on the contrary, it would only make her stomach acids churn faster. It was just like with an addict - after the first taste, without a second or third, they would only feel worse. Chen Du wanted Xie Li to be in exactly such a state.
Xie Li watched as Chen Du sat on the sofa, eating his meal contentedly, and suddenly felt like bursting into tears. This man didn't show an ounce of tenderness. All he did was bully her over and over again.
Chen Du noticed Xie Li's gaze and looked over.
Their eyes met, and Chen Du suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
It wasn't because he was shy around a beautiful woman. Rather, when he thought about how he had treated Xie Li these past few days, despite not having completely abandoned his modern-day thinking, he still felt a bit ashamed.
But then he quickly reminded himself not to go soft. After all, Chen Du was well aware that in this world, only by getting rid of useless compassion could one survive longer. In a world without order, being merciful was a sign of weakness.
Chen Du took out a bottle of mineral water, poured some sugar into it, and fed it to Xie Li. Then he sat down next to her. The weak Xie Li directly collapsed into his arms, her body limp and frail.
Chen Du said with a sigh, "Dr. Xie, I must say, you are really stubborn... I've given you such good conditions, just asking you to become my teammate, and you still refuse."
Xie Li just stared at him silently, not uttering a word. Chen Du was at a loss for words.
At this moment, a thought suddenly struck him. "Dr. Xie, if I let you go, what would you do?"
Xie Li still didn't speak, and Chen Du couldn't be bothered to talk either. So there they were, Chen Du sitting on the floor with Xie Li, who was bound hand and foot, in his arms, both of them silent.
Suddenly, Xie Li spoke. "What's your name?"
Chen Du gave a faint smile. "Chen Du."
Xie Li nodded and then said seriously, "If you let me go, the first thing I'll do is kill you, you bastard."
Chen Du was speechless for a moment and then teased, "Dr. Xie, the term 'bastard' doesn't quite fit me. Those are the ones who swindle people out of their money and take advantage of them sexually. I don't deserve that title, since nothing improper has happened between us. However, if you have that intention, I don't mind."
Xie Li ground her teeth. "Scum!"
"I'll accept that term for now. But if your first act is to kill me, I'm even less inclined to let you go," Chen Du said as he moved Xie Li aside, a hint of a smile on his face.
He took off his clothes and lay down on the sofa. "Dr. Xie, get some sleep. I don't want you to die of exhaustion before you starve to death. I still want someone to chat with."
Xie Li was lying on the floor, ready to rest. When she heard Chen Du say that, she immediately opened her eyes and angrily cursed, "Shut your mouth!"
On the third morning, Chen Du woke up and found that Xie Li was unusually quiet today. He couldn't tell whether she was sound asleep or had fainted from hunger.
Chen Du walked over and gently pinched Xie Li's cheek. "Dr. Xie, time to wake up."
After calling her several times with no response, Chen Du muttered to himself, "She's not really dead, is she?" Then he put his hand near Xie Li's nose to check. She was still breathing.
Only then did Chen Du feel relieved. He leaned close to Xie Li's ear and said, "Dr. Xie, if you don't get up soon, I'll have to give you a full-body check-up."
Xie Li, who had been pretending to sleep, had no choice but to open her eyes. "Go away."
Chen Du chuckled and took out a bottle of mineral water mixed with glucose to feed her. He said, "Dr. Xie, while I'm away, you'd better behave yourself. If you attract zombies and they crunch you up, don't blame anyone."
After drinking the water, Xie Li sneered. "Hmph, even if I become a ghost, I won't let you off."
Chen Du shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I am the reincarnation of Van Helsing, who specializes in subduing ghosts."
After feeding Xie Li, Chen Du ate his breakfast as usual and opened his emails to see what supplies the system had sent him today. When he opened the email, he thought he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes and realized he hadn't made a mistake. The supplies for the third day were an unlimited number of condoms.
Chen Du didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
What use was this supply? Could he use them to carry water and throw at zombies? After all, this thing seemed to be only useful when one wanted to have harmonious intimate relations without wanting to have offspring.
As for using them as balloons filled with water, that was still a new way of playing that Chen Du had invented with the kids in the yard when he was a child, secretly taking the free-distributed condoms from the community.
Chen Du took out a condom and turned to ask Xie Li, "Dr. Xie, do you know what else this thing can be used for?"
Xie Li glanced at the condom in Chen Du's hand, her face slightly red. "How boring!"
Chen Du's face didn't change color. "I mean, does this thing have any other uses besides the normal one? I will use it for its normal purpose."
Xie Li explained, "The raw material of condoms is rubber, which can be used as a bandage or an airbag. After filling it with water, it can also be used as a simple high-altitude bomb. However, it may not be very useful against zombies."
With Xie Li's reminder, Chen Du began to realize the strategic importance of condoms. Bandages were already scarce medical supplies. If there was a substitute, it would obviously be an additional guarantee for survival. As for airbags, Chen Du was not sure whether there would be any bad weather or terrain in the future. If it was crossing a river, according to the current trading platform where no one had traded any means of transportation, it would not appear in a short time. Then, making a simple small raft out of condoms would be a great tool for exploration!
Thinking of this, Chen Du began to be satisfied with today's supplies. He casually put a few hundred condoms on the trading platform and then came to the supermarket rooftop again, killing zombies leisurely.
[Experience+1]
[Experience+1]
[Experience+1]
[Experience+1...]
In his spare time, Chen Du opened the trading platform. Unexpectedly, condoms were selling surprisingly well. After all, his exchange conditions were for some essential supplies.
Chen Du was eating bread and muttering to himself, "Are these people so impulsive that they can even skip meals?"
Then he opened the chat channel and finally understood.
ID 58043: "Brothers, there is a flight attendant in the community exchanging her body for supplies. She knows how to play, and it's so exciting that I almost got drained."
ID 847563: "Holy crap! Cool! Where, good brother, send the coordinates."
ID 3838: "Same request! I'm just curious, no other meaning!"
ID 58043: "Coordinates sent, [965,84]. Brothers nearby, rush there!"
ID 45002: "Um, is there anyone interested in a guy? I can do it too, as long as you give me food and water. If you're interested, private message me, mwah!"