There weren’t many people to begin with, and they were all sitting fairly close together.
Unlike the small outdoor tables they had used that morning, where people sat in scattered groups of two or three, this time there was one long dining table, with everyone seated around it.
Since they still had night patrol duty and couldn’t drink, even with Guan Tian, the loudmouth, doing his best to liven up the atmosphere, things could hardly get too wild.
Besides, the boss’s seat was naturally under everyone’s watch, with every move he made drawing attention.
So the moment Gong Ran said those words, the entire makeshift restaurant built from shipping containers fell into a deathly silence.
Even the chef grilling steaks stopped moving. The only sound left was the sizzling of beef on the hotplate.
Yet Gong Ran, the one person who should have felt embarrassed, wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest.
Seeing Pei Liang staring at him blankly, he even urged her, “Well? It’s fine if I sleep with you too, right?”
Pei Ning, seated across from Pei Liang, immediately wore a look of disdain.
Hah! Men. She finally understood them.
In her previous life, she had clearly placed far too much faith in the halo surrounding these so-called “big shots.”
As long as one could pay the price, what man was there who couldn’t be obtained? Why humble herself and rack her brains trying to win them over?
Just look at her sister. She hadn’t done a thing—she had simply taken what she wanted by force, acted crudely, and treated men as if they were nothing. Yet she was still handing out benefits in torrents, and wasn’t that enough to make people drool and compete for a position at her side?
Zhong An understood it too.
He wasn’t worthy. He wasn’t good enough for Pei Liang.
How thick-skinned did a man need to be, and how much abuse could his body withstand, to become her man? What kind of tenacity and acting ability would it take to suffer humiliation yet remain completely free of resentment, offering himself up and currying favor with her?
He had seen exactly what had happened with Chu Yebai, and he had heard about Gong Ran from the people who had returned last night.
If it were him, he definitely couldn’t keep a straight face after being humiliated like that. Zhong An felt he had already lost on that point alone.
He was better off honestly remaining a useful errand boy.
As for Chu Yebai’s men, their feelings were complicated.
On the one hand, they knew their boss had to serve that woman every day and was tormented by her. This mad doctor, who had clearly been screwed silly, wanted to take his place—perfectly willing to suffer in his stead.
But on the other hand, although it hadn’t been obvious back on the ship, in the less than two days since they had disembarked, Boss Pei had revealed a generosity and wealth that was truly astonishing.
For the time being, their boss had no way of pulling her down and taking the top position himself. So if this relationship disappeared, surely their boss would no longer be able to demand benefits so naturally.
And those benefits were genuinely tempting.
For a moment, all the bandits couldn’t help wanting to persuade their boss.
For the sake of their brothers’ wealth and prosperity, why not endure it a little longer, Boss?
Of course, if Chu Yebai heard that, he would probably be furious.
At the same time, the bandits couldn’t help feeling that their boss’s earlier warning had indeed been far-sighted.
This pervert really had come on strong. He could endure what ordinary people couldn’t. They had thought he had been screwed stupid, but now it seemed he had seen through everything long ago.
Since he was powerless to resist, he might as well maximize his benefits. And where could he gain the greatest benefits?
Wasn’t it precisely from the position their boss currently occupied?
Bah! So he really was an ambitious one.
In an instant, everyone’s minds were filled with different thoughts. Only Pei Liang was still somewhat slow to catch on.
She had encountered similar situations plenty of times before—such as giving a pretty boy too many benefits and causing other handsome men to catch the scent of easy living.
But Gong Ran clearly wasn’t someone motivated by material things.
Would he covet energy crystals, or power and status?
Obviously not.
If he didn’t care about those things, then how had he managed to sniff out the scent of a free meal?
Before Pei Liang could say anything, Chu Yebai spoke darkly.
“Do you take me for a corpse?”
Gong Ran cast him an impatient glance. “A corpse can be dissected for research. Can you do that?”
“Are you worthy?” Chu Yebai sneered.
But Gong Ran was genuinely too impatient to bother with him. “The decision is hers, not yours. You should know that perfectly well.”
“I don’t think the two of you have any obligations or moral contract as a couple to uphold. You two aren’t that kind of relationship. I know that very clearly.”
“You sleep with her, and the compensation she gives you has already far exceeded what you’ve contributed. After that, you no longer have any reason to make additional demands of her, do you?”
Gong Ran gave a mocking laugh. “So I’m asking her a question. Could you please stop interrupting?”
His logic was incredibly forceful. For a moment, no one could find anything to refute.
The bandits felt a little uneasy. Had their boss been asking for too much, giving the other man ammunition?
But who was their boss?
Upon hearing this, Chu Yebai not only failed to get angry, he even revealed a derisive smile.
“The decision may be hers, but as her intimate partner—and the person who benefits most from this relationship—isn’t it only natural for me to protect my own interests and analyze the pros and cons for her?”
“You want to get around me? Don’t you think that’s wishful thinking?”
He had said it. He had actually said it without the slightest attempt to hide anything.
Everyone stared at Chu Yebai in a daze, looking at him with the respect reserved for a real man.
A true man dared to openly admit that he was living off a woman—and even take pride in it.
Compared with those men who acted sanctimonious while shamelessly taking advantage of others, this blunt honesty was downright admirable.
It wasn’t only Chu Yebai’s own men who were stunned by his sheer force of presence. Even Guan Qian was momentarily intimidated.
Was this what the protagonist’s aura looked like? He could say anything and make people agree with him. No wonder so many people had been won over by him in the original novel.
Then her gaze fell on Gong Ran, and her heart felt as though it were being cut by a knife.
To be honest, before yesterday, she had inevitably possessed some of the arrogance common to transmigrators. Although Gong Ran was outstanding in both ability and aptitude, she had seen his entire life from an omniscient perspective and firmly believed that she could change his doomed fate.
Deep down, Guan Qian had more or less regarded Gong Ran as something that would belong to her sooner or later.
Now that things had developed to this point, Gong Ran had been defiled by that perverted male-and-female lead pair, and still had to rack his brains to curry favor with another woman. How could she possibly bear it?
Yet rationally, she also understood that this was Gong Ran’s only way out.
She had to sow discord in the unbreakable relationship between the male and female leads, wedge herself between them, and use the heroine’s generosity toward her lovers to obtain as many benefits and as much authority as possible.
The moment they lowered their guard would be the moment she avenged her humiliation—
Thus, Guan Qian put away her private feelings and looked at Gong Ran with an expression full of encouragement. Her eyes conveyed her understanding of him, as well as her support for his enduring humiliation without forgetting his purpose.
She silently cheered him on.
Gong Ran noticed that irritating gaze and turned to frown at Guan Qian.
What nonsense was this stupid woman imagining now?
But the situation was tense, and he had no time to deal with her.
Because Chu Yebai had already spoken. He said to Pei Liang, “Take a look at his motives first. They’re obvious, aren’t they?”
“He didn’t have this idea yesterday, and it couldn’t have appeared out of nowhere. There must have been some trigger.”
“That would be when you split the crystals and territory with me. I distinctly sensed sourness and jealousy coming from this man. Do you really like someone who’s merely trying to profit by selling his body?”
Gong Ran said coolly, “You make it sound as though you’re any different.”
He said to Pei Liang, “After seeing how smoothly he asked you for crystals before, I got curious, so I had a little chat with some of his men.”
“No need to guess. I mean the loudmouth.”
“He was very cooperative. He told me everything.”
Seeing the boss and the others turn their eyes toward him, Guan Tian immediately bristled like an angry cat. “Bullshit! I didn’t say a damn thing.”
Gong Ran nodded. “Something like this doesn’t require you to say anything outright. Thank you for your cooperation, all the same.”
Anyone who understood what he meant understood it perfectly. Not only Pei Liang—even their own team had dedicated interrogation experts, so they knew very well that information could be extracted without the person being questioned ever directly giving it up.
Take Guan Qian, for example. She had thought she was only revealing things in vague hints and that she hadn’t given away much. In reality, Gong Ran had already mapped out the whole picture surrounding her.
Sure enough, Gong Ran continued, “You were nothing more than a group of bandits who tried to rob someone halfway through the journey, only to be subdued instead. And your boss was pragmatic enough to trade his body for his freedom the very next day, seizing the opportunity when the apocalypse had just begun.”
“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not being sarcastic. On the contrary, I admire Mr. Chu’s decisiveness. Otherwise, the most likely outcome would have been for him to be treated as an extremely dangerous physical threat, with his hands and feet broken and himself kept prisoner on the ship.”
“And you would have been forced to do unpaid labor while wearing those collar bombs made by that little brat.”
Pei Liang nodded. “That was the best-case scenario I’d imagined too.”
No one had guessed wrong. Everyone turned to look at Guan Tian, and the few people beside him each smacked him over the head, beating the burly man into a quivering little chicken.
Gong Ran continued, “Mr. Chu’s only advantage over me was that he showed up earlier. Given the same circumstances and motives, I don’t see why anything I did should make me feel ashamed.”
They were both real men! They had managed to elevate taking advantage of a situation and sleeping their way into power into something grand and noble—as if this were some epic battle of wits between two true men.
Chu Yebai, however, remained unruffled. He glanced at Gong Ran, then shifted his gaze back to Pei Liang.
“I remember you promised him quite a lot. Given your generosity, anyone can see that you aren’t the sort of person who breaks her word.”
“But even so, Dr. Gong still wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to use his body to exchange for even more.” Chu Yebai leaned close to Pei Liang’s face. The two of them looked at Gong Ran together. “That means you’ll have to revise your assessment of him.”
“His ambitions may not be limited to scientific research.”
The sight of the two men leaning in and turning to look at him at the same time created the illusion that they were on the same side. Anyone standing opposite them would lose on sheer presence alone.
It made a person feel as though they were fighting two opponents at once—one of whom was the very person they were trying to win over.
Gong Ran’s expression, however, remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t been affected in the slightest.
Chu Yebai went on, “My ambition is straightforward and simple. I’ve never concealed it; you’ve always seen it clearly.”
“But this man is different. His desires are too unpredictable. You’ll never know what sort of idea he’ll come up with next.”
“In the end, the risk is simply too high.” Chu Yebai looked at Gong Ran and said mockingly, “Getting involved with you in a complicated personal relationship would make the future even more uncontrollable.”
“In other words, the base has to judge you with absolute objectivity, without allowing the slightest personal feelings to interfere.” Chu Yebai’s tone now carried an air of admiration.
To everyone else, however, it sounded exactly like mockery. He said, “Don’t take it personally, Dr. Gong. This is also precisely because your existence is so important.”
“Someone as insignificant as me, someone who can be toyed with at will, naturally can’t compare.”
Gong Ran let out a derisive laugh. His contempt for Chu Yebai was no longer even concealed.
He said, “I already told you. All of this is for her to decide herself.”
“Why do you assume, from the bottom of your heart, that she can’t do something simply because you can’t? Even now, you’re still maintaining that arrogance. Is it because you’re relying on the fact that she can’t question your ambitions after you sold your body?”
“Of course, ambition is a good thing. Since the two of you already have an understanding, I won’t comment on it. But when all is said and done, she is still the leader of the base. If you continue indulging in that inappropriate attitude, are you openly trying to attract a steady stream of people to defect here and split the base apart?”
“That sort of trick is simply too ugly. It’s so low-level that I can’t tolerate seeing it happen in the place I serve.”
Chu Yebai narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t expected this man to deliberately twist right and wrong like that.
What he wanted was an unequivocal victory—not to tear away part of Pei Liang’s influence and turn himself into a narrow-minded petty man worthy of nothing but pity.
For that reason, Chu Yebai cared about the base’s unity just as much as Pei Liang did.
He gave a cool laugh. “Dr. Gong calls me arrogant, but isn’t he doing the same thing? Since she hasn’t objected to what I’m doing, that means everything is within the bounds she allows.”
“If you can’t do something yourself, why assume she can’t either?”
After he finished speaking, their gazes met in midair, as if blades were flashing between them.
Everyone around them trembled with fear. No one dared say a word.
Just when the people present thought the two men would continue trading barbs in an endless loop, Gong Ran suddenly stopped playing by the usual rules.
He said something shocking.
“I’m better than him.”
“Pfft—”
Pei Liang nearly sprayed out her coffee.
Her mind conjured up the sight of Gong Ran’s body from the night before—that physique, those muscles, that endowment—
Ahem.
Pei Liang hurriedly said, “Th-this isn’t appropriate to say in front of so many people, is it?”
Guan Qian felt that this woman was so shameless she was practically smoking. Two men were fighting over her, and all she cared about was whether it was “appropriate”?
Pei Ning, on the other hand, thought, That’s my sister for you.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked between Chu Yebai and Gong Ran—
Fight! Fight!
Sure enough, Chu Yebai couldn’t let that stand. He sneered, “In what way are you better?”
“Is it because of your research into human bodies, which has only involved corpses? Or because you spent several years locked up without seeing another person?”
Anyone could tell that this man had no experience, yet he actually had the nerve to boast that he was better than him?
Gong Ran’s expression remained impassive. “Yes. No one in this era understands the human body better than I do. Naturally, I also know how to make someone feel pleasure.”
“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if I wanted to, I could develop that pleasure to its absolute limit. Of course, I’d need a little time to adjust.”
“About three to five times should do it. And there’s no need to worry about my body being restricted in any way. You all know what I’m capable of.”
Everyone present who had experience—men and women alike, with the exception of the appraiser—blushed the moment they heard Gong Ran say that.
Good heavens. That sounded incredibly tempting. The mad doctor’s competitiveness had shot up several levels at once.
The appraiser didn’t really understand what was being said, but the atmosphere around him was so hair-raising that he wanted to escape from beneath the table.
Guan Qian, meanwhile, was sobbing inwardly.
Her perfectly good water-based ability—
In the original story, it had been an impressive, powerful ability: elusive, devious, and endlessly convenient. What had it turned into now?
Chu Yebai sensed that things were taking a turn for the worse. He turned his head, and sure enough, Pei Liang’s expression had changed.
This guy had more tricks up his sleeve than anyone could count. By now, he had probably already thought of a dozen ways to play with that doctor.
No. He couldn’t let those two get involved with each other.
It wasn’t just a matter of personal interests. This was also a question of Chu Yebai’s dignity—the dignity of a man who was eating off someone else for the first and only time in his life.
If he couldn’t even land a decent sugar mama, if he couldn’t outcompete someone else for the privilege of being kept, what dignity did he have left?
So he fired back, “You’re quite the talker, but your performance in bed that day wasn’t nearly as impressive as the grand promises you’re making now.”
“You were both embarrassed and inexperienced, like you’d never seen the world. I almost felt sorry for you. I’ll bet that next time, you’ll still be lying on the bed, getting tossed around at someone else’s mercy.”
Everyone around them drew a sharp breath, and many people felt their noses begin to warm. Damn, this was an intense topic.
They had truly gotten their money’s worth from the day’s life-and-death battle. Not only did they get to enjoy a lavish meal, but they also had premium scandalous gossip to feast on.
But when Gong Ran’s humiliation was brought up again, Guan Qian was completely overwhelmed with tears.
Not only had she learned about Gong Ran’s disgrace, but that madman Chu Yebai had even gone and described the details!
Guan Qian finally couldn’t take it anymore. She slapped the table and stood up, shouting, “Stop!”
“How am I supposed to look Gong Ran in the eye from now on?”
Summoning all the courage she could muster, she pointed at Chu Yebai and said, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning.”
“Aren’t you just afraid that once Gong Ran rises to power, he’ll come after you for revenge? You’re trying to coax Pei Liang into teaming up with him so they can both have their way with you, aren’t you?”
That sounded strangely reasonable.
Everyone around them looked at Chu Yebai. They never would have guessed that this guy had such a strong sense of danger. So he was actually just protecting himself?
Gong Ran and Chu Yebai both felt a little dizzy. They had no idea how these people could be this stupid.
Chu Yebai said weakly, “That’s not what I—”
“You don’t have to explain.” Guan Qian raised her voice. “Aren’t you just relying on the fact that you’re a pervert? It’s not like you’re the only one who can do that.”
In a certain sense, Guan Qian had already gone bad.
She turned to Gong Ran and threw caution to the wind. “What are you waiting for? If you want to improve your competitiveness, you don’t just have to show off your advantages. You can lower your price, too.”
Gong Ran instinctively wanted to call her stupid, but after thinking it over, he realized there was actually some logic to it.
He didn’t know much about economics, but the conclusions drawn from real-world patterns were clear enough. Malicious competition might be distasteful, but it worked.
Taking out the competition first was better than anything else.
So Gong Ran said to Pei Liang, “Keeping him is too expensive. Not only does he eat off you himself, he also brings an entire group of subordinates along to freeload.”
“But with me, you only have to support one person.”
That was true. Ever since Chu Yebai had started living off Pei Liang, the many bandits had more or less benefited from it.
Guan Tian and the others couldn’t stand by and take it anymore. Seeing someone challenge them this openly, how could they possibly endure it?
He immediately slapped the table and stood up. “Hah! You think we care about enjoying the benefits Boss gets by selling himself?”
“Our hearts bleed every time we take advantage of it. We don’t want those benefits anyway.”
As he spoke, he turned to Chu Yebai with an expression full of encouragement. “Boss, go for it. We won’t hold you back.”
Then he turned to Pei Liang and said, “Boss Pei, from now on, you’re our real boss. If anything happens, we definitely won’t go around you. He’s alone now, with no baggage behind him.”
The bandits all thought they had come up with a brilliant plan.
Even without their former boss, Boss Pei was never one to make them work too hard. Surely the security department’s benefits on the ship hadn’t been any worse than what they received now?
What was there to worry about? As long as they clung to Boss Pei’s coattails, they wouldn’t suffer any losses.
Chu Yebai was speechless.
He had only been trying to compete for the position of kept man, and his subordinates had already defected? Besides, Pei Liang could order around anyone she wanted, but sometimes, having the title mattered a great deal.
Gong Ran burst out laughing. He covered his mouth with one hand, laughing so hard he could barely stop himself.
How could Chu Yebai let him get away with that? He threw caution to the wind and said, “I don’t want the eastern district anymore.”
In any case, if he could bring Pei Liang down, everything would be his. If he couldn’t, then being the leader of one region was meaningless anyway.
Gong Ran’s smile vanished. His face became expressionless. “I don’t want the crystals. I’ll research a way to evolve on my own.”
Chu Yebai said, “Just provide me with three meals a day. I can sleep in your bed.”
Gong Ran replied, “I can provide you with three meals a day. As long as I’m here, you’ll never have to worry about running out of food. You can even sleep in my bed.”
Good grief. Everyone was screaming inwardly.
This wasn’t just a competition to become a kept man. The malicious bidding war had gone completely insane.
They had practically reached the point of paying someone for the privilege of sleeping with them.
The two were about to continue arguing when Pei Liang hurriedly said, “All right, all right, both of you, stop talking.”
She pushed Chu Yebai down, then turned to Gong Ran. “If there’s something you want, just tell me.”
“It’s not as if I won’t give it to you. If there’s something I’m unwilling to give you, then even if you let me sleep with you a hundred times, I still won’t give it to you.”
Gong Ran opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Pei Liang cut him off.
“Don’t let appearances fool you. I’m a respectable person with a strong sense of contract. I absolutely refuse to get involved in chaotic relationships with multiple people. That’s my principle.”
Everyone around them felt their teeth ache at how righteous she sounded.
If they hadn’t known that she kidnapped people, dragged them back to her room, played with them until they were half-dead, and even engaged in group activities, they might have believed her.
Chu Yebai, however, believed her. This woman was unexpectedly rather principled in her actions.
Although he knew exactly what she was after, she often cared about his feelings as well. In every respect, she really was the perfect lover.
There was another reason Pei Liang hadn’t mentioned.
In the current apocalypse, order had collapsed. The emotions, marriage contracts, and ethics of the pre-apocalyptic world were bound to disappear. And evolution had effectively divided people into different ranks.
The strong undoubtedly possessed advantages the weak could never compare with. If she were the first to set the precedent—if she openly took whichever man she liked and kept him—then other powerful people would naturally feel no hesitation about doing the same.
There was no point talking about whether anyone was willing or unwilling. There were always ways to make someone “willing.”
If Pei Liang then tried to use rules and laws to restrain them, she might not have enough ground to stand on.
No one could interfere with how another person spent what they had earned through their own ability. That had already been true before the apocalypse, and afterward, the priorities governing men and women’s choices would inevitably change.
But Pei Liang absolutely could not be the leader who signaled that the strong were superior and could seize whatever they wanted by force.
She didn’t say any of this, but Chu Yebai and Gong Ran could both guess at it.
She might act casually, but whenever she restrained herself, there was definitely a more important reason behind it.
Something stirred in Chu Yebai’s heart. He looked at Pei Liang, lifted her chin, and kissed her.
“I think I’m starting to become genuinely obsessed with you.”
The sight was painful to Gong Ran’s eyes.
Rationally speaking, by listening to that idiot Guan Qian and entering a bidding war with Chu Yebai, his actions had already lost all practical value.
Besides, with Pei Liang’s promise, he believed she would give him whatever he needed without the slightest hesitation.
And yet Gong Ran still found it unbearable to watch.
Then he understood.
What he wanted wasn’t the sort of benefit that could make an ordinary person’s heart flutter.
What he wanted was that man’s undisguised favoritism and unconditional indulgence.
There were plenty of people trying to win him over. Forces from both the legitimate and criminal worlds had all approached him.
But why were her words so exceptionally captivating? Until today, Gong Ran had thought it was because their ideals aligned, along with her unquestionable generosity.
But now he understood that wasn’t it.
Seeing the competition for the position of “pretty boy” finally come to an end—with Gong Ran’s defeat—the onlookers were temporarily satisfied.
Having enjoyed the spectacle to their hearts’ content, they couldn’t help feeling somewhat sorry for Gong Ran.
Especially those on Chu Yebai’s side. They looked at him smugly, as though he were some cheap product that no one would even accept for free.
Chu Yebai wasn’t some kind of demon, either. He wouldn’t kick a man while he was down under circumstances like these, right?
Unwilling to keep looking at Gong Ran’s defeated expression, he pulled Pei Liang, who had finished eating, to her feet. “Let’s go back to the room first.”
“I had someone set things up while we were out today. You’re going to like it.”
The implication couldn’t have been clearer. Chu Yebai had anticipated the outcome and had already planned to take over the East District, so naturally he would put some effort into his duties in the bedroom.
The moment Pei Liang heard this, her interest was immediately piqued.
But just as she rose to her feet, Gong Ran called out to her.
They both turned around. Chu Yebai frowned as he glared at the man, instinctively certain that he was about to pull another stunt.
With Gong Ran’s intelligence, he should have known that making a fuss now would be completely pointless. And given Pei Liang’s personality, the more she realized that someone was clingy and refused to let things go, the less likely she would be to consider him.
Pei Liang smiled and asked Gong Ran, “Is there something else?”
Gong Ran smiled, removed the glasses from the bridge of his nose, and held them out to Pei Liang—
“I remember you said that day that you wanted to try these, didn’t you?” Later, Gong Ran had surrendered without hesitation, so of course the glasses had been returned to him.
Chu Yebai’s scalp prickled, and his gaze toward the young man took on a murderous edge.
Gong Ran stood up and ignored the expression that looked ready to devour him. In an unhurried tone, he said, “You were busy when we went out today, and you forgot about it when we passed the eyewear shop.”
“You’d probably feel awkward borrowing someone else’s. So just use mine.”
As he passed the two of them, Gong Ran leaned close to Pei Liang’s ear, his voice taking on an indescribably seductive quality—
“Have fun—with my glasses.”
