Scene 072: A Beautiful View—The Superstar Takes a Bath!

Xue Feng slipped past the patrolling guards, treading softly over the grass as he stealthily entered a building. He had been watching this building for quite some time; people came and went frequently. It seemed important.

No sooner had he stepped inside than he heard sounds emanating from various rooms—cries of women, mingled with the excited shouts of men. So this was what passed for nightlife among the base’s residents now. There was little else for them to do. Before the apocalypse, they could have gambled or watched television. But now, no one had any chips for betting, so the thrill was gone. As for watching TV—civilization was in ruins; there was nothing left to watch. The internet was a thing of the past as well. Nothing was more stimulating now than playing with women.

Xue Feng crept past several rooms, each filled with the same kinds of sounds, and could not help but shake his head. Though the military base was large and densely populated, the organization was lax, more like a rabble than a disciplined force.

When he reached the third floor, he finally overheard a conversation that might be useful. A door to one of the rooms was ajar, and inside, people were talking. Xue Feng quickly hid by the stairwell. As long as no one searched carefully, he would remain unseen.

“This place is far too remote. We have to bring women in from elsewhere! It’s damn inconvenient,” grumbled a rough male voice.

“There’s no helping it. There are too many weapons and supplies here to move them all at once. This has to serve as our secondary base. Can’t you endure a little? You already have several women by your side,” replied a woman, her tone icy cold. Her voice was clear and ringing, and something about it felt familiar to Xue Feng. Could it be Hao Yifei? He couldn’t be certain, and now was not the time to verify.

Inside the room, it was indeed Hao Yifei, who looked at the bearded man before her with undisguised contempt.

“Superstar, why don’t you show your brother a good time, and I’ll stop asking for other women,” the bearded man said, his eyes glinting with greed as he shamelessly raked his gaze up and down her body, as if stripping away her clothes with his eyes.

“Zhao Bin, are you looking for death?” Hao Yifei replied coldly.

At her words, Zhao Bin’s face twisted with anger, but the expression quickly vanished. “So what if you’re a big star? You’re only the head of the secondary base because the boss put you there. I’m just messing with you. There are thousands of men who want you, and I’m just one of them,” he said with a laugh.

Hao Yifei’s anger deepened as she glared at Zhao Bin. As a famous actress, she had always attracted admirers, some of them outright perverse. Even before the apocalypse, she received god-knows-how-many bizarre packages every day—everything from revealing outfits to strange, unidentified fluids. Some even doctored her photos and videos and spread them everywhere. She had long since grown accustomed to such things, knowing they were the price of fame—being the object of fantasies and humiliation.

Since the apocalypse, Hao Yifei had witnessed countless scenes of depravity. Any surviving woman would be immediately forced by men, and, when used up, treated as food. Hao Yifei had been lucky—she was an ability-user and could survive without relying on anyone. But she had still seen many things that filled her with disgust, powerless to intervene. In this world, she could only protect herself and nothing more.

Was there anywhere left where women were not treated as mere consumables and slaves? Hao Yifei sighed inwardly. Likely not.

“Keep a close eye on this place. If anything goes wrong, the boss won’t spare you,” she snapped, unwilling to waste more words on Zhao Bin—his mind was always in the gutter, obsessed only with women, never letting a single pretty face escape his notice. Hao Yifei had seen Zhao Bin snatch a young wife from her husband and, after tiring of her, strangle her to death in bed. Yet Zhao Bin was never punished, simply because he was one of the team’s captains. That was the privilege of leadership here: holding the power of life and death over others.

“Alright, alright, superstar, go get some rest,” Zhao Bin said with a vulgar grin.

Hao Yifei did not look back as she walked away, heading to the top floor—the only person in the base permitted to live there, where no one else was allowed to enter.

“Damn it! One day I’ll have you! Don’t think the boss’s protection will keep you safe forever. You’re just a woman, and sooner or later I’ll have you beneath me!” Zhao Bin cursed in his office. Suddenly, he caught a flicker of movement at the door. Had something just passed by?

No, it must have been his imagination. After all, Zhao Bin was an ability-user, his senses sharper than ordinary men’s. No one should be able to slip by him—unless they had powers of their own. But there were only eight ability-users in the whole base, and none had such talents. What Zhao Bin didn’t know was that Xue Feng was now inside the base.

Hao Yifei was Xue Feng’s target, so he naturally followed her. To avoid Zhao Bin’s detection, Xue Feng had employed Time Zero. In Zhao Bin’s eyes, Xue Feng had only been a fleeting blur.

Once he saw Hao Yifei enter a room, Xue Feng didn’t rush in immediately. Instead, he checked the time. It was exactly nine o’clock. According to the system’s prompt, the base would be attacked at ten. He hadn’t expected to locate Hao Yifei so easily.

Analyzing the conversation between Hao Yifei and Zhao Bin, Xue Feng deduced that Hao Yifei had suffered frequent harassment within the base—only her abilities had spared her from worse. Still, many had their eyes on her. It was only a matter of time before she was reduced to someone’s plaything. Perhaps that explained her dissatisfaction with life in the base. Here, every woman was simply a toy. Even with her powers, Hao Yifei must endure many leering stares.

This was his chance!

With that thought, Xue Feng decided to break into Hao Yifei’s room and have a heartfelt conversation. He approached the door and tried the handle—locked, as expected. But that was no obstacle for Xue Feng. He had many ways to force a lock. To avoid making noise, he conjured a sphere of lightning in his hand and pressed it gently to the doorknob. Soon, the metal melted and warped, filling the air with the scent of scorched metal. Xue Feng opened the door and stepped inside.

It was a three-bedroom apartment—before the apocalypse, only someone of status would have lived here. The sound of running water reached his ears.

Hao Yifei was showering.