Outside the cave, the island shrouded in the storm grew increasingly dim.
Actually, Chuck's arrival was inherently quite sensitive for these women who hadn't seen any men since coming to the island.
He was tall, emitting an oppressive aura just by looking at him, and he also had many supplies on hand. From these women's perspective, he was undoubtedly a powerful and dangerous man.
If he harbored malicious intentions, or even became frenzied, probably none of these weak women present could stop him.
But as flight attendant He Xiaoyu chatted with him increasingly happily, and the atmosphere grew increasingly harmonious, these women gradually saw that Chuck was a civilized and polite good man.
Such a strong man, if he had any bad thoughts, he should have made his move the moment he stepped into this cave, or even earlier when he confirmed this settlement was all women. He wouldn't have tried to exchange supplies with Lee So-yeon, or even delivered so much food for free this time...
Naturally, they all let go of their wariness.
So the occasional glances towards Chuck gradually turned into curiosity. Some of them even began looking for opportunities to initiate conversation with Chuck, just like flight attendant He Xiaoyu.
"Um, Chuck-san! Nice to meet you, I'm Matsuzaka Emi from Osaka."
"Hola! Sofia Martinez, I'm Spanish, English is a little bit not good."
"Nicole Patterson, from New York. Nice to meet you, Mr. Chuck."
A Japanese girl, a Spanish girl, and a proper American blonde. Europe, America, Japan, and Korea were all represented.
Wearing an indifferent smile, Chuck shook hands and responded to each of these women who proactively greeted him with the same attitude he had towards He Xiaoyu.
His English was now completely fluent, allowing smooth daily communication. Although there were Japanese and Korean women in this settlement, English was a globally used language. The women here also used English to communicate with each other, so there were no language barriers.
Just as Chuck was thinking this, a voice that made Chuck's scalp tingle suddenly sounded from his side.
"Hello big brother, I'm Wang Xinrui, from Xinxiang, Henan."
Holy crap...
Chuck immediately widened his eyes and turned to look. He saw the other Asian face he had just noticed opposite him, now smiling and extending a hand towards him like the others around her.
Among these three Asian faces, there was actually another Chinese woman!
And it would be fine if this woman didn't speak, but once she spoke, her words were astonishing. So much so that Chuck, who originally had an unflappable expression, couldn't help but lose his composure a bit, but quickly sized her up.
This girl named Wang Xinrui looked to be in her early twenties. She looked quite lively, probably a college student like Julia, and her looks were relatively delicate. As soon as she opened her mouth, Chuck instantly felt the rustic aura of the Central Plains stretching back thousands of years.
Such a sense of contrast, such infectiousness, truly lived up to its reputation.
But seeing Chuck's expression, this girl named Wang Xinrui frowned on the spot. She spoke again, protesting in a light voice and rustic accent.
"What's wrong, what's wrong? It's just a bit of an accent, look how scared you are."
"Well, not really..."
The corners of Chuck's eyes and mouth twitched together. For a moment, he actually didn't know how to respond.
As someone who prioritized looks, figures, and feet, Chuck never hid it, nor did he feel ashamed. But an accent represented one's background after all. If distinguished by colored glasses, even he felt somewhat ashamed in his heart.
But the dissatisfaction on this Henan girl's face lasted only a few seconds before lightning-fast transforming into a cheerful smile.
"Hehe, just joking with you! I know I have an accent. After all, I've never left Henan since I was a kid. If Brother Chuck doesn't mind, that's fine~"
"Ah haha, don't mind, naturally I don't mind."
Chuck just felt his scalp tingling. Since coming to the island, he had never been so passive in communicating with someone.
Flight attendant He Xiaoyu, sitting to the side, sent Chuck a helpless smile. Her face had the words "I know how you feel" written all over it. As compatriots, these two women were naturally the closest in this settlement. Having spent so many days together, He Xiaoyu was probably the one who understood the magic of the Henan accent the most.
With new people joining the conversation, everyone quickly gathered together and chatted lively. Many questions hidden in the women's hearts were thrown at Chuck one by one.
Like when he came to the island, how he survived until now, how life was in the south of the island, whether he had other companions, and so on.
Regarding the women's questions, aside from concealing his cheat, Chuck didn't refuse anyone and answered everything truthfully.
"Greenhouse farming... livestock shed raising chickens? Mr. Chuck, are you talking about this deserted island?"
"Unbelievable, you actually have a three-bedroom, one-living-room house?!"
"Brother Chuck, you're not messing with us, are you? How is this possible!"
Regarding Chuck's situation, Tang Yumo only explained it clearly to Lee So-yeon before, and the latter didn't explain it to the women. So hearing Chuck say it himself now, they naturally felt he was bragging.
After all, they were now genuine survivors who had struggled to survive on the deserted island for more than two months. They had long formed a clear concept in their hearts regarding the cruelty of nature and how hard-won various supplies were. Of course, they understood how exaggerated Chuck's statements were.
However, Chuck already had this premonition while answering. Being questioned by the women right now, he didn't try to defend himself, but just smiled plainly.
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe it. After all, empty words are no proof. You'll only know the real situation when you see it with your own eyes."
Chuck's words were spoken plainly, but they made the surrounding women freeze simultaneously.
Then they all lowered their heads thoughtfully, the same idea gradually emerging in their minds.
His words, could it be that he is inviting us?
...
Sitting cross-legged alone, leaning against the corner of the cave wall side by side with Tang Yumo, Lee So-yeon watched Chuck, who was surrounded by her companions, her eyes filled with extremely complicated emotions.
Beside her, Tang Yumo still looked absent-minded.
Chuck's attitude just now was nothing less than a large basin of ice water poured mercilessly over her head, chilling her from her hair to her toes. Her originally dull and confused heart finally woke up completely.
What followed was extremely intense shame.
Only now did Tang Yumo realize that from the moment she first came to the island, when she bumped into that scene by the beach and suddenly changed her view of Chuck, she had stepped onto a stupid path of no return. Since then, she had never made even a single correct decision.
Even after dying once, it was still the same.
For Tang Yumo, although this feeling of powerlessness wasn't the first time, this time was particularly intense. So much so that she hugged her knees tightly, curling her body into a ball, yet still feeling unusually cold all over. She had to tremble her chin and confess her sins to Lee So-yeon beside her in a low voice.
"So-yeon... I'm sorry, it's all because I was too self-righteous..."
"Enough, saying this now is useless."
Lee So-yeon looked helplessly at Tang Yumo beside her and sighed slowly.
Regardless, Tang Yumo's intentions were ultimately for the good of the sisters. Even if Lee So-yeon was disappointed, she couldn't blame her in the end.
Moreover, in her heart, although Tang Yumo came the latest, having helped each other survive together until now, she was equally regarded as an important companion by her.
Chuck not giving Tang Yumo half a direct look was enough to show that he had no interest in Tang Yumo at all. Then subsequent matters were out of the question. Tang Yumo ultimately couldn't help, and this trade could still only remain at the level of exchanging wild vegetables for sweet potatoes, offering no substantial help to the lives of the sisters and the companions around them.
But the deserted island wouldn't be merciful. After today, the sisters and these companions would still have to live on this island. If they continued living like this, hungry one meal and full the next, one day everyone's bodies would develop problems, even life-threatening ones.
So no matter what, she still had to find a way to get more resources from this man.
Since Tang Yumo couldn't take up the responsibility she had assumed as promised before, in the end, it could only be done personally by herself, as she originally planned...
Thinking of this, a trace of unwillingness appeared on Lee So-yeon's face. At the same time, she looked up at the back of her sister, who was still lying on her side on the straw mat.
Lee So-yeon knew very well that her sister wasn't stupid, even quite smart. If what happened between Tang Yumo and Chuck just now was noticed by her, she could definitely guess her subsequent plans. Then what would happen next went without saying. To oppose, her sister would definitely repeat the hunger strike farce from a few days ago.
The closest relative using their own life and health as a threat—this was the most helpless thing in the world.
Raising the back of her hand, in the darkness unnoticed by anyone, Lee So-yeon gently wiped the two streams of tears from her face.
But... what else could she do?
...
It wasn't until dinner time in the evening that Chuck's conversation with the women around him came to an end.
Of the eight people besides Tang Yumo and the Lee sisters, five proactively struck up a conversation and chatted with him. This could be considered formally getting acquainted.
Among the remaining three who didn't proactively strike up a conversation and didn't speak with Chuck throughout the whole process, there were two dark-skinned women suspected to be of African descent, and one South American woman with dark brown curly hair and exotic facial features, looking like a Mexican.
The gaze these three directed at Chuck still carried considerable wariness. However, ironically, from a labor perspective, these three women were actually the most outstanding in this settlement, all being tall, with long limbs, looking like the type who often did physical work.
No wonder they sold so well centuries ago. They were indeed the chosen breed for beasts of burden.
But likely because of their skin color, these three women had seen more darkness and peril than the other women, and weren't easily trusting of others. Having their current reaction wasn't surprising.
Everyone has different life experiences and their own ways of survival. Chuck wouldn't make hasty judgments because of this. So if this was an interview, these three women weren't eliminated because of this.
And naturally, although Chuck didn't conceal his situation and strength, he would never state his intention to incorporate them at this time. After all, once he did, Lee So-yeon's side would probably be the happiest, eager to throw in the towel directly and take everyone to be coolies for Chuck, exchanging labor for food.
In that case, Chuck would completely lose the reason to fuck them.
That was absolutely not allowed.
The unattainable is always a commotion. Chuck would never allow beautiful women he couldn't fuck to exist right under his nose.
...
Dinner started right on time. The fish, pancakes, and eggs Chuck brought were precisely divided into quarters by Lee So-yeon, then further divided into twelfths. Adding a pot of freshly boiled vegetable soup and a small number of wild fruits, the dinner distributed in the end was still pitifully small.
But what they feared was comparison. The women who only had wild fruits and vegetables on normal days, finally having a bite of fish meat and pancakes tonight, and even tasting the nostalgic flavor of eggs, was enough to make them feel satisfied.
It was just a pity that Chuck's appetite was larger than ordinary people to begin with. This bit of food wasn't even a quarter of what he usually ate per meal. At best, it filled him a third of the way, just enough to fill the gaps between his teeth, and ended hastily.
Not full.
Food is the paramount necessity of the people. These women were already thin and weak. Plus, they were used to being half-hungry and half-full, so they didn't share Chuck's feelings. Instead, they all looked quite satisfied.
Outside the cave, the storm under the night sky remained violent and fierce.
Chuck thought about it and felt there was no need to starve himself over this. So, using the excuse of going out to relieve himself and take a shower with rainwater, he left his clothes behind and stepped into the rain curtain wearing only his boxers.
He went to secretly grab an extra meal.
In his storage space, there were still emergency rations saved up, enough for one person to eat for two days. Not to mention the freshly stored milk from Yitong and Janet. Naturally, he wouldn't go hungry.
However, as Chuck briefly left this cave, some words that were inconvenient for him to hear erupted collectively at this moment.
"What do you think?"
"Honestly... I don't know. He doesn't look like a threat right now, but I still think we shouldn't trust him easily."
The three dark-skinned and South American women who hadn't spoken to Chuck leaned side by side in the corner of the cave, discussing in low voices that only they could hear.
On the other side, the five women who had spoken with Chuck also gathered together. Although the topic of discussion was the same, the content was vastly different.
"I've decided..."
After a round of talking back and forth, they saw Sofia, the Spanish woman with a high nose bridge and deep brown pupils, looking around the women with an unusually serious gaze.
"Decided what?"
Nicole from New York looked at her in confusion. She was always somewhat unable to handle this inexplicably forthright Spanish woman, who would occasionally say something that shocked her brain.
But unexpectedly, Sofia's next sentence completely refreshed her understanding of the latter.
"This damn island, God knows when I'll die. I don't want to die a virgin!"
"This Chinese man isn't a bad guy. He looks decent, and his body is smoking hot. So..."
Sofia gritted her teeth, looked at the women, and declared in a slightly nervous voice.
"Tonight, I'm going to sleep with him."