The scene from *One Piece* where Luffy and his crew, after starving for four days at sea, become so ravenous that they face a massive sea beast without fear, determined to slay and devour it, now feels all too familiar. The people here have been hungry for far longer, and even before food ran out, their meals were meager.

Though Wu Feng hadn’t developed a fever, hunger had drained him of nearly all strength. After soaking pieces of his torn clothes in water and placing them on Xiang Ru’s forehead, he sat beside her, dazed and weak.

Faced with such circumstances, what else could Yang Mu do? Perhaps, deep down, he wasn’t as cold-hearted as he believed. Rising to his feet, he wet some cloths and placed them on the others' foreheads, attempting to bring their fevers down.

Among them, Chu Hong and Xiang Ru were in the worst condition, both delirious from their high fevers. Yang Mu gently lifted them onto the lower bunks, now placed back in the rest area.

On the lower bunks lay Chu Hong and Xiang Ru, while Xiao Yao was tied to the upper one. Yang Mu then moved Hu Die to another upper bunk, feeding her a little food. He understood all too well how vital food was for his own survival, but Hu Die’s condition was dire—her body severely dehydrated. It was unclear whether her internal organs were beginning to fail, but without sustenance, she would soon perish.

There are two types of unconsciousness: one where the body still responds naturally, and the other, where the person sinks into a deathlike deep stupor. Hu Die was in the latter state. Though Yang Mu placed some chocolate in her mouth, she couldn’t chew or swallow.

Helpless, he chewed the chocolate himself and, pressing his lips to hers, transferred it into her mouth. He propped her up, gently patting her chest, coaxing the food down her throat.

Perhaps it was the nourishment, or maybe Yang Mu’s rough handling, but Hu Die suddenly awoke, her lips still touching his as she opened her eyes.

“You’re awake. I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you—I was just feeding you.”

“Mm.”

Hu Die smiled weakly, her eyes on Yang Mu, and though her body was frail, a spark of vitality flickered in her gaze.

“Since you’re awake, try eating on your own.”

“I don’t have the strength to chew.”

Her frailty was genuine—her voice soft and raspy.

Yang Mu sighed, looking at the piece of chocolate in his hand. After a long pause, he took another bite, chewed it, and fed it to Hu Die again.

Slowly, she absorbed the chocolate. But this time, as their lips met, Yang Mu felt a flicker of desire stir within him—a far cry from the purity he had felt just moments before.

This feeding lasted for a full thirty seconds before he finally pulled away, his heart no longer as untouched as it had been.

“Do you remember what I said to you?” Hu Die asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“You’re too weak to talk.”

“Do you remember or not?”

“I’ve forgotten.”

“I said—if you ever win my affection, I’d be willing to live for you, die for you. Even if we were trapped in some hopeless place, with no food or water, I’d carve pieces of my own flesh to feed you, just to keep you alive.”

“...”

“Yang Mu, I haven’t told Gu Dasen that I’m leaving him. He’s a good man. If not for this catastrophe, if we had married, we could’ve spent a lifetime together—even if there was no love. But now, I don’t know what the future holds, and I fear parting from him will leave too many regrets.”

“I know. Don’t speak anymore.”

“But I must. I fear I won’t have the chance later. I’ve grown fond of talking with you, though our conversations have been brief. Every time we speak, my mind races, trying to figure out how to say something that will make you like me and not push me away. At first, it was to gain your help, but after a while, it changed. Now, I just want to talk to you because, when we speak, I feel alive—vibrant—like a real woman. It’s as if I’ve returned to my youth, back when I was sixteen or seventeen...”

“Hey, enough of that. You finally get some food, and now you want to waste your strength on talking. Just rest and stay alive.”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“Long separated, fated to part... today we meet again, yet life’s regrets linger.”

As Hu Die spoke, tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.

Yang Mu stared at her, dumbfounded, and for the first time, he felt like he truly understood this woman, though he couldn’t quite articulate it.

After a moment’s hesitation, he glanced at the remaining half of the chocolate in his hand and, finally, chewed it before feeding her again.

Once she swallowed, Yang Mu frowned and said, “These past two years have softened me. If this had been two years ago, I wouldn’t have spared a single morsel of my survival food.”

“In truth, it wasn’t the food I craved. What I yearned for was that brief moment when you fed me.”

“...”

"You really shouldn't let me feed you this way. I have a cold, and it could spread to you."

"What's done is done. Honestly, I'd rather risk catching a cold than watch you starve in front of me. You're actually quite easy on the eyes. Besides, the zombie virus doesn't begin with a fever, so it's likely just an ordinary cold. I've been living rough all my life, recovering from illnesses without medicine, so my immune system is pretty strong. I'm not easily infected. And I didn’t take anything from your mouth—if anything, breathing the same air could have spread it already. Yet, here I am, perfectly fine. This virus clearly can't touch me."

As Yang Mu spoke, he lit a cigarette, sitting on the top bunk, lost in thought.

Sure enough, beauty is a curse. I only meant to give her a small piece of chocolate, but ended up giving her the whole bar.

Kindness is the root of weakness—I can’t afford to keep being this soft.

Hu Die had managed to eat a little, but it wasn’t nearly enough. After expending energy talking for a while, she quickly drifted back to sleep, her eyes still glistening with tears.

After finishing his cigarette, Yang Mu jumped down from the bunk and turned his attention to Chu Hong and Xiang Ru.

Their fevers were alarmingly high—anyone would be harmed by such a heat, let alone two weakened people.

What to do? There was no medicine left. Perhaps I should try cooling them down physically?

Without hesitation, Yang Mu soaked a large cloth, stripped the women down to their undergarments, and began wiping them down.

Starting with Chu Hong, Yang Mu couldn’t deny the allure of her body, but he was too exhausted to entertain such thoughts, even if he had the energy.

Once he finished with Chu Hong, he moved on to Xiang Ru, feeling the strain in his own body, sweat beading on his forehead.

He wiped her palms, soles, underarms, and chest—key points for physical cooling.

As he was wiping her chest, a drop of his sweat fell from his brow, landing right on Xiang Ru’s lips.

Perhaps it was the saltiness of that drop that triggered something in her—she stirred, slowly opening her eyes.

"You..."

"I..."

Their eyes met. After uttering "you," Xiang Ru fell silent, while Yang Mu instinctively responded with "I."

His hand still held the damp cloth, continuing its work on her body.

The cloth was actually a strip torn from Yang Mu’s T-shirt, now soft after being soaked.

Since the shirt had been torn apart, Yang Mu was bare-chested.

Xiang Ru almost choked in shock, and with a surge of effort, she threw a punch at Yang Mu.

But the once fierce tigress had become a feeble kitten. The punch, though initially forceful, lost all strength midway, and Yang Mu easily dodged it.

Overexerted, Xiang Ru collapsed back onto the bed, her head spinning.

Yang Mu, though unscathed, felt a surge of irritation. Seeing that Xiang Ru was too weak to do much else, he sat back down and resumed wiping her chest.

"Listen, I'm not exactly full of energy either. I'm going out of my way to help cool you down, and you repay me with a punch? I could’ve stripped you completely, but out of respect, I only removed your outer clothes, leaving your underwear. Yet you still have the nerve to hit me? Do you think it's easy to keep my thoughts pure in the face of your beauty? If you don't behave, I’ll strip you fully and douse you under a faucet. Cooling you down is all that matters, after all. It might just save your life."

Though Xiang Ru was a soldier, she had always maintained her private space, never mingling carelessly with her male comrades. She had limited experience in matters beyond the battlefield, making her naive when it came to relationships.

Being treated like this by Yang Mu was something she couldn’t bear. Adding to that the recent loss of her comrades, her grief only deepened.

Even though she knew Yang Mu was saving her, the humiliation was unbearable—she would rather die. And if she couldn't die, she'd make sure Yang Mu did.

"You undressed me! Just you wait..."

"Wait for what? If it weren’t for your brother, I wouldn’t even bother with you. What are you going to do about it?"

"I..."

Yang Mu had torn several strips from his shirt, all meant for wiping down the feverish women. Seeing Xiang Ru open her mouth to retort, he casually stuffed one of the cloths into it.

"If you've got the energy to talk, then close your eyes and rest. You were unconscious before—you could only rest in your dreams, how pitiful is that?"

Xiang Ru, already frail, now found herself enraged, her eyes widening in fury as she glared at Yang Mu, wishing she could tear him apart.

Yang Mu, seeing her like this, felt invigorated. He decided to continue, using the damp cloth to wipe her entire body.

After all, cooling her down was crucial, and while he remembered reading that wiping specific areas like the hands, feet, underarms, forehead, and chest with alcohol was most effective, he figured that without alcohol, water would do just fine if applied all over.

As the cold, wet cloth moved across her body, Xiang Ru couldn’t withstand the shame any longer, and fainted again, this time from sheer humiliation.

Her sudden collapse startled Yang Mu—had he just wiped her to death?

But half an hour later, Yang Mu smiled in relief. Both Xiang Ru and Chu Hong’s fevers had subsided, and their breathing had stabilized, though they remained weak.

"Damn, my skills are pretty impressive. I could be a miracle doctor."

Just as those words left his lips, the communication device beside Xiang Ru crackled to life—it was Li Xiangjun’s voice.

"Xiao Ru, Xiao Ru."

"Your Xiao Ru’s passed out. This is Yang Mu, one of the survivors here. What's the status of the subway situation?"