Lulia Smith exclaimed in surprise, "Lily Green, you're here too!"

Lily Green excitedly grabbed Lulia's hands and said, "This is wonderful, Professor Smith! You're alive!"

Lily Green had not encountered a single familiar face since the apocalypse began. Her family was from another city, and she had few friends in New York. She had long lost contact with her parents and relatives. Seeing her former teacher now filled her with immense joy.

Likewise, Lulia felt a sense of relief seeing Lily Green. Meeting one of her students provided her with some small comfort, though she also felt shy.

Looking around at the beautiful women in the room, it was obvious what kind of man James Lone was.

Lily Green must have joined James Lone as well... Does that mean I'll have to follow him too?

Lulia's face turned bright red as she sneaked a glance at James Lone.

James, however, paid no attention to her thoughts. Instead, he used his Perception to check on the survivors downstairs.

So far, no one had shown signs of poisoning from the frog meat. That was a good sign.

I wonder how Teresa Taylor is doing?

James decided he'd check on her later in the evening. For now, he said, "Let's eat."

Monroe Anne and the other women quickly responded, "Yes, Master."

James sat at the head of the table. The women took their seats in order of when they had joined him.

Lulia, unsure of where to sit, fidgeted awkwardly.

James pointed to the last seat. "By the order of joining, you sit at the end."

Lydia Johnson smiled gently and said, "Professor Smith, come sit next to me."

"Oh," Lulia replied, nervously taking her seat.

She then turned her attention to the food on the table and was utterly shocked.

The spread was unbelievably lavish: stir-fried shrimp, squid and sea cucumber soup, Dongpo pork, sautéed peas, sweet and sour fish...

There were also plenty of staple foods—noodles, steamed buns, rice, dumplings.

Even drinks were abundant: cola, Sprite, green tea, purified water, beer, and liquor, everything you could think of.

Such a feast would have cost at least 2,000 yuan in pre-apocalypse times. Now, its value was unimaginable.

Lulia covered her mouth in astonishment.

I never thought I'd see food like this again!

James Lone scanned the table with satisfaction.

Shirley Inr Won, Monroe Anne, Lily Green, Elsa Thomas, April Jones, Lydia Johnson, and now Lulia Smith.

The table was nearly full, and the room was becoming crowded as well.

James began to consider his next move. Most of the apartments on this floor were only moderately renovated, except for Shirley Inr Won's.

The decor wasn't his main concern—it was the safety issue.

Since the arrival of the purple mist, the world had become extraordinarily dangerous. If the women were spread out too much, they'd be at greater risk. If something happened, James might not be able to save them in time.

Although he didn't care deeply about their lives, he preferred they stayed alive. After all, they could still generate resources for him.

It's time to find a better place to live, James thought.

Ideally, somewhere high above ground with a better environment.

He turned to look out the window.

In the distance, a towering structure reached into the clouds—it was the New York Atlantic Pearl Tower.

The Pearl Tower was one of New York's iconic landmarks, standing 500 meters tall.

In addition to housing TV signal equipment, it featured a luxurious revolving restaurant and a top-tier hotel at a height of 450 meters.

Without power, most survivors wouldn't be able to reach such heights, and even if they did, they'd likely starve due to a lack of food and water.

But for James Lone, it was the perfect location.

Back at the table, the women remained quiet, waiting for James to make the first move.

Lulia, despite her hunger, followed their example.

James returned his gaze to the table, smiled, and picked up his chopsticks. After taking a bite of the sweet and sour fish, he said, "This is great. Let's eat."

The atmosphere immediately lightened.

The women began chatting and laughing as they ate.

Since joining James, they had grown accustomed to fine dining. There was no rush to eat—they leisurely enjoyed their food, chatting about the day's events.

"One of the survivors from Building B came over to see Dr. Wot for treatment." "Dr. Wot is such a kind person. He even told them about the mutated wild greens." "Ew, don't mention that while we're eating. It's gross!" "Cola ate too much again and got indigestion." "Sister, can I borrow your lipstick? The one Master gave you?" ...

Lily Green scooted closer to Lulia and placed a few pieces of meat on her plate. "Professor Smith, eat up. Sister Xu's cooking is amazing!"

Lulia took a small bite, feeling shy. She wanted to devour the food in front of her but was too self-conscious as the newest member of the group.

Lily Green, on the other hand, only ate a couple of bites before putting down her chopsticks. She grabbed a bottle of purified water and started chatting with Lulia.

Lulia tried to suppress her urge to binge and ate delicately, maintaining her elegant demeanor. "Lily Green, why did you stop eating?"

"I've gained a pound! I can't afford to gain more weight!" Lily pouted as she pinched her belly. "See, Professor? I even have a little tummy now. It's all Sister Xu's fault—her cooking is too good!"

Lulia was speechless.

How many people are starving out there, and you're complaining about gaining weight?!

She glanced at James, who was chatting with Monroe Anne, then cautiously asked Lily, "Do you always eat like this?"

Lily replied nonchalantly, "More or less. There's nothing else to do while we're stuck here. A few of us have been learning to cook from Monroe Anne. That braised carp, for example, is my handiwork."

Lulia was stunned. "You have plenty of food?"

Lily laughed. "This is a secret we can't share with outsiders, but since Master brought you here, you're one of us now. I can tell you. Master has a personal storage space, and he stocked up on countless supplies long before the purple mist came. We have enough to last ten lifetimes. So relax and enjoy yourself here."

Lulia blushed.

Her student's casual tone about becoming "sisters" made her feel a little awkward. At the same time, she was shocked—James Lone had known about the purple mist in advance?

Why?

As for the storage space, she believed it.

Earlier, when James had seemingly conjured snacks out of thin air, it must have been from his storage space.

At that moment, she saw James take out a black Nephelium fruit and hand it to Monroe Anne. "Dinner was great today. This perception fruit is your reward."

Monroe Anne accepted it excitedly. "Thank you, Master!"

She shot a smug glance at the other women before proudly eating the fruit.

The other women offered their congratulations but secretly harbored jealousy.

"Bitch." "Hmph, just wait until I master cooking too. Let's see who's gloating then!"

Lulia was in shock. "Wait, is that... is that... an ability fruit?!"

The rare treasures coveted by countless survivors were being handed out so casually?

Lily said nonchalantly, "It's just an ability fruit. Master has plenty. If you perform well, he'll reward you too."

"Really?!" Lulia couldn't believe it.

These incredibly rare treasures... and he had plenty?

Just then, a massive husky walked into the room.

Lulia jumped in surprise, but seeing how calm the other women were, she forced herself to relax.

The husky lay down beside James, who patted its head and casually tossed it a Subspace Fruit.

Crunch! Crunch!

The husky ate it without hesitation.

Lulia was stunned.

She glanced at the other women, who showed no reaction. Clearly, they were used to this.

In the outside world, people would kill each other over an ability fruit. And here, James Lone has so many he's feeding them to a dog?!

After dinner, Lulia felt dazed.

She couldn't help but feel grateful that James Lone had "kidnapped" her. This place was nothing short of paradise.

After eating, James went up to the rooftop to practice his breathing techniques and phantom movements.

Once he finished, he pulled out handful after handful of Will Link Fruits and began eating them.

Will fruits were the most suited to his abilities, so he needed to upgrade them as quickly as possible.

One handful, two handfuls, three...

After eating an unknown number of them, a system notification finally appeared:

[Ding! Will Link upgraded to 9 stars...]

James's eyes lit up. He immediately opened the interface to check:

[Will Link: 9 stars]

You can establish a will link with any creature within your sight to communicate telepathically. Range: 500 kilometers. Max simultaneous links: 100.You can create a consciousness space, pulling all linked individuals into it for communication. Max simultaneous consciousness spaces: 10.You can forcibly pull a target into the consciousness space. Success rate and duration depend on the difference in willpower between you and the target.You can create illusions within a target's consciousness. Success rate and duration depend on the difference in willpower between you and the target.Willpower +50.

Create illusions!

James couldn't wait to try it out.