Lin Yi sat in front of his laptop, fully focused on researching the future development direction of the Shelter.
At this moment, a dozen girls were working hard in two newly opened fields.
They methodically turned the soil, sowed seeds, their foreheads covered in sweat, yet no one stopped their work.
By the pond, the boys, led by the old Mechanician Louis, energetically built a shelter.
Thick wooden stakes were firmly hammered into the ground. Then, everyone worked together to hang the curtains in place.
A simple yet practical shower was thus born.
From now on, whenever someone wants to shower, they just need to pull the curtain to feel secure and not worry about being peeped at.
In the evening, the girl who nearly died of hunger woke up. After eating some mashed potatoes, her complexion greatly improved.
After dark, everyone, as usual, sat around the blazing fire preparing to have dinner. The dancing flames reddened everyone's face.
"See, you have already adapted well to this place. From now on, this is your home." Lin Yi stood up and slowly gazed at everyone present.
His voice was steady and powerful: "As long as you work hard, you will always have a place to call home, food to satisfy your hunger, and protection. Perhaps some of you don't know me yet, I am Lin Yi, and you can call me the boss."
As he spoke, memories surged like a tide into Lin Yi's heart.
Once, he was wandering the streets, penniless, without even a passport from his own country.
To survive, he had to beg, and when he was truly cornered, he had to steal.
The streets were extremely cruel; he was close to death multiple times, either from hunger, disease, or getting beaten.
He grew up in the most dangerous district on the outskirts—or more precisely, he survived there.
At fourteen, he joined a gang.
His mathematical talent quickly revealed itself in front of the other members.
Before long, the boss let him manage the gang's finances, even trained him, sent him to school, where he finally graduated with excellent grades.
Afterward, Lin Yi went to university, majoring in accounting, and after learning he returned to manage various underground money-related projects for the gang.
In fact, ever since Lin Yi joined the gang, the boss quite liked him, and after he showed his true potential, he basically became the boss's foster son.
When the boss died, Lin Yi smoothly took over, commanding over a thousand people under him. Everyone both feared and respected him.
Until the appearance of that "rebirth plan" and then the street conflict...
"Boss?" Chen Youyou softly called, pulling Lin Yi out of the whirlpool of memories.
"Sorry, I was just reminiscing the past. Well, why don't the rest of you introduce yourselves? Chen Youyou, you start." Lin Yi smiled as he sat down in the main seat.
Chen Youyou stood up.
Everyone's eyes focused on her.
Actually, she wasn't the prettiest girl here, but her figure was as slim as a sixteen-year-old girl.
Her dark hair was a bit messy, casually draped over her shoulders, looking quite cute. What was most captivating about her was her sincere and charming smile.
"I'm Chen Youyou, and this is my sister Chen Lingling. I'm 28 years old and was the first to arrive here. I previously lived in the Louvre and couldn't get any food."
As Chen Youyou spoke, she became somewhat emotional, her eyes reddened: "Thanks to the boss for bringing me here, I still can't believe how lucky I am."
After she finished, a bright smile appeared on Chen Youyou's face, and she sat down.
"I'm Da Chuan, and this is my brother Xiaochuan. We're twenty years old. We were being bullied by foreign police when the boss helped us. My brother and I both knew what we'd face once arrested..."
Da Chuan recalled the scene back then, his heart still palpitating with fear.
At this moment, Xiaochuan also stood up: "That day, the boss not only saved me and my brother but also rescued Professor Curie and brought us here. We're just so, so grateful!"
Da Chuan and Xiaochuan looked almost identical, about average height, roughly around 1.7 meters, both very slender, their hair as messy as a bird's nest.
If it weren't for the apocalypse, they probably would still be enjoying their youth in school, playing with their classmates.
But now, surviving in this harsh end-world is nothing short of a miracle.
Next, the biologist and medical expert old Mark, and Mechanician Louis, each stood up to introduce themselves.
Then it was the red-haired woman's turn, she was previously in the Blue-haired Gang and was the first to request working for Lin Yi.
"My name is Sylvie, I'm 21 years old. Before the apocalypse, I was a fashion magazine model." The red-haired girl reminisced about the past, paused for a moment, and showed a hint of sadness.
She sighed and continued: "After doomsday began, I joined a survivor group and hid in a basement for a long time. Later, we ran out of supplies and had to go out and find food."
Saying this, she couldn't help but cry: "All my companions were bitten to death by zombies. I wanted to go to the Louvre, but they sold me to the Blue-haired Gang and locked me up... you know where..."
Sylvie was an enthusiastic girl with a slender hourglass figure, big green eyes showing determination and caution after enduring hardships.
She wiped her tears and earnestly looked at Lin Yi: "Boss, you know? When you appeared and wiped out those Blue-haired Gang bastards, I decided to follow you! You added clauses for protecting women's privacy in the contract; in my heart, you're a god!"
"You're our god too!"
Instantly, all the girls stood up, their eyes reddened, filled with gratitude, deeply bowed to Lin Yi.
Lin Yi looked at the scene before him, his throat choked by something, unable to speak for a moment.
He silently thought to himself, when did this Shelter have sandstorms, blowing sand into his eyes?
Lin Yi quietly shook his head, calming his emotions, and softly urged everyone to sit down.
At this time, the girl who used to be in the corner, not knowing if she was alive or dead, also weakly spoke up.
"I'm Katsya. I'm 21 this year." She was as thin as a reed, with a sickly complexion, yet her eyes were intriguing.
Her hair was a rare milky white, naturally so, but no one knew if it was due to illness or genetics.
"I... have some health issues, so I have to rely on others' help to survive, and sometimes I bring everyone a lot of trouble..."
"It's not like that, Katsya!" Sylvie interrupted her excitedly, embracing her with pity and looking at Lin Yi, as if pleading.
"Please... I've already heard too many pitying words in my short life, and hearing these complaints again only makes me sick..." Katsya cried.
"Enough arguing!" Lin Yi really couldn't stand such sappy talk, he waved his hand, and a contract appeared in front of Katsya.
Lin Yi stared at the girl, seriously saying: "In my eyes, you're no different from everyone else. You must work, labor to earn food, understand?"
Katsya's eyes lit up, nodding vigorously.
She carefully read the contract and immediately signed her name.