Published: March 2, 2025
After the apocalypse, being beautiful became a woman's greatest weakness—or rather, the biggest challenge for survival.
Similarly, women who could thrive while being beautiful belonged to the category of smart individuals.
And smart people are very clear about their identity and status!
Surrounding Qin Shiyuan were three women: one was the concubine of a sequence ninety-four, and the other two were wives of military personnel close to sequence-level experts. These three women deeply understood how they should present themselves in front of this handsome man—being respectful and cautious was never too much.
Arthur, however, ignored the three pretentious women entirely. He placed a gift box on the coffee table and walked to Qin Shiyuan's side.
The "best friend" who had been sitting next to Qin Shiyuan wisely made way for Arthur.
"You’re back?"
"The battle is over, so I came back to take a look."
As Arthur pulled the gift box from the coffee table, he pushed it toward Qin Shiyuan.
"Look, it’s something for you."
"What is it?"
"A little something I took from the supplies reserve... Although I'm not a military person, they still gave me quite a few rewards for this battle."
Qin Shiyuan slowly opened the gift box to reveal a complete set of beautifully crafted jade jewelry.
Gently touching the items in the box, delight showed in Qin Shiyuan's eyes.
The jewelry looked lavish and precious, but in the apocalypse, such originally expensive decorations might not even be worth a piece of jerky.
What really attracted Qin Shiyuan was the sentiment contained in the jewelry...
After carefully examining the pieces, she closed the gift box and smiled at Arthur.
"Didn’t you bring anything for Nicole? Be careful she doesn't cling to you again~"
Arthur smiled wryly and shook his head, pulling out a brand new large doll from his Spatial Ring.
"By the way, where’s Nicole?"
"She's upstairs sleeping."
Arthur understood the real situation; she simply found the three women around too noisy.
The three women also had a good sense of self-awareness and exchanged glances before speaking.
"Yuan Yuan, we’ll take our leave now."
After saying that, the three turned to leave.
"Wait."
Arthur called out to the three women.
"Come by again tomorrow, and I'll accompany you to the market."
After speaking, Arthur gently took Qin Shiyuan's hand.
"Let’s go if you want. I think Qin Tian won't have any objections."
...
At this moment, Qin Tian was wandering around the treasure land within the Eternal Sky City, just like Wen Yu.
During the previous war, Qin Tian played a significant role as well. Although he was not part of the military, Lin Haifeng still provided him with considerable benefits by granting access to the treasure land.
For Lin Haifeng, since it was a permanently open treasure land, it didn't matter how many people entered; granting access to someone as a personal favor was reasonable.
Although the rewards within the treasure land were not abundant, for Qin Tian, it was still better than nothing, as it was better than doing nothing at all.
After Qin Shiyuan and Arthur finalized plans for their market outing the next day, Qin Shiyuan informed Qin Tian of the news.
Initially, Qin Tian refused, but upon hearing that Arthur would ensure Qin Shiyuan's safety throughout the trip, he reluctantly agreed.
His sister was not a pampered vase; it was good for her to go out and have some fresh air, especially with Arthur around.
Qin Tian had no intention of intervening in the relationship between Arthur and Qin Shiyuan—his sister was already of marriageable age, and Arthur, overall, was quite a suitable candidate...
Thus, an event that seemed trivial and inconsequential unfolded quietly under everyone's noses.
And this marked the beginning of Lin Haifeng's "Sea King Control Plan."
...
The next day.
Arthur arrived at Qin Tian's residence early in the morning.
Qin Shiyuan had woken up even earlier than Arthur, having completed her grooming and makeup well before, sitting in the living room with five "noble ladies" who had arrived early, chatting idly.