Wrestling

Nia's chest protruded forward, her bottom curving backward. Surprisingly, Dan found nothing objectionable about it; he had apparently miscalculated Nia's measurements. Nevertheless, Nia exuded a considerable charm.

The only drawback was the coarse texture of her skin, with visible hairs on her arms. Additionally, scars adorned her hands and neck. Oddly, there were indelible white patterns on her body, a revelation that led Dan to realize they weren't painted but rather something resembling tattoos. Whatever it was, it wouldn't wash off.

After Nia completed her ablutions, she approached. Dan observed her curiously, but his surprise heightened as the woman removed her clothes layer by layer.

"Damn!" Dan exclaimed, taken aback. "What are you doing?"

"I'm yours. I've bathed, donned your clothes, and embraced the role of your woman. I'm ready," Nia declared, her face flushed. "Let's not complicate things; don't treat me as a sister. You're meant to sleep with me! As I said, I am yours..."

Dan hastily interjected, "You are oddly very eloquent now, did you have practice?"

"..." Nia tilted her head in curiosity. "Huh?"

"Listen here," Dan felt exasperated by the development. "I don't mind it because it is fun and stress-relieving. but this is too abrupt. You didn't even give me any signals. My point though is... I am not in the mood... and..."

Since this is Dan's second life, he wants to do better. He has a daughter, though not through blood, but he wants to do better. Dan left his thoughts unsaid.

"I... don't understand..." Nia seemed to struggle, not able to comprehend Dan's words.

Dan gave it away straight, "No, I am not interested. Sorry. Maybe I will change my mind someday, but you will do better than to choose your mate with so little time spent together." He said it in a monotone, but his intentions were heartfelt and sincere.

But after Dan finished speaking, Nia appeared bewildered and then attempted to stab her neck with a knife.

Swiftly, Dan intervened, embracing her, resulting in unavoidable skin-to-skin contact. The atmosphere grew tense. The knife could now not move at its intended path as it would hit Dan instead.

Clang!

Nia's knife clattered to the ground, prompting Dan to demand, "What are you doing? Where were you even hiding that damn knife?"

"You don't want me; I can only die."

"I didn't mean that. You misunderstood," Dan clarified, looking into Nia's eyes and sensing her despair.

He momentarily forgot they were in the post-apocalypse, a chaotic realm where love held little significance... or maybe it was another around, but Dan really could not see it that way.

Who cared about emotions?

Who cared about love?

For survival, procreation was imperative. Without offspring, there was only cessation, no continuation.

Dan whispered, "It's too early; the child hasn't slept yet."

Nia, startled, seemed to comprehend, her cheeks turning crimson. At that moment, a little one dragged a bucket at the corridor's end, observing Nia and her dad with a puzzled expression.

"Dad, what are you and Nia doing?"

"…"

Thinking on his feet, Dan replied, "Wrestling."

"Put your clothes on; we'll talk about it tonight," Dan added, directing a pained gaze at Nia.

In his past life, Dan had experienced numerous relationships.

However, a previous heartbreak had deterred him from marriage, leading him down the path of a solitary existence.

Marriage was a complicated thing. If it was before, he would continue agonizing over it considering how important it was with his parents and grandparents continuously bothering him, and his friends chiding him.

However, today, he didn't dwell on such matters. The pressing issue at hand was survival, leaving little room for contemplation on other aspects of life.

The concept of women didn't occupy his thoughts for the moment.

Despite Dan's decisive and lethal actions, the psychological toll remained absent. To be more specific, his mental tolerance seemed to have been elevated since coming to his body. He persevered. Daniel McAlister persevered.

Draping Nia back in her clothes, Dan murmured, "Don't make a mess. You're welcome here, okay? I need you to recover, and be healthy, so that you can help more."

Nia nodded, her cheeks tinged with a flush. She whispered, "I'll get better and wait for you tonight."

Dan cleared his throat, then turned to Anna and explained, "She almost fell and I helped her. What are you up to?"

"Dad, those plants have sprouted and grown taller than yesterday! But what if some of them turn yellow?"

"That's due to a lack of sunlight. We need to find a way to give them more sunlight." Dan contemplated, leading Anna to a shelf for the plants.

Wiping his sweat, he smiled at Anna, "You're doing great. This one is a tomato, and you've already grown it."

"Really? This is a tomato? How do I eat it?"

"It's delicious; you'll find out later. Study it slowly and pay attention to collecting the seeds."

"Yeah!" Anna vigorously nodded.

Dan affectionately touched her head, revealing the expression of a caring father.

Life was improving. Nia's involvement elevated their refuge's safety, alleviating the burden on him.

Pleased with this realization, Dan hurriedly checked the "fish pond" and the ongoing improvements. Expanding it would ensure a steady supply of fish, not relying solely on fishing.

Feeling content with over 20 sizable fish in the pond, he whistled happily and inspected the rest of the shelter—everything was in order.

Casually strolling to the command room's observation point, he peered through the telescope. Noticing unfamiliar figures with guns at the mountain's base, he mused, "What could be drawing so many people here?"

This was honestly getting annoying.

This has always been of great concern to Dan.

Because the oil storage plant was directly connected to the road, it stood to reason that if you really wanted to go to this area and wanted to grab the site, you must control the main intersection.

However, these people were just walking on the road by the back mountain and river.

Not only was the road not easy to walk, but after a few times of flooding, the road had been broken in several places, and there were often mutant beasts in this area.

it wasn't likely that they just accidentally came here...

Dan really couldn't figure it out, why were these people always hanging around there?

When she was thinking about the problem, Anna ran over happily. She smiled and said, "Dad? What are you doing here?"

Dan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'm just thinking about something."

"Wrestling with Nia? Don't fight with Nia, that's not good." The little girl innocently asked, hammering the 'wrestling' that happened a while ago.

"..." Dan looked genuinely depressed, and most likely miffed as he helplessly patted the little girl's head, then hugged her... "Oh, you swet little girl..."