Although I knew perfectly well what was going on, I just couldn't bring myself to chase Wang Ping and Chen Jian away in this heavy rain.

He frowned, opened the door, and let the two of them in.

Once inside, I noticed that the two of them were shivering from the cold, with rain dripping from their clothes, bringing a chill to the otherwise warm cave.

Several women were eating when Chen Jian and Wang Ping saw them and their eyes widened, their mouths practically watering as they stared at the pot.

Xu Wei is the kindest-hearted person. Although she is still very afraid of Wang Ping, she smiled slightly when she saw Chen Jian.

There was no conflict between Chen Jian and me, and he even wanted to give me his only lighter, but Lin Xubo took it from me in the end.

Moreover, Chen Jian did not harm me or any of the women during this war, which made me feel a little bit of goodwill towards him.

The two of them stood awkwardly in the cave, and seeing them looking like drowning dogs, I felt a pang of pity.

"Go warm yourself by the fire. Even if it's an apology, there's no need to come in this heavy rain. After all, there are so many wild beasts outside. What if one of them doesn't rest even in the rain and comes out to drag you two into its cave and eat you? You won't even be able to find anyone to rescue you."

In front of Wang Ping, Chen Jian didn't dare to act too close to me and gave an awkward smile.

"Brother Sihai, to tell you the truth, the situation on our side is really too difficult, and President Bai also feels that it was indeed our fault, so he sent Manager Wang to bring me here to apologize to you, hoping that you can forgive us."

I didn't mean to make things difficult for Chen Jian. I glanced at Wang Xiaoxiao, who nodded and took out the ceramic bowls we had fired, making a bowl of noodle soup for Chen Jian and Wang Ping each.

The two of them, ignoring the heat, wolfed down their bowls, yet still looked longingly at the pot.

Xiao Qiang snorted coldly: "Hmph, you're not here to apologize, you're here to freeload, aren't you?"

Wang Ping and Chen Jian looked even uglier after hearing this. I glanced at Xiao Qiang and shook my head.

Xiao Qiang glared at Wang Ping again before turning around and entering the straw bed that I had set up as a partition for the women.

Xu Wei, Wang Xiaoxiao, and the others turned around and followed Xiao Qiang into the partitioned room.

Only the three of us remained by the campfire outside.

Seeing that the two men looked extremely hungry, I nodded to Wang Ping.

"Eat up. We've already eaten most of it. It would be good if you two could finish the rest and warm yourselves up."

For the first time, Wang Ping showed me a grateful expression, and then without any hesitation, he took a wooden spoon and shared the soup noodles in the pot with Chen Jian.

They ate almost the entire pot of soup, then let out a satisfied burp, their expressions relaxing considerably.

This time, when they looked at me, they seemed more genuine.

"We really came here to apologize. We were wrong about what happened before. We hope you can be magnanimous and not hold it against us. After all, we are colleagues. Stranded on this deserted island with no relatives or friends, we can only get through this together. When the rescue comes and we return to the city, I will definitely thank you properly."

Although Wang Ping is also ruthless, he is slightly better than Lin Xubo.

However, letting them into the cave and feeding them was out of humanitarian considerations.

But if you ask me to make up with them, I won't be able to let go of this anger in my heart.

"If you've really just come to apologize, then I accept it. You two have eaten your fill. I have a piece of plank here; you can use it to shield yourself from the rain when you leave. But don't bother us again after that. If we do get rescued, I definitely won't leave you behind; I'll let you know."

Upon hearing my words, Chen Jian looked at me with a hint of flattery and eagerness.

“Brother Zhao, we do know that what happened last time made you quite uncomfortable, but several of our colleagues were injured at the time, and we don’t even have a place to shelter from the wind and rain. We also have no food at all. We’ve been starving for days, and in the end, we had no choice but to swallow our pride and come to you. If you can help us, please do. We have some cheese and a bottle of red wine. Uh, clothes and pants, you can change into whatever you want.”

I believe what Chen Jian said; after all, even if he hadn't said what the situation was like on their side, I would have guessed it long ago.

I helped them build that treehouse, and I did my best at the time.

But after several heavy rains, the leaves on those trees must have been washed away long ago.

In addition, apart from Wang Ping, who had some skills, the rest of their group were a bunch of good-for-nothings who never thought of maintaining the treehouse.

A few days ago, they came here again to fight us for territory and food. We beat them up, and they left almost all covered in bruises.

It's been raining heavily again these past few days, and all the wild animals outside have already gone to find shelter from the rain to rest, since they can't find any food at all.

Injured and disabled, with nowhere to shelter from the rain and hungry, their lives are probably even worse than those of the homeless by the bridge.

However, I never expected that they would have the audacity to come and ask me for things.

Seeing my gloomy expression, Wang Ping hesitated for a moment before looking at me.

“Zhao Sihai, I know you’re capable. We’ve been stranded on this deserted island, and apart from you few, we’re living like ghosts. I came to see you this time on Bai’s orders, but if you really don’t want to help, then we won’t bother you any longer.”

After saying that, he grabbed Chen Jian and tried to leave.

Chen Jian wanted to turn back and say something, but Wang Ping seemed to feel that there was no room for negotiation.

Looking at him, I felt he wasn't faking it, and I even admired him for being a real man.

"Fine, since you've come here and asked for help, I can't just stand by and watch you die. I have some medicine here, but it's all expired. If you really have nowhere to rest, there's a wrecked boat in the woods by the sea at the foot of my mountain that can shelter you from the rain. As for food, I can give you some, but I want the red wine from your place. And tomorrow, I want to see Lin Xubo come to me in person to apologize."

Wang Ping seemed surprised that I would agree to his request. He turned to look at me with shock, incomprehension, and, more than anything, complexity in his eyes.

After a long pause, he looked at me and took a deep breath: "Zhao Sihai, thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet. I'm not exactly a pushover. I only saved you this time because I felt it wasn't easy for us on this island. But don't think too much about it. I've helped you this once, and there won't be a second time. If you want to come and ask me for food again next time, you'll have to show some sincerity. It's no fun just opening your mouth without offering anything in return."

Wang Ping nodded. I took a string of dried fish from the tree hole, cut off a piece of bear meat, and gave them some of the medicine and canned food we had found.

The two then turned around happily and left the cave in the rain.