exceptional rationality

Seeing Michal open the door and enter, the two women looked up with astonished expressions on their pale, weak faces.Then, with hopeful faces, they asked Michal:

"Are you the security guard from the entrance? Are you here to save us? Is the apocalypse over?"

Michal shook his head:

"No, the apocalypse isn't over, and I'm no longer a security guard. I'm here searching for survivors. I can provide you with food, but you must submit to me."

Upon hearing Michal's words, the hope in the two girls' eyes visibly dimmed.

So...

The disaster wasn't over.

And this security guard wasn't here just to save them but to demand their submission?

The two women hesitated, but only for a split second.

Michal's other statement, however, made them waver more—he could provide food!

They hadn't eaten anything for five days!

If food was on the line, what did submission matter?

They decisively chose to go with Michal.

After rescuing these last two survivors, Michal concluded his search.

As for the high-rise buildings, Michal decided not to search them.

The density of people in the high-rises was too high, mostly families. Unlike the villa area, which housed mostly young rich kids, families in the high-rises would likely have a much lower survival rate if even one member turned into a zombie.

Michal planned to seal the doors and let the zombies inside fend for themselves.

The Simulation was over.

Michal began the actual operation.

Following the Simulation, Michal successfully brought back the two girls.

When he returned to the villa with the new female survivors, Simona, Vera, and the others finally refrained from making comments.

They only whispered among themselves.

Simona said to Wendy, "Am I seeing things? One of those girls looks like Tina, the school belle and top student."

Wendy nodded, "You're right, it's Tina."

As one of the top four school belles herself, Wendy knew the other three well.

Michal had saved Tina, the top student and school belle!

Simona grinned mischievously at Wendy, "Wanna bet? Let's bet on whether Tina will get slapped by Michal."

Among all the women here, Simona had been slapped by Michal three times, the most of anyone.

She was still bitter about it.

Now, she hoped this Tina would maintain her icy demeanor and get slapped into submission by Michal.

Wendy's expression changed, and she quickly shook her head, "Bet? I'm not betting with you!"

Having been tricked by Michal once, Wendy was now wary of bets.

She added:

"Although I won't bet, I can tell you Tina won't get slapped. As a top student and school belle, she's too smart for that!"

"I don't believe it. She'll get slapped at least once. Tina was always the top of the class, and so aloof that all the rich kids who pursued her failed. I don't think she'll submit easily! She'll definitely get a slap from Michal!" Simona said confidently.

Michal ignored the women's whispers and addressed Tina and her friend Judy directly, "Go take a shower. If you want food, come to my room afterward."

The two nodded silently, then found an empty room to settle in before heading to shower.

After showering, they lay on the bed.

Judy's face showed dissatisfaction, "A mere security guard, acting all high and mighty! He used to live off the money we paid him, and now he dares to boss us around and demands our submission. It's infuriating!"

"Enough, stop talking. Be careful not to be overheard," Tina cautioned Judy.

"Let him hear, what do I care?" Judy scoffed, full of disdain.

"Oh, so you'd prefer to go back to being trapped in that room, starving to death?" Tina retorted.

Hearing those words, Judy shivered.

They had been trapped in that bedroom for five days, and starting from the third day, a zombie had been banging on the door non-stop for two whole days!

During those two days, they had no food and couldn't sleep well.

It was a torturous ordeal, both physically and mentally.

Just thinking about it made her tremble all over.

"See? You're scared, right? If it weren't for coming to this villa, do you think we'd be able to sleep soundly? He's just a security guard, but now we need to forget about our past professions and statuses. This is the apocalypse; it's different from before. We're no longer rich girls; our homes are gone, so how can we still be considered rich? You need to understand that," Tina said calmly.

During those days trapped in the room, Tina's mind had been constantly thinking.When they were trapped, she thought about how they could escape, where they could go, and how they could survive.

She came to the conclusion that even if they escaped the room, as two weak women, survival would be incredibly difficult.

If they encountered malicious survivors, they could be raped, killed, or even used as food!

Tina had already prepared for the worst.

Now, Michal didn't seem to be forcing them, which was already far better than Tina had expected.

In a world without moral and legal constraints, it wasn't hard to imagine what a strong man could do to weak women.

Hearing Tina's words, Judy's face showed even more helplessness:

"I know that, but I can't understand it. Just a few days ago, we were living as rich girls, having everything done for us and being popular at school.Even I had dozens of suitors, not to mention you had thousands. We could get anything just by posting on social media, with plenty of guys eager to deliver. But now... sigh! The contrast is just too big!"

Judy couldn't understand.

Her family background, looks, and even academic performance weren't as good as Tina's.

Yet, even she had dozens of suitors, basking in their attention and feeling incredibly satisfied.

Now, being threatened by a mere security guard to submit to him, she found it hard to accept and naturally felt some resentment.

But what she couldn't understand most was why Tina, who had an even bigger contrast in life, seemed so calm and without complaints.

"Tina, do you really want to submit like this? In the past, you refused even when rich kids offered you cars worth millions. And now you're going to submit to a security guard?" Judy asked, puzzled.

"That was in the past. Now it's different. Back then, I had my own plans and dreams to pursue, so I wouldn't be swayed by those rich kids.

Gifts, bags, and cars were unnecessary material items that didn't help with my goals and plans, so I naturally wouldn't be moved by them.

But now, without food, we die. It's a very real problem. Once you're dead, everything else is gone.

From a biological perspective, even the lowest organisms, like bacteria, don't want to die. Everything living beings do is to survive. I'm no different.

We need to survive first, then we can talk about dreams and the future," Tina said calmly.

Judy listened to Tina, her face showing surprise. This realization was beyond her understanding.

Finally, she shook her head and sincerely said to Tina:

"Tina, I really admire you. No matter the situation, you always keep a clear head and don't let emotions control your thinking. Maybe that's what truly makes someone outstanding."

Tina's calm demeanor earned Judy's admiration.

Perhaps this was the exceptional rationality of a top student in science.

"Your feelings are just the emotions any normal person would have, so don't worry about it. If you go hungry for another night, you'll understand. I'm going to find him now," Tina said, comforting Judy.

But to Judy, this comfort felt odd.

Starve for another night and I'll come around?

Uh...

Can I choose not to starve?