All while the soldiers were still busy celebrating their recovery, Ivy finally stepped out of the base, pushing a heavy wheelbarrow loaded with a gas cooker, a large bowl filled with fresh pork, bags of rice, vegetables, cartons of eggs, and several other ingredients.

The moment the soldiers saw her with the weight, their eyes widened in surprise. They had expected her to be struggling with the weight but sfe doesn’t appear to be so all thanks to her system but then they still believed she needs help.

"Do you need help?" Darren was the first to ask as he immediately stepped forward."We can help you."

However, Ivy quickly raised a hand, stopping him before he could get any closer.

"There’s no need," Ivy replied calmly.

With steady movements, she pushed the wheelbarrow all the way toward a large wooden table before finally stopping. She then began arranging everything neatly on top of it.

The soldiers exchanged stunned looks amongst themselves.

Women were generally known to be physically weaker than men, especially in the apocalypse where survival depended heavily on strength. Yet Ivy had just pushed an overloaded wheelbarrow across the compound all by herself without even looking exhausted.

Darren stared at her silently for a few seconds before finally speaking.

"Thank you for saving us. Even if we keep thanking you from now till eternity, it’s still not enough. You literally saved our captain life as well as ours," he said sincerely, lowering his head slightly in gratitude.

"Thank you for saving us, Mrs. Ivy," the other soldiers chorused immediately after him, all bowing respectfully toward her.

Ivy let out a soft chuckle at their serious expressions.

"It’s fine, everyone," she replied warmly. "I just want to prepare a proper meal so everyone can eat well this afternoon and of course that’ll also help you in recovering well. Even though you all appeared to have recovered now, I believe you still need good foods."

"She’s even hosting a feast because of us..." one of the soldiers muttered under his breath.

And the moment his eyes landed on the large bowl of fresh pork Ivy had began washing, his jaw nearly dropped open in disbelief.

In the apocalypse, most people survived on plain rice, vegetables, dried fish, canned food, or whatever scraps they managed to find during scavenging runs. Real meat had become something almost impossible to obtain regularly.

Yet Ivy was casually preparing fresh pork like it was nothing unusual.

"Do you need help?" Darren asked once more, clearing his throat awkwardly as he folded his arms across his chest. "We can at least help wash the ingredients or prepare something."

"There’s really no need," Ivy replied with another gentle smile. "You all should just sit down and relax. Leave the cooking to me."

Without wasting any more time, she continued washing the pork thoroughly before seasoning it carefully with spices. Soon, she placed the pot over the fire, allowing the meat to boil while the rich aroma slowly spread through the area.

The soldiers could only stand there watching her in silence.

"I can’t believe I’ll actually be eating pork again after such a long time," Darren finally admitted, his voice filled with disbelief. "We’ve mostly been surviving on rations but then honestly... I know you are sacrificing the little meat you had left just to host us and we’re really grateful but it’s really not that important. You shouldn’t inconvenience yourself, serve your rare foods just to feed us."

Ivy blinked before laughing lightly.

"Oh, this?" she said casually while stirring the pot. "This is actually what I eat most of the time. If it’s not pork, then it’s chicken or some other type of meat."

Her words instantly sent waves of shock through the entire group.

"What?!" one of the soldiers blurted out loudly, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. "This is what you eat most of the time? How is that even possible?"

"I can honestly say I eat meat almost every day," Ivy replied with another small chuckle. "So you really don’t have to worry about me giving away this little pork. I still have plenty left."

The soldiers immediately exchanged bewildered gazes with one another.

Plenty left?

In the apocalypse?

That sentence alone sounded completely absurd.

"Woah..." another member muttered in disbelief while staring at the bubbling pot of pork. "So this is the kind of life Darren will be living now that he agreed to serve her?"

The man dramatically placed a hand over his chest.

"No more starving or eating tasteless rations whenever food is available..." he continued enviously. "Instead, he’ll be eating real pork every day?"

Several soldiers instantly turned to Darren with jealous expressions written all over their faces.

Meanwhile, Darren himself remained frozen in place, still struggling to process everything Ivy had just said.

"Fuck... I seriously can’t believe this," one of the soldiers muttered while staring at the large feast on the table with envy written all over his face. "Now I wish she had picked me instead to serve her. Am I not as good-looking as Darren?"

"Will you shut up?" another soldier scoffed immediately followed by a light mocking chuckle. "She already said she didn’t choose Darren because of his looks. She probably only chose him to serve her because he was the first person who stepped forward and apologized so she could save the captain."

The man clicked his tongue regretfully before adding,

"Honestly, I wish I had stepped forward first."

Several of the others instantly nodded in agreement.