A swift and decisive victory in the early stages, a post-apocalyptic survival story in America!

Li Qi quietly got up and followed Nalin's footsteps to the first floor.

When he came back before, he was very careful. It was impossible that he made a noise that woke up Nalin on the second floor but not Sophia on the first floor.

Then there's only one possibility: Nalin woke up and went downstairs on her own.

Li Qi had his suspicions at that time.

However, I have a system that allows me to see Nalin's favorability rating. The maximum favorability rating of 99 points is undeniable, so there's no need to worry about Nalin being detrimental to me.

This is why, among all the women, only Nalin wanted a cell phone, and Li Qi agreed on the spot.

Sophia was still recovering from her injuries, so Cindy and Sophie waited patiently until they obtained legal status. They knew perfectly well that without legal status, going out would be worse than death.

It's better to stay in this mansion and be a caged bird, at least then you don't have to worry about life or death, or about food, drink, and sanitation.

As for the twins Anastasia, they had no ideas whatsoever. The two sisters followed Sofia's lead without question, so Li Qi wasn't worried at all.

Cindy and Sophie are both simple-minded women, and Li Qi doesn't care.

But Nalin...

From the moment they first met, Li Qi sensed that she was a person with a story.

It is clearly unreasonable for someone who has believed in religion since childhood to convert to Catholicism and remain so fanatical about it.

As for her coming to the United States for culinary training and exchange, an Iranian woman learning to cook Western food was able to obtain a two-star chef skill level. What does that say?

At least deep down, Nalin is a maverick who yearns for a free world.

What if we think about it on a deeper level?

Li Qi dared not think about it.

The facts speak for themselves; at least Nalin's affection for her was at its peak. She was just holding back, not hiding or deceiving him.

After all, he hadn't asked her, and she hadn't tried to do anything to hurt him.

But Li Qi knew perfectly well that the biggest problem with people is not that they do bad things with evil intentions, but that they do bad things with good intentions.

You can't blame her because she meant well; but the result was bad, and the damage was even irreversible...

In the study on the first floor, Nalin opened her newly bought laptop, skillfully operated the mouse, and made a series of clattering sounds as she typed on the keyboard.

Unable to follow any further, Li Qi sat down halfway up the stairs and waited quietly.

The sound of the keyboard became rapid.

Soon, soft sobbing could be heard.

Isfahan is six and a half hours ahead of here; it's probably around 10 a.m. there now.

Li Qi had a general idea in mind, but he still didn't want to guess.

Li Qi got up and went downstairs. He pushed open the study door and looked at Nalin, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and remained silent.

Nalin looked up with teary eyes and saw that it was Li Qi. She immediately stood up and rushed into her master's arms.

There was no fear, no shame, no concealment.

Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief, hugged Nalin tightly, and without saying a word, just kissed her cheek, smelled the fragrance of her hair, and gave her the warmest embrace and the strongest arms.

After a long while, Nalin finally calmed down and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry, my master, I disturbed your rest..."

Li Qi hugged her and smiled tolerantly: "Tell me if anything's wrong. Don't bear it all by yourself. Come on, tell me, what's wrong?"

With the help of a psychological counselor and 9 points of mental strength, Li Qi easily controlled Nalin's emotions.

"My master, you are so kind..." Nalin and Li Qi sat down on the sofa in the study, leaning against their master's lap. Nalin then began to tell him about her true situation.

"Back then, I worked part-time at a Western restaurant while learning to cook. I really enjoyed Western culture and the free atmosphere..."

It was pretty much exactly what Li Qi had predicted.

A girl who longs for a free country takes the initiative to learn Western cooking skills, and because of her intelligence and talent, she becomes a rising star in the industry.

The white chef who taught cooking decided to recruit talent and invited Nalin to go to America to further improve her culinary skills.

Of course, the chef also had his own ulterior motives; he wanted to take his relationship with Nalin further and turn them from teacher and student into lovers.

Nalin disliked the greedy white man, but because of her longing for America, she could only feign compliance.

At this time, she was approached by the intelligence agency, who threatened her family and demanded that she go to the United States to serve as a spy for the country.

This adds another layer of political color to a transnational trip that was already impure in nature.

After receiving basic espionage training, Nalin and the chef arrived in the United States. However, before they could achieve their goal, Nalin was detained by ICE and then snatched away by Nick because of her beauty.

"Actually... I was the one who deliberately exposed myself to ICE..." Nalin hesitated, but faced with the powerful psychological offensive of Li Qi, the man she trusted so much, her defenses were quickly broken down, and she revealed her most hidden secret.

"The CIA has started tracking me, and my identity is about to be exposed. I'm afraid it will implicate my family, so I had no choice but to reveal myself to ICE. I just didn't expect..."

Li Qi added, "I just didn't expect that instead of being deported, I would fall into Nick's trap."

It's true what they say, beautiful women have short lives. If it weren't for her pretty face, Nalin wouldn't have caught Nick's eye.

The normal procedure would have been to be deported back to China by ICE, thus successfully avoiding CIA surveillance and potential assassination attempts, and avoiding the charge of misconduct.

Who would have thought it would turn out like this?

Nalin sighed softly and remained silent.

"So the first thing you did after getting your phone was to contact your family?" Li Qi coaxed Nalin into revealing her true feelings.

Nalin nestled in her owner's arms, as docile as a kitten, and nodded, saying, "Yes, I logged into the forum my brother frequents, found his account, and left him a message. After so many days, he finally replied and arranged to talk to me tonight..."

Li Qi gently patted Nalin's shoulder, comforting her, "Are your family members all alright?"

Nalin started crying again: "My father passed away from illness, but everyone else is okay... My younger brother got married, and he's busy working to support his family now, so he hasn't logged into this forum in a long time..."

It seems the Persian woman was quite lucky to be able to contact her relatives.

"Have you agreed on how to contact me afterwards?"

"He gave me his social media account so I could register an account and leave him messages, which he would check frequently."

Li Qi nodded and advised, "Be careful, don't reveal your identity too early. You're smart to know to contact your brother through this forum; it's a relatively safe channel."

"They taught me this..." Nalin said somewhat embarrassedly.

Li Qi smiled and nodded; he had guessed this possibility.

"Speaking of which, I'm still very curious. This forum has been around for so long, it seems to be quite popular. What kind of content is on it? Have you seen it?"

Nalin blushed and shook her head: "I just remember my younger brother logging in frequently, and he was even scolded by our father for it..."

Speaking of her father, her expression inevitably darkened, but Li Qi had no intention of letting her dwell on it. He immediately diverted the beautiful woman's attention: "Let's take a look together! We also need to study hard and constantly improve our skills, right?"

Nalin blushed deeply and said, "My master, you're already amazing enough. You don't need to improve any further, okay?"

Li Qi was pleased with her tact and said an old Chinese proverb in English: "Never too old to learn!"