After the disastrous lesson of breakfast, the bodyguards’ cooking skills improved noticeably by lunch.

Aside from daily combat drills, they threw themselves into studying recipes. Salt was no longer mistaken for sugar, and vinegar was never again confused with soy sauce. Those embarrassing mistakes had completely disappeared.

By dinner, the dishes they prepared were already presentable.

Tang Xiaoman smiled faintly and praised them for being quick learners. A group of tall, burly men all ended up looking a little embarrassed under her praise.

After the meal, she noticed the typhoon had weakened slightly. That meant the first wave of the storm was nearly over.

At the beginning of the flood disaster, the typhoon had raged for two straight days. Once the wind finally eased, heavy rain continued nonstop for over a month.

And when the rain stopped, people thought the nightmare was over—only to discover that something far worse was waiting ahead.

Natural disasters, it seemed, had intelligence of their own. They knew exactly how to play hide-and-seek with humanity.

Just when people relaxed their guard and rushed out to search for supplies or relocate, a catastrophic mountain flood erupted.

That single surge of water destroyed nearly a third of Lincheng’s high-rise buildings, leaving countless dead and injured.

Those who had survived heatwaves and the initial flood… many of them died in that sudden, merciless deluge.

Now, the typhoon was in its final dying phase. As the wind weakened further, more and more people would start venturing out for supplies.

Tang Xiaoman had to move before the masses flooded the streets.

She exchanged a glance with Zhou Yichen. He gave a slow, firm nod.

Seeing that he was ready, she immediately said, “We move out now.”

Zhou Yichen had already arranged the plan: everyone would first withdraw cash from ATMs, then split up to search nearby for supplies.

Tang Xiaoman left Lu Jingming and his daughter a nail gun and a chainsaw to guard the villa.

Fubao followed her into the pickup truck. The other eleven people took three Wuling vans loaded with gear, rolling out through the iron gates of the estate in formation.

The typhoon hadn’t fully subsided, but it was no longer as terrifying.

Heavy rain still poured down, but Tianlai Manor sat on higher ground, so flooding wasn’t severe. With their high-clearance vehicles, the pickup and vans handled the waterlogged roads without much difficulty.

The convoy split up at the gate.

Tang Xiaoman drove the pickup toward the city with Fubao beside her.

Zhou Yichen led the other three vehicles toward nearby ATMs to queue for cash withdrawals.

They went in two separate directions.

In the dark, rain-lashed night, a pair of sinister eyes locked onto the lone pickup truck.

Moments later, a black SUV quietly followed.

—

Although the typhoon had weakened, the rain remained heavy.

Wipers on full speed barely kept the windshield clear enough to see the road ahead.

As they were about to leave the villa district, Tang Xiaoman caught movement in the rearview mirror—a shadow trailing behind her.

She slowed slightly, observing carefully, and confirmed it was an SUV.

A black SUV with its headlights off, blending almost perfectly into the night. With the storm masking its presence, it moved like a ghost—silent, unseen, without trace.

But Tang Xiaoman’s eyes had been sharpened by four years in the apocalypse. Nothing escaped her notice.

She didn’t know who was behind it, only that she was being followed.

Remaining calm, she maintained a steady speed while scanning the roadside surveillance cameras.

Every infrared unit she spotted was dead.

Someone had deliberately disabled the surveillance—clearly to make an attack easier.

A cold smile crossed her lips.

At the moment the road curved sharply, she steered decisively—

And vanished. Car, dog, and driver all disappeared into her spatial realm.

—

The vehicle came to an immediate stop inside the still space.

Tang Xiaoman cut the engine and stepped out, with Fubao following closely.

She put on a raincoat, grabbed a chainsaw, and reappeared outside the space with Fubao.

The black SUV continued forward for a short distance before stopping. The driver had clearly lost his target.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t understand it—how had a pickup truck simply vanished after turning a corner?

Hiding behind a thick plane tree, Tang Xiaoman studied him.

She couldn’t see his face clearly, but she was certain she didn’t recognize him.

The assassin scanned the surroundings frantically, even leaning out of the window into the storm to look around.

But the pickup truck was gone.

Completely gone.

Realizing something was wrong, he immediately turned the SUV around to escape.

But Tang Xiaoman wasn’t going to let him leave.

Turning was the slowest, most vulnerable moment for any vehicle.

She seized the opportunity.

A burst of movement—

“ZZZAAAK!”

The chainsaw roared to life and shredded one of the tires.

The SUV lurched violently, collapsing to one side.

The assassin reacted instantly, whipping out a handgun and firing back.

Tang Xiaoman crouched low behind the rear of the vehicle, playing a deadly game of cat and mouse.

The assassin crawled into the back seat, aiming through the rear window—

But the rear of the car was empty.

Too late, he realized he’d been baited.

He spun around and fired—

Only to find his opponent faster.

A nail gun erupted in rapid bursts.

Steel nails tore through the rain toward his face, throat, and heart.

He dove behind the seat, narrowly avoiding them.

Then—

The door was yanked open from outside.

He nearly tumbled out.

He fired again, but before he could pull the trigger—

A black German shepherd lunged in and clamped onto his wrist.

Pain exploded. His gun dropped.

He grabbed a backup pistol with his other hand—

But another shot from the nail gun forced him to raise his arm defensively.

A metal sleeve on his arm blocked the nail.

He seized the moment to fire back—

But the woman in the raincoat vanished again.

And the dog disappeared into the storm.

Cold sweat poured down his back.

This wasn’t a target.

This was a monster.

The client had said she was a weak woman…

This was a joke.

A world-ranked assassin—and he hadn’t even seen her face.

Panic set in.

He decided to run.

He rolled out of the vehicle—

But the raincoat figure reappeared behind him instantly.

“ZZZAAAK!”

The chainsaw screamed toward his back.

He scrambled desperately, dropping his gun again.

“Woof!”

Fubao lunged for his uninjured arm.

“Fubao, back off!” Tang Xiaoman ordered.

The dog obeyed instantly.

The chainsaw struck again like a shadow that refused to leave.

The assassin kicked out—metal toe of his boot clashing with the blade, sparks flying.

Tang Xiaoman raised the nail gun again.

He rolled frantically on the ground, barely avoiding the shots.

Then she picked up his dropped gun from the rainwater—

And fired.

“BANG!”

His body stiffened mid-roll.

Blood mixed with rainwater, spreading across the ground.

She didn’t stop.

She fired again.

And again.

Only when the body stopped moving completely did she step forward and kick it hard.

“Try rolling again,” she sneered. “Go on. Roll. You think you’re a damn crocodile?”

She spat coldly and dragged the corpse into her space.

Then she took the SUV as well.

Finally, she returned to the pickup with Fubao.