Once the final payment had landed in her account, Tang Xiaoman checked the assassin’s total balance.

Eighty million.

A staggering sum—years of blood money earned in the shadows. And now… it was all hers.

She transferred every cent into her own account. When the system prompted verification, she chose fingerprint authentication without hesitation.

From her space, she retrieved the assassin’s severed index finger.

Pressed it to the sensor.

*Beep.*

Accepted.

Just like that, over eighty million yuan was officially hers.

She now sat on what could be called a near “hundred-million-level fortune.”

In the world before the apocalypse, it would have been unimaginable wealth.

But now… with the disaster unfolding, money was already starting to rot into meaninglessness.

In truth, those digits in a bank account were nothing more than illusion. If they couldn’t be withdrawn, they would eventually become nothing but dust in the wind.

Tang Xiaoman let out a faint, regretful sigh.

She needed to find a way to turn this money into something real—fast.

A loudspeaker blared again from the rooftop.

Su Ke was getting impatient, urging the assassin to hand over the target.

Tang Xiaoman tightened the black tactical suit around her body, pulled a black face covering over her features, and slid on a four-lens night-vision visor.

From her space, she retrieved the sniper rifle she had taken from the assassin.

Then she moved—silent, precise—toward the rooftop.

—

The building was only twelve stories high, and the elevator had long since stopped working.

It took her less than five minutes to climb from the sixth floor to the roof.

Sniper rifle in hand, she scanned for a firing position under the cover of darkness and heavy rain.

Dealing with someone like Su Ke didn’t require this level of caution—but she couldn’t afford to damage the helicopter.

She wanted it intact. Flying. Usable.

A perfectly functional machine was far more valuable than a wreck.

Su Ke, short-tempered and impatient, kept calling the assassin over and over. No one answered.

Frustrated, he ordered the helicopter window opened again and resumed shouting through the loudspeaker toward the building.

Then—

Two sharp gunshots cracked through the rain.

Two bodies dropped inside the cabin almost simultaneously.

Su Ke froze, turning sharply.

Both of his bodyguards were slumped inside the helicopter.

One shot through the forehead.

One through the temple.

Blood poured from the entry wounds.

“Ambush—! We’re under attack!” Su Ke wasn’t completely stupid. He shouted instantly, “Take off—now!”

Too late.

A thin black silhouette shot through the rain like a hunting cat.

She crossed the storm in a single burst of speed and vaulted through the open helicopter door.

The sniper rifle was already gone—replaced by a pistol.

She raised it without hesitation.

*Bang!*

The pilot collapsed forward, motionless.

Su Ke tried to scream—

But the sound died in his throat.

Because a hand had already slammed across his mouth.

“Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!”

Four sharp strikes landed in rapid succession.

His head snapped side to side, brain ringing violently, his thoughts scattering like broken glass.

Before he could recover, a brutal strike chopped into the back of his neck.

Everything went black.

Tang Xiaoman didn’t bother wasting time talking.

A helicopter was too valuable. She wasn’t going to risk it with idle chatter.

She dragged Su Ke out like a dead dog, then methodically threw the three corpses out of the cabin.

Next, she stripped them of weapons and gear, tossing everything into her space.

Their clothes were used as rags to wipe the blood off the cabin interior.

Within moments, the helicopter was clean.

But the engine was still running. The rotors spun slowly in the rain.

She didn’t know how to pilot it—or how to shut it down properly.

So she did the simplest thing.

She stored it.

Her space was time-stopped anyway. Once inside, the helicopter wouldn’t consume a drop of fuel.

“Perfect,” she thought.

She had successfully stolen a helicopter.

Her mood lifted instantly.

Then she dragged the three bodies—along with their blood-soaked clothes—and tossed them off the rooftop.

They fell into the flood below with dull splashes, vanishing almost immediately into the raging water.

At that moment, Su Ke woke up.

Groggy, disoriented—then panic hit.

He tried to crawl away.

Tang Xiaoman grabbed him effortlessly.

“Let go of me! Tang Xiaoman— I recognize you!”

His eyes widened in shock as he finally pieced it together. The slender black-clad figure—this wasn’t some elite assassin at all.

She was far too small.

Too familiar.

Tang Xiaoman removed her night-vision goggles.

Her clear eyes revealed a cold, lethal intent.

“Oh?” she said softly. “Since you recognize me…”

Her voice turned icy.

“…then you definitely can’t be allowed to live.”

—

The bounty hunter called again.

He couldn’t reach the assassin.

He couldn’t reach Su Ke.

Nor the pilot.

Nor the escorts.

All contact had been lost.

Gu Heng’s expression shifted instantly. He ordered another team dispatched immediately.

But Su Rou only smiled faintly, unbothered.

“What’s there to worry about?” she said gently. “Maybe Su Ke just wanted to teach my sister a little lesson. He’s always been childish like that. Very vindictive.”

She had, after all, given Su Ke very specific instructions.

No cutting her face.

No blinding her.

No breaking her fingers.

No crippling her legs.

Bring Tang Xiaoman back intact.

But she knew Su Ke too well.

He would never follow instructions.

If he captured Tang Xiaoman… he would absolutely do the opposite. He’d destroy her first, break her piece by piece, and only then bring her back.

Which meant—

He needed time.

And silence.

So his disappearance made perfect sense.

Su Rou wasn’t worried at all.

But Gu Heng’s eyelid kept twitching.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

“We need to send people. Now.”

—

Tang Xiaoman dragged Su Ke into a hidden corner of the building.

First, she stripped him of his weapons.

Then she bound him tightly with rope from her space until he looked like a human dumpling.

She took his phone and tested fingerprints one by one until she found his right thumb.

Unlocked.

Inside were apps, messages, and transaction records—most of them clearly illegal.

She stored the phone away.

Then she removed one of his shoes and shoved it into his mouth.

A bucket of cold water from her space splashed over his face.

Su Ke jolted awake.

Dark room.

Bound limbs.

A shoe jammed in his mouth.

He gagged violently.

“Mm—mmph! Mmmph!”

He struggled wildly, thrashing against the ropes.

Tang Xiaoman answered by kicking him straight in the stomach.

A dull impact.

Su Ke collapsed instantly, coughing in pain so intense it felt like his organs were tearing apart.

Before he could recover, she pulled out a military knife from her space.

Steel flashed.

Blood sprayed.

A muffled, desperate scream erupted from behind the shoe in his mouth.

His right thumb was gone.

Completely severed.

Tang Xiaoman wrapped the severed finger in a plastic bag and casually slipped it back into her space.

She still needed his fingerprint to unlock the phone later.

Su Ke convulsed on the ground, blood pouring from his hand.

Before the pain even settled—

A black electric baton appeared in her hand.

His eyes snapped open in terror.

He had forgotten pain entirely.

Only fear remained.

Step by step, she approached him.

Calm.

Silent.

Like a demon closing in.