About half an hour later, the bedroom door opened. Tang Xiaoman and Zhou Yichen stepped out one after the other.

Zhou Yichen locked the door and went downstairs with her.

Not long after, the sound of an engine starting echoed from the courtyard.

The bodyguards had all been straining their ears for any hint of movement. The moment they saw the two come down together—and even start a car as if heading out—they could no longer contain their curiosity. Doors that had been left slightly ajar swung open as they gathered in the hallway.

“Captain Zhou only lasted half an hour? That’s… kind of fast, isn’t it?” 04 was the first to snicker.

“Half an hour isn’t that bad. Barely passing, I’d say,” 06 commented with mock seriousness.

“Damn, don’t tell me that’s your benchmark too,” 08 scoffed.

“Think about it,” 07 cut in with a stern tone. “From the moment they went in to the moment they came out, it was only thirty minutes. They couldn’t have started right away, right? There’s prep time, and afterward you still have to get dressed. If you do the math, Captain Zhou’s actual time was even shorter.”

“Tch. All of you laughing at Captain Zhou—bet you wouldn’t even measure up to him,” 05 shot back.

“Hey now, 05, don’t look down on us. Want to test that theory?” 04 grinned, stepping closer.

07 and 08 had been tempted to join in, but since neither of them could beat 05 in a fight, they wisely kept their mouths shut.

“Get lost! I’ll smash your balls if you push it!” 05 clenched her fist.

The group burst into laughter, not taking it too seriously. Soon enough, their gossip circled right back to Tang Xiaoman and Zhou Yichen. The speculation flew wildly, their appetite for juicy drama impossible to suppress.

A few leaned out the window, watching as Tang Xiaoman’s pickup truck drove out of the villa.

The heavy iron gates shut with a clang, cutting off the sight of the departing vehicle.

With the two gone, the group’s chatter grew even more unrestrained.

Aside from Tang Xiaoman and Zhou Yichen’s rooms, which were firmly closed, nearly every other door stood open—except for one more.

01’s door was shut.

“Huh? Why didn’t 01 come out? What’s he doing in there?” someone asked, glancing curiously at 02.

02 shared a room with 01. Yet now one was inside while the other stood outside—it didn’t add up.

“02, why is your room door closed? Where’s 01?” 05 asked.

02’s expression turned complicated. He made a shushing gesture and lowered his voice. “01’s acting weird tonight. Don’t go bothering him.”

The more he tried to dodge the topic, the more curious everyone became. They pressed him relentlessly until he finally gave in.

“After he got a message from Miss Tang, he started acting strange. First he just sat there, blushing and spacing out for a long time. Then he went to take a shower.”

“When he came out, he said Miss Tang might come talk to him tonight, and that it wouldn’t be convenient if I stayed in the room. So he kicked me out and told me to crash with 03 and 04.”

“But when Miss Tang got back, she didn’t go to him at all. She went straight to Captain Zhou’s room instead. And now she’s left with Captain Zhou…”

02 trailed off there.

Everyone understood perfectly.

Some waggled their eyebrows. Others sighed in disappointment.

“I still think the vice-captain and Miss Tang make a better pair,” 10 declared, clearly rooting for that ship. “Tall and strong meets petite and delicate—it’s that perfect height difference.”

But the boss clearly favored Zhou Yichen—after all, he wasn’t just the strongest among them, he was also the most handsome.

Someone muttered quietly, “01 even went diving tonight to collect a bunch of jewelry for Miss Tang. Looks like that effort went to waste.”

They shook their heads, whispering as they dispersed.

It was already past midnight. Time to sleep—they had training early the next day.

—

By the time the speedboat reached the exhibition hall, the torrential rain had finally stopped.

Stepping out of the cabin, Tang Xiaoman tilted her head up in disbelief. Not a single raindrop fell.

The air was still damp, though—like a fine mist hanging everywhere.

With the typhoon and heavy rain subsiding, large numbers of residents would start venturing out for supplies tomorrow.

But Tang Xiaoman’s mood grew heavy.

Because she knew what came next.

In her previous life, ten days after the storm ended—just when people began lowering their guard—flash floods had struck without warning, leaving countless casualties in their wake.

This time, everything had come early: the heat, the storms… and likely, the disaster to follow.

Which meant the floods might come sooner too.

So to her, the end of the storm wasn’t good news at all.

They changed into black tactical gear, covered their faces, and donned quad-lens night vision goggles before breaking a window and entering the exhibition hall.

Tang Xiaoman turned back and stored the speedboat in her space. Then she and Zhou Yichen headed for the emergency stairwell.

The building had ten floors, six of which were already submerged. It didn’t take long for them to reach the rooftop.

And there it was.

A massive beast of a machine stood on the rooftop, occupying nearly half the space.

“Damn… that’s one hell of a monster,” Tang Xiaoman breathed in awe.

Compared to it, the small helicopter she’d taken from Su Ke looked like a toy.

“This is a heavy transport helicopter,” Zhou Yichen said as he stepped forward and swiftly opened the cabin door. “Not in the same league as civilian models.”

Tang Xiaoman blinked in surprise. “How did you open that? Doesn’t it need a key?”

“Nope.” He waved her over. “Get in.”

She climbed aboard from the other side. Sure enough, the door opened easily—there wasn’t even a visible lock.

She didn’t understand machines like this at all, but Zhou Yichen clearly did.

He sealed the cabin and methodically powered up the systems. The electrical circuits came alive, instruments flickering to life across the dashboard.

Then he engaged the air system, feeding compressed air into the turbine to start it spinning.

Next came ignition.

The engine roared to life, unleashing powerful thrust as the rotor blades began to spin.

He adjusted the throttle, increasing output. The blades churned faster, pushing air backward—

The helicopter lurched forward briefly, then lifted cleanly into the air.