As Gu Heng mocked Zhou Yichen’s lowly status, he cast an arrogant glance at Tang Xiaoman behind him.

“Tang Xiaoman, even if you wanted to get my attention by putting on a show with another man, you should’ve at least chosen someone with status. If you’d dragged Huo Kai over to flaunt in front of me, I might’ve been impressed. You already sold me out to Huo Kai, didn’t you? And yet you still couldn’t earn even a scrap of his favor. Tsk. Hiring a handsome bodyguard and keeping him by your side every day—isn’t that basically paying for a pretty boy?”

Before he could finish, a solid punch landed in his stomach.

Bang!

Gu Heng was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground three meters away. His bones nearly scattered on impact.

Zhou Yichen clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking sharply as he sneered. “Do you not understand what a pretty boy is?”

“President Gu!”

Shu Jia screamed and rushed over, trying to help Gu Heng up again.

Gu Heng nearly blacked out. It took him a long while to recover.

Tang Xiaoman gave Zhou Yichen a thumbs-up. “Nice hit. Double bonus for you.”

Zhou Yichen glanced at her and pressed his lips together.

The rest of the team exchanged looks and wisely kept their distance.

Was this their boss’s ex and current favorite fighting for attention?

Better not get involved.

Shu Jia pinched Gu Heng’s philtrum several times before finally jolting him awake.

“President Gu, did you forget why you came here?” she reminded him through tears. “You said you were here to get back together with Tang Xiaoman…”

He had specifically ordered her to act as the go-between. If he successfully reconciled with Tang Xiaoman, he would give her a generous bonus.

If the matter fell through, he would dock her full-attendance bonus for the month.

After the disaster, life had become hard. Prices had skyrocketed, wages had shrunk, and without her attendance bonus, her already tight situation would grow even worse.

Though she hated Tang Xiaoman deeply, she still had to remind Gu Heng of the purpose of this trip.

After Shu Jia’s reminder, Gu Heng finally remembered his real objective.

That was right. He had come to reconcile with Tang Xiaoman.

But when he discovered that Tang Xiaoman had emptied his secret vault—all that gold, cash, firearms, precious blades, every last thing—he had lost his mind.

He had wanted to kill her on the spot.

Unfortunately, today’s Tang Xiaoman was no longer the soft persimmon he could casually squeeze. She was a hedgehog covered in thorns, a blade drawn from its sheath—someone no one dared offend lightly.

With Shu Jia’s help, he finally propped himself half upright. After gasping for a long while, he forced out a broken sentence.

“Xiaoman, actually, I didn’t come here to ask you for supplies…”

At that, he had to swallow down another mouthful of blood.

His gold. His cash. His firearms. His dozen precious blades.

All gone.

Why Tang Xiaoman? How had he failed to see her true face sooner?

He hated her so much.

Tang Xiaoman scoffed and raised a brow. “Ask me for them? You’d need the ability first. Don’t lie there like a half-dead mangy dog—too useless to bite, but still disgusting to look at.”

Her eyes were full of disdain, as if she were looking at garbage.

Gu Heng was stung by her gaze, but he dared not rage. Still unwilling to give up on coaxing her back, he forced himself to sound magnanimous.

“…Forget it. After all, good things shouldn’t go to outsiders. I was going to give them to you sooner or later anyway. Just consider it an early betrothal gift…”

Before he could finish, he heard the man beside him cracking his knuckles again.

The rest of his words immediately died in his throat.

Tang Xiaoman nearly laughed.

Give them to her?

She had stolen them fair and square.

How clever of him, gifting what was already gone.

Betrothal gift?

He could dream for ten lifetimes.

“Captain Zhou,” she said unhurriedly, looking at Zhou Yichen, who was still flexing his fists. “Beat him. Beat him hard. Ideally, beat him until he can’t take care of himself. I’ll take responsibility for all consequences.”

Since the scumbag had delivered himself to her doorstep for a beating, she wouldn’t be polite.

Zhou Yichen’s lips curved slightly. With steps full of pressure, he advanced toward Gu Heng.

Gu Heng immediately sensed danger and shouted, “Help! Someone help me!”

He hadn’t come entirely unprepared.

He had only hidden his bodyguards because he wanted to win Tang Xiaoman back and regain her trust.

Unless he shouted for help, those bodyguards would continue staying concealed.

Hearing their boss call out, the bodyguards hiding nearby emerged one after another.

Number 01 saw them and cursed inwardly.

So they wanted a group fight?

“Brothers, with me!”

He led the team forward to meet them.

Gu Heng’s reinforcements were intercepted by Number 01, so he could only continue getting beaten.

Zhou Yichen lifted Gu Heng and pummeled him from every angle without mercy.

Gu Heng was beaten half senseless, his eyes rolling back again and again. Forget acting arrogant and cool—he couldn’t even cry for mercy.

The five bodyguards he had brought were blocked by Number 01 and the others, surrounded, and beaten viciously.

Five against eight.

The side with fewer people was doomed.

At first, the five bodyguards managed to block a few blows, but they were quickly knocked down, curling up with their hands over their heads and begging for mercy.

Number 01 ignored them.

As long as their boss didn’t say stop, they kept beating.

Seeing Gu Heng and all five bodyguards getting thrashed, Shu Jia trembled with fear, her legs going weak.

Thinking that she was only a weak woman and couldn’t save them anyway, she prepared to flee.

Tang Xiaoman blocked her path in time.

“Trying to run? No door. Not even a window.”

She clenched her fist, her knuckles cracking in a way that made Shu Jia’s blood run cold. That pleasant sound reached Shu Jia’s ears like a demon’s whisper.

“They don’t hit women. I do.”

—

Number 05 and Number 09, with Fubao in tow, had followed the property security patrol to the area around Villa 98.

This was already the outer edge of Tiannai Villa, one of the places most severely affected by crocodile attacks.

Fortunately, the entire villa district had now been enclosed with wire fencing, greatly reducing crocodile invasions. But if danger came, the outer villas would still be the easiest targets.

Sure enough, they found a fierce brawl happening outside Villa 98.

No—

It was more like a one-sided beating.

One group was beating another, and doing it brutally.

Fubao reacted first. Barking wildly, it charged forward to join the fight.

It had smelled the scumbag.

Bite him!

Bite him hard!

The security patrol was startled by the scene and hurriedly raised their tranquilizer guns, opening their mouths to stop the fight.

“They’re here to rob us!” Number 05 quickly stopped them. “It’s the rumored gang of escaped death-row convicts!”

The security guards’ faces changed with fear, their voices trembling. “What do we do? You stay here—we’ll go get reinforcements!”

Number 09 nodded, very understanding. “Go bring help. We’ll cover the rear!”

The security team turned and ran without looking back.

They had heard that the terrifying criminal gang was ruthless, leaving nothing untouched wherever they went like locusts.

They had no intention of rushing forward to die.

Once the security guards left, Number 05 and Number 09 clenched their fists and joined the fight too.

They didn’t know where these people had come from.

But their boss, captain, vice-captain, and teammates were all beating them.

Naturally, they had to participate enthusiastically.

Who cared who they were?

Beat the bastards!