The scorching barrel of the gun pressed against Su Ke’s forehead, burning hot enough to make him yelp in pain.

 

Tang Xiaoman strode over and unleashed a storm of punches and kicks on him.

 

“You tried to set me up? You vicious little bastard!”

 

Su Ke was beaten so badly he nearly passed out—half in this world, half in the next.

 

First he cursed wildly.

 

Then he started begging for mercy.

 

Tang Xiaoman ignored him and kept hitting until she felt satisfied.

 

In the end, the man who had stepped in to help finally grabbed her arm.

 

“Another hit and you’ll kill him.”

 

His voice was low, faintly magnetic—pleasant to hear.

 

Tang Xiaoman looked up and studied the man who had intervened.

 

He appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, tall and powerfully built, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. A thin T-shirt clung to his body, outlining the firm muscles of his chest and abdomen.

 

His face was handsome and resolute, with sharply defined features. Dark eyes, deep and piercing. His jawline was chiseled as though carved with a blade.

 

The hand holding the gun was strong, knuckles clearly defined. Muscles ran smoothly along his arm, tense and powerful, radiating raw physical energy.

 

His dark eyes were studying Tang Xiaoman as well, as if trying to figure out her profession—or her identity.

 

Her fighting style was precise, ruthless, and efficient.

 

No hesitation.

 

No wasted motion.

 

That was the kind of combat instinct forged through countless brutal battles.

 

And yet she looked like a college graduate fresh out of school.

 

The contrast between her delicate appearance and her ferocity was striking.

 

Tang Xiaoman kicked Su Ke—who had just struggled halfway to his feet—straight back onto the ground.

 

“Fine,” she said briskly. “Then let’s call the police.”

 

—

At nine o’clock that morning, the senior executives of Gu Corporation had gathered in the conference room.

 

Gu Heng glanced at the empty seat beside him.

 

His face darkened, a faint greenish tinge creeping into his expression.

 

Unbelievable.

 

Tang Xiaoman actually dared to skip work.

 

She had worked at Gu Corporation for two years and had never once missed work before.

 

Shu Jia walked in, anger written across her face.

 

“President Gu, Miss Tang isn’t answering her phone!”

 

Gu Heng finally snapped.

 

“Tell HR to terminate Tang Xiaoman immediately. From now on, she never needs to step foot in this company again!”

 

She wanted to play games with him?

 

Fine.

 

He would make sure she regretted it.

 

And when the time came, she’d better not come crying and begging him to take her back.

 

—

Su Ke was charged with attempted murder, inciting a dog to attack, and illegal possession of a firearm.

 

The police promptly slapped a pair of handcuffs on him and shoved him into the squad car.

 

Even the dead dog was taken away as evidence.

 

Since Tang Xiaoman had acted in self-defense and the man who disarmed Su Ke had intervened heroically, both of them simply cooperated with the police to give statements.

 

“Name? Occupation?” the officer asked in a routine tone.

 

“Zhou Yichen. Bodyguard.”

 

He handed over his ID card.

 

Tang Xiaoman glanced at him again.

 

So he was a bodyguard.

 

Whoever had hired him was incredibly lucky. Not only was he skilled, but he had a strong sense of justice.

 

Tang Xiaoman was already planning to hire bodyguards herself.

 

The thought of poaching him immediately crossed her mind.

 

Once the police car drove away, Zhou Yichen turned to leave.

 

“Mr. Zhou.”

 

Tang Xiaoman hurriedly called out to him.

 

He stopped and glanced back.

 

“Let’s exchange contact information,” she said, pulling out her phone.

 

To her surprise, he refused without hesitation.

 

“No need.”

 

Then he turned and walked away without looking back.

 

Tang Xiaoman stood there speechless.

 

Helping others without leaving his name behind.

 

Expecting nothing in return.

 

People with that kind of character were incredibly rare.

 

Which only made her want to recruit him even more.

 

Just as she was considering how to investigate Zhou Yichen’s background, she spotted Su Cheng and Liu Yaqin rushing toward the scene.

 

One looked furious.

 

The other was sobbing uncontrollably.

 

Clearly they had just heard what happened to Su Ke.

 

Tang Xiaoman had no intention of wasting precious time on them.

 

She quickly slipped into her truck and locked the doors.

 

Before the pair could even block her path, she slammed on the gas and drove off.

 

—

Tang Xiaoman had plenty of money to stockpile supplies.

 

Unfortunately, her storage space was limited.

 

She had to plan carefully.

 

Her first stop was a nearby supermarket.

 

Rice, flour, cooking oil.

 

Fresh meat, eggs, and seafood.

 

Condiments, household goods.

 

Fruits, vegetables, beverages.

 

She picked out all her favorite brands and flavors.

 

After surviving four years in the apocalypse, the sight of abundant food made her eyes burn red like a starving ghost.

 

If only her storage space were larger.

 

Otherwise she would happily spend the entire ninety million she had left on food alone.

 

After filling eight shopping carts, Tang Xiaoman asked several store employees to help push them to the checkout counter.

 

The cashier stared at the mountain of groceries in surprise.

 

“Miss… are all of these for you alone?”

 

Tang Xiaoman nodded calmly.

 

“Please have a few staff members help load everything into my vehicle.”

 

—

The contents of the eight carts filled most of the pickup truck bed.

 

Tang Xiaoman drove the truck into a temporary garage she had rented.

 

After closing the garage door, she transferred all the supplies into her storage space.

 

The space preserved food perfectly.

 

Anything stored inside would never spoil.

 

She checked the virtual display panel.

 

Remaining capacity: **148 cubic meters.**

 

Her heart ached.

 

Eight carts of food had already taken up two cubic meters.

 

She would have to plan the remaining space extremely carefully.

 

Not a single inch could be wasted.

 

After driving the truck out again, Tang Xiaoman headed to the local wet market.

 

The ingredients there were even fresher than the supermarket.

 

Live chickens.
Live ducks.
Live rabbits.
Live fish.
Live pigeons.
Live quail.

 

Unfortunately, none of them could be stored in her space.

 

Any living creature placed inside would be expelled the moment she left the space.

 

So she bought them freshly slaughtered.

 

The still-warm poultry were packed into heavy plastic bags, too heavy to drag.

 

Tang Xiaoman tipped the vendors and asked them to carry everything to the outdoor parking lot.

 

One hundred chickens.

One hundred ducks.

One hundred rabbits.

One hundred carp.

One hundred grass carp.

One hundred crucian carp.

One hundred jin of prawns.

One hundred pigeons.

One hundred quail.

 

All freshly slaughtered, still steaming with warmth.

 

Tang Xiaoman drove back to her rented garage and stored everything inside the space.

 

She didn’t even have time to organize it before heading out again.

 

Stockpile supplies.

Stockpile supplies.

Stockpile supplies.

 

Returning to the market, she focused on beef, lamb, and pork.

 

Whole racks of ribs.

Entire legs of meat.

Whole pig heads.

Full sets of pork offal.

Beef tripe, lamb blood, liver.

Everything freshly butchered.

 

She filled the entire truck bed again before driving back to the garage and storing it all away.

 

—

It wasn’t until well into the afternoon that Tang Xiaoman finally paused her frantic stockpiling.

 

Her stomach was growling.

 

She stopped at a nearby barbecue restaurant and ordered all the foods she had craved during her previous life.

 

Grilled chicken wings.

 

Lamb skewers.

Grilled prawns.

Grilled squid.

Flatbread.

 

Grease dripped from her fingers as she devoured everything.

 

Finally, she washed it all down with a mug of ice-cold beer.

 

Tang Xiaoman leaned back, satisfied.

 

After paying the bill, she didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she sat there to rest for a while.

 

Taking out her phone, she was startled to discover dozens of missed calls and unread messages.

 

Most were from Su Cheng and Liu Yaqin.

 

Others were from Su Rou and Gu Heng.

 

Even Shu Jia had tried contacting her.

 

She had blocked Gu Heng and Shu Jia earlier, but the two of them had used different numbers to call and text her.

 

Clearly, they were getting desperate.

 

Su Cheng’s messages were full of curses, accusing her of trying to kill her own brother and lacking any conscience.

 

Liu Yaqin begged her to write a letter of forgiveness so Su Ke could be released sooner.

 

Su Rou sent messages saying, *“Please don’t misunderstand me, sister. Don’t take your anger out on my brother.”*

 

Gu Heng demanded she return to work immediately.

 

Shu Jia informed her that she had officially been fired.

 

Tang Xiaoman skimmed through the flood of messages and couldn’t help laughing in disbelief.

 

Every single one of these people had been responsible—directly or indirectly—for her death in the previous life.

 

Right now she was too busy stockpiling supplies and building her safe haven to deal with them.

 

Yet they were already jumping around like clowns.

 

Tang Xiaoman sent them all the same reply.

 

“Good. Just you wait.”