By the time they returned to Lincheng, dusk had already settled.

Zhou Yichen landed on the rooftop platform of the exhibition hall. Tang Xiaoman stored the helicopter away, and the two of them descended from the roof.

Although the rain had stopped, the water level hadn’t dropped—in fact, it had risen to the sixth or seventh floor.

It was an abnormal phenomenon, yet no one seemed to notice.

With the storm over, people were pouring out in a frenzy, desperate to scavenge supplies.

Assault boats, kayaks—some had even cobbled together makeshift rafts. Everywhere, people were fishing valuables out of the floodwaters.

As night deepened, flashlights flickered to life one after another, dense and scattered, like insects swarming in the dark in search of food.

Tang Xiaoman picked a secluded spot and pulled an assault boat from her space.

They navigated back toward Tianlai Villa.

—

The waterfront side of Tianlai Villa was plunged into darkness. The streetlights had been destroyed—by Tang Xiaoman—and the surveillance cameras had been taken out—by Gu Heng’s men. No one had come to repair them.

After docking, they made sure the coast was clear. Tang Xiaoman stored the boat and took out the pickup truck.

Zhou Yichen drove while she leaned back in the passenger seat, eyes closed, resting. Before long, they arrived at Villa No. 98.

After the license plate was scanned, the heavy iron gates slowly opened, and the truck rolled inside.

Fubao was the first to charge forward, tongue lolling, rubbing eagerly against his owner.

Tang Xiaoman patted his head in reassurance.

Lu Jingming and his daughter came over, along with 01 leading the rest of the bodyguard team.

Tang Xiaoman picked up Shanshan, who threw herself into her arms. Nearby, Zhou Yichen spoke quietly with 01.

Lu Jingming smiled. “We’ve just finished making dinner. Care for a drink tonight?”

Tang Xiaoman raised a brow. “What’s the occasion?”

“Try their cooking first,” he said, clearly confident. “And check on the vegetables and bean sprouts they’ve been growing.”

She smiled. “Alright. Let’s open some champagne tonight—everyone gets a glass.”

—

The bodyguards’ cooking had improved significantly. Their hydroponic vegetables were thriving, and the bean sprouts were growing vigorously.

Clearly, they hadn’t wasted their time staying behind—training, refining their cooking, and continuing to learn how to cultivate food.

Tang Xiaoman had had a productive day.

All the waterlogged vehicles in her space had been repaired, keys successfully made, and she’d secured two tons of aviation fuel.

At dinner, she drank a little more than usual. Claiming exhaustion, she excused herself early and returned to her room.

The moment she shut the door, the faint haze of drunkenness vanished completely.

In a flash, she entered her space.

The thousand-cubic-meter storage area was packed to the brim. Two helicopters—one large, one small. Nine heavy trucks of various types. Five cars. Lifeboats, motorboats, assault boats, kayaks, even snowmobiles…

Vehicles for air, land, water, and snow—she had it all.

Tang Xiaoman began reorganizing her supplies, trying to free up as much space as possible.

Disasters had no end. As long as she could still store more, she would.

After more than half an hour of rearranging, she managed to clear nearly a hundred cubic meters.

Seeing that it was still early, she threw on a down jacket and opened the refrigerated compartment of the cold-chain transport truck.

The sixty-cubic-meter container freezer was astonishingly well-stocked.

Rows upon rows of preserved boxes—over three hundred in total.

She opened one and was delighted to find her favorite: Musang King durian flesh.

Each box weighed thirty pounds—fifteen boxes in total.

There were also fifteen boxes of Golden Pillow durian flesh, equally hefty.

Nearly a thousand pounds of durian. Enough to last her a lifetime.

There were also frozen giant squid—ten boxes, fifty pounds each; frozen prawns—ten boxes; Spanish mackerel fillets, snowflake beef steaks, pork chops, crayfish—all in the same quantities.

Frozen pizzas—twenty pounds per box, ten boxes. Frozen bread—three flavors, ten boxes total.

And desserts—cream cakes, tiramisu, mousse, sea salt lava cakes—ten boxes altogether.

Even fried pumpkin sticks, golden and perfectly crisp-looking, five boxes in total.

Tang Xiaoman’s mouth watered instantly.

She grabbed a box of durian and a box of pumpkin sticks and headed into the villa kitchen inside her space.

She shrugged off her coat, set aside two pounds of durian to thaw, and popped the pumpkin sticks into the air fryer, adjusting the settings.

Five or six minutes later, the rich aroma of pumpkin filled the air.

She didn’t rush to eat. Instead, she let them cool and went for the durian first.

It wasn’t fully thawed yet—soft, creamy, almost like ice cream.

She savored it slowly. The flavor was exquisite.

After finishing two pieces, the pumpkin sticks were ready.

Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside—one of her absolute favorites.

After spending over forty minutes indulging herself, she packed up the leftovers and returned them to storage.

Next time, she could just take them out and eat—no thawing or reheating needed.

With a satisfied burp, she finally left her space.

—

The next morning, not long after breakfast, the police came knocking.

Unsure of their purpose, Tang Xiaoman told everyone to stay inside and went to the door with Fubao.

A senior officer and a young policeman stood outside, asking whether she had seen Su Ke in recent days.

Tang Xiaoman immediately shook her head. “Not since he sicced his dog on me.”

As she spoke, she recognized the younger officer—and even read out his badge number.

“Oh? It’s you again. 653973.”

The young policeman smiled shyly. “Sis, we meet again.”

Then he turned to his superior. “Officer Shen, the flood relief equipment our station received—that was donated by Miss Tang.”

Officer Shen’s expression shifted in realization as he looked at her. “So you’re the one behind that generous donation. Thank you so much!”

He remembered that even the assault boat they’d used for this mission had been donated by her. His attitude warmed noticeably as he reached out to shake her hand.

Tang Xiaoman returned the handshake gracefully, nodding slightly. “I used the reward money from a good deed to purchase those supplies and donate them to the station. I’m glad they’ve been of use. Being able to help, even a little, is my honor.”

“Thank you for the emergency supplies you gave my family last time,” the young officer added gratefully. “They’ve been a huge help.”

He had never imagined he’d actually need them. Yet now, Lincheng was submerged.

Besides donating equipment to the police, Tang Xiaoman had also personally given him an assault boat, a kayak, and five life vests.

With those, his family had effectively become the most well-equipped household in their entire building.

These days, even someone who used to drive a Rolls-Royce couldn’t compare to a kayak—let alone a precious assault boat.

The three of them chatted amicably.

During the conversation, Officer Shen shared an important piece of information:

Today, bank staff would be arriving at Tianlai Villa to restock the ATMs.

They had come on the same assault boat as the bank employees.