Tang Xiaoman accepted the paper bag and opened it. Only then did she realize—it was the Ocean Star necklace.

She immediately handed the kraft envelope back to Zhou Yichen. “It’s yours.”

He froze, clearly puzzled. “What would I do with it?”

He had no interest in wearing jewelry.

Besides, it was a women’s necklace.

Tang Xiaoman blinked, her clear eyes glinting with a mix of mischief and sincerity. “Consider it your betrothal gift.”

Zhou Yichen’s pupils shook. What was his boss up to this time?

Did she really have to scare him at least once or twice a day to feel satisfied?

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Tang Xiaoman added calmly. “I mean, for when you get married someday.”

By now, Zhou Yichen’s heart had apparently been tempered into something resilient enough to take it in stride. “Aren’t you always saying the apocalypse is coming? If that’s the case, I don’t plan on getting married.”

He pushed the paper bag back toward her again.

Tang Xiaoman firmly shoved it back. “Just keep it. It doesn’t eat or drink, does it?”

After all, he had helped her loot so much gold and jewelry last night—all of it fed into her spatial storage. It only seemed right to leave him with something meaningful as a keepsake.

Zhou Yichen felt that going back and forth like this in the courtyard wasn’t a good look. In the end, he silently accepted it.

To ease the awkwardness, Tang Xiaoman changed the subject. “Who built this swing?”

As expected, Zhou Yichen admitted it. “I did.”

She looked genuinely surprised. “What possessed you to suddenly make a swing?”

Her gaze drifted to the humanoid target about fifteen meters ahead. “Is it for shooting practice while swinging?”

“Mhm.” Zhou Yichen nodded. “We just wrapped up the team’s swinging target practice this morning.”

“Swinging target practice?” Tang Xiaoman’s interest was immediately piqued.

Zhou Yichen turned, grabbed a nail gun, and handed it to her. “Stand on the swing and shoot.”

Tang Xiaoman quickly got to her feet, brushing off the back of her pants as she did.

The team had been training on this swing all morning—and he hadn’t bothered to warn her before she sat on it.

She had a strong suspicion he’d done that on purpose.

Taking the nail gun from him, she stepped onto the swing with practiced ease.

The swing swayed easily, making it hard to keep her balance. She grabbed one rope with her left hand while holding the nail gun in her right, aiming carefully.

She had just lined up her shot when—before she could fire—the swing lurched again.

Zhou Yichen had pushed it.

Caught off guard, she nearly fell.

Fortunately, her reflexes were sharp. She steadied herself instantly.

“What are you doing? Trying to mess with me on purpose?” she asked, more puzzled than angry.

Captain Zhou, always so composed and serious—pulling pranks now? It didn’t quite fit his image.

“The whole point of this training is the ‘swing,’” Zhou Yichen explained, pushing harder. The swing began to arc rapidly back and forth. “You’re supposed to hit the target while your center of gravity is unstable and your body is in motion.”

Tang Xiaoman: “…”

Good thing she had a firm grip. Most people would’ve already hit the ground by now—let alone managed to shoot.

Zhou Yichen glanced at her, a hint of challenge in his tone. “Can’t do it?”

That did it.

“Of course I can.”

In an instant, she transformed her stance.

Her left arm wrapped around the rope like a vine, anchoring her body securely to one side. She shifted her weight against it, stabilizing her center.

Her left foot braced into the angle between the swing seat and the rope, locking in a solid point of support. Her right leg extended to its limit, hooking her foot into the opposite angle—forming a stable triangular frame with her body and the swing.

No matter how violently Zhou Yichen pushed, her slender figure seemed fused to the swing itself, no longer teetering.

She raised the nail gun in her right hand and fired steadily.

Five shots in rapid succession.

Every single nail struck dead center.

Applause and cheers erupted from the second floor.

Zhou Yichen caught the swing, bringing it to a stop. Tang Xiaoman leapt off in one smooth motion, landing lightly like a drifting butterfly.

Looking up, she saw the team had already flung open the second-floor windows, clapping and giving her enthusiastic thumbs-ups.

Zhou Yichen spoke from beside her. “This morning’s training—most didn’t pass. You scored the best out of everyone.”

His tone was calm, but the approval in it was unmistakable.

She had stood the most steadily—and shot the most accurately.

The team had once again witnessed just how formidable their boss was.

During the previous three-person climbing exercise, Tang Xiaoman had already achieved the best results and shown the sharpest instincts, earning Zhou Yichen’s praise and everyone’s respect.

Now, her performance in this swinging drill caused another stir. None of them had expected her shooting skills to be this precise.

Their boss was clearly hiding far more than she let on.

—

Huo Kai posted an announcement in the residents’ group: diesel generators were available for sale—one kilogram of gold, or equivalent jewelry or jade, in exchange for a single unit.

The price was steep, but for the residents of Tiannai Villa, it was hardly unaffordable.

Especially now, with widespread power outages driving demand through the roof. On the black market, a single generator was already going for five kilograms of gold.

So the moment the announcement went up, residents rushed to sign up, scrambling even to pay deposits.

“No transfers. Gold or equivalent valuables only. Barter trade,” Huo Kai reiterated.

All twenty generators sold out in an instant. Those who were too slow could only lament.

“Huo Shao, help us out! We can’t live without generators—please get another batch! Even at a higher price!”

“Owner of Unit 12, don’t you already have one?”

“Nonsense. I don’t.”

“We’ve all heard it—the noise is unmistakable.”

“Sigh, one unit isn’t enough! My central air, all my appliances, my—”

“Huo Shao, say something! It’s not fair for some to have everything while others have nothing! Those who already have generators shouldn’t compete with neighbors who don’t!”

Huo Kai stepped in again. “I’ll have people check. Households that already have generators should give priority to those who don’t.”

Once he spoke, the complaints died down.

No one wanted to offend him and risk not getting even a single generator.

Besides, he seemed capable of acquiring anything in short supply. If they needed help in the future, they’d still have to rely on him.

—

Tang Xiaoman checked the cash she had withdrawn from the bank—just under three million remained.

She took it out and distributed salaries to the bodyguards as usual, with Lu Jingming handling both accounting and cash disbursement.

According to their original contract, each bodyguard received their first month’s salary: 200,000.

Crisp stacks of new bills—ten thousand per bundle, twenty bundles each.

Once, this had been a salary that made countless others envious. But now, holding it in their hands, the guards felt none of the excitement they once would have.

The world had changed.

Money was losing value—fast.

They lived safely inside the villa at Tiannai, but they all knew that outside, everything had already been turned upside down.

Former colleagues and friends had vanished in the storms, the typhoons, the floods. Those still alive were barely scraping by.

Some people were offering a thousand just for a pack of instant noodles or a loaf of bread—and still couldn’t get one.

Meanwhile, under their boss’s leadership, they had stockpiled ample supplies. Food and drink were never a concern, and they lived in a secure villa, shielded from the raging elements.

Their situation already surpassed that of most ordinary people.

Truth be told, even if their boss stopped paying them altogether, they would still choose to follow her.

As long as she could keep them fed.