The remaining space was almost entirely taken up by the yacht.

To fit it in, Tang Xiaoman had crammed every large item she could move into the four-story villa inside the space, packing it full to the brim.

Not only had she stuffed in all kinds of furniture looted from the furniture exhibition, she had also moved in plenty of bulky supplies.

Even the 135-square-meter garden wasn’t idle. Several large trucks were stacked there, though she still left room for the unharvested wheat, corn, and sweet potatoes, as well as ten square meters of black soil for planting fruits and vegetables.

Blueberries were perennial woody plants. Once established, they could be harvested repeatedly.

Malabar spinach could also be picked again and again. Pumpkins, however, needed replanting. She also planned to test other fruits and vegetables.

The 340 jin of gold she fed the space this time was swallowed up once more.

Tang Xiaoman checked the space with her consciousness.

The static space had increased by 310 cubic meters, reaching 3,010 in total. The villa had grown by fifty square meters, now totaling 523. The garden had expanded by fifteen square meters, reaching 150.

The space, which had become strained after storing the yacht, had finally expanded again.

Now she could keep stockpiling happily.

Tang Xiaoman looked at the densely packed supplies inside: two helicopters, one yacht, two hundred assault boats, hundreds of kayaks, snowmobiles, large trucks, cars…

Nearly every type of vehicle was accounted for.

This trip with Zhou Yichen had brought in a massive haul, and their meat reserves were now abundant.

The only flaw was that, in the beginning, she hadn’t known the space could upgrade. She had missed the best time to hoard grain, so her grain reserves weren’t especially ample.

Fortunately, the garden in the space was still upgrading. It could grow grain, vegetables, and fruit continuously.

From now on, whenever she had the chance, she would keep stockpiling.

As long as life went on, so would the hoarding.

At that thought, her blood surged with excitement. Her heart filled with hope and confidence for the future.

—

That evening, the team roasted crocodile meat and specially invited Tang Xiaoman to taste their cooking.

It was her first time eating crocodile. Surprisingly, it tasted pretty good.

The meat was tender yet chewy, roasted until crisp outside and juicy within. With barbecue seasoning sprinkled over it, every bite filled her mouth with savory juices.

“Not bad at all!” Her interest was immediately piqued. “When there’s nothing else to do, go kill more crocodiles.”

Number 01 announced proudly, “The brothers have hunted over thirty large crocodiles these past few days. After splitting some with others, we brought back more than twenty. Good thing we stockpiled enough freezers, or we wouldn’t have had room.”

The crocodiles brought back to the villa were skinned first, the hides handed to Number 06 to tan into leather. Then the bodies were butchered, packed into large plastic bags, and stored in freezers.

Over the past few days, they had all become quite skilled at skinning crocodiles.

Number 06’s eyes shone with excitement. “Before the disaster, this much crocodile hide would’ve been worth a fortune.”

Crocodile leather was a luxury material, far more valuable than ordinary leather.

He had tanned over twenty complete hides. Once finished, they would definitely trade for a sizable amount of supplies.

Number 09 seized the chance to flatter their boss. “It’s all thanks to Miss Tang’s foresight. She stockpiled enough chainsaws. We use them to kill crocodiles cleanly every time. The bodyguards from other houses are practically drooling with envy.”

“Exactly,” Number 08 quickly chimed in. “Those bodyguards are so jealous they went back and begged their employers to prepare chainsaws too. I heard chainsaw prices have skyrocketed lately—now it takes half a jin of gold to trade for one.”

To have a boss like Tang Xiaoman—they were the happiest bodyguards in the world.

Tang Xiaoman listened with a smile, slowly savoring the charcoal-grilled crocodile meat and occasionally taking a sip of chilled beer.

Very pleasant.

Though the cruel curtain of disaster had long since fallen, and the outside world had already been overturned, Villa 98 remained brightly lit and full of laughter.

There was no sense of the hardship or inconvenience of catastrophe.

In fact, the entire Tiannai Villa district was still brightly illuminated, unaffected by the blackout.

That was all thanks to Tang Xiaoman having Huo Kai sell eighty diesel generators and one hundred sets of silencers on her behalf.

She had obtained a massive amount of gold to expand her space, while the residents gained diesel generators and no longer had to worry about electricity.

But Tang Xiaoman knew very well that Tiannai Villa’s abundance would sooner or later attract the greed of disaster victims.

In the darkness of flooded Lincheng, countless hungry, covetous eyes were already fixed on the glittering lights of Tiannai Villa.

This place was like a radiant pearl.

Like a tempting slab of meat.

Its light and scent drew the starving beasts in the dark, stirring their hunger.

Perhaps in this life, Tiannai Villa would face disaster even earlier than before.

Tang Xiaoman had long since prepared herself for battle.

If humans came, she would kill humans.

If ghosts came, she would kill ghosts.

Anyone who dared invade her territory would die without mercy.

—

After dinner, the team gathered in the large living room on the first floor, watching programs on the giant screen television.

Though Huo Kai had sent people to install satellite receivers in Tiannai Villa, fewer and fewer channels could be received now.

Most broadcasts showed the worsening disaster. Experts continued instructing victims on how to survive the flood, but all they received in return was widespread curses.

Until the newly built official relief stations resumed operations, survivors could only find their own way out.

Even with the relief stations, they provided only two meals a day, each barely enough to leave people half-full.

The environment there was filthy and chaotic, with thieves everywhere. Disaster victims had to sleep with one eye open—otherwise, they might wake up with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Tang Xiaoman wasn’t watching television. She was looking down at her phone.

The Tiannai Villa group chat had exploded with new breaking news.

“Everyone, look! Is this the legendary gang of serious criminals coming to Tiannai Villa to commit crimes?” the owner of Villa 27 posted, attaching a video, a caption, and a trembling emoji.

The residents rushed to open the video—and were all badly frightened.

In the footage, a group of suited thugs stormed into an owner’s home and forcibly dragged out a delicate young lady.

The young lady was pale with terror, tears streaking her face, but the men in suits showed no pity.

Ignoring her family’s desperate pleas, they left only one vicious warning:

“You have three days. If you still can’t gather the compensation, we’ll use her to settle the debt.”