Tang Xiaoman had long wanted to have a proper, in-depth talk with Zhou Yichen.
But her time was too tight, so their only private conversation had been last night.
She hadn’t planned to return to the club, so she used this break time to discuss their next action plan with him.
Just as her car left the food street, shadows in the darkness began to stir again.
It seemed they could no longer hold back. They were just waiting for her to leave the busy food street so they could strike immediately.
Zhou Yichen arrived at the agreed location after getting off a ride-hailing car and waited for Tang Xiaoman.
“I’ll drive,” he said as he approached.
Tang Xiaoman waved him off, signaling him to sit in the passenger seat.
Zhou Yichen didn’t say much and simply went to the other side and got in.
She drove to a nearby shopping mall parking lot and turned off the engine.
Scanning the surroundings, she noticed the shadows had indeed hidden themselves again.
It seemed the Gu and Su families, after repeated failures and losses, had become wary of her. Seeing that she had a bodyguard in the car, they no longer dared to act rashly.
A bunch of clowns, really. Tang Xiaoman wasn’t afraid of them—she just didn’t want them wasting her time.
She turned to Zhou Yichen. “Have you eaten?”
“I have,” he replied succinctly, as always.
Tang Xiaoman liked this about him and smiled. “Give it to me.”
Zhou Yichen forwarded the surveillance chat logs he had recorded to her phone, each with corresponding IDs labeled.
Tang Xiaoman didn’t check the messages immediately. Instead, she counted the IDs—and was shocked.
“…Nine?”
Aside from Zhou Yichen, she had hired fifteen bodyguards in total.
She had offered them extremely high salaries with one strict requirement: they must be “free of ties.”
No direct family and unmarried were hard requirements. No romantic partner was a soft requirement.
Meaning, even if they had partners before, they had to break up immediately to qualify.
They weren’t monks, after all, and being in relationships at their age was normal.
But in the apocalypse, emotional attachments would become unstable variables.
If they were willing to abandon relationships for high pay, it meant those relationships weren’t essential.
If they secretly maintained contact, it meant they couldn’t let go.
When the apocalypse came, they might abandon posts or risk missions just to rescue loved ones.
Tang Xiaoman’s resources were limited. She could only take care of her own team—she couldn’t save everyone’s loved ones too.
That was why she offered salaries dozens of times above market rate for “single” bodyguards. Otherwise, she could hire plenty of people—why would she burn money for nothing?
Installing surveillance in their dorms was also to verify whether they truly had no attachments. Those frequently glued to their phones were key suspects.
Since she didn’t have time to monitor footage herself—and didn’t want to peek into male dorms—she gave the job to Zhou Yichen.
After a few days of observation, Zhou Yichen had already identified suspects. Today, after checking their phones, he confirmed that nine of them were still secretly in contact with their partners.
After a moment of thought, Tang Xiaoman made her decision.
“Tomorrow, you personally interview those nine. Those who can’t let go—settle their pay and let them leave.”
“Alright.”
After finishing the matter, Tang Xiaoman looked at Zhou Yichen sitting upright beside her and couldn’t help laughing.
“We’re just chatting in the car. You don’t need to sit so stiff.”
Zhou Yichen answered seriously, “Habit. Can’t change it.”
In the military, posture discipline was strict. It had long become muscle memory.
Tang Xiaoman understood and respected it.
She then asked, “How’s the modification of the diesel generator and nail gun going?”
“They’re done.”
Tang Xiaoman was surprised. “Already?”
One day?
That was absurdly fast.
Seeing her reaction, Zhou Yichen misunderstood it as doubt and lifted his bulging canvas bag.
“This is the modified nail gun. The diesel generator’s noise-reduction device needs to be installed back at the club for demonstration.”
Tang Xiaoman brought Zhou Yichen to a nearby shooting range.
The modified nail gun had greatly improved in both speed and range, and she was very satisfied.
Zhou Yichen’s eyes flickered with surprise as he watched her hit every target without a miss.
Her shooting skills were surprisingly good.
Although a nail gun wasn’t a real firearm, her handling posture was clearly very practiced.
Tang Xiaoman was extremely satisfied and kept the modified nail gun as a self-defense weapon.
“About the strategic equipment I asked you to prepare—how’s it going?” she asked again.
“I’ve already paid the deposit. It should arrive within three days.”
Her eyes widened slightly at his execution speed.
He was almost more terrifyingly efficient than she was.
She had only developed this urgency after four years in the apocalypse.
And yet this retired soldier from peacetime was just as intense?
She had struck gold—she definitely couldn’t let him go.
“Good work. I won’t treat you unfairly,” she said.
Zhou Yichen simply glanced at her without replying.
“What’s the club arrangement tonight?” she asked again.
“01 is in charge of training and management.”
Tang Xiaoman nodded and added, “In my eyes, you’re still the best leader. No one can compare to you—not even 01.”
She wanted him to understand he was her top pick.
Zhou Yichen’s mouth twitched slightly but said nothing.
Tang Xiaoman was used to his silence and didn’t mind.
She valued usefulness over sweet talk.
Compared to chatterboxes, she preferred people like Zhou Yichen—honest and quiet.
Hmm… even that 01 seemed decent too—also quite steady.
“After you finish interviewing those nine tomorrow, you’ll handle the evaluation too. Just report results to me,” she said.
Zhou Yichen lowered his eyes slightly. “Alright.”
Later, Tang Xiaoman took Zhou Yichen shopping and bought a large amount of tableware, tea sets, and wine sets.
From celadon floral porcelain to crystal glassware—everything imaginable.
After the apocalypse, even eating enough would be a luxury, let alone decorative tableware. These would be considered high-end goods.
But she still decided to stockpile some to satisfy her occasional aesthetic indulgence.
Zhou Yichen helped carry items while she bought without restraint.
They loaded everything into the pickup truck bed, then drove to the seed market.
They bought 300 jin of grain seeds, 100 jin of vegetable seeds, 50 jin of flower seeds, and 1,000 saplings of various fruits and plants—making multiple trips to load everything.
Zhou Yichen never once asked why she was buying these things.
He was like an execution tool—working without unnecessary words.
When they got back into the car, Tang Xiaoman looked at him and couldn’t help asking:
“I think you’re the most qualified bodyguard in the world. So why do you always get fired?”