The space was now vast beyond measure, and An Nan could no longer estimate its actual size. What had once been a small villa had transformed into a grand estate.
There were still three rough jade stones left on the plaza, but the space showed no further changes. Had she already reached the peak? Was there no more upgrading to be done, no matter how many more jade stones she collected?
After thinking it over, An Nan decided to collect the remaining three stones. Although the space didn't change, the jade was still absorbed. After the jade disappeared, the bracelet's quality improved as usual, now reaching the "high ice" grade.
With all the stones collected, An Nan, who had been underwater for a while, started to feel fatigued. She didn't have the energy to ponder further and turned to swim back. She could think about it later when she was home—Fu Gui was still on the boat.
At this moment, Fu Gui was standing at the front of the boat, vigilantly scanning the surroundings. Hearing movement in the water, it immediately grew restless, sniffing the air eagerly.
When it saw An Nan surface and remove her mask, it became overjoyed, its tail wagging furiously like a propeller. It eagerly began clawing at An Nan's face.
An Nan frowned. "Fu Gui, get off! You're hitting my face!"
She dodged the overly enthusiastic dog, climbed onto the boat to rest, and after a short break, took out a couple of steaming buns from her space. She and Fu Gui quickly had lunch.
After finishing, An Nan started the boat again, deciding to explore other areas.
But after a while, she suddenly heard the sound of a motor.
Up ahead, an inflatable boat was speeding toward her, spraying water in its wake, with a kayak trailing behind it. The two boats appeared to be carrying around seven or eight people.
An Nan immediately became cautious. "Fu Gui, get in the bag."
Fu Gui, quick as ever, scrambled into the open bag.
An Nan slung the bag over her shoulder and pulled out a nail gun for protection.
She was about to leave Guangcheng District when she saw the group approaching. Ahead of her lay Zhongguan District, where many office buildings stood, and people were scavenging for supplies there.
The nail gun was her trump card—she wouldn't flaunt it unless absolutely necessary.
"Sweetheart, look, there's a boat up ahead!"
"Who would be out here? The supplies at the Tech Building must have been scavenged already."
"Probably, but that boat only seems to have one person."
The man leading the group, "Let's check it out."
The group began to approach An Nan's boat. As they got closer, their greedy gazes became apparent.
"She's wearing a diving suit!"
"Not just that, she has an oxygen tank too! She has full diving gear! With that, we can go underwater for supplies!"
"Her boat is also better than ours—it's fiberglass!"
The group couldn't contain their excitement, chattering among themselves.
"And she has a dog! I saw it get into the bag earlier."
"People are starving, and she's keeping a dog?"
An Nan frowned, watching the two boats draw closer.
There were seven people in total, three couples and an elderly woman. The group looked large and intimidating, but the real threats were the three men.
An Nan spoke first. "You're blocking my way."
The man at the front, wielding a fire axe, flashed a malicious grin. "Little sister, it's fate we met here. Want to be friends?"
An Nan's response was quick and cold. "Be friends? What's the benefit of being friends with you?"
The man scowled, "Little sister, don't be so calculating."
An Nan scoffed. "Oh, so you're not calculating? Don't you want my boat and diving gear?"
The man turned to his group. "Big brother, why waste time talking to her? Little girl, be sensible and hand over everything. We'll let you go."
"Leave the dog too! We haven't had meat since we ate my family's big dog!"
With only An Nan alone, their tone was arrogant.
An Nan's eyes flashed with coldness. "What if I don't?"
The man's expression darkened. "Then we'll take your life too!"
At that, their inflatable boat suddenly sped up, and the man raised his axe, aiming at her.
An Nan reacted swiftly, firing several shots at their boats. The inflatable boats and kayak were hit, rapidly losing air.
Panic erupted among the women. "The boats are leaking!"
The man at the front shouted, "Shut up! Let's just board her boat!"
He made his way toward An Nan's boat, but before he could reach it, An Nan shot him in the head.
At such close range, the nail was driven deep into his temple. He collapsed instantly, dropping his axe.
The others behind him went into chaos.
"Hubby!" One of the women screamed, her eyes filled with rage.
"You little bitch! How dare you kill my husband!" She grabbed the axe and charged at An Nan.
An Nan dodged her attack and quickly shot her in the eye with the nail gun.
The woman screamed in pain, "Ahhh! You little bitch! I'll kill you, then rip out your eyeballs and cook them in a pot, watch me eat your dog!"
Eat my Fu Gui?
An Nan sneered. "You? With what?"
Without hesitation, she shot the woman in the head and heart. The woman swung the axe wildly before losing her voice entirely.
Meanwhile, the kayak, which had been leaking, soon sank due to the heavy load, plunging the three people into the water.
None of them could swim, floundering in the water while screaming for help.
The inflatable boat at the front also began to sink. Besides the fallen couple, there was one man and one woman still aboard.
The man desperately reached for the elderly woman in the water. "Mom, come here!"
The woman tried to climb onto An Nan's boat but was kicked into the water instead.
An Nan watched the last man aboard the inflatable boat and slowly raised her nail gun.
"You—did you just brag about eating your dog? Getting proud of it?"
The man, seeing his mother struggling, dropped her and quickly drew a kitchen knife from behind him.
But in close combat, a kitchen knife was no match for An Nan's nail gun. Before he could get near, she shot him in the wrist, making the knife fall from his hand.
Just as An Nan was about to fire again, Fu Gui suddenly shot out of the bag.
The clever dog jumped onto the other boat, using it to spring off and bite the man's… well, his "sensitive area."
"Ahhh!"
The man screamed in agony, his body going limp from the pain. He collapsed into the water, unable to stop himself from falling.
An Nan was taken by surprise, quickly calling, "Fu Gui! Come back!"
She watched as the dog, still in the water, swam effortlessly, paddling with its four paws while proudly showing off its victory.
"Bad guys! Let's see who gets eaten now!" it seemed to say.
An Nan couldn't help but laugh, scooping the dog up. "You silly dog, you really do understand me."
Meanwhile, only two people, who could swim, remained struggling in the water. The woman swam furiously toward the distance, while the man, injured, tried to climb back onto her boat.
An Nan remained expressionless, grabbing the man's head and pushing him back under the water.