These two were here to rob them.

Realizing this, Shen Xiaoxiao’s expression instantly darkened, and she quietly reached for the nail gun in her pocket, signaling her mother to stay put.

Her father shouted sternly, “Society hasn’t lost all order yet! How dare you break the law? Once the official rescue teams catch up, they will deal with you severely!”

The bald man claiming to be “Fifth Master” didn’t look the slightest bit intimidated. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed, “Hahaha, what time is this? The officials are barely able to take care of themselves, who has time to deal with us?”

“Hmph, a guard or two in a detention center? They pose no threat—we dealt with them easily. So don’t even think about resisting. Hand over the boat and supplies, and I might spare your lives.”

Shen Xiaoxiao realized that the bald man was asserting his power.

If he was telling the truth, it meant certain official authorities were losing control.

This bald man was ruthless. For him, killing wasn’t just a threat—it was easy.

“Fine, I’ll give you the food and boat, but you must promise not to harm us and take us to a nearby high-rise that hasn’t been flooded.”

She put on a scared expression, stepping backward while signaling her father.

The bald man, surprised at how easy it was this time, jumped onto their inflatable boat wielding a knife. He smugly said, “Good, wise girl. As long as you hand over the goods, don’t worry—I won’t make things hard for you.”

His lecherous eyes scanned Shen Xiaoxiao’s chest. “But beauty, if you come with me willingly, you can avoid this trouble. With my protection, you’ll eat well, live well, and survive this chaotic world without worry.”

Shen Xiaoxiao felt nauseated by his words but forced herself to respond calmly, “Sure, but first, take a look at the supplies in the tent—see if there’s anything worthy of offering to Fifth Master.”

Hearing this, an accomplice on another assault boat whistled, “Yo, Fifth Master, looks like your luck’s holding.”

The bald man chuckled, “Little beauty, smart girl. Fifth Master will take good care of you.”

He reached out, trying to grab Shen Xiaoxiao’s shoulder.

This was the moment she had been waiting for. She immediately pulled the hidden nail gun from behind her and fired at his abdomen.

“Bang!”

The bald man staggered, a sharp pain ripping through his stomach. Dizziness overtook him as he instinctively arched his back.

He immediately realized it was the woman in front of him, cursing, “Damn you, bitch!” He raised his knife to strike.

At that moment, Shen Xiaoxiao felt no fear—only endless strength surged through her.

She quickly drew a long iron rod from her black card space and swung it forcefully at the man’s head across the air.

Already injured from the modified nail gun shot, the bald man doubled over in pain. The blow knocked the knife from his hand, leaving him powerless.

Shen Xiaoxiao didn’t relax. She struck his head again.

Chen Juan, hearing the commotion outside, knew she couldn’t let her daughter get into trouble.

When the situation escalated, she grabbed a cleaver from the tent and charged straight at him.

“Thwack!” The blade pierced flesh.

“You bastard! How dare you touch my daughter? Die!”

Working together, mother and daughter struck the bald man repeatedly. He swayed unsteadily and finally fell into the water with a splash.

At the same moment Shen Xiaoxiao acted, her father rammed the assault boat, forcing it away and driving off.

Within seconds, one of the assailant’s companions was lost.

The surviving accomplice quickly pulled a black object from his waist, aiming to shoot at Shen Xiaoxiao’s father.

At this critical moment, a crossbow bolt shot out from a nearby building window.

“Whoosh!” It flew straight, piercing the throat of the would-be shooter.

The man’s posture contorted, and his gun fired into midair harmlessly.

Shen Xiaoxiao, hearing the sound, turned and was momentarily terrified.

Without that shot, either she or her father could have been hit.

Someone had helped them.

Sure enough, shortly after, two figures leaped from the building and waded onto the assault boat.

They were two young men in tactical jackets—one holding a crossbow, the other carrying a training bow.

One checked that the robber was incapacitated and asked Shen Xiaoxiao, “Are you okay?”

Her father stopped the boat, sweating from shock, realizing the bald man’s accomplice was indeed armed.

Chen Juan, flustered, asked if everyone was fine. Shen Xiaoxiao replied, “I’m fine, we’re fine.”

Seeing her father unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief and steered the inflatable boat toward a waterside building.

The two young men scanned the water, making sure no one had survived who could spring another attack.

“Thank you for your help,” Shen Xiaoxiao said, still wary after the earlier encounter.

The young man shook his head, “No problem. That bald guy’s no good. Even if we hadn’t acted, the rescue team wouldn’t have let him go.”

They looked like college-aged students.

The other explained, “We’re students from Shen City University. We heard there’s a shelter in Huanxi Valley, so we wanted to go there by boat. But a shady assault boat left us stranded here. We’ve been stuck for three days. Since we just helped you, could you take us along?”

They had checked the robber’s assault boat—it was leaking and likely wouldn’t make it to its destination.

Huanxi Valley?

Shen Xiaoxiao’s ears perked up at the name. Few would voluntarily head to a shelter at this point.

“Why are you going there?” she asked.

“We heard Huanxi Valley is elevated and has a shelter. We planned to check it out,” the boy answered reasonably.

Shen Xiaoxiao and her father exchanged a glance. They saw no danger from the two and said, “Alright, we’re also heading there to find family and friends. We can take you with us.”

“Great, thank you!”

The boy looked happy, giving his companion a high-five.

They began sorting the items on the robber’s boat: a bag of bread, a box of beer, and several phones—all clearly stolen goods.