Chapter 003: [Attendant] (Revised)

"Grandpa Xu, how much time is left before the restaurant’s transition period ends?" Tang Mubai clenched his fist.

"Hmm… it seems there are about ten days left. Yes, not counting today, there are still ten days!" Xu Dalü pondered for a moment, then confirmed his answer. After speaking, he looked at Tang Mubai hesitantly, "Captain, do you mean…"

"Ten days? That should be enough!" Tang Mubai’s eyes gleamed, and he declared resolutely, "Grandpa Xu, don’t rent out the restaurant. Please continue to help manage it, even after these ten days are up!"

He didn’t make a firm promise, but the implication was clear enough.

Xu Dalü was startled, full of questions. He couldn't understand where Tang Mubai found the confidence to keep the restaurant running. Did he know some professional martial artist he wasn't aware of? Or was he planning to ask someone for help?

Xu Dalü considered all sorts of possibilities, never suspecting that Tang Mubai intended to rely on himself! But then again, who would ever imagine that Tang Mubai, with only 3 units of blood vitality, would have a chance to become a professional martial artist within ten days?

Even Tang Mubai himself wouldn’t have entertained such a wild idea before today.

But now, he had a system—one that could "recover lost life force from others and thereby increase his own blood vitality"…

Tsk!

Time was tight. Tang Mubai decided to skip dinner altogether. He told Xu Dalü that the little girl was in the private room, then hurriedly dashed downstairs and ran toward the nearby hospital.

Apart from accident sites, only hospitals had frequent deaths!

However, not every moment was someone dying in a hospital. After making a round outside the various intensive care units and seeing no green auras floating above anyone, Tang Mubai moved on to the emergency building to wait.

An hour passed, then two, then three… By the time it was eleven at night, not a single patient had passed away.

He was almost caught by the hospital security, who suspected him of plotting something.

Disheveled, Tang Mubai ran out of the hospital and sat on a stone bench by the street, exhaling deeply.

"If the families of those patients knew I was hoping their relatives would die, they’d probably beat me to a pulp," he muttered.

After waiting all night, he hadn’t gained even half a year of lifespan.

Tang Mubai suddenly realized he'd been too naive. While it’s true that people often die in hospitals, nobody could predict exactly when.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after. If, by chance, no one died within the next ten days, his plan would fall apart.

What to do?

Tang Mubai scratched his head, wrestled with his thoughts for a while, then slapped his thigh and resolved, "If it comes to it, I’ll just run around the city every day for the next few days, buy a radio, and head wherever there’s an accident!"

Maple Leaf City was so big—over six million people—surely plenty died each day for various reasons.

Running all over the city would be exhausting, but at least it would yield results. It was better than waiting idly at the hospital, outwitting security guards for nothing.

"That’s what I’ll do!"

Having settled his plan, Tang Mubai got up and returned to Miracle Restaurant.

After wandering around all night, he was starving.

But just as he stepped through the restaurant doors—

[Detected lost life force nearby. Would you like to recover it?]

"Yes!"

[Life force +3]

[Life force +5]

[Life force +2]

…

In less than a minute, over a dozen notifications of increased life force flashed through Tang Mubai’s mind.

He’d waited hours at the hospital without a single notification. Yet, back at the restaurant, he’d gained dozens of life force points in an instant.

What was going on?

Tang Mubai was stunned, standing there bewildered.

But the amount of life force gained from each was pitifully small—almost none exceeded five years. Could it be that a group of elderly people had all died together?

"What’s wrong, Xiao Bai?"

A gentle voice sounded. A woman in professional attire, elegant in demeanor, with delicate features and about thirty years old, approached with concern.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Tang Mubai quickly replied, waving his hand. "Sister Yun, did anyone just die nearby?"

"Die? No." The woman’s name was Zhou Yun, an old hand at Miracle Restaurant. She’d been there nearly ten years, rising from a server to the floor manager. She was very familiar with Tang Mubai—in fact, she’d practically watched him grow up.

"Are you sure?" Tang Mubai pressed. "It wasn’t just one person, but more than a dozen…"

"Impossible," Zhou Yun interrupted. "Where would so many people die at once? If that happened, word would spread instantly. Maybe a dozen ducks, but not people!"

Ducks?

A flash of insight struck Tang Mubai, his body trembling with excitement. "Sister Yun, do you mean they’re… slaughtering ducks in the kitchen?"

"Of course," Zhou Yun replied, puzzled. "Our restaurant’s signature dish, ‘Eight Treasure Duck,’ requires the ducks to be killed twelve hours in advance, then marinated and cooked the next day for lunch. It’s routine. Xiao Bai, are you alright?"

"I’m fine, really," Tang Mubai said, forcing himself to calm down. "Sister Yun, you can head off now. I’ll go to the kitchen and ask Brother Liu for something to eat."

Leaving the curious Zhou Yun behind, Tang Mubai dashed into the kitchen.

In the backyard, he saw two men in chef’s uniforms cleaning slaughtered ducks. On the ground nearby lay over a dozen black-feathered ducks with their throats slit.

As Tang Mubai entered, one of the men, a young man about twenty-five or twenty-six, smiled, "Captain, what would you like to eat? Manager Xu said you skipped dinner, so I was keeping something ready."

"That can wait. Brother Liu, could you kill another duck for me?" Tang Mubai, suppressing his excitement, pointed to the duck cage nearby.

The two men exchanged glances, surprised, but didn’t question him.

Brother Liu got up, fetched a duck from the cage, and with practiced skill, slit its throat.

Swish!

A familiar band of green light appeared above the duck’s body.

[7, 6, 5…]

Recover!

Tang Mubai shouted in his mind.

[Life force +3]

Another notification flashed across his mind.

He couldn’t contain his joy.

It really was the ducks! After a duck was killed, the lost life force could be recovered!

The amount was only three, but the significance was enormous.

If ducks could be recovered, what about other animals?

Tang Mubai was elated.

He walked over, grabbed a knife, caught a rooster from the chicken cage, and slit its throat.

Swish!

A familiar green aura hovered above the rooster.

[5, 4, 3…]

Recover!

[Life force +2]

Another notification from the system.

Tang Mubai’s right hand trembled as he held the knife.

It really worked! The system could indeed recover the life force from animals after they died.

This discovery was not only timely but thrilling.

Killing people would be a mental burden, and waiting passively wasn’t a long-term solution. But slaughtering chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep posed no issue!

In fact, Tang Mubai didn’t even have to do it himself. He could just spend his days at a slaughterhouse and steadily increase his life force.

Admittedly, the life force recovered from chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep was far less than from humans.

But their sheer numbers made up for it!

Tang Mubai laughed heartily to himself.

After calming down, he asked Brother Liu to prepare a simple meal, finished dinner with some leftovers, then returned home—the Miracle Mercenary Group headquarters, a large compound with four surrounding buildings.

Tang Mubai lived in his original home with his little cousin.

Xu Dalü lived next door.

By the time Tang Mubai returned, the little girl who’d come back with Xu Dalü was already asleep.

Tang Mubai, however, couldn’t sleep.

After washing up, he lay in bed to study the system.

He’d spent the entire evening seeking ways to increase his blood vitality. Now, having found a method, he could finally calm down and explore the system’s functions.

Attributes like constitution, strength, and agility were straightforward—they represented his physical qualities.

The abilities "Golden Glow Technique" and "Tiger Roar Fist" could also be comprehended, as he’d been practicing these martial arts, though he hadn’t yet mastered them.

Only the last item, "Retainer," was confusing.

Retainer—did it mean servant? Or perhaps follower?

The "1" that followed, did it mean he already had one?

Curious, Tang Mubai focused his mind on the word "Retainer."

Swish!

The system panel flickered, then changed.

Retainer—

Xu Dalü (Healing+, Strengthening+, Invigorating+), Affection 99/100

"So… I can help Grandpa Xu recover from injuries, or even become stronger?"