Chapter 031: "I'll Give You a Chance"

"How... how is this possible!?" The middle-aged man, as if crushed beneath an endless ocean, was filled with terror and disbelief. The last time he had encountered Tang Mubai, the latter was clearly only at the "Master" level, and yet after just a few days, how had he become a "Grandmaster"? The aura of a Master was like a towering mountain, but the aura of a Grandmaster was comparable to the boundless sea—while a mountain's peak has its limits, the ocean is infinite.

Having studied human culture for several years, the middle-aged man had never heard of anyone making such a dramatic leap from "mountain" to "sea" in a matter of days!

Still reeling, he watched as Tang Mubai approached, seized his right leg, and dragged him down the slope. On the other side of the hill, close to the highway, a passerby could easily spot them if they looked up, but once pulled downhill, there would be no such risk.

Under the suffocating pressure of a Grandmaster's presence, the middle-aged man found it impossible even to raise his voice.

"Tell me," Tang Mubai said coolly, standing under a large tree with his alloy saber in hand, looking down at the man, "how many people did Xie Hongyun send to kill me?"

"N-no one else, just... just the three of us," the man panted, speaking in a low voice. "How... how did you know it was Xie who wanted you dead?"

Tang Mubai fell silent, eyes narrowing slightly as he sensed whether the man's words were true or false. After a moment, satisfied with the answer, he retracted his sixth sense and grinned. "I know all about Xie and his 'good deeds.' Of course he wouldn't let me go. But tell me, I'm curious—how did you get through the domain wall without being detected by the military?"

Silence.

Now it was the middle-aged man's turn to hold his tongue.

"Don't want to talk?" Tang Mubai smiled again. "No matter. I was just curious. By the way, do you want to beastify?"

The man's eyelid twitched. "What... what are you planning?"

"Nothing much," Tang Mubai replied with a beaming smile. "Just giving you a chance. Beastify, see if you can break free from my aura's suppression."

"...Fine!"

The man hesitated, then gritted his teeth and let out a low shout. No preparation was needed; his body immediately began to swell, his skull shifting and transforming into the fierce head of a wolf.

And just as the transformation to a wolf-headed man was completed—

A sudden flash of the blade, bright as snow.

Blood sprayed as the savage wolf's head soared through the air.

In those wide, bewildered eyes, confusion and astonishment lingered. He would never understand why Tang Mubai had encouraged him to beastify, only to kill him in the next instant.

[Detected the loss of life force. Recycle now?]

"Yes!"

[Life force +153]

The system's prompt flashed through Tang Mubai's mind. He swung his alloy saber, flicking the blood from its blade.

Why had he killed the beastified man? Of course, it was to make things easier for the Security Bureau!

The matter of half-beasts was a grave one. Though Tang Mubai had no wish to be entangled in it, that didn't stop him from helping the Security Bureau from the shadows. If he was right, there was likely a den of half-beasts lurking in the Hongyun Slaughterhouse! The Security Bureau was best suited to clear them out, while Tang Mubai could simply remain in the background, collecting the life force that escaped from the half-beasts when they died.

"This must wait until nightfall. Until then, I need to keep an eye on Xie Hongyun—can't let him escape!"

With this in mind, Tang Mubai dug a pit, buried the three bodies and their heads in it, and covered everything with soil to prevent the scent of blood from spreading.

He then descended the hill, checked the road in all directions to make sure no one was around, and hurried to the car the three had arrived in. After a thorough search, he found an alloy saber, a quiver of arrows, a longbow, a silenced pistol, and a body bag.

That last item, the body bag, was clearly prepared for him. Unfortunately...

Tang Mubai took everything, transferring it all to his own car. He then drove both vehicles down a secluded path away from the main road to avoid discovery.

Taking only the longbow and quiver, Tang Mubai used his lightfoot technique to make his way toward the Hongyun Slaughterhouse. When he was about a hundred meters away, he stopped, crouching in a cornfield and watching the slaughterhouse gate from afar.

With a perception stat of five, his vision was sharp enough to discern details over two hundred meters away.

Any closer and he risked detection—a hundred meters was just right.

Knowing he might be there for some time, Tang Mubai took out his phone and called Fang Shuixian, telling her he was busy and might be late that night, and asking her to look after the little girl.

After hanging up, he turned off his phone, put it away, and continued his surveillance.

In fact, he could have simply called the Security Bureau and reported the entire situation. But doing so would have exposed his identity. In this new world, phone numbers were registered with real names. And who could say whether anyone in the Security Bureau was colluding with the half-beasts?

This concerned not only his own life, but that of Xu Dalu, his little cousin, Fang Shuixian, and the others. He couldn't afford the slightest mistake. Any potential threat had to be eliminated.

For this reason, Tang Mubai would rather crouch alone in a cornfield than call the Security Bureau.

...

Perhaps Xie Hongyun had forgotten, or perhaps he simply didn't care. By the time darkness fell, no one had come from the slaughterhouse to look for the three.

Bored under the moonlight, Tang Mubai's thoughts drifted as he kept watch.

"I forgot to ask Aunt Fang how her martial arts training went today..."

...

"The day after tomorrow is the monthly recruitment event for qualified martial artists. I should be there in person, see how many people I can recruit to the group..."

...

"Without any lost life force to recover, I can't replenish the energy I've used up..."

Wait a moment!

Suddenly, Tang Mubai's mind jolted as he remembered something.

"Doesn't the Golden Sun Technique restore consumed energy?"

"Father used to recover quickly after a fight—just a couple hours of meditation and he'd be full of vitality again, his energy fully restored!"

With this in mind, Tang Mubai immediately began circulating the Golden Sun Technique.

Moments later—

"It really works!"

His face lit up with joy and excitement. "Though the recovery is slow, it's definitely effective!"

"I'd thought the technique was useless now that the system could boost my energy, but it turns out the Golden Sun Technique still has its role!"

Restoring lost energy was precisely what the Golden Sun Technique was for!

Without hesitation, Tang Mubai spent twenty-six years of his lifespan to elevate the Golden Sun Technique from basic proficiency to mastery.

At this level, the recovery rate increased dramatically. In less than half an hour, all the energy he'd expended in his earlier battle was fully replenished.

Just then, a car drove out from the gate of the Hongyun Slaughterhouse.

Tang Mubai immediately focused his senses, scanning the vehicle to see if Xie Hongyun was inside.

There were four people in the car—two in the front, two in the back.

One of those in the back seat was Xie Hongyun himself!