Chapter 034: Miracle Slaughterhouse

The final “Red Scarf” was actually Tang Mubai’s mischievous invention. In this new world, hardly anyone would know what “Red Scarf” meant. When Chen Hai, the captain from the Security Bureau, saw it, he would most likely regard it as a codename! Giving himself a codename, Tang Mubai thought, wasn’t a bad idea. After all, his strength was increasing so rapidly that if word got out, it wouldn’t be a good thing. Until he became a true Grandmaster, it was best to keep a low profile!

After a night of running around, the dinner gathering was naturally canceled. Returning home, Tang Mubai ate a bowl of noodles made by Fang Shuixian, didn’t go out again, and instead lay on his bed after washing up, pondering his next steps.

With Xie Hongyun and six half-beastmen dead, the Hongyun Slaughterhouse was essentially doomed. Even if the Security Bureau didn’t seal it, the Red Lake Group wouldn’t let it continue operating.

For Tang Mubai, the closure of the Hongyun Slaughterhouse was no loss; he could simply find another one. However, with his current abilities, doing manual labor again felt like self-torment.

After the system reclaimed the livestock, the lost vitality didn’t require Tang Mubai to do anything himself. As long as he was within range during reclamation, that was enough.

Given this, why should Tang Mubai still work for others? He could easily buy a slaughterhouse and sit in the office to reclaim!

The events of the evening made Tang Mubai aware of certain drawbacks. Sure, he could switch slaughterhouses if Hongyun closed, but who knew what troubles lurked in other places? Xie Hongyun hid half-beastmen in his slaughterhouse; what if other owners hid murderers, or turned their slaughterhouses into disposal sites for corpses?

If Tang Mubai didn’t know about these things, it wouldn’t matter. But once he knew, he wouldn’t be able to resist intervening. That would mean another slaughterhouse closed, and another move—far too bothersome and a waste of time.

Rather than constantly switching, it would be better to start his own. Yet starting from scratch was troublesome; buying an existing one would be easier.

He’d already decided on the name: continuing the “Miracle” series, it would be Miracle Slaughterhouse.

Since he’d resolved to purchase a slaughterhouse, he needed to prepare the money in advance. From what Tang Mubai knew, opening a medium-sized slaughterhouse cost about a million Federal Credits. To buy one, at least two million would be needed!

Did his father and the mercenary group leave enough money for that? Tang Mubai doubted it.

He considered getting up to ask Xu Dalu next door, but seeing it was late at night, he lay back down. The money wasn’t going anywhere, so there was no rush.

Thinking about Xu Dalu, he realized he’d nearly forgotten to “heal” him. At once, he consumed ten years of lifespan and treated Xu Dalu’s right leg again.

He opened the system panel—

Name: Tang Mubai
Physique: 10 (+)
Strength: 10 (+)
Agility: 10 (+)
Perception: 5 (+)
Willpower: 5 (+)
Vitality: 52k (+)
Martial Arts: Golden Mist Technique (Transcendent+), Tiger Roar Fist (Perfect), Wave-breaking Blade Technique (Perfect), Mountain-crossing Nine Arrows (Transcendent+), Grass Glide (Perfect)
Divine Power: Pressure Control (Intermediate)
Lifespan: 87.7 years
Followers: 2
...

Vitality at 52k didn’t need to be increased for now. As for his martial arts, only Golden Mist Technique and Mountain-crossing Nine Arrows remained at Transcendent level.

The stages of martial arts mastery—Beginner, Minor Achievement, Proficient, Major Achievement, Transcendent, Perfect—were straightforward: “Beginner” meant basic grasp, “Minor Achievement” signified some progress, “Proficient” implied skilled use, “Major Achievement” meant full mastery, “Transcendent” was mastery beyond the ordinary, and “Perfect” was absolute control.

Take Mountain-crossing Nine Arrows, for example: at “Major Achievement,” he could shoot nine curved arrows at once, each independent and formidable. But reaching “Transcendent,” the nine arrows could be mutually linked, their power stacking for greater force. At “Perfect,” nine arrows could combine their cumulative strength into a single shot, pushing the power to its peak—far deadlier than “Transcendent.”

Thus, Tang Mubai looked at his accumulated lifespan and decisively consumed twenty-four years to elevate Mountain-crossing Nine Arrows from “Transcendent” to “Perfect.” His arms, hands, and fingers trembled silently, and his understanding of Mountain-crossing Nine Arrows became crystal clear.

Next was Golden Mist Technique; Tang Mubai likewise consumed twenty-four years to raise it to “Perfect.”

Now, all his martial arts had reached the highest level—recovery, ranged attacks, fist techniques, blade arts, agility—all perfectly mastered. His strength soared once more.

He quietly savored the changes in his martial arts, and drifted to sleep, satisfied.

...

When morning came, Xu Dalu felt his right leg had improved significantly. The old man marveled for a long time, unable to fathom the cause, and gave up pondering it. He didn’t wait for Tang Mubai to wake, heading off to the restaurant himself—he had a busy day ahead.

After Tang Mubai rose and saw the old man gone, he finished breakfast, then drove around Eastern District, later going outside the city to several slaughterhouses, collecting another wave of vitality.

Finally, he returned to the city and went to Miracle Restaurant to ask Xu Dalu about the finances.

“The restaurant’s monthly net profit is around six hundred thousand. Profits from previous months were spent by the old captain on weapons and equipment, so the account now has only about fifty thousand left. Captain, do you need the money?” Xu Dalu reported, then asked curiously.

“Yes,” Tang Mubai nodded. “So we can only use fifty thousand Federal Credits?”

“Well, with some maneuvering, it could be eighty thousand,” Xu Dalu answered cautiously.

“Eighty thousand still isn’t enough.”

Tang Mubai pondered for a moment, then slapped his thigh in delight. “I almost forgot—the safe in my father’s room has money left!”

He rushed to the inner room, opened the safe, and took out everything inside. Counting carefully, he found over one hundred and twenty thousand.

Combined with the restaurant funds, it just topped two million Federal Credits!

“Grandpa Xu, I’ll need your help to use this money to buy a slaughterhouse.”

Tang Mubai placed all the money before Xu Dalu, speaking seriously, “It doesn’t need to be large—medium-sized is enough—but it has to be fast, the sooner the better!”

“Ah?”

Xu Dalu’s mouth gaped as he looked at the pile of Federal Credits, then at Tang Mubai. He was stunned for a moment, sighed, and asked in confusion, “Why buy a slaughterhouse all of a sudden? The restaurant’s meat supply has long had fixed vendors; there’s no need to buy one ourselves.”

Although he hadn’t said it outright, the meaning was clear—he didn’t want to make the purchase.