Chapter 005: [Vitality +184] (Revised)

Yes, it was too little.

Don’t be fooled by a single day’s accumulation—his lifespan had reached 106.8 years. But the consumption was enormous!

Each increase in “Constitution,” “Strength,” or “Agility” cost him ten years of life. And the most critical attribute, “Vitality,” required a whopping twenty years for every additional point.

If he weren’t in a hurry to take the professional martial artist exam, it wouldn’t matter much.

But the problem was that Tang Mubai urgently needed to pass the test to save the Miracle Restaurant.

Though he supposedly had ten days, subtracting the two days for the examination itself, he really only had eight.

Gaining nearly fifty years of life in a single day meant he would gain four hundred years in eight days. It sounded impressive, but would be spent in the blink of an eye.

Tang Mubai left work early and hurried to pick up his little sister after school. Glancing at the system panel, which showed 106.8 years of lifespan, he thought for a moment, then used up another twenty years to increase his Vitality by one.

The lifespan entry quickly dropped from “106.8 years” to “86.8 years.”

On the system panel, “Vitality” rose from “4k” to “5k.”

Name: Tang Mubai
Constitution: 2 (+)
Strength: 2 (+)
Agility: 2 (+)
Perception: 1 (+)
Willpower: 1 (+)
Vitality: 5k (+)
Martial Skills: “Golden Sun Art” (Uninitiated+), “Tiger Roar Fist” (Uninitiated+)
Lifespan: 86.8 years
Retainer: 1
…

Though there was considerable change from yesterday, his real strength hadn’t increased much.

Especially his two martial skills, which remained his Achilles’ heel.

The professional martial artist exam included a combat assessment. If his skills weren’t honed, passing would be nearly impossible.

While the system had improved his Constitution, Strength, and Agility enough to make the “Golden Sun Art,” which refined his physique, less essential, the “Tiger Roar Fist” with actual attack power was indispensable.

But how many years of life would it take to master “Tiger Roar Fist”—to progress from entry level to minor achievement, proficiency, or mastery? Tang Mubai had no idea.

Right now, he didn’t dare allocate points to “Tiger Roar Fist.”

He’d wait until his lifespan exceeded a hundred years again!

After all, if he sacrificed himself just to pass the professional martial artist exam, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Getting less life force at the Hongyun Slaughterhouse was fine.

After calming down, Tang Mubai quickly found a solution: he’d work at two slaughterhouses concurrently!

Through a day’s exploration, he discovered that the Hongyun Slaughterhouse killed fewer livestock in the mornings, with business peaking in the afternoons.

So, he could try other slaughterhouses in the mornings.

His job at Hongyun was temporary, paid per assignment anyway.

He’d work elsewhere in the morning, Hongyun in the afternoon, and in the evenings, visit several hospitals in the East District in rotation. He refused to believe he couldn’t harvest enough lifespan this way!

After a full day of research, Tang Mubai had figured out two key rules for the system’s life force recovery:

First, the recovery range was about a hundred-meter radius!

As long as livestock died within that range, the life force they released would be collected by the system, converted into lifespan, and bestowed upon him.

Second, after livestock died, the life force didn’t dissipate instantly but lingered for about ten minutes.

Meaning, if a chicken died, as long as Tang Mubai arrived within ten minutes and within a hundred meters, he could harvest its life force from the air!

Of course, the life force would diminish as it lingered.

After ten minutes, it would vanish completely!

These two discoveries brought Tang Mubai both delight and embarrassment.

He recalled waiting like a hunter in the hospital last night, matching wits with the security guard.

There was really no need! With ten minutes of lingering and a hundred-meter radius, he could easily shuttle between several hospitals.

If he was fast enough, he could even visit hospitals in different districts!

Tang Mubai made up his mind—no, he’d start tonight. He’d drive instead.

A bicycle was too slow—cars were faster.

The Miracle Mercenary Group had over a dozen cars; excluding the ones his father kept outside, there were still three in the garage.

A little gas money in exchange for a bounty of life force—Tang Mubai didn’t feel shortchanged.

If possible…

[Detected lost life force nearby. Absorb?]

“Yes!”

[Life Force +184]

The system prompt suddenly flashed.

As Tang Mubai responded, he instinctively hit the brakes, stopping his bicycle by the roadside and scanning his surroundings.

He was nearing the city limits. Less than a hundred meters ahead was the main road into the city.

On either side of the highway, a single car passed, with few cyclists and even fewer pedestrians.

The system’s prompt indicated a death within a hundred meters.

But—

“Life Force +184… Who just died?”

Tang Mubai was astonished.

So much life force lost—whoever died must have been extremely robust!

Boom!

A sudden, deafening crash erupted.

Tang Mubai looked up in the direction of the noise and saw, just over a hundred meters ahead by the roadside, a wall of a row of street-facing buildings had been blown outward from inside, rubble spraying everywhere and frightening passersby.

A wiry, short man scrambled out through the gaping hole and dashed madly down the road.

Close behind, two robust men in specialized combat uniforms emerged from the breach, hot in pursuit.

Tang Mubai’s gaze landed on the uniforms of the two men—in particular, the characters embroidered on their sleeves: one read “Peace,” the other “Martial.”

Together, the words formed—

“Peace and Martial Bureau agents?”

Tang Mubai was surprised.

The Peace and Martial Bureau was one of the Daxia Federation’s powerful enforcement agencies.

Its main duty was to keep martial artists in check and maintain social stability.

There was no other way—amateur martial artists were one thing, but professionals and above were all formidable individuals capable of terrifying destruction!

Without the Bureau’s suppression, ordinary people couldn’t live in peace.

Now, two Bureau agents were chasing down the short man.

That could only mean one thing.

This guy had committed a crime!