Chapter 053: Attentive Service
Indeed, that was the case. Tang Mubai directly revealed his identity, and all the doubts in Chen Hai’s heart vanished. He simply regarded Tang Mubai as someone who preferred to stay low-key and avoid the limelight. Despite his evident talent and considerable strength, Tang Mubai had not chosen to attend a martial arts university after graduating high school, which Chen Hai also considered an oddity.
From what Chen Hai knew, most young prodigies had their own peculiarities. Tang Mubai, unwilling to reveal his abilities and content to lead a carefree life at home as a privileged heir, was comparatively harmless.
Of course, plans often fail to keep up with changes. Tang Mubai wished to live leisurely at home, but his father led a team out beyond the borders and the entire group was wiped out. Without his father to hold up the family reputation, Tang Mubai’s aspirations were instantly shattered. He had no choice but to step forward himself and take up the banner of the “Miracle” Mercenary Group.
Why do all nations in the New World require that, upon a professional martial artist’s death, their businesses must be newly registered under someone else’s name or otherwise be shut down? The reason lies here!
When a martial artist dies, their assets are not confiscated; even without someone to register under, they can be rented out to others, and the family can live off the rental income. But comparison is always the thief of joy. When the business is still running, daily earnings amount to tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, in federal currency. But once it’s closed, the monthly rent is only a few tens of thousands, and the taxes are even higher by half. The difference in benefits before and after is worlds apart. Anyone with any ambition cannot help but feel dissatisfied.
And with that dissatisfaction comes the motivation to find someone to register the business under, or to become a professional martial artist oneself!
This way, the business continues to run, and there are more martial artists out there hunting non-human creatures—a win-win situation for all.
Take Tang Mubai, for example—he was “forced” to come forward!
Yes, in Chen Hai’s mind, Tang Mubai had no choice but to reveal his abilities under duress. It was unrealistic to assume he was a master-level martial artist, but he was probably around the first or second rank of the profession. The previous assumption that he was at least rank nine was a bit of an exaggeration.
Chen Hai had noticed that Tang Mubai’s agility was exceptional and his speed remarkable. When they nearly collided earlier, he had seen and felt it for himself. With such swift footwork and a surprise attack, knocking out an ordinary half-beast was not especially difficult.
As for why Tang Mubai had knocked out the buzz-cut youth previously...
Chen Hai had looked into it afterward and learned that the buzz-cut youth had almost started an altercation with a waiter upon entering the Miracle Restaurant.
Tang Mubai, as the new owner of the Miracle Restaurant and a hot-blooded youth, was annoyed by the buzz-cut youth’s troublemaking and took the opportunity to knock him out as retaliation.
It all made perfect sense!
Indeed, after learning of this, Chen Hai firmly believed that Tang Mubai was simply taking revenge, rather than having recognized the buzz-cut youth as a half-beast!
It was a beautiful misunderstanding.
Tang Mubai was unaware of this sequence of events; Chen Hai had simply given himself an explanation. Neither of them mentioned it, and after a brief exchange, they each went their separate ways.
After leaving the street, Tang Mubai clenched his fist in quiet celebration. When the two had nearly collided earlier, Tang Mubai, taking advantage of his agility stat of 20, had deftly stuck a bugging device on the inside hem of Chen Hai’s uniform jacket. If it had been placed in a pocket, it would have been easily discovered, but stuck inside the lining, it was much harder to detect.
The bug was the size of a button; unless Chen Hai took off his clothes and examined them carefully, it would go unnoticed. And if he did take off his clothes, Tang Mubai would no longer be able to hear anything anyway.
But such things were always a matter of luck; Tang Mubai couldn’t guarantee that all the bugs and cameras he deployed would yield results. He did it as a precaution, just in case something came of it, in which case he would have struck gold!
After all, it was even less realistic for Tang Mubai to try and root out half-beasts on his own, running around the city all day. Only by deploying as many “eyes” as possible could he maximize his gains.
Especially by placing a bug on Chen Hai—knowing the movements of the half-beasts would be most likely this way!
The thought filled Tang Mubai with glee.
With all this done, and seeing that it was still early, Tang Mubai drove to Monkey Mountain, entered the underground cave, and prepared to harvest another batch of life force from the blue-scaled sticky bugs.
This time, he had brought a flashlight to avoid stumbling in the darkness below.
However, the outcome was disappointing. As he shone his flashlight and entered the underground space, he found that no new blue-scaled sticky bugs had appeared. Perhaps not enough time had passed, and he would have to wait a few more days for a new batch to arrive.
Resigned, Tang Mubai returned to the surface, deciding to come back another time.
On the way back to the base, he passed a supermarket and, remembering his young cousin’s situation, stopped the car and went in to buy over a hundred pounds of fierce beast meat as a supply.
By the time he returned to the base, dusk was already falling. In the courtyard stood a delivery truck.
As soon as Tang Mubai arrived, a middle-aged man in uniform hurried over and asked, “Excuse me, are you Tang Mubai, leader of the Miracle Mercenary Group?”
“That’s me,” Tang Mubai nodded, glancing at the packaging on the truck. The words “Martial Arts Mall” immediately told him the man’s identity, and he smiled, “Thank you for your trouble.”
“Not at all, it’s our job,” the middle-aged man replied with a smile. “Although these are your purchases, our regulations require you to present your mercenary group certificate and badge before you can receive the goods.”
“No problem, just a moment.” Tang Mubai was well aware of this rule. He nodded and quickly went upstairs. A short while later, he came back down with a certificate and a badge, which he handed to the middle-aged man. The man inspected them carefully, even entering the serial number from the certificate for verification. Once he was satisfied, he returned the certificate and badge to Tang Mubai and said with a smile, “Identity confirmed, Captain Tang. You can now check your items and sign for them.”
“Alright.” Tang Mubai approached the truck and saw the Martial Arts Network’s delivery staff open five crates.
One crate contained two heavy machine guns. Two others were filled with machine gun ammunition. A fourth held various sundries, and the last was filled with arrows.
Yes, Tang Mubai had specially ordered an extra crate of arrows. With his level of archery, using a gun was inferior to shooting arrows, especially in the wild where gunshots could attract non-human creatures or alert the enemy. Bows and arrows, on the other hand, were fast and quiet.
The “Nine Arrows Over the Mountains” technique could even curve in flight!
So, being well-stocked with arrows was certainly wise.
After checking everything and confirming it was all correct, Tang Mubai signed the form to acknowledge receipt.
The middle-aged man took the signed form, unloaded the crates, and waved goodbye to Tang Mubai.
The Martial Arts Network’s home delivery service was not only convenient but also strictly adhered to regulations—truly attentive service.
Tang Mubai was very pleased.
However, a few elderly residents, drawn over by the truck, caught sight of the heavy machine guns and ammunition inside the crates, and their expressions suddenly turned grim.
“Little Tang, Captain Tang, are you... are you heading out beyond the borders?”