Chapter 064: [Five Minutes]

Thud! Thud! Thud! A series of muffled sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Under the terrifying pressure, everyone—including Du Yuankui and the young man—was either sprawled on the ground or kneeling. The bar manager, waiters, and other ordinary people had simply passed out. The vast bar was silent, not a single sound to be heard.

“A… master-level martial artist?” Du Yuankui, his body stiff and face flushed, struggled to speak in disbelief.

“No… not a master… a grandmaster!” The young man, lying flat with his right cheek pressed to the floor, spoke in terror. “Grandmaster, is there… is there some misunderstanding between us? I’m… I’m from the Red Lake Group. Please… please let me…”

“You want me to let you go?” Tang Mubai, who walked into the bar and closed the door behind him, interrupted. “Letting you leave is no problem—as long as you tell me where those beastmen are hiding.”

Beastmen?

Du Yuankui froze. “Manager Dong, you… you’re colluding with beastmen?”

“You didn’t know?” Tang Mubai looked up at Du Yuankui, his tone odd. “Among your closest followers, there’s a beastman. And now you’re telling me you don’t know anything about beastmen?”

“That’s… that’s impossible!” Du Yuankui shook his head stubbornly, speaking in broken sentences, “Who… who are you, trying… trying to trick me. It’s… it’s not that easy.”

“Trick you?” Tang Mubai chuckled lightly. “What benefit do I get from tricking you? Besides, just now you were rallying everyone to kill me, and my family! Have you already forgotten who I am?”

Whoosh!

Du Yuankui’s expression changed dramatically, his eyes wide with disbelief as he trembled, “You… you’re Tang Mubai? How… how is that possible! You… weren’t you just a newly promoted… professional martial artist? How…”

“How could I have grandmaster-level pressure, is that it?” Tang Mubai kindly finished for him.

“Yes… yes.” Du Yuankui nodded stiffly. “You… you…”

Piu!

A soft sound. A bloody hole appeared in Du Yuankui’s forehead, and the rest of his words would never be spoken. His wide eyes held confusion and resentment. Even in his wildest dreams, he couldn’t have imagined dying so miserably—shot in the head without warning!

[Detected loss of life force. Would you like to collect it?]

“Yes!”

[Life Force +78]

“I’m sorry, I cannot answer your question.” Tang Mubai blew across the barrel of his gun, stood up, and proceeded to shoot everyone except for the young man and the unconscious ordinary people—one bullet each.

Tang Mubai was growing more adept at handling this silenced pistol. After reloading, he didn’t miss a single shot.

The bar manager and other ordinary people who had fainted bore no grudge against Tang Mubai. Moreover, they hadn’t seen his face or heard his voice. Killing them would be wanton slaughter of innocents. Tang Mubai wasn’t about to start a massacre just to collect their life force. If they were smart, they’d keep quiet later. Those who deserved to die, Tang Mubai would not let escape. Innocents, he would never touch. This was his bottom line!

[Detected loss of life force. Would you like to collect it?]

“Yes!”

[Life Force +56]

[Life Force +72]

[Life Force +181]

[Life Force +84]

…

A harvest of life force.

Tang Mubai happily returned to the young man’s side, looking down at him as he lay there still wearing tea-colored sunglasses. With a light laugh, he said, “Manager Dong, right? Have you considered telling me where the beastmen are hiding?”

The arrival of the young man was a lucky surprise. Relying on a few bugs and cameras to discover the beastmen’s whereabouts would take a long time, and the risk of those devices being discovered and destroyed was high. This young man, being from the Red Lake Group and a manager there, if willing to reveal the locations, would save a lot of time. Tang Mubai wouldn’t have to worry about the bugs and cameras being destroyed.

With this in mind, Tang Mubai had killed Du Yuankui and the others, but spared the young man for now.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the young man replied, holding his breath.

“That’s no fun.” Tang Mubai shook his head. “The Red Lake Group’s collusion with beastmen is already known to the Security Bureau. They’ve been making arrangements and hunting them in secret. Even if you don’t tell me, the Red Lake Group won’t last much longer. At this point, it’s beyond what you alone can handle. On the other hand, if you tell me, I can give you a chance.”

“What… what kind of chance?” the young man asked in a low voice.

“A chance to leave here—to escape!”

Tang Mubai grinned. “Just tell me, and I’ll let you leave the bar. After you get out, I’ll hunt you down! If you’re capable enough, you can escape!”

The young man fell silent.

“Well? Think about it—opportunities like this are rare. Miss this village, there won’t be another inn.” Tang Mubai continued, “I admit the Red Lake Group is powerful, but even so, it can’t withstand the combined attack of the Security Bureau, Regional Government, and Military. You’re still young, with many years ahead. Is it really worth dying for the Red Lake Group? The chairman isn’t your father. If you die, do you think he’ll shed a tear?”

“No!”

“He’ll sigh at most, then continue his schemes, colluding with beastmen to seize whatever he desires. That thing—even if you die—you’ll never know what it is. Most of us only have a few decades to live; to die for someone else’s plan is too much of a waste. If your parents are still alive, they’d probably—”

“Enough!” the young man interrupted, holding his breath. “I can tell you the beastmen’s hiding places. Seven in total—any more, I don’t know. My position only covers seven. Believe me or not…”

“I believe you,” Tang Mubai replied, suppressing his excitement. “Seven beastmen hideouts are enough for me to trade with the Security Bureau for resources I want.”

This was an excuse for the young man’s benefit. Otherwise, why would a regular martial artist—even a grandmaster—want to know the beastmen’s hiding places for no reason? Trading them for cultivation resources with the Security Bureau made sense. As an official agency, the Security Bureau possessed resources unimaginable to small sects, companies, mercenary groups, or lone martial artists.

The young man didn’t suspect much, speaking forcefully, “The seven beastmen hideouts are in my phone, but it’s password protected. You have to let me go first—give me ten minutes to escape…”

“Five minutes,” Tang Mubai interrupted with a smile. “You’ll have five minutes to escape before I start hunting you.”

“…Fine, five minutes it is!” The young man gritted his teeth and agreed.

Buzz~

Tang Mubai withdrew his oppressive aura and signaled the young man to hand over his phone. The latter stood up, face full of resentment, took out his phone, and handed it to Tang Mubai.

“Remember, you can’t hunt me until five minutes have passed!” the young man said in a low voice.

“Relax, I keep my word,” Tang Mubai replied, taking the phone with a smile. “You can go now. The timer starts now.”

Whoosh!

The young man turned and bolted from the bar.