Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

On the way to the warehouse, holding Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s Token.

Tang Wen grew increasingly curious about what the Black Water Gang was actually salvaging.

And where had those Beastmasters gone?

What did the Curiosities from the Huang Family’s Slave Factory look like?

And who exactly had set up the safe house in the Beast Taming Garden next to his own courtyard?

...

Question after question surfaced in Tang Wen’s mind.

The waters in Ganshan City ran deep and murky.

He glanced at the Beast Taming Skill on his Experience Panel.

He hesitated, wondering if he should take the risk.

With his current Beast Taming Skill Level, he could borrow the vision of his Beast Pet.

However, because this ability was so powerful,

it also placed high demands on Tang Wen himself.

Specifically, with his Spiritual Power, he couldn’t use it for too long before getting a headache.

And that was only when he was relatively close to the Blood Crow.

If the distance was too great, he couldn’t borrow his Beast Pet’s vision at all.

Tang Wen speculated that improving his Spiritual Power would remedy this.

Then, he would finally be able to find out what the Black Water Gang was really after.

"Well, well! Commander Tang!"

"Brother Zhang, Commander Zhang!"

Tang Wen arrived at the warehouse.

When Commander Zhang, the man in charge of the warehouse, saw who it was, his eyes instantly lit up.

"I knew you were destined for great things, brother! Look at you, it’s only been a few days and you’re already a Commander!"

Commander Zhang made no attempt to hide his envy.

"Haha, I was supposed to treat you to a meal, Brother Zhang. But the work never ends, and I’ve got a new mission."

With that, he revealed a Token.

[Zhao!]

Commander Zhang’s pupils contracted, and his heart began to pound uncontrollably.

The last time this Brother Tang had brought an Elder’s Token, it had allowed him to rake in over ten thousand silver.

And today, he had actually brought the Vice Gang Leader’s Token!

’This...!’

At the warehouse entrance, a specialist verified that Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s Token was authentic.

Immediately, Commander Zhang slung an arm around Tang Wen’s shoulder and stepped into the warehouse.

In his eyes, Tang Wen was no longer an ordinary Commander.

He was an excellent business partner!

"So, Brother Tang, what brings you here this time?"

"Extraordinary Blood Marrow, Extraordinary Flesh and Blood, and medicinal herbs."

Commander Zhang swallowed hard. "How... how much do you want?"

He realized his voice was trembling as he asked.

Tang Wen smiled. "What’s the limit on Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s authority?"

BUZZ.

Commander Zhang’s mind went blank, and he instinctively grabbed a nearby shelf for support.

’Those words! They’re so familiar!’

The goods on the shelf wobbled, narrowly avoiding a fall.

"We can’t do that, brother! We really can’t!"

"Hehe, I’m just asking."

Commander Zhang held up a shaking finger. "Fif... fifteen percent. Vice Gang Leader Zhao can move fifteen percent of the inventory at most."

"Then how much Extraordinary Blood Marrow do we have?"

Commander Zhang’s face paled again. He seemed to want to say something but stopped, instead leading Tang Wen to the same room as before.

"This is one of them. There are three rooms in total."

Tang Wen counted the special stone boxes on the shelves of various sizes:

"One hundred twenty-seven in total. Three times that is roughly three hundred eighty-one. Fifteen percent of that is... fifty-seven units!"

Commander Zhang’s heart pounded as his legs began to tremble.

"Brother, we can’t!"

"No?"

Commander Zhang decided to lay it all out. "Brother! We have more than one Vice Gang Leader in our gang!"

Tang Wen laughed to himself.

’Like I didn’t know that.’

’But from the looks of it, this Commander Zhang is a fence-sitter, isn’t he?’

’Or is he one of the Gang Leader’s trusted men?’

Tang Wen hadn’t planned to take that much anyway.

That wasn’t realistic.

Seeing that he had set the mood perfectly,

he held up three fingers. "Thirty bottles!"

"That—"

Hearing the number, Commander Zhang’s expression was a pained mix of reluctance and relief.

Tang Wen continued, "Ten of those must be fresh Blood Marrow. Also, throw in three thousand pounds of Extraordinary Flesh and Blood!"

Hmm?

Commander Zhang blinked. ’Did my brother here forget to mention a crucial detail?’

Tang Wen understood. "You take three bottles."

Commander Zhang was pleasantly surprised, but still a little worried. "And the rest?"

Tang Wen said nothing, simply waggling the Token.

Seeing the gleaming "Zhao" character, Commander Zhang relaxed.

An hour of careful selection passed.

The cart was loaded and, under the escort of a squad of Guards, made its first stop at Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s residence.

「Zhao Mansion, Tea Room.」

Tang Wen gently opened the stone box.

"This is?"

"Extraordinary Blood Marrow. I’ve also given five hundred pounds of Extraordinary Beast Meat to your steward."

Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s expression instantly darkened.

Tang Wen froze. ’No way, right?’

’Don’t tell me he’s actually some incorruptible, righteous official?’

He lowered his head and started thinking of a way out of this.

"So young! And you’re already learning such crooked ways!"

Tang Wen’s head sank even lower.

"Hmph... just this once."

Vice Gang Leader Zhao let out a long sigh.

Uh?

Tang Wen froze again. When he raised his head, the large stone box on the table was gone!

That stone box had contained a full eight bottles of Blood Marrow.

After composing himself, Tang Wen added, "When I requisitioned the supplies, I signed off with: ’By order of the Gang Leader and Vice Gang Leader Zhao.’"

A glint flashed in Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s eyes. He nodded slightly and changed the subject. "Starting tomorrow, someone will instruct you in Fist Techniques every evening."

"Thank you, Gang Leader!"

"Mm, as for this mission, you need to know what you’re doing..."

After taking his leave from the Zhao Mansion, Tang Wen paid a visit to Elder Li’s estate.

He delivered a similar box, along with five hundred pounds of Extraordinary Beast Meat.

The difference was, this stone box only contained five bottles of Extraordinary Blood Marrow.

Only after leaving the Li Family estate did Tang Wen return to his own small courtyard.

In total, sixteen of the thirty bottles of Blood Marrow had been distributed, leaving him with fourteen.

Ten of the remaining bottles were fresh Blood Marrow.

If consumed directly, it could enhance one’s Constitution, provided one could withstand the violent surge of its power.

The longer this stuff was stored, the worse its effect. Tang Wen drank a bottle that very night.

A tempestuous night passed.

When he left the house in the morning, the two women at home were practically unconscious.

[Body: 9.60]

His Constitution had reached a new level.

「At the breakfast stall.」

The owner served the food, adding a compliment, "You’re looking better and better every day, sir."

Tang Wen smiled.

’It’s good that he can tell.’

For the past few days, he had been gradually reducing the amount of yellow pigment he used for his facial disguise.

He planned to slowly return to his original appearance.

After all, if his disguise were ever exposed, no amount of talking could get him out of it.

Especially since Tang Wen’s background couldn’t withstand scrutiny in the first place.

Another day of his sham Beast Taming career passed.

In the evening, Tang Wen met the middle-aged woman sent by Vice Gang Leader Zhao to teach him Fist Techniques.

She was plain-looking, but her figure was quite fiery.

Cannon Fist, Beng Fist, Binding Fist, Killing Fist—she was proficient in all of them.

Her strength was comparable to that of a Peak Martial Artist.

She was a serious teacher, and Tang Wen worked hard at his acting.

After all, his Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist had already reached the Expert Level.

When it came to Fist Techniques, while he couldn’t claim to master everything from a single principle, he could easily grasp related concepts by analogy.

He learned these basic Fist Techniques extremely quickly.

Despite his constant efforts to conceal his true ability, he couldn’t escape the female instructor’s "discerning eye."

Seven days passed. The female instructor gave her evaluation to Vice Gang Leader Zhao: "A little Martial Arts genius!"

"A little genius?"

"If the Noble Young Masters of the Inner City are geniuses seen once in a hundred years, then Tang Wen is one seen about once every thirty years."

Vice Gang Leader Zhao smiled. ’That’s high praise indeed.’

It far surpassed the vast majority of people in the Black Water Gang.

「The Lin Family.」

Vice Gang Leader Lin asked his grandson, "Did you meet with the Master?"

"I did, Grandfather. Master Zhou said that even if the gang manages to tame a High-level Water Spirit, trying to retrieve the object from the Green Water Pond would still be a suicide mission. Master Zhou gifted me three Green Water Pythons, all of which are High-level Exotic Beasts."

Vice Gang Leader Lin couldn’t hide his delight. "The heavens are blessing our Lin Family!"