Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

They emerged from the hall’s doors.

After walking a few hundred paces, Wu Hao lowered his voice. "Brother! You just got here, and you’ve already met the Gang Leader. He even gave you such an important task. Your future is limitless!"

Tang Wen shook his head. "It’s hard to say if it’s a blessing or a curse! Brother Wu, you have to help me!"

"Of course! We’re both under Elder Li, so I’ll definitely help!" Wu Hao slapped his chest, making a loud thumping sound.

Wu Hao was very familiar with the Black Water Gang’s Main Altar. He led Tang Wen around a few corners until they arrived at a heavily guarded courtyard.

"Commander Wu!"

"Commander Zhang!"

Wu Hao was like a minor celebrity within the Black Water Gang.

Everyone greeted him along the way.

Even Commander Zhang, the one in charge of the warehouse, welcomed them with a smile.

He exchanged a few words and introduced Tang Wen and the commander to each other.

When Tang Wen then took out Elder Li’s waist token, Commander Zhang immediately started addressing him as "Brother Tang" over and over.

You couldn’t do the job of managing a warehouse without being slick.

Commander Zhang’s predecessor, on the other hand, had been inflexibly impartial.

No matter who came to collect supplies, his defining trait was being meticulous to a fault.

He would record the weight of every single item, down to the last few taels and maces.

Later, when the gang took inventory, the warehouse was found to be short one medicinal ingredient worth three hundred taels of silver. That man was taken down and is probably eating dirt in some mine now!

By contrast, after Commander Zhang took over, the gang took inventory and found the warehouse was short by a whopping one hundred and thirty thousand taels’ worth of supplies!

And yet, wasn’t his position as Commander Zhang still as solid as a mountain?

"Blood Marrow from an Extraordinary Exotic Beast. Which kind of Exotic Beast were you looking for?"

Commander Zhang’s face wrinkled into a smile like a chrysanthemum. ’This stuff is hard currency.’

’I just wonder if this new Beastmaster understands the rules.’

Opening the warehouse door, he took out a catalogue and led the way inside.

Just as Tang Wen was about to follow, he was suddenly pulled back by Wu Hao. The latter shot him a meaningful look, and when no one was looking, he made a gesture by rapidly rubbing his thumb against his index and middle fingers.

"Got it. For Commander Zhang?"

Wu Hao didn’t speak, just smiled slightly and patted him on the shoulder.

Tang Wen turned and followed Commander Zhang, complaining internally, ’What is with the culture in the Black Water Gang?’

’But, I have to admit, this is very conducive to me making my mark!’

Inside the warehouse, they passed by shelves of all sizes.

The two arrived at a sealed stone chamber.

Overhead were naturally glowing Crystal Stones.

They illuminated the chamber brightly.

"Brother Tang, these stone boxes all contain the Essence of Extraordinary Exotic Beasts. Real hard currency!"

’Hard currency?’

Seeing the suggestive smile on his face, Tang Wen immediately understood.

He looked down, thought for a moment, and said, "Brother Zhang, this little brother is new here. I’m not sure what this Extraordinary Essence is worth."

Commander Zhang glanced at Tang Wen. "If it’s the Blood Marrow from a whole Extraordinary Exotic Beast, you couldn’t buy it for fifty thousand taels of silver."

Tang Wen said, "I’m just making some Elixirs for Beast Taming. I won’t need that much."

Extraordinary Blood Marrow is one of the main ingredients of Protective Marrow Liquid.

Protective Marrow Liquid is a protective Potion that allows a Martial Artist to attempt a breakthrough to the Extraordinary realm without worry.

Without it, if the breakthrough fails, one would suffer a backlash from their Superpower.

In a mild case, they would lose all hope of ever becoming Extraordinary; in a severe case, they would be crippled for life!

And failure was a high-probability event.

Although Tang Wen didn’t need this, other Martial Artists desperately did.

Just imagine, if there was a sufficient supply of Protective Marrow Liquid, Flame Camp could produce at least ten more Extraordinary individuals.

Of course, a sufficient supply was just a fantasy.

Even the major powers in Ganshan City couldn’t guarantee an unlimited supply.

After all, Extraordinary Blood Marrow was only one of the main ingredients.

As for the other main ingredients, no one knew besides Alchemy Masters.

Tang Wen asked again, "I wonder, what is the limit of Elder Li’s authority? How much can he take?"

Commander Zhang’s heart skipped a beat. ’Damn, this newcomer is even more ruthless than I am!’

"Ahem, well..." He was preparing to tactfully persuade Tang Wen not to be too greedy.

Unexpectedly, Tang Wen read his expression and said directly, "This task was assigned by the Gang Leader and Vice Gang Leader Zhao together."

"For real?"

"I’ve only been here a few days. How would I dare tell such a lie?"

Commander Zhang thought to himself, ’I can find out if it’s true or false by asking Wu Hao later. He probably wouldn’t tell a lie that’s so easily exposed.’

"The Blood Marrow from one whole beast is divided into ten portions. An Elder can take six portions at most. Any more than that requires approval from a Vice Gang Leader."

"How about we take six portions, then?"

Commander Zhang’s eyelids twitched when he heard that. ’Damn, six portions! That’s at least thirty thousand taels of silver!’

’If it went to auction, it could easily fetch forty or fifty thousand. That’s common.’

’Is this guy really this reckless? A newcomer, acting so bold right from the start?’

He was scared!

’Think about it, in the year or two he’d been managing the warehouse, with the "help" of various Commanders, Elders, and Vice Gang Leaders, he had only managed to rack up a deficit of one hundred and thirty thousand taels in total.’

’This guy’s first move was for thirty thousand.’

Commander Zhang was afraid. He was afraid of getting implicated if something went wrong, so he didn’t dare take it.

Tang Wen paid him no mind, completely ignoring his internal drama.

He looked at the labels on the stone boxes.

He pulled open a stone box labeled "Soul Crow" and took out three Jade Bottles, which amounted to three portions.

The Soul Crow was a type of flying Extraordinary Exotic Beast.

Tang Wen planned to use it for his own Blood Crow.

He then pulled open a drawer labeled "Arrow Dolphin" and took three more Jade Bottles.

The Arrow Dolphin was an aquatic Extraordinary Exotic Beast.

With six portions in hand, he turned to Commander Zhang and offered him a Jade Bottle directly.

The latter was so scared he waved his hands frantically. "I can’t, I can’t! Brother Tang, you just take them, you just take them! Once you’ve got them, let’s go!"

As he spoke, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to leave.

’This is?’

’He’s scared?’

Tang Wen frowned and sighed. "Brother Zhang, if you don’t take your cut, how can I take mine?"

Commander Zhang said hurriedly, "No, no, no, Beastmaster Tang, you can take it! You can take it!"

’Heh.’

’Beastmaster Tang?’

’He’s even using such a formal title now?’

Tang Wen took a step forward and lowered his voice. "I’m not taking it! If I don’t take it, how does Elder Li take his? And if Elder Li doesn’t take his, how are we supposed to advance in the gang?"

"Eh?"

Commander Zhang blinked. "Brother, you understand the rules so well?"

Tang Wen smiled, pointed at him, then at himself, and finally pointed outside. "Six portions. One, two, three."

This meant that he, Commander Zhang, would get one portion for free.

Elder Li would get three portions, and Tang Wen, the one actually doing the work, would only take two.

If the split was really like this, then it was indeed foolproof!

Commander Zhang could no longer resist. He reached out, took a bottle, and skillfully stuffed it into a hidden pocket in his sleeve.

The two left the stone chamber one after another and returned to the shelves outside.

Before Tang Wen could ask, Commander Zhang took the initiative. "Brother, you’ll need medicinal ingredients for your alchemy, right?"

Tang Wen nodded.

Commander Zhang added, "What a coincidence! We just happen to have a batch of ingredients that are about to be written off as spoiled."

Tang Wen said, "Brother Zhang is truly a man of methods."

The two exchanged a smile.

Commander Zhang suddenly felt a sense of mutual appreciation, as if they were kindred spirits.

Two burlap sacks were filled with several hundred catties of medicinal ingredients.

Tang Wen only picked up one of them and walked toward the entrance.

Commander Zhang praised, "Brother Tang, to be so capable at such a young age! You will surely have a brilliant future in the gang!"

Tang Wen offered his own praise, "Not at all, not at all! Brother Zhang is the one with the air of a great general. A high position surely awaits you in the future!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

The two laughed heartily.

’With talents like us in the Black Water Gang, it’s bound to have a bright and splendid future!’

As they neared the entrance, both of them wiped the smiles from their faces in unison.

Tang Wen walked out first, sighing as he went.

He put on the appearance of someone whose gift had been rejected.

Commander Zhang, who had deliberately fallen a few steps behind, wore a forced, humorless expression. With a grim look on his face, he played the part of someone who had refused a bribe.

Wu Hao watched, stunned, and thought, ’Was it because this was their first meeting, so Commander Zhang didn’t dare to accept?’

’Or did Brother Tang offer too little?’

’Oh well. Once they get more familiar with each other, there will be plenty of opportunities.’

At Tang Wen’s request, Wu Hao led him first to Elder Li’s home.

The moment they stepped through the door, a fragrant scent assailed their nostrils.

Unfortunately, Elder Li’s living room was situated near the entrance, so Tang Wen didn’t have a chance to go further inside and see the bevy of beauties rumored to be in his home.

"You’re here. What is it?" Elder Li asked with a smile, a flicker of hard-to-detect anticipation in his eyes.

Tang Wen smiled faintly and took out three Jade Bottles from his robes.