Chapter 038: The Hapless Victim

“Tsk tsk, there's always someone willing to be taken advantage of!”
“Who knows what he's thinking? Maybe he just has too much money to spend.”
“By the way, I think I’ve seen this young man before... Right, he’s the last survivor of the mercenary group that got wiped out, the Miracle Mercenary Group!”
“Ha, a mercenary group that got annihilated? No wonder he’s willing to accept!”
“That makes sense. The entire group is gone except for this one guy, of course he’d take anyone.”
“What a perfect match—one’s the sole survivor of a destroyed group, the other comes with no signing bonus but dozens of dependents. Incredible!”
“...”
The onlookers chattered and speculated.
Hearing this, the two men who had been shouting earlier, their once sullen faces brightened with smiles. Looking at Tang Mubai, they kindly suggested to the long-haired young man, “Yang Kai, right? This young man is willing to take you in, maybe you should consider his offer?”
Yang Kai didn’t respond right away. He stared at Tang Mubai in astonishment, blurting out, “It’s... it’s you!”
“Yes, it’s me. Who would’ve thought we’d meet again so soon,” Tang Mubai replied with a smile.
This handsome young man with long hair was none other than Yang Kai, who, not long after the practical assessment began, was nearly devoured by an eight-legged sandworm.
Back then, Yang Kai had wanted to team up with Tang Mubai to hunt that sandworm.
But Tang Mubai was busy gathering life energy and paid him no heed.
He had no idea what became of Yang Kai after that, or even if he’d passed the assessment.
Now it seemed Yang Kai had succeeded and become a professional martial artist, also here today for the “Martial Artist Selection,” seeking his fortune.
However, his requirements were quite unusual—he wanted to bring along over thirty dependents.
Most mercenary groups wouldn’t accept so many family members.
But as luck would have it, the Miracle Mercenary Group was now empty, with plenty of vacant rooms.
Originally, Miracle had its own dependents—mainly families of stationed mercenaries.
But after the news came of the group’s annihilation, the few remaining mercenaries immediately resigned and took their families with them.
As a result, for a while, only Tang Mubai and two others occupied the four buildings at the base.
Whether day or night, the place was eerily quiet.
If Yang Kai’s dependents moved in, the place would come alive again.
“We’re more or less acquainted, so let’s be frank. My conditions are full board, no signing bonus, but I’ll provide a martial arts manual and related weapons. If there are gains from missions outside the territory, the profits are split according to standard rates.”

Tang Mubai looked at Yang Kai and continued, “If this sounds good to you, you can bring your people over this afternoon!”
“So? Want to consider—”
“Alright, I accept!” Before the other mercenary groups could butt in, Yang Kai, having regained his senses, immediately replied, “We can really move in this afternoon? Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Tang Mubai nodded, “If you’re in a hurry, you can start moving right now.”
“No, that’s not necessary.” Yang Kai blushed, smiling awkwardly.
“Haha, you don’t mean that. Let’s eat lunch first, then move in! Come on, lunch is on me!”
Tang Mubai called out to Yang Kai, ignoring the astonished looks from those around them. The two left the square and headed straight for the Miracle Tavern.
On the way, Yang Kai explained his situation.
Those thirty or so dependents weren’t actually his blood relatives, though in his heart, they were family.
The reason he insisted on bringing them along was that their old neighborhood had been targeted by a large corporation, which planned to tear it down and redevelop the area.
Yang Kai’s neighborhood, a tiny complex at the foot of Monkey Mountain, was quite small.
It caught the corporation’s eye because their redevelopment plans included Monkey Mountain itself.
Tang Mubai was familiar with Monkey Mountain—a small hill near the eastern suburbs.
In the new world, every domain within the walls had been meticulously planned and developed: farmland, ranches, factories, agricultural zones, and so on.
This zoning had been established over two centuries ago.
Basically, as long as the soil was suitable, it would be cultivated with crops or fruit trees.
Land that couldn’t be farmed was left to the sands.
Monkey Mountain was one such place—covered in rocks, the only greenery being tangled vines.
It was named Monkey Mountain because, years ago, a martial arts master had workers carve the stones into monkey shapes and used the mountain as a training ground to master the essence of “Monkey Fist.”
What became of that effort, Tang Mubai didn’t know. After some decades, the mountain was abandoned and returned to its desolate state.
When Yang Kai’s neighborhood was first established, the mountain was overrun with vines.
According to his account, life was pretty good when they first moved in.
Unlike the city’s crowded high-rises, their proximity to Monkey Mountain gave them an open view and beautiful scenery. The hundred or so families in the neighborhood lived comfortably.

But as time passed, the neighborhood declined.
At first, there were very few professional martial artists. Later, as more and more achieved that status, they moved away.
Those left behind—about half the original residents—either had bad luck or limited talent.
No one else became a professional martial artist. Most, upon growing up, could only find labor jobs or join mercenary groups as cannon fodder.
Indeed, some mercenary groups would take in ordinary people, make them do manual labor, and, once outside the domain, use them as bait.
Yang Kai’s parents had been among them.
After just three missions outside the domain, the couple never returned.
Yang Kai, only five at the time, became an orphan overnight and survived on the kindness of the entire neighborhood.
Such stories were common in the community. As years went by, the number of able-bodied adults dwindled, until only thirty-some people remained—mostly elderly and children.
Yang Kai, having a natural talent for martial arts, became the neighborhood’s only hope. The remaining families tightened their belts, doing whatever they could to get him meat to eat.
It’s important to note—
Not everyone was like Tang Mubai, with a system to boost vitality.
In the new world, most people had only one way to increase their vitality: diligent practice of martial arts.
That, and spending a great deal of time and energy to temper the body.
Vitality could be gained either by absorbing the world’s natural energy or by nourishing the body with food.
This world was saturated with energy, allowing both humans and non-humans to grow stronger.
For humans, the more advanced the martial art, the faster and more efficiently one could absorb energy.
Yang Kai, as an ordinary person, trained in the Federation’s basic martial art, “Bronze Gong.” His absorption rate was pitifully slow.
His only chance to become a professional was through nutrition: eating spirit herbs, vitality pills, meat of birds, fish, and especially the flesh of fierce beasts and giant insects.
Spirit herbs and vitality pills were prohibitively expensive. Ordinary poultry and fish were cheap but offered little in terms of vital energy. Fierce beast and giant insect meat were crucial.
But these meats cost several times more than regular meat.
Yet, for the sake of Yang Kai’s martial aspirations, the remaining families made sure he had at least one meal of beast or insect meat each week, no matter how hard life was.
After years of such selfless support, how could Yang Kai, now a professional martial artist, ever abandon them?