Chapter 042: As Though Entering a Realm Without Inhabitants

Tang Mubai was a bit surprised.

A kinship score of 43% showed that Yang Kai already strongly identified with the Miracle Mercenary Corps. Otherwise, a 13% would have been the ceiling.

As for the two tags at the front—“Fortify Body” and “Invigorate Mind”—they seemed to have become standard. All three people had them.

It made sense, though. A little thought revealed what those tags meant: enhancing physical strength and boosting mental power.

Right now, Xu Dalu, Fang Shuixian, and Yang Kai were all in good physical and mental health. No need to use those abilities just yet. After all, Tang Mubai had less than two hundred years of accumulated lifespan left. He needed to save it for the truly crucial moments; that was the proper way.

Xu Dalu’s “Healing” tag had disappeared, replaced by “Endurance.” Did that mean stamina? The old man had never had children; was he thinking about women now? Tang Mubai’s lips curled up in amusement.

He decided to set that aside for now, his gaze falling on Yang Kai’s third tag: “Mechanics!”

Was this “Mechanics” similar to Fang Shuixian’s “Comprehension,” meaning it was a talent? Was it mechanical engineering, mechanical modification, or mechanical research? It seemed all three could be connected.

Tang Mubai couldn’t quite figure it out. He decided to ask Yang Kai about it later when there was time.

His clothes were soaking wet, sticking uncomfortably to his skin. Tang Mubai glanced at the courtyard, and while no one was paying attention, he quickly headed for the stairs and went back to his room for a shower.

While washing, Tang Mubai noticed just how good his skin had become. Though it hadn’t turned fair, its texture was so refined and smooth, like a sheet of dark gold steel—subtle yet resilient. At a glance, there was nothing unusual, but upon closer inspection, it was impossible to look away.

“With a constitution of 20, the limit of an ordinary person, it’s truly different now!” Tang Mubai mused to himself.

After his shower, he changed into clean clothes and called the Miracle Restaurant with his phone, asking the kitchen to prepare food for forty people and deliver it to their base that evening.

It was, after all, the first day of joining the mercenary corps—there had to be a celebration.

There was a canteen at the base, but after moving all afternoon and being new here, it didn’t seem right to ask the staff to cook immediately. The Miracle Restaurant could prepare food quickly and would deliver it in no time.

When Tang Mubai went downstairs and relayed the news, it sparked a round of cheers. Children ran around excitedly.

The Miracle Mercenary Corps base consisted of four buildings, each resembling a school dormitory—six stories high, with more than a dozen rooms on each floor from the second upward. Every room was a standard two-bedroom suite.

The four buildings formed a square, enclosing a courtyard with a circular fountain at its center.

The first floor of each building had been converted into meeting rooms, recreation rooms, a canteen, training halls, storage, and so on.

As dusk approached and the hour grew late, Tang Mubai opened the canteen doors, inviting everyone to sit inside and chat. He switched on the wide-screen TV, and at last, the children calmed down.

While waiting for the food to arrive, Tang Mubai sat and chatted idly with Yang Kai. Casually, he steered the conversation toward mechanics. Yang Kai took the bait and began to speak freely.

“To be honest, I’m not interested in martial arts. Grandpa Liu and the others say I’m gifted, but I know myself—I’m really just average at it. On the other hand, I’m deeply passionate about munitions and machinery, and I have a real talent for them!”

“Really?” Tang Mubai played along with a skeptical look. “You sure you’re not exaggerating?”

“Of course not.”

Speaking of what he excelled at, Yang Kai’s face lit up with excitement, his hands gesturing animatedly. “Back in elementary school, I would take apart discarded appliances and reassemble them into little gadgets. In middle school, I used car wrecks to build a working vehicle that could actually drive. By high school, any kind of weapon or equipment you could find on the market, I could dismantle and reassemble on the spot.”

“One time, I even followed a teacher to a munitions factory, took apart a decommissioned tank, and put it back together again!”

“Is that true?” Tang Mubai was dubious. “If you’re that good, didn’t your school send you straight to Tech University?”

“I was recommended, yes.” Yang Kai lowered his voice, glancing at the elderly men nearby, and said ruefully, “But if I left, what would happen to Grandpa Liu and the others? Their greatest wish isn’t for me to become a scientist or a mechanical whiz, but a powerful martial artist!”

“In this world, martial artists are the foundation, the main force behind humanity’s survival!”

“Scientific weapons—never mind the time and effort it takes to develop them—even if successful, they’re never as effective as a grandmaster!”

Tang Mubai was silent.

Indeed, in the new world, weapons were inferior to those of the old Earth because their effectiveness paled in comparison to that of martial artists.

A grandmaster, for instance, was essentially a human missile!

Terrifying speed, terrifying perception, terrifying strength, terrifying defense—qualities that programmed missiles could never match.

As far as Tang Mubai knew, there were no nuclear weapons in the new world! Not because nuclear fission didn’t exist, but because no one even bothered to research it.

Everyone was absorbed in martial arts!

Since ancient times, only martial artists could resist the attacks of non-human beings.

Even though the modern era had arrived—with guns, cannons, and spaceships traveling between realms—the pursuit of martial arts, passed down through millennia, had become ingrained in everyone’s soul.

If someone with real martial talent neglected it to pursue weapon research, their entire family, neighborhood, street, and city would scorn them!

Yang Kai’s situation was far from unique.

Tang Mubai couldn’t interfere, nor did he have the right. On the contrary, he was rather pleased.

Ahem...

“You’re so interested in weapons and machinery and good with your hands—can you modify vehicles?” Tang Mubai asked.

“Of course.” Yang Kai’s voice rose, then, as if struck by a sudden idea, he said excitedly, “Captain, do you want me to refit the group’s vehicles for use outside the city?”

Before Tang Mubai could reply, he slapped his thigh and continued, “Captain, don’t worry. I guarantee your vehicles will tear through non-human creatures as if there’s nothing in their way!”

“Captain, you don’t know this, but I worked at a modification shop for three years. I’ve done specialized research on vehicles for mercenary teams venturing outside the region. Once modified, our vehicles’ defense and firepower will be unmatched!”

“Good.” Tang Mubai nodded. “Draw up a plan first. The vehicles to be modified are the trucks we used for moving this afternoon. Tomorrow, I’ll buy the necessary supplies and munitions.”

Originally, the million federal credits borrowed from Lin Huafeng were intended for a slaughterhouse.

But now, after hearing Yang Kai, it was clear that buying materials and munitions for modifications was the right path!

To venture beyond the city, the mercenary corps’ vehicles had to be refitted.

Armor plates for defense, iron ramming spikes for assault, firearms for hunting—everything had to be added to ensure they could break through swarms of non-human threats.

In the past, whenever Tang Mubai’s father went out, he’d always take the vehicle to a modification shop, spending hundreds of thousands, even a million credits, before daring to drive beyond the city limits!