Chapter 065: [Restore Factory Settings?]

"Wait."

Tang Mubai suddenly called out.

"Screech—"

The young man came to an abrupt halt; the stop was so sudden that his body slid forward a few steps, the soles of his shoes scraping against the tiled floor, making a strange noise.

He stiffly turned to look at Tang Mubai, gritting his teeth. "…You've changed your mind?"

"Don't be nervous." Tang Mubai smiled lightly, walking over at a leisurely pace. "I haven't changed my mind. I just suddenly thought, what if five minutes from now I catch up with you and you refuse to tell me the password?"

"I…"

"No matter what promise you make now, it's all empty words," Tang Mubai interrupted. "The phone has password protection. Even if I have it in my hand, the initiative is still with you. Whether you renege or stall for time, you hold the advantage! If you refuse to give up the password then, even if I kill you, it will have been for nothing."

"Then… then what do you want?" The young man's face changed rapidly.

"Simple." Tang Mubai handed the phone back with a faint smile. "Your phone is the latest model of smart device. If I remember correctly, there's a timed security feature in the settings. You can set a five-minute countdown, and when time is up, the password is automatically unlocked."

The young man was speechless.

"…Fine!" He took a deep breath, accepted the phone, and operated it swiftly.

In less than a minute, he handed it back to Tang Mubai, his voice low. "Now can I go?"

"Go on." Tang Mubai took the phone and waved his hand.

Whoosh!

The young man spun around and darted off, this time even faster. In just a few sprints, he reached the bar's entrance, flung open the closed doors, and bolted outside like lightning.

Soon, the sound of an engine starting came from the bar’s entrance, followed by the roar of the motor and the wailing of tires fading into the distance.

Inside the bar, Tang Mubai eyed the phone in his hand, the countdown ticking on the screen, feeling a tinge of emotion.

The smart devices of this new world were still in their infancy, not as advanced as those back on Earth.

Take this timed security, for example—really just a glorified screen lock.

Tang Mubai had read online about its features, and compared to Earth, it was hardly worth mentioning. Yet even so, it was sought after by countless people, including some professional martial— Hmm, wait!

Suddenly, Tang Mubai’s heart skipped a beat; his sixth sense flared, warning him of imminent danger.

And this sense of foreboding came from the smart device in his hand!

"That guy set me up?"

Tang Mubai’s gaze turned frosty. He swiftly manipulated the phone, halting the countdown.

Then, in a flash, he dashed out of the bar, following the young man’s scent, using his lightness skill to race after him at breakneck speed.

Letting the young man run for five minutes had been Tang Mubai’s way of showing confidence—he was sure he could catch him.

The bar owned by the Strong Source Mercenary Group was already near the eastern outskirts of the city. Even if the young man drove, he couldn’t get far.

The only real concern was that the young man might stop somewhere, use a street phone, and leak the information.

But Tang Mubai had never intended to wait the full five minutes before pursuing. He had planned all along to tail him, to see where he would run.

Now, there was no more time to spare!

…

The night wind howled, whipping against his face.

He pushed the "Grass Step" technique to its limit, running faster than a car.

The young man’s vehicle was no sports car—and in this new world, there were no sports cars.

There simply weren’t enough roads inside the domain walls to make sports cars viable, and outside the walls, there were no real highways at all.

As a result, the concept of a sports car didn’t exist in this world.

The luxury sedan the young man drove only surpassed ordinary cars in looks, comfort, and reputation. In terms of speed, it was no different from a regular vehicle.

By following the scent, Tang Mubai caught up in just a minute.

At that very moment, the young man had gotten out of the car and stood at a roadside phone booth, trying to make a call.

Tang Mubai spotted him from a distance, let out a low growl, and drew his pistol.

"Piu!"

The bullet tore through the air and struck the young man's head.

Clutching the receiver, the young man’s body arched backward and crashed to the ground with a thud, drawing shrieks from bystanders.

[Detected life force dissipating. Recycle?]

"Yes!"

[Life force +78]

As the notification sounded, Tang Mubai stopped running and gazed at the corpse from afar, gave a cold snort, turned, and left, heading back to the bar.

Du Yuankui had cleared the place out in time, so even now the Security Bureau had no idea anything had happened inside the bar.

Tang Mubai was more than happy with this result.

He rushed back to the bar, first destroying all surveillance equipment in the control room, then rifled through the office, forced open the safe, and took all the cash inside—about a million federal credits.

This million was likely the bar's profit for a month.

Du Yuankui hadn't yet collected it before everything went down, so Tang Mubai had profited handsomely.

With the money in hand, he immediately left the bar, returned to the base, and found Yang Kai, who was still tinkering in the garage.

"Can you crack a phone password?" Tang Mubai handed over the device. "It’s the latest smart model."

"I’ll give it a try." Yang Kai, his hair a mess, took the phone and walked over to his workbench.

Tang Mubai watched from the side.

Yang Kai pried open the phone’s case with a tool—careful not to disturb the battery—and examined its construction. Then he fetched a data cable, connected the phone to a computer, and tapped rapidly on the keyboard.

Moments later, he grinned. "Done!"

He pulled out the cable and handed the phone back to Tang Mubai.

"What was the situation with the password?" Tang Mubai asked curiously as he took back the phone.

Back at the bar, that sense of foreboding had been intense.

"Nothing major. Once the countdown finished, the phone would have reset to factory settings," Yang Kai explained, scratching his head.

Factory reset?

Tang Mubai’s mouth twitched.

Damn, a factory reset would have wiped all the data from the phone!

That young man’s tactics were truly devious.

Fortunately, Yang Kai could crack it.

Come to think of it, Yang Kai’s gift was “mechanical,” but he was highly skilled with electronics as well.

Phones, computers, televisions, cars—there was nothing he couldn’t handle.

Definitely a talent worth recruiting!

…

With the password removed, Tang Mubai thanked Yang Kai, urged him to get some rest, and left the garage to return to his room.

Lying on the bed, he turned on the phone and started searching.

He quickly found information on the beastmen in a folder.

Seven hiding places in total—the young man hadn't lied.

Tang Mubai looked them over one by one, growing more and more excited.

The files detailed not only the locations, but also included photos of every beastman at each hideout.

There were hundreds of photos, all recorded clearly.

The leaders were even specially marked.

Tang Mubai had no idea why the Red Lake Group had done this, but now the windfall was his!