Chapter 81: System Upgrade?

Two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance to the alley, which greatly surprised Zhang Ze. He wondered, with two mid-level martial artists dealing with him, was it really necessary to call for backup? Regardless, Zhang Ze knew that if he lingered any longer, his fate would likely be sealed. As for the identity of these new arrivals, did it really matter anymore?

“Hey~”
“You’re here?” Zhang Ze feigned composure and called out to the two at the alley entrance.

Only now did the two men in sunglasses notice the sudden appearance of the figures at the entrance, their bodies stiffening in shock. Clearly, they understood far better than Zhang Ze who these people were.

Step step—

Not daring to hesitate, Zhang Ze sensed that these four were not of the same faction and promptly rushed toward the newcomers.

“Zhang San and Li Si, cultists, right?”
“I truly don’t know what the authorities in Heyue City are doing, letting two mid-level martial artists slip away like you,” one of the newcomers mocked quietly as he and his companion advanced from left and right, arriving instantly at Zhang Ze’s side.

“Don’t worry, little one, leave these two rats to us,” the middle-aged man said, laughing but exuding a terrifying aura. Standing behind them, Zhang Ze, only at the second rank, felt inexplicably pressured. With four mid-level martial artists present, he was simply outclassed.

“Heh~” Zhang San’s face twisted with bitterness, clearly not expecting his luck to be this bad. Perhaps he should have acted sooner, killed the kid, and retreated.

The bearded man, seeing the two newcomers, realized the gravity of the situation. His face turned ashen and he cursed, “Zhang San, you’re a complete fool! For a woman with no clues, you’ve ruined us!”

He dropped the respectful address and directly hurled insults at the man in sunglasses. The latter didn’t seem angry; it was as if this outcome was inevitable for him. He laughed lightly, “What’s to fear? Our Holy Church has contributed to humanity’s progress. If these ignorant fools can’t understand, then we’ll simply stake our lives for our beliefs!”

Bang—

As soon as he finished speaking, the man in sunglasses stepped forward, his dagger flashing with murderous cold light, thrusting straight for the neck of one of the middle-aged men.

Seeing his companion act, the bearded man no longer hesitated, gripping his own dagger tightly and charging at the other middle-aged man before Zhang Ze.

Just as Zhang Ze thought the four were about to engage in a bloody battle, the sudden moves of the middle-aged men made his eyes widen.

Bang—

Boom—

Two muffled sounds echoed, and the man in sunglasses and the bearded man collapsed instantly.

Even their daggers had fallen into the hands of the middle-aged men.

“Coach Ma!” The two team members, seeing Ma Junguo’s figure, hurriedly called out.

Ma Junguo waved his hand gently and said, “Little one, you certainly have a knack for getting yourself into trouble.”

Zhang Ze realized the middle-aged man was addressing him. Coming up to the two team members, Ma Junguo smiled, “It’s nothing serious, just two cultist rats.”

“Even if you hadn’t intervened, sir, I would have—”

“Oh?” Having heard of Zhang Ze’s exploits, Ma Junguo seemed to have a good grasp of the youth’s character. Seeing Zhang Ze still full of bravado, he laughed, “You think you could handle the two of them?”

“So, does this mean—”

“Am I stealing your thunder?” Ma Junguo quickly made a show of retreating to Zhang Ze’s side, shrugging and laughing, “These two might still have a bit of fight left in them. Want to try a few rounds with them?”

Good grief!

He was only talking big!

Why would a powerhouse like you bother competing with me?

Zhang Ze quickly waved his hands. “No, no, sir, you misunderstand my words. If you hadn’t intervened, I would’ve been finished by these two.”

Though Zhang Ze admitted defeat, he still cheekily moved over to the two fallen men, raising his foot to kick them. Unconcerned that Ma Junguo and his companions were watching, he squatted and began rifling through their belongings.

And wouldn’t you know—

He actually found several pills.

After stowing his “spoils of war” in his pocket, Zhang Ze smiled at Ma Junguo without trying to start a conversation.

What? I just took advantage?

All I did was kick them twice!

This is loot, you get it?

“Heh~”
“You’re quite the character, aren’t you?” Ma Junguo, having watched Zhang Ze’s actions from start to finish, couldn’t help but twitch his lips in resignation.

“Still, I must thank you for saving my life, sir. Perhaps tonight I could arrange something for you three?”

“That’s not—” One of Ma Junguo’s team members was about to speak but was interrupted by Zhang Ze. “True, you must have tasks to attend to, so I won’t hold you up any longer. I’ll head home now.”

He waved his hand and strode off in high spirits.

Even Ma Junguo, a sixth-rank powerhouse, and the other two members of the action team were left speechless for quite some time.

This kid—damn—

They thought about it, but couldn’t even find the words to curse him.

Despite Zhang Ze’s nonchalance, only he knew how terrified he’d been when the man in sunglasses cornered him—he’d even calculated the size of his own coffin!

But that sense of dread vanished entirely the moment Zhang Ze saw his system’s data panel.

“Damn—”
“They didn’t come to kill me!”
“They totally came to deliver wealth!”

He muttered under his breath, eyes fixed on the system’s data panel, fingers fiddling with the five pills he’d acquired.

Wealth value: 12,340,000

(System upgrading…)

In other words, thanks to these five pills, his wealth had increased by 3.77 million! And now, his system was even showing an upgrade prompt!

“I’ve struck it rich—”

Though he wasn’t sure what effects these five pills had, knowing their value was enough to keep Zhang Ze elated for a long time.

Finally calming his excitement, Zhang Ze arrived at the entrance to Nanye City People’s Hospital.

“Huzi—” He called out to the figure at the hospital entrance and jogged over.

When he approached Cai Hu, even Zhang Ze was stunned for a while. Was this scruffy man really Cai Hu?

“Brother Ze, thank you for coming in person,” Cai Hu said, confirming his identity for Zhang Ze.

Zhang Ze opened his mouth, wanting to offer some comfort, but couldn’t find the words.

Following Cai Hu to the ward, Zhang Ze set the fruit basket aside and began to observe the woman in bed.

Her face was haggard, clutching a pillow to her chest, her eyes wary and guarded. Even as Cai Hu approached to speak, she trembled for a long time.

“Huzi, did you bring a friend?” As Zhang Ze stood there, stunned, a voice came from the doorway—it was Ma Cheng.

As he spoke, Ma Cheng entered the ward. Only then did Cai Hu react, quickly explaining to Zhang Ze, “This is Ma Cheng, Brother Ma. After my parents had their accident, it was thanks to him and Sister Qin Yao that I got through it.”

“Hello, Zhang Ze—”