A Huge Windfall

It worked!

Mo Tang was overjoyed.

But in the next instant, the sharp clang of metal striking metal yanked him from heaven into hell.

"Damn it! This isn't a Black Fur Bear! It's an underage Ironback Bear!"

But it seemed he had realized it too late.

The Little Ironback Bear had been comfortably planning to snack on some wild fruit to change up its diet when it suddenly felt a sharp pain in its neck. Then it saw a furless monkey actually holding something and hacking at it...

How the hell was it supposed to put up with that?

After an angry roar, a bear paw the size of a washbasin came smashing straight down at his chest.

"Fuck!"

Mo Tang's expression changed, and he immediately held his saber horizontally across his chest.

Clang!

With a crisp ring, the Cold Wind Saber, which the shopkeeper had praised to the skies, was slapped cleanly into two pieces...

But with that brief buffer, the tremendous force carried by the bear paw was weakened considerably. When it landed on Mo Tang's chest, it only made him spit out blood instead of breaking his bones.

Borrowing the force of the blow, Mo Tang flipped through the air and landed dozens of meters away. Then, without hesitation, he turned and ran.

Behind him remained only the Ironback Bear's furious roars and the sharp cracks of tree trunks being smashed down.

But in the end, its body was too bulky and its speed too slow. It could only watch helplessly as the furless monkey nimbly slipped into the forest and vanished from sight.

At the outermost edge of Cloud Peak Mountain, a rather bedraggled young man rushed out, drawing the attention of several mercenaries preparing to enter the mountain.

But after seeing the young man's appearance, most of them revealed mocking, gloating expressions.

Cloud Peak Mountain might not have any particularly dangerous Demonic Beasts, but there were plenty of carnivorous wild animals inside.

He had actually rushed in alone without knowing his limits. He was lucky to have made it out alive!

However, a middle-aged mercenary standing closest to the young man saw the enormous bear-paw mark on his chest. His pupils instantly contracted, and his expression immediately changed as he walked toward him.

"Little brother, are you hurt?" the middle-aged mercenary asked kindly.

"Here, I have some healing medicine. Take it."

The young mercenaries nearby were all confused by their captain's actions.

The healing medicine was not especially precious, but it still cost quite a few Gold Coins. He was just giving it to a stranger?

However, out of trust in their captain, although they were puzzled, none of them spoke.

This bedraggled young man was naturally Mo Tang, who had narrowly escaped the Ironback Bear's paw.

Looking at the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared and expressed concern for him, Mo Tang was not grateful. Instead, he immediately became wary.

Ever since learning what kind of world he had been reborn into, Mo Tang had viewed it with the utmost malice.

Because in this world, the most basic rule of survival was the jungle law of "survival of the fittest."

Even in the most peaceful country of his previous life, there was a saying: "Unsolicited kindness hides ulterior motives." Let alone now!

"Thank you, but it's only a minor injury. It's nothing serious."

Mo Tang brushed the dust and broken leaves from his body, inadvertently exposing the Mo Clan emblem on his chest.

He had no choice. The weakest among these people were all Dou Zhe. As a mere Sixth Stage of Dou Qi, he had to be careful.

Sure enough, when the middle-aged mercenary saw the words "Mo Clan" exposed through the torn section on his chest, his expression changed slightly.

"I didn't expect you to be from the Mo Clan, little brother. My apologies for the disrespect."

Mo Tang deliberately shook his head with a sigh. "You're too polite, Uncle. I'm merely from a branch family of the Mo Clan."

The middle-aged mercenary smiled, then asked, "By the way, I'm Mo Sen, captain of the Iron Fist Mercenary Squad. May I know your name, little brother?"

Mo Tang cupped his fists. "I'm Mo Tang."

Mo Sen looked at Mo Tang and asked with a smile, "Did something unexpected happen to you, Brother Mo Tang?"

Looking thoroughly unlucky, Mo Tang shook his head and sighed. "Don't mention it. I only came into the mountain to look for some medicinal herbs, but my luck was terrible. I actually ran into an Ironback Bear! That beast nearly slapped me to death!"

"An Ironback Bear?!" Mo Sen's expression changed. Then he asked doubtfully, "Brother Mo Tang, are you sure you didn't see wrong? Was it really a third-rank Demonic Beast, an Ironback Bear?"

Mo Tang immediately put on an offended expression at being doubted. "Why would I lie to you?"

"However, that Ironback Bear should still be underage. Its strength is at most first-rank. It's just that Ironback Bears have astonishing defenses and immense strength, which is why I ended up in such a sorry state."

"An underage Ironback Bear?!" Mo Sen was instantly overjoyed.

An adult Ironback Bear was a third-rank Demonic Beast, and its hide was impervious to blades and spears. Even Da Dou Shi could do nothing against them...

If the kid before him was not lying, and it truly was an underage Ironback Bear, then if they captured it alive and sold it, they could make tens of thousands of Gold Coins!

At that thought, Mo Sen could no longer conceal his excitement. He hurriedly asked, "Little brother, do you know where the Ironback Bear is now? If you're willing to lead us there, I'm willing to pay you one thousand Gold Coins as a reward!"

"One thousand?"

Mo Tang was delighted inside, but his expression remained calm.

Instead, he let out a cold laugh. "One thousand? Uncle Mo Sen, do you think I'm young and easy to fool?

A live Little Ironback Bear can sell for at least fifty thousand Gold Coins. At an Auction, it could even fetch over a hundred thousand Gold Coins.

And you're offering one thousand? Are you kidding me?"

Mo Sen's expression changed. At that moment, a young man behind him could no longer hold back. He stepped forward and said coldly, "We're only asking you to lead the way. You're still not satisfied with one thousand Gold Coins? No matter how valuable that Ironback Bear is, we'll be the ones risking our lives to catch it. What does it have to do with you?

At worst, we'll find it ourselves!

With your strength, how deep could you possibly have gone? I refuse to believe we can't find it!"

Mo Tang merely gave a cold laugh. "Heh, in that case, go find it yourselves! But you aren't the only mercenary squad interested in that Ironback Bear!"

"You...!"

The young man was instantly enraged.

"Lin Gang, shut up!"

Mo Sen's expression darkened as he directly stopped the young man named Lin Gang.

Looking at Mo Tang, who seemed certain he had him cornered, Mo Sen felt somewhat angry as well.

But the other party had happened to seized upon his weakness, forcing him to make concessions...

"Fine! Brother Mo Tang, how much do you want?"

Mo Sen had no choice but to compromise. If they delayed any longer, perhaps another group would capture the Little Ironback Bear first.

Even if no one else encountered it, it was alive. Who knew where it might run? If it entered the depths of Cloud Peak Mountain, then it would be too late for anything!

"Ten thousand!" Mo Tang said, picking at his ear as he named an outrageous price.

"Impossible!" Mo Sen refused immediately. "Five thousand at most!"

"Nine thousand!"

"Six thousand!"

"Then... eight thousand!"

"Six thousand!"

"Come on, who bargains like that?" Mo Tang said unhappily.

Mo Sen remained firm. "Believe me, you're only leading the way. No one will offer you a higher price."

If he were not worried that something might go wrong, Mo Sen would never have played the fool and paid such an inflated price...

"Fine, fine... Pay first, then I'll take you to find the Little Ironback Bear!"