Looking at the five members of the squad entering the Zhang Family Fortress, Zhang Qiming turned and walked out along the tunnel.

As a transmigrator, Zhang Qiming knew they would encounter danger ahead. At that time, Zhang Nian and the others would trigger an explosion to attract the young man back to rescue them. However, the explosion would release the poisonous gas used by the Zhang Family to defend against enemies, leading to the deaths of all nearby villagers!

Zhang Qiming had considered stopping them, but given Zhang Nian and the others' temperaments, they would never listen to him!

In such a dangerous situation, the young man might need to save several of them simultaneously. Zhang Qiming didn't know the limits of the young man's abilities. Despite appearing simple-minded, the young man was actually pretending. Zhang Qiming was not reckless and wouldn't risk doing things beyond his control just for the sake of face. He would never put himself in a perilous situation.

In this cruel era, human lives were as cheap as grass. Only by taking control of one's destiny could one survive until the end. At this moment,

Text appeared before Zhang Qiming's eyes!

["After landing a punch on Zhang Nian, you felt an incredible sense of relief, as if all past humiliations had vanished. Zhang Nian, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, looked ferocious. Seeing his pitiful state, you laughed, but you laughed too soon. Soon after, you were surrounded by Zhang Nian's men. If it weren't for your hundred years of 'hard training' in escaping and enduring beatings, you might have lost your life."]

["Seeing that Zhang Nian had many followers, you realized that avenging yourself was still far away. You needed to build your own power base! But that required money. You touched your pocket, finding only three coins inside. Even beggars on the street had more money than you!"]

["Please accumulate a certain amount of wealth. Rewards will vary based on the amount of money gathered."]

The system had issued another task for turning the tables!

And this time, it was about money? Zhang Qiming exclaimed that he had met a real skinflint!

But what made Zhang Qiming speechless was the content of those lines.

Would he still be poor even a hundred years later?

With only three coins in his pocket, being despised by beggars!

Damn!

They say poverty doesn't last for more than three generations, but he seemed to have endured a lifetime of poverty.

Zhang Qiming couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. How lazy was his predecessor? Even if he had just stored money in a bank for over a hundred years, he probably wouldn't have to worry about food and drink anymore.

"Luckily, by then, I would be an antique, not knowing how to use cash or banknotes. Otherwise, I might even be in debt..."

 Thinking of this, Zhang Qiming broke out in a cold sweat.

After calming down, Zhang Qiming gained some inspiration from these words. Sitting on the ground, he began to plan for his future.

Currently, it was the Republican Era, with bandits occupying territories and warlords rampant, causing immense suffering to the common folk. Once he left his clan, he would be nothing. He needed to strengthen himself to become a hero in this era!

"I must take advantage of the time they are in the Zhang Family Fortress to complete the task!"

"Once we return to the Zhang Family gathering place, the young man will ascend to the position of patriarch after obtaining the Heavenly Staff. When the divine bestowal is lifted, the Zhang Family will disintegrate. Without the support of such a massive clan, I would struggle to survive in this era with just my own abilities..."

"Even Zhang Haiker's promise cannot be counted on. He barely escaped death himself. How could he offer me any good treasures to show off when returning to the Zhang Family? Instead, the young man can bring me surprises. Joining the future patriarch to venture into Sifang City and retrieve the Heavenly Staff sounds like a good idea, and I don't even have to do much work. This is effortless gain."

 Zhang Qiming made up his mind and decided to proceed with the task immediately.

So, how could he obtain a large sum of money overnight?

Zhang Qiming thought for a long time. Suddenly, he saw the musket entrusted to him by Zhang Haiker and came up with an idea.

I can rob the bandits!

Within a radius of dozens of miles, there was only Ma'an Village, where the villagers were extremely poor, offering no gains. Moreover, Zhang Qiming would never bully ordinary folks.

But the bandits were different!

Those bastards who robbed the villagers, I, Zhang Qiming, will rob them!

Zhang Qiming glanced at the sky. Thick clouds obscured the moon, making the night appear eerie. A gust of wind blew through the forest, rustling the leaves, sounding like ghostly wails.

"A night of dark clouds and high winds, a time for killing and arson..."

Zhang Qiming muttered silently. He was no saint, and the bandits were about to suffer.

The Eight Steps of the Grasshopper activated, and a ghostly shadow appeared in the forest!

Zhang Qiming quickly returned to where he had encountered the bandits. Following the hoof prints from earlier, he searched around.

 Under the influence of his Kirin bloodline, Zhang Qiming's eyes glowed faintly green, giving him night vision.

Finally, he discovered a camp halfway up the mountain.

The camp had a stable with dozens of horses grazing continuously, as if they had just been ridden.

"Did these bandits just come back from a raid?"

Recalling the old man's reaction in Ma'an Village, Zhang Qiming believed his guess was correct.

Moreover, he noticed that the camp was ablaze with firelight, and a crowd was shouting in front of a large pile of hay.

Zhang Qiming's movement technique was now ghostlike. He stealthily and swiftly moved through the shadows, approaching the bandits.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that the hay pile contained a dozen corpses!

"Today, we lost over a dozen brothers. Damn it! If I find out who did this, I'll skin them alive!" shouted a man who seemed to be the bandit leader at his subordinates, who all yelled in response, "Kill them!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Revenge for our brothers!"

...

Zhang Qiming sneered. These bandits were truly reckless and deserved their fate. At this moment, a man dressed elegantly, resembling a military advisor, walked out from a side room and said to the leader, "Boss, I just checked their wounds. They were small but fatal. This isn't our usual method. I suspect it was someone from outside the mountains."

"Damn it! If not from the mountains, could it be ghosts?!"

The advisor smiled slyly and coldly.

"Boss, don't worry. I'll find out."

He waved his hand.

"Bring the person over! Let the boss interrogate him!"

Immediately, two subordinates dragged a person out.

The figure was hunched, an old man trembling with fear. As soon as he was released, he fell to his knees and repeatedly kowtowed.

The advisor, seeing the old man's cowardice, drew a pistol from his waist and pressed it against the old man's head.

"Old man, did strangers visit your village today?"

Zhang Qiming frowned tightly. Wasn't this the old man from Ma'an Village?

"I... I didn't see anything," the old man said hesitantly, struggling for a long time before shaking his head. This touched Zhang Qiming, who was hiding in the shadows.

"Damn it, do you think I'm stupid?!"

The bandit leader kicked the old man in the chest, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. After struggling to get up, the old man's pants were wet with urine.

 "Haha, Boss, the old man peed himself!"

"Damn! How disgusting!"

The subordinates laughed mockingly. The old man, embarrassed and angry, cried uncontrollably, tears mixed with blood streaming down his face.

"Old man, I'll ask you one last time. Did strangers visit Ma'an Village today? Where did they go?"

The old man still had some backbone and refused to speak, glaring at the advisor.

"If you're capable, kill me! Today..."

Before he could finish, the advisor gestured, and a subordinate brought over a child, gagged and whimpering. When thrown to the ground, the child ran to the old man's embrace.

The old man glanced at the child, then at the advisor, his eyes full of despair. He hugged the child tightly, stroking the child's head.

"Child, Grandpa is useless. Your fate is bitter."

The advisor coldly moved the gun to the child's head, forcing the old man to speak the truth.

"Old man, I know you're lying. I'll ask you one last time. Where did the strangers in your village go?"

The old man remained silent, knowing that whether he spoke or not, the bandits would not spare anyone. He didn't want the young people to be pursued by the bandits either.

 He had hated these bandits for a long time. Seeing the corpses by the hay pile, he felt he couldn't let his benefactors meet the same fate.

"Our village had no strangers."

The advisor didn't expect the old man to be so stubborn. His gentle demeanor turned fierce.

"In that case, you can die!"

He pulled the trigger without hesitation!

But it failed to fire several times.

"Military advisor, your finger, your finger!"

Only then did the advisor realize in horror that his trigger-finger was missing!