The Highest Bounty

Chapter 222: A New Wanted Notice

The next morning, Gu Ding had just woken up and was about to go back to sleep when Neptune teased in his ear, “Hey, don’t sleep. There’s good news.”

“What is it?” Gu Ding sat up, well aware that once Neptune started talking, he would not be able to sleep in because he would keep nagging until he got up.

“The latest bounty just came out this morning. Guess how much your bounty is.” Neptune knew that Gu Ding, as an Interstellar Pirate, would be happy to hear that his bounty had increased.

“I’m too lazy to guess. Am I the only one with an increased bounty? What about the rest?” Gu Ding went into the bathroom barefoot and began to wash up.

“No, only your bounty has gone up. Lili and the rest remain unchanged. They haven’t been involved in anything for a while, and last time on Jerr they were onlookers at best. Elsa and Tagore stood there and did nothing. Lili and the rest didn’t even get off the spaceship. Their faces weren’t visible on the surveillance cameras.” Neptune explained.

“Alright, is there any news besides me?” Gu Ding asked.

“Yes, Kohld Blood attacked Scarlet Universe’s realm lord the other day, causing him to die of his injuries. The realm lord was a Peak Rank-13 Gene Body powerhouse and is a 1-star monster with demigod combat effectiveness. Because of this, his bounty has skyrocketed to seven billion Universe Credits. He also has three other people on board with bounties of more than billion Universe Credits. Two of them are Peak Rank-13 powerhouses, and the other one is a demigod. This time, the bounty directly exceeds ten billion Universe Credits.

Gu Ding paused for a while before asking, “Did he mention why he attacked the realm lord?”

“It was revealed on Skynet that the realm lord was a womanizer and had built a castle on an isolated planet to hold the women he fancied. Pictures of the castle have all been dug up, but by the time they were found the castle was empty,” Neptune said and projected several photos.

It was a lonely castle with no other buildings surrounding it. From a distance, there seemed to be only one building on the planet, with no port at all.

Gu Ding looked up but made no comment.

“This Kohld Blood guy really sees himself as a law enforcer. I took a look at some of his behavior from his debut until now. He’s been fighting crime for most of his life. Occasionally, he’ll get into a fight with the Army, but only when they initiated the fight. However, he did go a little too far this time. Realm lords are usually appointed directly by the Federal Government. If there is evidence that they have committed a crime, you can report it, and basically, if there is a report, the realm lord will be suspended and investigated immediately. Through killing a realm lord, and you will be classified as terrorists by the Federal Government. You will be seen as a member of the Dark Sectors’.” Neptune brought up his opinions.

“He was a stubborn man, and it was clear that when he retired from the Army, he felt that the Army couldn’t give him the justice he wanted. That’s why he formed his own pirate crew and called them The Punishers because pirates do as they please with no regard for any rules. Besides, he’s the captain, so he makes the rules.” Gu Ding could somehow understand Kohld Blood’s psychological journey. He did not comment further because, in his opinion, everyone’s experience and life were bound to be different. Kohld Blood chose justice whereas he chose protection. There was no right or wrong in nature.

After he finished washing up, Gu Ding was the first to reach the small living room. Biggie was busy in the kitchen.

Not long after, everyone came out except Robert, and Biggie had just made breakfast.

“I will now announce the good news.” Neptune’s voice rang and at the same time projected the bounty.

‘Wanted Offender: Gu Ding’

‘Gender: Male’

‘Age: 15’

‘Gene Level: Unknown’

‘Highest Combat Strength: Rank-12’

‘Special Ability: Taboo Energy – seal ability, able to seal away all ability of the enemy in an instant, ability limitations and conditions unknown’

‘Other Abilities: Possesses special Ultimate Arts that can enhance his combat effectiveness by multiple times’

‘Bounty Price: 2.8 billion Universe Credits’

‘Latest Crime: Confronted a Hunter squad on Jerr, severely wounding eight people, including two captains.’

‘Official Assessment: A handsome and dangerous young man who possesses Taboo Energy!!!’

“Wow, that’s two billion!” Elsa yelled in admiration.

“I said no more than three billion, right?” Lilliath shrugged her shoulders.

After breakfast, Gu Ding went back to his room and practiced refining medicine, while the others went about their own business.

At noon, Neptune interrupted Gu Ding’s medicine refining because he had an appointment with Roland to go to the Old George tavern.

They were about to go out for lunch when Neptune shouted, “Let’s wait for Robert, he has finished his initial modification.”

While Neptune was speaking, a giant robot that was nearly five meters in height appeared in front of the crew.

“Robert?” They watched in disbelief as that small robot that was originally less than half a meter tall transformed into a giant suddenly.

“Hi, everybody, this is the best I can do. Any higher and I’m going to hit the spaceship’s ceiling.” Robert seemed to think it was still too small.

“I think it’s cool!” Gu Ding had always been interested in mechanical things.

“I still think your previous look was cute.” Lilliath gave a different opinion.

“I feel strange…” Biggie, who was used to lowering his head to look at others, suddenly needed to look up.

“I finally see a guy bigger than my dad. Too bad he’s not human, or I could have brought him back to show my dad.” Elsa’s first reaction was different from everyone else.

After getting off the spaceship and having lunch, they all went into the Old George tavern.

The tavern had just opened for business. Old George was looking very cheerful, and he recognized Gu Ding. “You’re the boy who drank milca yesterday. Do you still want milca today?”

“Yes, old man!” Gu Ding grinned. He thought the owner might not recognize him, because business might be slow now, but at night the tavern was full, and it was hard to remember who ordered what.

“How about the others?” Old George looked at the bulky Biggie.

“Just give me a glass of absinthe.” Biggie rubbed the back of his head, hesitated a little, and ordered it.

“What a peculiar taste. This alcohol is not very popular among young people.” Old George smiled and looked at the others.

Absinthe was a bitter alcoholic beverage that was usually ordered by people of a certain age to prevent them from overdrinking. As a matter of fact, after the bitter taste, it would gradually turn sweet. Some people experience life just like the wine, as their life was a process from bitter to sweet–You will get what you want if you soldier through the tough times.

Everyone except Robert ordered their own drinks, even Tagore, but he chose the same milca as Gu Ding.

Soon after they started drinking, two people walked through the door. One of whom was a tall man with a scar on his face–It was Roland that Gu Ding had made an appointment to meet. Next to him was a woman with colorful hair, whom Gu Ding also recognized–She was Carole whom he had met in Monster Paradise.

“What a crowd…” Roland did not expect Gu Ding to invite the entire crew.

Hearing this familiar voice, Tagore, who was bending over the counter and drinking milca, raised his head. When he saw Roland with the scarred face, he jumped down and stood in front of Gu Ding. He arched his back, his fur stood up in a spike, and he growled at Roland.

“Hello, talking kitten. We just met yesterday; don’t you remember me?” Roland said and pulled out the cat teaser.

Gu Ding grabbed his cat teaser immediately and whispered in his ear, “Don’t provoke him with that. He hates all the things cats like, including cat teasers, string balls, and paper rolls…”

“No wonder… I wondered why he was so mad yesterday.” Roland finally learned the reasoning behind the reaction. It was not the cat teaser’s brand, but the fact that he did not like cat teasers at all.

“Gu Ding, do you know them?” Tagore asked, somewhat morosely.

“It was the uncle who bought me a drink yesterday,” Gu Ding explained. “As for the beautiful lady, we met in Monster Paradise.”

“That guy with the scar on his face ambushed me yesterday,” Tagore complained to Gu Ding.

“Ambushed you?!” Gu Ding looked at Roland in confusion.

“Don’t make it sound so serious. I just kept you in my personal domain and forbid you from leaving.” Roland’s explanation did not make the matter clear at all. It only made Gu Ding more confused.

“Biggie, you remember my voice, right?” Carole walked over to Big.

“You’re… the one who dragged me into the dream!” Biggie was stunned for a moment before quickly realizing.

“Yes, we were the delivery men for the welcome gift. I was in charge of the gift, and uncle was in charge of security. That’s why he trapped the kitten to prevent him from alarming the rest of you and causing panic.” Carole explained.

“Can’t you just come to us like normal and use that move on Biggie directly?” Gu Ding was also speechless.

“First of all, you wouldn’t necessarily agree with us, because I think his mortality rate is extremely high, almost 99.9% after I use it. Secondly, if he comes to you directly to explain the situation, he will not have enough psychological pressure, and he may feel the urge of quitting halfway if he encountered great difficulties. An attack puts enough pressure on him because he has a will to live.” Carole gave a more superficial explanation.

Gu Ding finally understood what was going on.

‘Who’s Gu Ding?!” Just as everyone was enjoying their happy drinking party, a discordant sound rang at the door of the tavern.