The Revised Bounty Amounts
After the spaceship left Helen Star, Gu Ding immediately entered Robert's domain to begin absorbing Helen's legacy. His eagerness to cultivate stemmed from the fact that, after the events involving Wayne, he discovered an overwhelming number of powerful beings in the Universe Sea.
In the Shallow Sea Zone, Wayne is just a small fish; in a game, he'd be like a mini-boss near the starting village. But even such a small fish is enough to pose a threat to his team.
From the ring on his left index finger, Gu Ding obtained some of Helen's memories and legacy. He also learned that Helen's fall was not an accident, but a conspiracy by the Zerg.
Legend has it that Helen perished when she was attacked by Starry Sky Giant Beast during her Heavenly Tribulation ascension to the Peak-rank God. In reality, the appearance of that Starry Sky Giant Beast was not accidental, but a conspiracy by the Zerg. A brain -Brain-Eating Worm Starry Sky Giant Beast the behemoth's actions from within its brain.
Helen was targeted because she had displayed terrifying strength in the outer realms, earning her a kill list from the Zerg's higher-ups. Furthermore, the timing of her tribulation was leaked by a traitor among humanity, allowing the Zerg's plot to succeed.
A powerful being capable of annihilating Starry Sky Giant Beast at the High-rank God would only become even more terrifying once she transcends tribulation to become Peak-rank God. Moreover, given enough time and resources, it's not impossible for such a powerful being with terrifying potential to break through the Godly Barrier. Therefore, the Zerg chose to spare no effort to nip her in the bud.
In fact, Helen wasn't the only powerful human targeted by the Zerg. Anyone who obtained the key to the Demon Suppression Hall would immediately be added to the Alien Race's kill list. Furthermore, all Forbidden King among humans were targets these Alien Race were determined to eliminate.
Having obtained some of Helen's memories, Gu Ding realized that the current situation of the Human Race was extremely precarious. Therefore, the Federal Government and other major powers were sparing no effort to cultivate a new generation of Forbidden King, making the Universe Sea an arena for new talents from various factions to compete.
Of course, besides these memories, Gu Ding also received martial arts training.
However, Gu Ding did not practice the cultivation method Helen used. This was because Helen's cultivation method was also a combat power amplification technique, and its effects could not be combined with the Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body. He simply observed Helen's battles. Helen's martial arts intent was at the perfected Spiritual Rhinoceros Realm, and she possessed a wealth of insights into martial arts intent within her memories. This completely elevated Gu Ding's understanding of martial arts intent to a higher level.
In less than twenty days in Robert's domain, his Martial Dao Intent had broken through to the Great Perfection of the Micro Realm, and he was still making progress.
However, Gu Ding's cultivation was interrupted by a piece of news.
"Gu Ding, your net worth has skyrocketed again."
When Gu Ding heard the Sea Emperor's words, he was somewhat puzzled. "What?"
"Your bounty, and everyone else's, have all increased," the Sea Emperor laughed.
"Why? Wasn't the bounty amount just announced last month? And we haven't had any conflicts with the Federal Government during this time, have we? Why has the bounty amount increased?" Gu Ding was even more confused.
"The bounty amount given before was just an initial amount; this bounty amount is an adjusted amount," Sea Emperor explained. "This has happened before, but it's rare. It's essentially an admission that we underestimated you."
"How much has it increased to?" Gu Ding also wanted to know what the bounty would be after the Federal Government reassessed him.
"Guess!" The Sea Emperor didn't give the answer directly, but instead kept everyone in suspense. "Here's a hint: the growth rate is enormous!"
"Two billion?" Gu Ding thought it was terrifying that the price would increase tenfold.
Guess again!
"Fifty billion?" Gu Ding finally lost his composure. Judging from the Sea Emperor's tone just now, it should be more than twenty billion.
"Guess again!"
"Could it have reached 10 billion?" Gu Ding boldly offered a figure.
"Although it hasn't reached that number yet, it's very close," the Sea Emperor said with a smile.
"How much exactly?" Gu Ding found it hard to believe.
The Sea Emperor didn't speak, but directly projected the bounty amount.
Wanted Criminal: Gu Ding
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Cultivation Level: Demigod
Combat Strength assessment: Mid-rank God
Bounty amount: 9.8 billion Universe Crystal
Latest crime: None
Official assessment: Extremely skilled in close combat, possesses incredible fighting techniques and terrifying combat talent, and exceptional leadership and team cohesion.
Danger level: Five stars
Wanted Criminal: Bigge
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Cultivation Level: Four-Star Low-rank God
Combat Strength assessment: Mid-rank God
Bounty: 9 billion Universe Crystal
Latest crime: None
Official evaluation: A swordsmanship master who is a once-in-a-millennium talent.
Danger level: Four stars
Wanted Criminal: Elsa
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Cultivation Level: Demigod
Combat Strength assessment: Mid-rank God
Bounty: 8.5 billion Universe Crystal
Latest crime: None
Official assessment: A powerful Viking Clan bloodline has awakened, possessing an astonishingly strong and robust aura.
Danger level: Four stars
Wanted Criminal: Liliath
Gender: Female
Age: 14
Cultivation Level: Demigod
Combat Strength assessment: Mid-rank God
Bounty: 6 billion Universe Crystal
Latest crime: None
Official assessment: A soul-mutated illusionist with special Pupil Technique.
Danger level: 3.5 stars
Wanted Criminal: Robert
Race: Mechanical Race
Age: Unknown
Cultivation Level: Mid-rank God
Combat Strength assessment: Mid-rank God
Bounty: 7 billion Universe Crystal
Latest crime: None
Official assessment: Mechanical Race from the Middle Ancient Era, crafting class.
Danger level: 3 stars
Wanted Criminal: Dokter
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Cultivation Level: Demigod
Combat Strength assessment: Mid-rank God
Bounty: 8 billion Universe Crystal
Latest crime: None
Official evaluation: An inheritor of a special bloodline, a powerful individual who cultivates both qi and blood and soul.
Danger level: Four stars
Wanted Criminal: Tagore
Race: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Cultivation Level: Mid-rank God
Combat Strength assessment: Mid-rank God
Bounty: 9.5 billion Universe Crystal
Latest crime: None
Official assessment: Unknown species of creature, extremely powerful in combat.
Danger level: Four stars
Wanted Criminal: Blue
Race: Gold-type Devouring Beast (Mutated)
Age: Unknown
Cultivation level: Unknown
Combat Strength assessment: Unknown
Bounty: 3 billion Universe Crystal
Latest crime: None
Official assessment: This is a mutated Gold-type Devouring Beast, still in its juvenile stage.
Danger level: Two stars
Not only have the bounties for everyone increased significantly, but even the completely harmless Blue now has a bounty of three billion.
"Isn't this giving us way too much credit?" Gu Ding was also taken aback when he saw the latest bounty amount.
"A bounty of over 10 billion is already considered top-tier in the Universe Sea, basically possessing the Combat Strength of High-rank God. Improving your bounty to 9.8 billion is enough to demonstrate the importance the Federal Government Headquarters on you," the Sea Emperor whispered to Gu Ding.
"But the Federal Government offering this amount will also lead to a large number of Interstellar Hunter wanting our lives. Originally, a hundred or two hundred million might not have been worth it. But now, I alone have nearly ten billion. Add to that the bounties on others..." Gu Ding wasn't blindly optimistic. Although he really hoped his bounty could increase quickly, a bounty of 9.8 billion Universe Crystal made his team a tempting piece of cake in the Universe Sea. Everyone who saw it wanted to cut a slice and have a taste. Not only that, but some might even want to grab a handful and smear it on their faces.
"When was this message sent out?" Gu Ding suddenly asked.
"It was just sent out, less than five minutes ago, but I estimate that the entire Universe Sea will know about it in a day or two at most."
"I estimate that we will likely be ambushed during our next resupply," Gu Ding guessed.
"I know that, so I will choose a relatively safe route for you." The Sea Emperor was, of course, aware of the consequences of increasing the bounty.
"Is there any other important news?" Gu Ding then asked.
"No, not really. But there's a piece of news I think you might be interested in," Sea Emperor said, launching another news item.
"The Judicator Pirate Crew, led by Koude.Brad, were ambushed by the Federal Government and suffered heavy losses before fleeing. Seventy percent of his team members were captured, another twenty percent died, and less than one in ten managed to escape. The ones who made the move were three regular members from the top two, and they were ranked only sixth, ninth, and tenth among the regular members."
"The regular members of the top 2 teams are at least at the level of mid- Five-Star Mid-rank God, and their Combat Strength is basically above that of High-rank God. Although Koude.Brad's team is strong among the rookie teams, they have only just entered the Universe Sea. It is normal for them to be crushed when facing such opponents."
What Gu Ding didn't know was that while he was still checking information about Koude.Brad's team, many people had already seen the latest bounty amount for Gu Ding Pirate Crew.
"The bounty on Gu Ding Team has increased again!"
"Didn't this new team just enter the Universe Sea last month? The Federal Government Headquarters just issued a bounty last month, and it's only been a month. Why is there a bounty again?"
Some even have ambitious plans to take over the Gu Ding Team.
"9.8 billion Universe Crystal, 9 billion Universe Crystal... Such a high bounty is really tempting."
"They've become my prey..."
~~~
Something came up today, and I only managed to finish one chapter. I'll make up for it tomorrow...