After a moment of silence, a trembling voice asked, "Is he Koude Bulade, the man with a bounty as high as 330 million Star Coins?"
Almost no one in the entire Tianhe Star Region had not heard of Koude Bulade, and Gu Ding had naturally heard of him as well. His name had been known long before he became an Interstellar Pirate. Back then, he had been a super elite cultivated by the Federal Government.
His life could practically be written into a legendary tale.
At seven, he had been specially recruited into the Federal Basic Military Academy. In less than a year, he completed three years of coursework and entered the Elite Class of the Federal Advanced Military Academy with graduation results that broke a three-hundred-year record across the entire star region. Two years later, he graduated from the Advanced Military Academy with results that broke a century-old record. He was only ten that year.
After graduation, Koude Bulade was recruited into the Federal Government's Elite Legion for a year of special training. After lying low for a year, he emerged once more. At the age of eleven, he single-handedly killed Lu Ren, an Interstellar Pirate with a bounty of 80 million Star Coins. From then on, he rose rapidly and became unstoppable.
Over the following five years, three Interstellar Pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million Star Coins died by his hand, the highest bounty among them being 160 million Star Coins. More than three hundred Interstellar Pirates with bounties exceeding ten million Star Coins were personally sent by him to Federal Prison.
At sixteen, following repeated evaluations by the Federal Government, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Captain in the Elite Legion. His combat strength was already comparable to that of many captain-level powerhouses.
At eighteen, he was officially promoted to captain. Over the next seven years, he led his own squad and wiped out eleven Interstellar Pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million Star Coins, the highest bounty among them being 310 million Star Coins.
At twenty-five, he was awarded the rank of Federal Colonel, becoming the youngest colonel in the Federal Government. His future had seemed boundless.
But in the second week after receiving his rank, he was assigned a secret mission. After that, he vanished without a trace for a full six months. When he reappeared six months later, he had already become an Interstellar Pirate. Using bloody methods, he killed six Federal Colonels and one Senior Colonel, formally declaring a break with the Federal Government.
No one knew what he had encountered during those six months of disappearance. The Federal Government classified that mission as top secret, and even the most skilled hackers could not uncover the slightest trace of information.
Koude Bulade's case left everyone with countless unanswered questions, while his name became completely known to all. No longer as a genius, but as a rebel.
After breaking with the Federal Government, Koude Bulade began forming his own Pirate Crew and named it the Adjudicators. The Federal Government immediately posted a massive bounty of 200 million Star Coins for him.
It had been only a year and a half since he formed his Pirate Crew, but his bounty had risen steadily because of the trouble he had caused over that time, reaching 330 million. In one stroke, he became the Rookie King of the Tianhe Star Region.
Deep Sea Star had been incorporated into the Federal Government less than a century ago. Its civilization was still in its infancy, and it was not easy to find even on a star map. Pirates came and went on ordinary days, but there were hardly any with bounties exceeding 100 million. The sudden appearance of such a major figure left the other pirates in the tavern somewhat unsettled.
Before the crowd could recover from their shock, the tavern doors were suddenly pushed open. Federal Army soldiers stood at the entrance.
The appearance of the Federal Army made many people uneasy. After all, the vast majority of those in the tavern were Interstellar Pirates. Pirates and the Federal Army had always been mortal enemies.
"Everyone, there's no need to panic. Cooperate with our Federal Army's investigation, and anyone unrelated to this theft will be fine." The leader's gaze swept across the crowd in the tavern. He had managed the Red Light District for a long time and knew the situation at Rose Tavern very well. He also knew that none of the people here were good-hearted. If his attitude was too forceful, these Interstellar Pirates would not accept it. But if he was not forceful enough, no one would cooperate with the investigation.
"Captain, why not arrest them all? None of these people look like good people. I bet quite a few of them are Interstellar Pirates." A young man beside the leader suddenly interjected.
The leader's heart sank. He knew things were about to go wrong.
The young man beside him was not his subordinate, but a graduating student from the Federal Basic Military Academy. His Old Dad was a major in the military and also the leader's teacher. As soon as this theft occurred, the kid had immediately sought him out, insisting on coming to the Red Light District with him to take a look. Left with no choice, he had agreed and even specifically told him beforehand not to say anything. Yet the kid had still caused trouble at such a crucial moment.
At the sound of the young man's voice, the atmosphere in the tavern instantly grew tense. Cold killing intent began flickering in many people's eyes.
Just then, a violent door slam came from the back of the tavern. Bang!
After several clicks of high heels striking the floor, a huge figure appeared inside the tavern.
"I was gone for only a little while, and you little brats have turned the place upside down!" Auntie Rose had finally appeared. She wore a pair of blood-red Hate-the-Heavens High Heels, while her enormous black leather miniskirt was stretched round and shiny by her buttocks. Her thick white thighs were exposed beneath it, and black stubble could faintly be seen growing at a rate visible to the naked eye. Broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, she also had a red fox fur draped around her neck. The stubble on her face paired with her brightly painted red lips was truly horrifying.
The moment she appeared, she drew everyone's attention.
"Things in my tavern are a little expensive. You want to fight? Fine. Break a plate, one hundred million Star Coins. Damage a table, one billion Star Coins. Ruin my antique counter, one hundred billion Star Coins. If you smash something and can't afford to pay, then I'd be very happy for you to become the owner of Rose Tavern. Every night, I'll be very gentle..." At this point, Auntie Rose threw everyone a flirtatious wink. She did not realize in the slightest that her dramatically raised orchid finger did not add even a trace of femininity to her.
After a brief silence, everyone in the tavern fled.
"Auntie, you really know what you're doing!" Gu Ding looked at Auntie Rose with a face full of admiration.
"Cut the flattery. You were two minutes and three seconds late today, so today's wages are halved!" Auntie Rose tossed out those words with a stern face, swaying her hips as she walked behind the counter.
"That's not fair..." Gu Ding wanted to explain, but before he could finish, he was cut off.
"Talking back? Deduct two-thirds!"
Before you continue