Bounty

Northern Frontier Base City, airport.

"Hey, Captain! Lu Gang!"

Just after leaving the airport, Dongguan spotted a burly figure waving at them. Everyone nearby gave him a wide berth.

Even without knowing who he was, his height alone-over two and a half meters-was enough to intimidate ordinary people.

"Yang Bei."

Yang Bei took the two of them away in a stretched executive car.

The car had a dedicated driver. Its back two rows of seats had been removed and replaced with a sofa. Otherwise, Yang Bei would barely have had room for his legs, making the ride very uncomfortable.

The buildings in Northern Frontier Base City looked very different from those in Jiangnan Base City. Their overall coloring was pale yellow, because local desert materials had been used in their construction, and the area suffered from heavy windblown sand year-round.

Soon, they arrived at a detached villa in the Oasis Residential Complex.

"This is my home," Yang Bei explained. "You've only just arrived, so stay here tonight. There's plenty of room anyway."

After meeting Yang Bei's family, Dongguan could no longer endure the pain caused by the noise in his mind.

"Is there somewhere I can sleep? I'd like to get some rest first." Dongguan pressed a hand against his head.

"Of course. Little Li, take War God Dongguan to a bedroom upstairs," Yang Bei instructed.

Little Li was both Yang Bei's driver and his butler.

Once inside the upstairs bedroom, Dongguan lay on his back on the bed and closed his eyes.

Chaotic noise filled his mind, growing increasingly unbearable.

Adapt. I have to adapt.

He sat up, crossed his legs on the bed, and began to meditate.

The stabbing pain in his brain made sleep impossible.

What he failed to notice was that his body was continuously absorbing cosmic energy at a rate he could hardly achieve through normal cultivation, steadily strengthening his spiritual force.

Let thought become a blade to sever distractions; let thought become a mirror to illuminate the self; let thought become a tower to anchor the mind.

As he meditated using the method he had distilled from books on meditation, his mind gradually settled.

The next morning, he opened his eyes.

Feeling the ripples across the lake of his mind, he had overcome the influence of those "distracting thoughts," but only temporarily.

His original plan had been disrupted yet again. Taking his time to explore was no longer an option.

"Captain, you're awake?"

The moment Dongguan opened the door, he saw Yang Bei standing before him.

Concern showed on his rugged face.

"Captain, were you injured fighting the Long-Armed Ape King and still haven't recovered? Should I buy you some Water of Life?" Yang Bei suggested.

"No need," Dongguan declined. "That's not what this is. The Water of Life won't help."

"Then what is it? If even the Water of Life won't help, is it some unusual injury?" Hearing their conversation, Lu Gang also came out into the upstairs hallway.

Dongguan paused, then decided to explain the situation. After all, he was in poor condition, and he might need their help when he went looking for the source of the noise.

"Actually, this is why I came back this time." He looked into Yang Bei's eyes. "It's also why I left Northern Frontier Base City all those years ago and never returned."

After hearing his explanation, Lu Gang offered a guess. "Could it be caused by the Ancient Civilization Ruins?"

"That's possible." Yang Bei agreed with his guess.

There were quite a few Ancient Civilization Ruins on Earth, mostly controlled by the eight major powers: the Limitless Martial Arts Hall, the Thunder Dojo, the Five Great Nations, and the HR Alliance.

None of the three had ever entered them, but all had heard about them.

Every site of Ancient Civilization Ruins was different. Some were trial grounds, some were simply dangerous, and others produced resources.

It was quite possible that some known or undiscovered ruins were causing this phenomenon.

"I can't rule it out." Dongguan nodded. "But whatever it is, I have to find it."

The desert stretched endlessly.

Three tiny figures moved cautiously through the yellow sand.

The monsters in the desert were different from those in the cities. Rather than being so active, they preferred to lie hidden beneath the sand.

And often, when they appeared, they came in large groups.

Because Dongguan possessed spiritual force and could easily probe underground across a wide area, they had let their guard down a little at first.

Then they encountered a group of Mutated Phantom Sand Scorpions that had evolved a special camouflage ability. Curled up and motionless, they were almost indistinguishable from the sand.

After that, all three became much more cautious.

They stopped atop a sand dune.

Lu Gang took a flask from his backpack and drank before remarking, "The monsters in this desert really are different from those in the cities. No wonder they've never been cleared out."

Around Jiangnan Base City, most monsters lived in former cities. Out in the open wilderness, human armies could sweep away huge numbers of them with laser cannons.

Laser cannons could certainly be used in the desert, but the desert was too vast and the monsters too thinly scattered. Unless a Lord-level Monster had been confirmed, using a laser cannon was not worth it.

Besides, the monsters now living in the desert were bound to have their Camouflage Ability and survival abilities maxed out.

"Even before the great nirvana, deserts were death traps for humans. Now that we're martial artists, we actually have it much easier." Yang Bei squinted up at the sun.

"Captain, have you pinpointed it?"

Dongguan had been standing with his eyes closed, sensing carefully ever since they stopped. Now, he suddenly opened them.

"Yes. It's inside the Death Desert." His brow furrowed.

"That makes things difficult," Yang Bei sighed. "Don't tell me it's in the Despair Oasis?"

"It could be." Dongguan also knew how troublesome this was.

The Death Desert was what people living nearby had called this desert before the great nirvana.

It was not because the place was too barren. On the contrary, cacti could grow here, making it a relatively lush region by desert standards.

The main reason was its many dangerous desert creatures, including venomous scorpions, rattlesnakes, and ant colonies.

Anyone who entered could be left without even a body if they let their guard down.

After the great nirvana, monsters around the world mutated, and these creatures were naturally no exception.

The Despair Oasis was an oasis in the heart of the Death Desert, inhabited by more than one King-level monster.

Earlier, while searching for the possible Ancient Civilization Ruins responsible for the noise, they had reached the edge of the Death Desert and started detouring around it.

In the end, however, they had confirmed that the source lay inside the Death Desert.

This was troublesome.

"Perhaps we could report it," Lu Gang suggested.

If there really were Ancient Civilization Ruins in the Death Desert, then even if they were in the Despair Oasis, the King-level monsters would be torn apart by Planetary Grade fighters flocking there from across the world.

News of Ancient Civilization Ruins might even prompt Hong Du to act personally.

"But the Ancient Civilization Ruins are only our guess. There might be another cause. If we report it just like that and it turns out to be false, we'll have to face the whole world's anger," Yang Bei said worriedly.

That was entirely possible. After all, Dongguan was the only one who could sense that noise.

"Why not post a bounty? A hundred billion for information about conditions in the Death Desert. I think someone would be willing to go," Yang Bei suggested.

A generous reward was sure to draw brave volunteers.

That sum would drive martial artists below War God Level wild. Even War Gods would need a long time to save that much.

"A lot of people will die, won't they? It's too cruel." Lu Gang could not quite stomach it, but he had to admit it was a good method.

"Martial artists already live with life and death. This Death Desert has been off-limits to humanity for too long. Sooner or later, someone has to break that barrier," Yang Bei said calmly.

"Besides, the spirit of plants and trees I ate back then came from the Despair Oasis."

"There are spirits of plants and trees in the Despair Oasis?" Lu Gang's eyes widened before understanding dawned. "Right. A desert oasis is a special environment. It's only natural for some spirits of plants and trees to emerge there."

Spirits of plants and trees came in many varieties. Even the most ordinary were things money could hardly buy. Finding just one would effectively recoup the bounty of a hundred billion in Huaxia Currency.

Both men looked at Dongguan.

He would have to decide exactly how to proceed.

Dongguan was also undecided. He could afford a hundred billion, and he knew just how tempting it would be to lower-tier martial artists.

Heavy casualties among the martial artists were foreseeable. But the more important question was whether the low- and mid-tier martial artists drawn by a hundred-billion bounty could actually find clues in the Death Desert, a place even the three of them dared not enter.

"Post the bounty first, then spread the word that there are spirits of plants and trees in the Despair Oasis, and that there might be Ancient Civilization Ruins in the Death Desert. Get all of it out there." A ruthless glint flashed in Dongguan's eyes.

Over the years, he had slaughtered countless monsters, but very few humans had died at his hands.

This time, however, he truly was taking the initiative to cause casualties on a massive scale, even though those people had never wronged him.

I put up the money, and they risk their lives. That's perfectly normal, Dongguan thought. Wasn't it the other way around before? I risked my life, and they paid.

He stopped feeling troubled by such matters, as though he had crossed a barrier within his mind.

The distracting thoughts seem to have diminished, Dongguan noticed.

All this time, he had actually been adapting to those distracting thoughts. At first, the headache had been unbearable; now, he could function normally, though his combat strength would still suffer in a real fight.

Throughout that process, however, the "distracting thoughts" themselves had not changed. They had even been gradually growing stronger.

Having made their decision, the three returned to Northern Frontier Base City.

Unbeknownst to them, a flash of light appeared twenty thousand meters beneath the desert oasis.

A bounty announcement sent the martial artists of Northern Frontier Base City into a frenzy.

"A bounty is offered for a special object in the Death Desert, or possibly information about a location. Reward: 100 billion in Huaxia Currency. War God Dongguan will personally verify the object or information."

The bounty was posted simultaneously through the platforms of the Limitless Martial Arts Hall, the Thunder Dojo, and the HR Alliance, guaranteed by the three War Gods: Dongguan, Yang Bei, and Lu Gang. The reward money had already been deposited with the platforms, with a guarantee that it would not be withdrawn even if no one fulfilled the bounty.

That meant the bounty was real.

Normally, vague descriptions such as "special object" and "location information" would leave many martial artists uninterested, however large the reward. But since the reward would not be withdrawn even if no one claimed it, the likelihood of a fake bounty fell to almost nothing.

Even if they did not trust the three War Gods, they should trust the three platforms. They would never stake their reputations on such a false announcement.

Some martial artists even began imagining what that "special object" might be, wondering whether it was some treasure worth more than a hundred billion.

At first, the news circulated only among Warrior Level and Warrior General level martial artists. War God Level martial artists showed little interest unless they were particularly short of money.

Then, after an initial wave of exploration, rumors began to spread.

"There may be spirits of plants and trees in the Despair Oasis."

The War Gods began to waver.

"There may be Ancient Civilization Ruins in the Death Desert."

Even Councilor Level experts turned their attention toward it.