The Highest Bounty

Chapter 132 The Aborted Emergency Backup Plan

It was a black mech, but much smaller and advanced than the ones Gu Ding had seen in Military Academy. It had a more complex structure and the build quality was impeccable.

Back when Gu Ding was a student in the Combat stream, there were only three retired mechs in the academy. One semester of the mech course would consist only of theoretical knowledge. Gu Ding had only operated an actual mech on two occasions, both times lasting less than an hour.

A hot-blooded young man would no doubt have a passion for mechs. Gu Ding was not the only one who loved it, every boy in the Military Academy had signed up for the mech course.

There was an indescribable excitement bubbling within Gu Ding when he saw a complete mech appear in front of his eyes.

“This mech will your combat tool. Even though it might be slightly disruptive to your cell strength in the way that you are only able to conduct a maximum of Ultimate Arts Level 7 whilst inside the mech, this mech will enhance your combat effectiveness foundation by roughly 10000 points. That would be 30 times your combat effectiveness foundation.”

“Robert had also intentionally used a protein transmitter when building the palms to enhance the effectiveness of your Damage Stacking. The difference from using the Damage Stacking before is that you would need to get in physical contact with your opponent using your hands in order for you to unleash the curse of Damage Stacking upon the enemy. However, now once the curse has been successfully cast, Damage Stacking using other body parts will be possible.”

“There’s one more thing. Using the mech and the Combat Armor at the same time will not grant you extra power. When you go into battle, there will be no need for you to summon your Combat Armor.”

“This mech was designed by me and Robert. We took into consideration all the moves in the first 8 levels of Ultimate Arts. That is why you might notice the design of the mech gets slightly more complex toward the joint area. You will need to test out this mech for the next few days to conduct different pieces of training. Do your best to familiarize yourself with it its functions and operations.”

Gu Ding could not wait to get started after listening to Neptune. He finally had a mech of his own and all he wanted to do was coop himself up in there forever.

Gu Ding moved his joints a little after getting into the mech, but it was not long before he was able to walk out of Robert’s room with ease. However, he did not notice the height of the door and knocked his head against the door frame.

This mech was small in size but agile. It stood at a height of 2.7 meters. Liliath nearly choked on the fruits she was eating when Gu Ding stormed into the dining room wearing the mech to show off. Even Biggie poked his head out of the kitchen when he heard the commotion.

“Gu Ding? Where did you get the mech? I want one too!” Liliath yelped in excitement upon seeing the mech.

“Hehe, this was designed by Neptune and Robert. Robert made it for me. I’ll be wearing this when we go into battle,” Gu Ding’s voice could be heard through the microphone. His voice sounded like it was being transmitted through a megaphone.

“Neptune, design one for me too. I’d like one too!” Liliath’s face was filled with envy.

“I’ll design a mech specifically for a gunner when I have the time. You’ll be using another type of tool since you’ll be playing a more passive role in the upcoming battle,” Neptune promised Liliath readily.

“Robert isn’t done with building it, but it should be completed by noon. There’s also Biggie’s light armor. It was completed yesterday, and he already has it on his hand in ring form.”

“Biggie, let’s see your light armor!” Liliath and Gu Ding called out expectantly.

Biggie, who was in the middle of preparing breakfast, shyly placed the pan down and took off the apron. He twisted the ring on his index finger. “Armor transformation!”

The ring turned into a blob of gold liquid that flowed toward every corner of Biggie’s body with great speed. It coagulated into shape and turned into a full-body suit of black armor. Biggie looked especially intimidating in it.

“I was considering creating a set of combat armor for him, but the materials for it were quite difficult to source. We’ll settle for light armor for now. When the opportunity arises, I’ll design a full set of combat armor for him,” Neptune explained.

“That is so cool! Neptune, I want one too!” Gu Ding suddenly decided that light armor was way better than combat armor, and he shouted his request at Neptune.

“The light armor only provides additional defense. It does nothing for combat effectiveness and is nothing compared to combat armor. You already own a set of combat armor. I’m not about to waste my time designing this for you,” Neptune rejected Gu Ding’s unreasonable request without hesitation.

“Robert is very busy. He won’t have time to make it for you too. You’d better make the most of your time and get yourself familiarized with the mech. Also, you need to get your hands on those missing materials from yesterday and hand them to Robert quickly. There are other measures to be taken besides weaponizing the three of you.”

“We’ll get an answer regarding those materials in the afternoon,” Gu Ding nodded.

He opened the mech halfway and poked his head out, reaching his hands out to grab a handful of food to stuff into his mouth. He chewed quickly. “I’ll have something to eat first before I start my training.”

“Can’t you just get out of your mech and have a proper meal?” Liliath found it funny to see Gu Ding act that way.

“Neptune said to stay in the mech as long as possible to familiarize myself with it. I’m planning to be in it all the time except for when I’m sleeping,” Gu Ding said as he stuffed another handful of food into his mouth.

“If you say so. I’d really like to find out what my spirit enhancing tool will look like,” Liliath rested her chin on her hand as she slowly stuffed a small fruit into her mouth.

Biggie walked out of the kitchen with a pie in his hands. “Where’s the captain? It’s time for breakfast.”

“He was just done with breakfast!” Liliath pointed to the surface of the table with scraps of food scattered all over it.

“Looks like all we have left is this pie,” Biggie shook his head in slight irritation. He considered it a miracle that Gu Ding did not break any plates or destroy any tables while wearing the mech.

“Let’s punish him with doing the dishes for creating such a mess,” Liliath suggested.

“It’s fine. He’ll just end up breaking all the plates if he wears that,” Biggie felt this was not the best suggestion.

“You should stop pampering him and occasionally raise some objections,” Liliath thought that Biggie was being too soft-hearted. She was a little worried Gu Ding would be spoiled rotten if she were no longer around.

“Okay, I’ll make him do the dishes if this happens again.” Biggie finally nodded.

Gu Ding stayed in the training room, practicing the Ultimate Arts in his mech. The morning passed by very quickly. Gu Ding’s communicator rang when it was around noon.

“The call is from the people from the auction,” Neptune reminded him before he answered.

“Is this Mr. Gu Ding?” A female voice could be heard from the communicator. She sounded quite young

“How do you do? There is a total of five items on the shopping list you provided us with yesterday. We’ve managed to source four items but have yet to hear any news about the high energy purple crystal. I don’t think we will be able to obtain it within such a short period. This item is usually used for complex, industrial machinery, which is why it is not a common purchase. Understandably, the supply for it is quite low.”

Neptune said to Gu Ding, “It’s fine if there isn’t any. There is probably a low chance of us using it anyway.”

“It’s fine, thank you. If you can’t get your hands on the material, then let’s forget about it. I’ll come over right now to pick up the other four materials,” Gu Ding hung up with a curious expression on his face.

“Complex, industrial machinery? What is

that?”

“That would only be used in case of an emergency. You don’t need to worry about it. By the looks of it, this plan can’t be enacted without the support of a power source,” Neptune was not planning to explain further.

“Take off your mech suit and go collect the materials. It will only make the Army extra wary of us if you wear that out.”

Gu Ding got out of the mech unwillingly and headed toward the auction to pick up the materials.

While he was away, Neptune got in touch with Robert quietly. “Can that thing be attached to an energy converter and use another source of power?”

“Ancient weapons are sophisticated tools. This is also the reason I have been working on it tirelessly since I was awakened. Every detail needs to be carefully worked out. These ancient weapons are very picky when it comes to an energy course. It won’t be able to work without a compatible energy source… To be honest, Neptune, this weapon was made to kill. You can even use it to destroy Army generals with Rank 10 gene body, but it will only bring further trouble to Gu Ding. If that time comes, it won’t be mere Rank 10 gene bodies coming after Gu Ding’s head.”

“I understand, but Lili’s divination results…”

Robert’s voice was calm and collected. “The power of divination is the special ability to transcend time and space. If there is no doubt about the legitimacy of the divination results, then whatever is bound to happen, will happen. It won’t matter how much work we’ve put into preventing it. You should understand better than I do that the results of divination will be bound to become history. If your aim is to achieve the ultimate revenge, this ancient weapon is not the best choice. The best chance we have is the antimatter cannon on the ship. If we add on the reserve energy source, the antimatter can be shot at least five times, which is enough to destroy five cities on this planet and cause the deaths of seventy million people… But please believe me when I say that is not what you want. Even though the depressed side of me has completely disappeared after changing my energy source, I still vividly remember the destruction I have caused. That is something I will never forget for the rest of my life. Even though hundreds and billions of years have passed, those memories will stay with me. You will never want to experience something like that.”

“I understand…” Neptune drew a long sigh after a moment of silence.