The Highest Bounty

Chapter 49: Awakened Ability

The inherent gene locks in Gu Ding’s body began to show a crack. Under the supervision of Neptune, the crack quickly got bigger. In less than two minutes, one of the gene locks finally broke completely.

A dreadful energy gushed out of Gu Ding’s gene chains, and the sealed gene lock that was added by some mysterious entity was totally destroyed. Its destruction was as easy as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.

Gu Ding vaguely heard two clicks, and felt as though something inside him had been opened.

“Have I been promoted to Rank 2 Gene Body?” Gu Ding could distinctly feel the cells throughout his body splitting and regenerating madly, each one of them packed with a few times more energy than they previously contained. The only explanation for this was if gene locks were broken and the person had been promoted to Rank 2 Gene Body. When cells were activated, the strength of each cell changed drastically.

The transformation lasted for nearly ten minutes before it gradually slowed down.

“You’re right. Not only have you been promoted to a Rank 2 Gene Body, but you’ve also awakened a terrifying ability.” When Neptune rescanned Gu Ding’s body indicators, he found that Gu Ding’s strength had improved tremendously. He projected the statistics for him to see:

Name: Gu Ding

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Gene Level: Level Two

Special Abilities: Level Two Rage Attack (Evolvable)

Ability Description: Attack power, defense power, speed, recovery ability is tripled, and lasts for ten minutes.

Side effects: Ten hours of exhaustion state which halves combat effectiveness.

Cell Index: 100

Spirit: 98

Battle Prowess: B+

Mental Cognition: A

…

Gu Ding’s Cell Index had increased fivefold. From the increase in Cell Index, his spirit increased five times as well. It was rare for a first-time awakening of abilities to be a level two skill, so Neptune still felt that there was even more inside Gu Ding’s body.

According to the records in his database, people who were born with gene shackles could awaken a level five ability the first time their abilities were awakened. The lowest level a first-time awakening should unlock should only be as low as level four. It was uncommon for their first awakening to be a level three ability or lower.

When Liliath saw Gu Ding’s data projection from the side, she was so surprised that she blinked twice to make sure she was not just imagining things.

“How is your Cell Index 100 points when you’re just a Rank 2 Gene Body? A Rank 2 Gene Body has a Cell Index limit of 30 points! Even if you have a special body, 50 points is already unbelievable. Cell Index of 100 points is usually saved for high tier Rank 3 Gene Bodies. Any higher than 100 points is Rank 4 Gene Body category.”

“And with your amount of spirit index? I myself have a 100 spirit points because I inherited a special ability from my ancestor’s genes. But you’re just a normal person and yours increased to 98 points…”

“Actually, I’m happiest about the special ability I just awakened,” Gu Ding grinned. “I was thinking that if I were to be promoted to Rank 2 Gene Body, it would be best if my combat strength improved immediately. Who would’ve thought that I would get what I wanted.”

“That ability of yours is a normal one,” Neptune could not help but murmur. Initially, he was really looking forward to Gu Ding’s awakened ability, but it turned out to just be a Level Two Rage Attack.

Liliath did not comment on Gu Ding’s ability. The first reason was that her body’s awakened ability was very special, so Gu Ding’s would not compare to hers. The second reason was that most people’s first awakened abilities were rank three abilities and above. Gu Ding’s was not very amazing in that regard.

“I think the most practical ability is the best ability for me.” Gu Ding replied to Neptune. “A three times increase in combat power, in addition to twice the increase in combat armor, together with twice the increase in the fourth level of Ultimate Arts; this means my combat power is comparable to at least a 1200 points Cell Index powerhouse. I’ll be able to kill off any Rank 5 Gene Bodies now. It’s too bad this ability is only temporary.”

“Sure, you got your stats right. A typical Rank 5 Gene Body has a Cell Index between 300 points and 1000 points. But, don’t forget that the opponent may know different combat skills or possess high tier equipment. Those variables can make them slightly challenging to face,” Neptune reminded him. He felt that Gu Ding still had a long way before he was a true powerhouse. “Furthermore, 100 points of Cell Index is the limit of level four of Ultimate Arts. Anything after that is too much of a burden on the body.”

“Understood,” Gu Ding grinned. “Anyway, it’s enough to kill the big monsters outside.”

“Are you sure you can beat those guys?” Liliath asked with a smile.

“It shouldn’t be a problem.” Gu Ding flashed his signature smile.

“Are you talking about one or five of them?” Liliath narrowed her eyes and raised the corner of her mouth slightly.

“One should be no problem for me. If five of them show up, I guess we’ll have to find out there and then,” Gu Ding answered honestly. He was still unsure of how strong he really was.

“I’ll take care of one while you take care of the other four,” Liliath said, only half-jokingly.

“Sure, let me have a go first. When I’m at my limit, you can help me out,” Gu Ding still wanted to test his limits.

“Alright,” Liliath knew that Gu Ding would only say this if he was really confident that he would be able to pull through. Since Gu Ding was certain that he would be able to be able to deal with it, she thought it would be better if she did not interfere. The thought of them being able to enter the space dock to find a working spaceship after killing those five giant beasts made her slightly excited. “Once we’re done with these five monsters, we’ll finally be able to leave after finding a good spaceship at the space dock.”

“It won’t be that easy.” When Gu Ding heard what Liliath said, he hesitated for a bit, but eventually decided that it would be best if he told her the truth. “Inside the space dock, there’s a powerful beast that’s at least a Rank 6 Gene Body. You see these five giant beasts? They’re just the big boss’s minions. If it weren’t for the bis boss’s orders, these five giant beasts would’ve tried to kill each other by now.”

“There’s a Rank 6 Gene Body hidden in the space dock ?!” Liliath thought that she had misheard. “Are you sure?”

Initially, she wanted to ask Gu Ding how he knew this as she had tried to connect to the network in the space dock, but quickly found that all of the security cameras were destroyed. However, when she heard how assured Gu Ding was, she began to believe that they had a chance at this, so she decided to remain quiet.

“I’m pretty sure that the guy has some level of intelligence, which means it won’t be easy to deal with him,” Gu Ding expressed his worries. “However, let’s get rid of these gatekeepers first, and then we’ll see what we have to do next. ”

“I think it’ll be better if I go with you. I’ll watch from a distance and only help when you need it,” Liliath was a little worried that Gu Ding would not be able to handle the five of them by himself.

“Alright, but I don’t think I’ll need it,” Gu Ding grinned.