The Highest Bounty

Chapter 54: Liliath’s in Danger

After Gu Ding was leveled up to the fourth level of Ultimate Arts, his regenerative ability allowed him to use Ultimate Arts Level 4 without it taking a toll on his body.

A Cell Index of 100 points paired with double the Combat Armor and twice the strength of his Ultimate Arts Level 4 ensured that Gu Ding’s ability was comparable to that of a martial arts practitioner with a 400 point Cell Index. This also meant that he had combat effectiveness of a Rank 5 Gene Body.

However, his opponent, Cooper, was a proper Rank 6 Gene Body. He had evolved so much that he was now ruling his own kind. On land, he was undoubtedly the king of the planet. However, there were much more powerful beings in the sea. If he had not awakened the memories of the host, he would have undoubtedly tried to battle the powerful beings in the sea by engulfing everything to make himself stronger.

After awakening his memory, he realized that that planet was just a speck of dust in the vast universe. Even if he became the king on the planet, he was still a tiny speck on the grand scheme of things. His ambition grew, so he decided to take his army of virus-infected beasts into the Cosmic Sea. If he was not the ultimate king of the universe, at least he would be able to make a name for himself. This was to po prove he had lived, so that everyone would know his name.

Only after confronting his opponent head-on di Gu Ding realize how strong he was. Who knew that a Rank 6 Gene Body would be that much stronger than himself? Whether it was in terms of strength or speed, Gu Ding was completely outclassed, despite the fact that his opponent had only just started.

“You seem to be stronger than those who killed me,” Cooper did not exert his full strength. Firstly, there was no need to. Secondly, he was curious about his opponent, who was obviously way weaker than him but had enough guts to provoke him. Therefore, either his opponent was holding back, or he was here for another reason. “The person who killed me was your partner, right?”

Gu Ding’s heart jumped for a moment. Although Cooper’s guess was inaccurate, he could not let the latter know of Liliath’s existence, or else his plan would be ruined. Gu Ding continued his attack with full focus without missing a beat. “Didn’t you realize one of your bodyguards went missing? That guy’s Energy Crystal helped me improve my strength.”

“Is that so? Absorbing an Energy Crystal within one night? That’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing,” Cooper did not believe Gu Ding’s comment and began to suspect that he was just acting as bait for someone else.

Cooper had a special detection ability which allowed him to detect any movement made by a creature within ten kilometers. However, when he used his detection ability, he could not detect any being nearby except for Gu Ding. ‘Did I guess incorrectly? Is he really alone?’

‘It can’t be. When he was killing the five beasts that I was connected to, I noticed it instantly. At most, it took me five seconds to arrive at the scene, but when I got there, he was gone and I couldn’t detect his presence anywhere. It’s impossible for him to run more than ten kilometers away within five seconds. There must be something else that was shielding him from my scan.’ Cooper thought back to the day the five giant beasts were killed. After they were killed, he tried to use his detection ability, but could not detect anything. ‘If he has a partner, they’re most likely using the same shielding method to block my detection.’

“Get your partner out right now. You’re no match for me. If both of you team up, you might have a chance to win,” Cooper sneered but he was still not sure how many people Gu Ding had with him.

“I told you already. I killed all those guys. I can’t help it if you won’t believe me,” Gu Ding violently launched a Steel Fist at Cooper’s arm. “This is the exact same move I used on them.”

However, Gu Ding’s attack did not cause any damage to Cooper. After all, the Gene Level gap between the two of them was very large. Even so, Cooper could clearly feel that Gu Ding’s martial arts were something special, since almost every attack Gu Ding did was high damage. Those sorts of attacks indeed coincided with the wounds on the bodies of the four giant beasts.

‘It doesn’t matter how many people he has on his side. I’ll just have to capture him alive and get some answers from him. Then, I’ll get an idea of the situation outside this planet and see who the powerhouses are …’ Since Cooper was not able to get anything from him, he hatched a new plan, which was to capture his opponent alive and torture him. This was the easiest way to obtain information.

Suddenly, his attacks changed. Initially, his attacks and defenses were mild, but soon, they became serious. Every punch and scratch hit Gu Ding’s strongest points as the latter soon felt as though he was going to get beaten at any moment.

When Gu Ding noticed the change, he suddenly retreated and turned to escape into the jungle.

Cooper was determined to catch Gu Ding alive and caught up immediately as he was several times faster than Gu Ding.

When Gu Ding saw the way the situation was developing, he used Ultimate Arts Level 5 with all his might and Silent Stepped away. His speed increased and he was soon inside the dense forest.

Cooper did not hesitate and followed him into the jungle.

Liliath, who had been watching them from a distance, saw that the two of them had entered the jungle, and so, finally slipped out of the spaceship.

The way she moved was very special. In just a few steps, she reached the gate of the space dock.

In the hallway, the lighting seemed to have been intentionally broken. Even though it was noon, the whole place was dark. However, the darkness did not affect Liliath’s vision.

“It seems that not only does the virus not like ultraviolet rays, they also can’t stand indoor lights,” Liliath shook her head as she looked at the airtight windows boarded up with wood in the pitch black darkness.

After glancing at the map handed to her by Gu Ding, she quickly determined her current location and then ran toward the location marked on the map.

After making three or four turns in the space dock, she finally reached her destination and saw the ship mentioned by Gu Ding.

“That’s a big ship!” Even though Liliath was quite worldly, this was the first time she had ever come so close to a Grey-faced Buzzard grade spaceship.

As she climbed up the stairs to the ship, Liliath’s intuition told her something was wrong. The Combat Armor in her hands suddenly transformed and changed into two silver pistols. She stayed at the same spot and pointed the gun outward on both sides of there. “Who’s there? Come out at once!”

Suddenly, a black shadowy pool appeared and began morphing into something from the ground not far away from her. Right before her eyes, it formed a human figure and said, “You’re a sharp one. I didn’t expect you to notice me…”