Just as Neptune expected, when they found the Grey-faced Buzzard, it was not damaged. Whenever the s.p.a.ceship falls under attack, the energy barrier activates automatically.
Before night falls, Oldman who wanted to keep the loot did not get a timely reply from his men. Therefore, he decided to destroy the Grey-faced Buzzard, but it was too late. In the Witch Tribe, the only Rank-12 Gene Body was sealed by Gu Ding while the only Rank-10 Gene Body was killed by Biggie. There were only two Rank-9 Gene Body who did not partic.i.p.ate in the hunt. As they only had half of their cursing combat effectiveness left, their attack could not penetrate the Grey-faced Buzzard's energy barrier at all. If they were given enough time, they could have exhausted the s.p.a.ceship's energy, but they did not get near enough time to do so.
Under Neptune's control, the s.p.a.ceship left the abandoned planet immediately.
Lilith was still in a deep slumber.
Biggie was in a much better mood once he got back on the s.p.a.ceship. He headed straight to the kitchen and quickly got himself busy. Only when he cooked, was his mind at peace.
Hearing Biggie's humming in the kitchen, Gu Ding knew he did not have to worry about his wellbeing anymore.
"Has there been any important pieces of news over the past few days?" The s.p.a.ce-time backtracking lasted three days. During these three days, Neptune was completely isolated and could not receive any information from the outside world. Gu Ding also wanted to know if anything happened during these three days.
Neptune, who got connected to the Skynet screened through multiple bits of information and immediately answered, "There are a lot of changes in the Rising Newcomers Ranking in the underground network in the Dark Web this year. Some guy called Nick made a huge jump to sixth place. In just a few days, he took out five people who held the sixth to tenth place on the ranking. Now he explicitly said that he wants to challenge you and Lili. Nick's current bounty is one hundred and ten million. His special ability is speed. Although he's only a Rank-7 Gene Body, he has the speed of a Rank-8 Gene Body."
"Taking over someone's place by challenging them, is that appropriate?" Gu Ding raised his eyebrows, but he did not seem to mind this guy named Nick. "Any other news?"
"That incident in Constlac, didn't the Federation suspect someone called Destiny was behind it? His team managed to recruit several powerhouses with bounties of more than five hundred million Star Credits because of that. There's even a swordsman with a bounty of more than one billion who joined them. You've probably heard of that swordsman. He's called Chiora. The Federation Government thinks that Destiny's threatening level has increased due to the joining of these people, so they've increased his bounty to three billion Star Credits."
"Chiora, an eighteen-year-old Kendo prodigy. Hasn't he been a lone pirate all this while?" Gu Ding was no stranger to this name. Although he was not from Skyriver Sector, Gu Ding had heard of him when he was in Skyriver Sector. He was a Kendo genius who had only just become an Interstellar Pirate two years ago. His fame had even surpa.s.sed that of Kohld Blood.
"He had been a lone pirate because he felt there was no suitable partner. He felt that the 'leader' of the Constlac explosion was the one he wanted." Neptune teased slightly when he said this.
"In other words, what he wants is to join our team…" Gu Ding was also speechless about the screw-up. "We do need strong main combatants right now, but we can only leave this to fate."
"We'll find it!" Neptune felt confident and continued, "I think there's one more thing you should know. Kohld Blood has entered Border River. He was then attacked by the Army where he slaughtered an entire team led by a major general. Federal Government has determined that he had been promoted to a Rank-8 Gene Body and increased his bounty to 1.2 billion Star Credits."
"He's so fast, he's in Border River already." Gu Ding was a little surprised at his speed.
The so-called Border River was a junction between two cosmos. And because it was located at the junction, it was an utter mess. There were all kinds of people there, so it was a lot more dangerous than the usual star sectors.
"They've switched to a White Gyrfalcons after leaving Cerule, and they're taking a direct route there with no stops in between." Neptune was not surprised at their speed. "It's normal to be faster than us. We'll also reach Border River once we pa.s.s through Mayor Sector."
"Any news on Energy Crystal pieces from Mayor Sector?" Gu Ding cared more about this.
"No news on it yet, but there's been a big auction recently. We'll be there just in time to join the auction. We can try our luck there." Neptune did not miss out on any useful information.
"There are no other major events. It's just that the Federal Government hasn't been idle when we disappeared for the past few days." Neptune then continued, "They already knew about Biggie's partic.i.p.ation. The video where Biggie killed the giant golden alligator has gone viral on Skynet. The most discussed topic was the part where he dismembered the giant golden alligator by hand. Everyone thinks Biggie's a Rank-10 Gene Body, and almost everyone in Dragon Soar Cosmic Nation knows that Biggie has joined our team."
"However, the Federal Government seems to have taken their foot off the gas for now. They didn't give Biggie his bounty immediately, nor did they increase your bounty. This may also be related to our disappearance. I guess if anything happens next time, your bounty might be greatly increased."
"A lot of people in Dark Web have high hopes for you. Some even started a betting pool, thinking that you have a good chance at becoming Dragon Soar Cosmic Nation's best newcomer this year."
After hearing this news, Gu Ding grinned but did not express any other opinions.
"However, the number one spot is being held by someone named Bart. His bounty has already reached three hundred eighty million, and it's still growing rapidly. It'll be hard to surpa.s.s him in one year." Neptune was not trying to throw a wet blanket on him. He was merely stating a fact objectively. Based on the current situation, it would be difficult for Gu Ding to be crowned as Best Newcomer.
"It's a lot more fun when it's challenging, isn't it?" Gu Ding grinned and said.
