The Highest Bounty

Chapter 131 Neptune’s Plan

The sky was dark by the time Gu Ding returned to the Grey-faced Buzzard.

He returned to see Biggie was busy cooking up a feast in the kitchen. He was preparing a big meal to lift everyone’s sunken spirits. He was never one to speak much and this was all he could do for them.

Liliath sat on the deck on top of the spaceship. Her hands were placed by her side while she raised her head to look up at the overarching sky. She forced a smile on her face when she saw Gu Ding approaching. “You’re back. Did you manage to get all the materials?”

“There’s still a few missing, but I’ve enlisted help from some of the people at the auction to seek out the remaining items. We should have an answer before noon tomorrow.” Gu Ding sat beside Liliath.

“Robert needs a lot of material. He should be making more than one weapon. It shouldn’t affect him too much if one or two items are missing.”

Liliath looked at the arching sky again. The twinkling stars were mesmerizing. “The night sky tonight is clear. I’m starting to understand why you like staring into the night sky. I can no longer remember which direction is my home planet, but I can vividly remember that purple planet getting further and further away from me on the day I left. It’s the most beautiful color in my memory...”

Gu Ding stayed silent. He tried his best to be a good listener.

Not long after, Biggie’s voice could be heard coming from the cabin. “Come on down for dinner. We’re ready to eat.”

“Let’s go have our meal!” A smile broke on Gu Ding’s face. Ever since Biggie joined the crew, their daily meals had been getting better by the day. Biggie came up with different dishes each time, so it was never boring.

“This looks scrumptious!” Gu Ding stared at the table full of dishes. He knew it was Biggie’s way of trying to soothe everyone’s moody emotions.

Liliath knew that too.

Biggie took off his apron and placed it aside as he sat down. “I made more than usual. Take your time and enjoy it.”

Robert was still busy, cooped up in his room. He was from the Mechanical Tribe and was not able to digest human food. Since using the new substitute energy source, he was not as depressed as before. His attitude toward the outside world was much more indifferent. Gu Ding was not too bothered about it. Robert’s personality may have changed, but his character remained the same.

The dining table was not as rowdy as before. The three of them were rather silent.

“Neptune, I’d like to try implanting a Rank 6 Energy Crystal to upgrade my body to Rank 4. This way, my combat effectiveness will be enhanced, and I’ll be well-prepared for the upcoming battle,” Gu Ding directed his words at Neptune.

“No way. It’s too close to the last time you conducted a Gene Level upgrade. Under normal circumstances, gene medicine upgrading can only be conducted after a wait of at least a month. If you use it continuously more than three times, the fourth time should only be conducted after at least three months,” Neptune voice his objections.

“Just calculate it for yourself. You were only at Rank 1 Gene Body when you left Cerule. It’s only been a little more than a month and you’ve already achieved Rank 3. Not to mention, the last two enhancement was by a passive catalyst. Your upgrade has been conducted too quickly. It will only end up affecting your foundation in the future. If your gene foundation becomes unstable, you might be at risk of your DNA chain breaking apart when you attempt to upgrade to a higher level. I don’t expect your Cell Index to reach 1000 points, but it should at least be above 500 points before I allow you to use the Energy Crystals to upgrade your gene level. It’s the same with Lili. The last time she had the gene enhancer was under a month ago.”

“This is a different situation. I need to upgrade my abilities quickly,” Gu Ding knew that Neptune was right, but Liliath’s safety was far more important to him.

“I’ve discussed with Robert regarding upgrading your combat effectiveness. Don’t worry about it. You’ll get a weapon tomorrow morning that will amplify your combat effectiveness by three times,” Neptune had discussed this situation over with Robert, and they have come up with a few solutions.

“Besides you, Biggie and Liliath will have their own set of weapons as well.”

“I told you before that Liliath is not allowed to take part in this battle,” Gu Ding was insistent.

Liliath voiced out, “Gu Ding, I’m taking part in this battle. The power of divination is something unique and it is accurate most of the time. A soothsayer had predicted something would happen to my parents before tragedy struck. I was able to survive because they had taken precautions to make sure I did, but they could not escape from it no matter what they did. That was why I wasn’t keen on seeing Mi En because soothsayers bring me unpleasant memories. Since it has been foretold that I will meet with death, I won’t be able to escape it no matter where I hide. I’d rather go into battle than run away from it. At the very least, I can be of help to Biggie.”

“Casting your power of Black Hypnosis will take its toll on you. Even if that bracelet is able to give you three times the spirit, there is still a huge gap between your spirit strength and Biggie’s. You may suffer serious repercussions,” Gu Ding had a feeling that Liliath’s impending doom might have something to do with hypnosis. She had been badly wounded the last time she overexerted herself.

“I’ve given this problem some thought, which is why I’ve provided Robert with a design for a spirit tool. Robert is working on it right now. That tool will help enhance Lili’s spirit by a few hundred times. It will eliminate the threat of any severe repercussions,” Neptune had analyzed each person’s battle capabilities in detail in order to maximize the crew’s battle effectiveness.

As for Biggie, he already has his weapon. We made a set of light armor for additional defense. Besides that, Robert has created many other tools for increasing combat effectiveness of the crew, which you will be able to see soon. Robert and I have been doing a lot of planning. We’re fairly certain we’ll be able to overcome this crisis,” Neptune continued.

“Gu Ding, you’ve told me before to trust Neptune, because it never wrong,” Liliath looked toward a slightly emotional Gu Ding.

“I trust Neptune. I believe it has come up with the best strategy that will minimize the total loss experienced by the crew. However, if you have a better plan, we are all ears. Otherwise, we’ll stick to Neptune’s.”

Gu Ding stayed silent. He did not have a better strategy than Neptune and he knew that if he stopped Liliath from taking part in the battle, Biggie would have little to no combat effectiveness at all. Gu Ding did not think he would be able to protect Liliath well on his own.

The dinner ended with an atmosphere of sourness.

After dinner, Gu Ding went back to his room without saying a word. He would usually drift off to sleep the moment his head touched his pillow, but tonight, he could not sleep.

The next morning, Neptune’s voice could be heard quite early in the day, “Your tools are ready. They are all in Robert’s room, go see for yourself. These tools will help increase your combat effectiveness without having to upgrade to a Rank 4 Gene Body.”

Gu Ding’s interest was slightly piqued at Neptune’s words. He walked toward Robert’s room and knocked on the door. Robert’s voice rang out, “Come in!”

He pushed the door open to see Robert’s back facing him, working busily on something. There was an object that quickly caught Gu Ding’s eyes. He could not shift his gaze away from it. “This thing, is it my combat tool?”

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