The Highest Bounty

He took the card in his hand and looked at the details within the picture. It was then that he realized there was a little flower in front of the cross. It had a fiery hue and much like the feathers on a bird, the flower petals bloomed toward two opposite sides. He continued explaining, “There is a Phoenix Plumeria right in front of the cross. This flower usually represents rebirth...”

“I’m not entirely sure of its meaning. One might say that the deceased in that grave could be returning to life. It could also mean that whoever is buried in there would get a chance to be reborn in another world,” it was not often that Mi En would be uncertain in his analysis.

Gu Ding turned toward Liliath and Biggie. “It doesn’t matter which of those predictions is true. Why don’t both of you return to the Grey-faced Buzzard? I’ll make a trip to the auction and return to the harbor later, and all of us can leave this planet.”

“Gu Ding, your divination revealed a flood. The flood represents something that cannot be stopped by man. You won’t be able to escape whatever is coming. Why don’t you spend your time figuring out how to face the impending danger, instead of running away,” Mi En chimed up to remind Gu Ding.

“From what I gather, the danger you and all of us are about to face comes from the Army. The Army had only sent some peacekeepers and a bunch of nobodies to Great Divinity. I’m guessing they are currently hidden on the few nearby planets, waiting for the right time to make their move. If you choose to leave now, you’ll only be accelerating your capture in their hands.”

“He’s right. We should stay calm and observe the situation instead of making a hasty escape. Let’s take the time to prepare for the upcoming battle and minimize our losses as much as possible.” Neptune thought Mi En’s reasoning was well worth noting.

“Since we can’t escape, let’s just stay back and prepare to go into battle!” Liliath looked at Gu Ding with a calm look in her eye. She seemed to have accepted the results of the divination.

Gu Ding clenched his fists. He was not willing to accept this impending outcome. “Fine, we’ll stay back. If anyone hurts any of you, I’ll make them pay a huge price.”

Gu Ding and the others were not in the mood to continue visiting the auction after getting the divination session.

They returned to the Grey-faced Buzzard and Gu Ding got Neptune to give the Grey-faced Buzzard a full charge. He even gave the backup energy storage a full charge.

Next, Gu Ding knocked on Robert’s room door.

Robert half-opened the door and poked his head out. “What’s up?”

“Robert, build us the most powerful weapon you can muster up. It would be best if you could finish it within three days. I’ll pick up any materials you need,” Gu Ding’s battle prep was in full swing

Robert raised his head to look at Gu Ding and nodded. He prepared a shopping list for Gu Ding within two minutes.

Gu Ding made a copy of the list and passed it to Biggie. Once again, both of them headed toward the tower where the auction was being held. Before they left, Gu Ding took the time to speak to Lili. “Lili, I’m going out with Biggie to do some shopping. Don’t go out there for the next few days if you can. If there are any problems, just let us settle them. If you need to buy anything, pass us the shopping list.”

Liliath nodded and said nothing. She watched as they left the spaceship and returned to her room after. She locked the door behind her and sat on her single seat sofa, curling on it. A video was projected from her smartwatch.

A little girl could be seen running on a lush, green field in the video. She kept looking back at a middle-aged man running after her. Her laughter rang out like a clear silver bell.

“Lili, I’m about to catch you,” the man had short, chestnut-colored hair. There was a steadfast look on his face, and he appeared physically strong and tall. He was slow jogging behind her with a huge grin on his face.

“You can’t catch me, you big stupid bear!” The little girl clucked with laughter.

“If I’m a big stupid bear, you would be the little stupid bear,” the man laughed.

“I am not!” The little girl rebutted.

“That’s enough. You two should know it’s time for some tea,” a young woman walked over to them with a plate in her hands, her golden hair was tied up in a neat bun. There was not a trace of makeup on her but her natural beauty was enough to take one’s breath away. She had on a long, green dress. It was an ordinary-looking dress, but it looked especially classy when it was on her. She smiled sweetly as she waved both of them over toward her.

Liliath sat on the sofa while the tears could not stop running down from her eyes. “Mum, dad, Lili really misses both of you...”

Meanwhile, in the tower where the auction was held, Gu Ding and Biggie took no time at all to find most of the materials on the list with directions from Neptune. However, there were a few items on the list that could not be found at the stalls set up in the tower.

“Biggie, you can head back first with these materials. Pass them to Robert and look after Lili. I’ll figure out how to get the rest of the materials and try to get them together as fast as possible. I’ll return as soon as I do,” Gu Ding transferred all the material from the Inventory to Biggie.

Biggie nodded. “Okay, I’ll take good care of Lili. Nothing will happen to her.”

Gu Ding headed straight for the information counter at the auction after Biggie left.

The sky had darkened by now and there was no one in the auction hall. The appraisal service robot at the information counter was still present, but there was no one else.

“Hello, you do provide service in the form of shopping assistance at the auction, don’t you?” Gu Ding asked at the information counter.

“Please provide us with the shopping list and we will assist you in getting everything on your list as quickly as possible. The price will be 10% higher than the usual price.”

Gu Ding did not mind the 10% increase. The situation had called for an urgent need for the materials because the battle would begin the moment the auction ends. He passed the list to the service robot and asked, “How long before I can get everything?”

“Ordinary materials can be collected within 20 hours. More unique materials might require 40 hours. For material that we are unable to source, we will inform you within 20 hours so as to not waste any of your time,” the service robot gave an elaborate answer.

The length of 20 hours was enough for Gu Ding. By the looks of the auction’s progress, it would go on for at least five more days. The Army would not take action while the auction was still in process because it was organized by the Federation Government. It would be equivalent to slapping their own faces if the Army acted now. There was no doubt they would wait until the auction was over.

Gu Ding had witnessed Robert’s ability previously and was confident that Robert would deliver. As long as Robert had enough materials, it would take one day at the most for him to create a weapon of mass destruction.

Besides getting ready for the battle, Gu Ding was planning on boosting both his and Liliath’s capabilities. He had no intention of directly involving Liliath in the battle, but if Liliath could become stronger, it would help improve her ability to self-protect.

Gu Ding quickly left the auction after handing the list over to the service robot, and he headed toward the harbor.