The Highest Bounty

"Name: Ross Childe"

"Gender: Male"

"Age: 15"

"Family: Childe Family"

"Gene Level: Unknown"

"Special Ability: Unknown (Suspected to be a player)"

"Other Abilities: Possess high intelligence and terrifying deduction skills"

"Wanted: No"

"Criminal Record: None"

"Special Cases: Rejected invitation to take part in Monster Concentration Camp"

“The little young master of the Childe family displayed that he was a genius when he was two-years-old. He managed to learn how to speak twenty-three languages, as well as read and write eight of them, at the age of one. That year, he was exposed to four-dimensional chess which is played using s.p.a.ce and time dimensions. In less than three months, he went into a frenzy, challenging chess masters via Skynet. Even national players of Faye Cosmic Nation lost to him. After that, he went on to study physics and earned himself a Ph.D. in s.p.a.ce Physics as well as Strategic Studies in Faye Cosmic Nation"s Royal Academy. He became a guest lecturer in the Royal Academy for Strategic Studies at the age of ten and later turned to study Genetics. It took him only two years to receive a Ph.D. in Genetics. His research was mainly on Orthogenesis. At the age of 13, he resigned from his position as a guest lecturer and rarely appeared in public from then on.”

Neptune quickly found information on the little young master from the Childe family but most of it was not that useful.

The Childe family had taken great lengths to protect the young man. There were not many pictures of him available on Skynet. Even the most recent picture that featured him was when he was thirteen-years-old.

“That guy does not seem like someone easy to handle. He has high intelligence, and his special ability seems to be player,” Neptune said as he projected a description of a player"s ability.

"Special Ability: Player"

"Ability Description: The ability to fight a battle like a chess game. Every enemy in the person"s eyes is like an opposing chess piece. Able to accurately predict the enemy"s next move after obtaining information from the enemy themselves."

"Ability Flaw: Judgement is sometimes flawed because of unknown information."

“We"ve met a similar opponent before. It was that guy named Walter from Great Divinity of Dragon Soar Cosmic Nation. He was the one who had come up with the plan to nab us all in one ago. However, something unpredictable happened, which resulted in an ending that was neither here nor there.” Neptune"s tone was not relaxed at all. Gu Ding"s crew would be on the losing end if they fought an enemy who was not only extremely focused on the big picture but also very detailed with their strategy.

When it came to intelligence and strategizing, there was almost no one better than Neptune. However, Neptune was not human, and his logic was different from human beings as it could not include latent factors such as human growth and character change in its calculations. Moreover, there were limitations to obtaining personal information of a person from Skynet. Hence, in such cases, Neptune could only evaluate a person"s true capabilities by being in direct contact with them or their friends.

“If his power to deduce things is really equivalent to that of a player, he should have already predicted the possibility of the missions failing. That would mean he probably expected Gu Ding to show up and get back at him after having been challenged twice. This could very well be his third plan, which is to get you to attend his rites of pa.s.sage on your own accord. Even though it might look like we are the ones in control, in truth, he has attained his aim. If that"s true, he"s a terrifying enemy…” Lilliath began to frown.

Neptune shared his opinion, “If he really is as described in those rumors and was invited to the Monster Concentration Camp, it would mean that even if his intelligence level has not reached X"s, it is still not far from it. People like him normally do not give up halfway on whatever they intend to do. When his first and second plan failed, he would not have made up for them by coming up with a third plan that would fail. Hence, there is only one explanation, which is his third plan has already been executed. That would also mean that we have been tricked by him.”

“What if we don"t show up? Didn"t Gu Ding say we will pay him a visit? We can very well lie to him and not go. That would rile him up,” Elsa thought that the situation was too much of a headache and gave a simple suggestion.

“It"s no use. We"re already under his radar. If we wander even slightly from the current route, he"ll be sure to come up with something to force us to change routes. I believe he has already set the stage for everything.” Neptune was forced to think of the worst-case scenario when it came to such enemies.

Gu Ding nodded as well. “There is no need for us to get involved with the minor lackeys he will send to come after us. We will just end up wasting our time and exposing our true abilities. It would only give him more time to come up with an even more intricate plan. Heading straight for him would be the best plan.”

“When is his rites of pa.s.sage?” Lilliath suddenly asked.

Neptune answered, “In eighteen days. The location is Red s.h.i.+eld. The Childe family"s headquarters is also located there. Rumor has it that a demiG.o.d watches over the place. The planet"s security level is considered to be one of the top five in Faye Cosmic Nation.”

“That must be the reason why he"s able to invite me in such a carefree manner.” Gu Ding nodded when he heard the information Neptune had.

“That"s right. The planet"s security system is made up of half-automated machines. It is said that the machines are the work of a survivor of the Mechanical Tribe who used to be a master. They might cause me some trouble, but with Robert around, they should not be much of an issue,” Neptune continued to recite information about Red s.h.i.+eld.

“How long would it take for us to get there?” Gu Ding asked.

“At normal speed, it would take around fifteen days.”

“Let"s take the time to cultivate properly during this time and upgrade our abilities. We"ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

At that moment, on Red s.h.i.+eld, a handsome young man was sitting upright in front of his study table. The man was watching a projection of a video clip and was wearing a nice, tidy, blue suit. The white s.h.i.+rt the man was wearing on the inside was clean and crisp. Additionally, there was a black-striped tie straightened tightly around the collar of his s.h.i.+rt. He was not dressed like a young man at all.

The projection in front of him was a clip of Gu Ding"s crew in battle.

A strange light flashed in his eyes as he stared at the footage.

“Ross, why are you still watching videos of Gu Ding and his crew so late at night?” A beautiful young woman suddenly appeared behind the young man. She looked very alike the young man.

“Lucia? I should be asking you why you"re in my room so late at night.” Ross turned to glare at her.

Lucia pouted. “Is that the way to talk to your older sister? I sleep just opposite you. I saw your lights still on so late at night, so I came in here to give you a polite greeting. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Well, I… Didn"t you want to meet Gu Ding? I"ve invited him to attend my rites of pa.s.sage. He"ll be here on that day. It"s late now and I"m about to turn in. You should go and do the same,” Ross said as he turned off the projection.

“How did you do it? He doesn"t seem like someone who would easily accept any invitation.” Lucia was clearly surprised and curious at the same time.

“You don"t need to know,” Ross said as he turned to leave.

“Did you set a trap for them?” Lucia knew her little brother well and could guess what he had done.

“All you need to know is that they will be here. Anything else is unimportant.” Ross picked up his toothbrush and started to brush his teeth, sounding unclear with his reply.

“Hey, you aren"t trying to get Gu Ding and his crew here on purpose to create chaos and take the opportunity to leave Red s.h.i.+eld, are you?” Lucia suddenly realized something.

Ross pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth and turned around to look at his older sister who was only a few months older than him. “Stop spouting such nonsense when you have no proof.”

Lucia placed her hands on her hips and replied indignantly, “Don"t think I don"t know you well. If you don"t tell me the truth, I"ll go to father and tell him about this.”

Ross gargled and walked out of the bathroom. “Fine, I give up. You"re right, I"m trying to get Gu Ding and his crew here for the very reason you guessed. I want them to create chaos so I can leave the planet amongst the confusion.”

“Haven"t you considered the consequences of doing so?” Lucia was getting angry.

“Did the old man think about the consequences when Aunt Lan died?” Ross" face turned grim upon mentioning the topic.

“So, you still haven"t let it go even though it"s been almost three years.” Lucia"s expression changed as well.

“I was brought up by Aunt Lan. That is something I will remember for the rest of my life.” a sharp look flashed across Ross" eyes.

“Do you know how many deaths you"ll cause if Gu Ding"s crew clashes with our family?” Lucia hoped that she would be able to change her brother"s mind.

“Gu Ding does not have a demiG.o.d in his crew. Biggie may be strong, but his weapon is an ordinary one which cannot kill a demiG.o.d. They might cause some damage to the Childe family to a certain extent, but they won"t be able to exterminate the entire clan. As for me, I"ll be able to take the opportunity to leave this place which has had me locked up for close to sixteen years. If I really wanted the entire family to be destroyed, I wouldn"t have lured Gu Ding"s crew here but Kohld Blood"s The Punishers,” Ross raised his head to look at Lucia as he explained with a calm look on his face.

“It doesn"t matter what is it you say. I have to tell father about this.” Lucia knew it was not child"s play. Even though Ross normally did not make any mistakes in his strategies, she knew that Gu Ding"s crew would not be easy to manipulate.

Ross did not stop Lucia when she turned around to leave. Instead, he watched quietly as Lucia jumped out of the window.

“You"re a man who schemes very well, even making use of your own sister.” A shadow slowly took the shape of a human in the dark. It was the voice of a woman, but her body was completely wrapped up in a long, black robe. Even with her being in the shadows, one could vaguely see the blood-red pattern of a demon on the chest of her black robe.

“I"m not making use of her. It"s been years since I spoke to the old man. I"m just getting Lucia to help me pa.s.s a message to the old man for him to be on high alert and prevent the family business that has been going on for the last ten thousand years from being destroyed in one night,” Ross glared at the woman and said calmly.