Chapter 88: Bounty Hunter
Chapter 88: Bounty Hunter
The next day, Ren Mian left Olympia.
She never mentioned where she was going, and Ji Xinghuo never asked.
Only Ji Xinghuo and Jiang Nan Caiyi remained in the villa, but a few days later, Jiang Nan Caiyi also returned to Earth.
Cultivating on Earth wasn't much different from doing so in the Star World, and most people preferred it due to the convenience and the opportunity to be with their families.
Ji Xinghuo had considered returning to Earth immediately and taking Ren Mian's letter to the Sword Bureau himself, thus relieving himself of the burden.
However, Ren Mian had instructed him to delay as long as possible.
Ji Xinghuo thought it made sense; the longer he waited to contact the Sword Bureau, the stronger he would become, and he would be able to face any problems with ease.
So he continued to cultivate alone.
Every day, he used a bottle of Grade B Blood Marrow Solution, steadily increasing his stellar power. Soon, he broke through the 440-point mark.
His martial arts rank was also improving rapidly.
However, when Ji Xinghuo opened the interface of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil and looked at the progress of his and Qinghong's abilities, he found that the upgrade progress had only increased by a tiny bit. He couldn't bear the slow pace.
Without a spiritual source, relying solely on his own training to enhance his abilities was incredibly inefficient!
Increasing his stellar power was important, but so was upgrading his abilities.
Most aberrants struggled to balance both, but he could manage it!
Moreover, it seemed that his stellar power was increasing too quickly. Ji Xinghuo predicted that when his stellar power reached around 500 points, he would undergo a third evolution and advance to become a high-level aberrant.
This might not be a good thing, as during the intermediate aberrant stage, he had only fused with two exotic species, which didn't increase his stellar power limit by much.
The Thunderclap Hand was a superior ability, but after fusing with it, his stellar power had only increased by a mere dozen points or so.
It was simply not enough.
After much thought, Ji Xinghuo finally packed his bags and placed them into Qinghong's dimensional stomach, once again embarking on a hunting journey.
His original plan was to go to Juefeng Valley and continue to plague the Shilianmen.
But then he thought of a better place to go.
Early in the morning, Ji Xinghuo boarded a train that departed from the East Gate of Olympia, heading southeast along the railway.
Three hours later, the train slowed to a stop at a station.
Along the way, Ji Xinghuo saw one sturdy fortress after another. This was the "Starry Frontier," located 274 kilometers away from the stargates leading to Earth and the North Gate System.
He disembarked the train and found himself gazing upon a massive military fortress that spanned over thirty square kilometers. It was perched atop a mountain, with four layers of walls extending from its foot to the summit. The city within was built along the mountainside, and all the structures were sturdy, durable, and constructed according to strict military demands.
The fortress was heavily guarded, with sentries posted every five steps and patrols every ten.
Squads of fully armed soldiers patrolled the city, and in the distance, one could hear the sounds of military drills. Most of the people on the streets were military personnel.
Looking up at the high walls, one could see rows upon rows of steam crossbows installed along the thirty-plus-meter-high walls, while the sound of steam boilers rumbling filled the air within the walls.
Thick smoke and mist shrouded the sky, reminiscent of Earth during the steam engine era.
This was the "Midpoint Fortress"! The stargates of Earth and the North Gate system were 548 kilometers apart.
In the year 2051, the Earth Federation had repelled the invasion of the North Barbarian tribe and recaptured the stargate. Following this, both sides signed a peace agreement mediated by the Celestial Jade King Court, establishing a border line that bisected the midpoint between the two stargates, running in a southwest-northeast direction.
The Earth Federation named this border the "Starry Defense Line."
This defense line, stretching over two thousand kilometers, started from the eastern end of the Yanhuang City of the Asia-Pacific Federation and ended at the southern end of the New Philadelphia of the American Federation.
Along the Starry Defense Line, Earth's countries continuously invested manpower and resources, building military fortresses at every critical terrain node.
To date, there were over seventy fortresses!
On average, there was a military fortress or stronghold every thirty kilometers or so, each housing a garrison.
In the region behind the defense line, all critical terrain and important locations were fortified with defensive structures—watchtowers, strongholds, fortresses, barracks, and more—numbering in the tens of thousands. This defensive network extended all the way to Olympia, encompassing the entire city within its protective embrace.
Of course, the military focus remained in the southeast direction.
The Northern Shimen tribe employed a similar strategy.
Directly across from the Starry Defense Line was the North Shimen tribe's frontline, with a buffer zone of less than five kilometers between the two.
Among the seventy-plus military fortresses along the Starry Defense Line, the most important was the Midpoint Fortress.
It was the first to be constructed and the largest in scale.
Additionally, the Midpoint Fortress occupied a crucial geographical position, perched atop a mountain over two hundred meters high, blocking the most convenient route to Olympia.
The Midpoint Fortress was heavily garrisoned. The Asia-Pacific Federation alone stationed an entire army group here, comprising around a hundred thousand troops! Together with the troops from the American Federation and other countries, the total number of stationed soldiers exceeded half a million.
The train station was located at the foot of the mountain where the Midpoint Fortress stood, between the first and second layers of walls, in an area of relatively flat terrain.
After disembarking, Ji Xinghuo made his way uphill toward the upper part of the city. Along the way, he encountered almost exclusively military personnel, with checkpoints set up at every intersection to verify identities and races. The shops, restaurants, bars, and inns along the street were mostly frequented by aberrants in military uniforms.
Everything here served the purpose of war.
Moments later, Ji Xinghuo arrived at a gate in the second layer of walls. After his identity was checked, he waited with others who wanted to enter the city.
Ka-ka-ka...
With the hissing of steam, white smoke billowed, and the sound of chains and gears turning echoed from within the black walls. Three heavy gates, entirely forged from alloys, were slowly raised by the turning chains until they stopped about three meters from the ground.
The layout of the Midpoint Fortress was straightforward and concise.
The outermost district was the Level 1 District, situated at the lowest elevation and covering approximately a third of the entire fortress. Next was the Level 2 District, nestled between the second and third inner walls, where most of the fortress's administrative offices and some important military camps were located.
Above that was the Level 3 District, serving as a storage area for military equipment, food supplies, and various other resources.
And at the very top, the smallest yet most crucial area was the summit district, acting as the command center for the entire Midpoint Fortress and home to the military leaders of the various countries, as well as the Celestial Jade King.
Ji Xinghuo didn't have to walk far into the Level 2 District before he spotted his destination.
"Midpoint Fortress Bounty Office."
He paused to observe his surroundings.
Though it was called an office, it was adjacent to a military camp. Not many people entered or exited, but those who did were all aberrants, and each of them exuded a fierce aura, some even carrying the scent of blood—they were all outlaws.
They were bounty hunters, every single one of them!
Bounty hunting wasn't a profession listed on the template, but rather an ancient occupation.
In the past, bounty hunters pursued criminals, but now, their targets had shifted to the North Shimen tribe.
Both Earth and the North Shimen tribe had established military defense lines and agreed to mutual non-aggression. However, the deep-rooted enmity between them couldn't be restrained by a mere agreement.
Friction occurred daily along the defense lines, occasionally escalating into larger-scale conflicts that resulted in bloodshed and casualties. The war never truly ended.
Beyond these overt military clashes, aberrants from both sides continued to cross the defense lines, engaging in covert operations and hunting down their enemies.
The countries of Earth encouraged these actions and even offered bounties.
A live Dagon was worth 50,000 Asia Dollars, as was a Vine Elf. A Grolak's bounty was set at 20,000 Asia Dollars, while the lowest bounty was for the Stoneling, at a mere 10,000.
As long as one brought back identifiable body parts of the North Shimen tribe to prove they had killed an enemy, they could claim the bounty.
Additionally, the exotic species they hunted could be sold for money.
This breathed new life into the ancient profession of bounty hunting, attracting many aberrants who excelled in combat but lacked the patience for monster hunting. The lure of money was enough to push them to take risks.
Some, however, weren't motivated by money.
There were those who sought to hone their combat abilities through real life-or-death battles, believing it to be the fastest path to improvement. The prospect of earning money was simply a bonus.
Such individuals were either bloodthirsty warriors or true geniuses, or perhaps a combination of both.
Others were driven by historical influences, harboring a deep-seated hatred for the North Shimen tribe. Only by killing the enemies of humanity with their own hands could they find relief from the hatred burning in their hearts and achieve psychological liberation.
Of course, there were also those who did it purely for the thrill, taking pleasure in the act of killing to satisfy their twisted desires.
Some took photos with their slain enemies to brag about their accomplishments back on Earth, while others sought to become heroes.
In any case, bounty hunters were not to be trifled with. Those who survived in this line of work for an extended period were exceptionally skilled, surpassing their peers of the same tier.
Ji Xinghuo entered the bounty office and approached the counter.
A soldier sat behind the desk, glancing up to assess Ji Xinghuo before asking, "What can I help you with?"
"I want to register as a bounty hunter."
One couldn't simply bring body parts of the North Shimen tribe and expect to claim a bounty; they had to be registered beforehand to receive official recognition.
There was also a point system in place for bounty hunters.
In addition to monetary rewards, the more enemies they hunted, the more welfare benefits they would receive from various countries, along with combat hero titles and medals linked to their points.
This system helped maintain control over the bounty hunters.
In war, disorder was the greatest enemy. It was crucial to prevent bounty hunters from acting too freely, especially during critical battles, to avoid any negative repercussions.
The soldier nodded and handed over a form. "Fill out your information and bring it back to me."
Ji Xinghuo took the form and sat down to the side.
The form asked for basic information such as name, age, gender, nationality, profession, tier, height, weight, and other distinguishing features, as well as an email address, residence, and emergency contact. It didn't delve into personal privacy beyond these details. Apparently, the bounty office didn't require one's legal name.
Ji Xinghuo had been considering using an alias, but then he recalled Ren Mian's words.
"Once I've killed hundreds, or even thousands, of the North Shimen tribe and accumulated a ton of points and a bunch of hero medals, no one should doubt my stance anymore, right?"
In the court of public opinion, once one's hero points reached a certain threshold, it became a protective talisman of sorts.
It was the epitome of political correctness, universally recognized!
With this in mind, Ji Xinghuo didn't hesitate to write his real name on the form.
After completing the form, he returned it to the soldier.
"Please stand over there."
The soldier pointed to a spot in front of a white wall. Once Ji Xinghuo was in position, the soldier picked up a film camera, aimed it at Ji Xinghuo, and snapped a few photos—a close-up of his upper body and a full-body shot. "Come back in an hour to collect your bounty hunter ID."
(End of Chapter)
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