Chapter 94: Bounty Competition, The Bonebird Appears!

Chapter 94: Bounty Competition, The Bonebird Appears!

The setting sun cast a golden glow across the yacht's deck, reflecting a radiant light.

Lin Zeyu's yacht was named Universe, the same one he had used to hunt the Abyssal Worms at Gardenia Beach.

The name of the yacht was a bit grandiose, and it was indeed a large vessel, measuring 26 meters in length with a double-deck design.

Originally a luxurious yacht, it was now stripped of its entertainment value and transformed into an armed vessel.

On their previous hunt for the Abyssal Worms, several areas of the yacht had been damaged.

After returning, Lin Zeyu had the yacht docked and modified, adding armor to its exterior.

All the original entertainment facilities were removed, creating more space for supplies and weapons.

Now, the yacht was essentially an armed vessel.

With a cruising speed of over 20 knots, or 36 kilometers per hour, it could reach a top speed of 28 knots.

Setting off from the Binhai Port, the distance to the Bonebird's location was 250 nautical miles, or 463 kilometers.

It would take half a day to reach the destination.

Thus, the Universe yacht departed in the afternoon and arrived at the target area by midnight.

During the journey, except for those on duty, everyone else retired to their cabins for rest.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next morning, Lu Heng woke up, climbed to the upper deck, and stretched as he watched the rising sun in the east.

"Would you like some hot soy milk?" Su Muyu handed him a cup of freshly made soy milk and then slowly finished her own.

"Have you sailed before?" Lu Heng asked casually as he took the soy milk.

Su Muyu shook her head, "No, this is my first time going out to sea."

As a child, her family's financial situation had been difficult, and she had never left her hometown, let alone ventured into the ocean.

This was her first time on such a luxurious yacht.

"Do you get seasick?" Lu Heng asked.

Su Muyu shook her head again, "No, and even if we do, our physical conditions are much stronger than ordinary people, so the symptoms should be minimal, right?"

"That's true," Lu Heng nodded in agreement, then turned to the matter at hand, "Starting today, you'll need to use the Scout Eagle to observe the surrounding sea and try to locate the Bonebird."

Su Muyu pursed her lips and asked, "The ocean is so vast, is there any way to find the Bonebird, or is it just a matter of luck?"

"It's mostly a matter of luck," Lu Heng admitted, "But if I had to suggest a method, finding the remains of large dead marine life and following the trail of their corpses might increase the chances of encountering the Bonebird." After finishing his soy milk, Su Muyu took the cup from him.

The ocean was too vast; even a fleet of warships could hide within it, undetectable by satellites.

Therefore, finding the Bonebird was largely a matter of luck.

However, with Lu Heng's help, the search became slightly easier.

Lu Heng had marked a circle on the ocean map, and they only needed to search within that area.

The circle was still quite large, and finding the Bonebird within it would still require a bit of luck.

For the next three days, the Universe yacht sailed at a steady 20 knots, covering a significant distance.

Originally, this yacht could stay at sea for seven days.

In other words, if sailing in a straight line, they would have to return on the fourth day.

However, Lin Zeyu had the entertainment facilities removed, creating more space for food and freshwater.

As a result, the duration of their voyage increased from seven to twelve days.

On the third day, they encountered another vessel.

After a brief greeting, they learned that the other ship was also searching for the Bonebird.

The authorities had issued a bounty, and although the reward wasn't substantial, the Bonebird was a high-level Abyssal creature with significant value.

Consequently, numerous Mutant teams were scouring the seas in search of the Bonebird.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Lin Zeyu set up a grill on the deck, had some crew members catch a few fish, and opened a bottle of wine to enjoy the sea breeze.

When Lu Heng arrived on the deck, he saw that the fish was already grilled, and he took it without hesitation.

Just as Lin Zeyu was about to eat, the fish was snatched away, almost causing his sunglasses to fall off.

"Hey! At least leave me half?" He swallowed, having not tasted fresh fish in days, his mouth watering in anticipation.

At that moment, Su Muyu ran up the stairs, pointing to the left side of the ship, "There's another ship over there."

"Looks like there are quite a few teams hunting the Bonebird," Lin Zeyu stood up, taking the telescope and looking in the direction Su Muyu indicated.

After observing for a while, he grumbled, "Damn, it's the Wolfpack's ship."

Lu Heng was familiar with this Mutant team; the Wolfpack was a well-known group in the future, backed by significant capital and possessing formidable strength.

"You sound pissed. What's your beef with them?"

"Yeah, a bit of a grudge. Wolfpack is an empowered team under the Chunshang Group's security company. They poached several of my people without even discussing it. It's just not right." Lin Zeyu spoke with indignation.

Three months had passed since the Abyss's arrival.

Worldwide, all conglomerates, powers, and families began cultivating empowered teams.

Anyone with a functioning brain could see that whoever controlled these extraordinary powers would hold the reins of power.

Therefore, any power that hadn't entered the field of empowered team cultivation would quickly be eliminated.

Consequently, all conglomerates and powers were splurging money to recruit empowered individuals with potential.

A single empowered individual with great potential and a high level would often attract competition from multiple powers.

Some would even pay breach-of-contract fees to poach those who had already signed contracts.

Previously, Wolfpack had poached several high-level empowered individuals from Lin Zeyu's Universe Security Company, creating a rift between the two.

Even without the poaching incident, Lin Zeyu and Wolfpack were not on good terms.

The reason was that the conglomerate backing Wolfpack was Chunshang Group, a multinational conglomerate controlled by foreign capital.

The recently emerged "Tempering Master" He Shangyong was also backed by Chunshang Group.

To break the stalemate, Lin Zeyu boldly offered a 70% minimum success rate guarantee for tempering.

This move was ruthless, as Chunshang Group dared not accept the challenge, knowing they couldn't meet it.

Lin Zeyu had specifically inquired about He Shangyong's tempering success rate, which was only around 50%, and the process required entering the Abyss World, making it costly.

Even a 50% success rate guarantee was something Chunshang Group couldn't match, let alone 70%.

Therefore, in this competition in the tempering market, Chunshang Group was purely making a loss, gaining fame but not the ability to actually temper weapons. Empowered individuals with real skills wouldn't choose them over the 70% guarantee.

After this competition, Lin's company and Chunshang Group became rivals.

"They seem to be heading our way. Should we greet them?" Su Muyu asked, having spotted Wolfpack's speedboat approaching through her scout eagle.

"Wang Xiangfeng, get ready! We can't lose face here," Lin Zeyu said, wanting to show off against the other boat.

As Wolfpack's boat approached, Lin Zeyu prepared to speak to the people on board.

Unexpectedly, Wolfpack's boat suddenly accelerated and dashed in front of Universe Yacht, splashing water at it.

This was a clear provocation, but not enough to warrant a physical response.

"Damn! These bastards!"

Lin Zeyu cursed and shouted, "Hurry! Catch up and get in front of them!"

Universe Yacht accelerated in pursuit, but even at its maximum speed of 28 knots, it couldn't catch up.

Wang Xiangfeng sighed, "Boss, their boat is an armed speedboat. We're a yacht; we can't catch up."

Yachts were designed for leisurely offshore cruises, prioritizing comfort and luxury over performance.

Armed speedboats were different; they were built for armed operations and had superior performance and speed.

"Damn it! I'll get an armed speedboat too. No, a battleship!" Lin Zeyu's temper flared.

He was just talking; acquiring a battleship wasn't as easy as he made it sound.

If he insisted, he could buy an antique from another country, but he'd have to dismantle all the weapons.

After leading the way for a while, Wolfpack's armed speedboat slowed down and pulled alongside Universe Yacht.

A Wolfpack leader leaned on the railing, smirking at Lin Zeyu, "Young Master Lin, your boat isn't up to much, is it?"

"What's the use of a boat if you don't have the people?" Lin Zeyu retorted defiantly.

"Are the people from Universe Security Company not good enough? Didn't they all come to us?" The Wolfpack leader continued to taunt.

Lin Zeyu's face darkened as he cursed, "Hei Lang, are you looking for trouble?"

Hei Lang shrugged, "Just saying hello. Seems like we've upset Young Master Lin. Alright, we're leaving. Take your time, Young Master. If you run into trouble, send a distress signal. If we're not too far, I'll come to the rescue."

"Go to hell! I'll be waiting for your call!" Lin Zeyu cursed back.

"You're not here for the Bonebird too, are you? With your team, you'd just be delivering food. Why bother? Just enjoy some seafood and go home." Hei Lang mocked, wagging his finger at Lin Zeyu.

After the provocation, Wolfpack's armed speedboat accelerated again, leaving Universe Yacht behind.

Lin Zeyu grumbled, "These cowards! All talk and no action. If they dare to fight, I'll take them down!"

...

Over the next few days, they encountered five or six more boats searching for the Bonebird.

Most of the people exchanged greetings and went their separate ways, while some didn't approach and continued on their own paths.

The Universe Yacht had been sailing for ten days, and the food and water supplies on board were nearly depleted. They needed to find a port for resupply.

That afternoon, they finally encountered the corpse of a large marine creature—a whale shark.

The whale shark was 20 meters long, floating stiffly on the sea surface, being pushed by the waves.

"This whale shark hasn't been eaten yet," Su Muyu observed its exterior and found it still intact.

"Why don't we get some meat and give it a try? I've never eaten such a big fish before," Lin Zeyu licked his lips.

"This whale shark must have been dead for several days. Even the carnivorous fish in the sea dare not eat it, but you're so brave," Lu Heng teased.

Lin Zeyu raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you saying this whale shark is no longer edible?"

To be precise, the prey killed by Bonebirds contained strong toxins, so the carnivorous fish in the sea didn't dare to eat these corpses.

"You can try if you want. The worst that can happen is a perforated intestine, it's not a big deal," Lu Heng said with a mocking smile.

"Forget what I said. What should we do now?" Lin Zeyu asked.

Lu Heng leaped from the deck onto the whale shark's back and inspected its head, finding a wound.

This was the standard wound caused by a Bonebird's pounce, a fatal blow.

After killing its prey, the Bonebird wouldn't eat it but would leave and return after the corpse had decomposed for a few days to feed on the rotten remains.

After examining the whale shark's condition, Lu Heng returned to the deck and said, "This whale shark's corpse has already started to rot. Food that has decomposed to this extent is what Bonebirds like the most.

"Moreover, this whale shark is very large, and Bonebirds won't pass up such a big meal. They will definitely return."

"At most, it will take a day for the Bonebird to come back and feed. We just need to wait nearby."

Upon hearing that they would finally encounter the Bonebird, Lin Zeyu became excited. "Alright, let's wait here."

"Let's keep our distance and watch from 10 kilometers away," Lu Heng instructed, moving the Universe Yacht 10 kilometers away and keeping an eye on the whale shark's corpse from a distance.

Time slowly passed.

They waited from morning until afternoon and then into the evening.

Everyone started to feel anxious. Firstly, they were concerned about the Bonebird's appearance and whether they could handle such a terrifying creature.

Secondly, they worried that the Bonebird might not show up, and their wait would be in vain.

After dusk, the sun slowly sank below the horizon, and darkness gradually enveloped the sea.

The Bonebird still hadn't appeared.

When the time reached 9 p.m., a full moon rose into the sky.

It was a full moon night, and although it wasn't as bright as daylight, the moonlight reflecting off the sea allowed clear visibility.

Just as everyone was feeling a bit sleepy, Su Muyu suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "It's here! It's appeared!"

"Where?" Lin Zeyu immediately jumped up as well.

"It's in the southeast direction, heading towards the whale shark's corpse," Su Muyu replied.

"Quick, quick, quick... Start the boat, let's go! Let's do this!" Lin Zeyu shouted.

Lu Heng hurriedly said, "Wait a moment, don't be hasty. Let it eat for a while. When the Bonebird starts feeding, it's highly alert. As it eats halfway, it will gradually lower its guard, and that's the best time to strike."

Time ticked by, second by second.

Everyone prepared for battle, anxiously awaiting Lu Heng's command to attack.

After about twenty minutes, Lu Heng finally said, "Alright, Muyu, activate the ship's invisibility, and let's approach at a quarter speed."

Su Muyu released the large invisible veil, enveloping the entire Universe Yacht.

After this skill was upgraded to C-rank, the invisibility coverage expanded to 30 meters, which was just enough to cover the entire 26-meter-long Universe Yacht.

The Universe Yacht entered an invisible state and slowly approached the Bonebird.

When they were 1000 meters away, Lu Heng signaled for everyone to remain quiet, but they didn't take action even when they were 500 meters away.

As they closed in to 300 meters, the Bonebird's appearance became clearly visible to the naked eye.

It was a terrifying creature, 30 meters long, with a pair of wings and claws on its wings. Its entire body was covered in an exoskeleton, resembling a bird and a pterodactyl.

At that moment, the Bonebird was perched on the whale shark's corpse, its four claws firmly grasping the shark as it greedily swallowed the shark's internal organs.

Lu Heng waved his right hand and said, "Alright, let's go. Set up the sniper rifles and machine guns, and fire the first round. Lin Zeyu, you take the first shot, aim for the center of its torso to maximize the effect of Bone Eroding."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end