Chapter 122 - 87 Bounty Hunters

Chapter 122: Chapter 87 Bounty HuntersThe next day, Ren Mian left Olympia. She never said where she was going, and Ji Xinghuo never asked. In the villa, only Ji Xinghuo and Jiangnan Caiyi were left, but after a few days, Jiangnan Caiyi also returned to Earth. There wasn’t much difference between cultivating on Earth and in the Star Realm; most people preferred Earth for its convenience and the opportunity to be with their families. Ji Xinghuo had considered immediately returning to Earth to personally deliver Ren Mian’s letter to the Sword Bureau, which would have set him free. However, Ren Mian had asked him to wait as long as possible. Ji Xinghuo thought it made sense; the later he contacted the Sword Bureau, the stronger his powers would be, and he would be able to face any issues more calmly. He continued his solitary cultivation. Every day, he used a bottle of Class B Blood Marrow Solution, and his star power steadily increased, soon breaking through 440 points. His Martial Arts Rank also progressed quickly. However, when Ji Xinghuo opened the Wanxiang Star Pupil interface and saw the minuscule progress in the upgrade levels of his and Qing Hong’s abilities, he found it hard to bear. Without Spiritual Origin Ability, relying solely on training their abilities, the efficiency of the upgrade was worlds apart! Increasing star power was important, and so was upgrading abilities. It was difficult for most Mutants to focus on both, but he could! Also, it seemed his star power was increasing too quickly; Ji Xinghuo estimated that once his star power reached around 500 points, he would evolve for the third time and be promoted to an Advanced Mutant. But this wasn’t necessarily a good thing because at the Intermediate Mutant Rank, he only merged with two Alien Species and hadn’t greatly increased his star power limit. Thunderbolt Hand was merely a quality ability; merging it only added a dozen or so points to his star power. It was somewhat lacking. After much thought, Ji Xinghuo finally packed his bag into Qing Hong’s Dimension Stomach and set off once again on a hunting journey. His original plan was to go to Peak Valley and continue plaguing the Stone Scythe Demons. But then, he thought of an even better destination. Early in the morning. Ji Xinghuo boarded a train that left Olympia from the east city gate and sped southeast along the railway. Three hours later, the train slowed down and stopped at a station. On the train, Ji Xinghuo saw a series of robust fortresses and bastions along the way; this was the "Star Realm Frontline," 274 kilometers away from both the Star Gate to Earth and to the Beiluo Shimen. He got off the train and saw a massive military fortress covering over thirty square kilometers, perched on the mountaintop with four walls leading up from the base to the summit, the city built into the mountain, every structure solid, durable, and strictly built to military specifications. Within the fortress, there was a guard post every five steps and a watch every ten steps. Squads of fully armed soldiers patrolled the city streets, and the sounds of military drills echoed in the distance, with the majority of passersby being soldiers. Looking towards the high walls, the thirty-meter-tall city walls were fitted with rows of closely-packed steam crossbow guns, and the continuous roar from within the walls was the sound of steam boilers operating. Plumes of smoke and mist enshrouded the sky, as if returning to the era of steam engines on Earth. This was the "Midpoint Fortress"! The two Star Gates, one to Earth and the other to the Beiluo Shimen, were 548 kilometers apart. In 2051, after the Earth Alliance Army repelled the Beiluo Shimen Clan’s invasion and recaptured the Star Gate, peace was negotiated by the Sky Feather Royal Court, and an agreement was signed, with the midpoint between the two Star Gates serving as the border, extending in a southwest to northeast direction. On Earth’s side, it was called the Star Realm Defense Line. This defensive line was located southeast of Olympia and stretched over two thousand kilometers, with one end at the Asia-Pacific Community’s Yanhuang City and the other at the American Federation’s New Fei City. Along the Star Realm Defense Line, nations of Earth continually invested manpower and resources, constructing military fortresses at every vital terrain node. To date, there have been over seventy fortresses! On average, there is a military fortress or bastion every thirty kilometers, each with its garrison. Behind the defensive line, key terrains and vital positions are all fortified with defensive structures, lookout towers, bastions, fortresses, military camps, and more, numbering in the thousands, that all extend to Olympia, enveloping the whole city within the defensive system. Of course, the military focus is still towards the southeast. The Beiluo Shimen took a similar approach. Directly opposite the Star Realm Defense Line is the Beiluo Shimen Clan’s battlefront, with a buffer zone of less than five kilometers between the two forces. Out of the over seventy military fortresses on the Star Realm Defense Line, the most significant is the Midpoint Fortress. It was the first to be built and is the largest in scale. Also, the geographical location of the Midpoint Fortress is very important; situated on top of a mountain more than two hundred meters high, it blocks the most convenient route to Olympia. The Midpoint Fortress is manned with a heavy concentration of troops, with just the Asia-Pacific Community stationing an entire army group of around one hundred thousand there! There are also forces from the American Federation and other countries, with a total garrison exceeding five hundred thousand. The train station is built at the foot of the mountain where the Midpoint Fortress is located, situated between the first and second walls, on comparatively level ground. After Ji Xinghuo disembarked, he walked up towards the Upper City, and along the way, he encountered almost exclusively soldiers; every intersection had checkpoints to verify identities and confirm races. Shops, restaurants, bars, and hotels on the streets were mostly frequented by people in military uniforms. Everything here served the war effort. After a while. Ji Xinghuo arrived at a city gate in the second wall, and after his identity was checked, he waited with others who wished to enter the city for the gates to open. Clack clack clack... With a hissing of steam and billowing white smoke, the sound of chains and gears turning emerged from within the black city walls. Three heavy city gates, completely made of alloy, were gradually lifted by chain hoists to a height of about three meters above the ground and then stopped there. "Quick, quick, quick!" "Enter now, the gate is only open for three minutes, don’t delay." Urged on by the loud shouts of the city gate guards, Ji Xinghuo, along with the crowd, quickly passed through the gate and entered into a higher-tiered urban zone known as the Second Level. The layout of the Midpoint Fortress was simple and clear. The outermost area was the First Level, the lowest in terrain and the largest in size, making up about one-third of the entire fortress; followed by the Second Level, situated between the second and third inner walls, where most of the fortress’s administrative agencies and some important military camps were located; Further up was the Third Level, where arms, food, and various military supplies were stored; The highest was the mountain-top city area, the smallest in size but also the most important, serving as the command center of the entire Midpoint Fortress, inhabited by military commanders from various countries, and overseen by a Heavenly King. It didn’t take Ji Xinghuo long to arrive at his destination within the Second Level. "Midpoint Fortress Bounty Office." He observed it for a while. Though it was called an office, it was actually next to a military camp. Not many people were coming in and out, but every Mutant here was not a soldier and exuded a fierce aura, some even carrying the smell of blood, like desperadoes. Each one was a Bounty Hunter! Bounty Hunter was not a professional template, but an ancient profession. In the past, bounty hunters hunted criminals, but now, their targets had become the Beiluo Shimen Clan. Although Earth and Beiluo Shimen had both established military defense lines and agreed not to infringe upon each other, the two sides had long been enemies steeped in deep-seated mutual hatred. How could they possibly be restrained by a mere agreement? On the defense lines, frictions occurred daily. Every year, larger scales of conflict would erupt, blood would be shed continuously, and the war never stopped! Apart from the overt military conflicts, Mutants from both sides were constantly crossing the defense lines, infiltrating and hunting the enemies in secret. Various Earth nations encouraged such actions by Mutants and offered bounties for it. The bounty for a Dagon was fifty thousand Ya Yuan, the vine spirits were priced the same, Gorak’s bounty was twenty thousand Ya Yuan, and the lowest was for the Stone Lizard People, with a bounty of just ten thousand. As long as you brought back a body part that could identify you had killed an enemy from the Beiluo Shimen Clan, you could collect the bounty. Collected Alien Species could also be sold for money. This revitalized the ancient profession of Bounty Hunters. Many Mutants were skilled in combat but lacked the patience to hunt monsters; they were willing to take risks for money. And some were not in it for the money. Some Mutants sought to hone their real-life combat skills, looking for advancement through actual life-and-death battles, while also making some money on the side. Such individuals were often not the bloodthirsty sort but genuine talents! Or they might possess both qualities. Then there were those influenced by historical education who loathed the Beiluo Shimen Clan to the bone. Only by personally killing the enemies of all humanity could they find psychological relief and alleviate their hatred. Of course, some were purely bored, taking pleasure in killing to satisfy their twisted desires. There were also those who killed enemies to take photos as souvenirs, boasting about their deeds back on Earth. And there were those who aspired to become heroes. In short, Bounty Hunters were not to be trifled with. Any Mutant who survived long in this line of work typically surpassed their peers in strength by a considerable margin. Ji Xinghuo walked into the bounty office and approached the service counter. A soldier behind the desk glanced up at Ji Xinghuo and asked, "What service do you require?" "I want to register as a bounty hunter." It wasn’t as simple as just bringing in an organ from a Beiluo Shimen Clan member to collect the bounty; one had to register in advance to be officially recognized. Bounty Hunters also had a points system. Besides monetary rewards, the more enemies killed, the more benefits and welfare one would receive from different countries, including combat heroic titles and medals, all linked to points. This system also served to manage the Bounty Hunters. In times of war, the last thing desired is disorganized management. Bounty Hunters couldn’t be allowed complete freedom of action, lest it have a negative impact during important battles. The soldier nodded, passed over a form and said, "Fill in the information and bring it back to me." Ji Xinghuo took the form and sat down to the side. It asked for a name, age, gender, nationality, profession, rank, as well as simple characteristics like height and weight, email address, residence, and an emergency contact, without delving into other personal privacy. Clearly, the Bounty Office did not require one to fill in their real information. Ji Xinghuo intended to write a fake name but then he remembered what Ren Mian had said. "After I’ve killed a few hundred or even thousands of Beiluo Shimen Clan members and accumulated a large number of points, and have several Heroic Medals, surely no one will doubt my allegiance, right?" seaʀᴄh thё NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In the arena of public opinion, when Hero Points reach a high enough level, it acts as a form of protection. Absolute political correctness, globally recognized! Without further hesitation, Ji Xinghuo wrote down his real name in the name section. After filling out the form, he handed it in. "Please stand still." The soldier indicated a spot in front of a white wall; once Ji Xinghuo was in place, he picked up a film camera, aimed it at Ji Xinghuo, clicked a few times, capturing Ji Xinghuo’s half and full body images, and said, "Come back in an hour to collect your bounty hunter credentials."