Chapter 123 - 88: The Red Devil

Chapter 123: Chapter 88: The Red DevilJi Xinghuo sat in the hall waiting for his certification. From time to time, bounty hunters walked into the bounty office, taking out bloody organs at the counter to exchange for rewards. These organs all came from various body parts of the Beiluo Shimen Clan. The most common was a bloodied tail tip, which belonged to the Stone Lizard People and was easy to identify. By observing the color of the scales on it, one could determine the rank of the Stone Lizard Person. The scales of a First Rank Stone Lizard were paler with a shade of grey. With each evolution, the scale color would darken, becoming increasingly black. The amount of the bounty was not fixed; the higher the enemy rank killed, the higher the bounty would rise. A First Rank Stone Lizard was worth ten thousand, while a Second Rank reached thirty thousand. Third Rank was worth sixty thousand, already more valuable than a First Rank Dagon person. If it were Fourth Rank, the price would soar to two hundred thousand, though it still fell short of the five hundred thousand bounty for a Fourth Rank Dagon person. S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The war trophy from a Dagon person was a piece of scalp, with a distinctive blue-green pattern on their smooth heads that could be used to determine the rank. For plant spirits, it was necessary to extract the plant core, while for Goraks, cutting off their antennae sufficed. Ji Xinghuo noticed that most bounty hunters were Solo Hunters and seldom formed teams. Even when they formed teams, it was generally only two or three people, very small in scale, with a completely different approach to professional matching compared to ordinary hunting teams. The Professional Templates most common among bounty hunters were those who possessed abilities to hide their tracks—Shadow Blades, Illusion Sound Masters, Evil Wind Guests, Evil Spirits; Next were those with strong survival skills—Flying Steps, Half-orcs, Hunters, Rangers; Or those with very unique professions, such as schemers of deception, Blood Butchers, Insect Emperors, but they were rare, seen only occasionally. Moreover, every bounty hunter had some ability for long-range attacks to a greater or lesser extent. Even if they were not specialized Rangers or Hunters, they would carry bows or crossbows. Professions that excelled in frontal combat or had strong defense were almost nowhere to be seen. This was easy to understand. Bounty hunters engaged in covert assassinations, with hiding and scouting as their most important skills. If their initial strike missed, they would immediately flee. All combat was predicated on their own survival. The line of defense between the two races was the battlefield. Facing off against enemies on the battlefield, one might win against the first wave, but would soon have to face a continuous stream of reinforcements. Being surrounded meant certain death. No matter how strong one’s combat ability was, one would be overwhelmed by countless enemies unless they were Legendary or a Heavenly King. And if that was the case, there would be no need to become a bounty hunter. As soon as one appeared on the battlefield, the powerful warriors of the Beiluo Shimen Clan would emerge as well. Ji Xinghuo observed the bounty hunters one by one. Most of them were Advanced Mutants. Their Weapon Equipment was very good because they were not short on money and were thus able to purchase their preferred Weapon Equipment. Their bodies bore the marks of battle, and their eyes held a killing intent. Mutants honed in actual combat were much stronger than their contemporaries of the same rank. Even so, the war trophies they handed in were quite few. Most of them were the tail tips of the Stone Lizard People and the antennae of Goraks, and only two or three at a time. The scalp of a Dagon person was seen only occasionally, and the plant core of plant spirits had never been spotted. After exchanging trophies for rewards, most bounty hunters immediately left. Some stayed, walking over to browse the points board on the wall of the hall. Ji Xinghuo had noticed it as soon as he entered. On one wall hung a very conspicuous notice board, with names and numbers written in chalk. These numbers represented Hero Points, and they were calculated in a simple manner. Killing a First Rank enemy from the Beiluo Shimen Clan earned one point, and killing a Second Rank enemy earned two points, and so on. The staff of the bounty office updated the points daily. The points displayed on the notice board tallied up the current month’s total, and they would not be recalculated until the last day of each Star Realm Month. The top three bounty hunters in points for the month could earn extra rewards and also had the chance to meet with the Guardian General of the Midpoint Fortress for commendation, with priority to purchase Weapon Equipment from the armory at a discounted price. It was now Flame Month, over halfway through. The bounty hunter ranked first on the points board had accumulated 620 points. The second-place had 575 points. Third to eighth place ranged between 300 to 450 points, clearly falling behind the first two. Beyond ninth place, all had points under 300, with a very small gap between them. The last person in the top hundred also had over 200 points. "Jing Ji’s points went up by another 40 points yesterday!" "Yeah..." "He’s widening the gap with Alex’s points. It won’t be easy to catch up." Ji Xinghuo overheard a few bounty hunters discussing. "Jing Ji" was the name of the person ranked number one on the points board, while Alex was the second. From their conversation, it seemed that the two were intensely competing against each other. And that indeed was the case. Jing Ji was from the Asia-Pacific Community, and Alex was from the United States. Due to the animosity between their nations and ideologies, the two had clashed several times upon meeting. But this was the Star Realm frontier, facing the common enemy of the Beiluo Shimen Clan. Neither Jing Ji nor Alex intended to deal a fatal blow to the other; instead, they agreed to a wager. Using Hero Points earned from killing Beiluo Shimen enemies as the standard, they would compete for half a Star Realm Year, which amounted to nine Star Realm Months. The loser would have to publicly admit defeat and leave the Midpoint Fortress. This competition had been going on for the eighth month, and currently, Jing Ji was leading by nearly 300 points—a significant advantage. However, Alex also had the potential to catch up. Bounty Hunters didn’t always have a stable kill rate each day; sometimes they would find a great opportunity, make a big move, and earn dozens of points from a single battle. Ji Xinghuo sat by, listening with keen interest. Just as he was about to interrupt with a few questions, he suddenly saw a pale-skinned man walk in, and the attention of other Bounty Hunters was immediately drawn to him. "Alex!" "Red Devil!" Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help but size up this Bounty Hunter. Based on the intensity of the magnetic field and the fluctuations of Ether Energy, it was clear that Alex was a Super Mutant, and even among Super Mutants, one of the top powerhouses. Alex wasn’t particularly tall, standing at only about 1.75 meters, and he didn’t look very strong. Dressed in a black leather jacket over a hooded jumper, which was pulled up to cover most of his face, and a pair of jeans, he didn’t seem to have any Defense Power. He carried no weapons nor any other equipment, empty-handed. But no one dared to underestimate him. Because Alex was a Blood Butcher! This Professional Template relied entirely on one’s body to fight, with the body itself acting as the weapon. The core Ability of a Blood Butcher was called "Blood Limb Virus," a Transcendent Ability that allowed the body to mutate, transforming limbs and torso into various shapes; knives, spears, swords, shields, and axes could be switched at will. The skeletons of Blood Butchers were reinforced by "Steel Bone," enhancing the lethality of their limb weapons and consistently growing their Strength. "Bloodthirst" allowed them to consume the blood of living beings to heal their own wounds and recover energy. There was also "Liquid Form," which transformed their bodies into a liquid state, eliminating obvious weaknesses; "Crimson Blood Mist" infused their blood with potent poison and helped them to hide their tracks; "Blood Arrow" allowed them to shoot their blood to attack enemies. A Blood Butcher was a walking arsenal. They appeared and vanished unpredictably. Whether in head-on combat or stealth reconnaissance, they excelled, and they could sustain themselves in battle without fear of group fights. Alex became a Bounty Hunter at Midpoint Fortress when he was just an Intermediate Mutant. He fought his way through the battlefield until he ascended to a Super Mutant. And he earned a nickname, known as the "Red Devil"! In the Asia-Pacific Community, Blood Butchers were a rare Profession, as this Professional Template was developed by a biological lab in the American Federation. It was initially created by accident in the 1960s and was refined over thirty years to become one of the ace Professions of the American Federation. The vast majority of Blood Butchers were from the United States, with inextricable ties to the "Tianhe Biological Consortium," the organization that controlled this Professional Template. Alex was expressionless. His skin was very pale, almost sickly-looking. Holding a blood-dripping bag, he put it on the counter and spoke in a deep voice, "I want to collect the bounty." "Of course!" The staff’s attitude was clearly different when dealing with Alex compared to other Bounty Hunters, promptly rising to count the spoils of battle. The bag was upturned, and the contents rattled onto the table. "Hiss..." Several Bounty Hunters in the room let out exclamations of astonishment at the pile of spoils, which included three to four dozen items, more than half of which were tips of tails from the Stone Lizard People and tendrils from Gorak, the remainder shockingly being Dagon people. Moreover, many of the enemies were of Second Rank or even Third Rank. Ji Xinghuo had sharp eyes and spotted several Fourth Rank trophies; two Fourth Rank Dagon people, one Fourth Rank vine essence, and one Fourth Rank Stone Lizard Person. A huge harvest indeed! The staff quickly counted everything and said with reverence, "Mr. Alex, your total bounty this time is 2.7 million Ya Yuan, with 75 points; does that sound right to you?" Alex silently nodded. "Here is your bounty." The staff immediately registered the transaction and pulled out a large stack of cash. Alex didn’t count the money; he just pocketed it and turned to leave, pausing to glance up at the points board as he passed. A glint of coldness flashed in his eyes before he exited the bounty office. Only after the Red Devil had left did the hall return to its usual atmosphere. "Holy moly, he just jumped by 75 points!" "Guess he wiped out an important outpost of the Beiluo Shimen Clan last night—bold move, not afraid of getting ambushed by the enemy’s Legendary fighters." "Red Devil’s points for the month have already surpassed Jing Ji’s." "There’s only a month and a half left on their wager; if he doesn’t step it up, he won’t catch up. It’s sure to get more intense, so we’re in for a good show." "Who do you think will win?" "It should still be Jing Ji! As a Phantom Assassin, his movements are secretive and his Burst Damage is stronger; he can kill enemies daily, and his point increase is very stable. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have led Red Devil by that much." "I’m not so sure about that." "Blood Butchers have incredible strength in direct combat. If Alex pulls off a few more big moves, it’s quite possible he’ll surpass Jing Ji in the last few days and make a final kill!" "I hope Jing Ji wins because he is from the Asia-Pacific Community." "That has nothing to do with national stance. Alex has never harmed humans, and although he may seem unapproachable, he appears to be a good person at heart." The Bounty Hunters chatted and walked out of the bounty office. Ji Xinghuo, catching snippets of their heated discussion, waited for an hour, received his Bounty Hunter certification, and left promptly.