The Highest Bounty

Chapter 63: An Easy Apprenticeship Process

Although Coela was located within the gray star sector region, the federal government had already given up on its jurisdiction. Even so, the federal government still possessed some authority, and everything on the planet was the federal government’s property.

As it happened, the scene in which Neptune destroyed Coela’s space dock, the research institute, and power equipment had been captured by a surveillance satellite. Therefore, Gu Ding was transformed into a wanted fugitive by the federal government overnight.

Even though the interstellar storm had not passed, the signal block was still around. Clearly, the federal government had other means of communication other than Skynet. Hence, they could ignore signal blocks like this.

News of the bounty order was spread throughout the entire Skyriver Sector.

If Gu Ding did not come to Fengyuan, he might have had to wait until the interstellar storm passed before finding out about his bounty. Fengyuan’s bounty notice had just come in this morning, roughly an hour before Gu Ding and Liliath arrived.

On Hermean Alliance’s big screen, the noticed had been replayed many times. That was why these guards could recognize Gu Ding and Liliath in a heartbeat.

“Hermean Alliance is no place for fugitives like you. We only welcome pharmacologists. Please leave or we will inform the military.” The head guard stared at Gu Ding full of vigilance.

It was indeed a despicable act to blow up the ecosystem of a planet. This was also the reason why Gu Ding had such a high bounty on his head. Of course, commoners had no knowledge of what truly happened at Coela. From what they could see, even though it was a planet with no humans, employing weapons like the antimatter cannon to launch an attack was still classified as an extremely despicable act. On top of that, the criminal charge that the federal government listed did not only involve damaging the ecosystem but also destroying crucial research information and the planet’s power system. Such a description left the public with the impression that Gu Ding was certainly a fellow who had no qualms about committing all sorts of crime.

Normally, those with a bounty of millions of Star Credits on their heads were those of Rank 3 Gene Body. Whereas the majority of these guards were only a Rank 1 Gene Body. Therefore, when they encountered Gu Ding and Liliath, they behaved oddly vigilant.

Gu Ding did not utter a word. He also knew that no matter how he explained himself right now, the other party would never listen. Under such helplessness, he asked Neptune to send a signal to Modican’s communicator.

“Gu Ding?!” Modican had saved Gu Ding’s communicator serial number a long time ago. When he saw these serial numbers, he was rather astonished, “Has the interstellar storm passed? Which planet are you in? I’ll send someone to get you.”

“I’m already on Fengyuan.” Gu Ding lifted his head to look at the screen on top of Hermean Alliance. It was now replaying his wanted order. “To be exact, I’m already standing at Hermean Alliance’s main entrance. But I bumped into a tiny problem.”

“Wait there. I’m on my way.” Modican hung up the call after saying those words. He put on a coat in a hurry and rushed out.

“I’m here in Fengyuan only to meet a person who has sent me an invitation. I will leave immediately once I get things done.” Gu Ding unfolded his hands, standing on the spot, waiting.

“Aren’t we going in?” Liliath felt slightly uneasy being surrounded and watched.

“Wait a moment. The person whom we’re about to meet is coming out soon.” Being used to working in the tavern, Gu Ding looked completely natural instead.

Behind them, Larry did not know whether he should stay or leave. Just as he was at a loss on what to do, he saw a familiar face walking out of Hermean Alliance’s main entrance.

“This person is... Master Modican?!” Naturally, Larry had seen Modican’s picture. As a star of Skyriver Sector, all kinds of news related to him often appeared on Skynet.

“Master...” When the surrounding onlookers saw Modican, they bowed slightly to address him.

“Little brother Gu Ding, you’re finally here.” Modican walked forward and gave Gu Ding a bear hug. Then, he turned his attention to Liliath and Larry who stood behind Gu Ding. “Ask your friends to come in together.”

With that, he wrapped his arms around Gu Ding’s shoulders and walked inside Hermean Alliance.

Now, no one attempted to stop them.

Liliath pulled a funny face at the head guard. Larry, on the other hand, quickened his pace and caught up with the three of them, afraid that he would fall behind and be barred from entering.

After bringing them to Hermean Alliance’s meeting hall, he turned to give a command to the service robot at the door, saying, “Four cups of green tea. Use the finest tea leaves we have.”

Nowadays, tea leaves had lived up to its reputation as a form of luxurious goods. It was also the most commonly used drink for entertaining guests.

“Take a seat,” Modican said to the trio.

“Parma may have told you the reason for our meeting this time?” Modican was not someone who would beat around the bush. He got straight to business as soon as he started.

“She didn’t mention it directly, but I could sort of guess.” Gu Ding nodded. What Modican was referring to was his desire to take him in as an apprentice. It was true that Parma did not mention this matter directly as she was afraid that Gu Ding would reject the idea on the spot.

“And your answer is?” Modican stared at Gu Ding rather anxiously. He did not even take a look at the teacup that the robot had placed beside his hand.

“I think it’s possible.” Gu Ding broke into a smile.

“That easy?” Modican thought he would have to spend a lot of time persuading him. He was even sketching out in his head the way he would string his words together. He did not expect Gu Ding to agree straight away. “Don’t you have anything that you’d like to ask me? For example, how many free medicinal materials you can get per month or the refining skills that I can teach you?”

“That’s not necessary. I think parma is already very outstanding under your guidance. There’s no need for me to ask further questions.” Gu Ding shook his head without hesitation.

“What are they talking about?” Liliath looked at Larry. Confusion was written all over her face.

Larry shook his head silently. He had no idea what they were talking about.

“Alright, as per tradition, let me present you with a welcome gift.” As he said that, Modican fished out a box from the inventory, handing it to Gu Ding.

Gu Ding opened the box. It was a full set of B-grade refining equipment. This set of equipment was worth one hundred million Star Credits. He did not expect Modican to gift it away so generously.

Beside him, Liliath could not help but sigh in her heart. ‘Pharmacologists are really rich!’

“Thank you, teacher!” Gu Ding gave an apprentice bow.

Hearing Gu Ding refer to him as a teacher, Liliath finally understood that the two were discussing having Gu Ding as an apprentice earlier. Moreover, in less than two minutes, Gu Ding had bowed to his teacher and received a welcome gift.

Larry had not come back to his senses yet. He had only heard Gu Ding’s final words. He asked surprisingly, “You’re Master Modican’s apprentice?”

“Not before, but I am one now.” Gu Ding broke into a grin.

“Then can you sell me a bottle of E-grade gene repair agent? I only have thirty thousand Star Credits at the moment. If that’s not enough, I will find a way to return the remaining money to you.” Larry finally made his purpose for making this trip known.

“Teacher, do you have the materials?” Gu Ding turned his head to look at Modican. He planned to refine a bottle of medicine for Larry by himself.