The Highest Bounty

Chapter 10: Winning Streak in the Arena

Everyone shook their heads and offered condolences to Gu Ding as they saw his battle statistics.

“Poor little fella. He doesn’t know how strong his opponent is, right?”

“I think he might have accidentally pressed the button in the thrill of the fight earlier.”

“I think his opponent will twist his head off and kick it like a football.”

None of the spectators looked favorably upon Gu Ding. All the comments toward him were negative.

To prevent the match from being affected, the fighters in the ring could hear the spectators. Gu Ding could not hear what the spectators said about him, but even if he did, he did not care.

In this Beginner Ring, everyone’s Cell Index is normalized to 100 points by the system and their characteristics are adjusted accordingly. For example, someone has a Cell Index of 10, and their Cell Strength is 2 and Cell Vitality is 3. When they are in the ring, their Cell Index is normalized to 100, their Cell Strength will be raised to 20, and their Cell Vitality to 30.

A Cell Index of 100 is the baseline level of someone with Gene Level 3. Only people with Gene Level 3 and below are allowed to participate in the Beginner Ring. Setting everyone’s Cell index at the same value allows the fighters to focus on their battle tactics and individual skills rather than worrying about the difference in power level.

Standing in the ring, Gu Ding felt power coursing through his body. His whole body trembled at the prospect of wielding so much power. Even though this body was a virtual replica, it was a perfect reflection of his real abilities. Gu Ding was not aware that his trembling looked like fear from the eyes of the spectators.

“Heheh, little fella, you’re already trembling out of fear. Don’t worry, I won’t allow you to die that quickly.” The bald man smiled cruelly. “I will first tear off your hands, then break both of your legs, then finally twist your head off.”

“Sounds scary. I wonder if you have the real power to do that though.” Gu Ding smiled.

The bald man was riled by Gu Ding’s mockery. He leaped forward, then concentrated all his power on his right arm.

Gu Ding’s expression sunk. He stood on the spot and assumed an attack stance from Ultimate Arts. When the man drew near, he threw a punch.

“Steel Fist!”

His scrawny fist collided with the huge, meaty fist of the bald man.

Boom! An explosion rang out as the two fists collided. It didn’t sound like the punch of a fist but rather a cannon firing. Shortly after, another unbelievable scene happened. The burly bald man flew backward and his right arm had already disappeared.

His body started shattering into pieces from his right shoulder, then his entire body disappeared from the ring.

The bald man rematerialized below the ring. His face was full of shock. He looked at Gu Ding who was still on the ring and saw that he was unscathed. He realized the difference in power level between the two, then he sadly stepped away from the ring.

Gu Ding remained in the ring. He was not about to quit yet.

The Steel Fist that he punched was as strong as cannon fire. That gave him a deeper understanding of the full power of Ultimate Arts. In real life, he knew that he would not be able to unleash such power from the attack stances because of his Cell Index. In the ring, his Cell Index was normalized to 100 points. Not only this had augmented the power of the stances he had learned, but it had also allowed him to access stances that he could not practice in real life.

“Look like the Lukewarm Assassin shattered all expectations, and he doesn’t seem like he wants to quit yet! Is there anyone willing to accept his challenge?” The commentator’s voice rang out again. This time, it sounded like he was provoking the audience.

“Not bad at all…” Gu Ding lowered his head and looked at his fist. He was expecting a much more intense battle and not knocking out his opponent with one punch.

While Gu Ding was thinking, another person materialized in the ring. He looked to be about twenty years of age. His face was plain, though he was dressed in a white tuxedo that did not fit him too well. His alias was HandsomeInBed.

Gu Ding looked at his opponent’s ranking. It was 112,7809, far behind the bald man earlier.

“Looks like you had a lucky break earlier. Now that you’ve met me, you can be my stepping stone.” The player in the white tuxedo assumed a pose that he thought looked cool.

Gu Ding smiled. “I’d like to see you try.”

The man in the white tuxedo took a step forward. As he moved, he left a series of afterimages.

Gu Ding raised an eyebrow, then took a Silent Step. He was faster than his opponent. Appearing in front of his eyes, he again threw out a punch and sent him flying. The opponent slammed on the forcefield that surrounded the ring and his body shattered, then rematerialized outside of the ring.

“Looks like this kid not only has incredible strength, his speed is superhuman too. He’s a tough opponent.” Some people who had not paid too much attention to Gu Ding were starting to talk about his battle prowess.

Many more challengers appeared on the ring.

Ranking: 108,9911. One-hit KO.

Ranking: 105,4231. One-hit KO.

Ranking: 101,1379. One-hit KO.

Ranking: 996,504. One-hit KO.

…

Gu Ding won six matches in a row, and his ranking had risen past one million. His meteoric rise in ranking had attracted the attention of the Arena’s internal staff.

A woman with blond short hair placed her legs with black leather boots on the control panel. She replayed Gu Ding’s battle archives a few times, then retrieved a small red pocket mirror from her red handbag. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she spoke to someone next to her. “If there’s anyone within 500,000 ranking is available, arrange them to a fight with this kid.”

“Understood.” A tall and well-built man in a business suit nodded respectfully, then waved at the other staff members in the room and issued his instructions.

Pashal thought that it was ridiculous that the Arena staff had arranged him to fight with someone ranked in the 990,000s. His ranking was already 500,137, and he was so close to breaking past the threshold of the top 500,000. The rewards given by the arena were hard to resist though. If he won, he will be getting a vial of Good quality E-grade Cell Enhancer. For Pashal who was in Gene Level 2, the Cell Enhancer would allow him to break through to Gene Level 3. He did not take too long to agree with the deal.

Pashal’s appearance on the ring caused many people to yelp in surprise. It was not because that a player near the top 500,000 had shown himself, but rather someone of his caliber would usually not challenge anyone lower than rank 600,000.

Gu Ding was also shocked when he saw his opponent’s ranking.

“Heheh, it looks like your performance has piqued the interest of some hotshots. That’s why they arranged a challenging opponent for you.” Neptune was laughing in Gu Ding’s ear.

Gu Ding broke into a smile. His eyes were like those of a predator, transfixed on his prey. After the battles earlier, he was ready to shed any nice-guy pretenses. His eyes were burning with the spirit of battle.