The Highest Bounty

Chapter 225: The Kidnapped Lilliath

Probrand, Old George tavern.

Even after what just happened, their drinking party went on. It did not end because of the interruption.

Neptune was aware of the article once the media posted it.

“Gu Ding, the guy you just let go recorded us in secret and sent it to the media. Now that the media has published it and the video has revealed our location, should I block it?”

“Don’t worry about it. Exposing ourselves isn’t that bad. Biggie’s bounty price is seriously underwhelming for his level of combat effectiveness. Not only Biggie but the rest of the crew. A few small battles will help them raise their bounty price.” Gu Ding actually enjoyed being hunted because the pressure made the journey feel more real. Entering the Cosmic Sea without encountering any enemies was not what he wanted.

News of Gu Ding’s crew’s appearance on Probrand soon spread because of the media’s article and video.

Although Tricke told Anderson that the two people Biggie beheaded were Peak Rank-13 Gene Body powerhouses, Anderson mentioned nothing about their strength in the article. Outsiders could not make the correct judgment from the video because the two of them did not even attack.

Therefore, anyone who saw the video was more concerned about Roland’s presence in the video. Some even set their eyes on Carole and Robert to figure out how they relate to Gu Ding’s crew.

In the tavern, the party went on and more people started to join.

Some were locals who had come out to have fun this afternoon, others deliberately turned up after seeing the news about Gu Ding’s crew. This included the media, Interstellar Hunters, Army officers in plain clothes, and other Interstellar Pirates. Old George tavern was as lively as it had ever been.

Elsa had already drunk herself out and fell asleep on the bar. She maintained the Viking’s habit of drinking alcohol that was on the slightly stronger side. Biggie drank absinthe, but the alcohol was not strong enough to have any effect on him. As for the two milca drinkers–Gu Ding and Tagore, they were perfectly sane. Robert just sat there analyzing the chemicals in the drinks. Lilliath’s drink was not very strong either, but she had drunk a lot, so she was tipsy, staggering toward the washroom.

Gu Ding took a look at Elsa who was asleep but did not wake her up to follow Lilliath.

As soon as she pushed open the door to the washroom, Lilliath saw a tall man standing in the doorway, his eyes fixed on her.

“Sorry, I must’ve gone into the wrong room.” Lilliath thought she had strayed into the men’s room and was turning to leave when she heard the man say.

“No, you didn’t. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Lilliath, who was still drunk, turned and stared at him for some time. His face seemed familiar; she could not remember where she had seen him before. “Do I know you?”

“Of course you don’t.” The man said, and with a strike of his hand on the back of Lilliath’s neck, Lilliath collapsed instantly. The man lifted her onto his shoulders, and immediately after, there was a black tear in space that appeared in front of him. As he stepped into it, the gap closed itself immediately, leaving no trace.

Lilliath woke up to find herself chained with magic dampening chains to a chair in a dark warehouse. She immediately woke up although she was previously a little dazed.

“You’re awake.” A man’s voice came from a short distance away.

Lilliath looked up, vaguely remembering that it was the man she had just met in the washroom. “It turns out that you’re from Dark Sectors. You even dared wear Dark Sectors’ clothes to carry out your mission. Are you afraid of being chased and killed?”

“Sorry, you guessed wrong.” The man took a few steps forward, and because of the lighting in the warehouse, Lilliath finally saw his face clearly. He was an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses. He was tall, his body was slightly incongruous and looked in every way an honest man.

“I’m not from Dark Sectors. Dark Sectors works in teams of at least two, don’t you know? Besides, with the arrogance of their organization, they would never take their costumey robes off. Their members are so eager to be recognized wherever they go that they don’t even know the word ‘low-key’. This is the complete opposite of my character. How am I from Dark Sectors?” The middle-aged man shook his head.

“If you’re not from Dark Sectors and still kidnapped and brought me here. The only explanation is that you are a sex maniac. I warn you though, if you do anything to me, you will die a miserable death.” Lilliath’s eyes flashed a ruthless look.

“Don’t worry, I’m not interested in a flat-chested person like you, who’s not even 1.4 meters tall.” The middle-aged man’s statement made Lilliath’s mouth twitched a little. She hated it when people commented on her chest, and the guy not only commented on her chest but also on her height, which was a little hard for her to tolerate.

However, she forbore it for the time being. “Then stop talking nonsense. What exactly is your purpose? Just say it.”

“Hold on, I need to make a call to know what I must do next,” The middle-aged man said and dialed a number. “I got her. Will you send someone over to pick her up now, or shall I deliver her to you? I told you earlier that the price will not be the same.”

“Let me see a picture of her first.” A teenager’s voice came across the communicator.

The middle-aged man pointed his wristwatch at Lilliath. “Here, smile!”

Lilliath turned her face away.

The middle-aged man turned to the left to get a profile shot, but Lilliath turned her face to the right again.

Then, the middle-aged man turned back to the right, but Lilliath once again turned her head back to the left, leaving him with a view of the back of her head.

“Hey, give me some face. I just want a profile shot of your face.” The middle-aged man said somewhat helplessly as he did not want to force her.

Lilliath rolled her eyes at him, which he caught on camera and sent to the teenager on the other side of the communicator.

“Why does she look a little different?” The teenager on the other side of the communicator asked uncertainly. “You did not kidnap the wrong person, did you?”

“It’s her. She just kept twisting around to prevent me from taking a profile shot. She just happened to roll her eyes at me when I finally caught it.” The middle-aged man was also a little speechless. “I did not get it wrong; you can rest assured.”

“Alright then, is your place safe? Gu Ding and his crew won’t find her earlier than expected, right?” The teenager asked.

“Don’t worry, it’s not the first time I’ve done something like this. I’ve seen Gu Ding and his crew’s profile. Other than Gu Ding himself being a hacker, the rest don’t have detection abilities, at least none of them have demonstrated them so far. My ability is teleportation, and now we’re more than twenty kilometers away from the tavern. They can’t possibly find this location. Besides, the warehouse I chose has an electromagnetic shielding effect and there is no monitoring equipment nearby.” The middle-aged man seemed to be well prepared.

“Alright then, I’ll send someone over to take over this matter. Send me the address. I’ll give him your number too. He’ll call you once he arrives. He should be there in half an hour. Just wait a little longer.” “The teenager said and hung up the call.

On the other side, Tricke’s communicator rang suddenly. He looked at the number and immediately answered, “What’s up, young master?”

“Go to unloading warehouse number three at the port and find warehouse number 009527. Pick up Lilliath from someone and arrange a ship to bring her to me as soon as possible.” There was something unmistakable in the teenager’s voice. “Take a few more men with you and get rid of that delivery-man.”

“Alright!” Tricke did not ask too many questions, such as how and why Lilliath from Gu Ding’s crew was caught. He knew he just needed to carry out the mission. That was why some of the Childe family’s top management preferred to deal with him after working with him before.

At Old George tavern, the party was still ongoing.

“Gu Ding, Lili’s been in the washroom for half an hour. I’ll see what’s going on,” Neptune said. The washroom, which was excluded previously, was included in his detection range, and he spotted the problem instantly. “Lili’s gone!”

“What?!” Gu Ding frowned.

“As the washroom is a private area, I purposely avoided these two areas in my detection range. However, I had access to all areas other than the washroom. I could tell if someone was going in or out of the washroom, let alone if they jumped out of the window, but I still can’t find Lili.”

“Maybe she had too much to drink and went into the wrong washroom? Look in the men’s room,” Gu Ding reminded.

Neptune checked again. “Still no.”

“Check the video from half an hour ago to see if any suspicious people appeared.” Gu Ding speculated that there was a more than 90% chance that Lilliath had been abducted. How they managed to avoid Neptune’s detection was a little weird.

Neptune immediately rummaged through any surrounding surveillance records he could get his hands on.

“Seven people left the pub after Lili went into the washroom. Six of them were seen walking out the entrance and leaving alone. There was one who, like Lili, disappeared without warning.” He said and projected a photo of a tall, ordinary-looking middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses, who looked like an honest man.

‘Find him!” Gu Ding’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his instructions were brief and firm.