Chapter 193: 192 Bounty Demon Hunters

At the same time, in the pitch‑black void of space, a craft shaped like a jade disc was sailing through the cosmos.

To be precise, it was in sub‑space or somewhere similar, because you couldn't see it with the naked eye.

The vessel wasn't very large—just over a hundred meters long—and as it flew, its hull continuously spun, emitting a low hum.

Of course, no one could hear it here.

Inside the ship were only two occupants, a man and a woman, both exceedingly tall and almost indistinguishable in appearance; judging by their builds, however, one could tell which was male and which female at a glance.

"I heard that Chi Zhi vanished in this sector of stars?"

In the cockpit, the male demon glanced at the star chart before him and asked his companion.

"What, what, you still want to look for that one? I recall her bounty wasn't very high." The female demon gave him a sidelong glance and said, "The environment in this sector is bizarre; I don't recommend you linger here long."

"But it's also perfect for hiding, isn't it? Given her strength." The male demon continued scanning the chart, sweeping across one star system after another in this sector.

"For example, here."

After moving the cursor for a while, he paused the chart over a nebula—a celestial body made of thin dust and gas, primarily hydrogen and helium, not a star system.

"There should be a hidden star system inside." The male demon stared at the nebula, zooming in repeatedly, "I feel that one is concealed there."

"Are you sure?"

The female demon had no doubt at her brother's conjecture, because his innate divine skill was always accurate and rarely wrong.

"Shall we go and see?" the male demon said, then locked the nebula on the chart and steered the ship toward it.

"If it is, we'll search; if not, we'll leave it."

"That works."

"You mean you fled here because you got into trouble back home?"

On Tianlu Star, Wang Wu ultimately accepted Chi Zhi's invitation—there was no alternative, since she had come to his doorstep and Master Yin Shenli was also forcing him to meet her.

That woman truly has a twisted sense of humor, I must admit.

"Yes." Chi Zhi nodded. She was currently in Wang Wu's house; although only she and Wang Wu remained, the lingering scent of some flower in the rooms had not fully dissipated.

"Why are you telling me this? You're not trying to get me to help you, are you?"

Wang Wu asked.

"No, it's not…" Chi Zhi hurriedly shook her head. "I just wanted to let you know, since I don't wish to be a burden. Now that you're here, it won't be long before Feng Guo's bounty hunters arrive."

"I never imagined I could hide this long; I thought at most a few hundred years before they'd capture me." Chi Zhi's face showed a wry smile as she spoke.

"But being at large for so long is… acceptable enough."

"What crime did you commit?" Wang Wu stared at Chi Zhi; he saw no sorrow or pain in her eyes, only a hint of relief and celebration.

"I stole something."

"What could be worth sending bounty hunters so far for you?" Wang Wu grew more curious.

"Um, three hundred yuan of source crystals," Chi Zhi said. "But the items are no longer with me; I don't need them."

"So you stole for someone else?" Wang Wu asked.

Chi Zhi nodded. "Yes, I was an inside agent."

"Did you get any benefit?" Wang Wu asked again.

Chi Zhi shook her head.

"Then what's the point for you?" Wang Wu couldn't understand. "Doing something with no gain makes no sense, right?"

"Because it never belonged to the Li family!" Chi Zhi shouted angrily. "Their source crystals were all plundered from the people of Qing'an City; how can they monopolize everything!"

"I merely wanted to return this ill‑gotten wealth to everyone!"

"So you're basically a righteous thief then?" Wang Wu hadn't expected that.

Wang Wu didn't care about the woman's motive for stealing—whether it was money or some lofty principle; he was indifferent.

"By the way, what kind of monsters are the Li family?"

"They are the Li Niao clan, the biggest aristocratic family in Qing'an City," Chi Zhi said.

"That's enough; no need to tell me more about them." Upon hearing they were bird demons, Wang Wu switched to a blocking mode, even though he had close ties with the two bird demons Huo Ying and Huo Yuan, who were rather special.

Moreover, even with those two, until the Heavenly Spirit gave confirmation, Wang Wu kept his distance.

"Back to the point, what's the approximate strength of the strongest in your Feng Guo?" Wang Wu quickly shifted the conversation and asked Chi Zhi, genuinely interested.

After all, it's a super‑demon civilization that spans the galaxy—a star‑level empire. Though it can't match the golden age of the Heavenly Court, since it isn't a galactic hegemon.

Yet the Heavenly Court has long perished, whereas Feng Guo still stands.

Moreover, in this star system there isn't just one demon empire; besides Feng Guo, there's another equally powerful one called 'Jie'.

These two empires can contend with the three major human factions that also occupy the top ecological niche in this system.

The might of the strongest in such a formidable demon empire is beyond what Wang Wu dares imagine.

"The strongest?" Chi Zhi recalled. "It should be the current Wind King, I think… named… Xi Nu?"

"What a strange name!" Though he was used to his own people's naming customs, every time he heard such odd demon names, Wang Wu's eyebrows twitched repeatedly.

"Um, it's a perfectly normal name, right?" Chi Zhi shifted her leg uncomfortably, now regretting coming here because the scent in the air was… unsettling.

"By the way, for this crime, will you face the death penalty when you return?" Wang Wu asked again.

"Death penalty?" Chi Zhi shook her head. "It could be, if I'm unlucky, but normally this offense would earn about three thousand years of imprisonment."

Feng Guo is a realm whose aesthetic resembles that of Wang Wu's Heavenly Origin Realm—its art style appears ancient, yet many things are extremely advanced, boasting high productivity and technology, truly a 'high‑fantasy world.'

And it's a high‑level high‑fantasy world.

After all, they can achieve interstellar travel spanning tens of thousands of light‑years, even though they haven't left their own galaxy—the Milky Way‑type galaxy isn't a star system, but the achievement is already substantial.

Meanwhile, back on his home Earth, humanity hasn't even left Earth; the farthest places visited are just the neighboring—no, the Moon, which is barely a backyard.

And they haven't been up there long.

Wang Wu has never encountered a civilization of this caliber; although he's used many Earth‑origin tech products, those don't count.

Chi Zhi and Wang Wu talked a lot about her hometown; as a successful small‑town test‑taking girl, she found a good job after graduating college, working for the big family of her city, the Li family.

And that is also why she is wanted; because she colluded inside and out, helping a group of criminals steal all the source crystals from her workplace.

Wang Wu didn't know what a source crystal was, although Chi Zhi had briefly explained to him that it is a kind of energy stone very important in the Wind Nation, with many uses.

Her description was somewhat similar to the "Mysterious Stone" of the Tianyuan Realm, but the grade is clearly much higher.

But this thing meant nothing to Wang Wu, so it naturally went in one ear and out the other for him.

The Wind Nation respects the strong; only the nation's strongest can become its ruler.

Although the monsters of this nation are milder than those of the Jie Nation, they are still very martial.

Many matters can be settled through duels, and many things can be obtained through duels.

Even some crimes can have their penalties reduced through a duel, such as the crime Chi Zhi committed.

Robbery, of course, depends on what was stolen, the consequences, and the perpetrator's actions in the case.

Chi Zhi's case is relatively light; a three‑thousand‑year sentence is not very severe.

If she were willing to surrender, the punishment might be lighter, but now there is clearly no way.

During the more than half‑hour they spent together, Chi Zhi kept describing the customs of the Wind Nation to Wang Wu, and Wang Wu was very interested in her race's interstellar empire.

He was mainly interested in the monsters over there.

Because there really are monsters he hasn't heard of, and they look… how to say? Quite distinctive.

Anyway, based on the projection Chi Zhi provided, Wang Wu felt a bit excited.

"So what's your plan afterward—wait for a bounty hunter to come, or voluntarily go back and surrender?" Wang Wu asked.

"I…" Chi Zhi was silent for a moment, "I don't know either."

The woman clearly committed the crime impulsively, and it was evident she felt a tiny bit of regret—not for the crime itself, but for having fled here.

"Do you have any family over there?"

"Yes." Chi Zhi nodded, "I have my mother, I, I…" Speaking of her mother seemed to trigger something in Chi Zhi, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.

"I, I…"

"It's okay." Wang Wu patted her shoulder, "Your mother shouldn't be much older than you, right?"

After learning that Chi Zhi wasn't that kind of monster, Wang Wu felt much more at ease, because she belongs to the same type of monster as Shu Niang and her kind.

"My mother is eight hundred years older than me, and I'm her only daughter…"

"That's fine, you're not that old; after you return, work hard on reform, you should be able to get a reduced sentence earlier," Wang Wu comforted.

"I have no crime! Those things rightfully belong to the citizens of our Qing'an City!!" The words seemed to provoke Chi Zhi, turning her previously sorrowful face pale, and she shouted at Wang Wu, "I, I…"

"I understand, I understand." Seeing her like that, Wang Wu continued to comfort, "But there's nothing we can do; the authorities side with them. Even if you're not at fault, the law is written that way, so there's nothing we can do."

"With your strength, do you have a chance to win a duel?"

Chi Zhi said nothing, but her gloomy expression already answered.

Her strength is only average; although she is a top‑tier strongman in this world, she would be unimpressive back home.

The top great monsters of the Wind Nation are even stronger than Wang Wu's master Yin Shenli; according to Chi Zhi's description, such masters have strength at least 0.9 times the speed of light.

Yin Shenli is only at 0.7, still far from that level.

Such overwhelming power likely requires a strongman of the caliber of Yun Guang City's lord Wu He to intervene, to have a chance of a showdown with them.

Of course, that's speaking of martial combat power.

But if Yun Guang City mobilizes its entire force, a single city defeating an entire civilization is unlikely; however, in a small‑scale operation, Yun Guang City would have an absolute advantage.

Only that Yun Guang City's war resources dwindle with each strike, yet if they relocate here, as long as they have resources, it's hard to say who would win.

The Nine Great Main Cities inherited the essence of the Human Empire; their city databases hold all production data of the civilization, and countless production lines lie quietly within the cities.

And Yun Guang City is the foremost among the Nine Great Main Cities.

Although its population is relatively sparse compared to interstellar civilizations, the powerful technology inherited from the Human Empire can bridge the gap between the two sides.

The Human Empire is the true cosmic hegemon; even the flourishing Heavenly Court can only bow its nose and tread carefully before this colossal entity.

Until its demise, the Human Empire remained at its peak; it was destroyed by its own civil war, not by a natural decline.

Even the Human Empire during the apocalyptic war era was stronger than in any so‑called peaceful era, though the empire's history contains few true "peaceful periods."

A galactic‑hegemon civilization like the Heavenly Court is truly nothing to the Human Empire.

Likewise, for Yun Guang City, which harbors several Human Empire warships and stores countless combat robots, the Wind Nation's army is also insignificant.

As the saying goes, even the highest kung fu fears a kitchen knife.

The New Humans have only been awake for two thousand years, a span shorter than the history of the civilization where Wang Wu's hometown lies.

There are virtually no records of the BC era here, because most New Humans still lie in the fire‑seed bases.

After sleeping for hundreds of millions of years, the new gods created by the ancient deities slowly awoke from their slumber.

"Oh, someone's heading this way."

At that moment, Yin Shenli's voice sounded beside Wang Wu's ear; hearing his master's words, Wang Wu looked at her.

"Huh? What person?"

"It's not a person, it's a monster; I almost forgot," Yin Shenli shrugged, "It should be a bounty monster hunter coming for Chi Zhi, damn it, finish her off quickly, I've been waiting forever!!"

"I have no particular thoughts about her, master…"

"Shut up! Jump on her now!!!"

(End of Chapter)