Chapter 253 - A Scientist That Doesn’t Resemble One (1/2)

Chapter 253: A Scientist That Doesn’t Resemble One

Gu Bo was a thin and small old man. His white hair was a little sparse, but his dark-brown eyes were still spirited.

He wore a black tweed top and held a silver metal thermos in his hand. He pointed across the desk and said, “Have a seat, please.”

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen nodded politely, pulled out a chair each, and sat down.

“How may I help you?” Gu Bo’s Ashlandic accent was slightly different from the local dialect.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen determined that this local president of the Hunter’s Guild was a first-generation or second-generation Tarnan resident from another area.

“President Gu, we have something to consult you on,” Long Yuehong replied politely.

Gu Bo laughed. “Shouldn’t you issue a mission first and let me decide if I want to accept it based on the payment? News or information is valuable.”

“…” Long Yuehong was momentarily speechless. He could only sigh with emotion at how senior hunters and local presidents were indeed professionals.

Bai Chen calmly replied, “You can first listen to our questions before deciding how much payment you want. This doesn’t need to be done through the guild.”

Gu Bo twisted open the thermos and drank from it. “These old bones of mine are afraid that you’ll go back on your word and not pay me. Not only will I not be in the green when the time comes, but I might even find myself in trouble. I might end up getting beaten up instead of getting paid.”

Upon seeing that Gu Bo was becoming more and more ridiculous, Long Yuehong suddenly missed Shang Jianyao.

At such a time, he could definitely lead the conversation astray.

Bai Chen looked at Gu Bo and asked, “Would a local Chief Hunter be afraid of this?”

Long Yuehong had inquired about Gu Bo last night and learned that he was originally a Senior Hunter. After becoming president, he was even given the honorary title of Chief Hunter.

“A good man doesn’t mention his past achievements.” Gu Bo mocked himself. “As for humans, their bodies aren’t much to speak of once they get older.”

After joking, he restrained his expression. “Speak. I’ll decide how to deal with it when I know the question.”

Long Yuehong took out a fountain pen and a palm-sized notebook. As he recorded the contents, he asked, “President Gu, do you still remember Maximian?”

“Huh?” Gu Bo wore a blank look.

Long Yuehong quickly highlighted the key points. “Early in the New Calendar, the person that Mechanical Paradise placed a bounty on.”

Gu Bo sank into his memories and said after a while, “Him? It’s been decades. Why are you asking about him? Could it be that you have clues about him and are his descendants?”

You sure have an imagination… Long Yuehong criticized inwardly and simply explained, “We want to seek an audience with the Source Brain and are hoping to offer something that Mechanical Paradise would be interested in.”

“Then, you might as well save up metal ores and make a large transaction with Mechanical Paradise. That might still give you a chance.” Gu Bo felt that the young man’s sudden idea was completely unrealistic. “It’s been decades since the search for Maximian. Maybe he’s already dead.”

“We’re only in charge of this direction.” Bai Chen’s words stopped Gu Bo’s persuasion.

Gu Bo unscrewed the thermos cap again, took a sip of water, and moistened his throat. “Then, I’ll be frank—I don’t need your payment. I didn’t find any clues back then, so this person definitely isn’t in Mount Chilar. Even if he is, he’s most likely in the stomach of some beast or Heartless.”

Long Yuehong recorded Gu Bo’s answer and asked, “What kind of person is he? What was written on Mechanical Paradise’s bounty announcement back then?”

“What kind of person is he?” Gu Bo recalled and said, “There was a photo back then, and there were some descriptions… This person was more than 1.80 meters tall, and his body was very muscular. His hair was golden, and his eyes were light blue. His nose was slightly large, and he looked alright. It’s said that he had undergone genetic optimization…”

In certain places, genetic enhancement was also known as genetic optimization. This was a technology that had made breakthrough progress before the Old World was destroyed. However, it had later been lost to most human factions. Only Pangu Biology and the White Knights continued on this path, improving it and making it sufficiently mature.

As Long Yuehong quickly recorded the information, Gu Bo continued, “I think he looks more like a warrior than a scientist, but Mechanical Paradise’s bounty notice specially emphasized his identity.

“Apart from this, the notice had nothing of value. It only said that Mechanical Paradise would satisfy any one request of yours if you found this person as long as it didn’t involve the survivability of Mechanical Paradise and it has the ability to complete it.”

Give me a robot army. I want to save the world… Upon hearing ‘any request,’ Long Yuehong couldn’t help but simulate Shang Jianyao’s train of thought. However, he felt that this idea was too ordinary after some thought.

It didn’t evoke enough of Shang Jianyao’s vibes.

At this moment, Bai Chen asked, “It only said to find the person and didn’t mention why?”

“No.” Gu Bo shook his head.

“Then, did they emphasize protecting certain things or tracking down certain information?” Bai Chen asked.

“None as well. It just said to try our best to ensure the target’s survival.” Gu Bo still had some impression of this. If there were such requests, he would’ve changed the direction of the investigation back then and wouldn’t have walked into a dead end.

“Jot this down,” Bai Chen instructed Long Yuehong.