A few days later, Alex stood at the door of the mission agency headquarters, looking at the huge laser fonts flashing in the sky.

Ahead is a spacious hall of thousands of square meters. At this time, many people have arrived in advance, most of them are humans, and there are also many strange aliens communicating with their companions next to them.

All of them have one characteristic, that is, they have a fierce aura, and their bodies are filled with the smell of battlefield and gunpowder smoke.

This is a group of war mercenaries and bounty hunters. Although most of them are not explorers, they are also an important supplement to the Iron Fortress.

But here, even the most ferocious maniacs have to line up.

Alex thought for a moment, took out the Federal Major Medal from his pocket, and pinned it on his chest.

Not long after, a young man with a service member nameplate on his chest walked forward quickly, bowed slightly and introduced himself: "Sir, I am Song Zongji, the C-level deacon of Steel Fortress. It is my honor to serve you."

"Hello, Mr. Song, this is my identity crystal card." Alex handed over an identity crystal card with a personal identity, and asked casually: "Are there usually so many people here?"

Song Zongji swiped the identity crystal card over a sensor in his hand. The top of the sensor flashed red, and a message box popped up after a beeping sound. He browsed through it quickly, and after confirming that it was correct, he held the identity crystal with both hands. Ka handed it back to Alex.

Hearing Alex's question, Song Zongji did not dare to neglect and quickly replied: "You don't know, today is the day when Steel Fortress rotates various bounty tasks every quarter. These people are all bounty hunters from the nearby star field. , wanting to pick the best tasks as soon as possible, that’s why so many people gathered.

Through Song Zongji's explanation, Alex learned that every once in a while, Steel Fortress would release some bounty missions to the outside world, most of which were to kill interstellar beasts that were plundering in a certain area, or to hunt down those who violated interstellar laws. Fugitives and Star Thieves.

Of course, in addition to the above-mentioned types of tasks, there are also many construction and investigation tasks, and the rewards for completing these tasks are all the merit points of the Steel Fortress.

For most ordinary interstellar bounty hunters, the merit points of the Iron Fortress are extremely precious and can be exchanged for many products that cannot be bought on the black market, including various banned weapons and even interstellar battleships, and even exclusive weapons used by explorers. Available for sale.

However, among various bounty tasks, there are also levels of difficulty. Although the corresponding merit points obtained are also different, there are always tasks that are relatively easy but well-rewarded. It is much more cost-effective to spend some time and carefully select at this time than to only get a small amount of merit points when the time comes.

Not far away, there was a constant sound of howling like ghosts and wolves howling after someone received the mission, accompanied by other people's scolding and provocation. It was obvious that a mission with a higher "cost-effectiveness" was taken first, causing strong dissatisfaction from others. .

However, this is the headquarters of the Iron Fortress' mission agency. Others can only curse a few words to express their dissatisfaction. No one dares to cause trouble here and challenge the authority of the law enforcers.

After Song Zongji's explanation, Alex suddenly realized, "That's it."

In comparison, Alex, as a member of Steel Fortress, received a fixed amount of merit points every month, but all he paid was a routine task every month, and his treatment was completely different.

Alex pondered for a moment, then raised his head and asked: "I want to receive the fixed monthly merit points, where should I go?"

Song Zongji smiled broadly and said quickly: "Your Excellency is a formal member of Steel Fortress. Of course, you don't need to line up with these outsiders. Please come with me."

Alex nodded and followed him.

Song Zongji said as he walked: "Sir, do you still need to accept bounty tasks? Please rest assured that we have selected the best from this batch of bounty tasks for insiders like you to choose."

"Oh? I understand, thank you very much for that." Alex nodded slightly.

While the two were talking, Song Zongji had already brought Alex to a window on the second floor. Behind the window was a pretty girl with a round face. Song Zongji was obviously an old acquaintance of her, and the two exchanged a few words to explain to her. Got the intention.

"Please wait a moment." The round-faced girl did not dare to neglect, and quickly operated on the optical computer on the side for a few times, then raised her head and said: "Sir, you have not received a total of two thousand merit points for two months. Do you want to Confirm receipt?"

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"Take them all."

The round-faced girl nodded and operated the optical brain twice with her hands and feet. Almost at the same time, a message came from Alex's wrist terminal that two thousand merit points had been received.

Although there were not many points, Song Zongji could not help but show an expression of envy on his face. Unlike Alex, he was just one of thousands of ordinary employees serving the Steel Fortress, and he received the universal currency of the human world. .

Although the universal currency can also be used in the Iron Fortress, it can only purchase ordinary commodities in the human world, and the price is not equivalent to the merit points at all.

Even compared to most bounty hunters who lick their blood at the end, he is far inferior. Two thousand points of merit points converted into currency are enough to cover his income from work for more than ten years.

Even so, in the eyes of outsiders, Song Zongji's job is still the envy of most people, and it belongs to the category of senior white-collar workers in the federation.

At this time, an incoming message with twenty merit points suddenly popped up on his terminal.

Song Zongji was startled, "Sir, what are you..."

Alex smiled slightly, "I just want to thank you for your excellent service. Also, please take me to the mission hall to select bounty missions."

After hearing this, Song Zongji calmly accepted the merit points without showing any flattering smile. He just said with a more serious and respectful attitude: "I am very happy to serve you, sir."

…

Ten minutes later, when Alex walked out of the mission agency headquarters again, an additional mission reminder appeared on the watch terminal. After standing at the door and thinking for a moment, he took off.

Because it was his first time to take on a mission, there were detailed information prompts throughout the mission process. Alex followed the map instructions on his watch and flew over several blocks before landing on an apron.

A man who looked like an officer who had been waiting for a long time stepped forward and saluted, "Sir, I'm here to pick you up."

Alex nodded and followed the man into a shuttle-shaped aircraft. Shortly after the two sat down, bright flames were ejected from the tail of the aircraft, rising into the air and shooting towards the distant sky.

The aircraft passed through the atmosphere and entered space. It then flew in a certain direction for about two or three hours, and finally landed in a small space station disguised as a meteorite.

After taking the person to their destination, the officer saluted and left.

Alex stood still for a moment and walked towards the only metal object exposed on the surface of the space station.

In this huge space station, except for a metal operating platform in the center and a group of maintenance robots on standby on both sides, there are no other signs of life.

Alex jumped up to the console in the middle and sat down backwards. The metal floor below automatically rose and transformed into a streamlined seat that best suited his body shape. It was very different from the hard texture of ordinary metal and was unexpectedly soft.

Alex moved his hands and feet, nodded with satisfaction, and began to issue instructions, "Start the trajectory simulation calculation! Deploy the defense warning function! Ignite!"

With a loud "boom" sound, the internal space station suddenly started to operate, instantly generating a powerful driving force. At the same time, the meteorite that was originally disguised from the outside began to move according to a certain established trajectory from a static state.

"Operate a space station to patrol the area within ten light years southwest of the base." This is the bounty task Alex received this time. In the next three months, he will operate this small space station disguised as a meteorite , monitor the surrounding area.

Next, Alex pressed a few buttons on the console, and the protective color quickly faded away, and the outside scene could be clearly seen from the inside. In the dark sky of the universe, several meteorites were flying in a certain direction at the same time.

At the same time, more than a dozen screens were spread out in front of us, with different distances and different views. There were stars hanging in the sky, the same messy meteorites, and the surface of the planet exuding the smell of smoke, dust and sulfur. They were installed on the space station. The internal optical radar transmits all generated images within a thousand kilometers around it simultaneously.

"Very good, the biggest advantage of this mission is that you don't need to pay attention all the time, and you have a lot of free time." Seeing this, Alex's face flashed with joy. This mission is indeed what Song Zongji said, it is a relative one. Easy and simple task.

It seems that the "tip" of twenty merit points was well spent.

After Alex got a little familiar with the operation process and made sure everything was fine, he sat cross-legged on the seat. After a while, his body was suspended in the air from the seat and he began to practice.

For the next month, Alex immersed himself in a state of cultivation while disguising the space station as a meteorite to patrol the surrounding area.

This place belongs to the sphere of influence of the Steel Fortress, and no blind interstellar pirates or aliens will enter this area, and finally spend a month without incident.

On this day, Alex was practicing and was suddenly awakened by a piercing alarm. When he opened his eyes, he saw a circle of dazzling red dots appearing on the screen on his left.

With a swipe of his right hand, the screen quickly expanded and zoomed in. I saw that the red mark was a small chaotic group of meteorites. A medium-sized spaceship was flying quickly among the meteorites. Behind the spacecraft, there were a group of bat-winged people wrapped in skin. There is a thick layer of horny membrane, and star beasts that look like night owls are constantly attacking the hull.

These star beasts are not small in size, each one is about the size of an aircraft, but their destructive power is extremely astonishing. They go on a rampage and destroy all the meteorites in their way. They constantly hit the hull with their claws and bodies, and at the same time spit out huge amounts of smoke from their mouths. ball of fire.

Fortunately, there was a transparent shield on the surface of the spacecraft that blocked most attacks, so it was not destroyed at once.

However, as the thickness of the hull's protective cover becomes thinner and thinner, it is obvious that it can no longer support it for much time.

"Wing Owl", Alex has seen information about this creature in the illustrated book. It usually appears in the outer area of the Steel Fortress. It is a three-star space star beast that lives on magma and sulfur.

Although the strength level of this space star beast can only reach the end of "Bronze Level", this creature can fly in a vacuum at a speed comparable to that of a space vehicle. Its physical strength is amazing, and it can spit sub-ion fireballs, often four to five times. Forming only one group, they pose a great threat to passing passenger ships.

At present, this group of membrane owls is a group, with a total of five in number.

Alex reported the received information immediately, and worked with his hands on the console. The small warship disguised as a meteorite changed its flight direction, separated from the meteorite group, and flew towards the distant sky.