Chapter 16: The BOSS Is Actually Me?
"With the money from that indebted Old Deng, plus this month's salary and the supervisor's allowance, it's a total of 871 credits."
Bai Fu, having recalculated her finances, let out a slight sigh of relief.
The currency issued by the Lynn Settlement had decent purchasing power; this amount was enough to ensure that she and Anya wouldn't have to worry about food, clothing, or expenses for a few months.
However, that only covered the basics—enjoying a high-class life was still pure fantasy.
The more underdeveloped a place was, the higher the price one had to pay to get quality goods.
Those who risked transporting high-quality goods to the abandoned Cooling Plant were merchants, not philanthropists.
Bai Fu stuffed the money into her piggy bank.
With nothing better to do, she casually opened the Star‑Play Society’s abandoned Cooling Plant section.
Unlike yesterday, when players were all talking about her, today's community threads were much more diverse.
Some players were sharing experiences about killing and disposing of bodies.
Others were analyzing which early‑game classes suited civilian players better.
Of course, players going crazy over her photos and videos was still an unmissable part of the community over the past few days.
【First day without seeing Fu‑fu, I miss her】
【Guys, I'm craving my Fu fix, gimme some pretty pics of Fu‑baby】
【Didn't anyone notice Fu‑fu's outfit doesn't suit her? If she wore Makima’s set instead, with a whip in hand—hehe】
【Cut it out! Fu‑baby and Makima are totally different vibes! Makima treated Denji like a dog, while Fu‑baby sees us as treasures. Do you even understand what a Favorability Score of 82 means?!】
【I don't care, I just want a big sister in a black tie, white shirt, and black slacks!】
【Let’s be real: just because Fu‑fu treats us well doesn’t mean she’s a good person. After all, she’s from the villain group Wildfire Gang. What if she turns out to be a story BOSS and suddenly shows us her HP bar one day?】
That reply effectively killed the conversation. It took several seconds before a new comment appeared.
【Let me make this clear: even if Fu‑fu is a BOSS, I won’t fight her. Worst case, I just skip this main quest—there’s more than one on every newbie planet anyway】
【Agreed. Besides, just because Fu‑fu is a BOSS doesn’t mean she can’t turn good later. Isn’t Vegeta a textbook example?】
【If the writers dare mess this up, I’ll bring a bunch of Emperors right to their door!】
【Wow, y’all really let your morals follow your aesthetics, huh】
【What nonsense! Just because she’s a BOSS doesn’t mean she’s evil. Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective or duty? I don’t believe Fu‑fu is a villain who commits all sorts of atrocities—otherwise, why would she care about our lives at all?】
Players fiercely debated in the thread whether Bai Fu was merely a bad woman who treated players well or a sheep in wolf’s clothing.
Bai Fu had already feasted on this drama.
If she could post, she would definitely dive in and lead the narrative herself.
The more muddled the waters got, the richer and longer-lasting the players’ eventual feelings of "guilt" or "affection" would be when they found out she was actually an "undercover agent."
But she had to be careful not to push too far, or the "truth" might never come to light before some extreme player tried to knife her.
Bai Fu exited that thread and clicked on a trending post discussing Martin’s death.
Not long ago, the Wildfire Gang had announced that outsiders had brutally killed Martin and that they would be launching even more intense retaliation.
The news quickly reached the players’ ears.
【Wildfire Gang says one of their supervisors got killed by a player. Who’s that badass? That was an elite mob!】
【@Party Big Star Party, was it you?】
【Holy crap, that’s insane. Soloing an elite mob? I couldn’t do it. This game is so realistic—I even turned gore off and I still don’t dare fight NPCs. Guess I’m just a life‑skills player now】
【Party, you thinking of making a guide video?】
【Party, how about going for a world‑first BOSS kill?】
A series of @s quickly summoned the man himself, Party Big Star, who hurriedly clarified.
Party Big Star: 【(dog-head question emoji) Guys, you’re overestimating me. I’m not that tough. This game isn’t like others—there are no invincibility frames when rolling, and you start without dodge skills. At my level, soloing an elite mob is basically impossible】
【"Basically" means it’s still possible, right?】
Party Big Star: 【Technically, yes. The crafting system in this game is amazing. Even without blueprints, you can make stuff yourself. I heard some pro already made black powder. If someone managed to handcraft a gun, even at level 1, taking down a newbie village elite wouldn’t be that hard】
【Damn, that’s insane. Doesn’t that tech-savvy player guy basically get to take off now?】
【Wait, it wasn’t Party who did it? Then who was it?】
【I thought Party was already unmatched in the world—who’s this guy’s subordinate?】2
As soon as Party Big Star came out to clarify, all the farming-type players got excited and immediately derailed the whole thread.
Fighting and killing was thrilling, sure, but farming and climbing the tech tree wasn’t bad either.
Until a player named 【Convert to My Fu】 showed up, and the thread swerved back to combat and violence.
【@Party Big Star Party, got a minute? I just got a hidden quest with a super high reward】
Party Big Star: 【How high?】
Convert to My Fu: 【3500 XP】
That number absolutely shocked Bai Fu.
A single quest with 3500 XP—wasn’t this guy basically accepting a boss fight quest?
That was enough to let her level up her Psionic Apprentice class once more.
She focused, trying to see if she could deduce anything useful from the conversation between Convert to My Fu and Party Big Star, hoping to get a share of the pie.
Other players were even more stunned when they saw the number; even moving bricks for ten days might not earn that much XP.
【Godfather, where did you get that quest?】
【Sh*t, it’s a three-surnamed slave!】6
Convert to My Fu: 【I got lucky. While wandering around Wildfire Gang’s turf, an NPC with an exclamation mark over his head walked up to me. I asked if he needed help, and he gave me an assassination quest. There’s no way I could complete it solo, so I had to ask you for help, Party】
Party Big Star: 【Bro, I’m adding you as a friend—let’s talk in DMs】
Convert to My Fu: 【OK】
The two vanished after that.
A full twenty minutes later, they finally returned.
Party Big Star: 【Recruiting five teammates. Priority to those who can craft special traps and weapons. Also accepting strategists or action game pros! Note: mission location is in this area (image attached). The mission starts after 7 PM, so please make sure you can reach the location in time and that you’re available during that time slot】
【Ah, only five people?】
【Noob dog gazes up at the pros】1
【Isn’t that area Wildfire Gang territory? No wonder the reward is so high—just sneaking in is already tough work】
Despite the strict requirements, it took less than a few minutes for Party Big Star to find five teammates.
Including Black Tiger Afu, Calamity Dragon with scouting skills, and Excavation‑Princess who previously helped him fight Big Bro Biao, a ten-man boss raid team was quickly assembled.
Bai Fu stared intently at the map Party Big Star posted.
There was a red circle on the map, and, wouldn’t you know it, her house happened to fall right within that circle.
“Is the quest target someone living in this area?”
An NPC that could give 3500 XP definitely had more power than Big Bro Biao.
Bai Fu thought about it—there didn’t seem to be any NPCs that strong near her house, because this area had pretty poor living conditions. Anyone with power or status wouldn’t choose to live here.
Could it be that Party Big Star posted a fake map?
Wait a minute. She’d overlooked one person.
“Am I not the NPC who’s stronger than Big Bro Biao?”
Bai Fu’s face instantly turned dark.
She quickly found a good vantage point and squatted down.
As dusk fell and she saw Party Big Star and his team moving under cover of night, her suspended heart completely sank.
Alright, alright, alright—so the "BOSS" the players were trying to raid was actually her!