Chapter 24: Unable to Let Bai Fu’s Sacrifice Be in Vain!
The room fell into a brief silence.
At the critical moment, none of the players expected Bai Fu to suddenly blurt out those words.
But on closer thought, that reaction seemed perfectly reasonable.
Their earlier actions were indeed a bit willful, but putting aside the recklessness, their unwillingness to leave—and insistence on staying to share the burden—could also be called dependable.
In other games, doing this would just be showing off to the air.
Because the NPCs they faced only repeated preset lines, even if a second ago they had been recalling the adventure journey with heartfelt sentiment, once the quest ended they’d revert to poker faces—or not even acknowledge the player.
But in Beyond the Stars, the situation was completely different, because the NPCs’ AI was realistic enough to be indistinguishable from real.
After seeing this dependable side of the players, it was only natural for Bai Fu to express such emotion; she was, after all, a kind-hearted good soul.
Legendary heroes?
Yes, they were indeed the legendary heroes from “another world,” fighting for all love and justice!
With that thought, several normally upright players couldn’t help but straighten their backs.
Those players who usually enjoyed running into villages to kill chickens or trying to lure NPCs into monster nests were also in high spirits.
They played games for fun, and being genuinely praised by an NPC was also a kind of joy.
Bai Fu couldn’t help but smile to herself.
Yes, exactly—that was the reaction.
But now was not the time to bask in pride; next came the crucial moment to boost favorability.
“Since you insist I explain, then I shall explain.
The Wildfire Gang organized a commando team; their target is your stronghold, and they’re already outside.
I came running over pretending to be reckless, gambling on glory before they launched a full-scale assault.”
“What?”
The news shocked all the players, and those near the window hurriedly peered outside.
Bai Fu urged, “With your current strength, you absolutely cannot defeat that commando team. Leave immediately with your supplies—if you delay even longer, it’ll be too late.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Convert to My Fu emotionally stood up, shouting, “I won’t leave!
If I go, they’ll surely suspect that Fu Fu—you—came to pass on warnings, and then all your plans would be ruined!
You might even fall into danger—
Anyway, I’m not leaving.”
His words gained agreement from many players.
“Yeah, there’s no need to run.
This time we’re facing elites, right?
If we can replace even one, that’s a gain—and we also have faction‑versus‑faction missions, where the damage we rack up can convert into experience later.”
“Brothers, it’s a game, right?
In real life, escaping from difficulty might make you a deserter—but in a game, do you still want to be a deserter?”
“Let’s rush in!
My greatsword has been thirsting for action.”
“Haha, Ah Fu, as expected of you!”
Whenever something like this happened, Black Tiger Ah Fu was always the first to charge forward.
Seeing their expressions—some relaxed, some fired up—Bai Fu frowned even deeper.
She seemed to be brewing a storm of emotion.
One second, two seconds…five seconds…
“Shut up!”
A muffled, suppressed roar exploded through the room.
All the players stared in astonishment at Bai Fu’s sudden outburst.
“Do you think the Wildfire Gang’s goal is just to raid your stronghold?”
“Well…”
Mining‑Princess hesitated, then said, “Whatever—first turn on the camera!”
Bai Fu said in a low voice, “So naive!
The Wildfire Gang’s ultimate aim is to gradually squeeze your survival space until they drive you into the contaminated zone.
There’s no point in you staying here.
In the end, you’ll just waste a lot of supplies and make it increasingly impossible to defeat them.
Preserving your strength and waiting for the right opportunity is what you should be doing now!”
“That may be true, but losing those supplies doesn't have much impact.”
“Yeah, getting pushed into the contaminated zone isn't that big a deal.”
Several players whispered among themselves.
At this, Bai Fu’s voice grew even more twisted.
"You don't understand, none of you understand! Outside the settlement, the polluted zones are filled with pollution sources. Whether it's humans, animals, or plants, any contact with a pollution source will lead to mutations—lightly, it means death; severely, it means turning into a mindless monster. Even the strongest scavengers don't dare linger there. What can you even do there? Do you want to become monsters and then get killed by me?"
"That's not it, but you..."
"You you you you my ass! My business doesn't need your meddling. It's just a damn quest—failure means failure. If you really want to care about something, care about yourselves. Ask yourselves what you're really here for."
That outburst left the players in the room completely stunned.
For more than ten seconds, not a single person spoke.
Bai Fu remained calm in her heart.
She wasn't worried at all that her words would scare off the players.
She had already thought it through before coming here.
If the players ran off, that would count as her single-handedly taking down the entire damn player stronghold.
She could probably milk a lot of rewards from the 【Counterattack】 quest.
The downside was that she might be suspected of colluding with the players and thus attacked by the Wildfire Gang.
But that wasn't a big issue.
The money she earned from taking out Big Bro Biao and capturing players was enough for her and Anya to flee to another settlement.
What would the players choose?
Bai Fu glanced around.
Calamity Dragon clenched her fists, clearly agitated.
【Damn it, even my dad never scolded me like this!】
But the feeling of being scolded didn't seem that bad.
After all, Bai Fu scolded them out of concern, not wanting to see them go die.
And Bai Fu's flustered and angry look was way better than her usual poker face.
Not that she looked much prettier, but suddenly the character felt more fleshed out.
She was no longer a mysterious expert hiding behind the mist.
She felt like a real big-sister-type character.
Maybe this was what they called immersion in a game?
If this were a gacha game, Calamity Dragon thought she might have already started spending money.
The other players weren't as emotionally intense as Calamity Dragon.
They quickly started chatting in the squad channel.
【Even though we got yelled at, it felt kinda good. Am I a masochist?】
【I didn’t expect Fu-fu to go this far. She’s risking everything for us. If this gets exposed, will she be okay?】
【Damn that Wildfire Gang. Damn the developers!】
【Developer: ?】
【What are you waiting for? Cry already!】
【Fu-baby, my Fu-baby】
【That expression, that tone—the immersion in this game is crazy! I used to skip all NPC dialogue.】
【Enough crazy talk. In any case, we can’t let Bai Fu be exposed, or this storyline might end.】
Their opinions might differ, but they all shared one understanding—
They were playing a game with high freedom.
How could the legendary heroes let those who travel with them fall into tragedy?!
Sure, the Wildfire Gang was powerful in the newbie village.
Sure, the polluted zones sounded terrifying.
But so what?
They had charged ahead through gunfire and artillery, braving hellfire just for the hope of tomorrow.
They had walked through pitch-black, cold hospitals with fear as their companion, finally bringing peace to vengeful spirits.
They had roamed the world, confronting gods and demons as mere mortals, reopening the path of humanity for those on broken lands.
They were goddamn players. Fearless players!
Party Big Star stepped forward.
"Fu-jie, I completely understand your feelings. But I still choose to stay."
"Don’t be mad just yet. I know you’re probably disappointed in me right now, thinking I’m stubborn, too confident in my abilities, and driven by emotions. But..."
He looked at the other players beside him and flashed a bright smile.
"Maybe this is why the Supreme Will chose me to become an Undying One."
"These personality traits may not be great, but without stubbornness, how could I challenge strong opponents again and again?"
"Without confidence, how could I dare face danger?"
"Without emotional drive, how could I care so much about the world beyond the mist?"
Strength is what makes a king.
But stubbornness is what gives players the guts to face a king!
Party Big Star's confident and slightly chuuni words sparked heated discussion among the players.
【Damn, Party Big nailed it.】
【Awesome. How’d you stitch together all those terms Bai Fu used—Supreme Will, Undying Ones, world beyond the mist?】
【Hearing it like that makes me feel powerful. But honestly, I’m just here to kill time.】
【Even if you were just killing time, you did save the world.】
【No lie, this is the first time I’ve found this game fun. Reminds me of another game I played—though I could easily one-shot the final boss, the mechanics forced me to watch a beloved companion sacrifice herself. I couldn’t even say goodbye the way I wanted.】
【Bro, this time we’re writing our own story. No regrets!】
【Don’t say more—I’m fired up now!】
Convert to My Fu stepped up next, fired with passion.
“I’m staying too. I absolutely won’t let the Wildfire Gang hurt Fu-fu!”
Then Excavation-Princess, Calamity Dragon, and a few unfamiliar players stood up too.
"I’m staying."
"Me too."
In the end, only Black Tiger Afu stood alone in the corner.
"Why are you all looking at me like that? Don’t you know me by now? I’m just here to fight. Never planned on leaving."
"Hahaha!"
Laughter filled the room.
"You all..."
Bai Fu's gaze swept across each player’s face, as if trying to memorize every one of them.
Nice, very nice.
These people really got it.
"I’ve said so much already, but you’re still not listening. If something happens to you in the end, that has nothing to do with me!"
Convert to My Fu said, “This is my own choice. No matter what, I won’t blame you, Fu-fu.”
Bai Fu turned her head away.
No one could tell if she didn’t believe them or if she was simply upset that her good intentions had been ignored.
【What now?】
【We should find a way to calm Fu-baby down】
【As long as we play well, Bai Fu will naturally calm down】
【Don’t rush, let me check first】
Calamity Dragon secretly cast a scouting skill on Bai Fu.
【Name】: Bai Fu
【Template】: ?
【Main Class】: ?
【Sub Class】: ?
【HP】: ?
【Stats】: ?
【Skills】: ?
【Talents】: ?
【Favourability】: Treasured (83)
【Danger Level】: Red
When the data came back, Calamity Dragon almost thought she had read it wrong.
What, 83—wasn’t that even one point higher than the 82 she saw earlier?
So Fu-fu was actually a tsundere type of character, saying things like "none of your business," turning her head away in a huff, but her favourability didn't drop and even rose.
Calamity Dragon immediately shared the data panel with the other players.
Once they saw the stats, all the players were reassured.
【Fu-baby is so good, always being tolerant of me】
【Next vote, we must send Fu-fu to first place!】
【Go go go! Since favourability didn’t drop, then let’s charge!】
Excavation-Princess looked at Party Big Star.
“How are we going to fight?”
Party Big Star replied, “Fighting head-on is too hard. Let’s split into two teams. One team stays here to set traps. The other team will intercept and lure the Wildfire Gang people toward the traps. Oh, and notify those who went out—once they get back, we can pull off a pincer attack.”
A player shook his head.
“Too few people went out. Even if they all make it back in time, a pincer move might not work.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’ll make a move!” Calamity Dragon crossed her arms.
Excavation-Princess paused, then quickly realized.
“I almost forgot Calamity-jie is a little rich lady!”
Calamity Dragon grinned and pulled out her ultimate move—
Posting on the forum and spending money to hire help!
“Alright alright, this boosts our win rate a lot more.”
“Don’t get careless though. The enemies are mostly elite mobs, and the leader is probably a mini-boss.”
“Afraid of what? Just mortals. Even if they’re gods, as long as there’s a health bar, I’ll kill them for you!”
“Convert bro, go coat the weapons with golden oil.”
“Too bad time is tight. Otherwise I could rig a dust explosion and blow those bastards sky-high.”
A group of players gathered and quickly divvied up the tasks.
Not one of them was worried about the battle to come.
Only battle matters!
Once everything was ready, Excavation-Princess, who knew Bai Fu the longest, walked up to her.
“Fu-fu, the battle’s about to start. You should leave now while you can, or you might get caught up in it.”
Bai Fu pouted.
“At this point, do you think I can still leave? If I leave now, they’ll suspect even more that I’m connected to you all.”
“Ah, so what do we do now?”
Bai Fu stretched her arms forward.
“Go ahead. Tie me up and beat me a bit. Make some injuries on me.”
Excavation-Princess immediately refused.
“No way, absolutely not. How could I hit you?”
Other players quickly chimed in their agreement.
Bai Fu raised her voice.
“I’ve been here nearly ten minutes now. Nothing’s happened to me in that time. Do you think the people outside will believe that?”
It really did seem unbelievable.
“Alright, hurry up. Once it’s done, drag me out and use me as a hostage to threaten them. They won’t go for it—instead, they’ll try to provoke you into killing me. You don’t need to worry about anything else. Just toss me aside once the fighting starts. I’ll find my way out.”
Even though Bai Fu had said all that, no player dared to make a move.
Convert to My Fu's eyes turned red.
Damn it, Fu-fu is already risking exposure for us. How could we let her make an even greater sacrifice?!
“If you won’t do it, then I’ll do it myself!” Bai Fu raised her hand.
Excavation-Princess quickly rushed over and grabbed her sleeve.
“Stop stop stop, Fu-fu, I’ll tie you up—tying is fine, okay? But no hitting. Just let your hair down and smear on some red paint to fake an injury. They won’t see clearly from far away anyway.”
At last, they reached an agreement.
One minute later, Excavation-Princess and Calamity Dragon walked out, flanking Bai Fu one on each side.
When they reached the doorway, the two of them exchanged a glance.
This time, they absolutely couldn’t let Fu-fu’s sacrifice be in vain!