Chapter 41: Summer Reappears, Reunion with Bai Fu
For Bai Fu, the focus of Battle Etiquette wasn’t on etiquette, but on battle.
There would always be times when she ended up alone, or encountered enemies that were too strong.
Even if she managed to control them, the Player’s damage output wasn’t enough to heavily injure the enemy within 2 seconds.
So it was necessary for her to devise a Battle Etiquette that not only restrained the enemy for 2 seconds but also forced the enemy to inflict severe damage on themselves within those 2 seconds.
"Start off by punching your own head?"
After a bit of thought, Bai Fu dismissed this design.
With her constitution, even if she punched herself, it would be hard to deal real damage, though it was still possible to knock herself into a 【Stunned】 state with a punch.
Although the enemy would mimic her motion and punch their own head, what if she got stunned while the enemy got lucky and didn’t? Wouldn’t that be a disaster?
Such a high-risk move was unacceptable.
"If it’s with a gun..."
Before the fight, she’d first shoot herself twice like Fire Cloud Evil God.
Bai Fu shook her head. Back when her constitution was just over twenty, she wasn’t afraid of regular handguns. Now that her constitution had risen to 37, even large-caliber handguns could barely harm her.
But the problem was that she carried a handgun, whereas her enemies might not. So this set of Battle Etiquette could only be used against specific opponents.
It was better to use fists. Hitting the head was out, but hitting other parts was different.
She had a move called Fatal Cockbuster, which ensured severe damage to most enemies while causing no harm to herself.
If the enemy wore armor, then elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles were also good target spots.
Bai Fu, satisfied, returned the book to the shelf.
After leaving the Archive Room, she found Xia Shi.
The two wandered nearby for a bit, returned home around noon for a meal, then went back to the Division Four office building.
This time, Bai Fu had come to meet the Director of Division Four, Lu Yuelin.
When she entered the Director’s office accompanied by Xia Shi, Lu Yuelin was reading a report and sipping goji tea.
"Oh, Bai Fu, hahaha, I’ve heard your name so many times from Xia Shi these past few days, and now we finally meet."
Lu Yuelin stood up with a cheerful smile.
His hair was slightly graying. When he smiled, he didn’t look like the Director of a special agent organization, but more like a kind elder.
Just like his amiable appearance, his way of speaking made people feel warm and comfortable.
Bai Fu had expected to be interrogated this time, but to her surprise, Lu Yuelin didn’t say a single unnecessary word.
Apart from praising her bravery at the Abandoned Cooling Plant, he only talked about the matter of rewards.
"According to the 'Gene Primordials Counter-Truth Society Assault Regulations (Fourth Revised Edition)', individuals or organizations that have made particularly significant contributions in preventing, stopping, or striking against Truth Society assaults shall be rewarded. Given your contribution at the Abandoned Cooling Plant, a Silver Moon Medal and a cash prize are guaranteed. Considering you also did a great favor for our Division Four this time, I’ve decided on my own to give you some additional rewards. You may state your requests, and I will do my best to fulfill them. Even if you want to join Division Four, that’s not out of the question."
Join Division Four?
That would make her one of their own. If she made significant contributions, she might get easier access to the Psionic Knowledge Chain than outsiders.
But on the other hand, joining Division Four came with its drawbacks—the most critical being the loss of freedom.
Before she understood the pros and cons of each faction and determined where she best fit in to participate in the main plot, Bai Fu wasn’t in a hurry to decide.
In the end, holding onto a sliver of hope, she asked Lu Yuelin whether she could borrow some advanced psionic knowledge held by the Gene Primordials.
"Although I’m the Director of Division Four, I can’t make promises in this area. All I can do is try to apply for you. But I can give you a heads-up—the chances of approval are very low. However, if you make an even greater contribution to the Gene Primordials, then it might be a different story."
So it really wouldn’t work.
Bai Fu had no choice but to lower her expectations and asked if she could get a current world map of Origin Star.
"That’s absolutely no problem."
Lu Yuelin immediately instructed his secretary to fetch the map.
Feeling the reward was still too little, he stuffed a large pile of invitation cards and discount coupons into Bai Fu’s hands.
"If you’re planning to live in Lynn for a while, these little things might be quite helpful."
Bai Fu’s mouth twitched.
Since it was a kind gesture, she accepted them anyway.
After she left, Lu Yuelin’s secretary said, "Director Lu, aren’t you being a bit too courteous to her? We still can’t confirm whether she has no ties to the Truth Society."
Lu Yuelin took a sip of tea: "Presumed innocent until proven guilty. She is now Division Four’s benefactor, and should be treated as such. What’s with all the shouting and threats? And if you truly want to extract some intel from her, shouldn’t you be more friendly? If we start by being wary of her, don’t you think she’ll be wary of us and refuse to tell us anything?"
The secretary’s face remained cold, and he didn’t respond.
He stayed silent, and so did Lu Yuelin.
He knew very well that the secretary wouldn’t fully obey him, and would likely cause Bai Fu trouble behind the scenes to show off his abilities.
What could he do?
He could only forgive him like a father, because this guy had someone backing him.
Everything about Division Four was great—except there were too many people with connections, making the work difficult to carry out.
But Lu Yuelin maintained a very calm mindset.
If it was hard, then it was hard.
Given his age, no matter how well he performed, there was no chance of promotion. So why work so hard?
His current attitude was to coast through.
During work hours, he did what needed doing and left the rest to how well his subordinates executed it.
Otherwise, he stuck to not arriving late, not leaving early, not working overtime, and leading the charge to the canteen at mealtime.
Comfortable.
……
After leaving Division Four, Bai Fu went straight back to Xia Shi’s residence.
She uploaded the map Lu Yuelin had given her into the game’s map system and combined it with the book introducing the origins of the five major factions.
Now she had a very intuitive understanding of their distributions.
These five major factions were all located on the same continent.
The Gene Primordials, where she currently was, consisted mainly of scientists and some military units funded by a major pre-war nation.
After the war, these people started from their hidden shelters in the far eastern part of the continent and established the Gene Primordials, aiming to rebuild the new order of the wasteland.
After a century of development, the Gene Primordials now governed six mega-settlements and dozens of smaller shelters.
Other factions like the Old Republic and Railway Guild had similar development histories, but the Human Alliance and Truth Society were more unique.
The Human Alliance was born from the Old Republic, once the most powerful force.
After a mutant uprising in the Old Republic, the persecuted humans broke away and formed the Human Alliance.
As for the Truth Society, to this day no one had figured out the origin of its leader.
Even within the Truth Society, most didn’t know his true appearance or name, usually referring to him as "That Lord."
That was very Detective Agency.
But unlike the Detective Agency, the Truth Society had far fewer moles and traitors.
Otherwise, with the hatred the other factions held for the Truth Society, they would have stormed its gates long ago.
Bai Fu memorized all this knowledge. Though it had little use in daily life, it might come in handy to bluff Players in crucial moments, making them think she was profound and mysterious.
Speaking of Players, after teaching Anya some characters for a while, Bai Fu opened the Community.
She planned to check on what the Players at the Abandoned Cooling Plant were up to lately.
As soon as she opened it, she found a post saying that Excavation‑Princess had already boarded a transport from the Abandoned Cooling Plant to Lynn.
【Excavation‑Princess went hard this time, spent everything she had just to get a ticket】
【What did Excavation‑Princess take? Why did she suddenly become a born livestream saint? This stream won’t stop】
【There’s no such thing as a natural-born stream queen—it’s the benefit of hugging the right thigh!】
【Wasn’t it Excavation‑Princess’s sharp eye that instantly saw Bai Fu was no ordinary NPC?】
One group of Players was praising Excavation‑Princess, while another group kept @-ing her.
【Excavation‑Princess, go! Find Fu‑fu quick! I need to see Fu‑fu safe with my own eyes to rest easy】
【Damn, I was too slow. By the time I got there, today’s tickets were sold out】
【Sigh, I wonder if Fu‑fu’s doing okay in Lynn, if she’s being bullied】
【Excavation‑Princess, stop lurking. I know you’re reading these replies and smiling】
Bai Fu nodded secretly.
If it was this morning’s transport, then given the current road conditions, Excavation‑Princess would arrive in Lynn by noon tomorrow at the latest.
Not long ago, Bai Fu had sacrificed herself to save the Players, said farewell to them, and even erected a monument.
That had cranked the Players’ emotions to the maximum.
After days of emotional fermenting, now was the time to give them an outlet.
But she wasn’t satisfied with merely showing up in front of Excavation‑Princess. Her plan was to use this wave to further enrich her character image in front of the Players.
Right now, in the Players’ eyes, her image was "a beautiful, mysterious NPC who cares for Players"—that was good, but not enough. She needed to build on this foundation to further deepen the connection and give the Players the feeling that "Fu‑fu is dazzling, but not out of reach."
"Anya, is it a bit boring staying here?"
"Umm… it’s alright, maybe a little, but it’s okay," Anya said after a moment’s hesitation.
Bai Fu called her over: "It’s rare to take a trip. Tomorrow I’ll take you out for a walk. Oh, and you…"
She instructed Anya on a few matters, and Anya nodded repeatedly to show she had remembered.
Her admiration for Bai Fu was now maxed out. If Bai Fu said go east, she wouldn’t dare go west.
After a night’s rest, Bai Fu woke up the next morning to find Excavation‑Princess livestreaming.
She sat by the window, occasionally commenting on the passing scenery, until half an hour later, the vehicle finally arrived at Lynn Station.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Excavation‑Princess felt a strange sense of unreality.
Had she really arrived in Lynn? Would she really find Fu‑fu? Wasn’t it possible that by the time she arrived, Fu‑fu would have already left?
She quickly shook off that unease.
She was someone who dared to watch Corpse in the Mountain Village alone with the volume up in the middle of the night. What was there to fear now?
She just had to find her!
Excavation‑Princess cleared her throat and smiled at the camera.
"Arrived in Lynn, the closest settlement to the Abandoned Cooling Plant—so beautiful, everyone!"
Live‑stream Comments scrolled rapidly.
【Damn, this Syria-styled city has that full-on wasteland flavor】
【This game is wild, not only is the map huge, there’s no loading during fast travel】
【Excavation‑Princess, stop stalling at the station. Go see Fu‑fu in the distance】
"Alright, alright, don’t rush. I’m going to find Fu‑fu now."
Excavation‑Princess officially began her journey.
On the way, she had already prepared herself to search for several days straight, but the hardship of finding someone still exceeded her expectations.
"Bai Fu? Never heard of her."
"A pretty girl with white hair? There’s plenty of white-haired folks these days—red, orange, green, you name it."
Over and over she came up empty, over and over she found the wrong person, and Excavation‑Princess felt numb.
【Excavation‑Princess, what are you doing? Excavation‑Princess】
【As long as you don’t stop, the road will keep stretching—so, Excavation‑Princess, don’t stop!】
【Excavation‑Princess, are you going to let all your past efforts go to waste?】
Seeing the Live‑stream Comments, Excavation‑Princess quickly explained: "Giving up? No way. I’ll never give up in this lifetime. I’m just a little thirsty right now. Damn, this game’s too realistic. I’ve got to find a way to earn some Credit Coins, or I feel like I’ll collapse before I even find Fu‑fu."
But where could she find a quest to earn money?
Excavation‑Princess clutched her stomach and wandered aimlessly through the alleys.
She didn’t know how long had passed. When the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky, she reached an intersection. Across the road, under the warm glow of an orange streetlamp, stood two people.
One tall, one short. One big, one small. Both had long, beautiful white hair. In the orange light, their faces looked hazy.
But in that moment, Excavation‑Princess’s gaze pierced through the blur and etched their features deep into her eyes.
Bai Fu. Anya.
Excavation‑Princess stood frozen.
She never imagined they’d reunite like this.
This unintentional encounter felt just like the first time she had met Bai Fu—and like when she found the monument Bai Fu had erected.
In that instant, a tidal wave surged in Excavation‑Princess’s heart, and the Live‑stream Comments exploded.
【！！！】