Chapter 58: The Gang Suffers, And I Bear The Reputation
The morning breeze blew, and the sound of dogs barking echoed between the alleys.
As the sun gradually rose, the slumbering Lynn Settlement slowly awakened.
Bai Fu drove straight to Excavation‑Princess’s residence, with the task issuer from the Garden of Silence and the newly minted merchant Anya-jie sitting in the passenger seat.
After turning a few corners, the outline of the inn appeared in sight. She had sharp eyes and immediately noticed over twenty of the newly arrived Players standing scattered outside.
As she parked the car, those Players also noticed her presence.
“Damn, it’s Bai Fu!”
The Players who were just chatting turned around, faces filled with unconcealable excitement.
They had thought they needed to unlock an Advanced class before seeing Bai Fu again, but to their surprise, she showed up on her own initiative.
Quick, quick, quick, start a livestream so other Players who can’t come to Lynn will be jealous!
After getting out of the car, Bai Fu didn’t rush Anya-jie to issue tasks to these Players.
Doing so would make her seem too dependent on them.
Once Players formed that perception, it wouldn’t be so easy for her to gleefully reap them like wheat later.
She tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Are you here to find Excavation‑Princess too?” She paused for a moment, then suddenly said to the Player standing in front, “Long time no see. If I remember correctly, we once fought off the Insect Tide together at the Abandoned Cooling Plant. Your nickname is 【Super Big Melon Skin】.”
“Holy crap!”
Super Big Melon Skin was startled.
He never dreamed Bai Fu would remember his name.
After all, there had been over a hundred Players fighting alongside her back then.
Could it be that Fu-fu has feelings for me...
Just as that thought surfaced, he heard Bai Fu’s voice again.
“Your nickname is 【Bu Xiang Wan La】... hmm, I remember you too. 【Eat or Not Eat Pancake】...”
Turns out Fu-fu remembered the names of all the Players who fought with her that time.
Super Big Melon Skin felt a moment of disappointment, but then thought this was like a calf riding a rocket — sky-high awesome.
In most games, NPCs wouldn’t even remember your name, and once a task was over, they might turn their attitude around 180 degrees.
No — even in Beyond the Stars, this kind of experience was one-of-a-kind. Who else but Bai Fu, the one who would even erect monuments for Players, could provide this level of emotional value?
As the Players on-site felt surging emotions, those in the livestream room laughed along.
【Everyone, please set your nickname to something human-like.jpg】
【Got it, next time I’ll change mine to “I Like You”】
【byd, trying to take advantage huh】
【Can’t believe Fu-fu could read these names without cracking up, too impressive】
While everyone was chatting, Excavation‑Princess suddenly came out of her room.
“Fu-fu!”
Bai Fu glanced at her, then looked apologetically at the Players gathered around her.
“Sorry, but I have urgent matters to discuss with Excavation‑Princess. Let’s chat later.”
With that, she took Anya-jie upstairs, leaving the Players downstairs to look at Excavation‑Princess with envy and jealousy.
Damn it!
They were the ones who talked to Bai Fu first. They had been chatting happily with her. But the moment Excavation‑Princess appeared, Bai Fu left.
Was this the benefit of entering the plot early and raising Affection Points in time?
This sense of a love being snatched away was simply too frustrating. What made it worse was the image they couldn’t shake from their minds — Bai Fu issuing new tasks to Excavation‑Princess inside her room. They couldn’t help but feel... cucked.
If only they had arrived in Lynn a few days earlier — would they be the ones enjoying this treatment now?
“Ahhh——”
The expressions of those Players downstairs were entirely within Bai Fu’s view. She smirked. She had come deliberately at a time when both Excavation‑Princess and these Players were present.
Most Players had a competitive mindset.
Especially those who rushed here early in the morning — seeing Excavation‑Princess being pampered like this, they were definitely fired up to perform better.
When the time came, she wouldn’t even need to speak.
These Players would come to her on their own, begging her to assign them tasks.
And once they got the task, they’d certainly try even harder.
In short, let them stew for a bit first.
Bai Fu withdrew her gaze. “You're the only one here today?”
Excavation‑Princess asked, “Should I call the others over?”
Bai Fu replied, “No need, just relay the message to them later. I’m here to inform you of something important. Your performance yesterday has been recognized by Division Four. They’ve agreed to let you continue participating in their operations as external members. At the latest, a new operation will commence within a week.
“This operation is extremely important—not just for Division Four, but for me as well. There might be something there that can help me further recover my strength. However, the difficulty of this task is also very high. You need to be mentally prepared. If any emergency arises and you want to withdraw, you must let me know in advance.”
What? A way to further recover her strength?
Upon hearing this, any thought of quitting vanished from Excavation‑Princess’s mind. She felt that all her efforts had finally earned Bai Fu’s full trust. After all, Bai Fu would never have voluntarily shared such personal matters before.
She immediately patted her chest and promised she would absolutely not mess things up.
“Good,” Bai Fu said with a smile. “I’ll leave for now. I’ll come back later to discuss the details with you all.”
She opened the door and was about to go downstairs when the group of Players waiting below swarmed around her.
Although they didn’t know what Bai Fu had just discussed with Excavation‑Princess, it was definitely something important—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been smiling so brightly.
They couldn’t sit still any longer. If they waited to unlock an Advanced class before looking for Bai Fu, it might be too late.
“Fu‑fu, Fu‑fu, look at me! I can help you too!”
“Yeah, Fu‑fu, we were comrades in arms. Can’t you trust me?”
“Advanced classes give great bonuses, sure, but strength isn’t just about stats—it’s about combat skill too.”
A group of Players looked at her with eager eyes.
Seeing that their emotions had been sufficiently stirred, Bai Fu said, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but what I’m doing is dangerous. Excavation‑Princess also went through my test before... How about this, I’ll give you a different kind of test. If you can pass it, I’ll recommend you to Division Four.”
She signaled to Anya-jie to issue the task to the Players.
【New Trial】: If you can eliminate the gang entrenched in Lynn, Bai Fu will acknowledge your strength. Give it your all and prove yourselves!
After reading the task, the Players were overjoyed.
They had only tried to corner Bai Fu on a whim and didn’t expect her to actually change the trial task content.
There was no level requirement.
They just had to defeat enemies.
With luck, they could finish the task today and maybe catch the last train to join Bai Fu’s next mission.
Amazing!
NPCs as understanding as Bai Fu were rare these days!
“I’m going right now!”
Several excited Players dashed off immediately.
The rest began to think seriously.
The task was not easy.
Although the gang members weren’t high-level—many even weaker than them—they had guns. If the Players rushed in unprepared, they’d likely be gunned down, losing XP for nothing.
Clearly, they needed to find a way to get guns.
But since they were treating the gang as targets, would buying guns from the gang reduce Bai Fu’s Affection Points?
“Is something troubling you?” Bai Fu asked considerately.
Super Big Melon Skin scratched his head awkwardly. “Fu‑fu, do you know where we can buy guns in Lynn?”
Bai Fu pondered for a moment.
All the nearby Players became nervous. Bai Fu had just given them a trial task, and now they needed her help?
That was embarrassing.
Fortunately, Bai Fu didn’t show any displeasure. “Division Four has a batch of decommissioned guns. They still work, just not as good as new ones.”
“As long as they work!”
“Better than nothing.”
Bai Fu said, “In that case, I’ll talk to Division Four. Those guns were going to be destroyed anyway—selling them at a low price shouldn’t be a problem.”
The surrounding Players erupted in cheers.
It had to be Bai Fu.
Any other NPC would’ve probably told them to get lost by now.
Bai Fu drove away and returned about an hour later.
This time, she came back with not only Anya-jie but also Xia Shi and a bunch of guns.
When Bai Fu first proposed selling the decommissioned guns, Xia Shi had thought she was crazy.
These guns were despised by everyone in Division Four.
They had tried selling them cheaply to Scavengers, but the Scavengers were too shrewd—preferring to pay more for new guns than take these unreliable ones.
In the end, Division Four had given the guns to Xia Shi, the Mechanic, to deal with.
But after seeing the Players swarming her, Xia Shi realized she had been wrong.
“Durability’s only 3/4 left, but it’s just 280 Credit Coins—not even half the price of a new gun. Damn, that’s cheap.”
“This one’s got only 1/4 durability left, but the price... whoa, only 100? Even if I lose it in a drop, I won’t feel bad. I’m buying three and rotating them!”
In a flash, Xia Shi saw that every Player had bought at least two guns from her.
Including the money from selling bullets, she earned over 10,000 in one go. Before coming, Bai Fu had said there were over sixty more such buyers.
That meant this business could net her 50,000. Even if she split half with Bai Fu, it was still way more than her basic salary.
Even someone like Xia Shi, who didn’t usually care much about money, had her eyes light up. She looked at Bai Fu like she was a goddess. Where on earth did you find such a group of buyers?
Hah.
Bai Fu curled her lips. If she were the one selling, she had even more tricks for the Players.
Like selling the exact weapon she used, or offering Weapon Lucky Bags, or introducing a point-based system where only by spending enough could Players buy higher-grade weapons.
One way or another, she’d empty their pockets—and they wouldn’t even call her a scammer afterward.
Just like now.
She and Xia Shi had only invested a bit of time but earned a fortune. Yet in the eyes of the Players, they were seen as saints who came to their rescue.
“If not for Bai Fu and Xia Shi, I don’t know how we’d complete this task.”
“I think Sister Xia is beautiful and kind too.”
“Let’s go! Wipe out those gang scum and restore peace to Lynn!”
The Players who had bought guns excitedly ran off to deal with the local gang.
Bai Fu smiled as she watched them leave.
Once they had eliminated the local gang, their guns would be nearly scrapped. To join the next operation, they’d have to buy new ones.
Considering the gang was wiped out and the black market suffered heavy losses, the only source of guns would be Xia Shi.
At that point, she would simply put the guns looted from the gang on display and make more money from the Players.
And since the guns were looted, she could set a lower price and boost Affection Points again.
Victory!
Bai Fu and Xia Shi stood downstairs at the inn for two hours.
During that time, more Players came to take tasks and buy guns.
Bai Fu told them to visit Xia Shi’s workshop if they wanted guns, then took Xia Shi and Anya-jie back.
Using the money she won from the Dark Web, she ordered a set of Power Armor from Xia Shi. To get it as soon as possible, she couldn’t afford to keep wasting Xia Shi’s time.
It was just selling goods—Anya-jie could handle it.
As for herself, she watched the Players carry out their anti‑gang operation in Lynn while secretly sneaking into the gang’s supply channels.
The gangs in the Lynn Settlement were stunned.
Not long ago, a bunch of Hardcore Savages came to borrow money and already had them paranoid.
They hadn’t expected another group to show up today and try to wipe them out without saying a word.
Don’t you know we have backers?
Too bad.
These people couldn’t care less.
So what if you’ve got backers? Can your backers help you eat a few more bullets?
In a short period, Lynn’s gangs suffered a devastating blow.
Aside from a few who sensed danger and fled quickly, the rest were crushed by the Players, and Lynn’s public security drastically improved.
This matter alarmed Lynn’s administrators.
The gangs had existed partly because the world was already in chaos, but also because some had been colluding with them.
Now that the gangs were wiped out, those behind the scenes couldn’t sit still.
They hurried to find people to lobby Division Four, hoping they would step in and restrain the Players.
Division Four originally intended to intervene, but once they learned the Players were linked to Bai Fu, they immediately dropped the idea.
“If you want to intervene, do it yourself!”
With the kind of combat strength Bai Fu had shown, who would want to provoke her just for the sake of some gang members?
Three days later, seeing that most Players had accumulated enough experience to unlock an Advanced class, Bai Fu nodded in satisfaction.
She had sent the Players to take on the local gangs not just to raise Affection Points and earn a few tens of thousands of Credit Coins from their pockets, but also to take this opportunity to improve the Players’ strength.
Division Four had gained no useful intelligence from interrogating Li Cheng, so the next step was to join forces with the Gene Primordials’ army to raid a previously scouted Truth Society stronghold.
Bai Fu planned to take part in this operation.
After eliminating the second wave of assassins, she had accepted a plot mission aimed at exterminating the Truth Society, 【Truth Unknown】.
Such a great chance to rack up points was not something she intended to miss. But for safety’s sake, she planned to bring more Players along.
Their strength might not impact the battle much, but they’d certainly suffice as cannon fodder.
Therefore, before the operation officially began, she needed to help the Players level up as much as possible—otherwise, Division Four might not want to include them.
“Bai Fu, someone from Headquarters is on their way!”
That night, Bai Fu received the news from Xia Shi.
PS: One more update coming. I didn’t intentionally delay the plot to time it with the official release—otherwise, we wouldn’t have had two updates on the 1st. But after this plot section, there’ll be a new mini‑climax.
Thanks to Alliance Leader Xi Bing Ying Yue, and thanks also to the support from Salted Fish Meat Pie Admiral, Tang Tang, and Yun Luo Bu Ceng Cuo Guo.