Chapter 68: Mission Settlement, the True White Death
After receiving the mission completion prompt in the car, Bai Fu didn’t rush to settle the mission.
Most of the roads from Bagaros to the Goli Desert mentioned by Yulia had already been abandoned.
Along the way, it was inevitable to encounter various mutant creatures or fugitives wandering in the wilderness.
Worried about unexpected incidents during the mission settlement, she waited until she drove to a small settlement before starting to check the gains from the Bagaros trip.
The faction conflict mission【Bagaros】had a total of five branch objectives.
Branch One【Scout the Situation】required exploring the interior of Bagaros Base, which Bai Fu completed while playing hide-and-seek with Bask.
Since many Players participated in it, her contribution to this mission wasn't particularly high, just over 30%. In the end, she received a reward of 5000 XP and 2 additional Stat Points.
This amount of XP was insignificant to her, but the bonus Stat Points were a pleasant surprise. She decided to assign them to Constitution for now.
Branch Two【Ruthless Slaughter】and Branch Three【Decapitation Operation】had already been settled before leaving Bagaros Base, so Bai Fu ignored them and focused on Branch Four【Team Power】and Branch Five【Eliminate Bagaros Base】.
In this operation, she and the Players made an indelible contribution, almost completely turning the tide of battle.
For this, the game directly gave an【Excellent】rating.
Branch Four’s reward was 100,000 XP, and Branch Five’s reward was 150,000 XP and a new skill.
“Is there nothing else besides XP and a new skill?”
Bai Fu was stunned.
Although the mission settlement granted her a lot of XP, the rewards aside from XP felt somewhat perfunctory.
She selected the newly acquired skill and began checking the skill description.
【Extra-dimensional Corrosion】: Each time your skill deals Psionic damage to a target, it applies an [Extra-dimensional Corrosion] effect. This effect can stack up to 5 layers. Each stack burns the target for 1% of their max HP in Psionic damage over 5 seconds. At 3 stacks, it reduces the target's total resistances by 10%. At 5 stacks, the corrosion effect becomes highly unstable and detonates after 3 seconds, dealing 10% of the target’s max HP (+Inspiration*1) in Psionic damage. Detonation cooldown: 5 seconds.
【Note: This skill can evolve into a Special Talent】
“Holy crap!”
After reading the skill description, Bai Fu’s previous frustration vanished. Her eyes lit up like she had just won 5 million in the lottery.
Wasn’t this almost like the passive of the Fire Mage?
Until now, she had been a pure support, relying on her tankiness to fight back and forth with enemies, but with this passive, everything changed.
If her opponent had 500 max HP, then with her current Stats, after hitting the target with five Psionic attacks, she could deal 110 Psionic damage just from Extra-dimensional Corrosion’s passive.
Of course, that 110 damage was theoretical. Since the target had some Psionic Resistance, the actual damage dealt would be discounted.
Even so, it was still astonishing. The skill itself also had base damage. With five consecutive hits, she could nearly shave off 200 HP from the opponent!
And that wasn’t even the limit of Extra-dimensional Corrosion.
With just a glance, Bai Fu had already thought of a new use for the skill. She could stack the passive on one target, and once it reached five layers, immediately use【Chain Reaction】to link the target to others.
Chain Reaction had a cooldown of 1 second, and the countdown for Extra-dimensional Corrosion’s detonation was three seconds. That meant, as long as she was fast enough, one stack of the passive could bomb three people at once.
Just like Iron Chains binding boats, setting fire at Red Cliffs, you know?
“With this, I finally live up to my nickname—the White Death.”
Bai Fu was in a great mood.
With this, she had truly distanced herself from ordinary Elite Mobs, but she still had a way to go before reaching BOSS level.
To become a qualified BOSS, just being tanky wasn’t enough.
One also needed a bunch of skills twisted enough to torture Players to death, like Yulia.
Bai Fu had figured out her next step.
Before trading with Yulia at Shelter 11 in the Goli Desert, she planned to first learn a few offensive Psionic skills for self-defense.
Currently, the only offensive skill she had was Psionic Boil, but Psionic Boil dealt Physical Damage and couldn’t trigger the Extra-dimensional Corrosion passive.
“From Bagaros to the Goli Desert, I’ll pass by many large settlements. When I get there, I’ll ask around. I should be able to find Skill Books or a Class Mentor. If all else fails, I’ll post a Mission on the Dark Web. Anyway, I still have 300,000 Credit Coins.”
Bai Fu closed the skill description and used her XP to raise Psionic Prayer-user from Lv7 to Lv9. She only needed to accumulate over 20,000 XP more to level up again.
However, rather than just leveling up, she was more eager to obtain the Psionic knowledge she wanted from Yulia. That way, she could unlock the【Apprentice Psionic Illustrator】class. The improvements brought by rarer classes far surpassed gaining one or two levels.
After closing the Stats Panel, Bai Fu opened the Mission Panel. After some tinkering, the destruction contribution of the Plot Mission【Truth Unknown】increased from 0.28% to 1.19%.
They had taken down an entire base, yet the progress had only increased by less than 1%. It seemed this base wasn’t very important to the Truth Society.
Bai Fu curled her lips in disdain. She would have to intensify her efforts.
The Truth Society wanted her dead, but Bai Fu was no pushover either.
“Excavation‑Princess.”
After finishing her own business, Bai Fu called over Excavation‑Princess. She had urgent matters to entrust her with.
…
The assassination of Bask’s confidant by Convert to My Fu at the tavern caused an uproar.
The Gene Primordials officer on site almost fainted from rage.
They swarmed toward Convert to My Fu, but before they could reach him, Convert to My Fu had already shot himself twice.
Trying to catch me?
I’m not playing with you!
As Convert to My Fu collapsed to the ground, everyone—whether hostile or not toward Bai Fu—felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them. Their hearts turned icy.
Bai Fu wasn’t even dead yet, and her followers were already this fierce. If she truly died, they couldn’t imagine the kind of revenge these people would unleash.
The high-ranking bigwigs always had a bunch of guards with them, so they didn’t fear retaliation. But for these small fry, they couldn’t withstand such devastation.
Before long, the Division Four Special Agents received the report and rushed over.
Seeing the two corpses on the ground, and recognizing the familiar face of Convert to My Fu, they immediately understood what had happened.
They weren’t sure whether Bai Fu had ordered it. After all, Bai Fu had already killed Bask in public. Having her follower kill Bask’s confidant didn’t seem out of the question.
Regardless of the truth, seeing those dumbstruck military officers gave them secret satisfaction.
The Intelligence Bureau and the military had always been at odds.
During this operation, although Bask acted normally, his subordinates had caused plenty of trouble for the Intelligence Bureau.
They’d been simmering with anger for a while.
Now look at that.
Weren’t you arrogant before? Try being arrogant now.
“Bai Fu is badass!”
“This is a huge incident. The military definitely won’t let it slide. She’s now wanted by both the Truth Society and the military. I wonder if Bai Fu can survive.” Xu Hong shook his head, sighing in concern for Bai Fu’s future.
Like Xia Shi, he was a staunch anti-Truth Society fighter. Though he never said it out loud, after Bai Fu clashed with the Truth Society several times, he already considered her a comrade.
Xia Shi was deep in thought when someone called her name.
“Xia Shi, you intervened just now. The military will surely hold you accountable when you return.”
Xia Shi shook her head. “It’s fine. My father won’t leave me out to dry.”
“All right.” Lu Yuelin stepped forward. “For the time being, stop discussing Bai Fu. Leave everything to me. If anyone asks, say she was just a normal collaborator. Deny everything else.”
The Division Four Special Agents all turned to look at Lu Yuelin.
At critical moments, Old Lu really stepped up!
Lu Yuelin wasn’t just putting on a show. That very evening, someone came to question him about Bai Fu, and he immediately flipped the script.
When questioned, he claimed to know nothing. When accused, he asked the other party if they had concrete evidence. If not, what were they even talking about?
“We deal in intelligence—we care about accuracy and timeliness. If we act on mere rumors, then tell me, who among the Gene Primordials doesn’t have connections with the Truth Society?”
Lu Yuelin put on a firm front, a “You’re trying to teach me my job?” attitude. The visitor was seething but helpless. His rank wasn’t even higher than Lu Yuelin’s. What could he do?
“If you find Bai Fu’s whereabouts, report immediately!”
He could only leave in frustration after throwing down those words.
Lu Yuelin had won a major victory, but his mood remained heavy. He’d heard that Bask had acted under orders from the General. Clearly, the Gene Primordials were hiding secrets he didn’t know.
He went out to find Xia Shi. “Your father just contacted me. He told me to send you back right away. I’ve arranged a paid vacation for you.”
Xia Shi nodded. “Thanks, Uncle Lu.”
She figured she probably couldn’t keep being a Special Agent. Once she returned, her father definitely wouldn’t let her roam free again.
But when she had stood up to stop those soldiers for Bai Fu, she had already mentally prepared herself. So she didn’t regret it.
That’s how life worked sometimes. Choosing one thing meant giving up another.
Like how she chose wealth when she was born—and from that moment on, she never had to worry about being poor.
Standing beside the vehicle in the cool night breeze, Xia Shi recalled her conversation with Bai Fu in the car after capturing Li Cheng. Back then, she had promised to help Bai Fu investigate File 001, which recorded the source of Psionic Power on Origin Star.
This trip back was the perfect time to handle it.
While deep in thought, she suddenly heard approaching footsteps.
“Hm? If I remember correctly, aren’t you one of Bai Fu’s followers?” Xia Shi turned her head.
Starfish‑bro replied, “My name is Starfish‑bro. I’m here to deliver a message from Bai Fu.”
“What message?” Xia Shi looked puzzled.
Starfish‑bro said, “She said she’s remembered your kindness. Anytime, anywhere, if you’re in trouble, you can come to her. She’ll always have your back.”
Xia Shi froze, then let out a laugh.
“Sounds nice, but I don’t even have a way to contact her. If I really get into trouble, how am I supposed to find her?”
Starfish‑bro replied, “That’s easy. Just find an Outsider like me and ask them to pass the message. No matter how far, Bai Fu will receive it quickly.”
“Is that so.”
Xia Shi didn’t believe it, but she still felt uplifted. It was rare for someone to say something like that to her.
A pity.
She had thought she could become friends with Bai Fu, but the military went insane and messed everything up.
“Tell her this from me—I’m doing fine. She should worry about herself first and not get killed under an assassination bounty.”
After sending Starfish‑bro off, Xia Shi returned to the vehicle. Not long after she sat down, she heard shouting outside.
“Something happened—Songshan Settlement was attacked by the Truth Society. Heavy casualties!”
The entire Bagaros Refuge was thrown into chaos.
…
Even before chaos erupted in Bagaros Refuge, the Truth Society Headquarters was already in disarray.
Yulia brought shocking news: Bagaros Base had fallen. Carlos, Lieutenant Qian, Guido, and Yulia’s doppelgänger were all dead.
“You sure you’re not telling me a sci-fi story?”
The Truth Society President’s eyes were bloodshot, as if they were bleeding.
He immediately sent people to investigate.
The reality was exactly as Yulia had described—if not worse—because all of them had died at Bai Fu’s hands.
He’d heard that someone wanted to kill her?
Not only did I take out the assassins you sent, I even wrecked one of your bases—how does that make you feel?
Angry!
The President was so furious, he turned into the Tom who read Jerry’s diary and went full rage mode.
“Trash, all of you are trash!”
He immediately ordered Minister of the Combat Unit Bernardo to further raise the bounty on Bai Fu.
The previous amount had been far too low. This time, he wanted to raise it in one go to 3 million—a number insane enough to drive most assassins wild.
Bernardo hurried to carry out the order, but when he logged into the Dark Web, he suddenly discovered a problem.
“President, the Gene Primordials have also issued a bounty on Bai Fu. The bounty amount is 1 million.”
“What?” The President’s face slowly returned to normal. “What’s going on?”
Bernardo looked grim. “I tried consulting the Makarov family that runs the Dark Web, but they don’t have exact details yet. All they know is that Bai Fu did fall out with the Gene Primordials, and rumor has it she killed quite a few of their people.”
“Interesting.”
The President paced back and forth in the lab.
“No need to raise Bai Fu’s bounty anymore. Keep it as it is. Send someone to investigate the reason for her falling out with the Gene Primordials. Also, issue an order that if our people encounter Bai Fu, they don’t need to attack immediately. If she’s willing to defect to us, I can forgive her previous disrespect.”
Bernardo nodded. “Understood. President, there’s also news from Songshan. Our raid was successful. We’ve secured the data you requested.”
Upon hearing that, the cloud over the President’s heart lifted completely, and he burst into laughter.
“Good, good, good. Although we lost Bagaros Base, as long as we’ve secured that data, everything was worth it!”
Locked inside the circular machine, Yulia silently listened to the conversation between the President and Bernardo.
She wasn’t very interested in any of this.
Right now, she only wanted to know whether Bai Fu would go to the Goli Desert as promised.
She didn’t have much time left. If she missed this chance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever escape from here.
…
The next day.
Bai Fu continued on her journey with Excavation‑Princess and Anya.
She drove intermittently, trying to gather as much gasoline, food, water, and basic materials for crafting Prayer Cards as possible from the settlements and camps along the way.
During her downtime, she wandered through the Community to check on the status of Players and the Gene Primordials.
In yesterday’s operation, quite a few Players had died twice.
At first, they worried that the lost XP couldn’t be recovered, but after the mission settlement, they were surprised to find that not only had the XP rewards compensated for their losses, they’d even gained enough to level up again.
【Combat! So satisfying! I’m definitely following Fu-fu for the next battle!】
【Wake up. Bai Fu already bailed. You ain’t getting that thrill again】
【Don’t worry. Wherever Fu-fu goes, I’ll follow. I get it now—Fu-fu is basically the official cheat buff for us button-mashers. If I hadn’t been following her, my level wouldn’t have climbed so fast】
【Damn, I’m so jealous. Even those who died twice got this much XP. That means Party Big Star and the rest probably leveled up twice!】
【By the way, what about the Iron Rain Guild? Didn’t they discover Bagaros Base? How much did they earn?】
This topic sparked wide discussion.
Many guild leaders who had previously been humiliated by Sword Qi Soaring’s showboating all flocked in—like Black Bastard of the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness.
They all @Sword Qi Soaring, asking him to come out and show off again.
Watching the constant backend notifications pop up, Sword Qi Soaring just wanted to escape the planet.
Rewards?
Screw that!
He had been tied to a lab bed the whole time.
During the mission settlement, he received only the basic rewards.
Out of the hundreds of Players in the operation, few fared worse than the Iron Rain Guild.
What a damn shame.
He had only joined the Truth Society because Bai Fu was too popular and the mission rewards for those orbiting her were too limited. He never expected the Truth Society would screw him over so hard.
Damn it!
Now look at him—Sword Qi Soaring didn’t dare show his face. If those guild leaders who were once shown up by him found out how badly he lost, they’d laugh their heads off.
Sword Qi Soaring couldn’t take that kind of humiliation.
Fortunately, he had hidden his personal info when he first entered the game, or he’d already be exposed. But hiding couldn’t last forever.
Once the new version’s ranking list dropped and his name wasn’t on it, Black Bastard and the others would instantly know he’d failed at being a show-off.
Sword Qi Soaring ground his teeth.
Damn that Truth Society—Truth Society, screw your mother!
You won’t let me in? Then I’ll do everything I can to stop other Players from joining you. Without Players, let’s see how you match up against the other factions!
An enraged Sword Qi Soaring refused to accept defeat.
I control my own fate, not the heavens. He believed he still had a shot.
He had just heard that Bai Fu left Lynn, which meant there wouldn’t be many Players by her side for a while. If he could seize this chance to grab a few more missions from Bai Fu, he might just make a comeback before the new version launched.
“Damn it, it’s all about who licks up to Bai Fu better, right?”
Sword Qi Soaring hurried to contact Excavation‑Princess.
Right now, only she, who had been taken away by Bai Fu, knew where Bai Fu was.
…
“Fu-fu, Sword Qi Soaring contacted me just now. He wants to know where you are—he hopes to keep following you.”
In the vehicle, Excavation‑Princess turned and said.
Bai Fu gripped the steering wheel with both hands, eyes on the road. “It’s too dangerous now. Let’s wait until we’re settled in the Goli Desert before telling them.”
Now wasn’t the time to reveal her location. She didn’t want anyone interfering with her deal with Yulia.
Since she had said so, Excavation‑Princess had no objections.
In fact, she wished the other Players would all stay away from Bai Fu—then she could monopolize Bai Fu for her exclusive reports.
After speeding through the Pollution Zone for a day and getting into two fights with mutant creatures, Bai Fu finally learned the offensive skill she had been looking for at a large settlement.
【Psionic Imbue Lv1】: Consumes 5 Psionic Value. Your next attack deals (100%*Base Damage + 5) Psionic damage.
It was time to test whether she truly deserved the title of White Death!