Chapter 69: Those Years We Chased Bai Fu Together
Three days later, Bai Fu parked her vehicle at Shelter No. 7 near the Goli Desert.
Shelter No. 7 was a place where all sorts mingled.
After years of development, this shelter established after the Great War had now evolved into a supply hub for those entering the Goli Desert.
Every day, many people from other places or leaving the desert made stops here.
Food, water, fuel, weapons, crafting materials, a night of pleasure, even lives—everything could be bought here for the right price.
Bai Fu chose to stay here.
Resupplying was secondary; her main goal was to gather updates on the recent state of the outside world.
The information found in the Community was still too one-sided, though this wasn’t the players’ fault.
At this stage, although players were gradually stepping out of the Newbie Village, it would still take time before they could be involved in major in-game events and earn the recognition of the various major factions.
Without the attention of the Five Major Factions and unfamiliar with this world, it was naturally difficult for players to acquire valuable intel.
All Bai Fu knew was that after she left, the Gene Primordials were attacked by the Truth Society, and she herself had been listed as a wanted target by the Gene Primordials. However, the extent of the Gene Primordials’ losses and how intensely they were pursuing her remained unknown to her.
What surprised her was that she had barely gotten out of her car when she heard some passersby talking about her.
"You heard about that trending figure on the Dark Web lately?"
"Bai Fu?"
"Yeah, yeah, that’s her. She managed to provoke both the Truth Society and the Gene Primordials at the same time. And not just provoke—she gave both of them a solid slap across the face before swaggering off. She's seriously badass! If I were even half as badass as her, I’d laugh myself awake from dreams!"
"What’s there to envy? She’s being hunted by both of those powerhouses. She’ll probably be left rotting in the wilderness before long."
"Exactly. I heard the Truth Society’s bounty on her is 800,000, and the Gene Primordials went even higher—1 million. Bet loads of people are hunting her now."
"If only I could snag that one million."
"Quit dreaming. With our strength, better hope we never run into that monster."
"True that."
The few speakers shook their heads and sighed.
Could it be that the monster was standing right in front of you?
Bai Fu, who had dyed her hair black again during her escape and wore a black mask, rolled her eyes.
Their conversation had revealed one interesting bit of intel.
After she dragged out Li Cheng, the Truth Society raised her bounty to 800,000. This time, she blew up one of their bases, yet the bounty hadn’t increased at all. That wasn’t the Truth Society’s style. What sort of scheme were they brewing in secret?
Feigning nonchalance, Bai Fu made her way to the Dark Web outpost at Shelter No. 7.
"That'll be 1,000 Credit Coins."
Looking at the data drive handed over by the staff, Bai Fu couldn’t help but twitch her lips.
The price of intel was steep.
Fortunately, she was a little rich now; otherwise, she’d have had to figure out a way to scrape together the money.
She imported the data from the drive into her personal terminal.
She had purchased three pieces of intel this time.
The first was a detailed report on the Truth Society’s attack on the Gene Primordials. It stated that the Truth Society had targeted a research institute in the Songshan Settlement. Due to a severe information lockdown enforced by the Gene Primordials afterward, even the well-connected Makarov family didn’t know exactly what had been stolen.
The second was a detailed description of Shelter No. 11. Unlike the thriving Shelter No. 7, Shelter No. 11, located deep within the Goli Desert, was now in a state of decay. The surrounding area was infested with desert raiders and mutated sandworms.
The third was information about Yulia.
Bai Fu had asked the Dark Web to investigate Yulia on a whim. She didn’t even know Yulia’s full name, only providing a somewhat abstract portrait. Yet the Dark Web quickly dug up information.
【Name】: Yulia Viviani (Female)
【Age】: 22 (Deceased)
【Birthplace】: Red Sandworm Camp, under Shelter No. 11
Following that was a long string of details.
Yulia was born into an ordinary, impoverished family, but from a young age displayed an extraordinary psionic talent.
The leader of a Wanderer group called the 【Watchers】 took a liking to her abilities and lured her into joining the Watchers with a basket of bread.
With Yulia’s joining, the Watchers spent three years growing into the most powerful Wanderer group near Shelter No. 11.
During those three years, Yulia made a name for herself as the 【Black Crow】.
【The moment the Black Crow appears is the moment death descends!】
There was once a disgruntled former member of a displaced Wanderer group who spent all their fortune to issue a bounty on the Dark Web, hoping to have an assassin take out Yulia.
But three waves of assassins sent in succession all mysteriously died the moment they laid eyes on Yulia. After that, no assassin ever accepted the task of eliminating her again.
Of course, this wasn’t because all assassins feared Yulia.
The bounty for that task was 20,000 Credit Coins—not low, but definitely not high.
As a result, skilled assassins didn’t bother with such a small sum, while those who found the sum attractive lacked the strength to complete the mission.
In any case, Yulia’s name spread far and wide across the Goli Desert due to the assassination incidents.
In truth, she wasn’t particularly fond of killing.
Compared to fighting for the Watchers, she was more interested in medicine.
Under the sponsorship of the Watchers’ boss, she systematically studied the basics of medical science.
One hand reaped life with a sickle, the other saved life with medicine—black and white blended perfectly within Yulia.
Had everything gone smoothly, with Yulia’s help, the Watchers had a chance of becoming the most powerful faction in the Goli Desert.
Unfortunately, Yulia was unexpectedly attacked by a giant sandworm and perished, her life ending at 22.
After her death, the Watchers collapsed and were now buried beneath the yellow sands like many short-lived Wanderer groups.
"This happened two years ago, which means Yulia would be 24 this year."
Twenty-four—she’s a member of the Truth Society!
Bai Fu fell into contemplation.
The intel claimed Yulia had died, but in reality, she hadn’t. She had instead joined the Truth Society.
Clearly, something extraordinary had happened in the meantime.
"Feels like there’s a mission hidden in all this. Just not sure how good the rewards are."
Bai Fu set the matter aside for now. She had a much grander plan in motion.
Regardless of whether she could obtain the psionic knowledge she wanted from Yulia this time, since she had completely offended both the Truth Society and the Gene Primordials, for safety reasons, she had to focus on building herself up.
She had two ideas.
The first, naturally, was to continue collecting psionic knowledge as a foundation to unlock an Advanced class. The second idea concerned the players.
Her enemies weren’t a single person or monster, but two massive factions. Even if she unlocked an Advanced class and reached the pinnacle of personal strength on this planet, it would still be nearly impossible for her to take down the Truth Society and the Gene Primordials on her own.
No way around it—this Newbie village planet didn’t allow anyone to be that overpowered!
To reach her goal, she needed additional support. The first thing that came to mind was the players.
However, this time Bai Fu decided to change her approach to interacting with players.
Her previous actions had drawn a lot of player attention, but attention was just attention—there was still a long way to go before it translated into actual combat power. As players explored the game further and gained more knowledge, their attention would gradually shift elsewhere.
A dazzling world, a world of distractions.
Bai Fu had once been a game player herself and knew very well that most players were fickle.
One moment, players treated her like their darling; the next, they might start calling her Lady Cow.
After all, in this game, there were plenty of NPCs who were prettier, stronger, and more mysterious than her!
To ensure that players who liked her now would continue to steadfastly follow her in the future, it wasn’t enough just to keep boosting her strength and adding layers to her Character Profile. She also had to bind the players to her war chariot in a much tighter way.
Once players became stakeholders, they wouldn’t easily abandon her for other options. After all, they would have already invested heavily. If they gave her up, they’d suffer major losses.
That’s right, Bai Fu’s plan was to recruit players into the Faction System’s Garden of Silence.
You’re absolutely right—the current Garden of Silence was indeed an empty shell. But it was precisely because it was an empty shell that your joining would be valued. Unlike in other factions, you wouldn’t be treated like a mindless workhorse!
Would you rather experience the drudgery of being a cog in the machine of some other faction, or would you rather be the very first employee—001—of your beloved Fu‑fu’s faction and grow alongside it?
Heart moved? Then act now. Join the Garden of Silence today and—cough, wrong script—what I meant was, come and join the Garden of Silence now.
Bai Fu’s main selling point was providing that MMORPG-style experience of letting players cultivate and develop, growing from a small village into a super empire, offering both achievement and immersion.
For players who didn’t like base-building and only cared about being rewarded, she also offered a different kind of anticipation.
She had made up a lot of stories in front of Excavation‑Princess before. Now was the time for those stories to show their worth.
【Hello everyone, I’m Bai Fu. I’ve run into some very bad, very bad people—some gangsters. Under their persecution, I was exiled to Origin Star. I desperately need your help now. Those who fund me shall be handsomely rewarded once I return to the Garden of Silence!】
This move would surely attract a large number of players into the fold.
No, wait—how could this be called a trap?
One day, when players and she had built the Garden of Silence into a cosmic superpower, and they looked back on the road they had traveled together, all of it would become an unforgettable memory for a generation of gamers!
Bai Fu called it “Those Years We Played Together” or “To Our Fading Youth.”
From the very start, her goal had been to become the emotional icon of a generation of players, just like “Zhao Linger.” In doing so, she would have indirectly achieved her goal of eternal life.
……
After resting for a night, the next day at the road entrance leading deep into the Goli Desert, Bai Fu turned her head to look at Excavation‑Princess standing beside her.
"There’s something I must make clear to you now."
Ah?
Excavation‑Princess looked around left and right, finally confirming that Bai Fu was speaking to her. She immediately became excited.
Usually, when an NPC said something like this, it meant that what followed was very important.
There was a seriousness in Bai Fu’s eyes: "From here on, the journey ahead will be extremely dangerous. If you still want to follow me, then you must be mentally prepared."
Dangerous?
I am danger itself!
Excavation‑Princess showed no fear: "I’m not afraid. I’ve already prepared myself mentally."
Bai Fu shook her head: "The danger I’m referring to isn’t just about the many threats we’ll encounter on the road, nor is it about us possibly getting ambushed at Shelter No. 11. Those dangers are nothing."
Excavation‑Princess asked curiously: "Then what do you mean, Fu‑fu?"
"Didn’t Anya tell you before that I come from the Garden of Silence?"
"Mm-hmm." Excavation‑Princess nodded quickly.
Bai Fu said, "What I’m going to do next is find a way back there. This path is dangerous and long—so long that you might not see its end anytime soon, you might not even know where you’re going. I want you to think carefully before giving me an answer. Don’t let yourself regret it. I’m not in a hurry to leave, so you have plenty of time to think it over."
Excavation‑Princess’s eyes grew even brighter.
Fu‑fu was opening up to her!
If she were a player focused on leveling up quickly, she might have backed out. After all, any mission related to Fu‑fu was clearly going to be very difficult and unlikely to yield high rewards in the short term. But she was a UP master specializing in exploring game storylines, so she had no reason to refuse.
Excavation‑Princess smiled, calmly: "No need to think it over. I won’t regret it. From the moment I got into your car, Fu‑fu, I had already made up my mind."
She felt like she must look super cool right now.
She wondered if this could move Fu‑fu enough to raise that Favorability just a bit more.
Bai Fu’s favorability toward Excavation‑Princess did increase, but it wasn’t because she was moved.
This kid’s really easy to fool!
Love it, love it.
Bai Fu pulled out a badge from her chest pocket.
She had secretly gone to someone last night to have it made. The badge had a doodled eye on it.
"In that case, take this."
Excavation‑Princess received an in-game prompt.
【Bai Fu invites you to join the faction [Garden of Silence]. Accept invitation?】
What’s there to hesitate about?
Accept.
Next, she received a Profession Knowledge Book from Bai Fu—specifically, one for class transferring into a Psionic Prayer-user.
"Whether you want to become a Psionic Prayer-user is entirely up to you."
Excavation‑Princess held the book in one hand and the badge in the other. She first took a few selfies with her smiling face, then frantically snapped photos of the Knowledge Book and badge.
After taking the pictures, she naturally opened the Community, edited a post, and published it.
【Extra, extra! I, Excavation‑Princess, have successfully joined Fu‑fu’s faction—the Garden of Silence!】
These past few days, players had already been constantly discussing Bai Fu, who had provoked both the Truth Society and the Gene Primordials.
The moment Excavation‑Princess posted this, it instantly exploded on the forum, pushing discussions about Bai Fu to a new peak.