Chapter 73: Bai Fu, Unfathomable!
Bai Fu’s sudden appearance caught the assassins trying to capture the Players completely off guard.
By the time they snapped out of it, the skinny assassin had already collapsed to the ground, dead beyond any doubt.
They were startled, but after all, they were professionals. Over the years as assassins, they had faced all kinds of dangers. Once they regained their composure, they immediately spread out, each finding cover to begin a counterattack.
"According to the Dark Web intel, Bai Fu is a Psionic Prayer-user. It’s widely known that Psionic Prayer-users have very fragile bodies, not much stronger than regular people. However, Psionic Prayer-users do have some self-defense capabilities, and Bai Fu is no exception. This was evident from the intelligence revealed during the Bagaros battle."
"To make sure we can take her down, it's best we act separately. Two of us will use those Outsiders as bait from the front to attract Bai Fu’s attention, while the other two circle around to launch a surprise attack."
"We can't drag this out too long. Shelter Number 5 is Gao family’s territory. If we cause trouble here and get discovered, we’ll be in deep trouble."
The four assassins communicated rapidly through the Walkie-talkie.
While speaking, they kept firing outward, trying to delay Bai Fu’s advance.
Soon, they finished dividing the roles. Just as the two assassins assigned to the flanking attack were about to move, a figure suddenly peeked out from above their cover.
"Are you looking for me?"
Crap!
The two assassins were so startled by the sudden voice that they fell back onto the ground.
They didn’t even have time to think why Bai Fu was here, because right after greeting them, Bai Fu pulled out two guns and began firing.
Bullets poured down like a waterfall. One of the assassins was killed on the spot, while the other roared and used Qi to shield his body, scrambling into a nearby alley.
Run.
They had to run, now!
Seeing this, the other two assassins hiding on the other side lost all interest in thinking about the high bounty they could earn for killing Bai Fu. They turned and fled.
But what they didn’t expect was that just as they reached the car, a piercing pain exploded from their chests.
It felt like being run through by the Gungnir. The three assassins simultaneously dropped to their knees.
Immense fear surged in their hearts.
Now they regretted it. Sure, the bounties offered by the Gene Primordials and the Truth Society were high, but you had to be alive to claim them.
"Don’t come any closer..."
"If you want to kill me, be ready to be killed."
Bai Fu finished off the nearest assassin with two more shots, then quickly walked toward the other two.
Soon, the crisp and pleasant system prompt sounded again.
【You killed...】
【You killed...】
Bai Fu calmly put away her guns.
From her entrance to the end of the fight, it had taken just over two minutes. In the past, this would’ve been unimaginable. Even with Battle Etiquette to hard-control her opponents, it would have taken her quite a bit of time to eliminate four fleeing assassins.
But times had changed. She was no longer just Bai Fu—she was Super Bai Fu now!
Using Psionic Perception to lock onto the precise positions of enemies behind cover, shielding her already-durable body with the Psionic Shield, then charging at the enemy at sprinting speed.
Facing enemies with weak constitutions, few skills, and average levels, once she managed to stack five layers of Extra-dimensional Corruption on them, the battle was practically over.
The key was killing as easily as slaughtering chickens.
Still, Bai Fu wasn’t completely satisfied. If her use of Psionic Perception were more proficient, she could have shaved off another ten seconds from the fight.
"Damn..."
Only when Bai Fu began checking the XP she had gained did the surrounding Players finally snap out of it.
Fast—too fast! Even faster than the Wine-slashing Hua Xiong story!
Several Players had wanted to start a Livestream, but by the time they finished setting the Livestream Room title, the battle was already over.
The Players flooding into the Livestream Room were stunned.
What the heck, bro? Wasn’t this supposed to be a Livestream of Bai Fu vs the assassins? Where were the assassins? Where was the fight? We already pulled our pants down and now all we see is Bai Fu posing on camera. Sure, her face was stunning and this new outfit looked sharp, but we didn’t rush in here for that!
【Clickbait title, huh】
【Why hasn't it started yet?】
Convert to My Fu held it in for a long time before finally saying, "No, it's already over."
【???】
A stream of question marks flew across the screen.
Convert to My Fu was very glad he had started recording early. Otherwise, there’d be no way to show other Players just how amazing Bai Fu was. As a hardcore fan who only supported Bai Fu, he couldn’t miss this chance to expand the Fu Sect’s influence.
"Just watch it yourselves. There’s no way to explain this in a few words. Watching is better."
He began playing the video in the Livestream Room.
Just a few minutes of footage left the viewers stunned.
【Damn, this is just like me playing a single-player game with god mode on】
【Confirmed—we’re not playing the same game. I’m playing Ninja Gaiden, Bai Fu’s playing Dynasty Warriors】
【Stop it. Bai Fu is an NPC, you’re a Player. And you still want to compare yourself to an NPC god? Get real】
【Amazing, amazing, amazing. I remember Bai Fu wasn’t this strong before. Is her injury healing up more?】
【Terrifying. Just how powerful is Bai Fu’s true strength?】
【Doesn’t matter. I’m joining the Fu Sect right now. With this kind of power, once she fully recovers, she’ll easily crush the Truth Society and the Gene Primordials. Only by joining the Garden of Silence early can we win big】
Most Players in the Livestream Room began to celebrate wildly, but a small handful were nearly fuming.
These assassins were truly useless!
So much intel had been given to them, even the movements of Convert to My Fu and others, and yet they still failed miserably. The moment they met Bai Fu, they shattered like glass.
Seeing Bai Fu walking toward him, Convert to My Fu quickly shut off the Livestream.
"Long time no see."
One day apart felt like three autumns!
Convert to My Fu and Sword Qi Soaring squeezed their way forward with all their might. Among Players, no one treasured Bai Fu more than these two, except for Excavation‑Princess.
"If you have something to say, get in the car first." Bai Fu took two steps forward, then suddenly stopped. "Can any of you drive? My car can’t fit all of you. Better to take the assassins’ car."
Sword Qi Soaring immediately stepped up. “I can.”
The cars in the game were similar to real-life vehicles, and the game even came with tutorials, so this wasn’t a challenge for him at all.
A few minutes later, two vehicles sped away from Shelter Number 5.
A few more minutes passed, and an armored vehicle that looked somewhat aged stopped at the place where Bai Fu had just fought. Several heavily armed men jumped out of the vehicle. They checked the surroundings while using their Walkie-talkie to contact their superior.
“Boss Gao, the targets are gone. Their speed was just too fast. I couldn’t find any extra signs of combat nearby. It looks like it was a one-sided slaughter. There are five corpses, and I recognize three of them—they’re assassins registered on the Dark Web. They recently took on a mission to kill Bai Fu.”
“So you’re saying the person who killed them might be Bai Fu?”
“I can’t say for sure, but that’s definitely a possibility. Boss Gao, should we contact the Gene Primordials?”
“No need. We’re not subordinates of the Gene Primordials,” Boss Gao rejected the man’s suggestion. “Remember this—we’re businessmen. As long as someone doesn’t disrupt our business, they’re our friend. And friends should be treated courteously.”
The man nodded repeatedly.
Boss Gao meant that Bai Fu had killed cleanly without affecting anyone else, so there was no need to interfere.
“I’ll clean up the corpses now.”
“Go ahead.”
Boss Gao waved his hand.
Was the killer really Bai Fu?
If so, then her strength was even greater than when she had taken out the assassins the Truth Society sent not long ago.
What an unfathomable woman.
……
On the road away from Shelter Number 5, Bai Fu drove while speaking to the Players in the back seat.
“If you insist on following me, things like what just happened will occur frequently. And that was just an appetizer. The trouble we’ll encounter in the future will be even scarier. Although you’re Heroes of legend and can resurrect, I still suggest you train on your own for a while before doing anything else.”
What, just by following you, we can automatically trigger all kinds of missions?
Now the Players had even less reason to leave.
“We’re not afraid.”
“I love fighting. If I don’t fight for even a day, I get uncomfortable all over.”
Bai Fu said, “Since you’ve made up your minds, I’ll be upfront. I need to test your strength. If you don’t meet my standards, I won’t bring you along no matter how much you insist.”
She suddenly turned serious, making Sword Qi Soaring and the others instinctively sit up straight.
“What kind of test?”
“I’ll tell you once we get to the rest stop.” Bai Fu deliberately kept them in suspense.
Her Faction was still too small right now, and the rewards it could offer for missions were very low. She planned to have Old Nissen issue another wave of missions to the Players once they reached Shelter Number 11. Two missions stacked together, plus the XP from eliminating the Red Sand itself, should be enough to entice them.
After all, this was the first battle since the Faction publicly started recruiting Players, and Bai Fu wanted to make it a big one. Otherwise, how could she attract more Players in the future?
Since there were many Players on board, Bai Fu floored the gas on the way back, completely unconcerned about any dangers on the road. If anything really happened, the Players could just serve as cannon fodder.
And just like that, Bai Fu returned smoothly to Shelter Number 11 in a little more than half a day.
“Take a rest here first. In a few days, we’ll head out to eliminate a nearby Wanderer camp. If you don’t understand something, ask Anya and Excavation‑Princess.”
Bai Fu called Anya over again.
“Anya, you’re in charge of hosting them.”
After giving her instructions, Bai Fu went to report the situation to Old Nissen—but that wasn’t her only goal. Since it would still be some time before Red Sand came knocking again, she decided to use the opportunity to make some Prayer Cards.
After explaining things to Old Nissen, Bai Fu returned to the inn she had booked.
Step one: raise the level of Psionic Illustrator from Lv9 to Lv10.
Considering her Stats in Physique were already very high, and the success rate for creating Prayer Cards was closely related to Inspiration, she once again put all three extra Attribute Points into Inspiration, bringing it straight up to 50 points.
Step two: after leveling up, she still had 22,700 XP left. She invested it into the newly unlocked skill Basic Card Creation, raising it to Lv5 and increasing the bonus from 10% to 14%.
“Let’s start with some Psionic Shield Cards.”
Bai Fu opened the Card Creation interface. It displayed the Prayer Card Blueprints she currently knew and the success rates for creating them.
【Generic Card·Psionic Shield】
【Proficiency】: 10/1000
【Success Rate】: 60%
Counting the bonuses from Basic Card Creation and her Lucky Talent, Bai Fu’s success rate for making Psionic Shield Cards was 84%. That was already quite high and would continue to rise with increased Proficiency. Before she unlocked the class 【Apprentice Psionic Illustrator】, her base success rate for making Psionic Shield Cards was only 25%.
Before the assault on Bagaros, she had spent a ridiculous amount of money on materials just to create five Psionic Shield Cards.
Just thinking about it made her want to cry.
Fortunately, she made it through. Now it was time to earn all that money back from the Players!
Bai Fu began crafting Cards.
Since these were to be sold to Players, she didn’t invest as much Psionic Power into them as she did for her personal use. A 560-point shield was still too extravagant for Players at their current level.
After all, the Players wouldn’t really die. Giving them 50 or 100 points of shield to help them tank a few more hits in battle was enough. This way, her Psionic bar could also be stretched to create more Prayer Cards.
Bai Fu planned to offer Psionic Shield Cards in three versions for sale: 50, 100, and 200 shield value.
The 50-point version could be purchased by any member of the Garden of Silence Faction. The 100 and 200 versions, however, would require the Player’s Faction Reputation or spending level to meet certain thresholds.
This approach would raise the perceived value of the rather abstract Garden of Silence Reputation—a stat she could define however she wanted. In the future, if she couldn’t afford to give out rewards, she could use Reputation as a way to coax Players into working for her.
To achieve this, Bai Fu also made distinctions in pricing the Prayer Cards.
Assuming the 50-point version sold for 100, the 100-point version would be priced at 195, and the 200-point version at 380.
To the Players, it would seem like higher Reputation gave them access to better Prayer Cards at a discount. But in reality, Bai Fu earned more from the higher-tier cards since the cost of materials dropped.
In short, it was a win-win!
【You successfully created [Generic Card·Psionic Shield], Proficiency +2, XP +500】
【You successfully created...】
Card Creation also granted XP—this was a mechanic designed to support life-skills-focused Players who didn’t enjoy combat.
But this method of leveling had a major downside: it was very costly. Average Players didn’t have the funds to buy large amounts of crafting materials and Psionic recovery potions. Only life-skills Players supported by guilds could use this method to quickly level up. Regular Players had to grind it out slowly.
Right now, Bai Fu could be considered a little rich girl, but even tens of thousands on her could be spent quickly. She still had to find a way to earn more money.
She thought of the bounty offered on her by the Truth Society and the Gene Primordials.
That money... maybe she could find a way to get it into her own hands.
Just as she was thinking about this, Old Nissen suddenly knocked on her door.
“Did something happen? Don’t tell me Red Sand’s people are already here?”
When she opened the door, Bai Fu saw deep confusion in Old Nissen’s single eye.
“The people you brought are now wandering all over the shelter.”
So it was about that.
Bai Fu looked indifferent. They were Players. If they didn’t explore every corner after arriving in a new place, that would be strange. Most likely those Players weren’t just wandering, but were also helping people everywhere.
Ever since Yulia was captured, Shelter Number 11 had been bullied constantly. The residents there might actually be frightened by the Players’ enthusiasm.
As expected, that’s exactly what Old Nissen was talking about.
“I just wanted to carry something upstairs, and suddenly two people rushed over saying they’d help me.
“That half-broken sign at the entrance has also been fixed by them.
“A young girl even told me to go rest, said she could tend bar since she knew how to mix drinks.
“I’ve never seen people so enthusiastic. I think you should go talk to them—tell them to rest and conserve energy. Don’t let them tire themselves out before Red Sand’s people even arrive.”
Bai Fu chuckled. “That’s just how they are. They love doing things. If they don’t stay busy, they get uncomfortable. You’ll get used to it.”
Old Nissen was utterly baffled.
What the heck? Were there really people in this world who liked doing chores?
Bai Fu explained, “Let’s just say they have some sort of illness where they die if they don’t keep working. So to help them recover, just hand over whatever you need done. Just offer a little reward. They’ll sometimes refuse, but most of the time, they’ll accept without complaint.”
Old Nissen was stunned. He had never encountered people like this in his life.
“Where did you find such a group of cattle and horses... no, such a group of people?”
Old Nissen caught himself in time, but he still let a bit of his true thoughts slip.
Bai Fu’s mouth twitched.
“That’s hard to explain. Just treat them normally. Oh, and unless absolutely necessary, don’t provoke them. Most of the time, they’re gentle, but if they do get angry, the consequences will be severe. Even I might not be able to stop them.”
Old Nissen nodded solemnly.
Even as he left Bai Fu’s lodging, he was still dazed.
Having been disturbed, Bai Fu suddenly remembered something she hadn’t done. She immediately contacted Anya and asked her to have the Players return all the items Excavation‑Princess had taken back earlier to the residents of Shelter Number 11.
The next morning.
Just as the excitement began to wear off and the Players were recovering their stamina at Old Nissen’s tavern, the roar of vehicles sounded from outside the shelter.
Three cars barreled into the shelter like tanks, almost knocking a passerby flat. The passerby was about to curse them out when he saw the badge on the hats of those inside the vehicles—his face turned pale with fear.
Aren’t those people from the Red Sand camp? What’s going on? Didn’t they just come here a few days ago?
The first to jump down was a burly man with a face full of flesh. Following him was a woman with a tattoo on her chest.
That woman had a particularly fiery temper. She grabbed the passerby by the collar.
“Frodo came here to investigate a few days ago. Since then, he’s gone completely missing. Speak! Did you people kill him?!”
Staring down the black muzzle of her gun, the passerby almost wet himself.
“You’re wronged! The Red Sand camp is famous and mighty—we wouldn’t dare harm your people!”
His wailing did nothing to soften the vicious woman’s attitude. Instead, she grew even more violent.
“Still talking tough, huh? I want to see whether your mouth is tougher, or my bullets!”
The passerby burst into tears out of sheer terror.
The vicious woman frowned, then flung the passerby onto the ground with great force and kicked him a few times.
“Useless garbage!”
She turned to the burly man. “Looks like he really doesn’t know.”
The man said, “If he doesn’t know, then question someone else. In just ten days, we’ve already lost two squads. We’ve lost all face. If we don’t find the culprit, the boss will never let us off the hook—you know what he’s like.”
The vicious woman seemed to remember something, and her body trembled involuntarily. She quickly led her people to investigate within the shelter.
The Wanderers from the Red Sand camp rampaged through the shelter and soon forced the truth about the Players from the residents’ mouths.
“According to them, those people arrived just days ago. Not only did they help out, but they even returned stolen belongings.”
“Oh?” The burly man raised his eyebrows. “Have we met desert saints? Interesting. They’re not afraid of us Red Sand at all. I wonder if they’ll still be smiling after they meet my gun.”
Under the burly man’s lead, the Red Sand Wanderers began searching the shelter for traces of the Players. Before long, they arrived at Old Nissen’s tavern.
The vicious woman kicked the door open.
Then she swaggered in with her gun raised.
“Nonessential personnel, get lost! Outsiders and the tavern owner, stay put!”
In an instant, dozens of gazes turned toward her.
Bang! Bang!
The vicious woman fired two shots at the ceiling, grinning broadly. “You outsiders sure are bold, daring to make a move on people from Red Sand.”
Just as she finished speaking, all the Players seated in the tavern stood up. There were more than twenty of them—quite a sight.
The vicious woman shouted, “Where’s your leader? Tell him to get out here!”
The Players glanced at each other, then started arguing in front of her.
“There’s only one of her. Not enough to go around.”
“Let me take her. I just learned a new skill a few days ago. Perfect chance to test it.”
“I need XP to level up. Let me have her.”
“First come, first served, bastard!”
The vicious woman had no sense of danger. Seeing that the Players completely ignored her, she fired another shot at the ceiling.
“Delay one more second and the next shot goes right into—”
She was cut off halfway by a Player.
“Stop arguing, stop arguing. She’s not the only one.”
The other Players all turned their heads—just in time to see more people from Red Sand entering from outside.
Then what was there to hesitate about?
Charge!
Starfish‑bro took the lead, and the other Players followed closely behind. In just an instant, the Red Sand Wanderers who had walked in from outside were overwhelmed by the Players.
Old Nissen, standing behind the bar, was dumbfounded.
What—this wasn’t how fights were supposed to go. The other side had guns, for crying out loud!
He cast a glance at Bai Fu, who was calmly drinking water beside him.
Bai Fu first shouted to the Players, telling them to leave two alive, and then said:“No need to worry. They’ll handle it.”
This long-chaotic Goli Desert—
It was time for the Players to cleanse it!
Old Nissen opened his mouth to speak but stopped.
He thought he was beginning to understand Bai Fu, but the more he interacted with her, the more unfathomable she seemed.