Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Summer Revisited, Reunion with Bai Fu

For Bai Fu, the focus of combat etiquette was not on the etiquette but on the combat itself.

She would inevitably find herself alone or face enemies too strong, even if she managed to control them, the players’ output wouldn’t be enough to severely damage the enemy within 2 seconds.

Therefore, she needed a combat etiquette that could both immobilize the enemy for 2 seconds and cause severe self-inflicted damage during those 2 seconds.

“Start by punching myself in the head?”

After some thought, Bai Fu rejected this idea.

With her physique, even if she punched herself, it would be difficult to inflict significant harm, but it might still cause a [Stun] state.

Even though the enemy would mimic her actions and punch their own heads, if she fainted and the enemy didn’t, then everything would be ruined.

This risk was too high to take.

“If it’s a gun…”

Before fighting, she would first learn from the Fire Cloud Demon God and shoot herself twice.

Bai Fu shook her head. At her current 20+ constitution, she wasn’t afraid of ordinary pistols. Now with a constitution of 37 points, even large-caliber pistols were unlikely to cause serious damage.

However, the problem was that she carried a pistol, and it wasn’t guaranteed that her enemies did as well. Thus, this combat etiquette could only be used against specific enemies.

She decided to use fists instead. Punching the head was ineffective, but hitting other parts was different.

She had a move called “Fatal Strike Kun,” which could inflict heavy damage on most enemies without harming herself.

If the enemy wore armor, hitting the elbow, wrist, knee, or ankle was also effective.

Bai Fu put the book back on the shelf contentedly.

After leaving the data room, she found Xia Shi. They walked around nearby, returned to their residence for lunch, and then went back to the office of the Four Departments.

This time, Bai Fu came to meet the head of the Four Departments, Lu Yulin.

When she entered his office accompanied by Xia Shi, Lu Yulin was reading a report while drinking goji berry tea.

“Oh, Bai Fu, hahaha. I’ve heard your name from Xia Shi many times over the past few days. Today we finally meet.”

Lu Yulin stood up cheerfully.

His hair was slightly gray, and when he smiled, he seemed more like an amiable old man than a head of a special agent organization.

Like his appearance, his speech gave people a warm feeling.

Bai Fu expected some interrogation, but Lu Yulin said nothing unnecessary except praising her brave performance at the abandoned cooling plant and mentioning rewards.

“According to the ‘Gene Progenitor Anti-Truth Society Attack Regulations…’

Joining the Four Departments? This way, she’d become one of us. If she made great contributions, she should be able to access the spiritual energy knowledge chain more easily than outsiders.

But joining the Four Departments also had drawbacks, notably restricted freedom.

Before understanding the pros and cons of various factions and where she fit best in the main plot, Bai Fu wasn’t in a hurry to decide.

Finally, she asked Lu Yulin if she could borrow advanced spiritual energy knowledge controlled by the Gene Progenitor.

“Although I’m the head of the Four Departments, I can’t guarantee this. I can try to apply for it. But don’t get your hopes up; the chances are low. However, if you make greater contributions to the Gene Progenitor, things might change.”

Indeed, it didn’t work out.

Bai Fu had to settle for something else—perhaps getting a map of the current world on Source Star.

“Of course, no problem.”

Lu Yulin immediately asked his secretary to fetch the map. Feeling this reward wasn’t enough, he added a bunch of coupons and discount vouchers.

“If you plan to stay with Lin En for a while, these small things should help.”

Bai Fu’s lips twitched.

Despite it being a generous gesture, she accepted it.

After she left, Lu Yulin’s secretary commented, “Director Lu, isn’t this a bit too generous? We can’t be sure she has no connection with the Truth Society.”

Lu Yulin took a sip of tea, “Presumption of innocence. She’s a benefactor of the Four Departments now, so we treat her as such. What’s the point of hostility? And if you want to extract information from her, you should be friendlier. If you’re suspicious right from the start, do you think she’ll cooperate and say anything truthful?”

The secretary remained silent, his face cold.

Lu Yulin didn’t speak either. He knew his secretary wouldn’t follow his orders entirely and would likely create trouble for Bai Fu behind the scenes to show his capabilities.

What could he do? He could only forgive this person like a father would, given the person’s connections.

The Four Departments were great in many ways, but the abundance of connections made it hard to operate smoothly.

But Lu Yulin remained calm about it.

Difficulties were just difficulties. At his age, even if he did everything perfectly, he couldn’t advance further. So why bother?

His current mindset was to take it easy. During work, he’d do what he had to do, and whether it succeeded depended on how subordinates executed it. Otherwise, he focused on not being late, not leaving early, and not working overtime, leading the team to the cafeteria on time.

Comfortable.

…

After leaving the Four Departments, Bai Fu went straight to Xia Shi’s residence.

She input the map Lu Yulin gave her into the game’s map system, combining it with books introducing the origins of the five major factions. Now she had a clear understanding of their distribution.

These five factions were currently on the same continent. The Gene Progenitor, where she belonged, was mainly composed of pre-war scientists and part of the military funded by a major country. After the war, these individuals established the Gene Progenitor in the far eastern region of the continent, aiming to rebuild the new order on the wasteland. After a century of development, the Gene Progenitor now oversees six super-large settlements and dozens of small shelters.

Other factions like the Former Republic and the Railway Guild have similar development histories. The People’s Alliance and the Truth Society are more unique.

The People’s Alliance evolved from the once strongest faction, the Former Republic. After the mutation outbreak in the Former Republic, those deeply oppressed humans broke away and formed the People’s Alliance.

As for the Truth Society, no one has figured out the background of its leader. Even within the Truth Society, most members don’t know the leader’s true appearance or name and usually refer to him as “that great person.”

It’s quite mysterious.

Unlike the mysterious nature, the Truth Society doesn’t have as many spies and traitors inside.

Otherwise, considering the hatred other factions have towards the Truth Society, they would have stormed the Truth Society’s headquarters long ago.

Bai Fu stored all this knowledge in her mind. These pieces of information weren’t useful in daily life, but they could come in handy in critical moments to deceive players and make them feel she was unfathomable.

Talking about players, after teaching Anya some characters, Bai Fu opened the community to check what the players in the abandoned cooling plant had been doing recently.

Upon entering, she discovered a post saying that the Digging Maiden had boarded the vehicle from the abandoned cooling plant to Lin En.

[“Treasure hunting is intense! To buy a ticket, she literally sold everything she had.”]

[“What kind of drug did the Digging Maiden take? How did she suddenly turn into a natural livestreamer? This work never stops.”]

[“There’s no such thing as a natural livestreamer. This is the benefit of having the right connections!”

[“Isn’t it also because the Digging Maiden has sharp eyes and recognized Bai Fu’s extraordinary qualities at first glance?”

A group of players praised the Digging Maiden, while another group continuously @’ed her.

[“Digging Maiden, charge ahead! Find FuFu quickly. I need to see FuFu safe to rest assured.”]

[“Damn it, I missed my chance. By the time I got there, today’s tickets were sold out.”

[“Sigh, I wonder if FuFu is doing well in Lin En. Has she been bullied?”

[“Digging Maiden, stop hiding. I know you’re secretly checking replies and laughing while you do it.”

Bai Fu nodded silently. With the current road conditions, the Digging Maiden would reach Lin En by noon at the latest.

Recently, she had saved players, said farewell to them, and even erected a memorial for them, pulling their emotions to the max. It was time for an emotional release.

But she wasn’t satisfied with simply appearing in front of the Digging Maiden. Her plan was to continue enriching her character in front of the players.

Currently, she was seen as a “beautiful, mysterious, and player-loving NPC.” This was good, but not enough. She needed to add more depth to this persona to bring herself closer to the players and give them the feeling that “FuFu is dazzling yet approachable.”

“Anya, does staying here feel a bit boring?”

“This… it’s okay, a little, but it’s fine.”

Anya hesitated before answering.

Bai Fu brought her close, “It’s rare to travel far. Tomorrow I’ll take you out. Oh, and you…”

She told Anya some things, and Anya nodded repeatedly, showing she remembered.

Now Anya’s admiration for Bai Fu reached its peak. If Bai Fu said go east, Anya would never go west.

After resting, Bai Fu noticed the Digging Maiden was live-streaming the next morning.

Sitting by the window, she occasionally commented on the scenery outside until half an hour later, the car finally arrived at the Lin En station.

When her feet touched the ground, the Digging Maiden felt a surreal sensation.

Had she really reached Lin En? Could she really find FuFu? Was there a possibility that FuFu had left Lin En when she arrived?

She quickly suppressed her unease.

She was the type who could watch horror movies alone at night. What was there to fear now? Just find FuFu!

The Digging Maiden cleared her throat and smiled at the camera.

“Arriving at the nearest settlement to the abandoned cooling plant, Lin En, is truly beautiful, family!”

Messages flew by rapidly.

[“Wow, this Syrian-style city is so wastelandish!”]

[“This game is really impressive. The map is huge, and there’s no loading during fast travel.”]

[“Digging Maiden, don’t dawdle at the station. Let’s go find FuFu instead.”]

“Alright, alright, everyone, don’t worry. I’ll find FuFu right now.”

The Digging Maiden officially began her journey.

She had prepared mentally for finding FuFu for several days, but the pain of searching exceeded her expectations.

“Bai Fu? Haven’t heard of her.”

“A pretty girl with white hair? There are plenty of people with white hair nowadays. Red, orange, and green hair are also common.”

One failed attempt after another, one wrong person after another, the Digging Maiden felt she was losing hope.

[“Digging Maiden, what are you doing?”]

[“As long as you keep going, the path will extend. So, Digging Maiden, don’t stop!”]

[“Digging Maiden, do you want all your previous efforts to go to waste?”]

Seeing the messages, the Digging Maiden hurriedly explained, “I won’t give up. I won’t ever give up. Right now, I’m just thirsty. Damn, this game is too realistic. I need to find a way to earn credit coins, or I’ll lose motivation before finding FuFu.”

But where could she find tasks to earn money?

The Digging Maiden held her stomach and wandered aimlessly through the streets.

She didn’t know how long she had been walking until the sun set and the moon rose. She reached an intersection where a yellow light hung across the street, and two people stood under it.

One tall, one short, one big, one small, both with beautiful white long hair, their faces blurred under the yellow light.

But at that moment, the Digging Maiden’s gaze pierced through the blur, fixing their features in her eyes.

Bai Fu, Anya.

The Digging Maiden froze in place.

She never imagined they would reunite in such a way.

This unexpected encounter felt like her first meeting with Bai Fu and discovering the monument she had erected for Bai Fu.

In that instant, a wave surged through the Digging Maiden’s heart, and the live stream chat exploded.

[!!!]

PS: Although I aimed to finish earlier, it’s a bit late. But I’m glad I managed to write two chapters on time. Please continue reading!

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