Chapter 236

Chapter 236: The New Recruits Have Matured, the Catastrophe Legion Appears [5k]

As soon as the 2.0 version launched, Bai Fu released a special bounty task through the faction system.

[Find the assassin who attempted to kill the leader of the Tam Civilization.]

The completion conditions for this task were very lenient.

Players did not need to personally bring the assassin to Ulysses Star; they just needed to gather accurate intelligence related to the assassin’s whereabouts. Doing so would earn them 3 million experience points and one-on-one guidance from Bai Fu, the mistress of Silent Courtyard. If they could directly bring the person to Ulysses Star, Bai Fu would promote them into the Ulysses Base Guard Team.

In no time, the entire community became lively.

Three million experience points—this was enough for players, whose average level was still below 40, to level up once.

But what most attracted the players were the two rewards afterward.

One-on-one guidance?

Sss—

This is good, this is good!

Whether it was learning one or two rare skills from Bai Fu or obtaining free professional knowledge books from her, even if it was just an opportunity to interview Bai Fu, the benefits would be enormous.

Who wouldn’t want Bai Fu, who had particularly high popularity and was officially designated as the sole mentor for the Spiritual Energy school in the 2.0 version promotional video?

If one could enter the Ulysses Base Guard Team, that would be even better!

The Guard Team was a special institution established after the official construction of the Ulysses Base, with Wei Ke as the head. Members of the Guard Team usually followed Bai Fu around everywhere.

This seemed like hard labor, but in reality, it was akin to being supported by Bai Fu. Following Bai Fu meant that whenever there was any benefit, the Guard Team members would be the first to partake.

After all, this was the first taste of hot soup from a Tier Catastrophe superhuman. Its nutritional value far surpassed second-hand or third-hand versions.

[This Guard Team I am definitely entering, Jesus opposing won’t help, I said it!]

[I heard that Digging Girl and Pai Da Xing received an invitation from Wei Ke as soon as they logged on, allowing them direct entry into the Guard Team. Damn, I’m envious.]

[Stop envying, Digging Girl and others are veteran contributors who followed Fu Fu from the abandoned cooling plant all the way to the Gateway of the Beginning.]

Seeing relevant posts popping up one after another in the community, Bai Fu couldn’t help but smile.

Casting a wide net to catch big fish.

Regardless of whether any player completed this task, she would not lose.

If a player could find the assassin, then she could intervene more deeply into the main plotline of the Tam Civilization.

After releasing the task, Bai Fu waited for two more days and finally welcomed Anya’s leading transport fleet.

The next step was simple—

Transport the players to Ulysses Star by spaceship.

During her speech addressed to all Darren Star players, Bai Fu generously announced that this transportation was free of charge, without collecting a single penny for tickets, and she emphasized that players could freely choose whether to join the Silent Courtyard faction or not.

Of course, Bai Fu wasn’t truly so generous; this was merely her strategy to increase player affinity.

Players generally dislike being “pointed at” while gaming.

If she had said only those joining the Silent Courtyard could take the spaceship to the Star Ocean, some players might not say anything aloud, but they would definitely feel upset inside. Once they reached the Star Ocean, they might temporarily defect to other factions due to this dissatisfaction.

But now, the situation was different. By saying this, she could both subtly increase player affinity and avoid any actual losses.

Because once the players arrived at the Star Ocean, they would realize that their only short-term choice was to join the Silent Courtyard.

To join other factions, one would have to leave Ulysses Star first, right?

To leave Ulysses Star, one would have to buy a ticket first, right?

To buy a ticket, one would need money first, right?

Hey! Coincidentally,

The best way to earn money on Ulysses Star was to join the Silent Courtyard; otherwise, you’d just have to endure patiently!

Bai Fu believed that the majority of players, after careful consideration, would join the Silent Courtyard and wouldn’t blame her, instead thanking her for giving them the opportunity to enter the Star Ocean.

Getting these players to join the Silent Courtyard was just the first step; the second step was to ensure they stayed firmly within the Silent Courtyard, similar to the players on Source Star.

For this, Bai Fu already had a plan.

During the server update period, she devised an积分system.

In the future, players completing any faction task would receive corresponding积分. Reaching different levels of积分would allow them to apply to join different institutions within the faction.

For example, ordinary action teams, ace combat units, the Guard Team, research institutes, diplomatic departments, etc.

Bai Fu believed that the积分system would surely attract countless players’ attention.

The reason was simple; in other factions, players mostly had to blindly follow NPC orders. However, in the Silent Courtyard, they would have a complete and specialized promotion system tailored specifically for them.

Whether players liked combat, lifestyle games, or wanted to act as diplomats among NPCs, everyone could find their place.

“The 2.0 version is the era of the great Star Ocean, and it will also be my era, Bai Fu!”

…

A month later.

Bai Fu successfully transported all players above level 30 from the three novice planets she had been watching onto Ulysses Star.

As expected, 99.9% of these players didn’t hesitate much before joining the Silent Courtyard.

She immediately gathered all the players who joined the Silent Courtyard and announced the积分system to them.

Subsequently, she summoned the current 200-person Guard Team in front of all the players.

“Ten days later, the Origin Consortium will hold its annual general meeting. Andreas, the current head of the Origin Consortium, has sent me an invitation, hoping that I can attend the meeting. I’ve already accepted his invitation, and at that time, you will go with me.”

As soon as she finished speaking, all the players in the Guard Team received a new game prompt.

[You have triggered the hidden quest [Traveling with Fu]]

“Damn, the Guard Team is so cool, receiving a special task right away?”

“Too unfair, I also want to move with Fu Fu.”

“A real man should be like this!”

“Damn, joining the Guard Team requires 10,000积分, that’s so high.”

On the square, looking at the backs of the Guard Team players standing on the platform, the other players were like bulls seeing a red cloth, their eyes all turning red.

Ten thousand积分, huh? Grandma’s curse, whether it’s ten thousand or twenty thousand, starting today, I’ll explode my liver!

The high morale connected into one piece, floating in the air above the square, resembling a fiercely burning fire, quite spectacular.

“Very good, this is exactly the spirit I want!”

Seeing this scene, Bai Fu nodded in satisfaction.

Fantastic.

Dear players, to better assist you in leveling up and eventually replacing the current players in the Guard Team, I specially launched the [Grand Celebration for New Players Entering the Star Ocean] event. If you participate in the event, buying items in offline stores or instance stores will also give you a certain discount.

What are you waiting for? Action speaks louder than words; quickly take your favorite items home!

Under Bai Fu’s encouragement, all players who had any spare experience rushed into the store without thinking twice.

Buy, buy, buy.

If you don’t buy, others do, then aren’t you falling behind?

When others use their purchases to rapidly earn积分and successfully join the Guard Team, while you can only regret your stinginess over your pitiful积分!

Ten thousand, one hundred thousand, one million…

After the event began, watching the rapidly increasing experience volume, Bai Fu finally put her mind at ease.

It’s somewhat regrettable; if she had brought these players to Ulysses Star at the end of the 1.5 version, the amount of experience she would have gained from a round of harvesting would probably be about the same as when she settled the destruction of the Tower of Secrets mission.

Now it definitely wouldn’t work, because many players had already used most of their experience to level up as soon as they logged on, leaving her with very little.

However, although this amount couldn’t satisfy her hunger, it was enough to quench her thirst.

“With this experience, I can confidently collect various skills and blueprints.”

Bai Fu took a deep breath.

Let’s go.

There are still ten days until the internal meeting of the Origin Consortium, but it’s better to set off earlier. Otherwise, if we encounter any unexpected incidents on the road, which delay us, causing us to miss the meeting, that would be a huge loss.

Arriving earlier would give her a chance to ask Andreas about which faction the people of the Tam faction belong to, preparing for the upcoming actions.





“Welcome, welcome.”

Upon receiving the message, Andreas beamed with joy.

“I’ve already asked my younger brother to wait for you at the Keko Starport in the North Abyss Star Cluster. Once you arrive at Keko Starport, you can contact him directly. He will take you to the City of Broad Knowledge.”

The City of Broad Knowledge is the headquarters of the Origin Corporation, an artificially constructed giant space city floating in the North Abyss Star Cluster, approximately 900 kilometers in diameter. It represents the power of the Origin Corporation and can be considered a landmark structure throughout the Edge World.

Of course, compared to the wonders of the three major space civilizations, the City of Broad Knowledge pales in comparison.

Each Universal-class Titan Fortress built by Titan Industries is dozens of times larger than the City of Broad Knowledge.

After sending Bai Fu the contact information, Andreas walked to the edge of his office and looked down at the bustling city below through the huge transparent curtain wall. His eyes sparkled brightly.

Not long ago, Bai Fu gave him a development plan for the Dark Moon Tide. The plan mentioned the current scale of the Dark Moon Tide and its future development strategy, which was quite astonishing. He believed that after seeing this plan, the bigwigs of various factions within the corporation would definitely abandon their support for the Tem派 and instead continue to support him.

“It’s been over a year.”

Andreas sighed.

After enduring so much pressure, in ten days, he would finally be able to clear away the gloom and completely suppress the momentum of the Tem派.

Just as Andreas was daydreaming about the future, the communicator in the office suddenly rang.

“Mr. Andreas, Mr. Hampton has something to discuss with you.”

“Connect the call.”

A moment later, Hampton’s virtual image appeared in the office. He smiled and said:

“President Andreas, the venue for the internal meeting has been set up. Do you have any additional requests?”

Andreas remained calm: “No, I trust your arrangements.”

Hampton slightly leaned forward: “Then I won’t disturb you further.”

Andreas nodded.

He didn’t really want to talk to Hampton because Hampton was the leader of the Tem派.

Actually, Hampton didn’t want to talk to Andreas either; he had just come to check on Andreas.

A few hours ago, the Catastrophe Corps they paid had set out to intercept Bai Fu.

To ensure Bai Fu’s elimination, the Catastrophe Corps dispatched ten Skeleton-class battleships, with three Catastrophe-level members stationed inside, almost half of the Catastrophe Corps’ strength.

In the words of Blood Stain, the captain of the Catastrophe Corps: “Even if Bai Fu brought along two Scarlet Leaves, I could bury them forever on the way from Ulysses to the City of Broad Knowledge!”

Hampton believed these words wholeheartedly.

Blood Stain was an upper-tier Catastrophe-level member, unlike Bai Fu and Scarlet Leaf who had just ascended not long ago. Normally, one upper-tier Catastrophe-level member could easily defeat four or five weaker ones. For someone like Blood Stain, who had been rolling around in piles of corpses for many years, his combat power was even more formidable.

“Anreas must be eagerly expecting Bai Fu to arrive at the City of Broad Knowledge to help him turn the situation around. He absolutely wouldn’t expect that Bai Fu would never arrive.”

Sitting in his chair, Hampton pressed his hand against the red scales on his eye and revealed a smile filled with aggression.

The other members of the Tem派 nearby were equally elated.

“I’m starting to look forward to how anxious Anreas will become when Bai Fu doesn’t show up.”

Joyful laughter began to echo in the room.

…

“Hahahaha.”

On the Blood Stain spacecraft, Aldrich, the second-in-command of the Catastrophe Corps, laughed like a blooming chrysanthemum.

“These people from Hampton are really generous, offering 50 million credits and the complete formula for the Rose Flower Elixir all at once. With these things, the scale of the Catastrophe Corps can expand by several more folds.”

Blood Stain calmly placed his hand lightly downward: “Don’t get too arrogant. We’ll celebrate after we complete the mission.”

Aldrich chuckled: “It’s just a newbie who has just ascended to the Catastrophe level. Captain, you’re being overly cautious.”

Blood Stain shook his head and didn’t say anything more.

He wasn’t afraid of Bai Fu, it’s just that he never liked celebrating before the job was done. He preferred sitting next to the enemy’s corpse after killing them, slowly enjoying the feeling of blood flowing out of the body.

“Pfft.” Aldrich shrugged. “Captain, just watch how I deal with Bai Fu.”

Ten Skeleton-class battleships flew silently through space.

Four days later, on the inevitable route from the Ulysses Star to the City of Broad Knowledge, the Catastrophe Corps successfully locked onto Bai Fu’s starship.

“Bai Fu.”

Scarlet Leaf suddenly called out to Bai Fu, who was browsing the player community.

Bai Fu looked up and gazed at Scarlet Leaf approaching from behind: “What’s wrong?”

Scarlet Leaf said, “Since just now, I’ve noticed ten spaceships following us.”

“Oh?”

Bai Fu’s eyes narrowed slightly. She turned off the community interface and stood up, walking to the control panel.

By then, Scarlet Leaf had already pulled up the surveillance footage from the rear of the ship. In view were ten ghastly white ships that resembled moving monsters made of bone spines.

“Can you tell who they are?”

Scarlet Leaf nodded: “If I’m not mistaken, those tracking us should be the Catastrophe Corps.”

She provided Bai Fu with a detailed introduction to the Catastrophe Corps.

The Catastrophe Corps is a special hireling organization established decades ago by its captain, Blood Stain. Although it has only existed for a short time, due to its aggressive style and having five Catastrophe-level members, it quickly gained a significant reputation.

“Five Catastrophe-level members? And the captain is an upper-tier Catastrophe?”

Bai Fu nodded inwardly.

This strength surpasses even the Tower of Secrets when the Dark Domain Bug Queen isn’t fully engaged.

But it doesn’t matter.

She used to be afraid, but she’s different now.

“I’m also an upper-tier Catastrophe. Moreover, I can summon He Fu, whose base stats match mine exactly. Besides He Fu, I also have a special item obtained after helping Scarlet Leaf ascend to the Catastrophe level, [Scarlet Blessing], which allows me to summon another true spirit of Scarlet Leaf.”

With four Catastrophes, Bai Fu isn’t afraid even if the entire Catastrophe Corps attacks.

Still, she’s not entirely fearless.

Bai Fu suddenly thought of a problem. The Serene Night spaceship she’s riding on is one she bought not long ago. If it gets destroyed during the attack…

“Shit!”

Bai Fu’s temper flared.

Touching her money is no different from touching her life.

“They must have been commissioned by someone to cause trouble for me. Who could it be? Someone opposing Andreas in the Origin Corporation? Frank? Or someone else who dislikes me?”

Bai Fu checked the time. Fortunately, she left early, otherwise, she might not have made it to the Origin Corporation’s internal meeting.

“Try to shake them off. If not possible, head towards the nearest planet.”

Under Bai Fu’s instruction, the speed of the Serene Night increased rapidly, darting out like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Seeing this, Aldrich immediately said: “Captain, they’re trying to run?”

Blood Stain calmly replied: “Pursue them.”

The Blood Stain vessel he was on had undergone special modifications, and its speed was no less than Bai Fu’s Serene Night.

The situation turned into Bai Fu fleeing and Blood Stain chasing. This chase lasted for half a day.

Realizing that she couldn’t shake off the Blood Stain vessel, Bai Fu decided to abandon the idea of running.

She hoped the ship would remain intact!

She didn’t want to become a vehicle killer.

Half an hour later.

The Serene Night entered the nearest ice giant planet nearby, and the Blood Stain vessel followed without hesitation.

Through the porthole in the icy blue sky of the planet, Blood Stain and Aldrich saw Bai Fu and Scarlet Leaf flying out of their spacecraft.

“Looks like they’re eager to die, let’s oblige them.”

Blood Stain called his subordinates, flying out from the opened hatch.

4 vs 2, the advantage seemed to be…

Whoosh!

As soon as they exited the spacecraft, Blood Stain suddenly noticed another “Bai Fu” emerging from behind Bai Fu. Before he could fully react, Bai Fu waved her right hand, and another “Scarlet Leaf” stepped out from behind Scarlet Leaf.

“?!”

“I don’t know who sent you here to cause trouble, but since you’re so eager to die, I’ll oblige you.”

Bai Fu instantly merged with Youlia and activated the Mind Blessing. As a black eye slowly rose above her head, an extremely terrifying aura emanated from her body.

“You’re an upper-tier Catastrophe?!”

Blood Stain widened his eyes, staring as if he had seen a ghost, showing unprecedented loss of composure.

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