Chapter 106

Chapter 106: My Protagonist Status is Bai Fu’s [22]

A startled cry disrupted the situation.

Pratt had already prepared himself for death, but upon hearing the keyword “Holy Relic,” he no longer paid attention to He Fu beside him and struggled to crawl towards the edge of the giant crater.

The explosion caused by Dimensional Erosion sent the sand worms coiled up in the crater into utter chaos. Panicked, they scrambled around wildly, exposing an area that was previously submerged by the sand worms.

That area was covered with gray-brown slime that slid off the sand worms, looking extremely nauseating. However, within that mass of slime, something stood out conspicuously.

“A piece of black fragment?”

Bai Fu clearly saw everything inside the large pit through He Fu’s perspective.

She cast a Spiritual Vision skill, and the skill check succeeded. A popup interface with an item description appeared before her.

[Fragment of Black Basalt]

[Quality]: Red

[Item Description]: A fragment of Black Basalt, an extremely rare Spiritual Energy item with unknown uses.

[Note]: After the Great Catastrophe, the Black Basalt being studied at the second branch of the Spiritual Energy Research Institute shattered into three pieces; this is one of them.

After reading the description, Bai Fu couldn’t help but brighten her eyes.

After finding the -2 floor of the Spiritual Energy Research Institute, she triggered a hidden quest to find the Black Basalt. The quest rewards were abundant, but due to the lack of additional clues, she had no idea where to start to complete the quest.

What she didn’t expect was to find a fragment of Black Basalt while pursuing Pratt!

Pratt has the Strong Luck talent, and she has the Lucky talent; Strong Luck + Luck, this wave was a result of a strong alliance yielding gold.

“Who would have thought that the quality of Black Basalt is red.”

The game divides the quality levels of items into seven grades: gray, white, blue, purple, orange, red, and rainbow. The higher the quality level, the rarer the item is compared to others of the same grade.

Although rarity doesn’t always correlate directly with strength, upon seeing that the quality of Black Basalt was red, Bai Fu became highly anticipatory.

A fragment of Black Basalt can attract a large number of sand worms and promote their evolution in a short period of time. So what kind of power could the complete Black Basalt harbor?

She began to understand why the Spiritual Energy Diffusion Committee established a separate research institute to study Black Basalt.

Bai Fu’s gaze fell on the back of the ecstatic Pratt.

This group of people led by Pratt knows about Black Basalt, and they might know the location of the remaining two fragments of Black Basalt.

“Even if I cannot receive a new main quest from Pratt, as long as I can figure out the location of the Black Basalt fragment, this operation will still be considered a great success!”

Bai Fu’s mood improved significantly.

They say that smiling girls have good luck. Should she emulate the Uchiha Laughing Quartet and laugh even happier in the future?

Her smile successfully infected the surrounding White Robes. Just moments ago, Pratt and his companions were all tense, but now their bodies stiffened.

Oh no!

Finding the legendary Holy Relic is indeed a joyous event, but there are two women nearby who are strong like ghosts.

If the Holy Relic is taken away…

Pratt’s heart sank straight to the bottom.

“What kind of people are you?”

The data gathered by Spiritual Vision did not display Pratt’s faction, so Bai Fu had to investigate on her own.

Pratt did not reply. Beside him, a White Robe clenched his teeth: “Priest大人, let’s fight them. Although they are very powerful, if we all attack together, we might explode and take them down. They may not be able to kill all of us!”

Other White Robes nodded repeatedly: “As long as someone survives to bring the Holy Relic back, the rest of us won’t have died in vain!”

Pratt’s expression turned extremely ugly. If they really bet all their lives without reservation, this plan might succeed, but it wasn’t what he wanted to see.

Before finding the Holy Relic, dying meant nothing to him. Now that they’ve successfully found it, how could he die easily?

After hesitating for ten whole seconds, Pratt did something completely unexpected—he knelt down at lightning speed.

“I was wrong. I mistook you for the legendary Demon, which is why I attacked you. Fortunately, you can resurrect, preventing an unforgivable mistake. But I also know that even if you can resurrect, the mistake remains.”

“Pratt, what are you doing?”

Pratt’s behavior made a White Robe’s face turn as dark as ink.

Pratt acted as if he hadn’t heard him: “I am willing to accept any punishment, but I have one request. I hope to deliver the Holy Relic back to the camp first before accepting my punishment. Please, the people in the camp are waiting for me to bring the Holy Relic back to save them.”

His eyes were sincere, his feelings earnest, and his voice filled with pleading.

The White Robe who scolded him earlier sighed, immediately understanding that he intended to use this method of sacrificing dignity to ensure the safe return of the Holy Relic to the camp.

The other White Robes retracted whatever they wanted to say and followed Pratt’s example. They all took responsibility onto themselves.

“The people in the camp have contracted a strange illness, and only the legendary Holy Relic can save them.”

Bai Fu lightly pinched her chin. Without triggering a new quest, was it because the approach was wrong? Wait, it might be due to Affinity. Some quest triggers are tied to Affinity. Perhaps because she had He Fu beat Pratt half to death, that’s why the quest didn’t trigger.

She used Spiritual Vision on everyone around her, and the results were unexpected. Everyone’s Affinity towards her was negative, but they remained relatively stable.



The fixed numerical values were stable, only Pratt’s data was fluctuating.

41, -47, -52…

As time passed, the numbers kept dropping lower.

“?!”

Bai Fu remained calm and decided to test them. She deliberately said, “Interesting. I will investigate first. If what you say is true, I can allow you to take this holy relic back to the camp. But if you’re lying, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Investigating the True Identity of Pratt and others wasn’t difficult for Bai Fu. First, she thought of Dallas Makarov, the Darknet contact who had previously come as a representative for the Railway Guild.

Bai Fu asked He Fu to call the Player over and temporarily sent Pratt and his group to the research institute.

She didn’t rush to retrieve the Black Basalt fragment. Once taken, the monster spawning box would become ineffective. It would be better to let it work a bit longer.

“Miss Silver Moon, what do I owe the honor of your late-night call?” The voice of Dallas in the terminal was full of energy.

Bai Fu said, “Help me check on a few people.”

She sent their photos over.

The efficiency of the Darknet was terrifying. In just twenty minutes, Dallas gathered intelligence.

[Pratt, priest of the extreme religious group Holy Spirit Church, 31 years old, gentle character, responsible, respected within the Holy Spirit Church, became the new priest two years ago after succeeding his father.]

[Holy Spirit Church, an extreme religious group located west of the Goli Desert and south of the Former Republic, established after the World War. Rumors claim that they received funding from the Former Republic during their development. Their people rarely interact with outsiders. According to a killer who contacted the Holy Spirit Church several years ago, there seems to be a mysterious disease spreading in the area where the Holy Spirit Church resides.]

After reviewing the materials, Bai Fu concluded that the information revealed by Pratt was true. However, this did not mean that Pratt was telling the entire truth.

After being tricked once by the Gene Progenitor, her vigilance increased significantly. No matter how convincing the other party sounded, if the Affinity value was problematic, then there must be something wrong!

After Bai Fu returned to the institute, Pratt immediately found her, saying he wanted to contact the camp to report safety.

“Do whatever you want.”

Having been granted permission, Pratt wasted no time contacting the Holy Spirit Church. To avoid arousing suspicion from Bai Fu, he deliberately chose a place with more Players to make the contact.

“We’ve already found the holy relic, thanks to Bai Fu.”

“You might not have heard her name, but she’s no ordinary person. Not only is her strength top-notch, but her identity is also extraordinary. In that organization, although she isn’t the absolute leader, she is a core member recognized and revered in many aspects by the majority. Don’t worry, she’s reasonable. I’ll bring the holy relic back as soon as possible.”

After ending the call, Pratt turned around and saw the nearby Players and He Fu, forcing a friendly smile.

His words caused quite a stir among the Players.

Didn’t Pratt just reveal part of Fu Fu’s identity?

He was pretending to be ignorant, wasn’t he?

What the Players didn’t know was that this was actually a case of export-turned-import. Pratt misunderstood and really believed that the title of ‘First Jailer’ mentioned by Fragrant Fried Fish was a prestigious one, so he described Bai Fu as a core member recognized in multiple aspects.

The Players, unaware of Pratt’s misunderstanding, assumed he knew some insider information.

This double misunderstanding created a very interesting situation.

[High-level NPC Verification: Fu Fu’s True Identity is surprising!]

Many Players began speculating on Bai Fu’s background based on Pratt’s lines, inexplicably boosting Bai Fu’s popularity.

“You guys are really good at imagining things!”

Bai Fu’s lips twitched.

She secretly placed numerous Dark Moon Eyes around the institute. When midnight arrived, He Fu woke Bai Fu up after receiving orders to keep watching the images transmitted by the Dark Moon Eyes.

Upon focusing, Bai Fu noticed Pratt quietly leaving the institute. He hadn’t gone far, hiding behind a sand dune out of sight of the institute. What he didn’t expect was that there was a Dark Moon Eye buried underground beneath the sand dune.

“I have gained Bai Fu’s trust, but this is only temporary. Sooner or later, she will realize that I won’t return to face punishment.”

“The holy relic must remain in our hands. To permanently resolve this threat, quickly contact the Former Republic. I will find a way to lure her into the camp, and let the people of the Former Republic send her on her Departure!”

“That’s all I have to say. Staying away too long might raise suspicions, so I’ll hang up now.”

In the cold wind, Pratt slowly exhaled.

Everything that needed to be said was finished. Now, even if caught, he could claim he came out to use the restroom. Since there was no evidence against him, it wouldn’t be an issue.

His mood was quite pleasant. Bai Fu absolutely wouldn’t suspect his hidden intentions. This was the benefit of excellent acting.

Bai Fu’s eyes flickered.

No rule stated that the protagonist must be a good person. She was currently the main character in this region and was called the Cyber Goddess by the Players. But surely no one truly believed she would treat the Players with compassion like a Bodhisattva?

On the contrary, Pratt being less than honest suited her perfectly. This way, she could take Pratt’s Main Quest without any moral qualms.

“I think we should have a proper conversation. I’m very interested in your identity!”

Just as Pratt smiled and walked out from behind the sand dune, Bai Fu suddenly appeared, gun pointed at Pratt’s forehead.

PS: Second update, a bit late, very sorry.

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