Chapter 185

Chapter 185: The Villain’s Nightmare! The Deterrence of Holy Maiden Bai Fu!

When Foster first received the news that the Star Network fleet had appeared, he was so angry that his hair felt like it was standing on end.

To chase down the members of the Blessed Sect, he had already spent three hours. Unfortunately, even after cornering them, he still couldn’t capture them alive. The Blessed Sect, a local force in the Sea Lion Galaxy System, was slightly stronger than the Shiji Crystal Company under the Tower of Secrets, but not by much, as neither group had any members at the Catastrophe Tier.

This was Foster’s initial understanding of the Blessed Sect, but now he realized he was wrong—

The Shiji Crystal Company was actually no match for the Blessed Sect at all!

Although he didn’t know exactly what means they used, the Blessed Sect’s Holy Son, Eron, suddenly burst forth with S+ level superpower, which was fortunate he had strong willpower; otherwise, he would have been brainwashed by Eron’s Holy Illusion.

Foster’s eyes were bloodshot.

As the commander of the secret tower’s subordinate fleet, when had he ever felt this humiliated?

To be honest, although Eron suddenly burst forth with power, he was just an S+ superpower user. In a fair fight, even if there were multiple S+ superpower users, Foster’s fleet could easily blow them apart.

Never underestimate the power of technology. Only those who have transcended humanity, like those at the Catastrophe Tier, could truly scare him.

However, the task assigned by the Head Butler was to snatch the True Essence Pillar, not to kill anyone. He couldn’t rely on starships, only his own hands.

Fighting?

Isn’t this the kind of task that should be handled by that monster, Thessia?

“Commander Foster, if we don’t leave soon, we might get surrounded by the Star Network fleet.”

A voice urged from nearby.

Foster’s face turned ashen as he shouted towards Eron and Su Xi far away, “The items will temporarily be stored with you. Next time, you won’t be so lucky!”

After delivering his threats, he immediately led everyone to retreat.

Flight vehicles soared into the sky, quickly returning to the suspended spacecrafts above. Once inside the cockpit, Foster immediately asked about Bai Fu’s situation.

Since the mission failed, he would surely be reprimanded by the Head Butler, so he could only vent his frustration by dealing with Bai Fu first.

“Bai Fu…” One of the captains scratched his head and briefly recounted the situation, “Because there were too many of them, we couldn’t…”

I damn well can’t!

Trying to relax, Foster’s mood worsened hearing this.

Bai Fu, Bai Fu, Bai Fu!

He slammed the control panel beside him, immediately contacting Thessia.

“The Head Butler ordered you to deal with Bai Fu. Is this how you handle her? Aren’t you good at exploiting people? Then exploit her!”

Without thinking twice, he started ranting, then issued more threats to Thessia.

“No matter what method you use next, whether it’s killing her, imprisoning her, or using your abilities to make her unable to stand, I hope you never let her appear before me again!”

Thessia frowned, not retaliating against Foster.

Foster was an “old-timer” in the Tower of Secrets, with a large circle and deep connections. She was just a “monster,” and except for a few high-ranking officials, no one cared about her. Arguing with Foster would only worsen her position in the Tower of Secrets.

But she still clenched her fist tightly.

[Exploiting, you say exploit like we’re close friends on QQ]

If she drained Bai Fu’s life force, making her mentally weak and physically lethargic, she would likely be discovered soon. How would she then recover the prototype?

Thessia silently nodded to Foster, but she had already written him down in her revenge notebook in her heart.

If one day she became a complete monster, at the very moment of transformation, she would kill everyone listed in her notebook!

After ending her conversation with Foster, Thessia received a message from the people of Ulysses—

Ulysses was under attack. She needed to find a place to hide!

Hide?

This was the attack she had planned herself!

Now, it was her chance to show herself. She intended to take this opportunity to boost the favorability ratings of the Ulysses people, Scarlet Leaf, and Bai Fu, and successfully infiltrate Bai Fu’s small team. If she could gain Bai Fu’s favor, she could do whatever she wanted with Bai Fu.

…

About ten minutes after the secret tower’s fleet withdrew, the Star Network fleet appeared in the sky.

This time, the leader was Ma Nu, Bai Fu’s old acquaintance. After discovering that the secret tower’s fleet had fled, Ma Nu did not continue chasing. Instead, he sent people to pick up Bai Fu, the surviving players, and the members of the Blessed Sect onto the spacecraft and immediately organized the fleet to return home.

The environment around the Star Tomb was extremely complex. Chasing recklessly could easily lead to an ambush by the secret tower. The Star Network was already much weaker than the secret tower, and if they suffered another ambush, the disparity in strength would become even greater.

“What did you do to make the secret tower send an entire fleet to chase after you?” Ma Nu asked in puzzlement.

Eron did not think he could keep the truth hidden, so he said, “It’s because of the True Essence Pillar.”

Ma Nu was taken aback: “The True Essence Pillar?”

“That’s right!”

Bai Fu nodded solemnly.

This was a great opportunity to blame the secret tower. How could she miss it?

“I accepted the commission from the Blessed Sect to help them find someone. After finding that person, we followed the trail and arrived here. We never expected to find members of the secret tower here. After interrogating the prisoners captured from the secret tower, we learned that the True Essence Pillar that disappeared a hundred years ago is in the possession of the secret tower. Currently, we don’t know what the secret tower is doing with the True Essence Pillar, but it definitely isn’t anything good!”

Ma Nu’s expression also turned serious: “Wait a moment, I’ll report this to the Joint Council immediately.”

Go ahead, go ahead.

Bai Fu did not stop him. She walked to a side and sat down alone.

After several hours of intense mental focus, it was time to rest. While resting, she pulled out the advanced knowledge that Eron had given her earlier.

[You start reading the ‘Prayer Insights of the Blessed Sect’…]

A few minutes later, the reading progress bar filled up, and the game prompt sounded in her ears.

[You have mastered a new skill [Heart of the Apostle]]

[Heart of the Apostle]: With sincere prayers to the Void Apostle, you can receive the blessing of the Void Apostle.

Bai Fu casually opened the detailed description of the skill. For NPCs, this prayer was genuine. For NPCs with player panels like her and players, praying to the Void Apostle was essentially consuming spiritual energy to accumulate [prayer bars]. Each time a prayer bar was filled, she could receive a blessing from the Void Apostle.

This blessing was straightforward and direct, simply adding inspiration.

The first layer added 5 points of inspiration, and each subsequent layer added twice the inspiration of the previous layer. Up to seven layers could be stacked, and the seventh layer provided an additional 320 points of inspiration.

These numbers looked impressive, but the amount of spiritual energy required to ascend each layer also increased significantly.

“According to the explanation of advanced knowledge, this was thought of by the ancestors of the Blessed Sect to break barriers and transcend to sainthood, and to advance to the Catastrophe Tier. It is very difficult to practice. Even most NPCs may not be able to stack seven layers of blessings in decades.”

Bai Fu nodded secretly.

She flipped through the amount of spiritual energy required to ascend each layer. Forget NPCs, even players might need to endure several versions or longer to stack seven layers of blessings.

Luckily, she was unique both among NPCs and players.

On one hand, her spiritual energy bar was very long, far exceeding that of other spiritual energy prayer mages at the same level. On the other hand, she had Youlia, who could replenish her magic, as a super cheat. With both these advantages, her speed of accumulating prayer bars could be described as rocket-like.

“I’m making a fortune!”

Bai Fu laughed happily.

Eron probably didn’t expect her to be able to stack so many layers when he gave her this knowledge, right?

It could only be said that in Eron’s eyes, this was an acceptable but not outstanding reward. But to Bai Fu, it was a godlike skill.

“Looks like I need to find Youlia more often for magic replenishment!”

Although it was tiring to replenish magic, thinking about being able to stack layers and increase inspiration, Bai Fu was eager to try.

Youlia?

I need to play for ten hours a day!

After turning off the game prompt, Bai Fu performed her first prayer. She spent 20 minutes successfully filling the first layer of the prayer bar, gaining 5 points of inspiration.

While she was praying, Ma Nu had already reported the news.

Upon learning that the secret tower not only secretly built a fleet base near the Sea Lion Galaxy System but also somehow obtained the True Essence Pillar, the Star Network Joint Council immediately became anxious and dispatched professionals to search for the base and inform other forces in the Initial Gateway Star Cluster about the True Essence Pillar in the secret tower’s possession.

What? The secret tower has the True Essence Pillar?

Although no one knew what the secret tower intended to do with the True Essence Pillar, its value to the secret tower must be significant, or why would they urgently send a fleet to chase after Bai Fu and the members of the Blessed Sect?

Grandma’s sake, we can’t let the secret tower succeed!

After some discussion, various civilizations in the Initial Gateway Star Cluster jointly issued a statement condemning the secret tower’s invasion of the Sea Lion Galaxy System and emphasizing the presence of the True Essence Pillar in the secret tower’s possession.

This news quickly spread and reached the Head Butler of the secret tower.

“??? ”

Looking at the headline news on the website, the Head Butler was bewildered.

No, when did the True Essence Pillar fall into our secret tower’s hands?

Rumors, this is pure rumors. Damn it, the True Essence Pillar is clearly in the hands of the Blessed Sect.

“Quickly issue a statement to clarify. We can’t let the Blessed Sect get away with this!”

The secret tower responded promptly, almost within half an hour of the joint announcement. They fiercely criticized the Blessed Sect for their lack of shame, claiming they had the True Essence Pillar yet pretended they didn’t. More shamelessly, they claimed the True Essence Pillar was actually in the secret tower’s possession, which was absurd. If the True Essence Pillar was really in the secret tower’s possession, why would they send a fleet to chase after the Blessed Sect?

Seeing the secret tower’s response, Eron’s nose nearly bent out of shape.

The True Essence Pillar is in our Blessed Sect’s hands?

Why don’t you say that the secret tower is actually a subordinate unit of the Blessed Sect? Truly shameless.

Thus, about ten minutes after the secret tower’s response, Eron posted another reply article, detailing the crimes of the secret tower and reminding everyone of the atrocities and lies committed by the secret tower.

The mutual attacks between the two sides directly delighted the spectators, such as the fighters watching from the sidelines.

Good, good, fight! Fight fiercely! The protagonist and the villain should fight!

Bai Fu hadn’t anticipated that things would turn so surreal, but she had to admit that the current situation was fantastic. With the secret tower and the Blessed Sect drawing attention, who would suspect that the real True Essence Pillar was actually on Youlia?

During the journey back to the Star Network’s homeworld, Blue Sky Star, with Ma Nu’s fleet, Bai Fu enjoyed the gossip throughout the trip.

Because he was worried about unnecessary trouble, Eron specially invited Ma Nu to conduct a body search.

After landing, the incident caused even more commotion.

The secret tower and the Blessed Sect were both highly popular in the Sea Lion Galaxy System. Adding the True Essence Pillar and Bai Fu as a super-popular idol as seasoning made the heat hard to avoid.

After landing, Bai Fu experienced the enthusiasm of the Star Network journalists for the second time.

She was surrounded.

“Holy Maiden Bai Fu, can you share your experience of being pursued by the secret tower?”

“Holy Maiden, do you think the True Essence Pillar is on someone else?”

“Holy Maiden, recently, some people say you’ve taken on several ads to make money. What do you think?”

Bai Fu answered each question seriously, especially the last one.

Making money?

So what if I’m making money!

Bai Fu spoke confidently.

If I don’t make money, when I need money for various things, you should pay for me. If I don’t make money, you should pay for building the Source Star, right?

Of course, while her attitude was firm, Bai Fu maintained her gentle and generous image during expression and chose a sophisticated way to say it.

“Some might think I’m pretentious, but I’m reluctant to owe others favors. Favors are the hardest to repay. I want to change my hometown with my own strength. Fortunately, I now have the ability to make money, so I took on a few ads. I am very grateful to the companies that gave me the opportunity and to the Undead who accompanied me to the Sea Lion Galaxy System.”

Bai Fu’s words sparked massive interest and quickly gained her a wave of fans. Many viewers in the Sea Lion Galaxy System continuously commented in the live chat, saying “Let her take the ads,” “This is the Holy Maiden, everyone should learn from her,” and the companies that hired Bai Fu for ads also saw their reputations rise. Many other companies were also considering hiring Bai Fu for ads.

However, Bai Fu had no time to enjoy the praise, as a journalist suddenly mentioned that Ulysses was attacked during the interview.

“What?”

Bai Fu was shocked.

The journalist said, “The attackers reportedly came from the secret tower. Fortunately, this attack was not large. When we received the message, the secret tower’s attackers had already been repelled.”

Bai Fu was enraged.

Good, you damn thing. You couldn’t finish me off in the Star Tomb, so now you’re retaliating at my base?

She quickly apologized to the journalists and swiftly boarded a spacecraft to fly to Ulysses.

Her speed was astonishing. She returned to Ulysses in just one day, having already learned the details of the attack from Youlia during the journey.

In summary, the secret tower’s people suddenly attacked in spaceships. Youlia, Scarlet Leaf, and Vic organized the players to counterattack. The secret tower’s people were unable to break through the defenses and considered attacking ordinary Ulysses citizens. At a critical moment, the business specialist “Elsa” from the Shiji Crystal Company, who refused to leave, stepped forward. With her help, the attacked Ulysses citizens turned the tide. After the battle, no Ulysses citizens died, but some buildings constructed by players were damaged. This loss was considered acceptable, a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

The only problem was, if the secret tower launched the first attack, would they launch a second one?

This time, with Elsa’s help, they managed to weather the crisis, but it wouldn’t be so easy next time.

Youlia’s concerns were also Bai Fu’s.

The secret tower could no longer act so arrogantly. They had to find ways to cause them trouble!

Originally, Bai Fu just wanted to secretly create a story to tell the world about the secret tower’s hidden schemes, including the attack on Ulysses years ago as part of their plan. But now, she changed her mind.

If she was going to create a story, it had to be a big one. Recently, the secret tower’s popularity was very high. If she could create a compelling story, it would have a huge impact and limit the secret tower’s actions.

After landing, Bai Fu checked on every familiar face.

The good news was that everyone was safe. She shared the advanced knowledge Eron gave her with Youlia and then turned to look at Thessia, who was disguised as Elsa.

Thessia smiled without speaking.

Bai Fu nodded at her, sincerely expressing gratitude. While thanking her, she also gave Thessia a vision skill.

The feedback data showed that Thessia’s strength had just crossed the S-level threshold. This was actually Thessia’s special ability, allowing her to change her appearance and control her life intensity to disguise her strength.

But Thessia could disguise her strength, not her affinity.

The affinity system was originally designed to facilitate interactions between players and NPCs, enhancing the gaming experience for players. But in Bai Fu’s hands, it became a super cheat.

“Affinity 1?”

Bai Fu stared at the panel data, stunned.

The data wasn’t negative, which was good, but with only 1 point, it indicated many problems.

God, this doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a good person. She had to be more cautious.

Mentally, Bai Fu thought this, but on the surface, she acted very warmly, as if she wanted to hug Thessia and care for her.

After meeting everyone, Bai Fu retreated to her room to start writing a small story to blacken the secret tower.

In this article, she first revealed that the secret tower was secretly researching prototypes through their affiliated forces. However, she didn’t mention the name of the dissociative agent prototype, instead referring to it as a “mysterious object.” Then, she said this mysterious object was actually a living part taken from a certain life form.

So, from which life form did the secret tower take it?

At this point, Bai Fu showcased her talent for making things up.

[Actually, this is something taken from the Dark Domain Bug Queen by the master of the secret tower!]

[You ask why the master of the secret tower could take this from the Dark Domain Bug Queen?]

[What I want to say is that the truth is shocking. You might not believe it at first glance, but I must emphasize, this is the truth!]

[The truth is—]

[The master of the secret tower and the Dark Domain Bug Queen have a relationship! Yes, you read that right, a romantic relationship!]

[Maybe you think the Dark Domain bugs look ugly, but the master of the secret tower is not an ordinary person. To him, the Dark Domain Bug Queen is still beautiful!]

[If you think about recent events carefully, you’ll realize what I’m saying isn’t far-fetched. Remember the War on the Heavenly Lake Star? That war exposed the secret tower’s ability to manipulate floods and use brain bugs for remote delivery. Everyone was puzzled about how the secret tower achieved this, but now you should understand, right?]

[Because the master of the secret tower and the Dark Domain Bug Queen have that kind of relationship!]

[The Dark Domain Bug Queen is now firmly supporting the master of the secret tower. The things she gives him can help him cause terrifying floods across the Initial Gateway Star Cluster. By the way, there’s news that the secret tower got the True Essence Pillar. Whether this is true or false, I can’t judge, but the True Essence Pillar does indeed help the secret tower’s plans.]

Bai Fu excitedly wrote a long article, carefully revising it several times. After confirming the content was correct, she put the manuscript away satisfied.

Post?

Not now.

If the secret tower traced the article back to Ulysses, she would be targeted. That wouldn’t be good.

Bai Fu specifically assigned the top propagandist, Jiujiao, to carry a communication device set to automatically post the article to another galaxy. Once Jiujiao returned, the article would be posted.

This matched Bai Fu’s expectations. Due to the outrageous content, the article titled “Exposing the Secret Tower” quickly garnered massive attention.

[What the hell?]

[Is this even possible?]

Many people initially didn’t believe the article’s content, but after seeing Bai Fu’s analysis, particularly the part about the secret tower controlling floods, they began to believe it was possible. Otherwise, how could the Dark Domain bugs listen to the secret tower?

Damn, the secret tower had been plotting so many conspiracies behind the scenes.

The forces in the Initial Gateway Star Cluster, stirred by Bai Fu’s article, gathered together to prepare for a meeting to discuss how to respond to the secret tower’s attacks.

The secret tower’s reaction was also significant.

The Head Butler had thought that the rumor about the True Essence Pillar being in the secret tower’s possession was already a heavy-handed move by the Blessed Sect. He hadn’t expected there to be even more skilled individuals!

“Who wrote this? Who the hell wrote this?”

The master of the secret tower indeed had a relationship with the Dark Domain Bug Queen, but not of the intimate kind!

The Head Butler was almost driven to the brink of insanity.

He keenly sensed that the secret tower had encountered a new enemy because past attacks on the secret tower by civilizations in the galaxy cluster had never involved such outrageous but seemingly plausible rumors.

Birth!

He could already foresee the immense trouble this article would bring to the secret tower.

“Investigate, find out who wrote this article!”

…

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