Chapter 221

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Chapter 221: Villain’s Nightmare, White Fu’s Strategy for Bad Women [6k]

“Two glasses of lemonade, please.”

On the passenger ship, Bai Fu sat down with Youlia at the entrance of a beverage shop in the leisure square. She kept an eye on Scarlet Leaf and the others while flipping through the reports on the riots on Bese Star.

After several days of investigation, the Star Network released the results of their inquiry regarding the riots on Bese Star.

Even before the results were announced, many people online speculated that it must be the fault of the Tower of Secrets. It was understandable why everyone tended to blame the Tower of Secrets, given its recent activities which resulted in the deaths of countless innocent civilians.

Once the results were published, it became clear that the Tower of Secrets was indeed behind the riots!

The Star Network’s military doctors examined one hundred civilians who were arrested for participating in the riots. They found that these civilians had similar symptoms; their eyes were dull as if they had been up for days, but upon seeing normal people, their spirits would become as excited as bulls seeing red cloth. At this point, they were aggressive, bloodthirsty, and their bodies would consume large amounts of energy quickly. If not treated promptly, after a few bouts of excitement, they would suddenly die due to organ failure.

Due to this characteristic, the population on Bese Star decreased by nearly a third in just a few days.

Under normal circumstances, even if the Star Network discovered something wrong with these civilians, it would be difficult to immediately link them to the Tower of Secrets. But wasn’t Bai Fu around?

On the day she informed the Star Network about the parasites, experts conducted a comprehensive check on the Ulysses people. Although they didn’t figure out how to deal with the parasites, they managed to gather some data. Comparing the results from the civilians involved in the riots on Bese Star with this data, they had a 99.9% certainty that the riots were caused by the Tower of Secrets releasing the parasites.

The Star Network shared their findings with all allies, and a meeting was held where it was decided that hiding the truth was impossible. Rather than waiting for the Tower of Secrets to make a move, it was better to go public now. This way, it could also indirectly tell the public that although the Tower of Secrets was resourceful, they were not unprepared.

[We are confident we can quickly control the situation on Bese Star and develop a medication to eliminate the parasites!]

Although this was said, the entire Initial Gateway Star Cluster still fell into panic.

If you claim you can quickly develop a pesticide, what about those who get attacked before the pesticide is ready?

Faced with this panic, the Star Network and other forces could only intensify their pursuit of the Tower of Secrets and increase vigilance everywhere.

This strategy had limited effect because the Tower of Secrets had already deployed many parasites beforehand.

During the days Bai Fu spent traveling to meet Scarlet Leaf and the others, similar riots broke out across various locations, causing severe consequences.

The storm was coming, and no one knew the extent of the damage it would cause.

From Bai Fu’s perspective, this disaster should be easier to handle compared to the original scenario.

Without her intervention, the parasite disaster would likely have erupted in version 2.1 or 2.2. Now, it was moved to the end of version 1.4, advancing by at least three years.

Don’t underestimate these three years.

With three more years, the parasites created by the Tower of Secrets would be harder to deal with, and the number of parasites they had already released would be greater.

However, despite the reduced scale of the disaster, the combat capabilities of the Star Network and other forces were affected due to the early occurrence of the disaster.

When the game updates normally to version 2.1 or 2.2, there should be millions of level 50 players under the Star Network and other forces. These players would be very helpful in dealing with the Tower of Secrets. Now, however, they don’t have as many useful tools.

[We currently do not know what the true intentions of the Tower of Secrets are, but regardless of their intentions, we will never compromise in dealing with such an interstellar terrorist organization!]

[We suspect that the Tower of Secrets is now a puppet organization of the Dark Domain Bug Clan. We have applied to Titan Industries to send an investigation team.]

Bai Fu switched channels idly, watching news hosts either condemning the Tower of Secrets or calming anxious citizens.

As she flipped through the channels, she suddenly received an urgent call from Wei Ke.

“Something big has happened!”

After Wei Ke explained, Bai Fu understood the situation.

It turned out that when the Tower of Secrets initiated the riot, they also targeted Bai Fu and Dark Moon Tide Company.

Not long ago, the Tower of Secrets posted a bounty notice targeting Bai Fu, Youlia, Tessia, Anya, Xia Shi, and Wei Ke on a platform known for hosting many interstellar fugitives, totaling 40 million credit points.

The Tower of Secrets deliberately avoided Scarlet Leaf, perhaps not wanting to conflict with the Star Treaty. Compared to the Star Treaty, the Tower of Secrets was too weak.

After posting the bounty, the Tower of Secrets sent multiple small teams and controlled pirate groups to attack players on missions, resulting in thousands of player deaths.

Bai Fu knew exactly what the Tower of Secrets was up to.

“This is clearly to cut off my income!”

This impact wasn’t significant yet; failing a mission meant losing a bit of money according to the contract.

But if this happened repeatedly, Dark Moon Tide would lose a lot of potential clients. Losing clients meant players would run away, as they wouldn’t get missions and would fail them easily due to attacks from the Tower of Secrets. Why wait?

Once players fled to other factions, it would be much harder for her to extract experience and money from them. Slower upgrades meant becoming more dangerous.

“What the hell!”

Bai Fu was furious.

Even the Truth Society and the Gene Progenitor hadn’t done this to her. This wasn’t just a regular villain; this was trying to cut off her roots. She needed to take drastic action!

Bai Fu opened the detailed interface of the task to eliminate the Tower of Secrets. Unbeknownst to her, her contribution to the task had risen to 17.2%, close to one-fifth.

This was high, but not high enough in her view. Otherwise, the Tower of Secrets would still have the strength to pull off such schemes.

Ah~ My money!

Master of the Tower of Secrets, I won’t let you off, I’ll come for you, you wait!

“?

Youlia watched Bai Fu’s face change rapidly, almost like a steam girl. She waved her hand in front of Bai Fu’s face.

“Are you sick?”

You’re the one who’s sick.

Bai Fu impatiently pushed away Youlia’s hand, warning her that she’d take action if she kept moving.

“It seems we need to find a way to hit the Tower of Secrets hard.”

“How hard?”

“Recruit help!”

Bai Fu shook her communicator.

Confused, Youlia looked at her.

Soon, Bai Fu successfully contacted Lemang, the minister of the Initial Gateway Subcommittee of the Initial Gateway Star Cluster.

“I have something important to discuss with The Sworn One.”

Lemang was taken aback: “This might be inconvenient. The Sworn One has been quite busy lately…”

Bai Fu interrupted Lemang: “I have a way to promote Scarlet Leaf to Catastrophe Tier in a short time, but I’m facing some trouble now. After thinking, I believe only The Sworn One can help me solve these problems.”

What?

Lemang was shocked. Helping Scarlet Leaf reach Catastrophe Tier?

Regardless of whether Bai Fu had any secret relationship with The Sworn One, this alone was enough to warrant contacting The Sworn One despite the risk of being scolded. He desperately wanted progress.

“Hold on.”

Lemang quickly contacted Silver Zhu, the Secretary-General of the Star Treaty, relaying Bai Fu’s words.

Recently, the Grandmaster of the All-Souls Cult, Lucius, came to challenge The Sworn One. The Sworn One had previously lost to Lucius, so she was determined to win back and told everyone not to disturb her unless it was a major crisis.

Is this a major crisis?

Silver Zhu thought for a while and decided to inform The Sworn One. To her surprise, The Sworn One responded immediately without showing any anger.

Something’s not right. Although The Sworn One values Scarlet Leaf greatly, she isn’t that concerned. Could it be because of Bai Fu? Did The Sworn One secretly do something with Bai Fu?

Silver Zhu frowned. This matter needed serious attention to prevent The Sworn One from being deceived by unknown individuals.

Deceiving money was minor, but deceiving something else would be disastrous!

The reason The Sworn One reacted so quickly was partly due to Scarlet Leaf, but mainly because of the players.

Recently, she went to the Initial Gateway Subcommittee to get some players from Bai Fu. She originally wanted to study the immortality of players, but after bringing them back, she found they were much more interesting than expected.

Firstly, these players’ eyes were like rulers.

She discovered this during training. She hit the same spot twice on a testing instrument, and the analysis data hadn’t come out yet, but the players watching nearby accurately identified which punch had higher output and deeper damage, surprising her greatly.

Secondly, the players’ attitude towards her was intriguing.

Knowing she was one of the three Ultra-Class individuals in the Edge World, even the other two Ultra-Classes showed caution around her. However, these players neither feared nor respected her, sometimes comparing her unfavorably to Bai Fu, concluding she was inferior.

Interesting, are Bai Fu’s toes so appealing?

“Help me contact Bai Fu. I want to hear what she has in mind.”

Receiving the order, Silver Zhu didn’t dare delay and immediately contacted Bai Fu. Then, The Sworn One requested to join the chat.

“I am The Sworn One.” The Sworn One’s petite form appeared on the communicator, “I heard you have a way to promote Scarlet Leaf to Catastrophe Tier?”

Things were going smoother than expected, and Bai Fu breathed a sigh of relief.

“Here’s how it works. The Tower of Secrets has a special item called the Dissociative Medication Prototype. Collecting multiple prototypes can synthesize a special item that allows Scarlet Leaf to stably transform into a humanoid Void race [Prophet]. Without the burden of Void transformation, Scarlet Leaf can decide whether to ascend to Catastrophe Tier.”

While explaining, Bai Fu deliberately omitted the existence of the Dark Domain Bug Queen. This entity was too sensitive; she feared The Sworn One might impulsively kill the queen, and although she couldn’t kill the queen, an Ultra-Class like The Sworn One could. Killing the queen would sever the main storyline of the Dark Domain Bug Clan.

After explaining the method, Bai Fu discussed the current situation.

The situation wasn’t too bad. Although Scarlet Leaf and the others had chased for days without catching the pirate group carrying the prototype, the pirate group couldn’t shake them off either.

The situation was at a stalemate, and it remained to be seen when and how it would break. It depended on which side’s reinforcements arrived faster.

Originally, Bai Fu planned to attack the pirate group immediately after joining forces with Scarlet Leaf, snatch the prototype, and leave without hesitation.

To ensure success, she had players use the Phantom Fu Prayer Card to create the illusion that she was still on Blue Sky Star.

Now, she changed her plan.

If The Sworn One agreed to help, hide?

Hide nothing, just teleport and taunt!

Little master of the Tower of Secrets, I’m your daddy. I’m openly coming to grab your Dissociative Medication Prototype. Come and fight me if you dare!

Bai Fu intended to lure the Tower of Secrets into sending more people to attack her, then unleash The Sworn One to wreak havoc.

“Is the Tower of Secrets’ reinforcements arriving soon?”

The Sworn One looked troubled.

She wanted to help, as getting the prototype would allow Scarlet Leaf to ascend to Catastrophe Tier, and she could also ask Bai Fu about training players.

However, due to Lucius challenging her, she wasn’t at the Star Treaty headquarters.

Even if she rushed to Bai Fu’s location as fast as possible, it would take time. Being a martial artist, she had no idea how to use teleportation or build directional space channels.

Sigh, what bad timing. Why did Lucius choose this moment to challenge her? She never saw him looking for a fight otherwise.

After deep thought, The Sworn One finally came up with a compromise.

“I can’t make it here, but I have something that might help you.”

Hearing The Sworn One couldn’t make it, Bai Fu was disappointed, but after reading the description of the item sent over the network, she couldn’t help but laugh.

[Virtual Heart]

[Quality]: Red

[Item Description]: A control core made by a Catastrophe Tier virtual mechanic, reusable.

The effect of the Virtual Heart was straightforward: using it could forcibly seize control of nearby machinery without special protection.

With this, even if The Sworn One didn’t come, Bai Fu’s plan to trick the Tower of Secrets could continue.

After careful consideration, Bai Fu realized the Virtual Heart might be more effective than The Sworn One’s direct involvement.

If The Sworn One personally came, the Tower of Secrets would definitely not provoke her again. There was no way the Tower of Secrets would dare confront an Ultra-Class head-on.

But using the Virtual Heart was different. Even if the Tower of Secrets suffered once, they probably wouldn’t fear, but instead hate her even more, like after being beaten in the Jin Gu Star.

[Lowlife, if you have the guts, stop using underhanded tactics and fight us fair and square!]

Hey, that’s right. Bai Fu actually hoped the Tower of Secrets hated her.

Actively finding the Tower of Secrets’ hideout was troublesome. It would be easier to lure them to keep attacking her.

To make the Tower of Secrets attack more decisively, Bai Fu decided to show weakness in the upcoming battle—

by intentionally revealing the existence of He Fu, making the Tower of Secrets think she relied on He Fu to block the cannon.

Thus, after being tricked by the Virtual Heart, the Tower of Secrets would believe she was weak and relied on flashy gadgets, leading them to continue sending people to kill her.

Afterward, her task was simple: when the Tower of Secrets’ assassins arrived, she would barely defeat them, making the Tower of Secrets think they were close to succeeding, just needing a bit of luck, then continue sending assassins.

Bai Fu called this strategy “Trash Girl Tactics.”

By the time the Tower of Secrets realized, her contribution to eliminating the Tower of Secrets might have reached one-third.

Bai Fu thanked The Sworn One and ended the conversation, immediately informing Scarlet Leaf and Tessia of her plan.

Half a day later, the ship arrived at its destination.

As soon as she got off the ship, Bai Fu rented a small spacecraft from a nearby rental company to meet Scarlet Leaf and the others.

“The Black Flute Pirate Group’s ship isn’t very fast, but its maneuverability is excellent. That’s why we couldn’t catch up with it even after chasing for days.”

Scarlet Leaf was furious, immediately complaining to Bai Fu when she saw her.

Bai Fu waved her hand: “Don’t worry, their good days are over.”

She opened her communicator, selected the Virtual Heart sent by The Sworn One, and stealthily seized control of the Black Flute Pirate Group’s ship without them noticing.

The next second, the cockpit of the ship rang with sharp alarms.

“Unknown ship detected ahead! Unknown ship detected ahead!”

“What?”

Daken, the leader of the Black Flute Pirate Group, changed color.

Four days ago, he had contacted the Tower of Secrets, hoping for rescue. Instead, the attackers’ reinforcements arrived first.

But something even more unexpected happened soon.

The unknown ship approached rapidly, attempting to board. With great effort and relying on the ship’s excellent maneuverability and a bit of luck, he managed to dodge, but as the ships passed, he saw someone familiar standing behind the transparent observation window of the other ship—

Bai Fu!

Why is Bai Fu here? Isn’t she on Blue Sky Star?

Daken had no time to ponder the reasons. Panicked, he urgently contacted the Tower of Secrets, reporting the incident.

Upon receiving the message, the Master of the Tower of Secrets was shocked.

Was the Bai Fu on Blue Sky Star a fake?

Yes, that must be it!

Crafty villains!

Fortunately, Daken managed to escape instead of being caught, or they would have been manipulated completely.

The enraged Master of the Tower of Secrets immediately decided to take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate Bai Fu.

“Deep Abyss Stalkers seen on Ulysses Star, four S+ grades, plus one Catastrophe Tier from the Tide Star System. This lineup is quite impressive.”

The Master of the Tower of Secrets and Daken never imagined Bai Fu had seized control of the Black Flute Pirate Group’s ship and overheard their conversation.

Even with the Virtual Heart’s assistance, the Catastrophe Tier Bai Fu was still unbeatable, but it wasn’t a problem. If she couldn’t beat them, she wouldn’t fight.

What, you mean if the Catastrophe Tier pursues relentlessly?

Bai Fu has her ways!

…

Two days later, near the asteroid belt of the Red Ring Star in the Celestial Sea.

Sintrurion, one of the four Catastrophe Tiers of the Tower of Secrets, stood in the ship’s cockpit, amusedly watching the rotating Bai Fu figurine in his palm.

He had bought this figurine on the way to meet the Black Flute Pirate Group after receiving a message from the Master of the Tower of Secrets.

“Sintrurion, we’ve arrived at the rendezvous point with the Black Flute Pirate Group.”

At that moment, one of the pilots suddenly shouted.

Sintrurion’s face twisted into a cruel smile: “Good, now we just need to wait for the Black Flute Pirate Group to bring Bai Fu over.”

He crushed the Bai Fu figurine in his hand, watching the powder slip through his fingers.

This was how Bai Fu’s fate would be sealed!

The fragmented asteroid belt was a decent burial ground for Bai Fu.

Sintrurion nodded inwardly.

As the powder slipped completely, he turned to pour himself a drink when the ship’s AI suddenly appeared.

[Target location set, entering autopilot mode]

Then, the ship began to move away from the asteroid belt.

“?”

Everyone on the ship was stunned.

Autopilot?

Didn’t it just enter docking mode?

Sintrurion scanned the surroundings, and everyone he looked at stood up.

“It wasn’t me, I didn’t do anything.”

“Me neither.”

“It was the ship that started itself.”

Sintrurion growled: “Is this the time to shirk responsibility? Stop the ship, return to the original position.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Then, the pilot realized the ship was out of control. No matter how they operated it, the ship refused to listen, continuing to head toward the preset destination.

“What is the destination?” Sintrurion asked.

“It’s… a small black hole.”

Damn it!

Sintrurion panicked instantly.

Stop, stop now!

He rushed to the control panel and pounded it, but it was useless. The ship was already at full speed, having traveled far in a short time. Even if he destroyed the entire ship and flew through space with his body, it would take a long time to return to the rendezvous point with the Black Flute Pirate Group. In terms of speed, he wasn’t qualified to compete with the ship.

“Who the hell did this?”

Unfazed by Bai Fu’s teasing, she secretly set a self-destruct countdown for the ship.

“Great, Sintrurion has been lured away by the ship. Now we can deal with the others.”

Bai Fu’s smile was chilling.

“…”

Youlia already imagined how furious Sintrurion would be when he saw Bai Fu obliterate their people.

Wishing him good health of heart and mind.

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