Chapter 3

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Chapter 3 That Sudden Light

Despite Anya’s reluctance, under Bai Fu’s insistence, her hair was dyed a beautiful silver-white.

She squatted down in the sunlight, feeling aggrieved.

“One, two, three…”

She was counting the credits, one by one, and after finishing, she started to count on her fingers.

“Looks like I’ll be having porridge every day from now on.”

Bai Fu’s lips curled up.

She didn’t come here just to eat porridge. If she had to drink porridge both before and after crossing over, wasn’t that a waste of her crossing over?

She patted Anya’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, as long as we start acting, everything will get better!”

If not for the lack of money, she would have wanted to dress herself and Anya up as the “Yin-Yang Duo.”

[Bai Fu: White fur, black outfit.]

[Anya: Black hair, white outfit.]

With them standing in front of the player, if they couldn’t manipulate the player like Tom, she would eat the player right then!

After comforting Anya, it was time to get to business.

But where should they go to improve the player’s affinity?

The Settlement of the Abandoned Cooling Plant was unexpectedly large, making it very difficult to randomly find a player worth saving on the streets.

Therefore, while dyeing her hair, Bai Fu opened the game community [Star Community], found the section for the Abandoned Cooling Plant, hoping to find some useful information.

The community was bustling with activity, players actively sharing their experiences.

[Brothers, I made a god-like face, but when I entered the game, I got caught. How do I delete and restart? Waiting online, urgently needed.]

[I give up, why bind gender? I want to play as a female!]

[Negative review, the game clearly modeled OO, but the underwear provided can’t be taken off.]

[Looking for an 18+ patch, good people live long lives.]

Bai Fu rolled her eyes.

Ignoring these silly players, she continued searching for a rescue target.

In principle, there were four types she wouldn’t save.

Professional players wouldn’t be saved because they were too specialized; she couldn’t solve the tricky situations they faced.

Smart players wouldn’t be saved either because they were too clever; interacting with them put too much pressure on her and could easily expose her, undoing all her hard work.

Warrior-type players wouldn’t be saved because they were too ruthless; their minds were filled with “fight! fun!”, and if they noticed her health bar, they might attack her.

Jokers wouldn’t be saved because they were too unpredictable; their thoughts were like Schrödinger’s cat, impossible to predict until they acted.

Bai Fu switched between the community forum and live stream sections until she came out of the barber shop, finding an interesting target.

In a livestream titled “[Stroll Simulator] From Zero to Tour the Stars: Abandoned Cooling Plant Edition,” a player called [Jiujiao] was streaming.

She wandered through the abandoned cooling plant’s streets, occasionally exclaiming things like “Ah, this light, ah, this water.”

To be honest, she didn’t have much going on, but her livestream had already broken through a thousand viewers.

A few players joined to look at the scenery, most came to map the area; if someone was helping for free, why not learn?

Aside from those looking at the scenery or mapping, the rest were jokers. Although Jiujiao didn’t have much content, her live stream was full of action.

[Damn, someone is fighting over there, using bricks to hit each other in the crotch!]

[Watched, the impact feels weak.]

[Certify the previous as pure old-style.]

[Little black, you think the impact is weak? Find me one that isn’t.]

[What impact?]

Bai Fu only glanced briefly at these entertaining comments, focusing more on the comments from long-time fans.

From these comments, she learned that Jiujiao was a YouTuber who specialized in game videos.

Due to poor gaming skills, Jiujiao could only attract followers by making videos like “Stroll Simulator,” “Game Archaeology,” and “New Game Digging.”

However, after making videos for two and a half years, she hadn’t gained many followers.

There were already many high-quality YouTubers doing game archaeology videos, and newbies couldn’t stand out without innovation.

In terms of exploring new games, she couldn’t say she failed, but she certainly went overboard.

Jiujiao’s specialty was overly interpreting game data.

She could always derive a story as grand as the Three Kingdoms from fragmented game information.

“Let’s see about that!”

This was Jiujiao’s catchphrase.

At first, the audience believed her, thinking this character was really important, and this plot was truly amazing.

But after a while, the game planner would prove otherwise with actions, saying, “Sis, we didn’t intend so much!”

Repeatedly, Jiujiao’s new game exploration column cooled down.

But she was persistent.

She felt it wasn’t her fault, but the world’s!

As she put it:

I just haven’t encountered a game that resonates with my soul yet. Once such a game appears, I will use my burning spear to pierce through all the mockery from the past.

Most players’ evaluations were:

Looks like she’s having another bout of immaturity!

Watching Jiujiao wander around, Bai Fu suddenly smiled in relief.

A game novice + not smart + overly interprets + currently live streaming.

This was exactly what she was looking for.

Huh, woman, you’ve successfully piqued my interest!

Bai Fu originally thought about hiring someone to cause trouble for Jiujiao and then stepping in to help, but soon realized it was unnecessary.

Because Jiujiao was walking down a difficult path.

In the simple-minded Abandoned Cooling Plant, there was a 90% chance of encountering at least one road bully on such paths.

Indeed, after entering a cluttered alley, Jiujiao was stopped by a burly man in a tank top.

“Huh?”

Bai Fu was slightly stunned.

Didn’t this burly man stand behind the guy who punched her a couple of days ago?

Not particularly strong, nothing to fear.

Fate, buddy!

Bai Fu felt this was a great opportunity for revenge and redemption.

“Anya, let’s go, we have work!”

…

In the alleyway.

Looking at the burly man with a comic book vibe, Jiujiao’s heart sank.

Like DIO forgetting how many slices of bread he ate, as a game YouTuber, she also forgot how many dangers she faced in the game.

Last week, she was beaten by monsters in a dark mental hospital for five hundred rounds.

The night before, she played a horror game similar to P.T.

Given her courage, normally a human burly man wouldn’t scare her.

Yet, she was scared, paralyzed like she was hit by a monkey’s paralyzing spell.

It wasn’t her fault; it was the game’s realism.

Everything was incredibly realistic!

This game was officially released six months ago, with a modest promotional effort, but its slogan caught many people’s attention.

What was this breathing universe, and 99% ultra-realism, truly tantalizing.

Many thought it was electronic fraud, and Jiujiao initially agreed until she critically entered the game and realized those early testers weren’t fake.

99%?

100%!

This was undoubtedly a revolutionary game.

Those unaware might think it was a real world disguised with UI elements!

It was this invincible realism that made Jiujiao instinctively fear the big man blocking her way.

If she died, could she really resurrect?

“I can’t tell, I really can’t tell!”

At this moment, the burly man spoke.

“Out-of-towner?”

“I…”

“Looks like it, ha, today’s luck is really good, just stepped out and met an out-of-towner.” The burly man grinned, showing his yellow-stained teeth.

Jiujiao was extremely nervous.

“What do you want?”

“What do you think I want? Of course, I’m going to catch you for a reward. You outsiders offended the Wildfire Gang right away, truly impressive!”

The burly man couldn’t help but sigh.

When facing the Wildfire Gang, these outsiders showed no fear, not only stealing their supplies but also threatening them after being blocked, saying something like “You’re done, dare to provoke us and you’re done, there’s no one in heaven or earth who can save you.”

It was like a banknote counter malfunctioning — no denomination!

The burly man pulled out a sack and put it over Jiujiao’s head without a word.

“Hey, hey, you… Help, help!”

Darkness enveloped, and Jiujiao struggled desperately, but with only 3 strength points, she couldn’t escape.

“Shout, even if you scream till your throat breaks, it won’t help!” Thinking of the high bounty offered by the Wildfire Gang, the burly man chuckled.

At this classic line, the players in the livestream couldn’t hold it in anymore.

[Get ready!]

[Am I in the wrong stream? Where’s the strolling simulator?]

[The local customs here are really simple.]

[Abandoned Cooling Plant, also known as Alien Brother Tan.]

Among the laughter, a clear, pleasant, yet authoritative voice suddenly echoed in the livestream.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

The burly man let go of Jiujiao and turned around.

Seizing the opportunity, Jiujiao finally removed the sack, leaning against a rotten wooden crate to stand up unsteadily.

Blocked by the burly man, she had to step sideways.

With this move, the scorching sun poured into her eyes, and she hurriedly raised her hand to shield her forehead.

Wow, so dazzling!

After a while, she gradually adapted to the sudden brightness.

She saw it, saw a girl standing against the light.

Gentle sunlight outlined the girl in gold, and a breeze blew through, gently lifting the girl’s silvery-white hair like silk.

The wind came so skillfully.

It traveled through the narrow alley, bypassed the cluttered debris, and finally struck Jiujiao’s brow straight.

Already dazed, Jiujiao involuntarily opened her mouth wide.

At this moment, she felt she could answer a question asked many years ago.

“Do you believe in light?”

“I do!”

“I do!”

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