Chapter 59

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Chapter 59: Suffering for Gangs, a Good Name to Bear [Combined]

The morning breeze blew, and the barking dogs echoed through the streets.

As the sun rose higher, the sleeping Lynn Settlement gradually came to life.

Bai Fu drove straight towards the residence of Jiujiao, the excavation girl, with the quest issuer from the Silent Courtyard and the new merchant Anya sitting in the passenger seat.

After turning a few corners, the silhouette of the inn appeared in their view. Bai Fu’s keen eyes spotted several players who had arrived yesterday scattered outside the inn.

When she parked the car, those players also noticed her presence.

“Holy crap, it’s Bai Fu!”

The players who were chatting just turned around, their faces filled with undisguised joy.

They originally thought they needed to unlock an advanced profession to see Bai Fu again, but Bai Fu had unexpectedly shown up on her own.

Quickly, start streaming so other players who can’t come to Lynn can envy us!

After getting out of the car, Bai Fu didn’t rush to let Anya give these players quests because doing so would make it seem like she needed them desperately. Once players formed this perception, it would be harder for her to freely exploit them in the future.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Are you here looking for Jiujiao too?” She paused, then suddenly said to the player standing at the front, “Long time no see. If I remember correctly, we once fought off the Bug Tide at the Scrapped Cooling Plant together, and your nickname was ‘Super Big Melon Peel’.”

“What the hell!”

Super Big Melon Peel was startled.

He never imagined Bai Fu could remember his name. At that time, there were hundreds of players fighting alongside Bai Fu.

Could it be that Fu really has feelings for me…

Just as this thought arose, Super Big Melon Peel heard Bai Fu’s voice again.

“Your nickname is ‘Noisy Ball Pepper’… yes, I remember you, ‘Eat Not Oil Pancake’…”

So, Fu really remembered all the names of the players who fought alongside her.

Super Big Melon Peel felt a wave of disappointment, but quickly he felt it was incredible.

In general games, NPCs wouldn’t even remember their names, and after completing tasks, their attitudes might instantly change.

No, actually, this kind of experience is unique in Above the Stars. Besides Bai Fu, who would provide such emotional value by giving players memorials?

While the players present were emotionally charged, the players watching the live stream also cheered.

[Please players, make your nicknames more human-like .jpg]

[I get it, next time I’ll change my nickname to ‘I Like You, Man’]

[WTF, taking advantage, huh?]

[It’s amazing how Bai Fu can recite these names without cracking a smile]

Just as everyone was chatting, Jiujiao suddenly walked out of the room.

“Fu Fu!”

Bai Fu turned her head to look at her, then looked apologetically at the players surrounding her.

“I’m very sorry, but I have urgent matters to discuss with Jiujiao. We’ll talk later.”

With that, she took Anya upstairs, leaving the players downstairs to watch with envious and jealous eyes.

How annoying!

They were the ones who first talked to Bai Fu, and they were chatting happily when Jiujiao appeared, only for Bai Fu to leave.

Is this the benefit of intervening early in the plot and increasing affinity?

This feeling of being snatched away is truly unpleasant. What’s even worse is that every time they close their eyes, they can imagine Bai Fu giving Jiujiao new quests in her room, which makes them feel utterly defeated.

If they had arrived in Lynn a few days earlier, wouldn’t they be enjoying this treatment now?

“Ah ah ah—”

The expressions of the players downstairs fell right into Bai Fu’s eyes. She chuckled inwardly. She purposely chose this moment when Jiujiao and these players were both present.

Most players have a competitive mindset, especially those who arrived early in the morning. Seeing Jiujiao having such a good time, they must be eager to show off themselves.

At that point, she won’t even need to speak; these players will come over themselves, begging her to give them quests. After receiving the quests, they will surely be more motivated to perform well.

In short, she would let them wait a bit longer.

Bai Fu withdrew her gaze, “Are you the only one here today?”

Jiujiao asked, “Should I call the others over?”

Bai Fu replied, “No need. Just pass on the message to them later. I came here for an important matter. Your performance yesterday earned the approval of Sìchù, and they agreed to let you continue participating in their operations as non-regular members. The next operation will be conducted within a week at the latest.

This operation is extremely important, not just for Sìchù but for me as well. There may be a way to further restore my strength there. However, the task difficulty is also high, so you should prepare yourselves mentally. If you want to exit due to emergencies, please inform me in advance.”

Restoring strength further?

Hearing this, Jiujiao had no intention of backing out. She felt that all her efforts had finally earned Bai Fu’s trust. Previously, Bai Fu would never have proactively shared her situation with her.

Jiujiao immediately patted her chest, vowing to succeed.

“Okay.” Bai Fu smiled, “Then I’ll leave for now. I’ll come back and discuss the details later if I have time.”

She left, and before she could even descend the stairs, the group of players downstairs rushed over.

Although they didn’t know what Bai Fu had discussed with Jiujiao, it must have been important. Otherwise, Jiujiao wouldn’t be smiling so joyfully.

They couldn’t sit still. If they waited until they unlocked advanced professions to find Bai Fu, it might be too late.

“Fu Fu, Fu Fu, look at me, I can help you too.”

“Indeed, Fu Fu. We were comrades-in-arms. Can you not trust me?”

“The bonuses of advanced professions are significant, but strength isn’t just about paper data. It’s also about combat skills.”

A group of players stared eagerly.

Bai Fu saw that the atmosphere was ripe, so she said, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but what I’m doing is dangerous. Jiujiao also passed my test… How about this, I’ll give you a different test. If you pass this test, I’ll recommend you to Sìchù.”

She gestured to Anya to give the players a quest.

[New Test]: If you can eliminate the gangs in Lynn, Bai Fu will recognize your strength. Do your best to prove yourself!

Upon reading the quest content, the players were ecstatic.

They had merely tried to surround Bai Fu, but Bai Fu had actually changed the test content.

There were no level restrictions; instead, they were asked to fight monsters. With luck, they might complete the quest today, thereby securing a spot on the last train with Bai Fu.

Great! Such considerate NPCs like Bai Fu are rare nowadays!

“I’ll go right away!”

A few excited players immediately ran off.

The remaining players began to seriously think about it.

The difficulty of the task wasn’t low. The gang members weren’t much higher in level than them, but the gangs had guns. If they charged in without preparation, they would likely be shot dead, losing experience for nothing.

Indeed, they still need to find a way to get some guns.

But if they targeted the gangs and tried to buy guns from them, wouldn’t it lower Bai Fu’s affinity?

“Do you have any difficulties?” Bai Fu asked kindly.

Super Big Melon Peel scratched his head awkwardly, “Fu Fu, do you know where in Lynn we can buy guns?”

Bai Fu pondered.

All the surrounding players became tense. Bai Fu had given them a test quest, but ultimately they still needed her help, which was somewhat embarrassing.

Luckily, Bai Fu didn’t show any unusual expression, “Sìchù has a batch of discarded guns. They’re usable, but not as good as new ones.”

“Usable is fine!”

“Better than nothing.”

Bai Fu said, “Since that’s the case, I’ll talk to Sìchù. Those guns are going to be destroyed anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem to sell them at a discount.”

The surrounding players cheered.

Only Bai Fu would do this. Other NPCs would probably tell them to “get lost.”

Bai Fu drove away and returned about an hour later, accompanied by Anya, Xia Shi, and a bunch of guns.

When Xia Shi first heard Bai Fu wanted to sell the discarded guns, she thought Bai Fu had gone mad.

These guns were unwanted by Sìchù, who had previously tried to sell them cheaply to scavengers, but the scavengers were smart enough to prefer buying new guns rather than these potentially defective ones.

Reluctantly, Sìchù handed the guns over to Xia Shi, a mechanical engineer, to handle.

But seeing the players gather around, Xia Shi realized she had made a mistake.

“Durability is down to 3/4, but the price is only 280 credits, less than half of a new gun. Wow, that’s cheap.”

“This one is down to 1/4 durability, but the price… Holy cow, only 100? Even if I lose them, I won’t mind. I’ll buy three and switch them out!”

In an instant, Xia Shi realized each player had bought at least two guns from her. Including the money from selling bullets, she earned over 10,000 credits in one go. Bai Fu had mentioned there were over sixty buyers like this, meaning she could earn 50,000 credits, even after splitting half with Bai Fu, it was still much higher than her base salary.

Even Xia Shi, who didn’t care much about money, had her eyes brighten. She looked at Bai Fu as if she were a deity. Where did Bai Fu find such a group of buyers?

Ha!

Bai Fu smirked. If she were selling, she would have more tricks up her sleeve for the players.

For example, selling the same weapons she used, offering weapon lottery bags, accumulating points for purchases, and requiring a certain number of points to buy higher-grade weapons. There would always be a move to empty the players’ pockets, yet they wouldn’t curse her as a greedy merchant afterward.

Like now, she and Xia Shi only spent some time and made a fortune, but in the players’ eyes, they were like saviors.

“Thanks to Bai Fu and Xia Shi, otherwise we wouldn’t know how to complete this quest.”

“I think Xia Shi is beautiful and kind-hearted.”

“Let’s go, kill those gang members and bring peace back to Lynn!”

The players who bought guns went off to fight the local gangs enthusiastically.

Bai Fu watched these players leave with a smile. Once these players eliminated the local gangs, the guns they held would be almost useless. To participate in the new operation, they would need to buy new guns.

Considering the gangs were wiped out and the black market suffered a severe blow, they could only buy guns from Xia Shi. When that happened, she would put the guns taken from the gangs on display, making another profit from the players.

Since these guns were stolen, she could set a lower price and boost player affinity.

Victory!

Bai Fu stood with Xia Shi downstairs for two hours. During this time, more players came to take quests and buy guns. She told these players to buy more guns from Xia Shi’s workshop if they wanted to, then she took Xia Shi and Anya back.

She ordered a power armor from Xia Shi using the money she won from the darknet, and to get the power armor sooner, she couldn’t waste Xia Shi’s time anymore.

Just selling things, she could delegate to Anya.

As for herself, she watched the players in Lynn conduct anti-gang operations while secretly infiltrating the gangs to gather information.

The gangs in Lynn were bewildered.

Not long ago, a group of tough guys came to borrow money, putting them on edge. Now, another group of ruthless people showed up, ready to eliminate them without hesitation.

Don’t you know we have backing?

It was futile.

These people ignored them completely.

Having backing doesn’t mean they can take more bullets, does it?

Within a short period, the gangs in Lynn faced a devastating blow. Except for a few who fled quickly, the rest were crushed by the players, bringing peace to Lynn.

This shook the managers of Lynn.

The gangs existed partly because of the chaotic state of affairs and partly because someone was colluding with them. Now that the gangs were eliminated, those behind-the-scenes backers couldn’t stay silent. They hurriedly found people to persuade Sìchù to intervene in the players’ affairs.

Sìchù originally intended to intervene but abandoned the idea upon learning the players were connected to Bai Fu.

“You deal with it yourself!”

Given Bai Fu’s combat capabilities, who would risk provoking her for a bunch of gangsters?

Three days later, as most players had accumulated enough experience to unlock advanced professions, Bai Fu nodded in satisfaction.

She had the players fight the local gangs not just to increase their affinity and gain credit, but also to enhance their strength.

Sìchù had obtained no useful intelligence from interrogating Li Cheng, so their next plan was to join forces with the army of the Gene Progenitor to launch a raid on the Truth Society stronghold they had previously scouted.

Bai Fu planned to join this operation.

After defeating the second wave of assassins, she accepted a plot quest to eliminate the Truth Society, titled “Truth Unknown.”

This was a great opportunity to score points, but for safety reasons, she planned to bring more players along to assist. Although the players’ strength might not significantly impact the battle, they could serve as cannon fodder. Therefore, she needed to help them improve their strength as much as possible before the operation began, so Sìchù wouldn’t hesitate to bring these players along.

“Bai Fu, someone from headquarters is coming over!”

That evening, Bai Fu received Xia Shi’s notification.

PS: There’s one more chapter. I didn’t deliberately delay the plot, or I wouldn’t have needed to double up on the 1st. But after this plot, there will be a new mini-climax ahead.

Thank you to Xibingyingyue for becoming a lord, and to Xianyumabingtingzhi, Tangtang, and Yunluo Bu Cuo De for their generous donations.

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