Chapter 135: Main-line Settlement, the World’s Top Super Bai Fu Makes Her Debut
While everyone was busy contacting others over the death of the Truth Society President and the arrest of Benardo, Bai Fu dragged the weakened Yulia back a few steps, retreating behind the group to start tallying the gains from this grand operation.
First was the kill reward.
After taking down the Truth Society President, her solo incursion into the main base of the Truth Society yielded 3.2 million XP purely from enemy kills and additional kill bonuses from the faction mission. The decapitation action from the faction mission earned her another 1.2 million XP—enough to level up two more times.
But experience rewards were by far the least noteworthy part of this operation.
Bai Fu first opened the settlement screen for the 【Elegy of the Watchers】 Branch 2: 【Guardian Angel】 quest.
This quest required her to rescue Yulia, which had been the primary objective of her infiltration into the main base of the Truth Society.
To complete this quest, she had invested a great deal of time and energy. Half a month’s worth of Prayer Cards she had painstakingly crafted—some were handed out to the Players who had followed Su Li to gang up on the Truth Society, while the rest had been entirely consumed during this operation. The cost had been anything but small.
She hoped the quest reward would be generous.
Bai Fu enlarged the settlement screen. The rewards for the quest were threefold:
500,000 XP.
Potential Awakening Potion (Yulia Version) *3.
A random skill or talent of Yulia.
Bai Fu looked through them one by one.
She wasn’t too concerned about XP anymore. After uncovering the true identity of the Truth Society President, she had received a Blank Memory Fragment from the quest reward, allowing her to create another new instance within the faction. Combined with the original instance, it was enough to harvest another large wave from the Players.
Upon seeing the second reward, she couldn't hold back her excitement. She knew the Potential Awakening Potion well—the Truth Society President had used it to activate his final phase. Using this potion permanently increased one’s Stats.
“Good, good, good—three whole doses at once!”
Bai Fu was overjoyed. When the third reward came into view, she suddenly turned her head and locked her eyes on Yulia, unable to hide the burning intensity in her gaze.
She had been coveting Yulia’s skills like Yulia had been coveting her body—it wasn’t just a day or two. But she had never found a chance to steal-learn them. Over time, she’d assumed she’d never get a chance to learn Yulia’s skills again. Who would’ve thought that rescuing Yulia would finally give her the opportunity?
Damn it, just one time? How could one time ever be enough?
She did a quick calculation. She would need at least six chances to barely squeeze Yulia dry.
Where’s the Developer? Developer, get out here and save her!
Bai Fu was nearly frantic over not being able to get more meat, but at least this was a successful breakthrough. With this first taste of success, she could follow this path and repeat it. Eventually, with enough runs, she was bound to extract some good stuff from Yulia.
This reward was just too delicious, people!
Yulia had no idea what Bai Fu was thinking. She only knew that Bai Fu’s burning gaze was scalding her, nearly melting her on the spot.
Wait, was that a look of a predator? Wasn’t that a bit too aggressive?
Yulia had seriously misunderstood.
Just as she was about to say something, Bai Fu abruptly turned her head back and began cheerfully drawing her skill and talent.
Yulia: “……”
Bai Fu silently prayed: “My turn, draw a card!”
【Drawing a random skill or talent from Yulia】
【Draw complete】
【You obtained Yulia’s skill: Sky Burial】
Sky Burial was that large-area annihilation skill mastered by Yulia. It was upgradeable, and even at Lv1, its maximum coverage radius was 10 meters. It had a chance of stunning targets, and once it hit, it inflicted base Psionic damage equal to (Inspiration * 1).
This base damage bonus was similar to Dark Burn. The difference was that Sky Burial only dealt one burst of damage and couldn’t reduce the target’s Stats. However, it had a wide attack range and, because it didn’t require switching to Psionic attributes temporarily, it had a short cooldown and could be used repeatedly. The only restriction was that spamming it would trigger Overheat, extending the cooldown to 1 minute.
“Good stuff!”
Actually, what Bai Fu wanted even more was Yulia’s Psionic Field. That could bounce back enemies and their attacks. Even if it didn’t bounce, it significantly reduced damage. For someone like her who kept stacking bulk, it was the perfect skill.
But Sky Burial wasn’t bad either. With it, she finally filled the gap in her area-of-effect damage. She now felt more like a world-class BOSS capable of mass exterminating Players.
“Attack radius of 10 meters at Lv1, casting range of 30 meters. At Lv5, it jumps to 30 meters radius and 50 meters range. And it can keep leveling up. Truly a skill worthy of Yulia—though the XP required per level is quite steep.”
Bai Fu nearly wanted to join the Players in going crazy for Yulia.
【Sis, please issue me another quest. I can’t take it anymore, I’m begging you, sis. I feel like ants are crawling all over me. Hurry, hurry!】
After settling 【Guardian Angel】, Bai Fu moved on to the quest she had picked up in the main base of the Truth Society: 【Fall of the Truth Society】.
She had made many direct and indirect contributions to the dismantling of the Truth Society. Unfortunately, most of the Truth Society’s upper echelon hadn’t died by her hand. So she didn’t gain much from 【Fall of the Truth Society】—just some XP and items.
【Psionic Enhancement Potion (Yulia Version)】*5.
This potion temporarily increased Psionic by 35 points for 5 minutes. Not bad.
Bai Fu finally set her sights on the storyline quest she had accepted long ago: 【Truth Unknown】.
Before this operation, her combined direct and indirect contribution to dismantling the Truth Society was at 22.61%. Now, that number had jumped to 62.15%.
That matched her expectations. After the Gene Primordials and the other major factions had crushed the Truth Society’s main forces on the front lines and killed the real body of the Truth Society President, the society was basically finished. This meant the contribution she gained from killing the President herself was significantly lower than usual.
But overall, she still profited. If she hadn’t shared intel with the Railway Guild and the Gene Primordials to help them pin down the Truth Society’s main force, she wouldn’t have had the chance to assassinate the President after stirring chaos in the main base. Without that kill, this quest wouldn’t have been completed.
Actually, she could raise her contribution rate even further if she joined the mop-up of the remaining Truth Society forces. That might earn her a few more percentage points.
But she wasn’t interested in those. The priority was to grab the rewards!
【Quest Rating: Legendary (You participated deeply in the storyline and delivered the most dazzling performance on the stage of the Truth Society’s downfall. You are worthy of the title Moonlight Dancer!)】
A Legendary rating demanded a Legendary reward.
“12 million XP!”
Holy crap!
Even Bai Fu, the white-robed harvest demon who reaped Players like wheat, felt her heart tremble at such a massive number. Counting her previously saved XP, plus another million or so, she could easily level her Psionic Illustrator class by 6 whole levels. That would officially make her single-class level surpass the Truth Society President’s.
Unless Origin Star still had a hidden super powerhouse, then—
“I’m freaking invincible now!”
Bai Fu’s eyes sparkled.
Right after invincibility comes the heavenly challenger.
“Calm down, calm down. Let’s see the other rewards first.”
Bai Fu continued scrolling down. There were still three more rewards: the title 【Truth’s Bane】, a 【Selectable Psionic Equipment Blueprint*1】, and a special item 【Gene Optimization】.
All three were exceptional items.
【Truth’s Bane】, as a unique S-rank title from the Newbie Village, increased all her base Stats by 5%. Even in the late stages of the game, this boost would still be relevant.
The 【Selectable Psionic Equipment Blueprint】 referred to gear used by Psionic Class Esper-type professions. This didn’t mean other Esper professions couldn’t use it at all—they could, but they wouldn’t be able to harness the full effect of Psionic Equipment.
There were three blueprint choices for the quest reward:
【1. Deception Cube】
【2. Custom Psionic Binding Suit (Titan)】
【3. Shadow Staff】
Bai Fu skimmed through them. The Deception Cube was an illusion-control type equipment. The Custom Psionic Binding Suit (Titan) was similar to the Combat Suit she currently wore, just with better bonuses. The “Titan” in parentheses referred to the universe-scale faction Titan Industries, mentioned on the official website. The Shadow Staff was a weapon—a staff that could freely switch between ranged and melee modes.
After a long moment of deliberation, she selected the 【Shadow Staff Blueprint】. The Deception Cube didn’t benefit her much, and the Binding Suit wasn’t essential—she could always replace it with a Combat Suit crafted by a Mechanic. The Shadow Staff would be a perfect replacement for her increasingly unwieldy Electric Knife.
She could sell the retired Electric Knife to Players later. Bai Fu certified. 99% new. Buy now or cry later!
After adding the blueprint to the game’s Compendium, Bai Fu opened the detailed explanation for Gene Optimization.
As the name implied, using this item would optimize her genes. Upon completion, her race and Template would change—from Human (Blood of Evolution) to Star-Adaptive Human.
According to the item description, Star-Adaptive Humans were a type of New Human. In the setting of Beyond the Stars, humans occupied vast regions of the universe. However, humans from different factions varied greatly due to differences in culture, living conditions, and powers mastered. As a result, humanity had evolved in numerous directions—possibly no fewer than the many-branching Insectoid race.
Star-Adaptive Humans were among the most basic evolutionary branches. They evolved from the ancestors of the universe-scale faction Rebirth Empire, after being forced from their home planet into deep space due to long-range assaults by advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. Star-Adaptive Humans had no special talents but boasted better physical condition and higher resistance compared to ordinary humans on Origin Star, making them more suited to living in deep space environments.
This evolution had only benefits and no downsides for Bai Fu.
In this world, evolution was the eternal theme—whether it was the evolution of individuals or civilizations. It never stopped. The moment one stagnated, they risked being wiped out by more advanced “individuals” or “civilizations.”
Although the operating rules of Beyond the Stars weren’t as grim as the Dark Forest Theory, they weren’t far off either. The game’s official lore even mentioned that interstellar versions of the Triangle Trade were still common in the current universe.
“Evolving into a Star-Adaptive Human… would this count as getting early access to the interstellar version?”
Though deeply intrigued by evolution, Bai Fu didn’t immediately use the Gene Optimization item. There were still many people around. If something went wrong mid-process, the injured Yulia wouldn’t be able to protect her.
“Let’s go. We’re heading back to the main base of the Truth Society.”
Bai Fu carried Yulia on her back.
Yulia was completely lost. “Why are we going back?”
“I left some things behind there. Now’s the perfect chance to go get them.”
Bai Fu planned to find a discreet spot in the main base to use the Potential Awakening Potion and Gene Optimization. Aside from that, much of the data Hei Fu had stolen and stashed was still stored in the base. She had to retrieve it quickly.
Oh, right—there was also Branch 2 of the mainline quest 【Savior Delusion】, which required her to find and destroy the Psionic Primordial hidden by the Truth Society. She planned to check if she could complete that along the way. The reward wasn’t high, but even mosquito meat was still meat.
With Yulia on her back, Bai Fu sped through the battlefield.
Coleman and the others were currently contacting their superiors. Even though her actions looked odd, they couldn’t stop her right away.
Or rather—it wasn’t that they couldn’t, but that they didn’t dare.
Bai Fu was too powerful. Beyond anything they could’ve imagined. Just thinking about the condition of the Truth Society President’s corpse made them abandon any dangerous thoughts.
Whatever the higher-ups decided to do was their problem. For Coleman and the others who had witnessed Bai Fu’s battle with the Truth Society President firsthand, they simply pretended they hadn’t seen her at all.
…
As Bai Fu returned to the main base of the Truth Society, all the major factions had already received a full battle report from this area.
Originally, they had hoped Bai Fu—who had leaked the location of the Truth Society’s main base—could hold out longer to prevent the Truth Society from escaping. But the final result left everyone stunned.
Bai Fu had killed the Truth Society President, who had somehow reappeared at the main base. Most of the remaining upper echelon and Espers of the Truth Society, aside from Benardo, chose to commit suicide and follow their President in death. Meanwhile, the vanguard units dispatched by the various factions to assault the base still needed time before they could arrive.
“Her strength…”
The people from each major faction were breathing heavily, unable to calm down.
For years, the Truth Society President had been a huge headache. Now, he was most likely truly dead. But a new figure had appeared—one not affiliated with any faction, yet far stronger than the Truth Society President.
What was going on?
Many couldn’t sleep all night.
They immediately convened their top leaders to discuss how to handle the post-battle situation and how to deal with Bai Fu.
Bai Fu was just too extraordinary. Her strength was terrifying. And if it were just that, it might still be manageable—but she was essentially a living Succubus Queen, effortlessly charming all sorts of bizarre Undying Ones.
One Undying One wasn’t a problem. A group of Undying Ones flocking around Bai Fu? That was a problem.
After lengthy discussions, all factions independently increased their alertness toward Bai Fu. The most intense reactions came from the Old Republic and the Gene Primordials.
The Old Republic’s hostility toward Bai Fu wasn’t because they knew she was the true culprit behind the Black Mountain City attack, but due to a convergence of factors—her conflict with Behim, the defection of many Players from the Old Republic to the Garden of Silence, and their own shady dealings that they feared Bai Fu might have uncovered from the Truth Society.
The Gene Primordials had even simpler motives for wanting Bai Fu dead. They had always suspected she knew their secrets, and now their wariness only deepened.
“What the hell did she eat to grow this fast in power?”
Among the Gene Primordials, General Pombaton was especially agitated during the meeting. He was part of the radical faction and had originally ordered Bai Fu’s assassination at the Battle of Bagaros Base. The assassins who attacked the Garden of Silence recently were also his doing. He had planned to kidnap Anya and frame the Truth Society to further inflame tensions between them and Bai Fu.
Who would’ve guessed that those assassins were instantly wiped out by Bai Fu? Sure, it did worsen her conflict with the Truth Society—but so much so that the Truth Society was now outright gone.
Another member of the Seven-Person Council furrowed his brows. “Logically, the Truth Society President should already have been dead. How did he reappear at the main base? But… that’s not important for now. Bai Fu killed him. She’s probably in a weakened state now. This is our chance.”
His proposal received unanimous approval from the rest of the council.
“Notify the troops dispatched to the main base of the Truth Society.”
All parties sprang into action.
...
“Spare me, don’t kill me, I surrender!”
“I can talk too, I can join the Fu Sect!”
As soon as Bai Fu entered the main base of the Truth Society, the remaining members who hadn’t escaped in time turned pale with fear.
They were terrified she would suddenly rush over and instantly eliminate them like before. In panic, some members of the Truth Society even started mimicking the Players—
Bai Fu attacks, I surrender on the spot!
To their surprise, Bai Fu walked past them without even acknowledging their existence.
Seriously?
Whatever. As soon as Bai Fu left, the group scattered in every direction, wishing they had more than two legs to run with.
The noisy clamor gradually faded. A few minutes later, Bai Fu caught a man in a white lab coat and, after a brief interrogation, successfully located the Psionic Primordial. She destroyed it first, wrapped up the quest, and casually earned 500,000 XP. Only then did she head to the place where Hei Fu had stashed the stolen documents. Seeing them intact, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Good thing the aftermath of the battle didn’t damage them.”
These documents were treasures—perfect for cashing in or luring in Players!
Bai Fu placed the injured Yulia onto a chair, poked her head outside to check the area, and, once sure no one was around, softly closed the door.
Thunk.
At the sound of the door closing, Yulia’s heart skipped a beat.
Something felt wrong.
That strange look Bai Fu gave her earlier, and now bringing her here—two oddities stacked together. Could it be—
“You want to…”
“Don’t talk.”
“……”
This didn’t feel right.
Yulia said, “I think we should wait a bit longer.”
Bai Fu pouted. “No time. What’s there to wait for? Enough talk. I’ve got business to handle.”
Yulia’s eyes drooped slightly. “At least let me recover a little.”
Bai Fu said, “Even if you recover, how much can you recover? Don’t make noise. I’m in a hurry.”
“Sigh, you put it like that… I—”
Yulia kicked off one of her shoes, just as she noticed Bai Fu pulling a potion bottle from her pocket and downing it in one go.
Huh?
She widened her eyes. Things weren’t what she thought. She saw Bai Fu sit against the wall, clenching her teeth, face twisted in slight pain.
So the “business” Bai Fu mentioned was actually this?
“Why’d you take off your shoes?” Bai Fu asked, genuinely confused.
“……” Yulia instantly returned to her ice-cold poker face. “Because I feel like it. It’s not like they stink. What’s it to you?”
“Whatever.”
Bai Fu had just taken the Potential Awakening Potion, which required ten minutes to process. During this time, her body was in constant mild pain, like a persistent stinging sensation—but she’d been through worse. Just needed to endure it.
Ten minutes later, the pain subsided, replaced by a serene, sage-like calm.
【Potential Awakening Complete. You have gained the following Stat Bonuses—
Strength +15, Agility +13, Constitution +7, Intelligence +9, Willpower +11, Inspiration +9】
“Hss—”
Seeing the prompt, Bai Fu couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. One potion gave her 64 Stat Points—no wonder the Truth Society treasured Yulia so much!
Unfortunately, the potion could only be used once. Drinking another would severely harm the body. According to the instructions, there was even a chance she could be assimilated by Yulia. She’d better save the remaining two for Anya and Old Niesen.
Riding the momentum, Bai Fu claimed the Gene Optimization reward.
This one felt far worse than the potion. Maybe because it started at the genetic level and spread throughout her body—from limbs to the depths of her mind—the pain was more acute, making her want to groan.
“You okay?” Yulia’s face changed slightly.
Bai Fu waved it off. “I’m fine.”
Although the pain from evolution was more intense, it didn’t last as long as the Potential Awakening. Soon, she received a new notification.
【Gene Optimization Complete. Your race has been changed to Star-Adaptive Human】
【Race Change Complete. You have gained the following Stat Bonuses—
Strength +12, Agility +7, Constitution +6, Intelligence +9, Willpower +13, Inspiration +7】
Since her body’s potential had already been developed quite well, the stat gains from this racial evolution weren’t massive.
But the biggest change from the racial evolution wasn’t stats—it was the increase in resistance and the health conversion rate from Constitution. Now, each point of Constitution converted to 30 HP.
Amazing!
Bai Fu didn’t hesitate. She began rapidly spending XP, investing a total of over 18 million XP to upgrade Psionic Illustrator from Lv8 to Lv14.
Her new stats were—
【HP】: 5607/5607
【Psionic Value】: 3865/4665
【Stats】: Strength 65, Agility 106, Constitution 169, Intelligence 82, Willpower 93, Inspiration 309
Compared to when she entered the main base of the Truth Society, all her stats had skyrocketed.
Bai Fu felt sharper, her senses heightened. Even with her eyes closed, she could now pinpoint Yulia’s location with ease.
She clenched her right fist, a strange itch in her knuckles—it made her want to punch something.
She turned and slammed her fist into the nearby wall. Even without psionic enhancement, her punch blasted a clean hole right through it.
“The current me could beat two of the old me!”
Bai Fu exhaled slowly, eyes gleaming with joy. Her next step: start planning how to send those scheming Gene Primordials off the stage and find a way to leave Origin Star!
“You’ve recovered?”
Yulia asked softly. Though she was still weak, her perception hadn’t dulled. Just now, she noticed Bai Fu’s aura had surged—likely a sign of a power breakthrough.
Bai Fu smiled. “More or less. Except my psionic value hasn’t fully recovered yet, I’ve run out of Prayer Cards, and Hei Fu won’t be able to summon again for a while—other than that, I’m fine. Should be enough to handle whatever trouble comes next.”
“Doesn’t that mean you haven’t fully recovered at all?”
Yulia was exasperated.
A Psionic Prayer-user without psionic value couldn’t unleash much power. Take her, for example—if she had psionic value, she would’ve escaped the Truth Society long ago and wouldn’t have needed Bai Fu to rescue her.
“I’ll help patch the gap for you.”
Yulia stood up and walked barefoot to Bai Fu.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s only to ensure we can return to the Goli Desert safely. Until then, I need to make sure your power stays at its peak.”
Yulia was ready. She performed a normal attack.