Chapter 146: New Version Update Preview, Bai Fu Evolves into a Super Popular Idol
Bai Fu had tried many times to create a classic highlight that could go viral—erecting monuments to Players, deliberately hanging NPCs from streetlamps on Livestream, or taking down Assassins with casual, stroll-like ease in front of the camera.
But in reality, most attempts to deliberately manufacture so-called classic scenes never matched the emotional resonance of those spontaneous, genuine moments. Perhaps it was because true feelings struck deeper chords.
When Bai Fu opened the Player Community, she was stunned to find that the majority of Players weren’t discussing the Origin Star Reconstruction Project she had just announced, but rather a photo capturing the moment she raised her hand and shouted to encourage all viewers near the end of the program.
【Composition, movement, expression, voice—coupled with the Origin Star’s history and Fu-fu’s effort to change its fate, this photo… I declare it divine!】
【I’m dazed just looking at it. If the Origin Star’s NPCs see this photo, they’ll probably be as hyped as if they’d drunk fake liquor.】
【Damn, this is the first time I think Bai Fu looks so cool. If I were an NPC living on Origin Star, after seeing this photo, I’d barge into the TV station and crown Bai Fu the true queen myself!】
【Now this is truly a classic scene—it’s gonna explode in popularity. Bros, I’m off to ride the hype wave first!】
And when it came to riding hype, naturally the Fu Sect’s promotional master, Excavation‑Princess, wouldn’t be left out.
The moment she finished watching the Livestream, Excavation‑Princess edited a new video.
This video mainly compared the Goli Desert before and after Bai Fu’s arrival. After that, it played in chronological order Bai Fu’s entire journey—from clearing out the Wanderer camps in Goli Desert, to her battle of wits with the Truth Society, to killing the Truth Society President, and finally eliminating Fragment Star. The video ended with the shot of Bai Fu raising her hand and delivering her call.
There were no particularly flashy editing techniques used in the video, but it shot to the top of the video site’s trending page almost instantly. After all, only Excavation‑Princess had such an extensive archive of Bai Fu’s footage.
【666】
【Digging‑Treasure, you’re dumb. Don’t just post the video here—sell that footage to NPCs in-game. You’ll make a killing! As a video creator and footage owner, your Reputation on Origin Star will skyrocket!】
One Live‑stream Comment that floated across the screen made both Bai Fu and Excavation‑Princess, who were watching the video, freeze.
Damn, this guy knows how to make money and farm Reputation!
Excavation‑Princess sprang into action.
Once the initial excitement passed, Players gradually shifted their attention back to Bai Fu’s proposed Origin Star Reconstruction Project. Truthfully, they weren’t too concerned with the plan itself—it was just more quests, after all. What they really cared about were the Quest Rewards.
Renaming reconstructed areas on Origin Star after Players?
That was way too awesome!
Players on other Beginner Planets were green with envy.
【Damn it, why don’t we get events like this here?】
【The Developers must be grinning. Name Change Cards are going to fly off the shelves. Having a nickname like Cathead is fine, but if your name is something like Snowy Milk—no matter how bold you are, NPCs on Origin Star probably wouldn’t dare use it.】
【Fu-fu is now the Developers’ lucky charm.】
【Developer: Bai Fu, quick—say you love Players! Get them to top up another 70,000!】
【By the way, didn’t Fu-fu mention “when I decided to journey far” during the Livestream just now? Does that mean she’s planning to leave Origin Star and return to the stars?】
【Seems like it. Look, the Faction Store suddenly started selling Interstellar Common Language. Didn’t Fu-fu also say she was looking for a way back to the Rebirth Empire when she fought Fragment Star?】
【Damn, now I have to buy the Interstellar Common Language.】
【All I’m saying is, don’t rush. Fu-fu returning to the stars doesn’t mean we get to tag along. We haven’t even finished Origin Star’s Main Storyline yet.】
Bai Fu, with nothing better to do, browsed the Community aimlessly. Whenever she came across posts or replies praising her, she couldn’t help but feel smug.
Nice, keep licking more. Feels good!
After scrolling for a while and finding nothing more interesting, Bai Fu closed the Community.
The hype this time was far higher than she’d anticipated. Once it fully fermented, the attention it brought her would definitely surpass the wave caused when Tai Er Zhenren acted as an Undercover Agent. After all, back then she was just a side character—this time, she was the undeniable protagonist.
“That subconscious hand-raise right when the emotion peaked really did it!”
Bai Fu sighed with emotion.
The power of that photo… truly terrifying!
The most direct effect of this hype wave was a massive spike in the previously lukewarm sales of Interstellar Common Language.
+3000, +3000……
Hey hey hey, didn’t you eat? Put some real effort into feeding me. No matter how much XP you toss, I can gobble it all down!
Actually, Bai Fu had initially thought about pricing the Interstellar Common Language higher, but then no Player would be willing to buy it. So, low profit but high volume was the smarter route.
Interstellar Common Language wasn’t particularly hard for Players to learn. Once the Galaxy Version dropped, the Developers would definitely stuff this into Players’ mouths—otherwise, Players who couldn’t even understand NPCs in the starry sea would be trolled hard.
By selling it cheaper now, even if the Developers eventually made it free, Players wouldn’t turn around and call her a shameless profiteer. Instead, they’d likely feel that spending 3000 XP for early access was worth it, maybe even call her “the super kind-hearted Fu-fu.”
Besides her XP skyrocketing, what Bai Fu cared about most was the upcoming version update.
It had been several months since Version 1.2 launched. Logically, Version 1.3 should be on its way.
Update previews, buffs during updates, the changes after updates—Bai Fu eagerly anticipated them all.
She’d accomplished a lot in Version 1.2. Generated multiple waves of massive hype. Raised Origin Star’s Plot Exploration to 13.4%. Every known protagonist and major villain on Origin Star had either been killed by her or now served as her wings.
13.4% might not seem like much, but according to the Developers, Main Storylines didn’t account for a large portion of a planet’s Plot Exploration. Most of it came from Sub-quests, Hidden Quests, and scenes that weren’t tied to any quest but enriched the planet’s life.
For Bai Fu to single-handedly cover 13.4% meant she was the protagonist among protagonists—a true main character.
“Wonder how much I’ll get buffed this time.”
If the buff was significant, she could skip the “first wear socks then shoes, first play the junior then the master” phase and fast-forward to “barefoot Players have way more fun.”
The starry sea and maps like Origin Star, a Beginner Planet, were totally different. On Beginner Planets, no matter how hard Players tried, without the right version, they’d rarely find ways to leave for the wider cosmos.
But in the starry sea, it was different. As long as a Player earned enough money, even at level 1, they could head to ultra-high-level regions like the Rebirth Empire or Supernova Legion through various transport methods. The core was freedom.
That freedom meant even if Bai Fu stayed active only in star-system-level civilizations, there was always a chance she’d run into ultimate experts from universe-scale civilizations.
So, improving her strength as much as possible before venturing into the starry sea was definitely the smart move.
“Finally found you, Queen Fu. Didn’t expect you to be here stargazing.”
While Bai Fu was contemplating the future, Igor pushed open the rooftop door of the TV station and walked over energetically.
Bai Fu turned around. “Don’t call me Queen Fu. That sounds so distant and weird.”
Igor ignored that remark and smiled. “This TV Livestream was a huge success. In the one hour since the broadcast ended, every TV and radio station in the Wasteland has contacted us hoping to buy the rights to air the Documentary. Plus, I’ve received a flood of inquiries from viewers and companies—many are interested in the outfit you wore, especially your black staff and that black crown-like headpiece with strong metallic texture. Looks like we can make a fortune just from selling merchandise.”
After several rounds of promotion, Bai Fu was now not only the nominal queen of Origin Star, but also its number one ranked super idol.
That’s just how it was when one looked this good.
Bai Fu nodded. “Let Gao Yuan handle this. I have no extra demands. Part of the money we make will be used to acquire what I need, and the rest will go into constructing Bai Fu Town and building Forward Exploration Camps during the reconstruction of Origin Star.”
Once they entered the universe, the currency of Origin Star would become worthless scrap paper—possibly not even as valuable as Bottle Caps—so Bai Fu didn’t intend to save a single cent. Her goal was to convert every bit of that money into strength and infrastructure that could accommodate more New Players before leaving for the starry sea.
Igor replied, “Understood.”
He immediately took his leave, leaving Bai Fu alone to enjoy the wind on the rooftop.
Gazing at the scattered starlight in the clear night sky, Bai Fu’s heart swelled with heroic pride.
It hadn’t been easy.
A year ago, when she first awakened in the shabby little hut at the Abandoned Cooling Plant, who could’ve imagined she would one day become the founder of Origin Star?
That’s right—the founder!
On Origin Star, who else harvested Players more than her? Who else understood how to harvest Players better than her?
“When Players have gained a firm foothold on Origin Star… when my personal mark is engraved across the land, then it will just about be time for me to leave.”
Journeys measured in light-years, cosmic wonders more breathtaking than the Pillar of the True Spirit, technologies that spanned dimensions, seekers who pursued the source of power...
The starry sea—that was her true destination!
……
The day after the television Livestream ended, all of Origin Star had become busy.
Factions like the Railway Guild assembled Pioneer Squads and, together with the Garden of Silence, released new quests, rallying Players to join the great plan to rebuild Origin Star.
Many Players had been fretting about having nothing interesting to do after defeating the Gene Primordials. The moment the Pioneer Squads arrived, they rushed to sign up.
The tasks for rebuilding Origin Star were incredibly diverse—not just brick-moving. They included but were not limited to assisting researchers with developing new Anti‑pollution Medicine, clearing Pollution Sources, eliminating Mutant Creatures, rooting out notorious Wanderers, building camps, transporting supplies, and exploring pre-Cataclysm ruins.
These quests met the needs of most Players and were plentiful in number. Bai Fu no longer had to worry about the growing number of Players in the Garden of Silence and the insufficient availability of her Faction Quests.
With the Railway Guild and other factions issuing the quests for her, all she had to do was show up occasionally to help Players defeat high-level Bosses they couldn’t handle, and brush up her presence a bit. As for things like directing Players—those were all handed over to Anya and Old Nissen.
“Feeling any better?”
Inside Bai Fu Town’s newly built hospital, Bai Fu placed a fruit basket on the bedside table.
Xia Shi leaned against the hospital bed, pale and vacant-eyed. Only upon hearing Bai Fu’s voice did she barely raise her head.
This was her first time being allowed to see outsiders after undergoing numerous tests and treatments.
In a hoarse and dry voice, she said, “The doctors say I’m recovering quickly.”
Bai Fu sat by the bed. “How do you feel?”
Xia Shi shook her head. “I don’t know.”
She wasn’t very outgoing before, and now she had become even more withdrawn.
Bai Fu asked, “You can’t accept being an Artificial Human?”
“No, I just think it’s absurd. You know, I joined Division Four because I hated the Truth Society, because I thought their indiscriminate killings were despicable. But…” Xia Shi clenched the bedsheets tightly, “in the end, I found out the Gene Primordials I belonged to were even darker than the Truth Society.”
Bai Fu understood immediately.
It wasn’t exactly a collapse of faith—but close enough.
If Yulia merely lost her direction and didn’t know what to do next, then Xia Shi had begun to loathe herself.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. The fault lies with the Gene Primordials.”
Xia Shi gave a bitter smile. “I’ve thought through everything you said. But I just can’t get past this. It feels like something suddenly went hollow inside me, and I don’t know how to fill that void. I feel terrible.”
She crossed her arms and hugged herself, as though trapped in a cold wind, her body trembling slightly.
Bai Fu rested her cheek on her right palm and said with curiosity, “If I said I could fill that void in you, do you think it would help?”
Xia Shi looked at Bai Fu, confused.
Bai Fu said, “I’m your savior, right? Logically, you should repay me.”
“That’s true.”
“Then it’s simple. I don’t care whether you’re introverted or enlightened. What I want as repayment is for you to properly study the mechanical knowledge I’m teaching you, and use it to help rebuild Origin Star.”
“Rebuild Origin Star?” Xia Shi was even more puzzled.
Bai Fu handed her a Personal Terminal. “I’ve teamed up with the Railway Guild and other factions to launch a plan to rebuild Origin Star—aiming to restore it to its pre-Cataclysm state. The details are in the videos on this terminal. I’ve also loaded all the mechanical knowledge into it. Study it seriously. Learn it well. This is what you owe me. Until you’ve fulfilled this task and repaid my kindness—you’re not allowed to die.”
With that, she also handed Xia Shi a True Spirit Pillar Fragment.
“Keep this. It’ll strengthen your body and help you complete my mission.”
Her mission?
Xia Shi held the terminal and the True Spirit Pillar Fragment that Bai Fu had handed over. Though the weight in her palms couldn’t fill the void inside her, it at least distracted her from thinking about it for now.
“Thank you.”
Bai Fu nodded. She remained in the room for another ten minutes before leaving.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Yulia leaning against the wall.
“Come, let’s go to the lab. We’ll study which parts of my body help you recover Psionic Power when in contact. I need data to analyze the exact mechanism.”
Yulia grabbed Bai Fu and headed straight out of the hospital.
Bai Fu: “……”
Cunning woman, you’d better really be doing experiments.
Yulia was actually very composed. She held no animosity toward Xia Shi. All of it came from confidence—confidence that as long as she kept improving, Bai Fu would never leave her. She would always be the second most important person beside Bai Fu—second only to Anya!
All afternoon, Bai Fu and Yulia did experiments in the lab until they were dizzy.
“Gulp gulp gulp……”
Back home, Bai Fu chugged several mouthfuls of water.
She hadn’t meant to conduct experiments for that long, but Yulia had said something that made sense.
“If you won’t cooperate with my experiments now, then when you run out of Psionic Power during a fight and want to recover, you’ll only have two options. One, drink my blood. The other… well, you wouldn’t want to do that in front of everyone…”
“Stop! Stop! Let’s start the research now.”
Honestly, Bai Fu really doubted whether Yulia had truly stayed focused on the research, because during their sharp verbal exchange, even the glass-cannon Mage Yulia had a 【Dizziness】debuff appear after her name.
Forget it, she’d trust her this once.
Bai Fu took a shower, then lay on her bed browsing the Community.
As she scrolled, she came across a newly trending post—
《Who Is the Lord of the Dark Night? A Deep Dive into Bai Fu’s Backstory!》
The post was authored by a Player named “Sweet Tofu Brain Lover,” from Indigo Star.
As soon as Bai Fu clicked on the post, she saw plenty of Players debating the age-old sweet vs. salty tofu brain war, but most were actually discussing the main content of the post.
After Excavation‑Princess confidently declared that Bai Fu was definitely the Lord of the Dark Night, Sweet Tofu Brain Lover began collecting every bit of lore about the Lord of the Dark Night on Indigo Star. This post was the result of that research.
【The Lord of the Dark Night isn’t part of the mainstream belief on Indigo Star. She’s an Outer God rejected by the masses. This matches what Fu-fu said—according to her, she’s from the Rebirth Empire, which definitely counts as “outside.”】
【Legend says the Lord of the Dark Night is a dual-faced deity with two souls—one gentle, the other skilled in deception. The gentle soul needs no explanation. The cunning one, to be fair, isn’t exactly evil either. She’s more like a trickster goddess who loves mischief. She never committed any major atrocities—people hate her because she constantly lies, then laughs hysterically in the faces of those she tricked. Honestly, if you weren’t her victim, you’d probably find her quite amusing.】
【But that’s not the main point today. What I really want to talk about is Fu-fu’s mention of betrayal and Anya’s identity. Until now, no one has figured out where Anya comes from. But after digging through the Lord of the Dark Night’s legends, I finally have a lead!】
【In Indigo Star’s myths, the Lord of the Dark Night had a follower named “Spirit Sovereign.” Their appearance is unknown, but they were skilled in psychic or similar abilities. During the Night of the Gods on Indigo Star, the Lord of the Dark Night was betrayed. The Spirit Sovereign sacrificed themself to warn her. Legend says they had a disciple—I suspect that disciple is Anya.】
Sweet Tofu Brain Lover included tons of photos and short clips as evidence, making the post feel like a well-researched thesis—practically flawless. Any Player who read it in full instinctively believed the conclusions.
【Damn, so Anya really is someone extraordinary?】
【Her master died to save Fu-fu… I’m crying here.】
Bai Fu: “……”
Seriously?
She had hinted more than once to Players that Anya’s background wasn’t ordinary, but hadn’t fleshed it out for fear of revealing inconsistencies. Now, Players themselves had fabricated a mysterious backstory for Anya—and even “confirmed” she came from the starry sea.
It had to be said—mythology always had a way of finding some forgotten corner with an unnamed character perfect for interpretation.
Great post—copying it!
“From now on, I’m Bai Fu, the Lord of the Dark Night from the Rebirth Empire. Anya is the loyal follower who once saved me.”
Unless there really was a Lord of the Dark Night on Indigo Star, this setup was flawless.
Bai Fu continued browsing the Community and suddenly stumbled upon an official post.
【Above the Stars: Version 1.3 Update Preview】
“What the—!”
Bai Fu instantly jumped up from the bed.
The big moment she’d been waiting for had finally arrived!
She immediately clicked the video link, and a flood of Live‑stream Comments filled the screen.
【It’s here it’s here】
【We’re about to enter the interstellar age and fight aliens, but we still can’t even take our pants off? If the new version doesn’t let us undress, I’m leaving a bad review!】
After the game logo for Above the Stars floated past, two chibi characters appeared at the center of the screen. The one on the left was Stars‑chan, and the one on the right completely surprised Bai Fu.
“Isn’t that my chibi version?!”
Bai Fu’s eyes sparkled even brighter.
Awesome. All that effort to boost her popularity paid off. In the last version, she became the Psionic Class Mentor. In this version, she’d been turned into the narrator of the update preview video.
Clearly, the Developers acknowledged her efforts. She was very likely to receive new buffs in this update—and they wouldn’t be minor.
In the video, Stars‑chan and chibi Fu-fu did a Q&A format introduction of the 1.3 version updates.
Previous versions 1.1 and 1.2 had introduced a lot of new features. Version 1.3 didn’t add new mechanics, but did include a bunch of new items in the Shop, including but not limited to: custom Customer Support avatars (like chibi Fu-fu), custom Tutorial Guides (like chibi Fu-fu), and custom system alert sounds (like Bai Fu voice packs). These could be purchased with money or grinded for via gameplay.
Bai Fu: “……”
Nice, nice. So you know how to make money. Fortunately, she was a step ahead—she had already formed a Business Alliance on Origin Star to produce her merchandise. Now she just had to wait to ruthlessly cash in on the Players.
Bai Fu quickly skipped that part. What really interested her was the section where Stars‑chan and chibi Fu-fu explained the game’s Main Storyline updates—because it revealed a lot of starry-sea-related intel.
This was the first time such information had been made public since the game launched. Its release now served as a teaser for Version 2.0, the Galaxy Version.
“Just in time!”
Bai Fu hurriedly pulled out her little notebook and began taking notes intently.