Chapter 170: The Path of One Fu Blocked, Saintess Fu Fu Is Tonight’s Star
This was it—everything had fallen apart.
Countless bugs suddenly surged through the breach in the second line of defense, delivering despair not only to Manu but also to Holt’s subordinates.
An hour ago, Holt had sent this message to them—
“We’re solid, totally solid. Soon we’ll learn from Bai Fu where the original sample went. Then once the Dark Zone Insect Swarm’s bio‑warship launches its assault, we can slip out of Sky‑Lake‑Star.”
But the way things unfolded knocked them sideways.
They watched the hissing bugs swarming in the distance; they looked at the dead‑silenced comms. Holt’s crew were shaking.
Big bro, you said it was so solid?
This is way too solid!
With Holt dead, their cover was blown. Even if by miracle none of them had been exposed yet, insects were locking in on them now. Could they actually survive this catastrophic tidal wave?
Natural disaster wasn’t as merciful as Holt, who could still call headquarters to negotiate their safety.
“What bullshit King of Schemes, tomorrow’s star of the Secret Tower—I swear I…”
“What did he mean by Bai Fu isn’t even human? Does that mean Bai Fu is some special being?”
“God knows. Now’s the time to ponder that? I need to leave—I’m not getting assimilated by those damned bugs!”
In panic, Holt’s men split—some steeled themselves and stood their ground, others bolted for the transport ship to escape.
They were gambling—and clearly, they lost.
Fear and uncertainty didn’t paralyze Manu. Instead, it sharpened his resolve.
When he saw ships trying to flee, he had the tower order them to stop. No reply came. Without hesitation, he ordered an attack.
On the ground, dozens of cannons roared in unison. No transport ship could withstand that—within moments they were blasted out of the sky. Everyone aboard perished in the explosion.
Flames rained from the heavens—announcing the start of a new all‑out war with the Dark Zone Insect Swarm.
The battle raged from noon into the night. Though the Star‑Web Commonwealth showed ironclad fighting spirit, once the shield had fissured, facing the relentless, suicidal swarms, they were forced to retreat—to the final defensive line. There, with countless laser grids and specialized chemical shells, they finally stemmed the bug tide.
“This wave of attack is nearly over.”
Manu stood atop the last mechanical barricade. He looked down at the crawling bugs and sighed.
Around him, aside from the S‑class psionic users, everyone looked pale—standing or sitting, morale was low.
A mole had appeared, causing the second line, which should’ve lasted two or three days, to collapse in just one. They had no reason to celebrate.
There were still over five days left until the mission ended. No one knew how to hold out with this last defense line.
And the situation worsened.
When they captured the mole who fired on them, he calmly admitted he was from Secret Tower. But it wasn’t honesty—it was sabotage. He shouted, “Secret Tower prevails, Star‑Web Commonwealth fails,” then laughed, “Do you really think I’m the only mole Secret Tower planted on Sky‑Lake‑Star?”
This double blow crushed the already fragile morale of the defenders.
What if there were others? What if more moles appeared under fire?
In gloom, Manu approached Bai Fu.
“We decoded Titan Warhammer’s comms. We’ve tagged everyone in contact with him. Those on Sky‑Lake‑Star are under arrest; the rest can wait until we catch them.”
He passed a list to Bai Fu.
Bai Fu scanned it quickly. “Media contacts too?”
Manu nodded. “He reached out to several news outlets and hired a bunch of trolls to spread dirt on you—to slander your reputation.”
No way. Lousy Bug!
Bai Fu was stunned.
Fortunately she’d recovered Titan Warhammer’s comm device and found the proof. Otherwise who knew how many trolls would be smearing her.
Now with evidence, she could expose and humiliate them.
This world belongs to Bai Zi after all!
“By the way—”
As Manu stepped forward, Bai Fu asked if the advanced knowledge the Digger Princess passed to her came from the Star‑Web Commonwealth. To her surprise, Manu knew nothing about it.
There’s such a thing?
If it wasn’t from you, then who?
Bai Fu was baffled. She decided to ask when she met Digger Princess later.
She truly owed gratitude to whoever passed that advance knowledge. Otherwise, the prayer‑card assembly line she’d painstakingly set up would’ve been destroyed by Titan Warhammer. Without that, she wouldn’t have the troll‑evidence—and the trolls would run wild.
Though she didn’t know who the good samaritan was, she silently wished them longevity.
The world still had more good people—unlike Titan Warhammer, who didn’t treat others as human.
Settling her thoughts, Bai Fu noticed Manu let out a barely perceptible sigh—first time she’d sensed that side of him.
“People’s hearts are fracturing.”
She shook her head in her mind.
This mission might fail.
But so what if it fails? Compared to the massive gain of completing the class‑change mission to psionic grade S, failure is nothing. With Fei Ye protecting her, she couldn’t die.
There was one question Bai Fu couldn’t quite understand.
“Since day one of the battle I’ve been wondering—why haven’t we used the auto‑turrets and ship‑mounted cannons? Those should be way more effective against bugs than power armor or traps, right?”
As soon as she asked, she noticed Manu, Herbert, and the others giving her weird looks, as if thinking How could she not know that.
Bai Fu: ?
Piss off. Isn’t it normal not to know stuff about our fellow home‑folks?
At that moment, Fei Ye spoke up.
“This one’s on me. Things were urgent, so I forgot to explain to you over the past few days. This flood of bugs is hard to stop for three reasons: first, the Dark Zone Insect Swarm reproduces extremely fast and can optimize its genes by devouring other life; second, they’ve mastered remote teleportation and space‑sheathing abilities; third, some special brain‑…’’
“In the course of evolution, the bugs have gained abilities akin to those of Network Mechanics—they can infiltrate AI systems. If we use weapons with heavy AI integration, and those get taken over by Brain Bugs, it’ll be a nightmare.”
Bai Fu paused in astonishment.
What? The bugs were that terrifying?
No wonder they hadn’t been exterminated over the years—instead, they only grew more ferocious. It made sense to call them a natural disaster. But even so, they still paled compared to Players who could resurrect.
After explaining things to Bai Fu, Fei Ye turned to Manu, Herbert, and the others. “Bai Fu’s not from the Edge Worlds. She’s from a minor civilization within the Dark Zone, so she’s unfamiliar with what we now take as common knowledge.”
This wasn’t something she intended to hide. Bai Fu’s followers included more than a few big mouths—sooner or later, everyone would know.
Oh, so Bai Fu came from the Dark Zone. Then everything made sense… like hell it did!
The moment they heard Bai Fu was from the Dark Zone, Manu and Herbert widened their eyes. The previously gloomy bystanders also looked up at her.
Judging from Bai Fu’s earlier performance against Holt, she was undoubtedly at S-rank. An S-rank Psionicist born from a Dark Zone civilization?
Either the civilization Bai Fu came from was incredibly powerful, or she was a once-in-a-century prodigy!
Herbert’s brow furrowed deeply.
Compared to the current commission, what concerned him more now was Bai Fu herself. With Bai Fu assisting Fei Ye, the latter had become his biggest obstacle on the road to becoming Minister.
Not only was Bai Fu herself an S-rank Psionicist, but she also had a horde of followers practically on par with the Undying Ones.
Unbelievable. Just a while ago, Fei Ye had been at the bottom—now it was a complete reversal.
“How did you two meet?” Herbert couldn’t help but ask.
Everyone had been curious about this.
Fei Ye gave a brief explanation. She sounded quite proud—she’d gone out casually and ran into Bai Fu, who had just entered the Star Sea and knew nothing about it. Using her charm, she easily lured the pure and naive Bai Fu onto her ship. Jealous, aren’t you? Aren’t you jealous?
Herbert wasn’t just jealous—he was burning with envy.
Damn it, what kind of dogshit luck was that?
Could Fei Ye’s string of past misfortunes have been a setup for this one big golden draw?
He began pondering how to lure Bai Fu to his side. If he couldn’t get Bai Fu herself, stealing some of her followers would be good enough. In any case, he couldn’t just let Fei Ye enjoy Bai Fu’s benefits so easily!
Herbert feigned sudden realization. “What a coincidence. With Saintess Bai Fu’s strength, if she had run into the Minister instead, she could’ve been promoted straight to Supervisor.”
“?”
Fei Ye’s gaze instantly sharpened.
She was naive, not stupid. Did Herbert think she couldn’t tell he was trying to sow discord between her and Bai Fu?
Even Fei Ye could tell—how could Bai Fu not know what Herbert meant?
Please, even if she drank three catties of strong liquor, she wouldn’t abandon Fei Ye—a pretty, strong, slightly dopey backer—for someone like him.
Besides, to the public, she was now viewed as a kindhearted and outstanding Saintess. How could a proper Saintess do something so shameless as defect at the first sign of temptation?
Even if she really was shameless, she couldn’t let people find that out!
Bai Fu saw this as the perfect moment to boost Fei Ye’s favorability and build her own image. So she shook her head firmly.
“Being a Supervisor or not doesn’t matter to me. That was never what I valued. I left my homeland with those Undying Ones and came to this world—so strange and unfamiliar to me—because I wanted to save my home.”
Save her homeland?
That topic instantly drew everyone’s attention.
Bai Fu had been dazzling in these past days, and plenty had praised her. Many were curious about her past, but no one could find anything online.
“Sigh.”
Mentioning her homeland, Bai Fu suddenly let out a soft sigh. Her face bore a sorrow like an eternal winter frost.
“Years ago, a devastating war swept the globe and, together with runaway psionics, destroyed my homeland. Cities were ruined, countless lives were lost. After the Cataclysm, the world was riddled with Pollution Sources formed by frenzied psionics. Whether human or other lifeforms, once they touched those sources, they became monsters. Everyone lived in suffering and despair. I grew up in that hopeless environment. So from an early age, I resolved to do something to change it.”
The surrounding listeners nodded silently. So Bai Fu had lived in such misery…
She went on. “To reach that goal, I defeated one ambitious figure after another, rising from nothing until I became a legend in others’ eyes. Back then, I thought I was finally capable of changing the world—but I was still too young. Pollution Sources aren’t that easy to deal with. I almost gave up hope. Luckily, I found a way to leave my homeland. I didn’t leave to escape. I came to the Star Sea to find a way to save it.”
Whoa!
The listeners were shocked.
No wonder everything Bai Fu did carried such a strong righteous aura—it was all shaped by her upbringing and past.
Savior Saint?
Absolutely!
Bai Fu was truly the Savior Saint, fully deserving the title. Many now looked upon her with reverence.
At that moment, Bai Fu turned to Fei Ye with deep emotion in her eyes.
“When I first arrived in the Star Sea, I was lost and confused. But I never thought of giving up. Behind me stands my homeland and countless fellow countrymen still waiting for me. How could I quit? Honestly, I was very lucky. When I couldn’t see the road ahead, I met Supervisor Fei Ye. She heard of my situation and, without hesitation, lent me her spaceship and several sets of psionic purification equipment. Supervisor Fei Ye gave me the power to change my home. I’m truly grateful. That’s why, when I heard Supervisor Fei Ye had a mission on Sky-Lake-Star, I immediately brought my followers to support her.”
Fei Ye felt as if Bai Fu had touched her very soul.
So she meant that much to Bai Fu?
Manu couldn’t help but sigh. “You’re a hero. So is Supervisor Fei Ye.”
Bai Fu quickly shook her head modestly. “Calling me a hero is too much. I’m only doing what anyone in my position would do. Isn’t everyone here the same? In these days on Sky-Lake-Star, I’ve seen how you all fight bravely. Even with the Insect Tide blotting out the sky, even when facing danger again and again—you’ve never slacked off. For Sky-Lake-Star, for the Star-Web Commonwealth, for your loved ones, and for everything you hold dear—you’ve been ready to sacrifice everything. Honestly, I’m deeply moved.”
As she spoke, Bai Fu unleashed her full acting prowess—posture, tone, and eyes.
What kind of eyes were they?
They shone like stars, making everyone she stared at feel pierced—afraid to meet her gaze.
How could they?
Just look at Bai Fu’s resolve. Facing despair alone, she never thought of giving up. Now look at them—facing unexpected setbacks, and already thinking of giving up. The difference was staggering.
Shame scorched the hearts of most present.
At a certain moment, a soldier who had been slumped on the ground suddenly slammed his canteen down, his face full of fierce resolve.
“I will never give up! My parents, my little sister are still waiting for me at home. I have to stop these bugs right here. I don’t want to see the day they get devoured by those things!”
His roar broke the silence—and set an example.
From him, one after another, formerly demoralized soldiers and Psionicists stood up.
“In terms of strength, I’m not as good as Saintess Bai Fu, but when it comes to love for my family and homeland, I’ll never lose!”
“If I give up here, how could I still call myself a fan of the Saintess!”
“Damn it, fight those bugs to the end!”
The spirit of resolve spread like wildfire.
Every shout was a spark, and when those sparks converged, Bai Fu had only one thought in her heart—
Holy crap, they’re fired up!
She had only meant to raise some Favorability and shape her image as a Saintess. She hadn’t expected her speech would boost morale this much.
Neither had Herbert nor Manu.
The former cursed inwardly. It looked like Bai Fu couldn’t be recruited—he would have to target those Undying Ones instead.
The latter looked around. As he gazed at the passionate, youthful faces, his previously restless heart finally settled. His face no longer showed any trace of unease.
Young people were hot-blooded. As a middle-aged man, shouldn’t he get fired up at least once too?
Only one line of defense remained. Even with soaring morale, it would be tough to hold it for five days. But that didn’t mean he had no chance of fulfilling the mission passed down from above.
Besides defending, he could also take the initiative.
Pilot a warship, charge into the stars, and lure the Brain Bug’s attention. It was incredibly dangerous—but if he could locate the Bio-warship and the Brain Bug’s hiding place, the situation could be turned around.
Manu resolved to gamble it all—his life included. He had to eradicate the bug crisis this time. It couldn’t be passed to the next generation.
“Bai Fu, I remember—you said if you received new Advancement Knowledge or anything related to Prayer Card Creation, you might be able to break through and speed up card production?”
Bai Fu nodded.
“Good.”
Manu opened his communicator and contacted the Star-Web Commonwealth’s command officers for the Sky-Lake-Star campaign through the secure network.
“I told you before—I need Psionic S-rank Advancement Knowledge and Prayer Card Blueprints. Any information on card creation. What’s the status of the application?”
“Manu, it’s complicated, you know those resources—”
“Cut the crap!” Manu snapped, interrupting the voice on the other end. “I don’t care what’s complicated. I only know that I and the warriors here are betting our lives for the Star-Web Commonwealth. If you still want to win this war, send me what I asked for. I don’t have time to argue—now, immediately, go handle it!”
An overwhelming aura suddenly emanated from him—this was the iron-blooded heart forged through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Even across a great distance, the person on the other side of the communicator was visibly startled.
“Calm down—I’ll get the application approved right now.”
Just minutes later, Manu received the data from command.
He removed the communicator and handed it directly to Bai Fu.
“I’m counting on you.”
Bai Fu was stunned—she hadn’t expected to receive Advancement Knowledge like this—but she accepted it without hesitation. After all, she wasn’t freeloading.
Study it, that’s all that matters!
She spent nearly half an hour digesting all the information Manu gave her.
The new knowledge unlocked two new skills: 【Miracle Resonance】 and 【Summon Arbiter】. The former was a super-rare skill similar to Yulia’s 【Blessed Link】—once bound to a target, both parties received a 3% bonus to all attributes. The latter was a True Spirit summoning skill, calling forth an Arbiter capable of flight. Its main attack was the Psionic Arbiter’s Spear, similar to a thunder-lance.
Bai Fu immediately bound with Yulia. From that moment on, the two were linked in dual-channel, a true import-export bond.
In addition to those two skills, she also acquired several new Prayer Card Blueprints—such as 【Land of Imprisonment】 that created a Psionic cage to trap enemies, 【Mindstorm】 that summoned large-scale Psionic Storms, and 【Whispers of the Aberration】 that generated multiple illusions.
Though her card-creation speed hadn’t improved, the new skills and blueprints more than doubled her combat options.
Arbiter + Spearman + Big Black Fu + Little Black Fu + Tiny Bai Fu + Hei Fu—her True Spirit legion build had begun to take shape.
With new combos of restriction cards and damage cards, her card-based tactics had even more strategic flexibility.
“Give me a moment!”
Bai Fu dove into her new workshop. Relying on Yulia’s Mana Recharge, she produced a massive batch of new cards in a very short time.
Just over two hours later, word came from outside—The Dark Zone Insect Swarm had launched a new wave of attacks, seemingly aiming to breach the final line of defense in one strike.
“They’re coming!”
“The Saintess is here!”
When Bai Fu appeared on the wall, cheers erupted everywhere. The air was filled with morale.
She had originally only been support, but now, under countless gazes, she had risen as the beacon of unyielding spirit. Her presence radiated a heroine’s brilliance—outshining even Fei Ye.
“Take this combo—Land of Imprisonment and Mindstorm!”
Bai Fu handed her surplus cards to Manu, then played two of them herself.
The cards turned into light. A massive square cage, hundreds of meters wide, materialized on the battlefield. It trapped countless bugs—and moments later, a storm like a tornado whipped through the cage, mowing down the bugs like grass.
Insect Tide?
Take a look at Bai Fu standing alone on the wall!
Under her lead, more 【Land of Imprisonment】 and 【Mindstorm】 cards were launched.