Chapter 174: Task Settlement, the Beloved Female Lead Bai Fu
Night Mother’s destructive power was far lower than that of most ordinary S+‑level espers, even inferior to some S‑level espers. But underestimating her because of that would surely result in bitter consequences.
She was merely not adept at physical attacks. Of course, this weakness only applied to powerful or uniquely skilled S‑level and S+‑level espers. As for espers below S‑level, they were absolutely not a match for even one of her toes.
However, in combat, Night Mother’s lethality was more terrifying than four or five Fei Ye combined.
All of this stemmed from how unique her ability was.
During the fight between her and Fei Ye, she used many special skills; Bai Fu recognized the following:
a percent‑based deprivation of target’s life according to attribute difference, absorbing target’s life to restore her own health, afflicting target with a debuff whose longer duration caused greater attribute and resistance reduction, temporarily mist‑forming her flesh to evade attacks, and damage bonus scaling with life absorption.
Against a single enemy this ability was not excessively exaggerated, but in a one‑versus‑many situation it was truly fierce.
Take the insect tide for example.
When Fei Ye faced a massive swarm of Dark Zone Insect Swarm, she either had to rush in to kill or keep distance to charge a large‑area bombardment. Either way it consumed considerable time and resources.
Night Mother’s situation was entirely different. She needed no dodge. She simply stood amidst the insect tide, activated her skills, and waited for all the bugs to be drained.
Consumption? None. The more she absorbed, the more spirited she became, the more exhilarated she felt.
Unless a particularly powerful individual appeared, no matter how many bugs came it was like fresh food delivery. And the more she drained, the more exaggerated her instantaneous battle power became. She truly became a killing machine.
Bai Fu was grateful she had immediately sent Hei Fu with the players to assist. Otherwise, over time, with Fei Ye’s unstable condition, she would have been completely drained, turning into Fei Ye’s corpse. Players could be revived, but if Fei Ye became Fei Ye‑corpse then it would be irreversible.
Fortunately, Fei Ye’s condition didn’t look too dire now. After a period of violent trembling, her head tilted and she fainted.
“!”
Bai Fu, holding Fei Ye, quickly cast spiritual vision.
She worried Fei Ye had suffered internal injury in the fight with Night Mother, just suppressing and not showing it.
Good news: Fei Ye’s HP was still healthy, at 63%, and she had no debuffs like poison or bleeding. She fainted because she had used a power that did not belong to her.
Bad news: Fei Ye’s template showed an abnormal status bar, somewhat similar to Yulia’s true‑spirit child awakening progression, but not identical.
Template: special – Void Infector (Voidization Progress 52.1% [Evolution Branch])
“52.1%, more than half already?”
Bai Fu clicked into Evolution Branch, and a long explanatory interface appeared before her.
Fei Ye’s voidization process had entered the second stage, which was nearly irreversible. Void genes were gradually merging into her original genes. She had opened a brand new evolutionary gate.
Evolution Branch 1 – Void Shadow (probability 71.2%): void life resembling a shadow, chaotic and mindless
Evolution Branch 2 – Devourer (probability 82.1%): primordial void species, trapped in hunger and devouring
Evolution Branch 3 – Hanged Man (probability 57.6%): special life half human half void, cruel and bloodthirsty
Evolution Branch 4 – Prophet (probability 23.8%): human‑form void life, retaining basic human traits but with a void aspect
Each branch, when expanded, had a more detailed description and a diagram provided by the game.
Bai Fu stared. Good grief, what bizarre aliens these were.
She understood why Luni felt so despairing. Originally Fei Ye was quite beautiful — although her chest size had been utterly suppressed by her, other features were definitely among mortal perfection. Now look at this. If she became void life, it was highly likely she would turn into a monster.
Look at that Void Shadow. Then look at the Devourer. Even the abyssal maw in League of Legends looked cuter than those.
As for the Hanged Man… it could barely be called human form. The “lower body” looked vaguely passable upside down.
The Prophet’s appearance combined the beauty of human form and the mystique of void life, a delicate yet daring exotic beauty. But Fei Ye only had a 23.8% chance to become the Prophet — less than a quarter.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a major crisis for Fei Ye, but the current situation clearly was not normal.
“Luckily Fei Ye’s voidization progress wasn’t particularly high.”
Bai Fu exhaled inwardly. Discovering this in time meant there was still opportunity to adjust.
NPCs didn’t know how to change the probabilities of each evolution branch. But she was different. She, like the players, could see various panels — hers, the players’, and other NPCs’.
Panels were great things; they provided information that NPCs would struggle to discover through research. After all, these panels existed so players would enjoy the game. The good news was that each of Fei Ye’s four evolution branches had extra tips, indicating how to improve the probability of that branch.
Take Prophet for example: to make Fei Ye become Prophet, the first step was to raise Fei Ye’s Spirit and Intelligence attributes. Once those increased, the chances of becoming intelligence‑void anomalies would greatly decrease.
But that still didn’t guarantee she would become Prophet. Next, one needed to boost her health strength, resistance, gene strength, and so on.
In short, this was a system project requiring Fei Ye to cooperate with her. If she worked alone, both would end up unhappy.
At least Fei Ye had done this to save her. Bai Fu would not abandon Fei Ye. Besides, if Fei Ye grew stronger, that meant more soup to serve her.
Bai Fu closed the panel in front of her, holding Fei Ye in a princess‑carry pose, and quickly flew from the battle site toward the ship.
At that moment, the dazzling light from the explosion had not yet fully dissipated.
From all sides, everyone watching here widened their eyes, eager to know the final result of the clash.
The situation was extremely delicate.
Ever since discovering Night Mother came from Secret Tower, almost everyone at the scene was in a state of intense unease.
That was Secret Tower after all.
“This is a trap. We have all been deceived!”
Manu’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He paced anxiously aboard the ship, awaiting the outcome of the battle and a response from the Joint Council.
After more than ten seconds, the deputy commander suddenly shouted: “There is movement! There is movement!!”
Manu rushed to the virtual display screen.
What first came into view was a shining Great Wall-like curtain of light in the starry sky. At its center, a pale blue light orb gradually grew larger, becoming ever more conspicuous.
Someone emerged. Who was it?
He strained and widened his eyes.
When the blue orb broke through the curtain of light and that iconic silver-white long hair came into view, Manu clenched both fists against his chest, raised them high, and let out a tremendous roar toward the sky.
“Victory, we won!”
That shout was like flipping a switch—instantly, deafening cheers erupted aboard this battleship and across every other observing warship.
They won!
Truly won!
As the light screen faded, Night Mother had already vanished. In the starry sky, only Bai Fu was seen flying with Fei Ye in her arms.
Those with sharp instincts immediately activated their onboard cameras, adjusted the angle, and snapped away at Bai Fu and Fei Ye nonstop. They sensed this would become a classic moment.
After roaring in triumph, Manu quickly ordered the nearest ship to dispatch a carrier-based aircraft to retrieve Bai Fu and Fei Ye, and instructed all ships to converge on their location.
Several dozen seconds later, Bai Fu, carrying Fei Ye, boarded the approaching interstellar transport ship safely.
Passing through the hatch into the ship, then through two short corridors, she found that Luni, Herbert, and others were already inside.
On one side came the cheers.
“Savior Saint!”
“Void Valkyrie!”
“The heroes are back!”
The cheers rumbled, seemingly shaking the whole transport.
If only there had been pre-prepared confetti cannons and champagne, Bai Fu figured she’d be drenched head to toe by now.
The last time she received a welcome like this was probably when she returned to Bai Fu Town after defeating the President of the Truth Society?
Amidst the full-ship celebration, a few frantic cries mixed in.
“Supervisor!”
Luni squeezed out of the crowd and dashed up to Bai Fu.
Herbert and the others followed quickly. Their eyes fell on Fei Ye, their expressions just as grave as Luni’s. Whether their concern was genuine or secretly gleeful over Fei Ye’s injury, that remained uncertain.
Seeing the anxious crowd, Bai Fu had Hei Fu wave reassuringly.
“Everyone, don’t worry. Supervisor Fei Ye is fine. The fight earlier was just too intense—she’s merely exhausted.”
Really?
Herbert and the others were skeptical, especially after seeing Luni’s reaction—it seemed like Luni knew something.
Of course it’s true. Look at Bai Fu—did she seem like someone who’d lie?
Hei Fu wore a confident smile.
At all costs, Herbert and the others couldn’t be allowed to suspect anything wrong with Fei Ye’s condition. Who knew what trouble they might stir up? Bai Fu had never lowered her guard around them.
While fending off Herbert and the rest, Bai Fu immediately contacted Luni via the communicator’s mental channel.
“Alright, Luni, calm down. Supervisor Fei Ye’s condition is a little off. Her Voidization progress has passed the halfway mark, but I have a method to control and guide the void blood inside her. I guarantee she won’t become a monster.”
“What?”
Luni was shocked, staring at Hei Fu in disbelief.
Even the Oathmaster, who had reached the transcendent tier, couldn’t solve Fei Ye’s issue and had said only the Supernova Legion could. Yet Bai Fu claimed she could do it?
“Think carefully. Since you met me, have I ever told a single lie or made a baseless claim? Has there been anything I said I’d do that didn’t come true?”
Bai Fu asked Luni without blinking.
In truth, almost everything out of her mouth was a lie. She was the ultimate white-cut-black. But who would know?
In outsiders’ eyes, she was the Savior Saint, the Goddess of Victory, the Pure White Heroine!
“This…”
Luni thought back carefully and realized things did indeed unfold just as Bai Fu described.
Bai Fu said calmly, “Don’t let Herbert and the others notice anything unusual. Once Supervisor Fei Ye wakes up, I’ll explain the details. For now, just join the celebration.”
Luni suppressed the unease and doubt in his heart, nodded quietly, then feigned sudden realization.
“So it’s just exhaustion? That’s great—thank goodness Supervisor is alright!”
Upon hearing Fei Ye was fine, the surrounding cheers grew louder.
Luni joined in the laughter. But as he laughed, his gaze lingered on Bai Fu’s upright back.
What exactly was Bai Fu’s true identity?
To confidently declare she could control the void blood—this was no ordinary leader from a low-tier civilization in the Dark Zone!
...
“Commander, Bai Fu and Fei Ye have both been confirmed to be fine—just a few injuries and some fatigue.”
Inside the battleship control center, Manu exhaled deeply after hearing the communicator’s report.
Thank goodness!
Joy spread across Manu’s face. “Arrange a place for Bai Fu and Fei Ye to rest. Tell them the best military doctor on Tianhu Star is on the way. Also, nutrient packs, wound-repair sprays—actually, just send everything we have over!”
The communicator quickly nodded.
In fact, the personnel on the ship had already begun doing that.
After giving his orders, Manu continued to monitor the communicator directly linked to the Joint Council. After a little over a minute, it finally rang.
“Manu, we’ve received your message.”
“What did the investigation reveal?”
“That woman was indeed the Disaster-class seed from Secret Tower—Night Mother, Sersia. Secret Tower has indeed allied with the Dark Zone Insect Swarm.”
Manu’s face darkened. “So it really was a trap. Our operation, which we spent a month preparing, must be aborted.”
“No.”
A firm denial came from the other side.
Hm?
Manu was puzzled.
“It was indeed a trap. But Secret Tower may not yet know we’ve realized it. That makes this a rare opportunity. We’ve just contacted the Tide Civilization, the Eye of Heaven Alliance, and the Kast Civilization. They’ve agreed to send fleets to join us in launching a pincer attack on the Dark Zone Insect Swarm’s nest in the Sea Lion System. With luck, we might land a heavy blow against Secret Tower—and avenge our fallen comrades on Tianhu Star!”
Manu was silent for a moment.
He thought this was worth a try. Even if they failed, it didn’t matter. If they succeeded, it would be a heavy strike against the increasingly arrogant Secret Tower.
“What do I need to do to cooperate?”
“Withdraw from Tianhu Star for now. Since it’s confirmed that Tianhu Star is bait laid by Secret Tower and the Dark Zone Insect Swarm, there’s no need to stay there temporarily. Once our operation here concludes, we’ll redeploy forces.”
“I understand.”
“As for the payment to the mercenaries, the Joint Council has already prepared it. Just handle it according to the regulations.”
Manu nodded.
Having just endured a life-and-death battle, it was indeed time to share some good news and lift everyone’s spirits.
...
After carrying Fei Ye into the rest room, Bai Fu had just taken a seat on the chair beside her and hadn’t yet had time to check Fei Ye’s detailed condition when she received news that the garrison on Tianhu Star was about to withdraw.
But compared to that, what she cared more about was another message—
The commission was complete, and Manu was coming to deliver the mission rewards!
Even the usually stern-faced Herbert cracked a smile; Bai Fu was even more excited.
It’s here, it’s here, the moment she had most looked forward to had finally arrived!
To her surprise, although she had previously agreed with Manu to convert all Credit Coins rewards into advanced knowledge and Prayer Card blueprints, Manu still transferred an extra 500,000 Credit Coins to her account during the commission settlement.
“Very good, you people know how to play the game.”
Bai Fu’s Favorability with the Star Web Commonwealth soared.
500,000 Credit Coins were enough for her to purchase 25 low-purity Psionic Crystals. Ten of those could be used to upgrade Psionic Construct to Lv2, unlocking one more slot for a persistent psionic construct.
After upgrading, the remaining 15 Psionic Crystals could be fed to Yulia. With that many, it should be enough to help Yulia break through and advance to an A-rank Psionicist. Given Yulia’s capabilities, once she became A-rank, she would definitely be stronger than most ordinary A-rank Psionicists.
“It’s time to further build my core team.”
Bai Fu nodded to herself.
To thrive in the Star Sea, you needed Reputation, connections, and above all, strength and a solid crew!
After pocketing the Star Web Commonwealth’s benefits, Bai Fu turned her attention back to the commission task.
You completed the Hidden Quest [Like a Flood]
This commission had five branches and one hidden reward.
Branch One required fending off the first wave of the Dark Zone Insect Swarm. Although Bai Fu didn’t personally enter the battlefield, her two Big Hei Fus placed there, along with the Prayer Cards she crafted, earned her significant contributions. In the end, she gained 16.7 million XP.
Branch Two required ensuring the three defense lines held for ten days. By the end of the Tianhu Star war, the third defense line still stood firm, but the second line had fallen too quickly, so the evaluation for this branch was not high.
“9.2 million XP and three Ultra-Healing Potions. The Ultra-Healing Potions restore 10,000 HP in a short time. Though the XP reward isn’t huge, these potions are excellent—they restore nearly half my HP bar.”
Bai Fu was quite satisfied with this reward.
Branch Three was a kill mission, granting 200,000 XP per Adult Burrower slain. During the battle, she eliminated 37 Adult Burrowers, netting 7.4 million XP.
Branch Four required eliminating a Bio-warship. But since the Bio-warship was destroyed by cannon fire and the Planetary Array Cannon, Bai Fu didn’t receive any reward for it.
A minor regret, but ultimately not a big deal.
Because Branch Five [Buy Time] offered rewards generous enough to make her forget the small loss.
Branch Five’s reward was based on the contribution of Bai Fu’s team. Both Bai Fu and the players were among the top contributors during the Tianhu Star campaign, so this reward was also quite hefty.
Reward received: Star Web Commonwealth Favorability +400, 24 million XP, 10 Attribute Points
Those 400 points pushed her Favorability with the Star Web Commonwealth to 480, upgrading from [Friendly] to [Respectful], just 520 points away from [Reverent].
Adding the 24 million XP just earned, Bai Fu now had over 60 million XP. Earning that much from one mission was nothing to scoff at—but when compared to extracting XP from players…
She shook her head, realizing just how addicting that taste of power was.
It had to be the players!
Conveniently, the players had also earned a lot of XP this time. Once they returned to Ulysses Star, it would be time to find an excuse to squeeze them a bit.
After all, those players couldn’t level up anyway with XP hoarded. Better they hand it all over so she could have a good time. If she was pleased, she could return them even greater benefits.
Bai Fu opened her Attribute panel, placed all 10 Attribute Points into Inspiration, then maxed out all recently upgradeable skills and Prayer Cards.
“Even without upgrades, the diameter of Psychic Storm was dozens of meters. Now at +10, it reached 300 meters in diameter—this power could easily flatten a small town.”
Bai Fu was extremely satisfied with the upgrades.
The only downside was that these +10 high-level Prayer Cards were very costly to make. Without free material supplies from the Star Web Commonwealth, she would need to use cards sparingly. Otherwise, she’d bankrupt herself quickly.
After reviewing the standard rewards, Bai Fu clicked on the hidden reward unlocked after reaching 300 Faction Reputation.
The hidden reward was a single item—
Skill Advancement Stone
As the name suggested, the Skill Advancement Stone allowed one skill to be upgraded to a higher-tier version, provided the skill was already maxed out and had a corresponding advanced form.
“Whoa—”
After reading the item description, Bai Fu’s eyes widened.
Such a thing existed?
She immediately checked her skills—various passives, Heavenly Burial, Spinning Demon Blade, Psionic Repair, Summon True Spirit, Psionic Field…
Wait, this is it—Psionic Field!
Bai Fu had long coveted the advanced version of Psionic Field. After using the Skill Advancement Stone on it, Psionic Field became Advanced Force Field. Compared to Lv10 Psionic Field, the damage reduction and bonus damage coefficients at Lv1 of Advanced Force Field were the same, but the former Repulsion Field was now a Multi-functional Force Field.
Repel, compress, tear, attract, distort—the utility of the field had skyrocketed.
“Amazing!”
Bai Fu was overjoyed. No wonder it was the skill she had copied from Yulia—Advanced Force Field could even be further advanced.
“This commission was totally worth it.”
Before arriving on Tianhu Star, she had been stuck at peak A-rank. After leaving, she had successfully ascended to S-rank, gained three sets of advanced knowledge, several high-level Prayer Cards, 500,000 Credit Coins, three Assembly Lines, and tons of Reputation and Favorability, along with plenty of secret intelligence. She had profited immensely.
Now this was a true bountiful harvest!
However, Bai Fu was well aware that the benefits she gained from the Tianhu Star operation were far from limited to this.
You triggered a hidden storyline. Initial Gate Galaxy Cluster Storyline Exploration +0.2%
Storyline Exploration!
This meant she could look forward to another round of enhancements. In addition, with the spread of her Reputation, there were surely many more benefits awaiting her.
Bai Fu closed all panels.
After bidding farewell to Manu who distributed the rewards, she walked straight to the resting area where Fei Ye was. She planned to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth physical examination on Fei Ye, and at the same time check online to see how people in the Sea Lion System were now talking about her.
As she passed through the corridor of the ship, everyone warmly called out her name. Many even brought her gifts. She had clearly become the brightest presence in the entire fleet, as if cloaked in Holy Light.
Such was the power of popularity!
...
While the Tianhu Star fleet was packing up and retreating from Tianhu Star, in a distant corner of space, Night Mother Sersia suddenly jolted awake from bed.
She pressed one hand to her chest and gasped heavily.
After a moment, there came a knock at the door. The scene outside appeared before her eyes—at the door stood a man whose head was obscured by constantly shifting prismatic light.
The Chief Steward of Secret Tower!
Sersia's mind flashed with that title.
She got up from bed, opened the door, and lowered her head. “I’m sorry. I messed up. I didn’t bring the Original Sample back, nor did I kill that woman named Bai Fu.”
A gentle voice replied, “It’s not your fault. Just now, survivors among the men Holt took to Tianhu Star sent back a message. They said that before dying, Holt revealed an important piece of information.”
Sersia froze slightly. “What information?”
The Chief Steward said, “Holt said, Bai Fu isn’t human at all.”
“A special race?”
Sersia’s pupils contracted.
That meant she was like her—not exactly, though. Bai Fu was likely never human to begin with, whereas Sersia had once been human and only later became a half-human, half-monster.
The Chief Steward said, “That Bai Fu has a very special ability, and with the Void Valkyrie on her side, your failure is understandable. Rest for now. I’ll come to you with your next mission.”
Sersia nodded. As she saw the Chief Steward preparing to leave, she quickly asked, “What does the Leader think of my failure?”
The Chief Steward replied, “The Leader wants you to continue refining your ability. It is a gift from the heavens.”
Continue refining her ability?
Sersia felt her heart clench.
In truth, she loathed this ability, and loathed herself as she was now. But if it was the Leader—the one who had given her a second life—asking her to do so, then she had no choice but to obey.
After the Chief Steward left, Sersia exited her room.
As she passed through the hallway, everyone she encountered shrank back in fear, looking at her as if she were a monster.
That’s right, that look!
In Secret Tower, aside from official mission handovers, no one dared approach her—even though she possessed a face more alluring than a fox and a figure more perfect than a fitness queen.
Because she was a monster parasitized by a spider!
The spider devoured her body, and she devoured the spider’s.
A few minutes later, Sersia arrived at the gravity training room—not to train, but to take a bath.
Because using the special ability Life Descent to appear beside the brain bug’s corpse had consumed a massive amount of stamina, she was drenched in sweat. The sweat soaked between her skin and the black deep-V bodysuit, and the light friction made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
She had the AI prepare hot water and adjust the virtual environment. She undressed, raised a leg, and entered the bath.
With the back of her head resting lightly on the cushion, Sersia said, “Open the largest news channel of the Star Web Commonwealth.”
A virtual screen popped up. The news channel was broadcasting the latest about Bai Fu and Fei Ye.
In the report, Bai Fu was hailed as the Savior Saint, the Goddess of Victory. She stood surrounded by crowds, spotlight shining on her. She wore a soft smile, gentle as water, as if she were born to be the heroine—one who effortlessly drew every gaze.
Sersia lowered her head, looked at her chest barely submerged in water, looked at the strange markings that had been hidden under the black deep-V bodysuit.
Why? Clearly, neither of them were human—yet Bai Fu could be the beloved heroine of all, while she could only hide in this bath, a monster even she herself loathed?
A surge of violent emotion rose in Sersia.
Its name was—
Jealousy!
Sersia raised her right hand and swiped forcefully at the virtual screen. It shattered. The sound of the news vanished. Only her heavy breathing echoed through the bathroom.
PS: Thanks to Shihua for the donation.