Chapter 185: Unlocking the Plot Quest, Succubus Bai Fu Keeps Up the Momentum
At the command of the Secret Tower Chief Steward, all those in the Secret Tower responsible for intelligence work scrambled into action, determined to uncover the person or faction behind the article in the shortest time possible.
To put it bluntly, the impact of this incident was utterly vile.
Someone had the audacity to spread a rumor that the great Master of the Secret Tower had an affair with the Queen of the Insect Swarm of the Dark Zone—this… hmm, wait a second!
Some members of the Secret Tower, after reading the article shared by the Chief Steward, found themselves increasingly convinced that the article was exceptionally well-structured. Even after carefully combing through it, it was hard to find any logical flaws—it didn’t seem fabricated at all.
The Secret Tower was a very peculiar organization, shrouded in mystery—not just to outsiders unfamiliar with it, but even to the many who had joined the Secret Tower without holding high-ranking positions.
After all, the Secret Tower operated under the goal of “revenge” and functioned more like a terror organization. Departments within the organization worked independently, and on a day-to-day basis, the only person members ever saw was the Chief Steward, responsible for daily affairs. As for the Master of the Secret Tower, rumor had it that even high-level personnel rarely ever saw them.
Everyone only knew that the Master of the Secret Tower was extremely formidable—nothing more. That alone left a wide berth for speculation.
【We’re just saying, is it possible that this online article isn’t slander at all, but in fact revealing a truth?】
Damn it, very possible!
However, members of the Secret Tower who entertained this thought didn’t end up “judging” the Master of the Secret Tower or thinking of them as some pervert.
The universe was vast—what bizarre romantic combinations hadn’t been seen?
There were even sites where you could watch beefy men duke it out with rock creatures.
Though at least rock creatures were vaguely humanoid… the Queen of the Insect Swarm of the Dark Zone… all in all, that was just badass!
Members of the Secret Tower couldn’t help but feel awe.
“No wonder they’re the Master of the Secret Tower, truly the manliest of men, the ultimate alpha among males!”
“Whether they could actually go through with it or simply endured the humiliation for the sake of ambition, I must say—what a powerhouse!”
Everyone was in awe.
Under the leadership of such a real man, only then could the Secret Tower grow stronger, helping everyone realize their deepest desires!
If the Chief Steward knew what they were thinking, he might just cough up blood from sheer rage.
But admiration was one thing—the hearts of every Secret Tower member who had read the article were all hanging by a thread.
The plan had been exposed. Although the whistleblower hadn’t revealed the specific contents of the Secret Tower’s plot, it was already enough to trigger the vigilance of other major civilizations in the Initial Gate Galaxy Cluster. In the coming days, the pressure the Secret Tower would face would only grow.
This was troublesome.
With the strength of the Secret Tower, they could single-handedly confront any civilization within the Initial Gate Galaxy Cluster—but if those civilizations joined forces, the Secret Tower might not be able to handle it.
They had to find the author of that article quickly, or who knew what they might publish next?
Thanks to the efforts of network specialists, the Secret Tower quickly located the point of origin for the article. But it was useless—the article was posted from a well-known trade route, with countless ships passing through each day. Investigating one by one? Who knew how long that would take?
The Chief Steward was seething and couldn’t think of a better solution for the time being, so he redirected all his rage toward the Holy Blessing Cult.
Screw it. Whatever it takes, get the True Spirit Pillar from the Holy Blessing Cult first!
At the same time—
Elron and Sui Xi, who had just returned to the Holy Blessing Cult, were having thoughts remarkably similar to those of the Secret Tower’s Chief Steward.
“No idea who wrote that article, but its release has tipped the scales completely in our favor!” Elron said, eyes gleaming as he faced the white-robed Pope. “Everyone’s attention is focused on the Secret Tower now. We no longer need to confront them directly. We can slip into the crowd and seize the True Spirit Pillar—once we succeed…”
Sui Xi interrupted him, her cold expression tinged with fanaticism: “We can then open the Gate of the Ethereal Realm, receive the Apostle’s Blessing, and purify this starry sky!”
The Pope smiled kindly. “You two have done exceptionally well. Take a good rest. I’ll go inform that great one of what has happened.”
At the mention of that great one, Elron’s and Sui Xi’s eyes betrayed distinct differences.
In the former’s eyes, divine light sparkled; in the latter’s, a trace of indifference floated.
Neither spoke again. After nodding, they went their separate ways.
……
While the outside world was in an uproar over Bai Fu’s bombshell article, Bai Fu was cheerfully flipping through her newly unlocked quest.
【Based on the favorability of [Secret Tower] toward you, you have unlocked the plot quest [Secret Tower Exposed]】
【Quest Description: Hundreds of years ago, the flames of civilization war swept across the entire Initial Gate Galaxy Cluster. The Ghost Civilization, driven into a corner, launched the Dimensional Catastrophe in an attempt to annihilate the other civilizations and dominate the cluster. But their plan ultimately failed. The defeated Ghost Civilization was hunted down by all sides, and their remnants formed the Secret Tower. They have since hidden in the shadows, constantly awaiting the day they can return to the light. For that goal, they will eliminate any obstacles in their path. Now, you are also seen as an obstacle. Will you retreat or retaliate? The choice is yours!】
【Quest Objective: Eliminate the Secret Tower! (Current Contribution: 0.3%)】
【Reward: Based on your contribution to the destruction of the Secret Tower】
【Accept / Decline】
This was a standard quest. It was labeled as such because any unresolved grudge with a major faction would trigger a similar quest. But the fact that the quest itself was standard didn’t mean the rewards were.
After taking down the Truth Society, Bai Fu had not only gained tons of experience but also a special title that granted +5% to all stats, a gene optimization fluid that could evolve her race, and a special blueprint. In short, she had profited big time.
The Truth Society was only a surface-level faction and its rewards had already been this generous. The Secret Tower, on the other hand, was an interstellar force with Disaster-class Psionicists. If she could successfully destroy the Secret Tower, the rewards would undoubtedly be astronomical.
“Good, good, good! Now I’m even more motivated to send the Secret Tower packing. Not just the Secret Tower—every criminal organization that stirs up trouble shall be brought to justice by me!”
It wasn’t that Bai Fu truly wanted to be the Savior Saint or anything. But if taking down criminal groups came with such lucrative rewards, she’d reluctantly deal with them.
Accept!
After accepting the quest, Bai Fu stretched lazily. There was still proper business to attend to.
Having located the Secret Tower’s fleet base near the Sea Lion System, and with her article causing a stir, the Star Web Commonwealth had proactively reached out to her—primarily to discuss the future of the Ulysses civilization.
The Star Web was afraid, too.
The Secret Tower’s plan had yet to succeed and they were already being tormented. If the plan actually succeeded, they likely wouldn’t be able to withstand the Secret Tower’s onslaught—especially since they would then face the fully-realized Secret Tower, aligned with the Insect Swarm of the Dark Zone, which was in bed with the Master of the Secret Tower.
To stop the Secret Tower, the Star Web Joint Council had tried every possible method.
First, they joined forces with civilizations in the Initial Gate Galaxy Cluster that shared their concerns to form an Emergency Committee and increased their pressure on the Secret Tower.
Next, they issued commissions, seeking experts to help investigate the Secret Tower’s hideouts.
Lastly, they sought every means possible to halt the Secret Tower’s research on the “mysterious object” mentioned in the article.
How would they stop it?
Naturally, the first step was to target the Ulyssians that the Secret Tower urgently needed!
The Star Web feared that the Secret Tower would once again attack Ulysses Star to capture Ulyssians, so when they contacted Bai Fu, they proposed temporarily relocating all Ulyssians into Star Web territory for protection.
In Bai Fu’s view, this was quite a good proposal. If the Ulyssians stayed on Ulysses Star, they would be at immense risk. Even if she remained on constant high alert, she might not be able to protect them.
The problem was, the Ulyssians might not be willing to accept the proposal. They were deeply tied to their homeland, and past experiences had made them highly wary of outsiders.
With the expectation of failure, Bai Fu brought the proposal to Vic. To her surprise, not only did Vic agree, the Ulyssian civilians agreed as well.
“？”
Bai Fu was completely confused. What was going on? Since when did Ulyssians become so cooperative?
“We all believe in you. Since you, Savior Saint, think this is a good idea, we’ll go hide in the Star Web for now. You’ve already given so much to save your homeland. We can’t cause you any more trouble.”
“That’s right, Savior Saint, don’t worry about us for now. Focus on rebuilding your homeland first.”
Looking at the sincere faces in front of her, Bai Fu felt genuinely moved by these Ulyssians.
“I promise I won’t let anyone in the Star Web bully you without cause.”
After making her promise, she informed the Star Web of the situation. Not long after, the Star Web sent Manu over to pick them up.
Manu had become a real workhorse by now. Ever since he got along decently with Bai Fu, anything related to her—he was the one the Star Web always sent.
Just recently, he led the team that wiped out the Secret Tower’s hidden fleet base. He hadn’t even rested a day before the Joint Council sent him over to act as the head of the transport team.
The Star Web valued Bai Fu not just because of her good reputation or popularity, but primarily because of her close relationship with Hiye. They hoped to use Bai Fu and Hiye as a bridge to strengthen relations with the Star Covenant. If they could get the Star Covenant as a backer, they would have no reason to fear the Secret Tower anymore.
During the handoff with Manu, Bai Fu deliberately brought out Hiye to stand by her and the Ulyssians.
Not clinging to a bigshot would be foolish. Bai Fu wasn’t afraid of being called someone who lived off others. So what if she was? She wasn’t just going to eat the soft rice—she was going to eat it boldly!
“Don’t worry, if anyone dares to lay a hand on the Ulyssians at a time like this, I’ll break their legs myself and drag them before you!”
Manu exuded killing intent.
Bai Fu still trusted Manu. He was a decisive, far-sighted man who wasn’t afraid of trouble—a true patriot. If he dared say such things, then he must have been completely determined.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Manu began arranging for his soldiers to escort the Ulyssians onto the transport ships.
While waiting, Bai Fu turned to Vic: “You’re not going with them?”
Vic shook his head. “No point in going along. It’s better for me to stay here. I can still help with combat and guide Anya in her training.”
“As you like.”
Bai Fu didn’t push it further.
Two days later, Manu had finished relocating over a hundred thousand Ulyssians, leaving Ulysses Star eerily quiet.
But while Ulysses Star had quieted down, Bai Fu had become even busier.
She received express deliveries daily—from various trade centers, online shopping platforms, and even the Star Covenant headquarters.
Recently, she had purchased a huge amount of intelligence- and mental-enhancing drugs and items. The problem of Ethereal Form still needed to be resolved quickly. She herself wasn’t in a rush, but Hiye’s situation was different.
Hiye’s Ethereal Form progression had already exceeded 50%, reaching a level that demanded serious attention. Moreover, it had become Hiye’s psychological demon. If it wasn’t dealt with soon, no matter how cheerful she appeared, she could very well slip into depression.
“Open your mouth!”
After a series of actions, Bai Fu successfully increased her Intelligence by 31 points and Mental by 42 points. Hiye’s gains were slightly lower, but not by much.
The cost? Over a million Credit Coins.
These drugs and items weren’t cheap. Some had severe side effects, so Bai Fu didn’t dare use them carelessly. She planned to store them for now and resell them at a discount to reckless Players later.
“So, how much has the compatibility rate with the Prophet increased?”
Hiye stared intently at Bai Fu. Nervousness gripped her so tightly that all ten of her toes curled against the floor, her skin turning sheet-white.
Bai Fu smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Your compatibility rate has risen to 42%. Mine is now at 51%. As long as we keep up this pace, we’ll hit the safety line soon. Then neither of us will become freakish monsters.”
“That’s great!”
Overjoyed, Hiye hugged Bai Fu tightly and gave her a hearty slap on the back.
Others in the room also showed joy. Yulia led the applause. Though Anya disliked how Hiye always clung to Bai Fu, upon hearing that Bai Fu wouldn’t turn into a monster, she joined in the applause.
Great! The boss is safe—just great!
The least willing of them all was Cersia. But as an actress, she knew full well that no matter how unwilling she was, she had to act the part.
After soothing Hiye, Bai Fu suddenly received news from Green Sludge, who had come from the Operations Department of the Initial Gate Galaxy Cluster under the Star Covenant.
There were two updates.
First, Star Covenant specialists were already calculating the exact coordinates of the Newbie Planet where the Players were located. It shouldn’t take much longer.
Second, Herbert had been stirring lately. Although he hadn’t directly targeted Hiye, he’d been quietly approaching Players, attempting to poach them.
“Poaching?”
Tch.
Herbert thought he could compare to her, the one who in the Players’ eyes was 【White · Saint of the Dark Zone · Sovereign of the Shadowed Night · Protagonist of the Sea Lion System · Prison Immortal · Fu】?
Bai Fu was 100% confident that no Players would be lured away by Herbert, but the constant secret contact was still irritating.
“Maybe…”
Bai Fu suddenly thought of “Spy King” Tai’er Zhenren.
That’s it. She would have Tai’er Zhenren take a team of Players and pretend to defect to Herbert. This way, they could both deter Herbert from bothering them and use Tai’er Zhenren to gather intel—just in case Herbert tried some underhanded trick against Hiye.
“I’ll take care of it. You don’t need to worry. No need to inform Supervisor Hiye about this.”
After briefing Green Sludge, Bai Fu quickly contacted Tai’er Zhenren and explained her plan.
Tai’er Zhenren agreed immediately. Of course he would accept such a fun mission. Grinding monsters and doing quests paled in comparison to playing a spy—and besides, it would be a fresh wave of fame.
“Mission guaranteed complete!”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
Bai Fu smiled as she saw Tai’er Zhenren off.
Thanks to her disruption, the attention of all major factions had shifted away from her and Hiye. And since the location of the Newbie Planet still hadn’t been calculated, she was, for the time being, free.
“This period can’t be wasted. I’ve got to make good use of it to boost my strength.”
The first person Bai Fu thought of was Yulia.
Perfect. It was time to find Yulia for a Mana Recharge and quickly stack the layers of the 【Heart of the Apostle】. Once all seven layers were stacked, her strength would multiply several times over.
Bai Fu knocked on the door of Yulia’s laboratory.
“What do you want?”
“Mana Recharge.”
“Hm?”
Yulia froze.
Usually, she was the one actively seeking Bai Fu out for experiments. Why was Bai Fu taking the initiative this time?
Well, initiative was good—experiments were always more fruitful when the subject was proactive. It wasn’t fun being the only one enthusiastic all the time.
She immediately pulled Bai Fu inside.
“Wait, I mean a proper Mana Recharge, not—”
Bang!
The loud slam of the door completely drowned out Bai Fu’s voice.
Standing not far away, Cersia frowned and quickly walked over to the lab’s exterior, trying to eavesdrop on what Bai Fu and Yulia were doing. But the soundproofing in this lab was far too effective. She didn’t dare use her abilities for fear of being discovered. After listening for a long time and hearing nothing, all she could do was imagine things on her own.
Mana Recharge?
That sounded like a magic-related term. But neither Bai Fu nor Yulia were mages. Could it be some kind of game? Judging by their demeanor, it must be a fun one. But at a time like this, did they really feel like playing games?
No matter how hard she thought, Cersia couldn’t figure out what Mana Recharge meant. The more she thought, the more irritated she became—and the more irritated, the more her recent memories replayed in her mind.
She saw Bai Fu together with Yulia, Anya, Hiye, and Xia Shi, all joyful and harmonious.
She saw how much the Ulyssians respected Bai Fu.
She saw how the people of the Star Web praised Bai Fu.
That brilliance, that confidence and ease.
She had once thought about doing good to gain others’ love too. But her power came from the spider monster parasitizing her. She couldn’t fully control this power. After it went berserk and she accidentally killed someone, she understood—she could only long for such things but would never truly have them.
In short, joy and sorrow between people were not shared. She simply found Bai Fu and the others noisy.
If she could, of course she would like to hug Bai Fu like Hiye, or recharge Mana with Bai Fu like Yulia...
But now, that unfulfilled desire had completely turned into jealousy—a jealousy that wanted to destroy everything.
“I’m going to devour you—devour you like a monster!”
Cersia waited. When Bai Fu emerged from Yulia’s lab looking pale, she immediately stepped in to block her.
“Sorry, there’s something I’ve been hiding from you. After staying on Ulysses Star for so long, I was deeply moved. I think I shouldn’t keep it a secret anymore.”
“Hmm?” Bai Fu blinked, “What is it?”
Cersia said, “Let’s talk somewhere private.”
Bai Fu nodded. “Let’s go to my room, then.”
The two walked one after the other to Bai Fu’s room.