Chapter 190: Racial Evolution, Bai Fu Ascending to Peak S-rank!
While the Players on Indigo Star were indulging in the joy of loot box events, Bai Fu was also engaging Anya and the others in a game of probability.
Under normal circumstances, the chance of her triggering a Psychic Mutation using a Dissociative Agent was only 2.3%, but with the dual bonuses from the Lucky Talent and the special equipment Needle of Sin and Punishment, this probability increased to 32.3%.
Although still less than one-third, this rate was already considered high. After all, she currently had two Original Samples, and Yulia could produce dozens of doses of Dissociative Agent daily from them.
“Let’s begin.”
Bai Fu was the first to use a dose of Dissociative Agent.
Under the “domain” of the Needle of Sin and Punishment, she entered a very peculiar state. For a brief moment, she felt her consciousness detach from her body. Even with her eyes closed, she could “see” every part of her body clearly with her mind—more clearly than with her eyes.
“This feels a bit like the 'out-of-body experience' in cultivation novels.”
In this strange state, her body’s absorption rate of the Dissociative Agent increased severalfold, and the fusion between her cells and the agent became much more efficient.
Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Fu injected more doses consecutively. By the fourth injection, a system prompt sounded in her ear.
【You have triggered a new Psychic Mutation】
The first time she experienced a Psychic Mutation, she received a permanent buff of +10% to base Mental Attributes. The second mutation only granted a 2% increase, but free buffs were not to be wasted.
“Alright, keep going!”
After injecting 41 doses of Dissociative Agent, including the earlier ones, she triggered five Psychic Mutations in total. Finally, Bai Fu heard the system prompt she had longed to hear.
【You have reached the critical threshold of Psychic Mutation count. You have gained the opportunity for Racial Evolution】
【As your current race is [Star-praying Human], upon successful evolution, your race will be changed to [Shadow Wraith (Star-praying Human)]】
“Hm?”
Bai Fu’s eyes lit up the moment she saw this prompt. She had initially worried that evolving into a Shadow Wraith would strip her of the racial traits of a Star-praying Human, making her lose access to additional Inspiration stat boosts upon leveling. But to her surprise, the humanoid form of the Shadow Wraith retained all the traits of a Star-praying Human.
Was this the special racial trait of unique races?
Bai Fu immediately tapped the evolve button.
【Racial Evolution in progress...】
In an instant, an intense, bone-scraping pain surged from deep within her body. If not for Bai Fu’s battle-hardened experience, she might have cried out from the sudden agony. Even so, her complexion turned pale uncontrollably, looking even worse than when she overdid experiments with Yulia.
“Hey, are you really okay?”
Hiye hurried forward to support Bai Fu, and the others followed, visibly tense.
Bai Fu couldn’t speak and could only wave her hand weakly.
Hiye was about to say something when Bai Fu’s body suddenly became shrouded in a layer of gray mist and started to blur. Alarmed, Hiye tried to grab Bai Fu’s hand, only to find her own hand passed right through Bai Fu’s wrist.
“?”
She stood frozen in shock. When she looked up again, she saw Bai Fu’s body flickering repeatedly, like an old cathode-ray TV screen suffering from poor signal reception.
“Boss!”
Anya quickly put away the Needle of Sin and Punishment and lunged toward Bai Fu, only to catch nothing but air. When she steadied herself and turned back, the room was completely devoid of Bai Fu’s presence.
It’s over—it’s really over. Boss is dead!
Anya broke down completely, and Hiye, Xia Shi, and Vic were also panicking, utterly clueless about what to do. Despair and grief filled the room.
Seeing this, Yulia could only pinch the bridge of her nose helplessly.
So none of you understand Bai Fu like I do?
Dead?
Would Bai Fu be the type to easily throw herself into danger?
Then again, fair enough. In terms of understanding Bai Fu, no one in the universe could claim to surpass her—not even Bai Fu herself. All those countless experiments they had conducted together weren’t for nothing!
Of course, the main reason Yulia could confidently say Bai Fu wasn’t dead this time was because the two of them were still in a state of dual-channel connection. Since that connection conduit hadn't vanished, it meant Bai Fu was still alive.
“Relax, Bai Fu is just fine. I’ll go get her.”
Yulia followed the connection and walked toward the corner of the room, where Bai Fu floated.
At that moment, Bai Fu was fully immersed in the game notifications.
【You have completed Gene Optimization. Your race has changed to [Shadow Wraith (Star-praying Human)]】
【Racial change complete. You have gained Stat Bonuses——
Strength +13, Agility +28, Constitution +17, Intelligence +12, Mental +39, Inspiration +14】
【You have gained new racial trait bonuses——
Consume Mental Value to enter [Wraith] form;
HP conversion +5 per point of Constitution;
+50% Mental Resistance, +10% Psychic Damage Reduction Rate】
The moment the evolution completed, the pain receded like a tide. Bai Fu felt as if a shackle had been lifted—her body was warm and inexplicably comfortable.
She quickly checked the changes in her body.
In Wraith form, she could freely change her shape and easily pass through ordinary walls. Her movement speed during traversal reached nearly three times that of her normal form. Moreover, her perception had become significantly sharper—she could clearly sense energy fluctuations around her, including electricity and the internal energy flows within Yulia and the others.
This unique perception ability was extremely useful in combat. Used effectively, she could anticipate an opponent’s next move by observing the direction of energy flow, helping her decide whether to dodge or counterattack.
“With the stat bonuses and the increase in HP conversion rate, my strength is at least 20 to 30 percent higher than before!”
Bai Fu grew even more excited imagining the bonuses that would come with becoming a Void Lifeform.
The traits of Void Lifeform far exceeded those of both Shadow Wraith and Star-praying Human, and it also came with unique explosive skills.
“Let’s check out my original form now.”
Bai Fu exited Wraith form and landed lightly on the ground. Just as her feet touched down, Yulia approached, and Bai Fu grabbed her hand.
“Don’t you think I’ve become better-looking?”
Yulia rolled her eyes. “Didn’t notice. Just think you’ve gotten more narcissistic.”
Bai Fu pouted. What was wrong with narcissism? Wasn’t it only right to be proud of a good-looking face?
After a moment of reflection, Bai Fu suddenly realized that although her appearance hadn’t changed, the internal structure of her body had become completely different.
The most direct change was that even without food, as long as there was a continuous energy supply, she would not starve. A lesser but still significant change was that her bones and internal organs had undergone fundamental transformation, leading to an extremely exaggerated improvement in her body’s flexibility.
Forget a simple split—now, when lifting her leg, she could easily bend herself into a taut bow.
This special ability was very useful, whether in combat or when “fighting” Yulia, and provided a significant boost to her combat power.
“So this is a special race existing between physical and energy form,”
Bai Fu thought to herself in awe.
Yulia couldn’t help but comment, “Stop admiring yourself. When you vanished earlier, Anya and the others thought you were dead. How did you suddenly turn invisible? Did overusing the agent cause a Mutation?”
Bai Fu nodded. “You guessed right. After accumulating multiple Psychic Mutations, I triggered a Mutation and became a Shadow Wraith.”
Yulia: “?”
Well then, time to research Bai Fu even deeper!
Bai Fu had no intention of hiding it, because she wanted both Anya and Vic, who followed the Psionic stream, to become Shadow Wraiths too.
“Alright, stop staring at me. You should try injecting Dissociative Agent as well.”
Under Bai Fu’s urging, Anya once again brought out the Needle of Sin and Punishment.
Half a day later, thanks to Bai Fu’s guidance, both Anya and Vic successfully transformed into Shadow Wraiths. As for Yulia, Hiye, and Xia Shi, they all triggered five layers of Psychic Mutations.
The improvement in Mental Attributes didn’t help Yulia and Xia Shi much, but it significantly boosted the strength of Anya and Vic.
Anya hadn’t leveled up yet, but she was already no weaker than some regular A-rank Psionicists. Vic’s strength had increased even more dramatically, making him one of the elite among A-rank Psionicists.
But aside from Bai Fu, the happiest person was undoubtedly Hiye.
After triggering five layers of Psychic Mutations, her Compatibility Rate with the Prophet soared to 61%, while Bai Fu’s own rate rose to 64.2%.
“Further boosting Compatibility through Mental increase won’t help much anymore. Next, I need to find ways to increase Intelligence.”
Bai Fu set the matter aside for now because Anya came looking for her.
“Boss, during the evolution into a Shadow Wraith, I accidentally saw something incredible through the Needle of Sin and Punishment.”
“What did you see?”
“It was like this...”
According to Anya, she had witnessed an intense battle through the Needle of Sin and Punishment. The combatants were two massive bugs, one of which wielded the Needle of Sin and Punishment. In the end, the one holding the needle was ambushed and defeated. At the brink of death, it cast the Needle of Sin and Punishment into a spatial rift, where it drifted randomly and accidentally arrived on Indigo Star.
Once out of control, the Needle of Sin and Punishment began emitting regular waves of sin and punishment. Under its influence, some special Indigo Star natives mutated into “Demon Gods”, while the less special ones twisted into monsters. From that moment, Indigo Star entered centuries of chaos—until Bai Fu descended and brought it to an end.
“Bug?”
Bai Fu immediately thought of the Dark Zone Insect Swarm.
But since she had never seen a high-level individual from the Dark Zone Insect Swarm, she couldn’t confirm whether the bug Anya described was one of them.
Just then, she received a new game prompt.
【You have triggered the Hidden Quest [Needle of Sin and Punishment Lost in the Dark Zone]】
【Quest Description: The Needle of Sin and Punishment that drifted to Indigo Star is a very rare Mental-type item. Multiple factions in the Tide Civilization are interested in it. Now that it has landed in the hands of your closest person, how to handle it is up to you.】
【Quest Objectives:
Branch 1. Hand the Needle of Sin and Punishment over to the Tide Civilization, Reward -30 million XP, unlock Favorability with the Tide Civilization, Unknown;
Branch 2. Hand the Needle of Sin and Punishment over to the Moon-blaspheming Alliance, Reward -30 million XP, unlock Favorability with the Moon-blaspheming Alliance, Unknown;
Branch 3. Keep it for yourself, Reward - None.】
【Note: This quest has a high probability of triggering follow-up missions, depending on your interactions with the various factions.】
Bai Fu raised an eyebrow. This quest was carved from the same mold as the one she received after acquiring the True Spirit Pillar. It seemed her guess was right—the Needle of Sin and Punishment played a crucial role in the main questline of the Tide Civilization, much like the True Spirit Pillar’s “status” in the Sea Lion System.
Very good. Whether to collect new titles, more Protagonists, more XP, or more key items in the main storyline, she now had every reason to explore more Newbie Planets.
According to the game description, special titles like 【Truth’s Bane】 and 【Ender of Demon Gods】 could be collected up to three at a time. Collecting all three would allow synthesis of a unique title that provided a +20% base stat bonus—a massive buff that would make ascending to the Calamity-level far easier.
“Everyone, move freely. I’m going to check out those Undying Ones on Indigo Star.”
After praising Anya for discovering the new quest, Bai Fu cheerfully went off to see the new batch of Players she had planted in her garden.
The Players on Indigo Star had long been impatient. Ever since discovering that Bai Fu might be the Sovereign of the Shadowed Night, they had been craving her presence. Now that Bai Fu had truly arrived on Indigo Star, there was no way they’d hold back.
Clearly, Fu-fu couldn’t stay long on Indigo Star. If they didn’t make their move now, then when? Don’t wait until she’s gone and cry regretfully while facing her photo!
Skills, Advancement Knowledge, Prayer Cards, Special Equipment, Special Materials, Interstellar Common Language...
Go go go, Phase Charge go!
Money?
All for Fu-fu!
XP?
Aside from a bit kept for leveling, the rest—also all for Fu-fu!
Simply strolling once through the event area, Bai Fu found herself laden with Indigo Star currency and XP.
She planned to exchange the currency for resources and invest in the Dusk Cult. Her idea was to restructure the Dusk Cult into the Indigo Star branch of the Garden of Silence and have that branch manage the Players of Indigo Star.
As for the XP...
Bai Fu shrugged.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t working hard enough, or that her techniques weren’t advanced, or that she didn’t charm the Indigo Star Players deeply enough. The real issue was that extracting XP from Indigo Star Players was much harder than from Origin Star Players.
The reason was simple: not a single Psionic Class Player existed on Indigo Star. The Psionic Knowledge, Skills, Blueprints, and Items she used to milk XP from Origin Star Players barely sold here. Only a small group who wanted to try a Psionic Sub Class bought anything.
Even so, by the end of the five-day Celebration Event, Bai Fu had still amassed a full 1.1 billion XP!
That’s 1.1 billion—ten digits!
It was the first time Bai Fu had extracted so much XP from Players, and now she was well and truly stuffed.
But this still wasn’t the limit of Indigo Star Players. They still had plenty in reserve. When she returned to the Star Sea and listed some Mental Class Knowledge Books, Skill Books, and Blueprints in the Faction Store, she estimated she could squeeze a few hundred million more XP from them.
Looking further ahead, if she could gradually reshape all Indigo Star Players into her mold—in other words, get them to switch to Psionic Classes—she could extract another 1 billion XP down the line.
In short, the XP harvested from Indigo Star this time was enough to level up Bai Fu’s Main Class to level 110, officially stepping into the S+ tier.
But before that, she still needed to collect Advancement Knowledge and complete a Class Transfer Quest to finish the final transfer from level 100 to 101.
“Let’s go!”
Bai Fu invested 250 million XP in one go, leveling Miracle Constructor from Lv19 to Lv25, bringing her Psionic Main Class total level to 100.
After leveling up, her stats became—
【HP】: 30703/30703
【Psionic Value】: 40210/40210
【Qi】: 3970/3970
【Stats】: Strength 169, Agility 334, Constitution 507, Intelligence 351, Mental 387, Inspiration 1148
Compared to when she first arrived on Indigo Star, her base HP had increased by more than 7000 points, base Psionic Value by over 5000, and base Inspiration by 157.
And that was just the numerical growth. Counting all the traits brought by the Shadow Wraith race, Bai Fu felt she could now easily take on two of her past selves.
“There are gaps even within the S-rank.”
She was still no match for Hiye or Cersia, but if it were someone like Herbert, the outcome would be hard to predict.
Herbert’s level was slightly higher than hers, but in terms of buffs, he couldn’t compare to her.
If not for becoming mortal enemies with the Secret Tower, she would almost be able to walk sideways across the entire Sea Lion System by now.
“Awesome!”
Bai Fu closed the game interface.
Besides herself, Anya, Yulia, and the others had also all seen strength improvements, especially Anya. After the Indigo Star visit, Anya had truly grown into an independent Psionicist, which was a huge boost to the development of the entire Garden of Silence faction.
“It’s time to implement the final plan!”
Bai Fu brought out the virtual battle platform from the spaceship and set up a selection event, imitating the format from Origin Star.
This time, she still planned to take 3,000 Indigo Star Players to the Star Sea.
The new event immediately caught the attention of all Indigo Star inhabitants, including both Players and NPCs.
To the Star Sea?
The President of the Nation of Star Pursuit was shocked.
He had suspected Bai Fu might be from the Star Sea when he first saw the spaceship, but only when Bai Fu admitted it did he dare believe it.
So there really were stronger civilizations and more powerful Psionicists in that endless Star Sea?
Discussions about the Star Sea instantly became the hottest topic on all of Indigo Star.
On the second day of the discussion’s surge, Ichi and Teresa came to find Bai Fu, their eyes glinting with a strange light.
Bai Fu instantly understood their intent.
They wanted to follow her to venture into the Star Sea!
Recruiting two Protagonists as her followers—this was a great way to boost her own status, and Bai Fu was more than happy to do it. However, Ichi and Teresa were still too weak right now, and once she returned to the Star Sea, she might have to face Cersia directly. So she didn’t plan to bring Ichi and Teresa to the Star Sea for the time being. Her plan was to let them stay on Indigo Star a while longer until version 2.0. During this period, she wanted them to lead the Indigo Star branch of the Garden of Silence.
The Root had been removed, but the monsters and the Secret Societies causing chaos hadn’t been wiped out yet. It was perfect to have Ichi and Teresa lead the Players to finish the cleanup.
With two Protagonists personally overseeing branch missions, Bai Fu didn’t believe anything could go wrong.
As for the current Psionic Venerable of the Dusk Cult, once the cult was renamed, she would just assign him a random idle post to keep him occupied.
Bai Fu explained her plan to Ichi and Teresa.
After a moment of hesitation, they agreed. Though they longed for the Star Sea, they didn’t want to hold Bai Fu back.
After recent events, in their eyes, Bai Fu was no longer just a kindhearted Demon God, but the idol they worshiped—their guiding light.
Seeing Ichi and Teresa so cooperative, Bai Fu hurriedly handed them the previously promised medicine to heal their relatives and themselves. Then she summoned Anya, had her bring out the Needle of Sin and Punishment, and gave Ichi and Teresa a pile of Dissociative Agents.
“Alright, enough with the tears. If you really want to thank me, keep a close watch on the Garden of Silence and Indigo Star. Make sure no more ambitious troublemakers rise again.”
“Yes, Senior Bai Fu!”
Ichi and Teresa bowed deeply.
Bai Fu accepted it fully.
After all she had done, what was wrong with accepting bows from two Protagonists?
On the seventeenth day on Indigo Star, when the clock struck midnight, Bai Fu stood atop the highest point of the former Dusk Cult headquarters, lowered her head—and in an instant, all the Players in her field of vision vanished.
Version 1.3 had ended.
Version 1.4 was about to begin.
But for her, the thing she now looked forward to most was the fifth Enhancement during the version update.