Chapter 210: Recorded in History, the Reunion of the Player and Bai Fu in the Star Sea!
In a place with no outsiders, Bai Fu took out the Nascent Esper Evolution Tree Atlas.
Compared to before she had recorded three new Esper Powers, the atlas had undergone a noticeable change.
First, three new branches appeared in the upper left corner of the atlas, each representing a newly recorded Esper Power.
Second, a special inverted triangle symbol appeared on the trunk at the center of the atlas, with floating game text next to it—
【Exclusive Ability 1: Copy (Blank)】
Finally, the item description of the atlas also differed slightly from before.
【Nascent Esper Evolution Tree Atlas】
【Quality】: Orange (+)
【Item Description】: A special item obtained from the King of Espers, recording the characteristics of various Esper Powers and their evolutionary paths. It seems to harbor extraordinary power, waiting to be unlocked.
【Additional Effect】: Exclusive Ability - Copy
【Note】: This item is an S-grade item from Jingu Star.
As before, Bai Fu tapped the "+" symbol behind the orange text. In an instant, she heard the game prompt in her ear once again.
【You have triggered the Hidden Quest [Esper Evolution Tree (I)]】
【Quest Description: After tireless effort, you have successfully awakened a power hidden within the Nascent Esper Evolution Tree Atlas. This is a trial. Now that you’ve passed it, you’ve gained the atlas’s recognition. Try helping it recover more power.】
【Quest Objective: Record a total of 10 new Esper Powers of A-grade or higher (Current progress: 3/10)】
【Reward: 30 million XP, Random Attribute Blessing, Esper Garden Link +10】
【Note: This is a chain quest. Completing it will unlock the next stage.】
“Another hidden quest, triggered by an S-grade item from the Newbie Planet… Feels like this quest won’t be simple.”
Bai Fu quickly scanned through the quest details, and her gaze eventually settled on the words【Esper Garden】.
That seemed like something important?
She connected to the Interstellar Network and searched for【Esper Garden】.
In truth, she hadn’t expected to find anything, but the results far exceeded her expectations. There was actually a vast amount of information online about the Esper Garden.
The Esper Garden was a Universe-scale Faction, on par with the Rebirth Empire, Titan Industries, and Supernova Legion!
It had been active ten thousand years ago. At that time, the Rebirth Empire and the other two Universal Civilizations, unable to gain the upper hand against each other, finally signed the “Interstellar Peace Accord” at the negotiation table, ending a long war and shifting focus to the exploration of the Dark Zone.
That marked the beginning of the Forward Era.
During the Forward Era, an expedition team from the Rebirth Empire discovered the Esper Garden, a civilization within the Dark Zone. War soon broke out.
Because it had been so long ago, no one could now say for sure who had started the war.
In the beginning, the Rebirth Empire thought the war would be over quickly, but as the Esper Garden kept revealing hidden strengths, they realized they were facing a Universe-scale Faction no weaker than themselves!
The Esper Garden had a total of 14 Domination-level Psionicists. Though their number of warships couldn’t compare with the Rebirth Empire’s, they were impressively durable.
Clearly, the Esper Garden, with such deep reserves, wasn’t something the Rebirth Empire could crush alone. Once the war entered a stalemate, the Rebirth Empire had no choice but to invite their old rivals, Titan Industries and Supernova Legion, to join the war.
Facing a simultaneous attack by three Universe-scale Factions, the Esper Garden eventually fell. Its territories were divided among the three powers, and the area the Rebirth Empire occupied was named【Star Ring Island】.
Bai Fu scoured through a flood of information and finally found the data she needed.
According to records, the Esper Garden was a super civilization founded by a group of Espers. During its development, it poured the entire civilization’s wisdom into forging a cosmic treasure called the【Esper Evolution Tree】.
The Esper Evolution Tree recorded every Esper Power that had ever existed within the Esper Garden’s history. It categorized and organized them into a vast interconnected web with many unimaginable abilities.
The Esper Garden created the Esper Evolution Tree in hopes of tracing the origin of Esper Powers and seeking powers beyond transcendence.
But their plan ultimately failed—because before the Esper Evolution Tree could evolve into its final form, their entire civilization had perished.
“This hidden quest actually involves a Universe-scale Faction that’s already been destroyed?”
Bai Fu’s eyelid twitched violently.
She had a hunch this hidden quest might tie into the main storyline of version 3.0 or even 4.0!
“This thing might be far more valuable than I imagined. If anyone else recognizes it, there could be big trouble.”
With that in mind, Bai Fu hurriedly stashed the atlas back into her personal storage.
“What’s wrong? Something feel off?”
Cersia had noticed Bai Fu’s unusual behavior.
Bai Fu calmed her excitement and explained, “The gains this time were far greater than I expected. If I can restore the atlas’s power successfully, it might not only solve the issue with that spider on you, but even take your abilities to the next level.”
Really?
Cersia’s eyes lit up at once.
She had become what she was today all because of that spider fused with her.
Though the spider had granted her extraordinary power, it had also earned her the title of monster. From childhood to now, she had hardly ever known happiness. She had dreamed more than once of being disemboweled by the spider and eaten alive.
Fear, self-loathing…
Having grown up with these twisted emotions, it was only natural that Cersia herself had become somewhat warped.
Now, hearing there might be a chance to break free from the spider’s control, it was hard not to be overjoyed.
“What do I have to do?”
Bai Fu said, “Just keep recording rare Esper Powers.”
Cersia nodded at once. “I’ll help keep an eye out.”
Bai Fu thanked her, then opened the interface for the new unlocked ability【Copy】on the atlas and checked the detailed description.
The【Copy】ability could only copy the skills of targets whose Main Class level wasn’t more than 10 levels higher than hers. After a successful copy, she could use the copied skills without consuming anything. The skills could be used repeatedly, but each use would require a recharge. The recharge duration depended on how many Esper Powers were recorded in the Nascent Esper Evolution Tree Atlas—the more it had, the shorter the cooldown.
Not more than 10 levels higher?
Wasn’t Cersia’s Main Class level exactly 10 levels higher than hers?
Bai Fu used the Copy ability on Cersia and soon received a notification that Life Drain had been successfully copied.
【Life Drain】: Drains HP from all specified targets within a 5km radius. The drain efficiency depends on the Constitution difference between the two parties.
In the hands of someone with Cersia’s absurd Constitution, this skill was absolutely god-tier.
But in the hands of a squishy mage, its effectiveness would plummet. If there were few enemies and they were all tanky, it’d become completely useless.
But it was worth noting—Bai Fu wasn’t your typical “squishy mage.” She was a “squishy mage” who had invested in Constitution, a “squishy mage” backed by Players.
And who said this skill had to be used on enemies?
In a critical moment, she could totally treat the Players around her like blood bags and use Life Drain on them to recover HP.
She’d squeezed the Players for XP so many times already—squeezing a little blood shouldn’t be a big deal, right?
Bai Fu didn’t think this would annoy the Players. It wasn’t like she was draining them every day, just once or twice occasionally.
Besides, she wasn’t draining them for fun—it was to defeat enemies and complete quests. Once she won, even just the scraps she left behind would be enough to delight those Players, who still had an average level below 35.
This, this was what you call trading blood for XP. The Players might even end up begging her to drain them.
【Fu-fu, don’t pity me. Just go all out!】
Bai Fu closed the atlas’s Copy interface, fully satisfied.
“Let’s go. Time to head back.”
Cersia didn’t move immediately but asked, “Are you heading to those locations I marked earlier to look for the Dissociative Agent Base Sample?”
Bai Fu nodded. “That’s the plan. Want to come along?”
Cersia replied, “Exactly.”
Bai Fu refused outright. “Forget it. You’d better sit this one out. You just suffered major losses—Secret Tower probably hates your guts now. If they find out you’ve shown up again, they’ll stop at nothing to hunt you down.”
Cersia paused.
That was true.
If she acted with Bai Fu, it would only make things harder for her. Better to use this time to lead those Undying Ones Bai Fu brought and cause trouble for the Secret Tower elsewhere.
Back at Cersia’s temporary residence, Bai Fu formally introduced the Players she had brought by spaceship to her.
Once both sides had gotten acquainted, it was about time to bid farewell to Cersia.
Time waits for no one.
After the Jingu Star incident, Cecia had become a thorn in the side of the Arcane Tower—wasn’t the reverse just as true?
Given the vengeful nature displayed by the Master of the Arcane Tower, once an opportunity arose, they would definitely launch a storm-like assault against her. She had to raise her strength to S+ level before that revenge descended upon her.
Though Cecia really wanted to eat Bai Fu every day, this concerned the Arcane Tower, and she didn’t forcibly keep her. She only asked Bai Fu to take a few more pictures for her. After all, constantly casting spells at the same photo would eventually become boring.
"Right, I had a question... never mind, it’s nothing."
Cecia had actually wanted to ask where Bai Fu had learned so many techniques. If not for those techniques, she wouldn’t have been beaten by Bai Fu so badly. But just as she opened her mouth, she realized it was a stupid question.
Where did she learn them?
Did she even need to think? It was obviously Yulia and Scarlet Leaf who had been feeding her moves.
Out of Cecia’s sight, Bai Fu had likely sparred with Yulia and Scarlet Leaf quite often.
Boom!
A wave of killing intent welled up in Cecia’s heart, but she quickly suppressed it.
Times had changed. In the past, killing Yulia and Scarlet Leaf would have come with no psychological burden, but now the situation was different. She had to consider Bai Fu’s opinion of her.
Even though she couldn’t kill Yulia and Scarlet Leaf, she had come up with a countermeasure.
If she couldn’t destroy them physically, then she would strike at their spirits!
Starting today, she would train hard until Bai Fu became completely inseparable from her, unable to accept anyone else. Then, she would show off in front of Yulia and Scarlet Leaf—Bai Fu clinging to her and meowing.
"Try and steal her from me—this is your fate!"
…
Seven days later.
At the Star Agreement’s Gateway Cluster branch spaceport.
Drizzle as fine as silk floated down from the sky, and the air carried a chill that sank deep into the bones.
Half an hour earlier, Bai Fu had already arrived with Anya, Yulia, and Summer Poem, waiting. They weren’t waiting for just anyone—they were waiting for the first batch of players transported back from the Ancestral Source Star by the Green Mud Sect’s logistics fleet: four cargo ships carrying a total of 42,000 people.
At exactly 11:07, Summer Poem suddenly looked up.
"They’re here!"
Just as she spoke, a disc-shaped freighter emerged from behind the clouds.
They had arrived. After crossing tens of millions of light-years, after days of anticipation, after flexing in every way possible on the community boards, the first wave of Ancestral Source Star players who had boarded the freighter had finally reached their destination!
Inside the freighter, all the players had crowded by the portholes.
Excited, they looked around—their eyes sweeping over the towering signal transmission tower, the ship repair station, the spaceport docks. Then someone in the crowd suddenly shouted.
[Hey hey hey, am I seeing things, or is that Foxtail over there?]
[Where where?]
[Holy crap, it really is Foxtail! Anya, Yulia, and Summer Poem are here too!]
[What are they doing standing there?]
[I mean, is it possible… could it be that Foxtail is actually waiting for us?]
The moment this question was raised, the players aboard the ship were electrified.
This wasn’t an illusion. It wasn’t a dream. They were really going to reunite with Bai Fu!
Sure, the reconstruction missions on the Ancestral Source Star had generous rewards—but what of it?
Gaming was about joy!
The players from the Ancestral Source Star could never forget the happiness they had experienced when Bai Fu was still there.
They often remembered outwitting and battling the Wildfire Gang together with her at the abandoned coolant plant;
They often remembered the silhouette of Bai Fu driving into the sunset during the Amoeba Invasion;
They often remembered the moment of emotion when she engraved a monument for fallen players at the abandoned coolant plant;
They often remembered the burning passion of fighting to the end with Bai Fu against the Fellowship of Truth and the Genetic Prototypes;
And of course, what they remembered most was the exhilarating feeling of easily racking up tons of experience just by sticking close to her.
The emotion lingered, but the one who had brought that emotion was no longer by their side. To see her again, they had to go to livestreams or community posts.
A whole year. They hadn’t seen Bai Fu in person for an entire year.
[Do you know how I got through this past year?]
Thankfully, after enduring a year, they were finally seeing her again.
[Foxtail, I missed you so much!]
Amidst wails and cries of longing, the four ships landed in sequence at the spaceport. The spot where Bai Fu stood happened to be right at the intersection point facing all four ship doors.
As the doors opened and players walked out, Bai Fu’s face was lit with a warm smile—the same smile from one or two years ago. Then she shouted loudly:
"Everyone, long time no see—welcome to the Starsea!"
That’s right—Bai Fu had truly come to personally welcome the players!
With that confirmed, the players at the spaceport couldn’t hold back their cheers.
"Foxtail! Foxtail!"
This was a reunion!
They thought this was already emotional enough—but soon realized they had underestimated Bai Fu.
"You’re... Coffee No Sugar, I remember you! We stormed the Marine Life Research Facility together!"
"Happy Every Day, I see you’ve kept up your training while I was gone. You’re a B-level Esper now—congratulations!"
"Of course I remember you—or more precisely, how could I forget you, Mint Floral Water? Back at the abandoned coolant plant, I personally carved your name onto the monument. It’s so good to see you again."
Bai Fu accurately called out the names of every player who appeared before her—and even remembered most of their deeds.
This left all the players completely stunned.
Not only the ones present—even the ones watching the reunion through the livestream were equally shocked.
[Bai Fu actually remembers every single player?]
[Holy shit, not a single line was repeated. She seriously remembers everyone.]
[This level of game immersion, this emotional payoff—aaaahhh Foxtail, my beloved Foxtail!]
[Goddamn, if an NPC treated me like this, I’d be her lapdog in a heartbeat!]
Sure, they’d experienced reunions with major NPCs in other games—but never like this.
Amazing. Absolutely amazing!
Even before the reunion ended, many casual players and game streamers had already clipped footage from the stream, set it to moving BGM, and narrated heartfelt monologues.
[I’m certain—ten, twenty years from now, this scene will still be deeply remembered by countless players.]
[Among the stars, the first VRMMO for youth. Bai Fu—the first white moonlight for young players in the game.]
[I’ve fallen head over heels. From this day on, I only stan Foxtail!]
On the livestreams, in game communities, across video platforms—at that moment, nearly every player of “Among the Stars” was talking about Bai Fu.
[The Starsea is vast—vast enough to make you feel lost. But if Foxtail is there, then there’s nothing to fear.]
How could the players have guessed that Bai Fu could see the name tags above their heads and had searched through their past records in the community?
With this move, she maxed out player favorability in one sweep.
Surely, players so bewitched wouldn’t get distracted by the Starsea’s charms and abandon her… right?
It wasn’t just the players—even the Master of the Oath, Lemans, and Scarlet Leaf, watching from afar, were left speechless by Bai Fu’s performance.
What a terrifying woman!
At that moment, they finally understood why players would follow Bai Fu so wholeheartedly.
Saintess?
The title "Saintess" wasn’t nearly enough to describe her.
She was something truly rare—so rare the Starsea had never seen the likes of her before.
Once player emotions were thoroughly stirred, Bai Fu summoned a horde of Little Black Foxtails to help them get familiar with the Gateway Cluster branch. Then she announced explosive news.
Children, since you’ve come to me, let’s do something fun.
"After a year’s wait, I’m releasing a new mission for the Silent Garden—"
[You have triggered the faction mission [Scattered Base Samples]]
Bai Fu issued a mission to every player in the branch. The goal: assist her in obtaining the Dissociative Agent Base Sample. To prevent escape from the five locations Cecia had marked, she planned to split the players into five teams, led respectively by herself, Anya, Yulia, Scarlet Leaf, Summer Poem, and Vic, to simultaneously strike the targets.
[They’re back—I can feel it. Everyone’s back!]
Just arriving in the Starsea and already receiving a mission, the players from the Ancestral Source Star didn’t mind one bit. Instead, their blood surged with excitement.
Back then, it was by following Foxtail—step by step, punch by punch—that they made her Queen of the Ancestral Source Star.
Now it was time to use their fists and feet again—to crown her Queen of the entire Gateway Cluster!
Arcane Tower, huh? Bullying Foxtail, huh?
We weren’t in the Starsea before, so we couldn’t do anything. But now that we’re here, don’t expect to have it easy!