Chapter 215: Completed S+ Rank Job Change Quest, Fictional Scholar Bai Fu!
There were numerous investment groups in the Starsea, with the most famous among them being the Eternal Investment Fund within Titan Industries.
The Eternal Investment Fund made its fortune through its wholly owned subsidiary's development of the "Cosmic Net." After amassing an enormous amount of capital, it enthusiastically threw itself into the world of investments—covering every profitable industry, new emerging sectors, and potential psionicists. There was nothing the Eternal Investment Fund wouldn’t invest in.
Take the Titan Legion for example: the Eternal Investment Fund held a twenty percent stake in the largest Titan-class battleship manufacturing dock of the Titan Legion. Among the nine Transcendent-rank Psionicists of the Titan Legion, three had received long-term investment from the Eternal Investment Fund during their growth.
Through investments, the Eternal Investment Fund had woven a network that spanned most of the known universe. Though it was not a traditional cosmic-level force, even when facing the Three Great Cosmic Forces, it could still sit at the same table.
The investment group that reached out to Bai Fu this time was named "Origin." While its wealth and power couldn’t compare to a behemoth like the Eternal Investment Fund, it was still a force to be reckoned with in the Edge Worlds.
Before officially engaging, Bai Fu conducted a thorough investigation into the Origin Group.
The Origin Group was established several centuries ago. Its current manager, Andras, possessed high-level Calamity-grade strength. His most notable investment was taking a then-obscure small force, the Fire Rain Mercenary Corps, and turning it into the second-ranked mercenary corps across the entire Edge Worlds.
"The helmsman himself is Calamity-grade, and maintains close ties with multiple Vow Masters. He also holds investments in the Star Agreement, Arcane Library, and All-Spirit Fellowship—the three Transcendent-rank forces. This basically makes Origin a second-tier force within the Edge Worlds sector. At the very least, galaxy-level civilizations like the Starweb Commonwealth would absolutely avoid conflict with the Origin Group unless necessary."
Bai Fu nodded quietly.
Receiving her first investment from a group of this level was undoubtedly a stroke of fortune, though she wasn’t exactly surprised.
With her recent performance, it would be baffling if she didn’t attract the interest of major investment groups.
Those investors might overlook her personally, but could they ignore the nearly two million players under her command?
Still, upon formally engaging with the Origin Group, Bai Fu was taken aback.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Andras, the manager of Origin Investment."
Andras removed the hood he wore, revealing a face pale to the point of looking sickly. He was dressed in a tailored black suit, with a gentle smile permanently etched onto his face. Most notable were the curled mustache above his lips and the small patch of beard on his chin.
Upon hearing this name, even someone of Bai Fu’s film queen caliber couldn’t stop herself from displaying surprise.
Andras had come in person? Such a show of respect?
Highland, who was following beside Bai Fu, reacted even more intensely.
She had brought him along to observe how interstellar investment operated, to prepare him for taking over the Investment Division of the Quiet Garden someday. Who would’ve thought they’d meet the head of the Origin Group?
Goodness, Andras’s investment vision was no worse than his!
Back when Bai Fu first arrived at the Gori Desert, Highland had already formed a partnership with her, riding her wave to become the richest man on Ancestral Source Star.
"I’m not one for dragging things out. Let’s get to the point, Miss Bai Fu," said Andras.
Bai Fu smiled and nodded. "As you wish."
Both parties took their seats and officially began the meeting.
In truth, they had already exchanged several online discussions before Andras arrived. This meeting was merely to finalize the details.
Soon, both sides signed a one-year short-term cooperation contract.
Within the following year, the Origin Group would provide ten million Credit Coins in funding for the Dark Moon Tide, free of charge. If Bai Fu felt ten million wasn’t enough, she could apply for additional funds. However, such additional funds would be issued as loans rather than grants. Of course, the interest rates would still be considerably lower than those of commercial banks.
With the financial support, Bai Fu’s task was straightforward—simply demonstrate over the course of a year that she was worth investing in.
Whether by becoming stronger herself or expanding the Dark Moon Tide...
As long as the scale of improvement satisfied Andras, the Origin Group would continue to provide more grants.
To express his sincerity, beyond the agreed contractual terms, Andras also prepared two meeting gifts for Bai Fu.
The first gift was a rare blueprint for a psychic construct.
"Mind Lock"
This was a special offensive-type psychic construct. On the surface, it looked like a plain heart-shaped pendant, but it contained a special skill called "Descent of the Deity"—
It unleashed a torrent of mental energy upon a target, temporarily turning them into a "follower" of the wearer. The duration depended on factors such as energy strength disparity and the target’s resistance. Once in "follower" status, the wearer could command the target to do anything.
The effect of "Descent of the Deity" was somewhat similar to "Combat Etiquette," but far more potent.
"This is a high-tier skill of the 'Gray Mist' psychic attribute. My attribute is 'Shadow,' so there’s no bonus when using 'Descent of the Deity,' but that’s not a big deal. Lack of bonus doesn’t mean it’s unusable."
There were seven different psychic attributes, each with distinct playstyles. Back when choosing her attribute, Bai Fu had immediately taken a liking to the damage-focused "Shadow." "Gray Mist," on the other hand, specialized in control—and brainwashing was a form of control, after all.
The second gift Andras prepared was a professional team. Over the coming period, this team would provide comprehensive guidance and assistance for building the Dark Moon Tide’s base.
"If you need anything, just let the team know. From raw materials to supply channels, they’ll do their best to help you out."
Bai Fu accepted gladly.
Almost the moment the contract was signed, she noticed that her account balance had increased by ten million Credit Coins.
While that sum wasn’t particularly large for her—given the continuous flow of income from her players—it would allow her to construct the base on Onandi Star ahead of schedule. Oh, and the large-scale Prayer Card manufacturing plant she had envisioned.
To supply the consumption of over a million players, the few Prayer Card production lines she had built were woefully insufficient. Expanding production was essential.
"A pleasure working with you."
Bai Fu smiled and nodded at Andras.
After saying goodbye to Andras, she immediately had Highland coordinate with the professional team sent by the Origin Group to prepare for the base's construction.
Just as she was busy running around, her communicator suddenly rang.
Beep beep beep—
The caller was Cecia.
"I’ve arrived."
"You actually came? Hold on, I’ll pick you up."
A dozen minutes later, in Yulia’s laboratory.
Before picking up Cecia, Bai Fu had been worried that Cecia and Scarlet Leaf would start fighting the moment they met. But things took an unexpected turn.
Cecia, with her deranged temperament, and Scarlet Leaf, with her impulsive personality, didn’t even throw barbs at each other when they met!
However, the lack of arguing didn’t mean they exchanged warm greetings either. The tension remained—it just wasn’t something they wanted to display in front of Bai Fu.
Cecia: "Sooner or later, I’ll get all touchy-feely with Bai Fu in front of Scarlet Leaf and break her mentally!"
Scarlet Leaf: "Sooner or later, I’ll punch Cecia to death to stop this wicked woman from corrupting Bai Fu!"
Yulia: "Eating melons. Delicious. Love it!"
Summer Poem: "..."
Anya: "Scram, scram, scram, all of you scram! Fufu Boss is mine alone!"
After a long silence, Bai Fu found a topic to break the ice. "Everything okay on your end? Has Secret Tower been giving you trouble lately?"
Cecia said coldly, "They probably don’t have the energy to deal with me right now."
Bai Fu nodded. "Still, better be cautious. By the way, what have you been up to lately?"
At this, Cecia paused. A rare awkward expression appeared on her usually mature face.
"There’s actually something I want to ask of you this time."
"What is it?"
"I want to borrow some more Undead from you. Don’t worry, I’ll return them as soon as I complete the task. Once I make some money, I’ll also pay you the commission fee."
As she said this, Cecia couldn’t even meet Bai Fu’s eyes.
They had called it a partnership, but in the end, it was just Bai Fu supporting her one-sidedly. How embarrassing.
Bai Fu said, "How many do you need?"
"A hundred more will do. Their strength doesn’t matter—I just need help finding someone."
Finding someone?
Bai Fu asked for details, and Cecia didn’t hide her recent activities. After parting from Bai Fu, she had returned to the place where she lived as a child—a biological laboratory!
Before joining the Secret Tower, she had been abducted and sold to that lab, where she was subjected to inhumane synthesis experiments. The spider monster had taken over her body during that time.
Although many years had passed, she still wanted to take a chance—to see if she could find any clues in that lab and possibly discover where her hometown was.
Since she had been too young when abducted, Cecia couldn’t remember where she came from or what her family looked like.
But that biological lab had been thoroughly destroyed by the Secret Tower. She searched for a long time and found nothing useful.
Just as she was about to give up, she unexpectedly got a vital piece of intel from a local resident—
"Every year on September 2nd, there’s a ragged-looking man who lingers around here. I’m sure it’s the same person, because he looks very distinctive—his eyes are vertical pupils, and he has fine scales beneath his right eye."
Receiving this piece of information, Cecia was overjoyed.
September 2nd—that was the very day she had been rescued by the Secret Tower!
As for the ragged person mentioned by the locals, she knew exactly who it was. That person was a member of the laboratory! She couldn’t be mistaken!
She had always thought that everyone in the laboratory had died during the Secret Tower’s raid. She hadn’t expected there to be a survivor.
Excited, Cecia immediately sprang into action, determined to find that person.
Finding people was something players excelled at. However, the area needing to be searched was too vast, and the hundred players she had weren’t enough. She didn’t dare seek help from others for fear of attracting the attention of the Secret Tower, so she had no choice but to turn to Bai Fu.
[You have triggered the hidden quest "The Truth of the Biological Laboratory"]
[Quest Description: ……]
[Quest Objective: Help Cecia find survivors from the biological laboratory]
[Reward: 2 million experience points]
Bai Fu raised her eyebrows at the system prompt. This was a hidden quest too? And the reward was only two million experience points—wasn’t that too low?
She was used to quests that rewarded tens of millions of experience points. This one gave her the illusion of being back on Ancestral Source Star.
She casually accepted the quest and outsourced it to her players.
"I’ll give you two hundred Undead."
With her objective achieved, Cecia didn’t stay long. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; she just couldn’t bear to. Being so close to Bai Fu but unable to touch her was torturous. Rather than continue watching helplessly, she figured it better to return and cast spells while gazing at Bai Fu’s photo.
After sending off both Andras and Cecia, Bai Fu finally had a bit of free time.
Seizing the chance, she accepted several high-level commissions in one go.
The priority now was to complete her class transfer quest. Only by becoming stronger could she afford to slack off.
In the following days, Bai Fu led her players across the Starsea, her tracks even reaching star clusters near the Gateway Cluster.
Outsiders witnessing her frantic running around assumed she had been shaken by the Secret Tower’s attack and was desperately trying to earn money to make up for her losses. Many sympathized with her.
[Good people never get rewarded!]
[The Secret Tower is truly vile!]
Members of the Secret Tower who saw these comments online were in a great mood. Serves you right for going against the Secret Tower—your bad days are just beginning!
A month later, Bai Fu completed all her current commissions, and her battle points finally rose from 371 to 1000.
[You have completed the class advancement quest "Warrior’s Glory" and received rewards: 20 million experience points, 1 random talent or passive skill, and class transfer eligibility.]
[Drawing random talent or passive skill...]
[Drawing complete.]
[You have obtained passive skill "Holy Spirit’s Blessing"]
[Holy Spirit’s Blessing]: Reduces incoming damage by 10%.
"Perfect!"
Bai Fu was delighted. After returning from Jingu Star and months of effort, she had finally completed her class transfer quest. Now, she was just one tap away from progressing from S-rank to S+ rank.
What was there to hesitate about?
Transcend, to the limit!
Bai Fu tapped the upgrade button, and immediately a flurry of prompts rang in her ears.
[Class transfer successful]
[You have unlocked the new class "Fictional Scholar," current level Lv1. Agility +1, Constitution +3, Intelligence +2, Willpower +1, Inspiration +6, Attribute Points +7]
[You have completed the final class transfer. Each point of Constitution now grants +10 Health and +10 Psychic Energy.]
[You have learned new skills: "Legion Configuration," "Cooperative Response"]
[You have learned new skills: "Intermediate Psychic Precision Control," "Advanced Cardcrafting," "Advanced Psychic Tenacity"]
[You have learned new skills: "Fictional Life"]
[You have learned new skills: "True Sanction"]
Although it was another class transfer, the physical impact from this final transfer was completely different.
When advancing from A-rank to S-rank, Bai Fu had felt like she was soaking in a hot spring—completely relaxed. But this time, from S to S+, it felt like a steamroller had run her over, wave after wave of pain tearing through her. She felt like her body was falling apart.
Fortunately, the pain didn’t last long. Within ten minutes, everything returned to calm.
Bai Fu closed her eyes and assessed her body. This time, her physical appearance didn’t change much—neither her proportions nor bust size had altered.
To be honest, that was good news. She had been slightly worried that each transfer would make her chest grow larger. Too much of anything was bad. The current size was just right!
Smiling, Bai Fu shook her head and began reviewing the new skills unlocked from the class transfer.
"Intermediate Psychic Precision Control," "Advanced Cardcrafting," and "Advanced Psychic Tenacity" were upgrades of her existing skills.
"Legion Configuration" and "Cooperative Response" were core skills for the psychic summoning specialization. The former significantly increased the limit of simultaneously controlled psychic summons, while the latter greatly enhanced coordination among all summons in the psychic legion. Whether for battle or for use in the Prayer Card production line, both were extremely useful.
"Fictional Life" and "True Sanction" were more unique—they were active skills.
"Fictional Life" was a defensive skill. By consuming 20% of her psychic energy, she could generate a secondary health bar called "Fictional Life," equal to 20% of her max health. While it was active, all incoming damage would deplete the Fictional Life bar first, and her body and soul would remain unharmed until it was exhausted. The skill had a cooldown of one hour.
"Holy hell, what a god-tier skill!"
Bai Fu’s eyes lit up.
With Fictional Life and Holy Spirit’s Blessing combined, her durability skyrocketed. She had truly become a spell-tank.
"True Sanction" was an offensive skill, and its effect was just as its name suggested. After activation, her next attack would deal true damage. However, the skill came at a cost: it required sacrificing 10% of her max health and had a long cooldown of 10 minutes.
Of course, to Bai Fu, 10% of her health meant nothing.
Her health pool was already massive, now further boosted by Fictional Life. Besides, she could use Life Drain, which she had copied from Cecia, to quickly recover.
"Upgrade, upgrade."
Bai Fu immediately spent experience to max out all the newly unlocked upgradable skills.
She currently had over 1.7 billion experience points, so there was no need to save.
After upgrading her skills, she then spent nearly 500 million experience to raise "Fictional Scholar" from Lv1 to Lv10, the maximum level. As always, she dumped all free attribute points into Inspiration. After leveling up, her attributes saw a drastic transformation.
[Attributes]: Strength 199, Agility 394, Constitution 621, Intelligence 435, Willpower 470, Inspiration 1503
Base Inspiration at 1503!
From what Bai Fu knew, that number was extremely high. Many S+ rank psychic cardmasters who had been at that rank for years didn’t even have that much Inspiration. And she had just hit Lv110 in her main class.
That was the advantage of a solid foundation.
She clenched her fists, feeling as if the power within her body was about to overflow.
Before leveling up, she could only barely keep up with Cecia thanks to all kinds of bonuses. But now, if she fought Cecia again, even if she couldn’t defeat her outright, she could certainly overpower her.
"I wonder if I can go toe-to-toe with a weak Calamity-grade now?"
As soon as that thought appeared, Bai Fu shook her head.
Too difficult.
Even if her enhanced Inspiration could rival some low-tier Calamity grades, the gap in other areas was still too vast.
Better to look ahead to the Awakening Quest.
Upon reaching Lv110, Bai Fu had received her Awakening Quest. It was refreshingly straightforward—just two conditions:
Collect two branches of advanced knowledge.
Raise one base attribute to 2000 points.
"Still 497 Inspiration short. I’ll have to raise the level of that Dancer class to gather more free attribute points. Relying solely on quests to farm points could take forever."
Bai Fu closed the attribute panel, took a shower, and changed out of the Casual Outfit soaked in sweat from the upgrade.
Upon exiting the bathroom, she found her communicator ringing. The caller was Treasure Digger.
"Fufu, we just received an emergency message from one of the Undead undercover in the Secret Tower. They’re using them to test a special kind of insect. It seems this insect has a strong infection ability. The Secret Tower plans to use them to launch a large-scale assault!"
Bai Fu furrowed her brows.
It was coming—finally something big.
Just in time. With her power taking a huge leap, it was time to complete the mission from the Dark Domain Insect Queen to collect more base samples.