Chapter 220: A Villain's Nightmare, the Strategy of the Wicked Woman Bai Fu
"Two glasses of lemon water, please."
On the passenger ship, Bai Fu sat down with Yulia at the entrance of a drink shop in the leisure plaza. While keeping an eye on Scarlet Leaf and the others’ movements, she flipped through the situation report on the riots on Besse Star.
After several days of investigation, the Starweb officially released the investigation results regarding the Besse Star riots.
Even before the report was released, many people were already saying online, “This must be the fault of the Secret Tower.” It wasn’t surprising that everyone liked to blame the Secret Tower—after all, they’d been stirring up trouble everywhere recently, murdering countless innocent civilians.
When the investigation was finally released, it turned out that it really was the Secret Tower behind it!
Military doctors from the Starweb examined a hundred civilians who had been arrested for participating in the riots and found their results to be highly consistent. These civilians looked dazed, like they hadn’t slept in days. But once they saw a normal person, their spirits would become as agitated as a bull seeing a red cloth—aggressive, bloodthirsty, with burning-hot bodies. Their systems consumed massive amounts of energy in a short time. If not treated in time, after several episodes, they would suddenly drop dead due to organ failure.
Due to this trait, nearly one-third of Besse Star’s population was lost in just a few days.
Normally, even if the Starweb found something abnormal in these civilians, it would be difficult to immediately connect their mutations to the Secret Tower. But wasn’t Bai Fu there?
On the very day of intercepting the ship’s cannons, Bai Fu had already informed the Starweb of the parasites. The Starweb’s experts promptly launched comprehensive checks on the Onandi people. Although they hadn’t figured out how to deal with the parasites yet, they managed to obtain some data. When comparing this data to the results from the Besse Star civilians, they were 99.9% sure that the riots were caused by parasites released by the Secret Tower.
The Starweb immediately shared their findings with all their allies. Everyone convened and decided this couldn’t be kept under wraps. Rather than letting the Secret Tower make an unexpected announcement, they chose to go public first. This would also indirectly tell the public that even though the Secret Tower was cunning, they were not defenseless.
【We are confident we can quickly bring the situation on Besse Star under control and develop a drug to eliminate the parasites as fast as possible!】
Even so, the entire Gateway Cluster fell into panic.
You claim you can develop a parasite-killing drug quickly—but what about the people who get attacked before the drug is ready?
Faced with such panic, neither the Starweb nor its allied forces could do anything for the moment except intensify efforts to track the Secret Tower and maintain high alert everywhere.
The effect of this strategy was mediocre at best, since the Secret Tower had long since scattered a large number of parasites in advance.
In the few days Bai Fu took to reach Scarlet Leaf and the others by ship, similar riots to those on Besse Star broke out across various regions, causing serious consequences.
The storm had come. How much damage this storm would ultimately cause, no one could yet say.
From Bai Fu’s perspective, this disaster should be far easier to deal with than it was "originally".
Had she not intervened, the Parasite Disaster would likely have broken out in version 2.1 or 2.2. Now, it had advanced to the end of version 1.4—at least three years early.
Don’t underestimate these three years.
With three more years, the Secret Tower would have developed even more formidable parasites, and the quantity of parasites released ahead of time would also have been higher.
Still, even though the scale of the Parasite Disaster was reduced, the combat power of the Starweb and its allied forces was also somewhat diminished due to the disaster's early arrival.
By the time the game naturally updated to version 2.1 or 2.2, Starweb and its allies would have had tens of millions of players around level 50 under their command—an excellent force against the Secret Tower. Now, they didn’t have nearly as many useful “tools”.
【We still don’t know what the Secret Tower’s real motives are, but whatever they may be, we will never compromise with such an interstellar terrorist organization!】
【We suspect the Secret Tower is now a puppet of the Dark Domain Insect Swarm. We have already submitted a request to Titan Industries, hoping they will send an investigation team.】
Bai Fu, bored, switched between news channels. The news anchors were either furiously condemning the Secret Tower or trying to calm the panicking public.
As she browsed, she suddenly received an emergency contact from Vic.
"Something’s gone horribly wrong!"
After Vic explained, Bai Fu understood the situation.
It turned out that while launching the parasite riot, the Secret Tower had also made a move against her and the Dark Moon Tide Corporation.
Not long ago, the Secret Tower issued a bounty on a commission platform known for harboring many star-level fugitives. The targets were her, Yulia, Cecia, Anya, Summer Poem, and Vic—with a total bounty of 40 million Credit Coins.
The Secret Tower had deliberately excluded Scarlet Leaf—clearly to avoid conflict with the Star Agreement. Compared to the Star Agreement, the Secret Tower was still far too weak.
After issuing the bounty, the Secret Tower sent out multiple small units and several star pirate groups under their control to ambush players on missions. Thousands of players were killed in this wave of attacks.
Bai Fu immediately understood the Secret Tower’s sinister plan.
"They’re trying to cut off my revenue stream!"
The current impact on her wasn’t too severe. If a commission failed, a small penalty was paid as per the contract, and that was it.
But if this kept happening, the Dark Moon Tide would definitely lose a large number of potential clients. When clients fled, some players would follow—after all, if players couldn’t get missions, or when they did, the missions frequently failed due to Secret Tower interference, when else would they leave if not now?
Once players defected to other factions, it would become much harder for her to squeeze experience and money out of them. The harder it got, the slower her leveling speed would become. And the slower her level-up speed, the more dangerous her situation.
"Damn it to hell!"
Bai Fu was livid.
Even the Truth Society and the Gene Progenitor had never come at her this hard. This wasn’t just a regular villain—this was a villain trying to sever her roots! Time for some heavy countermeasures!
Bai Fu opened the detailed interface of the mission to eliminate the Secret Tower. Unknowingly, her mission contribution had already risen to 17.2%, nearly one-fifth.
That was a high number, but to her, still not enough. Otherwise, how could the Secret Tower still have the energy for such underhanded tricks?
Ah~ My money!
Secret Tower Master, we’re not done. Just you wait for me—just you wait!
"?"
Yulia looked at Bai Fu’s changing expressions, her face turning from one emotion to another like a steaming machine girl. She waved a hand in front of Bai Fu’s eyes.
"Are you feverish?"
You’re the one with a fever.
Bai Fu swatted Yulia’s hand away impatiently. Move again and I’ll execute you on the spot.
"Looks like we need to hit the Secret Tower hard."
"How hard?"
"Call reinforcements!"
Bai Fu shook her communicator.
Yulia looked completely puzzled.
Soon, Bai Fu successfully contacted Lemans, head of the Star Agreement’s Gateway Cluster branch.
"I have something I wish to request from the Vow Master."
Lemans was momentarily stunned. "That might be a bit inconvenient. The Vow Master has recently been rather spi..."
Bai Fu cut him off. "I have a way to help Scarlet Leaf ascend to Calamity-rank in a very short time. But now I’ve run into some trouble, and after thinking it over, perhaps only the Vow Master can help me resolve it."
What?
Lemans was shocked—able to help Scarlet Leaf ascend to Calamity-rank?
Regardless of whether Bai Fu had some kind of secret relationship with the Vow Master, this alone was enough for him to risk a scolding and reach out to the Vow Master. He really wanted to get ahead.
"Please hold on a moment."
Lemans quickly contacted Star Agreement Secretary-General Yin Zhu via internal channels and relayed what Bai Fu had said.
Recently, the All-Spirit Fellowship’s President Rufas had come to spar with the Vow Master. Since the Vow Master had lost to Rufas once before, she was determined to win this time. She had ordered everyone at headquarters not to disturb her unless the sky was literally falling.
Was this important enough?
Yin Zhu pondered for a long while before deciding to inform the Vow Master. To her surprise, the Vow Master responded immediately—and showed no signs of anger.
Something felt off. Lord Simoon, while deeply valuing Scarlet Leaf, wasn’t usually this invested. Could it be that something had happened between Simoon and Bai Fu without her knowing?
Yin Zhu’s brow furrowed. This needed close attention. She couldn’t let Lord Simoon be deceived by some mysterious stranger.
Losing money was one thing—but if she was tricked out of something else, that would be catastrophic!
The reason the Vow Master responded so quickly was due in part to Scarlet Leaf—but also because of the players.
Not long ago, she had specially gone to the Gateway Cluster branch to request some players from Bai Fu. Initially, she just wanted to study the players’ undying trait. But after bringing them back to headquarters, she discovered they were far more interesting than expected.
First, their eyes were like rulers.
She discovered this by accident during training. She punched the same spot on a test device twice. Before the analysis even came out, the players could accurately tell which punch had more output and caused more damage to the device. She was amazed.
Second, the players’ attitude toward her was very amusing.
She was one of the only three Transcendent-rank Psionicists in the Edge Worlds. Even the other two treated her with caution. But these players weren’t afraid of her at all. They had no reverence, and sometimes even compared her to Bai Fu—ultimately concluding she wasn’t worth even one of Bai Fu’s toes.
Interesting. Bai Fu’s toe was that appealing?
"Contact Bai Fu. I want to hear what method she has."
Yin Zhu, receiving the command, dared not delay and immediately contacted Bai Fu. Shortly after, the Vow Master requested to join the group chat.
"I am the Vow Master." The Vow Master’s petite figure appeared from the communicator. "I heard you have a way to help Scarlet Leaf ascend to Calamity-rank?"
Things were going smoother than expected. Bai Fu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"It’s like this: The Secret Tower possesses an item called the Dissociative Agent Base Sample. By collecting multiple Dissociative Agent Base Samples, one can synthesize a special item that allows Scarlet Leaf to stably change her race into the humanoid void-type [Prophet]. Without the burden of Voidification, ascending to Calamity-rank would simply be a matter of willingness for Scarlet Leaf."
While explaining, Bai Fu deliberately omitted the existence of the Dark Domain Insect Queen. That creature was far too sensitive. She feared the Vow Master might crush her in a fit of rage. Just because she herself couldn’t kill the Dark Domain Insect Queen didn’t mean the Transcendent-ranked Vow Master couldn’t. If the Insect Queen died, the entire main storyline of the Dark Domain Insect Swarm could be lost.
After explaining the method, Bai Fu also briefed the Vow Master on the current situation.
The situation wasn’t too bad. Although Scarlet Leaf and the others had chased the pirate group carrying the base sample for days without catching them, that pirate group also hadn’t shaken them off.
Things were currently at a stalemate. When the deadlock would break, and in which direction the situation would shift afterward, would depend on which side’s reinforcements arrived first.
Bai Fu’s original plan had been to rendezvous with Scarlet Leaf and the others, launch a direct assault on the pirates, snatch the sample, and retreat without hesitation.
To ensure success, she had players use a Phantom Fufu Prayer Card to create the illusion that she was still on Azure Sky Star.
But now she changed the plan.
If the Vow Master was willing to help—hide?
Forget hiding. She’d Flash right into the center and taunt them all!
Secret Tower Master, you brat, I’m your daddy now. I’m openly coming to take your Dissociative Agent Base Sample. Come and fight me if you dare!
Bai Fu planned to throw herself into the fray, draw maximum aggro, lure the Secret Tower into sending more troops to attack her, and then unleash the Vow Master for a slaughter.
"Is there a chance the Secret Tower will send reinforcements at any moment?"
The Vow Master looked troubled.
She wanted to go help. After all, once the Base Sample was obtained, it could help Scarlet Leaf ascend to Calamity, and she could also ask Bai Fu along the way how she trained the players.
But due to Rufas coming to challenge her, she wasn’t at Star Agreement’s headquarters at the moment.
Even if she rushed over to Bai Fu’s side at full speed, it would still take a considerable amount of time. Who told her to practice martial arts? She was utterly clueless about teleportation and constructing directional spatial tunnels.
Sigh, what rotten luck. Why did Rufas have to come challenge her at this exact moment? He never showed up for fights during normal days.
The Vow Master pondered deeply for a long while and finally came up with a compromise.
"I can’t make it there right now, but I do have something that should be able to help you."
When she heard that the Vow Master couldn’t come, it would be a lie to say Bai Fu wasn’t disappointed. But after reading the description of the item sent by the Vow Master over the network, she couldn’t help but laugh.
【Virtual Heart】
【Quality】: Red
【Item Description】: A control core made by a Domination-rank Virtual Mechanist. Reusable.
The effect of the Virtual Heart was simple and brutal—it could forcibly take control of any unprotected mechanical equipment nearby.
With this, even if the Vow Master didn’t come, it seemed her plan to screw over the Secret Tower could still go ahead.
Upon thinking it over carefully, Bai Fu realized that the Virtual Heart might even be more useful than the Vow Master herself.
Because if the Vow Master personally showed up and made a move, the Secret Tower would definitely stop provoking her in the future. No matter how arrogant the Secret Tower was, they wouldn’t dare go head-to-head with a Transcendent.
But it would be different with the Virtual Heart. Even if the Secret Tower got played, they probably wouldn’t be afraid. Instead, just like when she beat them on Jingu Star, they’d end up hating her even more.
【Despicable wretch! If you have the guts, stop using underhanded tricks and fight us fair and square!】
There we go—Bai Fu couldn’t be more thrilled that the Secret Tower hated her.
Actively seeking out the Secret Tower’s hideout was troublesome. It was easier to bait the Secret Tower into sending cannon fodder to her doorstep to complete the mission.
To make the Secret Tower more determined to send that cannon fodder, Bai Fu decided to feign weakness in the next battle—
Meaning she would deliberately expose Little Black Foxtail during combat, letting the Secret Tower believe that her ability to block ship’s cannons with her body came entirely from Little Black Foxtail.
That way, after being tricked by the Virtual Heart, the Secret Tower would be even more convinced that her strength was unimpressive and that she relied entirely on flashy gadgets—thus continuing to send assassins to kill her.
From then on, her job would be simple: when the Secret Tower’s assassins came, she would fight back using strength just slightly superior to theirs and defeat them with great difficulty. This would make the Secret Tower believe they were always this close to succeeding—just missing a tiny bit of luck—prompting them to send more.
Bai Fu called this move her "Wicked Woman Tactics".
By the time the Secret Tower finally realized what was going on, her contribution to the Destroy the Secret Tower mission might already have risen to one-third.
Bai Fu expressed her gratitude to the Vow Master. After ending the call, she immediately shared her plan with Scarlet Leaf and Cecia.
Half a day later, the ship reached its destination.
As soon as she disembarked, Bai Fu rented a small ship from a nearby leasing company to rendezvous with Scarlet Leaf and the others.
"The Black Whistle Pirate Crew’s ship isn’t particularly fast, but its maneuverability is insane. We’ve been chasing them for days and still couldn’t catch up."
Scarlet Leaf gritted her teeth, and as soon as she saw Bai Fu, she rushed over to "complain".
Bai Fu waved her hand. "Relax, now that I’m here, their good days are over."
She opened her communicator, selected the Virtual Heart sent by the Vow Master, and without the Black Whistle Pirate Crew realizing, the Virtual Heart had already secretly taken over the highest control authority of their ship.
The next second, the cockpit of the ship blared with sharp alarms.
"Unknown ship detected ahead! Unknown ship detected ahead!"
"What?"
The Black Whistle Pirate Crew’s leader, Daken, turned pale.
He had contacted the Secret Tower four days ago, hoping they would send reinforcements, but instead, what arrived first were reinforcements from those chasing him.
But what happened next caught him even more off guard.
That unidentified ship quickly approached and attempted to board. He did his best—using the ship’s superb maneuverability and a bit of luck—to barely avoid it. But just as the two ships passed each other, he saw someone familiar through the opposing ship’s transparent observation glass—
Bai Fu!
Why was Bai Fu here? Wasn’t she on Azure Sky Star?
Daken had no time to figure it out. Panic-stricken, he quickly contacted the Secret Tower again to report what had happened.
After receiving the message, the Secret Tower Master was stunned.
The Bai Fu on Azure Sky Star was a fake?
Of course! That had to be it!
Cunning villain!
Good thing Daken hadn’t been caught outright and had managed to escape by luck. Otherwise, they’d have been played for fools.
Furious, the Secret Tower Master made a swift decision—to take this chance to eliminate Bai Fu once and for all.
"Four S+-rank Abyss Stalkers previously seen on Onandi Star, plus one Calamity-rank from the Tide Galaxy—what a luxurious lineup."
Neither the Secret Tower Master nor Daken could have imagined that Bai Fu had taken control of the Black Whistle Pirate Crew’s ship and was listening to their entire conversation.
Even with the help of the Virtual Heart, she still couldn’t defeat that Calamity-rank—but that was fine. If she couldn’t win, she simply wouldn’t fight.
What? You say what if that Calamity-rank kept chasing?
Bai Fu had her ways!
……
Two days later, in the Tianyan Galaxy, inside an asteroid belt near Red Ring Star.
Centurion, one of the four Calamity-ranks in the Secret Tower, stood in the cockpit of a ship, amused as he watched a small rotating Bai Fu figurine in his palm.
He had purchased it on the way to rendezvous with the Black Whistle Pirate Crew, after receiving a message from the Secret Tower Master.
"Lord Centurion, we’ve reached the rendezvous point with the Black Whistle Pirate Crew."
At that moment, one of the pilots suddenly shouted.
A cruel smile appeared on Centurion’s face. "Good. Now we just need to wait for the Black Whistle Pirate Crew to lure Bai Fu here."
He crushed the figurine in his hand, watching the powder fall from his palm.
Once he made his move, that would be Bai Fu’s fate!
The fragmented asteroid belt would be a fine burial ground for Bai Fu as well.
Centurion nodded to himself.
As the last bit of powder slipped from his hand, he turned to go have a drink—when suddenly, the ship’s AI popped up.
【Destination set. Entering autopilot mode.】
Then, the ship began sailing out of the asteroid belt.
"?"
Everyone aboard was stunned.
Autopilot?
Hadn’t they just entered docking mode?
Centurion’s eyes swept across the room. Everyone he looked at immediately stood up.
"It wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything!"
"Same here!"
"The ship activated itself!"
Centurion growled, "Is this the time for blame? Stop the ship right now! Return to the original location!"
"Yes, yes!"
Then, the pilots realized—the ship was out of control. No matter what they did, it didn’t respond. It kept heading toward the designated destination on its own.
"What’s the destination?" Centurion asked.
"It’s... it’s a small black hole."
Damn it to hell!
Centurion panicked instantly.
Stop it! Stop right now!
He rushed to the control panel and slammed it repeatedly—but to no effect. The ship’s speed was maxed out, and in just that short time, they had flown a great distance. Even if he smashed the entire ship and flew back manually, it would take a long time to return to the rendezvous point. Compared to the ship, even a psionic-type like him couldn’t match its speed.
"Damn it, which bastard did this?!"
Bai Fu, despite being cursed out, wasn’t angry at all. Really—she had merely set a self-destruct countdown for the ship.
"Perfect. Centurion has been dragged away by the ship. Now we can move on the rest."
Bai Fu wore a chilling smile.
"……"
Yulia could already imagine how furious Centurion would be when he saw his people getting blown to bits by Bai Fu.
Wishing him good cardiovascular health.