Chapter 235: The New Leeks Have Ripened, the Calamity Legion Appears
As soon as version 2.0 launched, Bai Fu immediately issued a special bounty mission through the faction system.
【Find the assassin who attempted to assassinate the leader of the Time Civilization】
The conditions for completing this mission were extremely lenient.
Players didn’t need to personally bring the assassin to Ulysses Star; as long as they could provide accurate intel related to the assassin’s whereabouts, they would receive 3 million experience points and a one-on-one session with Bai Fu, the Master of the Silent Garden. If someone could directly bring the person to Ulysses Star, Bai Fu would even promote them to the Ulysses Base Guard.
For a time, the entire community was abuzz.
Three million experience points were enough to raise a level for most players who had yet to reach level 40.
But what truly enticed the players were the last two rewards.
A one-on-one session?
Hiss—
Now that was good!
Whether they could learn one or two rare skills from Bai Fu, or get their hands on a free profession knowledge book, even if it was just a chance to interview Bai Fu, the gains would be enormous.
After all, Bai Fu was immensely popular right now and was officially designated in the version 2.0 trailer as the sole mentor for the Psychic subclass.
Getting into the Ulysses Base Guard would be even better!
The Guard was a special institution formed after the official establishment of Ulysses Base, led by Vic. The daily job of Guard members was to follow Bai Fu around.
It might look like grunt work, but in essence, it was akin to being kept by Bai Fu. Following her around meant that whenever benefits dropped, the Guard members would be the first to enjoy them.
This was the first hot bowl of soup from a Calamity-class superhuman—its nutritional value was leagues above secondhand or thirdhand soup.
【I’m getting into that Guard, even if Jesus himself objects. I said it!】
【I heard that Dig Treasure and Patrick Star got invited by Vic as soon as they logged in. Straight into the Guard. Damn, I’m so jealous.】
【Don’t be jealous. Dig Treasure and the others are veteran heroes who followed Fu Fu all the way from the abandoned cooling plant to the top rank of Gate of Genesis.】
Watching related posts pop up across the community, Bai Fu couldn’t help but smile.
Cast a wide net, catch big fish.
Whether or not players completed this mission, she wouldn’t lose out.
If a player did manage to find the assassin, she could involve herself deeper in the Time Civilization’s main storyline.
After posting the mission, Bai Fu waited another two days and finally welcomed the transport fleet led by Anya.
What came next was simple—
She piloted the ships, transporting players to Ulysses Star one ship at a time.
In a speech addressing all players on Dallen Star, Bai Fu generously announced that the transport was free—no ticket cost at all—and she specifically emphasized that players could freely choose their faction. It didn’t matter if they didn’t join the Silent Garden.
Of course, Bai Fu wasn’t really that generous. This was merely her strategy for boosting favorability with the players.
Players didn’t like being “pushed around” in games.
Had she said that only those who joined the Silent Garden could take the ships to the Star Sea, some players might have kept quiet, but they would have harbored resentment. Once they reached the Star Sea, that resentment might’ve led them to defect to another faction.
But now things were different. By saying this, she increased player favorability without actually suffering any real loss.
Because once players reached the Star Sea, they would realize that, in the short term, they had no choice but to join the Silent Garden.
To join other factions, they’d first need to leave Ulysses Star, right?
To leave Ulysses Star, they’d need to buy a ticket, right?
To buy a ticket, they’d need money, right?
Well! What a coincidence!
The best way to make money on Ulysses Star was to join the Silent Garden. Otherwise, they’d just have to suffer and grind!
Bai Fu believed that the vast majority of players would, after careful consideration, join the Silent Garden—and they wouldn’t blame her. Instead, they’d thank her for giving them a chance to enter the Star Sea.
Getting them to join the Silent Garden was just the first step. The second step was to find a way to make them stay as faithfully as the players from Ancestral Star.
Bai Fu already had a plan for that.
During the maintenance update, she devised a points system.
From now on, players would earn points for completing any faction task. Reaching certain thresholds would allow them to apply to different departments within the faction.
For example: standard task forces, elite combat units, the Guard, research institutes, diplomacy divisions, and more.
Bai Fu believed that the points system would definitely draw massive attention from players.
The reason was simple: in other factions, players mostly just followed NPC orders. But in the Silent Garden, they’d have a complete advancement system tailored specifically for them.
Whether they enjoyed combat, crafting, or roleplaying as diplomats mingling with NPCs, they’d all find their place here.
“Version 2.0 is the Great Star Sea Era, and it shall also be the Era of the Great Bai Fu!”
...
One month later.
Bai Fu successfully transported all players over level 30 from the three starter planets she had long set her sights on to Ulysses Star.
Just as she predicted, 99.9% of them joined the Silent Garden without much hesitation.
She immediately gathered all the newly joined players and unveiled the points system.
Then, in front of all the players, she summoned the Guard—which currently had only 200 members.
“Ten days from now, the Origin Consortium will hold its annual general meeting. Andras, the current head of the Origin Consortium, has invited me to attend. I’ve accepted, and you’ll all come with me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, all Guard players received a new game prompt.
【You have triggered the hidden quest [Travel with Fu]】
“Damn, the Guard’s this awesome? They get special quests right out the gate?”
“Too much! I wanna tag along with Fu Fu too!”
“A true man should aspire to this!”
“Damn it, it takes ten thousand points to join the Guard. That’s steep!”
In the plaza, looking at the backs of those Guard players standing on the high platform, the others stared like enraged bulls seeing red. Their eyes turned crimson with envy.
Ten thousand points, huh? Hell with it. Be it ten or twenty thousand, from today on, I’m grinding like hell!
A blazing determination spread across the plaza like wildfire, burning magnificently.
“Excellent! That’s the spirit I want!”
Seeing this, Bai Fu nodded in satisfaction.
Perfect.
Dear players, to better help you grind and eventually replace the current Guard members, I’ve specially launched the 【Welcome New Players to the Star Sea Super Grand Festival】 event. During the event, purchases at the offline shop or dungeon store come with discounts!
What are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate—take home your favorite items now!
Under Bai Fu’s hype, players with even a bit of spare experience in their pockets charged into the stores.
Buy, buy, buy.
If you don’t buy, others will. Then you’ll fall behind!
By then, others will use those items to rack up points and join the Guard, while you’ll be stuck with your miserable score, regretting your stinginess!
Hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions...
As the event began and experience poured in at lightning speed, Bai Fu finally felt relieved.
It was a bit of a shame—if she had brought these players to Ulysses Star at the end of version 1.5, the experience harvested in one round would’ve matched what she gained from settling the mission to eliminate the Secret Tower.
Now, that wasn’t possible, as many players spent most of their experience to level up as soon as they logged in, leaving very little for her.
Still, while it wasn’t enough to fully satiate her, it was good enough for a sip.
“With this experience, I can now confidently go collect skills and blueprints.”
Bai Fu took a deep breath.
Time to go.
There were still ten days left until the Origin Consortium’s internal meeting, but better to head out early. If something unexpected happened on the way and delayed her, missing the meeting would be a major loss.
Arriving early would also give her the chance to ask which faction within the Time Civilization those under Andras’s Time faction had aligned with, so she could plan ahead.
“Welcome, welcome.”
Receiving the news, Andras beamed with joy.
“I’ve already arranged for my younger brother to wait for you at Keiko Starport in the Northern Abyss Star Cluster. Once you arrive, contact him directly—he’ll escort you to the City of Erudition.”
The City of Knowledge was the headquarters of the Origin Consortium. This was a massive artificial space city drifting within the Northern Abyss Galaxy Cluster. With a diameter of approximately 900 kilometers, it stood as a testament to the strength of the Origin Consortium and was considered a landmark structure across the entire Outer Rim.
Of course, when compared to the marvels of the three major interstellar civilizations, the City of Knowledge paled somewhat in comparison.
Each universal-class Titan Fortress constructed by Titan Industries was dozens of times larger than the City of Knowledge.
After sending Bai Fu the contact information, Andras walked to the edge of his office. Through the enormous transparent screen wall, he looked down at the bustling city beneath his feet, a bright light flickering in his eyes.
Not long ago, Bai Fu had given him a development proposal for the Tidal Moon. The proposal detailed the current scale and future plans of the Tidal Moon, and the content was quite astonishing. He believed that once the Consortium's internal faction leaders saw this plan, they would surely abandon their support for the Taim Faction and instead continue backing him.
"It's been over a year now."
Andras sighed.
After enduring so much pressure, in ten days, he would finally be able to sweep away the gloom and completely suppress the Taim Faction.
Just as Andras was envisioning the future, the communicator in the office suddenly rang.
"Mr. Andras, Mr. Hampton is looking for you."
"Put him through."
Moments later, Hampton's virtual image appeared in the office. Smiling, he said:
"President Andras, the venue for the internal meeting has been fully prepared. Do you have any additional requests?"
Andras's expression remained calm. "No, your arrangements are reassuring."
Hampton leaned forward slightly. "Then I won't disturb you further."
Andras nodded.
He didn’t really want to speak with Hampton, since Hampton was the leader of the Taim Faction.
Truthfully, Hampton didn’t want to talk to Andras either. He had only come now to take a look at Andras.
Several hours earlier, the Calamity Legion, whom they had paid, had already set out to intercept Bai Fu.
To ensure Bai Fu was eliminated, the Calamity Legion dispatched ten Wraith-class warships, with three Calamity-class members onboard. This force comprised nearly half of the Calamity Legion’s total strength.
In the words of Bloodthorn, the Legion Commander: "Even if Bai Fu brought along two Scarlet Leaves, I could still bury them forever on the path from Ulysses to the City of Knowledge!"
Hampton had full faith in those words.
Bloodthorn was a High Calamity-class, completely different from weak Calamity-class individuals like Bai Fu and Scarlet Leaf who had only recently advanced. Normally, a single High Calamity-class could overwhelm four or five weak Calamity-classes. A seasoned veteran like Bloodthorn, who had clawed his way through heaps of corpses, possessed even more terrifying combat power.
"Andras must be eagerly hoping that Bai Fu will arrive soon at the City of Knowledge to help him reverse the situation. He would never expect that Bai Fu will never come."
Sitting in his chair, Hampton pressed a hand against the red scale over his eye, a predatory grin tugging at his lips.
The other members of the Taim Faction nearby were equally elated.
"I’m looking forward to seeing how nervous Andras will get when Bai Fu never shows up."
Joyful laughter echoed through the room.
...
"Hahahaha!"
Aboard the Bloodthorn, the Calamity Legion’s second-in-command, Aldrich, laughed like a chrysanthemum in full bloom.
"That Hampton bunch is really generous! They actually offered fifty million credit points and the complete formula for the Rose Blossom Elixir in one go. With all that, the Calamity Legion can expand severalfold."
Bloodthorn calmly pressed his hand downward. "Don’t get arrogant. Celebrate after the mission is done."
Aldrich chuckled. "It's just a newly advanced Calamity-class junior. Commander, you're being overly cautious."
Bloodthorn shook his head without further comment.
It wasn’t that he feared Bai Fu. He simply disliked celebrating prematurely. He preferred sitting beside his enemies’ corpses, enjoying the feeling of blood slowly oozing from their lifeless bodies.
"Sheesh." Aldrich spread his hands. "Commander, just watch how I deal with Bai Fu when the time comes."
Ten Wraith-class warships silently flew through the starry sky.
Four days later, on the unavoidable route from Planet Ulysses to the City of Knowledge, the Calamity Legion successfully locked onto Bai Fu’s ship.
“Bai Fu.”
Scarlet Leaf suddenly called out to Bai Fu, who was browsing the player community.
Bai Fu lifted her head, looking at the approaching Scarlet Leaf. “What is it?”
Scarlet Leaf said, “I’ve noticed that ten ships have been tailing us for a while.”
“Oh?”
Bai Fu’s eyes narrowed slightly. She closed the community page and walked to the console.
By then, Scarlet Leaf had already pulled up the rear surveillance footage, displaying ten ghostly pale ships that looked like mobile monsters made of piled-up bone spurs.
“Can you tell who they are?”
Scarlet Leaf nodded. “If I’m not mistaken, they’re from the Calamity Legion.”
She gave Bai Fu a detailed rundown of the Calamity Legion.
The Calamity Legion was a unique mercenary group founded decades ago by Commander Bloodthorn. Although young, they quickly gained renown due to their ruthless style and five Calamity-class members.
“Five Calamity-classes? And the commander is High Calamity?”
Bai Fu nodded to herself.
That strength was even greater than a partially-holding-back Empress of the Shadow Region Insectoid Hive.
But it didn’t matter.
The former her might have feared them, but now she was a completely different person.
"I’m also High Calamity. Not only that, I can summon a Black Fu with the exact same base stats as myself. Besides Black Fu, I also have a special item called [Scarlet Blessing], obtained when Scarlet Leaf advanced to Calamity, which can summon another true spirit of Scarlet Leaf."
Four Calamities—she wasn’t afraid even if the Calamity Legion came at her with full force.
Wait, not completely unafraid.
Bai Fu suddenly thought of something. The "Silent Night" ship she was riding had just been purchased recently. If it got blown up in the attack...
“Damn it, you bastards!”
Bai Fu's temper flared instantly.
Touching her money was no different from touching her life.
“They were probably hired to cause me trouble. Who would it be? Someone in the Origin Consortium opposing Andras? Frank? Or just someone who doesn't like me?”
She checked the time. Thankfully, she had departed early, or she really might’ve missed the internal meeting of the Origin Consortium.
“Let’s see if we can shake them off. If not, head for the nearest planet.”
Following Bai Fu’s command, the Silent Night’s speed instantly ramped up. Like an arrow from a bow, it shot forward with a swoosh.
Seeing this from behind, Aldrich immediately shouted, “Commander, they’re trying to run?”
Bloodthorn said calmly, “Pursue.”
His ship, the Bloodthorn, had undergone special modifications and wasn’t any slower than Bai Fu’s Silent Night.
The situation quickly became a chase: Bai Fu fleeing, Bloodthorn pursuing—for half a day.
Realizing she couldn’t shake off the Bloodthorn, Bai Fu gave up on escape.
Please let the ship survive!
She didn’t want to become a vehicle-killer.
Half an hour later—
The Silent Night burst into the nearest ice giant planet. Without hesitation, the Bloodthorn followed.
Through the porthole, in the icy blue skies of the planet, Bloodthorn and Aldrich saw Bai Fu and Scarlet Leaf already flying out of their ship.
“Looks like they can’t wait to die. Let’s oblige them.”
Bloodthorn signaled to his men and flew out from the open hatch.
4v2, the advantage was...
Whoosh!
Just as he exited the ship, Bloodthorn suddenly saw another "Bai Fu" emerge behind the first. Before he could fully react, Bai Fu waved her right hand and a second “Scarlet Leaf” walked out from behind the original Scarlet Leaf.
“?”
“I don’t know who sent you to mess with me, but since you’re so eager to die, I’ll gladly oblige.”
Bai Fu instantly merged with Yulia and activated Mind’s Blessing. As a black eye rose slowly above her head, a terrifying aura erupted from within her.
“You’re High Calamity?!”
Bloodthorn’s eyes widened in disbelief, stunned as if he had seen a ghost, completely losing his composure.