Chapter 253: Second Awakening Quest — Bai Fu’s Path to Ruling the Star River
Bai Fu, having made her decision, immediately opened her Attribute Panel and began pouring experience ruthlessly into her Main Class.
+1, +1, +1…
After a string of game prompts popped up, she boosted 【Apostle Walker】 from Lv30 straight to the full cap at Lv40. At this moment, her XP pool had only a pitiful 1.1 billion left, leaving her in a state of weakness.
But the price was entirely worth it.
Boom!
The instant she maxed the level, Bai Fu felt a sound like thunder roaring from inside her body.
She had hit another bottleneck — but this bottleneck was far more unique than the one from S+ to Calamity.
A sensation of fullness spread through her whole body. This was her psionic energy humming; the faint psionic energy leaking from her body was already subtly affecting the surrounding space, producing an invisible yet mysterious influence.
“So this is the embryonic form of a 【Domain】?”
Bai Fu excitedly flexed her hands and feet, then called Ying Fu, who had been standing guard nearby, to come over and feel for herself.
“Elder Sister’s body smells even better now.”
…Pfft.
Was the scent the point here? It’s not like I’m food — I meant changes elsewhere!
Bai Fu told Ying Fu to rephrase.
“Elder Sister’s skin is smoother now; once you touch it, you just want to keep touching it.”
Forget it, just stop talking.
Bai Fu shooed Ying Fu off to play elsewhere. She opened her Attribute Panel — since she had yet to complete a life-level transformation, checking her stats was more straightforward than examining her body.
After this upgrade, all her stats had undergone tremendous changes.
【HP】: 143,584/143,584
【Psionic Value】: 370,330/370,330
【Qi】: 16,285/16,285
【Stats】: Strength 808, Agility 1019, Constitution 1314, Intelligence 821, Spirit 1079, Inspiration 4025
Her base Inspiration had broken through the 4000 mark in one leap. Counting all bonuses, if she maintained HP above 60% while facing at least ten Calamity-class opponents, her Inspiration could theoretically reach as high as 7166 points.
“Invincibility is such a lonely thing~”
Bai Fu swayed her head happily.
She deserved to celebrate a little.
Then, she opened the newly triggered Awakening Quest.
This Awakening Quest had three objectives:
Collect 3 Domination-level Advancement Knowledges.
Raise base Inspiration to 5000.
Craft a 【Color】-quality Prayer Card or defeat an opponent with a single base stat not less than 4000.
All three objectives had to be completed to achieve the Second Awakening, advancing from Calamity to Domination and truly gaining the power to reign over the Star River.
Seeing these conditions, Bai Fu couldn’t help but suck in a breath.
Good grief, the requirements were that strict?
No wonder there were so many Calamity-class, yet Domination numbers were far fewer.
With this threshold, could an average person ever cross it?
The “three Domination-level Advancement Knowledges” requirement alone would completely block the vast majority of Calamity-class from civilian or ordinary backgrounds. These knowledges were almost all in the hands of galaxy-cluster-level civilizations and universe-level civilizations. For regular people, the only way to obtain such advanced knowledge was to sell their lives working for those super civilizations.
“You guys really understand exploitation. Compared to you monopolists, I still have a lot to learn.”
Bai Fu sighed.
Even if a Calamity-class somehow got three Domination-level Advancement Knowledges, seeing the second requirement would likely make them feel that “the road is long and arduous.”
Was raising a single base stat to 5000 an easy thing to do?
Many Calamity-class could grind their entire lives without ever finding a way to stack attributes.
“Luckily I have 【Path of the Apostle】. Once I max it out, my base Inspiration will be close to 5000. At my current monthly growth rate, it’ll take about two years to max it.”
That was already an extremely fast pace, because if all went well, Bai Fu would only stay in the Calamity-class rank for just over four years total.
But Bai Fu still wasn’t entirely satisfied.
She had a cheat — it would be a waste not to use it to the fullest.
Next time she took commission quests, she would change the payment terms to see if the other party had attribute-boosting items.
After some thought, Bai Fu had her plan:
Strengthen physique.
Strengthen stats.
Find the Ten Saints Council’s base and trade for advancement knowledge with the Three Major Interstellar Civilizations.
Of course, before doing any of that, she had to deal with the Head of State and Nilis.
If the Head of State suddenly deployed the Glorious Forces now, there had to be a scheme behind it.
“Is he planning to use the Glorious Forces to farm reputation?”
Bai Fu shook her head.
It didn’t seem like it. If all he wanted was to gain fame, why hire her? He could just have the Glorious Forces stage a surprise attack, then appear amid the flames of war to shout “God bless Taim” and “For Taim’s tomorrow, I will never fall.” Wouldn’t that be even more effective?
“Is it to deceive Nilis, or is it aimed at me?”
Bai Fu always assumed the greatest malice when guessing at that old schemer Head of State’s motives.
To uncover the truth, she decided to take the initiative.
She pulled out her communicator and selected Virtual Heart.
Using the Virtual Heart to disguise herself, she hacked straight into Lister’s office communicator.
“Beep—”
Lister, reading battle reports, suddenly looked up as the warning light on the wall began flashing red.
“Who?”
“I am the Supreme Commander of the Glorious Forces.”
At those words, Lister shot up, the worry vanishing from his face, replaced by pure fury.
“You bunch of troublemaking rebels still have the face to contact me?”
He roared and followed with a stream of vicious insults, so enraged he seemed ready to eat the person on the other end alive.
“I’m not here to argue. Aren’t you interested in working with us to take down Bai Fu?”
Lister sneered: “Even if I’m driven to desperation, humiliated by Bai Fu, or hanged by Bai Fu, I will never cooperate with you rebels!”
Bai Fu: “…”
Didn’t seem like he was acting.
So the Glorious Forces hadn’t actually partnered with Lister — this must be a false rumor planted by the Head of State?
“That’s too bad.”
Bai Fu deliberately sighed, then ended the call.
She told the Virtual Heart to keep monitoring Lister, then left her room to find Cersia, Yulia, and Anya.
Sniff sniff~
As soon as she stepped out, Bai Fu noticed Cersia, Yulia, and Anya looking at her oddly.
“Boss, you smell amazing now.”
Anya swallowed hard, trying to hide her greedy expression.
Bai Fu: “…”
So just triggering a Second Awakening Quest was enough to make her rank first on the Garden of Silence’s “Most Edible” list?
…Wait, she’d already been number one before this. Never mind then.
“Serious talk!”
Bai Fu’s expression hardened. She pulled Cersia and Yulia aside to explain her suspicions.
She didn’t tell Anya because, like the Oathmaster, she couldn’t keep secrets well.
“It’s like this…”
Bai Fu told Cersia and Yulia what she had sensed, warning them to be careful in the coming operations.
Afterward, Bai Fu led a force of ten ships and 100,000 Players to rendezvous with Nilis and the Head of State’s forces.
Steel Curtain and Maren did not go along; they still had to defend Lockheed in case Lister’s people launched another surprise attack.
A few days later, Bai Fu met the representatives sent by the Head of State and Nilis on Taim Star.
“Saint Bai Fu, your mental state seems a bit poor, are you alright?”
The Head of State looked at Bai Fu with a face full of surprise.
Bai Fu shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
It was just that over the past few days, Cersia and Yulia’s cravings had flared up; knowing full well they were no match for her, they still took turns attacking her, leaving her feeling like she was soaking in a bath all day — it was hard not to be exhausted.
Still, it wasn’t a big problem; a little stamina-restoring medicine would get her back to normal.
They say “two fists can’t beat four hands,” but with rookies like Cersia and Yulia, even eight hands couldn’t match her!
The Head of State didn’t press further. He brought everyone into the conference room and began outlining the details of this commission quest.
His main point was that instead of sitting around waiting to be struck, they should take the initiative to attack.
Last time they’d caught N2, it was partly due to luck. If the enemy’s assassin escaped again this time, catching them later would be much harder.
“Taking the initiative is fine, but you still need a target before you can strike, right?”
“Well said.” The Head of State nodded with a smile. “According to intelligence from an informant, Lister’s people have recently been active on the mining planet CC307. Considering that the Glorious Forces also appeared nearby not long ago, we boldly speculate that this is their rendezvous point.”
CC307?
Bai Fu searched it online.
She found that this planet was in the Pioneer Colonial Governor District, bordering the territory actually controlled by Lister and Gustav, and was in the same governor district as the planet Bovalya where Frank had landed recently.
Bai Fu grew thoughtful.
It was known the Head of State harbored ulterior motives — so were Lister’s people really on CC307?
She’d had Virtual Heart monitoring Lister for days, and not once had she heard him mention CC307.
She had reason to suspect CC307 was a trap.
While Bai Fu was thinking, a game quest popped up—
【CC307】
Quest: Eliminate the secret force on CC307.
Reward: 400 million XP and a 【Prayer Card Advanced Production Line】 blueprint.
The reward was great — but precisely because it was so great, Bai Fu immediately became alert.
“This quest is dangerous, far more dangerous than the Head of State makes it sound!”
Bai Fu didn’t say anything else during the meeting. She just kept nodding until it ended, then made an excuse to leave Taim Star temporarily. She went to a nearby artificial planet, opened her communicator, and contacted Lister via Virtual Heart.
“Good evening, General Lister.”
Swoosh.
Lister quickly stood up, glancing around.
“Last time, I already felt something was off. A high-ranking Calamity-class data expert? You’re definitely not from the Glorious Forces — I’ve never heard of them having such a skilled data expert.”
“Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that you’re already caught in the vortex of a conspiracy. If you don’t handle it properly, your already bad situation will only get worse!”
“You think I scare easily?”
“CC307 — rumors say your people have been seen there. Not long ago, the Glorious Forces were active nearby. The Head of State claims you’re colluding with them to assassinate him.”
“Nonsense!” Lister slammed his hand on the table. “Me, collude with the Glorious Forces? Heh… What do you want from me?”
Bai Fu said, “I want nothing. I just don’t want the Head of State to reap the fisherman’s benefit.”
Lister didn’t reply immediately.
He was thinking.
Unless this stranger revealed an identity he could accept, there was no way he’d work with them.
But this stranger’s request was strange — they wanted nothing from him, only to stop the Head of State’s plan?
Was it true?
If it was, then either this person was the Head of State’s enemy, or they were from another faction that didn’t want Lister to fall so soon — hoping he would keep fighting Nilis and the Head of State.
Who could it be?
Lister couldn’t figure it out for now.
He only realized from the stranger’s words that the Head of State might not be as simple as he appeared.
Of course, this was all based on assuming the stranger’s words were true. If not, then there was nothing to discuss.
“I’ll verify it.”
After ending the call with Bai Fu, Lister immediately sent people to investigate CC307.
“General, could this be a trap to lure us in?”
Facing his aide’s question, Lister was calm: “Check it out. It won’t cost us anything.”
…
Two days later, while Bai Fu was aboard a spaceship preparing to fly to CC307, she received an incoming call from Lister.
“You’re still there, right? My investigation’s done.”
“What did you find?”
“Gustav’s secret base. He’s secretly building a God’s Judgment Light there. I think his plan is to fire it at my headquarters when I’m locked in a stalemate with Nilis, wiping out my command center in one blow.”
The God’s Judgment Light — a Psionic stream transcendent weapon — when fully charged, its strike was comparable to a Domination-level blow.
In an instant, Bai Fu understood much.
The Head of State had somehow learned Gustav was secretly building a God’s Judgment Light on CC307. He then lied, claiming Lister was colluding with the Glorious Forces, and that their meeting point was CC307 — luring her to attack it, thus triggering a conflict with Gustav.
Once the carefully prepared God’s Judgment Light was exposed, Gustav wouldn’t let it go.
It would be a fierce battle!
If luck was bad, everyone sent to CC307 could be wiped out by the God’s Judgment Light. Even if they survived, Gustav and Nilis would be completely at odds from then on, making the already chaotic situation of the Taim Civilization even worse.
In Bai Fu’s view, the Head of State clearly hoped she would die in this operation.
Because this way, the Head of State could use her death to trample Gustav into becoming the ultimate villain.
【Even dares to kill a Saint? This is no ordinary rebel!】
【Revenge! Avenge Saint Bai Fu, who died for the cause of justice!】
Once the slogans were shouted, if the Head of State later took Gustav down, he could harvest a huge amount of prestige from it.
“Damn it, we’ve only been cooperating for a few months and you’re already making a move on me?”
Bai Fu’s anger flared, her brows arching upward.
Thankfully, she had seen through everything, and her strength had increased greatly lately.
There was absolutely no way she was taking on this damned CC307 mission — it was a complete trap. Even if she went all out and wiped out Gustav’s secret force, she wouldn’t gain much, and would instead earn Gustav’s lasting hatred.
【Since you’ve tried to screw me over, I can’t just let you go without a little gift in return.】
Bai Fu thought of Frank and Bovalya. She decided to use the Ten Saints Council to teach the Head of State a lesson, while also diverting their attention so they wouldn’t keep targeting her.
“What are you planning to do?” Bai Fu asked Lister.
Lister replied, “It seems I don’t really have to do anything. The Head of State’s elaborate maneuvering won’t actually have any substantial effect on me. All it will do is stir up conflict between Nilis and Gustav. Honestly, that’s good for me.”
“You’re right, but only for now. Once they’ve finished dealing with Nilis and Gustav, you’ll be next.”
Lister chuckled. “That’s true. Unexpected, though — I never imagined that so-called ‘worst Head of State in history’ would be laying out such schemes in secret. And this is only what I can see now — I’m afraid the scope of his plotting is far greater… Is this the Head of State’s true face you wanted me to see?”
“Exactly.”
“Are Nilis and the Head of State working together?”
“That’s something you’ll need to investigate yourself.”
Lister nodded. “Understood. You’ve helped me a lot. If there’s a chance, I’d like to see what you really look like.”
Bai Fu spread her hands. “You probably wouldn’t want to. Alright, our conversation ends here.”
After hanging up, Bai Fu didn’t immediately remove Virtual Heart’s surveillance.
Lister was already aware of Virtual Heart’s presence, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to monitor him.
…
Near CC307 Mining Planet.
After a long journey, Bai Fu glanced at the Head of State’s trusted aide beside her.
Moments ago, a recon ship had detected a Glorious Forces vessel.
“It seems the informant’s intel was accurate, Saint Bai Fu. Shall we attack CC307 Mining Planet now?” the aide asked eagerly.
Bai Fu smiled. “Let’s first capture that Glorious Forces vessel and ask exactly where Lister’s people are hiding before attacking.”
The aide hesitated, but still nodded. “Alright, no time to waste — let’s move.”
The fleet moved from multiple directions to encircle the Glorious Forces vessel, all ships’ signal-jamming devices active.
But just as the encirclement was about to close, something unexpected happened.
“They’re accelerating! Their heading… damn, it’s toward an open gap in the formation — they’ve spotted us!”
Bai Fu’s face darkened as she pointed at the radar display.
“No — we can’t let them escape. After them!”
At her order, the fleet changed course and pursued the Glorious Forces vessel relentlessly.
This turn of events left the Head of State’s aide stunned.
What was going on?
This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go.
“Saint Bai Fu, I think our focus shouldn’t be the Glorious Forces vessel right now, but—”
Bai Fu cut him off. “We’re already exposed. If we attack CC307 now and can’t take the enemy quickly, we’ll be hit by Lister’s reinforcements. And by now they’ve surely erased any evidence of colluding with the Glorious Forces. If we charge in, this operation will no longer be about removing threats to the Head of State in advance, but about us actively attacking Lister. You should understand — that’s outside my commission. I said from the start I wouldn’t take that kind of job.”
The aide had no choice. After some back-and-forth, he found an excuse to return to his ship and report to the Head of State.
The Head of State had been looking forward to Bai Fu clashing with Gustav’s God’s Judgment Light.
When he received the report, he froze.
What the hell were the Glorious Forces doing?
Running away at such a critical moment — how was his plan supposed to work now?
“I understand.”
He immediately cut the line and contacted the Glorious Forces’ Supreme Commander.
“What the hell is going on? You’d better give me an explanation.”
The Supreme Commander was baffled.
Explanation?
He had no idea either.
He tried contacting that ship, but got nothing — every message he sent vanished into the void.
Could it be that the Death Warrior aboard had betrayed them at the key moment, refusing to fight for them anymore, and chosen to flee?
With N2’s defection fresh in mind, the commander thought it was entirely possible.
But if that was the case, the Head of State would probably want to tear him apart — failing the same way twice in a row was just pathetic.
In reality, the Glorious Forces’ Death Warrior hadn’t defected. Staring at the out-of-control ship, he was sweating bullets.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t the ship responding?”
“Where the hell is this ship going?”
“Wait — this course… the destination is Bovalya? Why there?”
Why?
Because that’s the hell I’ve prepared for you!
A strike from the Ten Saints Council should give the Head of State quite a jolt.
In the cockpit, dressed in a black, tight-fitting combat suit, Bai Fu stood with her arms folded, her expression cold as ice.
At that moment, Virtual Heart was feeding her constant updates on the status of the Glorious Forces vessel ahead, ensuring it would arrive at Bovalya without fail.