Chapter 283: Black-hearted Ah Fu Logs In, the Black Tide Approaches!
“I’ll kill you kill you kill you kill you……”
The roar of the Beast God echoed inside the Ark of Paradise.
Bai Fu, who was being threatened, looked utterly calm.
You dare to threaten me after entering my prison cell, how laughable!
“Is that all the voice you’ve got? Didn’t you eat? Louder, I can’t hear you!”
Raaaahhhhh!
The Beast God’s anger surged, and it began to struggle violently.
“I’ll come out right now and kill you!”
It exerted all its strength, but it was as if it had fallen into quicksand or a muddy swamp.
The more it struggled, the stronger the force pressed in from all directions.
In the end, it had no choice but to stop struggling, lest it be squeezed until it could no longer move at all, becoming nothing more than an awkward soul decoration.
Although its body stopped struggling, the Beast God’s heart grew even more restless.
It could not comprehend this.
Though it had been utterly crushed by the Oathmaster in terms of combat power, and Bai Fu’s sneak attack just now had gravely injured it, it had not been afraid in the slightest.
Because its body possessed a shocking, unparalleled ability to regenerate.
【All that does not kill me will only make me stronger!】
As its injuries began rapidly healing, the Beast God was already plotting how to take revenge on the Oathmaster and Bai Fu.
Unfortunately, the little black ship Bai Fu suddenly pulled out shattered its dream completely!
At this moment, its soul was separated from its body.
No matter how powerful its regenerative ability was, what use was that now?
Anger, unwillingness, hatred, pain, despair……
The Beast God’s soul fluctuated endlessly.
Only after two full minutes did it finally calm itself down a little.
“Bai Fu, what exactly do you want?”
Bai Fu said, “It’s very simple. Work for me. Whatever I tell you to do, you’ll do. In return, I’ll spare your life. Maybe, one day when I’m in a good mood, I’ll even release you.”
She was extremely tempted by the Beast God’s ability to help others improve their strength.
This move had aftereffects, but that was only for NPCs.
If it was used on Players…
Aftereffects?
What aftereffects?
Once Players resurrected, all states were refreshed.
None of those previous debuffs would carry over.
If the Beast God was willing to serve her, then the combat power of the Players under her would rise dramatically.
Moreover, simply joining Bai Fu’s faction would allow Players to unlock higher-level combat power in advance.
This could also be used as a promotional lure.
After hearing Bai Fu’s words, the Beast God became furious again.
Do whatever you tell me to?
Isn’t that just making me your dog?
Are you kidding me?
You want me, a Transcendent, to serve as the dog of a mere Domination-level?
Keep dreaming!
The Beast God sneered and ignored Bai Fu.
Bai Fu said, “Do you really want to resist to the very end? Even if it means being forever trapped on this ship, unable to move, and the moment you move, the bindings only tighten further?”
Heh.
The Beast God kept sneering.
Faced with his attitude, Bai Fu wasn’t angry at all.
She continued her “chanting”: “Even if I hand your body over to the Rebirth Empire for research, where they’ll run all sorts of experiments, you’d still resist to the end?”
The Beast God was unmoved.
Bai Fu said, “Even if I drag your body to mate with all kinds of Stellar Beasts, just to test whether the next generation could inherit your traits, you’d still resist to the end?”
The Beast God froze.
Wait a moment……
Bai Fu said, “Even if I throw your body into a cesspit and stir it around, then film the whole process and post it online, you’d still resist to the end?”
The Beast God turned red with rage.
Bai Fu said, “Even if your body was to be……”
“Enough, shut your mouth!”
The Beast God suddenly roared, cutting her off.
Its soul flickered uncertainly, as though lost in thought.
After a moment, it suddenly asked, “Bai Fu, do you think you or I resemble a 【human】 more?”
Tch.
Bai Fu curled her lips.
Of course I do!
Even though my race isn’t 【human】, just look at my appearance—who wouldn’t say I’m human at first glance?
Honestly, Bai Fu had never expected these tactics to truly frighten the Beast God into working for her.
But what if it worked?
It was always worth a try.
Those humiliating threats might not scare anyone.
But if a soul was really locked in the Ark of Paradise, unable to move, maybe it could endure at first.
Over time, though, not everyone could withstand that kind of spiritual torment.
“My time is long, and you have plenty of time too. You can think about it slowly.”
Bai Fu smiled as she put the Ark of Paradise away.
Then she turned, signaling to Kabaye and the Psionic Legion that they no longer needed to split their focus on defense.
They could now devote themselves fully to giving the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen a proper “Bai Fu-style chiropractic session.”
At her command, Kabaye and the Psionic Legion rushed forward together.
Soon, the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen was beaten half to death.
“All right, bring her back. Later, she’ll be handed over to Cypriss.”
Since she had already promised Cypriss, Bai Fu wouldn’t covet the little bit of experience from personally finishing off the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen.
Earlier, when she had teamed up with the Oathmaster to defeat the Beast God, she had completed an emergency mission and reaped great rewards.
【You have completed the Emergency Mission [Threat from the Beast God], and received rewards: 3 billion experience points, Beast God’s High-speed Recovery Card *1】
Three billion experience points—this was her single greatest haul from any mission so far.
After all, the Beast God was Transcendent-rank.
To defeat a Transcendent with the body of a Domination-level, even if the process wasn’t exactly honorable, victory was still victory.
The rewards couldn’t possibly be meager.
If Bai Fu had truly defeated the Beast God alone, the rewards would have been even more outrageous.
In short, this trip to the Mental Sanctuary earned Bai Fu a full harvest, but she still had some distance to go before reaching Level 200 and triggering a new Awakening Quest.
At her current stage, the amount of experience required to level up once was enormous.
Bai Fu was not in a hurry.
With the advanced knowledge she had just obtained from the Mental Sanctuary, plus the rewards from Exploration Quests and the Psionic Evolution Tree Atlas series of quests, she was confident she could trigger the Awakening Quest within two years.
By then, Version 3.0 should still be some time away.
“How did you do it?”
As Bai Fu pondered the future, the Oathmaster flew to her side, his bright eyes filled with curiosity.
Bai Fu explained, “I found a special item in the ancestral grounds of the Dark Zone Insect Swarm. This item can seal souls.”
She did not bother to hide it, because she had noticed that once the Oathmaster realized the existence of the Ark of Paradise, her Favorability toward Bai Fu had not decreased but had instead increased.
The Favorability description even became 【Greatly Appreciates】.
The Oathmaster gave a thumbs-up.
Awesome!
When it came to Bai Fu’s good fortune, she really didn’t know what else to say.
But speaking of sealing souls, her heart stirred.
Wasn’t this item just perfect for dealing with her archenemy?
Should she ask Bai Fu to lend it to her?
It didn’t feel right.
She was a Transcendent, after all. If she saw Bai Fu with something good and asked to borrow it, it would inevitably look like she was abusing her power to rob her.
Better to wait until her relationship with Bai Fu deepened further, and then ask her for help.
As for how to build a good relationship with Bai Fu, she only needed to continue sticking around Origin Star, helping Bai Fu from time to time.
Given Bai Fu’s character, she probably wouldn’t mistake her kindness for ill intent, right?
The Oathmaster couldn’t help but secretly give a thumbs-up to her own plan.
“This body is now just an empty shell. How do you plan to deal with it?” She tossed the Beast God’s body that she had grabbed with Qi Force.
Bai Fu said, “Take it back for research.”
If a Strengthening Potion could be developed from it, not only could she use it herself, but she could also sell it to Players for an extra stream of income.
“Okay.”
The Oathmaster threw the Beast God’s body to Bai Fu.
Bai Fu had a Psionic Summon catch it, then led the Oathmaster toward her Mobile Palace.
When the half-dead Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen was thrown in front of her, Cypriss was momentarily dazed.
Although she had placed her hope of revenge on Bai Fu, and although Bai Fu had repeatedly promised to help her take revenge and hand the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen to her for personal judgment, when it truly happened, she still felt a sense of unreality.
“Bai Fu!”
Cypriss flapped her wings and pounced on Bai Fu, tightly hugging her neck and rubbing her face against her.
Damn it, stop flaunting your affection in front of me!
If you want to kill me or chop me up, hurry and do it already!
The Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen was about to faint from rage.
Beside them, Anya was also furious.
Ah! She had been the one who came first!
It was bad enough that Yulia, Fei Ye, and Cersia cut in line.
Now this little thing, whose body was barely the size of her head, wanted to cut in too?
Unacceptable!
Anya rushed over and pulled Cypriss away.
“There’s no time. If you delay any longer, this bug might die from her wounds. Hurry up and deal with her.”
Oh, that’s true.
Cypriss snapped back to her senses and dragged the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen aside to deal with her.
She took a full hour.
At first, the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen mocked Cypriss, saying she only won by selling herself to Bai Fu.
But as death truly drew near, she no longer dared to mock.
Instead, she begged Cypriss to spare her life, saying she was willing to sell herself to her.
“You once said that when you sat on the throne, you would make the Dark Zone Insect Swarm better, becoming a force in the stars that no one could ignore.
But after sacrificing so many Brainworms, Engineer Bugs, and Warriors, did you really achieve the goal you proclaimed when you killed me back then?”
Cypriss crossed her arms and looked down at the weeping Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen.
The Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen opened her sharp mouth but could not say a word.
She wanted to argue, but found nothing to say.
Could she throw the question back at Cypriss?
It seemed Cypriss was doing better than her, after all.
Cypriss’s backer had just killed the backer she once relied on.
“Go.”
Cypriss raised her right hand and clenched it gently.
Mental power pierced into the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen’s soul like spikes.
Screeeech—
Amidst the screams, the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen gradually fell silent.
Cypriss floated in the air, dazed for a long moment before flying to Bai Fu.
“The traitor is dead. Her confidants can’t be spared either, or they could bring trouble.”
Bai Fu nodded. “We’ll go to the Mother Nest now.”
As the Mobile Palace flew halfway, Bai Fu received a call from the Beast God.
Half a day of calm had finally forced the Beast God to recognize reality.
Without outside help, he had absolutely no way of escaping the Ark of Paradise.
And the feeling of being sealed in the Ark of Paradise… it was truly unbearable.
“I surrender, on the condition that you absolutely cannot humiliate my body!”
The Beast God’s voice was fierce.
He had decided to be Bai Fu’s dog, but only temporarily.
He would deliberately lower himself to lull Bai Fu into thinking he had truly submitted, while secretly seeking a chance to escape.
Once he found that chance, he would make Bai Fu learn the meaning of death!
One could only say the Beast God thought well, but unfortunately, Bai Fu could see others’ Favorability toward her!
Didn’t see that coming, did you?
Bai Fu smiled and nodded. “That’s better. Rest well, because soon it’ll be time for you to shine.”
At that time, I, Bai Fu, will show you what it means to be Black-hearted Ah Fu!
Over the next two days, Bai Fu and Cypriss swept through the Dark Zone Insect Swarm, eliminating the confidants of the Dark Zone Insect Swarm Queen, along with nearby Stellar Beasts that had been fanatically loyal to the Beast God.
After the storm, Cypriss once again ascended to the Queen’s throne.
And the very first order she gave after becoming Queen was to lead the entire Dark Zone Insect Swarm to relocate.
The Mental Sanctuary had already been emptied.
There was no point in remaining here any longer.
It would be better to move into a Dark Zone star system closer to Origin Star, so that in the future they could better support and be supported by the Silent Court.
Cypriss was no fool.
She could see clearly that the starry skies were now on the verge of a coming storm.
If they wanted to weather this storm, the Dark Zone Insect Swarm had to rely on a stronger power.
Obviously, Bai Fu was a trustworthy ally—she was not only strong but improving at a frightening pace.
Cypriss’s proposal received opposition from some Brainworms, but because she returned with the momentum of a great victory, her proposal was ultimately approved by the collective.
“Hmph, in time you’ll all see just how wise my decision was!”
Once all preparations were complete, they set out on the road back to Origin Star.
……
“Something’s happened!”
In the depths of the starry sky, inside Cathedral No. 7 of the Holy City of the Apostles, the guard on duty in the Mental Observation Room rushed out in panic.
This news was quickly reported up to the Supreme Apostle, the leader of the Holy City of the Apostles.
Many years ago, during an external exploration, Cathedral No. 7 of the Holy City of the Apostles unearthed the ruins of an ancient lost civilization.
In those ruins, they discovered a large amount of research material related to spiritual studies.
Among these, the most striking was the one introducing the 【Mental Sanctuary】.
The people of the Holy City of the Apostles realized that if they could grasp the secret treasure stored in the Mental Sanctuary, they could elevate their spiritual will to a state near “divinity,” and from the Ethereal Realm draw forth endless energy.
For this reason, the Holy City of the Apostles had been searching for the Mental Sanctuary.
Originally, among the ruins they found, there had been a device that could sense the precise location of the Mental Sanctuary.
However, once the Mental Sanctuary sealed itself away, that device became nothing more than decoration.
Helpless, the Holy City of the Apostles could only rely entirely on their own strength to search for it.
They had long since stopped placing any hope in that device, but today something strange happened—suddenly, the device reestablished contact with the Mental Sanctuary!
“Send out all Followers of Cathedral No. 7! You must bring back the secret treasure from the Mental Sanctuary!”
The Supreme Apostle gave the latest command.
In the Holy City of the Apostles, to even serve as a Follower required at least Domination-level strength.
This time, the Supreme Apostle had invested heavily—
Seven Dominations, three Transcendents, a God-statue-class Mothership, dozens of Madonna-class Mobile Fortress Ships, and over a million warships of Supreme-class, Creed-class, Truth-class, and Infinite Glory-class.
Such overwhelming power was enough to sweep away any civilization they had faced so far.
The reason for such seriousness was that the Supreme Apostle feared that those who had opened the Mental Sanctuary might be one of the three cosmic-level civilizations: the Rebirth Empire, the Supernova Battle Group, or Titan Industries.
……
Ding!
Bai Fu, who had been watching a movie, suddenly froze.
She had received a new game notification.
Why would there be a game notification at this moment?
She quickly opened the details and found that she had triggered a new mission.
【You have triggered Emergency Mission [Black Tide]】
【Quest Description: The revival of the Mental Sanctuary has drawn forth the Black Tide. Beneath the surge of the Black Tide are flashing blades, clashing swords, cannon fire, and death!】
【Quest Objective: By any means necessary, escape the erosion of the Black Tide!】
【Reward: Reward depends on risk level. Base reward: 8 billion experience points】
【Note: Escaping early or failing to escape the Black Tide will be considered mission failure】
“What the hell, a minimum reward of 8 billion experience? What kind of insane quest is this?”
Bai Fu was startled.
The reward for ambushing a Beast God was 3 billion experience.
Now 8 billion—was this expecting her to solo a Beast God?
And this was only the base reward.
Which meant, if the situation developed into the worst case, she might have to face several Beast Gods at once!
Even with the Oathmaster by her side, this wasn’t a fight she could win!
“What exactly is going on? Could it be that the Beast God has brothers?”
Bai Fu checked on the Beast God’s condition, finding that he had shown no unusual reaction and that his Favorability toward her remained as low as before.
If it wasn’t the Beast God, then who could it be?
Forget it.
Was now really the time to be thinking about that?
Although she was very tempted by those 8 billion experience points, considering the risks hidden behind this mission, Bai Fu decided it was better to avoid the Black Tide ahead of time if possible.
It wasn’t like she lacked ways to farm experience.
There was no need to take such a reckless gamble.
“First, contact the Empire’s Rust Corps. If I can’t escape, at least I can count on backup from the Rust Corps!”
Bai Fu immediately contacted the person in charge of the Rust Corps.
During negotiations with her, the Empire had given her command authority over the Rust Corps.
So even though they didn’t know what had happened, the Rust Corps, upon receiving her call, mobilized at once.
“Hopefully, it won’t be too late.”
Bai Fu now had a pounding headache.
She didn’t know what the Black Tide was, nor from which direction it would come.
If she wanted to avoid it in advance, she would really need some luck.