Chapter 330: The First Protocol Emerges
Bai Fu did not have to wait long.
After about twenty minutes, Yuan Yi returned, dragging a stranger’s account into the call.
Once she chose to accept, a small, thin figure, no more than a meter tall, appeared before Bai Fu.
The newcomer’s entire body was bluish-gray, with a dozen transparent tendrils floating above his head.
The Long’an race!
The name of this race instantly surfaced in Bai Fu’s mind.
They were a race with exceptional natural talent in mental force, currently residing within the Supernova Legion’s territory.
“This is Ai of the Long’an race.”
Yuan Yi introduced the newcomer to Bai Fu and the Oathmaster.
“Don’t be fooled by his weak and sleepy look. In truth, he is the most gifted mental cultivator the Long’an race has produced in ten thousand years. Even across the entire Explored Universe, few can match his attainments in mental force.”
Ai gave a helpless smile: “You’re exaggerating to the point of embarrassing me. My talent is decent, yes, but compared to certain others, I fall far short.”
Yuan Yi said: “What you lack compared to them has never been talent, only time and experience.”
“You flatter me too much.” Ai waved his hand. “Enough, enough. Let’s get to business.”
As he spoke, he turned to Bai Fu and the Oathmaster.
“You’re looking for Isaacs, right? I once worked in the smuggling fleet he founded, so I know him very well. And precisely because I know him very well… to be honest, I don’t recommend you seek revenge against him right now. It’s too dangerous. Even though Bai Fu, you were once an Apostle, if you go after him recklessly, there’s still a very real chance you could die.”
—Really?
Ai’s words completely piqued Bai Fu’s curiosity.
“I heard from the Oathmaster that Isaacs’ strength was somewhere between the Second Metamorphosis and Third Metamorphosis. Are you saying he has grown even stronger in recent years?”
Ai shook his head: “He has indeed improved, but only barely to the level of Yuan Yi now. The true danger isn’t him—it’s the organization he joined. That organization…”
Ai’s expression suddenly grew complex—part fear, part anger, part confusion.
After a long pause, he asked quietly: “You should have heard of the Pathseekers, right?”
Bai Fu nodded.
Ai said: “The organization Isaacs joined was founded by a group of Pathseekers. Its name is——the First Protocol!”
“Wait, did you say the First Protocol?”
Hearing the familiar name so suddenly, Bai Fu cried out in shock.
Her reaction startled the Oathmaster, Yuan Yi, and Ai alike.
“The First Protocol?”
The Oathmaster, who had never heard the name before, looked completely lost.
Yuan Yi and Ai, however, froze in disbelief: “You’ve heard of the First Protocol?”
Bai Fu replied: “Heard of it? I’ve fought them several times already.”
Yuan Yi and Ai exchanged bewildered looks.
—What the hell?
Bai Fu explained the situation.
The Three Cosmic-level Civilizations had, in fact, already entered into war with the First Protocol. However, because the Holy City of Apostles was still a formidable threat looming outside, they refrained from announcing the First Protocol’s existence to avoid inciting panic.
“So, you’re saying you once fought six of them alone within the Ethereal Realm, not only survived, but even drove off the First Protocol and captured one of their Transcendent Mentalists alive?”
“So, you’re saying that not long ago, in the Esper Garden, you clashed with them again—this time killing three Transcendents and two Domination-level beings right in front of their Leader, one of those Transcendents being none other than the Lightless One, one of the Esper Garden’s Seven Kings of Espers?”
After hearing Bai Fu’s explanation, Yuan Yi and Ai were utterly dumbfounded.
They really wanted to say—Bai Fu, you’ve got to be bullshitting us.
But Bai Fu had directly mentioned names like Jonas and the Lightless One. Could that be fake?
Absurd. Absolutely absurd!
No one was more shaken than Ai.
Yuan Yi had never personally encountered the First Protocol, but Ai had fought against them firsthand. In his view, the First Protocol was the most mysterious, terrifying, and unfathomable organization in existence—far surpassing even the Holy City of Apostles, despite its recent rise in fame.
And yet Bai Fu had…
There was nothing left to say. He could only admit—Sis, you are truly insane!
Ai sighed, then lifted his head: “Since you’ve already crossed paths with the First Protocol, there’s no point in me trying to dissuade you. Let me at least tell you what I know of them.”
He began recounting his past.
His contact with the First Protocol had started with an accidental discovery.
Back then, Ai was still among the Long’an race.
One day, a guardian of the Long’an race’s Spiritual Trial Sanctum discovered a stranger within the sanctum.
This caused a major uproar.
Those who received the message, including Ai himself, rushed to the sanctum. There, they were stunned to see that the stranger was actually one of the Long’an race’s ancestors.
That ancestor should, by all rights, have been long dead. Yet here he was, sneaking into the sanctum to steal something.
When the Long’an asked what was going on, the ancestor said nothing, only left with the ancestral relic in hand.
The Long’an fell into chaos.
To uncover the truth and retrieve the relic, Ai set out on a journey.
But after wandering for many years, he never once found a trace of that ancestor.
If not for the fact that the relic was indeed missing, he might have thought what they saw that day was nothing more than a collective hallucination.
In the course of his search, Ai eventually joined Death God Isaacs’ smuggling fleet.
He remained there for over a decade, advancing from Domination-level to Transcendent.
By then, he had nearly given up hope of recovering the relic—when the unimaginable happened.
Isaacs came into contact with a mysterious organization.
Yes—the First Protocol!
The First Protocol invited Isaacs to join, saying they had already recognized him.
At first, Isaacs sneered at their invitation.
What a joke—just because they “recognized” him, he was supposed to join them? How arrogant could they be?
But after several close encounters with the First Protocol, Isaacs was utterly convinced.
—Strong!
The First Protocol was so overwhelmingly strong that he had not the slightest thought of resisting.
And not only that—they possessed the means to make him even stronger.
Thus, Isaacs resolved to lead his entire faction under the banner of the First Protocol.
It was during this process that Ai gained some understanding of them.
“The majority of the First Protocol’s members are Pathseekers, though there are exceptions like Isaacs. The common thread among them is that each one is terrifyingly strong, driven by a heart full of desire. The greatest reason Isaacs joined was because, through the First Protocol’s power, he could become the true king of the Star Sea’s smuggling world.”
—Oh, so this man wanted to be the Smuggling King!
Bai Fu continued listening.
Ai explained that after joining the First Protocol, Isaacs’ ambitions shifted. For he had learned that the First Protocol had an even greater goal——
To sweep the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations into the trash heap, reshape the Explored Universe, and establish a new order under the dominion of the First Protocol!
Why settle for being a Smuggling King? He now wanted to be the King of Capital, replacing even the greatest of modern consortia—Eternal Investments.
“All of this, I heard from that ancestor of mine. I truly never expected that, after following Isaacs into the First Protocol, I would see him again there.”
“That ancestor said he hadn’t died because he had reincarnated through spirit, becoming a Pathseeker. He had taken the relic in order to help the First Protocol. I told him the Long’an needed it more than the First Protocol, and I asked him to return it.”
“But…”
Ai gave a bitter shake of his head.
Before he even spoke, he had expected his ancestor would refuse. He had even prepared a second speech in his mind to persuade him further. But he had never imagined his ancestor would grow so agitated—loudly refusing, belittling the Long’an in favor of the First Protocol’s grand vision, and looking at him as though he were a thief.
That posture was exactly like someone brainwashed by an evil cult.
Ai was terrified.
For an existence stronger and far more experienced than him, a Transcendent, to be turned into this… how terrifying must the First Protocol truly be?
He had originally intended to stay with the First Protocol. But after this, he abandoned the idea, bid his ancestor a hasty farewell, and fled at once.
Of course, the First Protocol would not allow him to leave so easily. They immediately pursued him.
Only through a combination of strong power and sheer luck did he manage to escape their pursuit and survive to this day.
“Regarding the First Protocol, I’ve always had two lingering doubts.”
“Hm? What doubts?” the Oathmaster asked curiously.
Ai explained: “First, I suspected that the true purpose of the First Protocol wasn’t to establish a new order, but to pursue something else. From what I knew, there was a very obvious hierarchy within the First Protocol. Those of higher rank had a mental state completely different from the others. They always acted secretively. The so-called new order might have just been a façade to deceive the lower members.”
“Second, the Leader of the First Protocol always appeared wearing a mask. None of the members I came into contact with knew his true identity. I speculated that he wasn’t merely cultivating a sense of mystery, but truly didn’t want anyone to know who he was. His real identity was very likely a renowned figure in the tens of thousands of years of Star Sea history—or even a current celebrity within the Star Sea!”
Bai Fu nodded thoughtfully.
After hearing Ai’s words, she also felt that the Leader of the First Protocol must have an extraordinary identity.
So, who could it be? Could it be one of her acquaintances?
The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
Bai Fu shook her head lightly.
Forget it.
This wasn’t the time to think about that. Learning about the First Protocol had been an unexpected gain, but her real purpose today was still to help the Oathmaster take revenge.
Bai Fu asked about Isaacs’ whereabouts.
Ai said: “I don’t know where he is right now, but I can help you lure him out. Since I was once his follower, during the First Protocol’s pursuit of me, he had always been the most relentless.”
The Oathmaster asked: “Wouldn’t that put you in great danger?”
Ai shook his head. “No need to worry. It would only be baiting the enemy. I don’t need to show up personally. The ones who should truly be careful are you. Although you held the advantage in your previous clashes, never underestimate the First Protocol.”
He originally hadn’t wanted to tell Bai Fu so much, but her battle record had impressed him.
If it was Bai Fu, perhaps she really could overturn the First Protocol?
Humans… sometimes you just had to dare to imagine!
“That’s good then. Oh, right.” Bai Fu suddenly remembered something. “Since you know so much about the First Protocol, can you help me identify someone?”
After capturing that Transcendent Mentalist of the First Protocol in the Ethereal Realm, she had received a new main quest, 【Beyond the Stars (I)】. The quest required her to uncover the background and true identity of the Mentalist. It had been stuck on her panel for a long time. Today, maybe she could finally complete it.
While speaking, Bai Fu pulled the Mentalist’s soul out from the Paradise Ark.
Ai leaned in for a look.
The next second, his eyes bulged like copper bells.
Even Yuan Yi was startled by his reaction. “What’s wrong?”
“Th-this…”
Ai pointed with his hand.
Oh, for heaven’s sake—wasn’t this his ancestor?!
Bai Fu, the Oathmaster, Yuan Yi: “……”
Ahem.
Although the Mentalist’s identity had finally been revealed, Bai Fu felt embarrassed at the thought of having captured someone’s ancestor.
“I’ll return him to you then.”
“No, no need.” Ai hurriedly refused. “This ancestor isn’t the one I mentioned earlier, but another. He also joined the First Protocol. The difference is—he was a complete villain. In his lifetime, he had been one of the Star Sea’s top ten most wanted criminals. I believe one of the reasons why the other ancestor seemed abnormal was precisely because he was getting along well with this one, when they had always been on terrible terms in the past.”
Oh, you don’t want him? Fine then. I’ll just let the Beast God keep playing games with him.
Since Ai declined, Bai Fu didn’t insist. After all, her quest was already complete.
【You have completed Main Quest [Beyond the Stars (I)]. Rewards: 5 billion XP, Random [Rainbow]-quality Prayer Card Blueprint ×1】
【You have triggered Main Quest [Beyond the Stars (II)]】
【Quest Introduction: …】
【Quest Objectives:
Branch 1. Strike against the First Protocol – continue attacking the First Protocol. Rewards depend on contribution;
Branch 2. True Face of the Leader – investigate the real identity of the First Protocol’s Leader. Rewards: 15 billion XP, Complete Concealment Card ×1, Divine Blood ×1】
【Note: Completing Branch 2 will automatically conclude the quest and trigger follow-up missions】
Although she didn’t know what Divine Blood was, Bai Fu knew it had to be something precious.
Her mood was extremely good.
Ai then asked: “When do you plan to act?”
Of course, at any time…
Eh.
Bai Fu suddenly thought of a plan.
What if she let Ai lure the First Protocol’s pursuers to that Temporary Stargate at the Holy City of Apostles? What would happen then?
Would the First Protocol and the Holy City of Apostles—two major antagonist factions who normally wouldn’t intersect in the game’s storyline—end up clashing?
Could she and the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations use this chance to destroy the Holy City of Apostles’ new star route?
The more Bai Fu thought about it, the more she felt this grand scheme could work.
Given how the Holy City of Apostles treated other civilizations, and how the First Protocol’s Leader acted so self-absorbed, there was no way they could get along peacefully.
“I’m on my way to rendezvous with the Oathmaster. Once we meet up, lure the First Protocol’s people here.”
Bai Fu sent the coordinates of the Temporary Stargate to Ai.
Ai agreed.
After ending the call, Bai Fu immediately contacted Dmitri.
Forget the announcements. Come with me to do something big first!