Chapter 352: The Reaper’s Past, Civilization Planting
“Ultimate hidden quest?”
The moment she saw the adjective ultimate, Bai Fu was startled.
Although she had faintly felt that this Old Relic was unusual the moment she discovered it, she had not expected it to be unusual to this extent!
Ultimate.
If she remembered correctly, this was the first time in the game she had ever seen a quest crowned with the name ultimate.
From the official open beta until now, the total number of quests released by Beyond the Stars had easily surpassed ten digits.
If this wasn’t some April Fool’s prank, or the developers’ twisted sense of humor, or a hidden Easter egg, then…
Anyway, better finish listening to the Reaper’s story first!
Following the prompts in the quest description, Bai Fu operated Old Relic 003. Before long, from within the opened relic floated out an unknown white particle.
The particle gradually unfolded before her, splitting into countless smaller particles. These particles gathered together, and through constant movement, they constructed images and sounds, narrating to her a story from an even older bygone age.
某年，某月，某日。
A man who called himself the Recorder of the Prime Epoch narrated, using a special device developed by his civilization, what they were experiencing.
Just like the fates of the Void Civilization and the Ethereal Civilization Bai Fu had seen before, the Recorder’s civilization was also invaded, and in the end, severed from the Main Universe, exiled beyond it, becoming “Bygone.”
Bai Fu had long wondered what this invader actually was. She had searched through every piece of information available, even using connections to obtain top-level access to the Rebirth Empire’s Radiant Mainframe—yet still found nothing.
Now, the question finally had an answer.
The Recorder of the Prime Epoch directly revealed the true identity of the invaders.
【We have never seen their true appearance. We gave them a name: the Reapers】
【In fact, using they to describe “them” may not be entirely correct】
【Because even until the moment our civilization perished, we still didn’t know whether “they” were an individual, a civilization, or many similar civilizations. Our understanding of them came only from what we ourselves witnessed, and intelligence collected across one “Epoch” after another, integrated into one vague impression】
【Now, I, a Recorder of the Prime Epoch, shall tell you the story of “them” and us】
【“They,” the Reapers, were doing something that, to many of us, wasn’t unfamiliar at all——】
【Planting civilizations!】
【The Reapers planted civilizations just like farmers sowed wheat】
【Every universe was “their” field of wheat. Every “Epoch,” “they” would plant countless civilizations in these “fields.” When civilizations matured, “they” would harvest them like farmers harvesting ripe wheat】
【To us, who were treated as wheat, this was cruel. But from the Reapers’ perspective, they were merely harvesting matured crops—nothing unusual at all】
【By now, you may already be guessing when the Reapers would descend to reap civilizations, right?】
【Unfortunately, even though we personally experienced one Reaping Event, we, like the civilizations before us, still never fully figured out what triggered the Reapers’ descent. I can only categorize it roughly into three possibilities】
【One, when a civilization’s development surpasses a certain red line】
【Two, when the number of individuals within a civilization who know of the Reapers surpasses a certain red line】
【Three, when an individual within a civilization commits an act that angers the Reapers】
【It is worth noting that the third possibility exists only as speculation. There are no cases to support this conjecture】
【From my own perspective, I consider it meaningless. I do not believe Reapers would be angered by “wheat”】
【“They” were gods standing high above—far more real and concrete than the gods we once worshipped or fought against】
The Recorder continued with many more words.
Most were about the situation when his civilization was reaped, and his reason for recording all this.
The first part was brief, because the Reaping truly occurred in an instant. Many people hadn’t even realized what had happened before they were already annihilated.
His reason for leaving this record was his hope to break the cycle—that the “wheat” longed for the day it could break free of these limits and truly grow without restraint.
At the end of the record, the Recorder mentioned another question that left Bai Fu puzzled.
Why didn’t the Reapers wipe the “fields” completely clean? Why did they cut away a portion of civilizations and cast them outside the field?
The Recorder believed there were two possibilities.
One, the Reapers found it amusing. They cut fragments of one civilization after another in order to build a museum of civilizations for their viewing.
Two, the Reapers deliberately left behind traces of older civilizations, to let the collision between past and newly planted civilizations give rise to something more interesting.
【I cannot determine which is the true answer. All is left for you, the listener, to judge for yourself】
The white particles recombined into one and sank back into Old Relic 003.
As the vision faded, Bai Fu received the quest completion prompt, earning 100 Stat Points and the title 【Listener】.
【Listener】: Maximum Psionic Value +15%.
It was indeed a good title, but Bai Fu had no time to focus on that now.
All she wanted was to shout what the hell.
Real or fake?
Could this whole thing be a giant scam targeting her?
If it were real, wouldn’t that mean there were countless other universes within the game? That would mean the game’s map was truly so vast it defied comprehension.
As she thought, Bai Fu recalled what the leader of the Original Pact had said.
When explaining why he had to kill her, the leader had said her actions had made her a hindrance to the world, and since she refused to cut ties with the Three Universal Civilizations, she had to be eliminated.
At the time, she had thought the leader rather inexplicable. But now, she roughly understood.
“The leader’s words seem like proof of the Reapers’ existence. He must also know about them.”
“He wanted to kill me because he was worried that my guidance to the Three Universal Civilizations would cause their development to skyrocket, and in a short time, they’d hit the red line that would trigger the Reapers’ descent, right?”
Bai Fu narrowed her eyes.
If that really were the truth, then the leader might actually be someone she could win over.
As long as she agreed to stop guiding the psionicists of the Three Universal Civilizations, then the most urgent target for the leader to eliminate would be the Apostolic Holy City, not her.
If the Apostolic Holy City were left unchecked, it would eventually devour the Three Universal Civilizations.
In that case, while the total number of Dominators and Transcendents in the Star Sea would drop, the Supreme God’s disciples would very likely take advantage of the situation to keep increasing their power, reaching Level 270 and beyond, perhaps even completing five Divine Metamorphoses, becoming the first in history.
Would such an unprecedented breakthrough trigger the Reaping Mechanism?
Bai Fu wasn’t sure.
But she believed that if the leader truly wanted to maintain “balance” and keep this era of the universe from triggering the Reaping Mechanism, then he would definitely not allow the Supreme God’s disciples to keep growing stronger—because the risk was far too great.
“Although the Original Pact always wanted to kill me, looking at the current situation, making peace with them should be the most correct choice.”
Bai Fu scratched her head.
Difficult indeed.
She had thought she was about to make it through, but who would have thought another Reaper would appear above?
This thing’s terror, at first glance, was no less than the Creator Gods of myths. Someone like Élisée, revered as a “god,” simply could not compare to “them.”
“From here on, I must act cautiously. If I accidentally trigger the Reaper Mechanism, then it’s over.”
Once the Reaping descended, the entire game would collapse—and she would not escape death either.
Bai Fu dared not assume the developers would restore everything. If they didn’t, then she was truly done for.
At this thought, another long-pondered question resurfaced in her mind.
“Is this… really just a game?”
The stronger she grew, the more she encountered, the more she doubted.
The Reapers’ appearance had shaken her more than ever before.
She began to suspect that Beyond the Stars was in fact a “game” created by the Reapers—that the developers, planners, operators, and so forth were all roles played by the Reapers. She and the Players were tossed into this “game” by the Reapers for some purpose.
“Developer bro? You there?”
“Hmm? Not bro? Then Developer sis? Nǐ hǎo? Had lunch yet?”
…Nothing.
After shouting more than ten times without a reply, Bai Fu stopped.
The lack of a response didn’t mean her suspicion was wrong. Perhaps the Reapers simply didn’t want to bother with her.
Bai Fu lifted Old Relic 003 again, hoping to find another clue—but nothing came of it.
She could only temporarily give up on investigating the Reapers.
With no leads, continuing the investigation would just waste time.
Better to think about how to trick Élisée instead.
Working with the Original Pact was the direction of her next moves. But considering that the leader still wanted to kill her, for true cooperation she needed to demonstrate power that would make him wary.
“In Élisée’s eyes, I am her mother—the true God of the Ethereal Realm. She assumes whatever she knows, I also know. If I were to directly ask her about the method of synthesizing Ethereal Particles, she would definitely grow suspicious.”
“So, I need to put on a show—become a version of me that’s not normal in her eyes. A version that needs her to share what she knows so I can return to normal.”
“Amnesia.”
“Ordinary amnesia is hard to fake.”
“I need some turbulence to make it more convincing.”
Bai Fu’s gaze darted around, finally settling on Old Relic 003.
She had thought of a plan that could kill many birds with one stone. To carry it out, she would need the cooperation of a Void Lord.
It’s decided—you, Lufas!
That guy Lufas was too dangerous. Bai Fu felt it best to keep him within sight.
Once she made her decision, she didn’t act immediately, but instead continued digesting the Void Lord Core.
This lasted another day and a half.
During that time, she had multiple communications with the Three Universal Civilizations, discussing ways to deal with the Apostolic Holy City.
For now, she had no good suggestions, and she wasn’t ready to reveal her plan of working with the Original Pact.
After a day and a half, Bai Fu finally pushed her digestion progress to 100%. Her racial potential rose from 96.1 to 99.8.
A prompt sounded.
【You have completed a Special Ascension, stepping into an entirely new lifeform state. Please name your new race】
“After absorbing the Void Lord Core, I am both Apostle and Void Lord. To still call my race 【God of the Ethereal Realm】 is too one-sided. Then let it be called 【Old God】!”
Ding!
【Your race has changed to ［Old God (Exclusive Race)］】
【Race change complete. You have gained Attribute Bonuses——
Strength +1319, Agility +1902, Constitution +1021, Intelligence +871, Spirit +1105, Inspiration +581】
Compared to her previous ascension into 【God of the Ethereal Realm】, this racial ascension gave Bai Fu far greater attribute bonuses.
The only pity was that the Inspiration boost in the Void direction was too low—only 581 points, the lowest of all.
Beyond the basic attribute bonuses, Bai Fu also gained many new abilities.
For example, the evolved version of 【Complete Adaptation to Void Dimension】, now 【Void Primordial】; the ultimate evolution of 【Void Traversal】, now 【Void Fusion】; and the ultimate evolution of 【Become the Night】, now 【Void】, among others.
In addition to these evolved Void talents, Bai Fu also obtained several new ones.
【Void Sovereign】: From now on, Bai Fu could control the Void Dimension, freely altering parts of its structure, and draw upon Void power to strengthen herself.
【Special Energy Conversion】: From now on, Bai Fu could convert absorbed Void power into Psionics or Dark Energy to restore her blue bar—or convert Psionics/Dark Energy into Void power to activate certain Void abilities.
【Perfect Fusion】: The flawless fusion of Void Genes and Apostle Genes broke the limits of a single race, bringing her a new evolution. This granted her another set of attribute bonuses, with Constitution:HP and Inspiration:Psionic conversion efficiency both increased by 100.
【You have gained Attribute Bonuses——
Strength +1019, Agility +1202, Constitution +1421, Intelligence +1071, Spirit +1605, Inspiration +1121】
“Damn, is this the benefit of a Racial Potential rating of 99.8? Two rounds of bonuses!”
Bai Fu was utterly stunned.
A terrifying force surged from within her body, enveloping the entire Esper Garden. In that instant, even Élisée, far away on the frontlines, sensed something wrong.
It seemed that what had awakened days ago was not an Apostle, but something even more frightening?
Good, good, good.
Bai Fu grew excited.
Gui Ji’s Void Core had turned her into a massive chunk of meat—a chunk of meat that even she herself shook her head at.
“Now I can go meet with Lufas.”