Chapter 382: Whoever says Bai Fu is honest again—I’ll fight them!
On the spotlessly white shelves, scattered across the surface, lay hundreds of metal boxes.
At that moment, all the players who had squeezed into the room were crowded around one particular box—one that looked no different from the others in appearance.
【Strange Box】
The eye-catching red font hovered above the box, as irresistible to players as a red cape is to a bull in a frenzy.
Strange?
Then I’ve got to see just how strange you are!
The first player to discover the box picked it up.
The box was sturdy, sure—but in the hands of players who now rivaled even low-level Calamities, that meant absolutely nothing.
Pa!
Hand-ripped metal box.
The moment the box cracked open, the player who opened it knew—they’d struck gold.
【Mysterious Code】
【Quality】: Iridescent
【Item Description】: A mysterious cube accidentally discovered by the founders of the Original Pact in the endless void dimensions. Its outer shell is so sturdy even the Void Sovereign cannot destroy it. After extensive research, those First Seekers were lucky enough to extract some data from it. The data has a remarkably elegant structure, and they were certain it was a piece of code. However, because the code is fragmented and incomplete, they have never been able to decode it.
“This is it! Found it! OHOHOHOH!”
The player holding the box was so excited, they danced with joy.
This was the most important mission of their trip.
As long as they successfully brought this Mysterious Code box back to the Silent Alliance, they’d not only receive massive XP, free advanced knowledge, tons of rare items, evolved genomes, and massive Reputation and Contribution, but also be personally decorated by Fu‑fu, and promoted to Fleet Commander and Special Operations Captain—gaining command over a fleet of ships and NPCs.
The reward was so generous, one couldn’t help but question its authenticity.
In stark contrast to the players’ excitement were the members of the Original Pact watching this scene via surveillance from their headquarters—including the Child of Prophecy and Ignaz, who were racing toward the location.
Holy sht sht sht sht sht sht!
Stop! Somebody stop them!
Ignaz was about to explode from rage.
It had been his command—soon after inheriting the position of leader—that had transferred the Mysterious Code from the heavily secured confidential archive to a regular warehouse.
As the ancients said, the most dangerous place is also the safest.
If the Mysterious Code had stayed in the confidential archive, anyone breaking in would immediately realize it was something unusual. Even if they didn’t know what it did, they’d try everything to take it.
But placing the Mysterious Code in an ordinary standardized box, on a completely ordinary shelf in a completely ordinary warehouse—now that was a different story.
An average person arriving here, even after careful inspection, wouldn’t notice anything special if they weren’t in the know.
Who would randomly open every single box here? If you had that kind of free time, you might as well think about how to survive the Original Pact’s inevitable counterattack first.
At the time, Ignaz had thought it through perfectly. He was completely blindsided by how it turned out.
Who could’ve predicted that, years later, a group of bug-abusing lunatics would appear across the stars—and not only that, they’d actually break into the Original Pact’s headquarters?
Others didn’t have the time to scour the place, but players were different.
Even without a mission posted by Bai Fu, there would still be tons of players—among the tens of millions—who would loot the enemy’s base while fighting.
I don’t care what this or that is—I even pick up bottle caps like mad. You think I’d skip a metal box?
Worst case, if my inventory’s full, I’ll just clean it out later and ditch the low-value junk to make space.
Simply put, from the moment players invaded the Original Pact’s headquarters, the Mysterious Code was doomed.
Ignaz roared in rage.
As the former Emperor of the Empire and a seasoned warmonger, he’d once possessed excellent composure.
But ever since encountering Bai Fu and the players, that composure had slowly vanished.
Screw all those pompous courtesies.
Right now, he just wanted to kill.
“What are you doing?! Get out! All of you, get out there and retrieve that program! If you can’t get it back, even if Bai Fu doesn’t punish you—I will!”
This...
The ones being scolded by Ignaz looked grim.
All formal members of the Original Pact worked toward the same goal. But a shared goal didn’t mean mutual respect.
Take the Lightless Ones from the Esper Garden—they’d never accepted Ignaz being chosen as the new leader. He believed that if the resources used to train Ignaz had been used on him instead, he might not be weaker than the current Ignaz.
Now that they were being threatened, many inside HQ were understandably upset.
Some hesitated and didn’t move. Others, after analyzing the bigger picture, still headed out.
That program absolutely could not fall into Bai Fu’s hands.
If she somehow managed to decode it and extract something catastrophic from it, that would be the end.
Dangerous? So be it.
From the day they joined the Original Pact, they had been dancing with death.
The main door opened, and a group filed out.
Seeing this, Ignaz exhaled slightly.
Fate-Weaver, who always acted alongside him, frowned.
“Leader, what you just said... was a bit much.”
No matter how urgent the situation, for a leader to threaten Pact members like that—it was inappropriate.
Of course, what worried Fate-Weaver even more was that past leaders would never have said such things. He... had changed. Grown irritable, extreme.
It wasn’t a good sign.
But Fate-Weaver could understand.
Just after eliminating the massive threat of the Apostolic Holy City, a new, even more troublesome Bai Fu had emerged. And they’d just been thoroughly duped by her.
Who wouldn’t be anxious in such a situation?
If Bai Fu truly took that next step, everything would be over.
Fate-Weaver sighed internally.
He offered a suggestion: “Leader, I think we can try talking to Bai Fu. Help her understand how serious this is—maybe she’ll give up the program voluntarily. She’s cunning, but she doesn’t seem unreasonable. If talks fail, then we act. Besides, it’ll take us some time to return to HQ anyway.”
Fate-Weaver felt this was a perfectly rational proposal.
But clearly, to the current Ignaz, negotiating with Bai Fu was no longer on the table.
Negotiate? Now?
What a joke.
Only Bai Fu’s death could bring peace to the fallen. Only Bai Fu’s death could send a message to those who dared defy him.
Once Bai Fu was gone, he’d like to see who else dared to act up!
Furious, Ignaz surged toward HQ at full speed.
Meanwhile, those Original Pact members who had stormed out were rushing toward the player who had found the Mysterious Code.
But halfway there, they were blocked.
“Wanna get through? Dream on!”
Sword Qi Soaring sneered.
The player who first found the Mysterious Code was one of their Iron Rain Guild members. He couldn’t be prouder right now.
The Iron Rain Guild had thrown all-in behind Bai Fu in recent years and grown massively—now they were one of the top-tier guilds.
If they completed this mission successfully, it’d be perfect for a round of publicity. Then came Bai Fu’s rewards. Iron Rain Guild would surely take another step forward—becoming the number one guild Among the Stars.
With such a bright future ahead, Sword Qi Soaring absolutely would not let the Original Pact mess things up.
On his own, he couldn’t hold them off. But—he had cheats.
Sword Qi Soaring casually reached into his pocket, pulling out a stack of Advanced Prayer Cards.
These cards had been painstakingly collected using the full resources of the entire guild. And now—it was finally their time to shine.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
One card after another flew from Sword Qi Soaring’s hand.
In an instant, the Original Pact members felt themselves plunging into a dark abyss—and all around them, countless True Spirit Summons surged forth to slaughter them.
While the True Spirit Summons were attacking, they weren’t the only ones—many players joined in as well, and a lot of them weren’t even from the Iron Rain Guild.
They were just passing by, saw Sword Qi Soaring fighting a boss, and decided to tag along.
“I’m just here to tag along, promise I won’t steal the last hit!”
At first, some players were worried they might get chased away, but once they realized Sword Qi Soaring wasn’t stopping them at all, they grew bold.
No one’s stopping us? Just tagging along wouldn’t do—this calls for an all-out charge, a full-force strike to bleed these bosses dry!
“Brothers, go hard! Once the boss dies, we all get a sip of the soup!”
Under Sword Qi Soaring’s cover, the group of players who had secured the Mysterious Code quickly made a break toward Hei Fu’s location.
“What the hell!”
Other guilds’ players, like Black Bastard from the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, turned red with envy when they saw this.
Damn it, how the hell did Sword Qi Soaring get this kind of absurd luck?
At this point, it was too late to try stealing the Mysterious Code, so he could only vent his anger on the Original Pact.
“Hiding the Mysterious Code where Iron Rain Guild’s people were bound to find it? I’ll show you—hide, hide, hide…”
Other guild players kicked open every door they saw, ransacking rooms and inspecting everything, down to the smallest toothpick.
Anything valuable was taken, anything worthless was tossed.
Like a swarm of locusts, in mere moments, a whole warehouse would be stripped bare.
This scene made the still-hiding Original Pact members absolutely furious.
“Bandits!”
“Thieves!”
“Is there no law or justice left?!”
They screamed with rage, and some couldn’t sit still any longer—because the players were stealing their personal belongings.
“I’ll fight these monsters to the death!”
“They’re the cancer of the universe—cancer of the universe!”
A brutal, all-out brawl erupted inside the Original Pact’s headquarters.
As time passed, the Child of Prophecy finally arrived on the battlefield.
But his arrival did not turn the tide.
Times had changed. After being thoroughly screwed over by Bai Fu’s last trap, the Original Pact’s strength had taken a huge hit. Most of their power was still on the frontlines, and the Transcendents left behind at HQ simply weren’t enough. The Child of Prophecy’s return only slightly relieved the pressure on those being beaten black and blue by the Ethereal God-King and Fitz.
The players’ looting continued, and the situation didn’t shift until Ignaz and Fate-Weaver returned.
“Holy f***!”
Seeing players plowing his HQ like diligent oxen, Ignaz felt utterly disrespected.
Kill, kill, kill—I’ll kill you all!
With just a gentle press of his right hand, the nearest players were crushed into particles invisible to the naked eye.
Then, like a gust of wind, he swept through the mid-levels of the Original Pact headquarters, and wherever he passed—be it players, True Spirit Summons, or Supernova Warband NPCs—not a single one could withstand even a single exchange, torn to shreds with ease.
“Sh*t, he’s that terrifying?”
It was the first time players had seen Ignaz’s HP bar.
And what a bar it was—one, two, three, four… it had nine digits!
“So this is the weight of being the strongest world boss in the current version?”
Sword Qi Soaring only had time to voice his awe before Ignaz sent him straight back to the respawn point.
What Domain of Battle-Will?
I am battle-will itself! I am the domain!
The terrifying aura emanating from Ignaz instantly shattered the Domain of Battle-Will.
The gloomy sky disappeared, replaced by bright lights.
Fitz stared at Ignaz with a heavy expression.
Not good.
Ignaz had returned—but the Mysterious Code hadn’t yet been extracted.
They had to stop him.
Gritting his teeth, Fitz abandoned his opponent and lunged straight toward Ignaz.
He didn’t need to stall for long—just a few minutes would do.
“Out of my way!”
But just as Fitz reached Ignaz, before he could even make a move, Ignaz sent him flying with a single slap.
That’s the kind of brute-force dominance a top martial artist had.
That slap didn’t just knock Fitz away—it shattered the space around him.
Not good!
The players carrying the Mysterious Code all turned pale.
Luckily, they were now as strong as low-level Calamities. Otherwise, that spatial rupture alone would’ve wiped them out.
“Run! He’s caught up!”
Hundreds of players shouted, each holding an identical metal box. With a yell, they scattered and used everything they had to escape.
“You think you can confuse me with tricks like this? Useless!”
Ignaz sneered coldly.
A bunch of Calamity-level Psionicists meant nothing to him. The only real annoyance was that Ethereal God-King Bai Fu had summoned. The moment he appeared, the Ethereal God-King, like Fitz, broke away from his opponent and charged toward Ignaz, trying to stop him.
Normally, Ignaz would gladly give the Ethereal God-King a proper beatdown.
But not today. He had no time to get bogged down.
Taking the Ethereal God-King’s attacks head-on, Ignaz chased after the fleeing players. Despite taking a brutal pounding, he still managed to recapture all of them.
“You think you can play mind games with me?”
One by one, Ignaz opened the metal boxes.
Nothing. Nothing. Still nothing.
Even the last box didn’t have the program.
“Impossible!”
“Surprised?” Bai Fu’s voice came from the Ethereal God-King’s mouth. “Actually, I threw that program into my Sovereign of the Shadowed Night realm before you got back. I left these Undying Ones here just to mess with you. Oh—and to test how much effort it’d take to kill you.”
“You—!”
Ignaz’s face turned blue, then white. As he stared at the Ethereal God-King, he looked like he might combust from rage.
Kill, kill, kill!
From now on, anyone who called Bai Fu an honest person—a saint—he’d fight them on the spot!
Bai Fu chuckled, “Oh right, let me tell you a little secret. Know why your secrets never stay hidden?”
“Because I planted a spy.”
Knew it!
“Who?!” Ignaz demanded sharply.
He didn’t expect Bai Fu to actually answer—but she did the unthinkable.
“Those Undying Ones. I’ll tell you the truth—all of them were summoned by me. I used my innate ability to summon them.”
BOOM!
Ignaz looked as though he’d been struck by lightning.
He stared at the Ethereal God-King, then at the swarm of players. Then he thought of the players on his own side.
Hahaha. So that’s how it is. Good. Very good!
“Kill them! Kill every single Undying One! I don’t care if they side with Bai Fu or with us!”
Ignaz’s command left players from the Empire and Titan Industries completely dumbfounded.
You okay, man?
They’re called Undying Ones—how do you kill that?
And why are you suddenly turning on them? Are you just pushing them into Bai Fu’s arms?
“Shut up. Kill them!”
Ignaz was blazing with fury. Odoacre dared not question him and could only follow orders loyally.
After all, Ignaz was obscenely strong—and his ancestor to boot.
And just like that, players from the Original Pact, the Empire, and Titan Industries got wrecked for no reason.
【WTF is going on?!】
They were completely stunned. They were just walking down the road—and got murdered out of nowhere. What happened to justice?
Having tricked another wave of players with just a small scheme, Bai Fu couldn’t stop laughing.
Perfect.
At this rate, even more players would soon flock to her.
When version 3.2 arrived, she would have an absolutely terrifying army!
Ignaz, prepare to die!
Bai Fu opened the entrance to the Sovereign of the Shadowed Night realm, preparing to check out the Mysterious Code the players had worked so hard to retrieve.