Chapter 392: Copying Esper Power, The Outbreak of Full-scale Conflict
Hick had originally prepared himself for a prolonged operation.
The Star Sea was vast—who could guarantee a Silent Alliance vessel would pass by his hiding spot within a short span of time?
Yet, as it turned out, it took him only a few days to encounter a completely undefended mining ship.
This luck…
“Destiny is with me!”
——Feel free to imagine this in a triumphant “The advantage is mine” tone.
“I have a strong premonition that on this trip to the Silent Alliance, I’ll not only be able to pinpoint the location of Bai Fu and that soul-type cosmic treasure of hers, but I’ll also gain other massive spoils—spoils that will disrupt the balance between the Initial Reality and the Silent Alliance!”
Hick felt utterly fired up.
Burning with anticipation to achieve merit and recognition, he couldn't wait and split his body into countless parts.
He wove himself through the newly constructed information network of the Silent Alliance, snooping around like a deranged stalker, peeking here and there.
It wasn’t long before he finally found the one he’d been searching for.
Haha, found you!
In a virtual screen, Hick stared excitedly at Bai Fu, who was idly browsing the Player Community from the ground below.
Immediately, Hick controlled another fragment of his body and sent Ignatz the precise coordinates of the Silent Alliance headquarters, Dmitry’s location, and Dmitry’s Resurrection Point.
At this stage, he could’ve just retreated or gone into stealth mode.
But his ambition for merit and glory kept him from leaving just yet.
“If I could steal that cosmic treasure of Bai Fu’s... If I could engrave a Tracking Curse on her…”
Hick dared not imagine the praise he'd receive upon returning to the Initial Reality.
Was there a chance… that once he returned, he’d replace the Weaver of Fate and the Child of Prophecy, becoming the leader’s most trusted confidant?
Absolutely, brother—there definitely was!
Driven by this thought, Hick took the risk and went to inspect Dmitry’s Resurrection Point personally.
To his disappointment, he didn’t find anything resembling a cosmic treasure there.
Damn it.
So much for the sneak theft plan.
That left only one option—to try planting a Tracking Curse on Bai Fu.
Hick wasn’t in a rush.
He couldn't cast the curse directly on Bai Fu—doing so would make his movements during the curse crafting far too noticeable.
He needed a method more natural and less likely to be detected.
So, Hick waited. And waited.
Half a day passed.
Bai Fu received a communication and left the area temporarily.
The moment she departed the planet, Hick sprang into action.
What he did was simple—he planted the curse in Bai Fu’s drink.
Then, he retreated back into hiding.
Waiting.
About an hour later, Bai Fu returned.
She lay back in her lounge chair, crossed her legs, and resumed browsing the Community while awaiting the evolution results from the Esper Evolution Tree.
As she scrolled, she unconsciously reached for the cup beside her.
Then...
【Carbonated Beverage Containing Tracking Curse】
“……”
Expressionless, Bai Fu gently swirled the cup in her hand.
Although she detected something amiss, her face betrayed no reaction.
She was a hundred percent sure the drink had been just a regular beverage before she left. But now, something had clearly been added.
A Tracking Curse—that was the kind of spell crafted with talent ability by Hick, the Initial Reality’s head of intelligence, wasn’t it?
Which meant… Hick was nearby right now?
Judging from how undetectable his presence was—so undetectable that even she hadn’t noticed anything unusual—his ability must be truly exceptional.
【He definitely doesn’t have a physical body right now. Otherwise, there's no way I wouldn’t have sensed him.】
【His stealth method must also be unrelated to space. Otherwise, as the Sovereign of the Shadowed Night, I couldn’t possibly have failed to notice.】
【Seems like… he’s a special kind of energy lifeform?】
As for dealing with energy lifeforms—Bai Fu herself didn’t have much experience. But Ailijie, the manager of the Ethereal Realm, a space built from psionic and dark energy, was an expert in such matters.
Without hesitation, she sent Ailijie a message.
While Bai Fu waited for Ailijie to arrive, Hick was waiting too—for Bai Fu to drink the beverage.
That wait drove him mad.
Drink it already, damn it! Why aren’t you drinking!?
Hick stared at Bai Fu for over ten minutes. She clearly had the cup in her hand, yet still didn’t drink.
First, she kept swirling the drink for ages. Then, just as she seemed about to sip, her communicator rang—and she started yakking for several minutes.
Hick thought, Well, surely she’ll drink it after that, right?
He even saw Bai Fu’s lips touch the rim of the cup, her head tilting back slightly.
Just as the drink was about to slide into her mouth, Bai Fu suddenly burst out laughing.
With that laugh, the drink was once again left untouched.
F**k you, you damn hag!
Hick was so agitated he nearly lunged out of the virtual screen to shove the drink down her throat.
Be a normal person, will you?!
You’re drinking a soda, not walking into a hellstorm—why make it such a drama!?
Hick was furious—but he didn’t dare make a single move.
Any disturbance could reveal his position. He could only sit there drawing imaginary circles and cursing Bai Fu.
One day I’ll catch you and hang you from a streetlamp!
Hick kept waiting.
A few minutes later, Bai Fu seemed like she was finally about to drink again—but just then, a voice shouted from afar:
“Fu-sis, I’m here!”
That shout made Bai Fu put the cup down yet again—for the Nth time.
I’ll kill you, you damn b**h!*
This time, Hick couldn’t suppress his inner fury.
He glared furiously at Ailijie, who had appeared out of nowhere, his emotions surging wildly.
Actually, it was just a brief spike.
But that was all Ailijie needed to lock onto him.
“Is peeping on people that entertaining?”
Hick’s heart instantly leapt into his throat.
Was Ailijie speaking to Bai Fu—or to him?
Didn’t matter.
No matter who it was directed at, he couldn’t linger here any longer—time to bail.
The moment he tried to slip away, Ailijie spoke again: “Looks like I’ll have to invite you out myself.”
Not good!
Hick’s face turned ashen.
Realizing he’d been exposed, he turned to flee at once—he didn’t want to stay another second in the Silent Alliance.
Merit and glory?
Merit my ass! Glory my foot! He just wanted to run back to the Initial Reality.
Laughter rang out behind him: “You think you can escape now that I’ve seen you?”
ㄴ
A powerful wave erupted from Ailijie’s body, instantly linking to the Silent Alliance’s internal network. Before Hick could disengage from the network, that force struck from all sides, capturing every fragment of his split body.
Overwhelming fear devoured Hick’s reason. He used every trick in the book to struggle free and finally managed to pry open a small breach in the blockade.
But just as he broke out—
He realized he was no longer in the main space.
He had been dragged into the Ethereal Realm, and above his head, a giant celestial astrolabe spun incessantly.
“Destined Celestial Sphere!”
Damn it…
Hick’s face turned deathly pale.
He knew… he wasn’t getting out of this.
He was completely stunned—he had no idea how Bai Fu had detected his presence, nor could he have imagined that Ailijie possessed the ability to capture him within the network.
Had he known this would happen, why the hell did he have to be so nosy and drop that curse on Bai Fu?
“Bai Fu, we can talk this out!”
Hick shouted aloud.
But no one paid him the slightest attention.
No matter how loudly he yelled, how anxious he grew, how hopeless he became, the space locked down by the Destined Celestial Sphere didn’t shift in the slightest.
From the very beginning, Bai Fu hadn’t expected to extract any intel from Hick.
The people of the Initial Reality were not easily fooled—even if Hick confessed everything, she would still suspect he was lying.
After locking Hick away, Bai Fu immediately summoned the Esper Evolution Tree, instructing it to analyze Hick’s esper powers.
Analyzing Hick’s powers was far easier than deducing Ignatz’s.
It took less than a day before Bai Fu received the prompt for successful esper power recording.
“Done!”
The Esper Evolution Tree had three skill slots for temporary copying. Bai Fu cleared all of them and then copied three of Hick’s skills.
The first was the core skill that allowed one to data-phase their body and dive into any “data” system: 【Information Stealth】.
The second was Hick’s specialty for tracking others: 【Curse·Shadowing】.
The third was a skill that could capture all data within a designated range: 【Information Omniscience】.
The first skill was excellent for stealth or escape.
The latter two—Bai Fu had specifically learned to counter the Initial Reality.
Use their methods against them.
By the afternoon of the second day, Bai Fu had already intercepted a message sent to Hick by the Child of Prophecy.
The message stated that preparations on the Initial Reality’s side were complete—they would soon set off for the Silent Alliance, and the Child of Prophecy instructed Hick to keep a close eye out. If the Silent Alliance showed any strange behavior, he was to report it immediately.
“They’re coming?”
Bai Fu relayed this message to Ailijie, Yulia, and the others, telling them to act accordingly.
As for herself, she impersonated Hick to reply to the Child of Prophecy.
Following the principle that “the more you say, the more mistakes you make,” Bai Fu kept the reply cold and concise, simply sending a few frosty sets of coordinates.
【Dmitry had to leave due to serious injuries. Bai Fu is currently with him. I’ll keep watch over them constantly!】
It never occurred to the Child of Prophecy that the person on the other end had already been swapped. And Ignatz—who never read their chats directly—was even less likely to suspect a thing.
Seeing the coordinates Bai Fu had sent, they sped toward the Silent Alliance with incredible haste.
While waiting for their arrival, Bai Fu wasn’t idle.
She once again sent waves of Players into the Rebirth Empire—only this time, she didn’t urge them to attack right away.
The Players sensed something big was about to happen, and excited chatter filled the Community.
Under normal circumstances, Bai Fu’s suspicious moves would’ve already been leaked by Players.
But this time, apart from those already in the know, the rest of the NPCs were completely in the dark.
The reason things escalated to this point—blame it all on Ignatz. His previous stunt had freaked out every Player completely.
Even the die-hard Bai Fu haters—those who wished nothing more than to tear her to pieces—upon learning her enemy was Ignatz, temporarily stood on her side.
……
Near the Silent Alliance.
Ignatz turned to the Child of Prophecy.
“What’s the word from Hick?”
The Child of Prophecy shared his communicator screen with the others. “Nothing unusual. Bai Fu has remained in the same place these past few days.”
“Perfect.”
A pleased smile spread across Ignatz’s face.
He remembered how Bai Fu had once flung vicious words at the Child of Prophecy, threatening to send him off in 300 days.
But it had only been a month—and now, they’d already found Bai Fu’s hideout.
Bai Fu, oh Bai Fu, I hope you enjoy the little surprise I’ve prepared for you.
“Move out!”
Ignatz gave the cold order to attack.
To end it in one decisive strike, he had not only brought along his trusted inner circle from the Initial Reality, but had also mobilized a massive number of ships from the Revolutionary Army and the Resistance under the Initial Reality’s command. Add to that the fleet support from the Rebirth Empire, and the number of forces he commanded this time was astronomical.
This would be a grand war.
Not as large-scale as the clash between the Apostolic Holy City and the Three Universal Civilizations, but still a battle seen only once in centuries.
Once the order was given, Ignatz led his troops toward the coordinates sent by Hick.
According to plan, they would first catch Bai Fu off guard and pin her down—only then would the full fleet launch its assault.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
Without much effort, Ignatz and his team reached their destination.
It was a planet on the outskirts of the Silent Alliance—unremarkable in every way.
When they arrived, Bai Fu and Dmitry were lounging lazily, sunbathing.
“Stay close!”
Ignatz waved his hand.
The Qi Surge within him blazed like a star, forming a massive martial avatar that slammed down onto the planet ahead.
Under the assault of his Qi Surge, the planet began collapsing at a pace visible to the naked eye.
At the same time, the Child of Prophecy and the others behind Ignatz also sprang into action. Waves of attacks poured down, alongside various space-sealing techniques that crashed down like torrential rain.
Ignatz was practically going all out—preparing to wound Bai Fu heavily from the start, not giving her the slightest chance to summon her Void Spirit·Divine King or Majestic Divine Form.
But just as he was about to reach Bai Fu, something unexpected happened.
The space around them began boiling like hot water. In a flash, the Ethereal Realm descended—engulfing both Bai Fu and Ignatz in its fold.
“I’ve been waiting for you. You’re not quite as fast as I expected.”
Bai Fu smiled, extending her hand toward the left-side void.
Damn it!
Ignatz sensed danger—but it was already too late.
The Dimensional Projection activated.
Bai Fu dragged herself and Ignatz across billions of light-years—into a barren, empty region of the Star Sea.
“Now,” Bai Fu commanded the others, “do it.”
A special operation had begun—one targeting the Rebirth Empire, the Initial Reality, and all those who had come to the Silent Alliance with Ignatz.