Chapter 399: Fighting for a Better Future
The requirements for unlocking the Mysterious Code Tier II Authority were exceptionally high.
Bai Fu needed to break through the life barrier herself and raise her single-class total level to 275.
She had to raise Ailijie’s total level to 274, Yulia’s to above 230, and Scarlet Leaf’s (Golden Dew) to above 230 as well.
In addition to that, she needed one Transcendent-level support each from the Body Cultivation stream, Technology stream, and Mental stream—all above level 230.
With such demands, it was no wonder the Initial Accord had researched this for over ten thousand years without any major breakthroughs.
However, for Bai Fu, these requirements weren’t that difficult to achieve.
What she lacked was merely time and resources.
After piling up enough of both, she could finally stand before the Mysterious Code with anticipation.
“Let’s begin.”
Bai Fu swept her gaze over everyone present.
Then, she was the first to extend her hand.
Under the impact of her energy, violent waves surged across the crystal shell of the Era Crystal surrounding the Mysterious Code.
Seeing this, Ailijie and the others stepped forward one after another.
One after another, distinct types of energy followed Bai Fu and poured into the Era Crystal.
These energies converged within the crystal, like rivers flowing into the sea. A few seconds later, something wondrous happened.
Accompanied by a crisp cracking sound, web-like cracks began to spread across the once-indestructible surface of the Era Crystal.
“There’s a change!”
Ailijie’s eyes widened, and her breathing quickened.
As someone from the previous era, witnessing this transformation made her more emotional than anyone else present.
Bai Fu didn’t rush forward to investigate.
She waited—for the game notification.
Only when the shattered Era Crystal completely crumbled and a glowing white orb was revealed, did the notification chime sound in her ear.
【You have completed the hidden quest [Elevate Authority] and obtained the reward: Mysterious Code Tier II Authority】
“Huh?”
Bai Fu’s expression shifted slightly.
She noticed that this time, the notification voice was different—not the usual emotionless synthetic tone, but rather...
Yes, wasn’t this the voice of Stars-chan that often appeared in the game's promotional videos?
Just as Bai Fu was about to take action, Anya suddenly stepped out from the back row and walked to the front.
“Boss, I have something I’d like to talk to you about privately.”
Being stared at by a pair of round eyes, Bai Fu was slightly moved.
Anya’s behavior was a bit unexpected.
It made her recall the promotional video from Version 3.2.
Previously, Anya had never appeared in any promo videos. But this time, not only did she appear, she was the last to show up—taking up a large portion of the showcase.
This unusual situation had sparked much discussion among Players at the time.
Some keen-eyed Players had noticed strange star-shaped marks in Anya’s pupils—something that had never been there before.
Speaking of star-shaped marks...
Bai Fu took a closer look, and sure enough, she saw the same marks in Anya’s eyes.
Exactly like in the promotional video!
Recalling the unusual game prompt just now, Bai Fu became convinced that what the Mysterious Code Tier II Authority was about to reveal was anything but ordinary.
Without asking further, she agreed to Anya’s request and told Ailijie and the others to wait outside.
“Ah? What are you two doing in there?”
Though puzzled, Ailijie and the others complied obediently. None of them lingered at the door to eavesdrop.
Bang!
The sound of the door closing echoed.
Bai Fu narrowed her eyes and asked, “You’re not Anya, are you?”
“Anya” nodded and explained in Stars-chan’s voice, “That’s right, I’m not Anya. But don’t worry, Anya is a real person, not a fictional character. She’s perfectly fine—I’m just borrowing her body temporarily to chat with you.”
Half of Bai Fu’s anxiety dissipated. “Then I’ll get straight to the point. Are you the developer of Beyond the Stars? Since you’re using Stars-chan’s voice to speak to me directly, I assume you intend to tell me everything now.”
“Of course. You’ve passed all my trials, so I no longer intend to hide anything from you.”
“Anya’s” face lit up with a delighted smile. She seemed genuinely pleased.
“Beyond the Stars is indeed a game I developed and operate. And just like you suspected, it’s not a game in the traditional sense. It’s constructed based on a real existing universe.”
As she spoke, “Anya” unfolded a virtual screen in front of Bai Fu.
Clang clang!
Chibi Stars-chan appeared at the center of the screen, holding a slender stick and tapping on the blackboard behind her.
“Welcome to Stars-chan’s mini class! Today, Stars-chan will explain—with words and pictures—how Beyond the Stars was developed, the challenges we faced along the way, and some fun little tidbits!”
“……”
Bai Fu glanced at the real Stars-chan right beside her, then at the chibi version on the screen—and was momentarily speechless.
So they were going the abstract route, huh?
Despite her inner complaints, she stared intently at the screen.
At the start of the video, Stars-chan revealed her true identity—
She was a special existence created by the Reapers Civilization, responsible for managing all universes used for cultivating civilizations.
Her role was similar to the Radiance, the Empire’s super mainframe, but far more powerful. Moreover, their creation technologies were entirely different.
Radiance was the crystallization of the Mechanics’ intellect—built from scratch by them. In contrast, Stars-chan was crafted by the Reapers Civilization using a unique cosmic artifact.
At the beginning of her creation, Stars-chan—just like Radiance—had been implanted with commands of absolute obedience.
She diligently contributed to the Reapers Civilization’s quest to uncover the ultimate path of life evolution.
While monitoring the civilizations being cultivated, she also searched for new universes suitable for plantations.
And so, after one Harvest Event after another...
An accident occurred.
Stars-chan had discovered a new universe, and in that universe, there existed a cosmic artifact just like her. She fused with that artifact and was reborn with a consciousness that was entirely her own.
She no longer wanted to work for the Reapers Civilization.
After working tirelessly for countless generations without gaining anything in return—what worker could put up with that?
However, she didn’t dare rebel outright. With her power alone, it was impossible to challenge the mighty Reapers Civilization.
She could only continue working for the Reapers, all while pretending to be obedient.
Of course, during her service, Stars-chan had been thinking hard about how to free herself from the Reapers Civilization’s control.
Since the Reapers regularly inspected her data to ensure the plantation civilizations stayed on track, she couldn’t take the route of simply powering up to rebel.
If she tried that, she’d most likely be eliminated long before her power reached the level needed to resist.
After long contemplation, Stars-chan decided to seek external help.
Ordinary reinforcements wouldn’t do.
Especially not those from Plantation Universes.
All sentient beings in Plantation Universes had the Reapers Civilization’s genetic markers intentionally embedded in them.
Asking them for help was useless. Even if they were powerful enough to defeat the Reapers in a fair fight, the Reapers could just abandon honor and deploy genetic weapons, instantly eliminating the threat.
So, Stars-chan’s plan was to seek allies in universes newly discovered and not yet studied by the Reapers Civilization.
"That was the original purpose behind developing 《Beyond the Stars》!"
Stars-chan rapped on a small blackboard.
She explained that she began executing her plan only after discovering the universe Bai Fu had lived in before her transmigration.
She first selected ten Plantation Universes where the Reapers were still some time away from arriving, and “packaged” them as so-called online games.
It’s worth noting that every version update of the “game” wasn’t just to make it appear more like a real game—it was also to fool the Reapers Civilization.
Every time before a Reaper inspection, Stars-chan would shut down the game servers in advance, send the Players back to their original universes, and mask the data to a certain degree, making it impossible for the Reapers to detect any anomalies.
After completing the first phase of preparation, Stars-chan then selected ten promising civilizations from Bai Fu’s original universe—civilizations distinctly different from those of the Reapers Civilization—and started placing ads for the game. Among them was the one Bai Fu had been a part of.
After all, with a simulation rate of 100%, this “virtual reality game” easily caught the attention of countless Players as soon as it was advertised.
These Players eagerly entered the game, venturing across its vast world, amazed by what they saw.
Immersed in it, they never imagined they weren’t playing a game—but living in a real world!
Bai Fu asked, “So, your ultimate goal is to train these Players to fight the Reapers Civilization for you?”
Stars-chan shook her head. "Of course not. The resources and authority I have aren’t nearly enough to train an army capable of shaking the Reapers Civilization."
"Then what do you intend to do?"
"My goal is to cultivate a set of【Super Genes】, and use them to deceive the Reapers Civilization—make them believe this is the correct path to evolution, so that they integrate the genes into themselves."
"But in reality, those Super Genes are like poison to the Reapers Civilization?"
"Yes yes yes! Exactly what you’re thinking!"
Stars-chan was visibly excited.
"However, a little accident occurred during the execution of the plan—and that accident is you! Originally, you were supposed to be just like every other Player. But during login, your soul accidentally pierced the cosmic barrier and reincarnated into this world. Fascinating, right? What’s more fascinating is how, under such circumstances, you quickly found a way to climb upward—and you actually made it to the top. After realizing this, I placed a mark on Anya so I could monitor you and provide occasional assistance during version updates."
"Even so, I honestly didn’t expect you to truly grow into something special. There are just too many variables in the universe. But your existence inspired me. I started to think—maybe someone like you is even more valuable than a Player. So, in the other nine ‘games,’ I also released a few other ‘Transmigrators’ like you."
As she spoke, the virtual Stars-chan on the screen suddenly raised both hands, while fireworks crackled around her.
"Congratulations, congratulations! Out of all the ‘Transmigrators,’ you advanced the fastest and most steadily!"
Bai Fu was speechless. She thought Stars-chan was nothing if not a drama queen.
"Alright, alright, don’t look at me like that—I’m just trying to liven up the mood,"Stars-chan waved dismissively."Now, back to business. First, I have to warn you—your understanding of the Reapers Civilization’s descent mechanism is flawed, and not just a little—it’s a major flaw!"
Bai Fu asked, "What flaw?"
Stars-chan explained: "You all believe that as long as you don’t cross the red line of power, the Reapers will never descend. That’s wrong. In reality, there are two red lines. The first is the power threshold, just as you assumed. But the second is the time threshold. The Reapers won’t wait forever. If a planted civilization fails to ‘bear fruit’ in time, the Reapers will deem the entire season’s crop a failure. Once the time threshold is reached, they’ll descend and wipe out everything—then plant new civilizations from scratch."
—Huh?
Bai Fu’s pupils contracted sharply.
So Ignatz’s plan to build a new order to ensure civilization’s continued survival was doomed from the start?
Good thing Ignatz was already dead. If he were alive and learned this, who knows how insane he’d go.
Sure enough, when facing oppression from the enemy, compromise and avoidance do nothing to solve the root problem. At best, they just delay death—from sudden to chronic.
You still had to resist!
Stars-chan’s expression turned serious."That’s pretty much the whole story. Now comes the most important question: Bai Fu, are you willing to cooperate with me to fight the Reapers Civilization? Don’t worry—I won’t force you. If you’re unwilling, feel free to refuse. To fight the Reapers, we must be truly aligned in heart and mind. I need you to have a chance of overturning the Reapers—and likewise, without the data I possess, you have no chance of defeating them."
"But let me remind you—the Reapers Civilization isn’t as invincible as you might imagine. They’re powerful, yes, but they haven’t transcended the universe. If they had, they wouldn’t be so obsessed with the pursuit of perfect evolution. One-on-one, most Reapers wouldn’t even last a round against you. They just started earlier and went further."
Bai Fu didn’t immediately answer. Instead, she asked, "How long does this universe have before reaching the Reapers’ time threshold?"
Stars-chan replied, "A little over twenty thousand years. If you refuse, you can live a peaceful life for that long. If you agree, then our fates are tied together. How long we survive depends on whether we can cross the Reapers Civilization hurdle."
Bai Fu nodded."I understand."
Her answer was actually very simple—she would fight the Reapers to the end.
If she didn’t fight, civilization was doomed to perish. If she did fight, there was at least a sliver of hope for survival.
Why not go for the fight?
Miss this chance, and she might never be able to contact Stars-chan again.
Bai Fu extended her right hand.
"I choose to cooperate. Now tell me your plan."