Chapter 89: Anyway It’s All Kissing, Might As Well Kiss Bai Fu!
After getting out of the vehicle, Bai Fu waved at Xu Hong and the others, motioning for them to talk by the roadside.
In the battle just now, Xu Hong, Yago, and the others had all sustained injuries, yet at this moment they were walking briskly.
They were anxious.
Their heads were now filled with confusion.
Beneath the tree, Xu Hong cautiously called out,「Bai Fu?」
Bai Fu said,「Let’s get to the point. What did you come to me for?」
「How did you become so powerful?」
Yago couldn’t help but swallow hard. He recalled the first time he met Bai Fu at the Abandoned Cooling Plant—back then she had a hard time dealing with a mass-produced mutant from the Truth Society. But now, Bai Fu was capable of killing Luo Wan, Pedro, and Qi Yuan consecutively amidst gunfire, and her body didn’t show a single injury.
What formidable strength this was!
Even the top ace agent of the Gene Primordials’ Intelligence Bureau would be only at this level—no, perhaps not even.
Before Bai Fu could speak, Xu Hong glared at Yago. Was that kind of question really something you could just blurt out?
「It’s like this—today we actually came to you for two things. A few days ago, I received a message from Xia Shi. She asked about your situation. At that time, I didn’t know where you were, so I brushed her off with a few words. If she finds out you’re alive and well, and have become so strong, she’ll definitely be delighted.」
「Right, Xia Shi told me to pass you a message if I saw you. She said she’s already joined the same lab her father once worked at. She’ll complete her promise as soon as possible and help you locate that file.」
Xu Hong explained.
Bai Fu was somewhat surprised. If it weren’t for the constant reminders from the quest bar, even she would’ve forgotten that Xia Shi once promised to help her find the file containing records of the 【Source of Psionic Power】. She didn’t expect Xia Shi to have remembered it all along and to be acting on it.
It was truly moving.
「Thank her for me. If she runs into trouble, she can contact me anytime using the method I gave her.」
Just as Xu Hong was about to say something, his 【Personal Terminal】 suddenly began to flash.
He quickly answered it, and a roar came through the earpiece:「Xu Hong, why did you leave the squad without authorization? Get your ass back here!」
「Y-yes!」
He was drenched in sweat.
Xu Hong hurriedly ended the call and looked at Bai Fu.「I have one more question. It’s been troubling me for a long time. There are rumors outside saying you’re actually the ace agent of the Gene Primordials. I want to ask...」
Bai Fu cut him off directly.「Nonsense. I have nothing to do with the Gene Primordials. They genuinely want me dead. I’m not entirely sure why, only that it’s related to a secret Li Cheng knows.」
The boundary between her and the Gene Primordials had to be clearly drawn.
It wasn’t that she was afraid Xu Hong and the others would overthink things. The main concern was that the 【Players】 would mistakenly believe she had a good relationship with the Gene Primordials, and then decide that if they couldn’t join the Garden of Silence, they might as well join the Gene Primordials.
At this point, Bai Fu suddenly had an idea.
After this assault on Black Hawk Base, all the major factions were bound to begin placing greater importance on the 【Players】 and would proactively recruit them. She needed to throw a wrench into the Gene Primordials’ plans.
Those damn bastards. I may not be able to beat you now, but can’t I still gross you out?
「You’d better not investigate Li Cheng. That’ll get people killed.」Mid-sentence, Bai Fu’s tone shifted.「But if you really can’t suppress your curiosity, then go ask those Outsiders for help. You’ve seen what they’re capable of.」
If the 【Players】 went to investigate Li Cheng and were caught on the spot by members of the Gene Primordials, it would very likely cause those mentally unstable people to develop suspicion toward the 【Players】. If that led to conflict, things would only get more interesting.
Xu Hong froze for a moment. Bai Fu’s method actually sounded quite feasible.
Since the Intelligence Bureau was pressing for time, he bid farewell to Bai Fu and quickly left with Yago.
It was enough to know Bai Fu had no connection to the Gene Primordials. As for the rest, they’d let the Outsiders investigate slowly.
On the way back to the car, Yago scratched his head anxiously.「Captain Xu, are we really just leaving like this? We still have so many questions left—like Bai Fu’s relationship with those Outsiders.」
Xu Hong stopped.「Yago, if you were in Bai Fu’s position, could you fully trust me, a Gene Primordials agent?」
Yago figured he couldn’t.
Xu Hong smiled.「That’s why some questions can’t be asked—at least not before establishing mutual trust.」
Yago nodded and asked,「Captain Xu, what do you think of Bai Fu?」
Xu Hong pondered for a moment.「The arrival of those Outsiders may herald a transformation in this dark and dismal world. And Bai Fu... she’s a rising new moon.」
The speaker was unintentional, the listener took it to heart.
Not far away, the 【Excavation‑Princess】 who had been waiting for Bai Fu to return was struck as if by lightning upon hearing those words.
Wait... new moon?
As the queen of overthinking and the number one fabricator of plotlines, she immediately remembered that version 1.1 was titled 《Tide of the Dark Moon》.
Dark moon, new moon, Bai Fu.
Yes, yes, yes—they were all connected now, perfectly connected!
【Excavation‑Princess】 was rather glad she had cultivated the habit of recording video at all times. She clipped the part of Xu Hong’s words into an audio file, then quickly opened the 【Community】 and began editing a new post.
【Breaking news, everyone—breaking news! I’ve found even more compelling evidence that Bai Fu is the Version Protagonist!】
【Everyone knows version 1.1 is called 《Tide of the Dark Moon》, right? I won’t say much more—just listen to this audio clip.】
【(((Audio)))】
【Surprised? Shocked?】
【Honestly, I didn’t expect the evidence to appear like this. It just goes to show that the truth is always hidden in the details. This game is too meticulous. Every single line of dialogue, if scrutinized carefully, can reveal loads of useful intel.】
【If you still don’t believe it, pay more attention going forward. See if people mention the moon, dark moon, or related terms when talking about Bai Fu.】
The post sparked widespread discussion immediately upon release—after all, both 【Excavation‑Princess】 and Bai Fu were trending stars now.
【Excavation‑Princess, you’re incredible! How did you even find this? You not becoming a scriptwriter for the dev team is this game’s greatest loss.】
【Dark Moon refers to Bai Fu. 《Tide of the Dark Moon》... Bai Fu’s tide. What does this ‘tide’ mean?】
【Tide, like ocean tide... hmm, tide.】
Amid a bunch of wild speculation, one new reply suddenly went viral.
【If you ask me, the tide refers to the wave of Players. And 《Tide of the Dark Moon》 means this version is all about Fu Fu leading the Players around causing trouble.】
Many 【Players】 trembled all over after reading that reply.
Damn—it made too much sense. Bai Fu was the protagonist of version 1.1. Her faction, the Garden of Silence, began actively recruiting 【Players】 starting from version 1.1. After the update launched, she led the 【Players】 through wave after wave of actions. Everything perfectly aligned with that reply’s content.
【Kneeling to the master】
【Master lights a cigar】
Bai Fu: "?"
Wait, how could they be this brilliant?
Bai Fu had casually opened the Community and was stunned by what she saw. She never would have imagined that during just the brief time she spent off the vehicle for a conversation, Excavation‑Princess and the crowd of entertainment-loving Players had already stamped her completely with the label of “Version Protagonist”.
At this point, there was basically no chance of any further twists.
With the call from Excavation‑Princess, a large number of Players would surely start paying attention to the dialogues of nearby NPCs. Eventually, there would be a moment when one or two NPCs would connect her to the Moon.
Under normal circumstances, such lines wouldn’t attract any attention. But with Excavation‑Princess’s prior foreshadowing, the situation was entirely different now.
Evidence—this was the evidence proving Bai Fu was the Version Protagonist, and Excavation‑Princess was a genius at uncovering game storylines!
Bai Fu already foresaw the Players in the Community going wild praising how accurate Excavation‑Princess's predictions were.
Her comment on it: shoot the arrow first, draw the bullseye later—hard not to hit the mark like that.
"Since it's come to this, may as well cooperate a little with Excavation‑Princess."
While passing through an area with network access, Bai Fu logged onto the dark web. Beneath her bounty listing, she blew her own trumpet under the guise of a “complete bystander”, and even gave herself the nickname “Silver Moon” while doing so.
Though information didn’t spread particularly fast on the dark web, a few assassins did remember the nickname Silver Moon, and mentioned it during conversation. One such moment happened to be overheard by nearby Players.
Seeing a chance to ride the hype, that Player immediately posted their discovery on the forum.
That became the “first sighting event” not tied directly to Excavation‑Princess. And within just two days, several Players claimed to have heard similar remarks.
At this point, no one doubted Bai Fu was the Version Protagonist anymore.
Ironclad proof, folks!
【Aaaaah, so jealous so jealous so jealous】
【Those Players born in Shelter Number 11 are ridiculously lucky】
【Damn it, who’s the Version Protagonist on our planet? Someone get an Excavation‑Princess 2.0 to dig it up, I wanna latch onto the protagonist too】
A swarm of Players stared at the Garden of Silence crowd, practically drooling with envy—and soon, that emotion only intensified.
This had to do with the news about the fall of Black Hawk Base spreading.
With Pedro and Qi Yuan both having fallen to Bai Fu, the remaining members of Black Hawk Base scattered and fled. Most of them were either captured or killed; only a few strong individuals managed to escape with luck and strength.
Once out, they immediately reported the battlefield events to the Truth Society President. After Graham's “betrayal”, the President had already sensed something big might happen—but even so, he hadn’t expected it to be this big——
Black Hawk Base was virtually wiped out, several trusted officers died suddenly, and even the hostage meant to threaten Yulia had been rescued!
The President nearly passed out from rage. But he was a seasoned veteran; no matter how furious he got, he still grasped the key issue in this crushing defeat.
"A young woman with white hair wearing a black mask?"
The President deeply suspected that this was Bai Fu. But without evidence, he temporarily shelved that thought and turned his attention to the Player who had exploded alongside Qi Yuan’s mechanical dog.
He picked up a report from the table, submitted several days prior. It recorded characteristics of Players.
“Appears to have infinite resurrection. Sometimes disappears into thin air, then reappears just as suddenly. Most of them seem to have severe mental disorders, highly unstable, often spouting nonsense and behaving irrationally.”
Previously, his focus had been entirely on retaliating against the Gene Primordials and Graham’s betrayal, so he hadn’t paid the report much attention. But now, he couldn’t afford to ignore it.
The ability to infinitely resurrect was just too overpowered.
Though these Undying Ones might be mentally unstable, to the Truth Society, that was no issue. No matter their original state, once exposed to the Truth Society’s mutant technology, they could become its most loyal soldiers.
Just imagine—he would have tens of thousands of mutant warriors who could endlessly resurrect at his command. Gene Primordials? Railway Guild? He’d crush them all!
"Implement the Mutant Plan at full force!"
With the President’s order, Players who had just joined the Truth Society and hadn’t yet been promoted met their doom.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"
"Let go of me, let go!"
Tai Er Zhenren, who had just been promoted for successfully bringing back the intel on Graham, felt chills all over watching the scene.
Thank goodness he had been promoted. Otherwise, he’d be dragged into experiments too.
The mutation process came with risks of failure. Some Players suffered greatly from this—after failing, their race became bizarre, and the unluckiest of them ended up with a constitution-to-HP ratio of 5, only half of what a normal Player had.
Even those who succeeded weren’t particularly thrilled. The Truth Society’s standard mutant template came with way too many restrictions.
【WTF, my account’s ruined! Truth Society, I’ll never forgive you!!!】
【Damn it, these shitty mutants—I can’t learn any other classes now】
【Crap! After mutating I look hideous. I’m gonna kill the Truth Society President’s horse!】
Bai Fu: "……"
Wow. She hadn’t even made a move yet, and the Truth Society had already become the most hated faction on Origin Star. And now, coming up next were the Gene Primordials.
Truth be told, the Gene Primordials were far more tactful than the Truth Society. Though they also dabbled in mutants, they didn’t go as far as forcibly turning Players into them.
Their reputation among Players collapsed due to multiple overlapping incidents.
First, a few days prior, the Truth Society publicly released production records from the Gene Primordials’ biochemical factories, accusing them of researching inhumane tech to erase human consciousness.
Players took one look—wasn’t that classic villain behavior?
Most Players didn’t like villains. Some purely hated them; others felt siding with villains led to bad endings.
Then, Xu Hong approached Players to investigate Li Cheng. A few Players were indeed caught, which immediately put the Gene Primordials’ upper echelons on alert. They not only increased surveillance on Players but also strictly prohibited Players from accessing key positions.
These two decrees severely worsened Player gameplay. All that effort to grind Reputation and NPC Favorability turned out useless—they couldn’t even land management roles.
That might’ve been tolerable without comparison. But the problem was that on Origin Star, there was Bai Fu. Bai Fu had founded the Garden of Silence, and with her and Excavation‑Princess’s teamwork, it had become the top faction.
【Are Gene Primordials even human? In the Garden of Silence, Bai Fu leads missions personally. With the Gene Primordials, it’s nothing but being bossed around all day—and even then they keep promising big things that never materialize】
【Damn, worse than my own boss】
【I *****】
【If I have to suck up to someone anyway, why not Bai Fu? She’s the protagonist and she’s good-looking. Even if I gain nothing, at least she’s nice to look at】
【That cursed faction is doomed sooner or later. I’m joining the Garden of Silence】
【Is it still in time to join the Bai sect?】
The anger of some players who had joined the Gene Prototype was completely ignited, and this wave of antagonism only made the Gene Prototype even more guarded against the players—a vicious cycle had officially begun.
A small number of well-resourced players chose to bail, while others had no choice but to endure for the moment. However, they too began voicing their frustrations in the community.
【When can Bai Fu come over and wipe out the Gene Prototype? If she really does, I’ll defect on the spot】
【I support Bai Fu as the governor of Progenitor Star. Who’s with me? Who’s against?】
Bai Fu was utterly delighted.
Yes, yes, just like this, everyone come lick me!
She had started to suspect that the Truth Society and the Gene Prototype were her fans. Otherwise, why were they so coordinated in pushing all the players toward her?
Please, intensify your efforts—I'll bring these players to your graves!
To further provoke the players already reeling from mental imbalance, Bai Fu decided that once she returned to Shelter Number 11, she would lead players in clearing out the surrounding Drifter camps.
A day later, she returned to her base of operations via Shelter Number 5.
Recently, all major factions were busy researching what exactly players were, and with the coalition just having fought the Truth Society, they had no time to bother her—which, admittedly, was very good news.
After posting a bounty on the dark web for the collection of Psionic knowledge chains, Bai Fu brought the relatives and friends of Yulia—whom she had hauled back by vehicle—to Old Nissen’s tavern.
It was a reunion of old friends, and naturally, there was reminiscing and emotion.
Bai Fu couldn't bear the crying scene and quietly returned to her quarters to tally her quest rewards.
The quest Little Yulia’s Request (3) had been completed. Quest reward: 220,000 experience points. Since she had successfully rescued all the targets, a hidden reward was triggered.
The hidden reward was a very special Psionic item blueprint.
【Psionic Collector】
This collector could store up to 500 Psionic points and could be reused. It boasted a durability of 250. Although it couldn't replenish Psionic energy directly, the Psionic energy inside could be used to craft various Psionic items, such as Prayer Cards.
Bai Fu’s eyes lit up.
With this, she could pre-store a large amount of Psionic energy and then draw on it when crafting Prayer Cards, significantly increasing her card-making efficiency.
The only problem was that the speed at which she filled the Psionic Collector on her own was still too slow.
“I got it!”
Bai Fu had a great idea—why not let the players fill it?
She could place a bunch of Psionic Collectors in Anya’s Mysterious Shop and let players who had changed to Psionic Class professions come pray during their downtime and contribute their Psionic energy.
Of course, she wouldn’t make the players do this for nothing. To boost their enthusiasm, she decided to package the activity.
“Garden of Silence Prayer Ritual!”
“One prayer earns one ‘Blessing’. Accumulate enough ‘Blessings’ and use them to get discounts on Prayer Cards!”
This would not only encourage players to pray every day but also drive more to switch to Psionic Class professions. It might even enhance the mystique of the Garden of Silence through this strange ritual. A win-win-win.
Bai Fu applauded her own plan.
She chose to learn the blueprint, and once the learning progress bar maxed out, she invested experience points to raise her 【Psionic Apprentice Illustrator】 from Lv13 to Lv16.
After assigning stat points, her Psionic energy limit surpassed 800, successfully triggering new Psionic Class bonuses.
【Constitution +8, Intelligence +4, Spirit +4】
Current stats——
【Health Points】: 1850/1850
【Psionic Points】: 880/880
【Attributes】: Strength 20, Agility 21, Constitution 81, Intelligence 25, Spirit 27, Inspiration 85
“It’s time to strive for an advanced class and truly become the protagonist of this era!”