Chapter 93: Popularity Explodes, Bai Fu Becomes the Poster Girl
The convoy of the Makarov family had just arrived at Shelter Number 11 when it caught the attention of the Players.
Although most Players had already seen plenty of grand scenes by Bai Fu's side, it was still their first time seeing such luxurious bulletproof vehicles.
In the Wasteland, those who dared to flaunt like this were either of extraordinary status or possessed exceptional strength. Either way, having such a group suddenly appear at Shelter Number 11 was a big deal.
Therefore, by the time the vehicles parked in front of Bai Fu’s residence, the nearby area was already crowded with Players.
“What are they doing?”
“Could it be they’re here to cause trouble for Fu Fu?”
As soon as someone said that, the Players nearby all narrowed their eyes sharply.
Who dares to provoke Bai Fu? I shall end their life! The Fu Sect’s number one foot‑servant guard has already deployed the burst rune loadout!
However, this speculation was quickly dismissed when the people who got out of the car stood respectfully on both sides of Bai Fu’s doorway.
That respectful posture clearly didn’t look like they were here to fight.
Not long after, the door opened, and Bai Fu walked out. Her gaze landed on a middle-aged man with stubble on his chin.
The man laughed heartily: “You must be the famed ‘Silver Moon’ Bai Fu? Hearing is one thing, seeing is another. I’m Dallas Makarov, a contact from the Dark Web. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me despite your busy schedule.”
Bai Fu replied calmly: “What do you want from me?”
Dallas said: “We’ve heard about Miss Silver Moon’s Glorious Achievements at Black Hawk Base and the Goli Desert. Just now, we’ve upgraded your assassin rank to the highest S-rank. From now on, you’ll receive a 50% discount on all Dark Web services, and your commissions will be given top priority.”
“You went through all this just for that?”
“Recently, Miss Silver Moon posted a bounty on the Dark Web seeking advanced Psionic knowledge. That bounty has now been accepted. I’m here on behalf of that person to meet you.”
Bai Fu’s breath hitched slightly.
After leading the Players to sweep the Wanderer camp in the Goli Desert, she had accumulated 320,000 XP. She was getting closer and closer to leveling 【Apprentice Psionic Illustrator】 to Lv20.
But while her level was rising fast, the remaining two Psionic Knowledge Chains had shown no progress. Dallas had brought her a rather good piece of news.
Of course, that’s assuming this wasn’t a trap.
Dallas said: “The one who accepted the commission wants to talk with you. Meeting in person or communicating via the terminal provided by the Dark Web—it’s all up to you.”
Bai Fu considered for a moment: “I don’t want to make a wasted trip, so I’d like to hear his request first.”
Dallas responded immediately: “Understood. Please wait a moment.”
With that, he began directing people to move the terminal into Bai Fu’s room.
While Bai Fu waited, the surrounding Players were already murmuring.
As Players, their favorite thing to do was stir up drama. That cutscene just now clearly meant something was about to happen. It was hard not to get excited.
【The Dark Web—I’ve heard of that. It’s the underground king of Origin Star, a super organization second only to the Five Major Factions. Even they show such deference to Fu Fu—Fu Fu is insane!】
【I remember when I was about to join Garden of Silence, my friend told me not to join a minor faction. He said they had fewer quests and lower rewards. Good thing I didn’t listen and trusted Second Sister’s judgment. Who could hate a white-haired girl?】
【Minor faction my ass! Garden of Silence is as mighty as Fu Fu’s broad chest!】
【I’m getting more and more curious about Fu Fu’s true identity. When she says she’s from another planet, is that really true?】
【Real or not doesn’t matter. All I know is our Fu‑baby is the protagonist.】
Ten minutes later, inside the room—
After a few soft beeps, the terminal successfully powered on, and an image of a kind-looking figure appeared on the old screen.
“Miss Silver Moon, let me first introduce myself. I’m Qiu Qingze of the Railway Guild.”
Railway Guild?
Bai Fu got straight to the point: “I heard you have the advanced Psionic knowledge I put a bounty on?”
Qiu Qingze said: “That’s right. I want to use this advanced Psionic knowledge as payment to commission Miss Silver Moon to complete a special mission for us.”
“The Railway Guild’s Special Agents are quite formidable. You really need me to help you complete a mission?” Bai Fu smiled faintly.
Qiu Qingze explained: “Miss Silver Moon must have heard about the Gene Primordials’ lab being attacked by the Truth Society, leading to their secret research being exposed, right?”
Bai Fu nodded slightly.
Of course she knew. How could she not? She had been a participant—and the leak had been authorized by her, via Tai Er Zhenren!
“We suspect the Gene Primordials are conducting a very covert research project. If successful, it could severely harm the Railway Guild,” Qiu Qingze’s expression grew solemn. “To avoid disaster, we must investigate. But since it’s just suspicion, we’re not ready to completely fall out with the Gene Primordials. That’s why we can’t step in directly and must delegate the investigation to someone else.”
Bai Fu mused: “You want my help, but aren’t you worried I might actually be an ace agent of the Gene Primordials? If I’m not mistaken, rumors like that are everywhere right now.”
Qiu Qingze smiled slightly: “We have someone on the inside at Gene Primordials. He’s certain you’re not affiliated with them.”
“I see. Speak then, what do you want me to investigate?”
As Qiu Qingze explained, Bai Fu received a new mission.
【Secret Commission from the Railway Guild】
【Mission Description: The Railway Guild suspects the Gene Primordials are conducting research that could pose a threat to their organization. They hope you can retrieve research data from the Gene Primordials' Marine Biology Research Institute】
【Mission Objective: Retrieve research data from the Marine Biology Research Institute without exposing the Railway Guild】
【Mission Reward: 300,000 XP, Psionic Knowledge Chain (11)】
Aside from the Psionic Knowledge Chain, the reward for this mission wasn’t particularly generous.
But the reward also reflected the mission’s difficulty. That meant with her current strength, the risk she’d take wasn’t too great.
Bai Fu immediately understood—this wasn’t a trap!
Still, judging from Qiu Qingze’s evasive tone, the Railway Guild was likely hiding their true intentions.
But that didn’t matter. Bai Fu wasn’t particularly interested in the power struggles between major factions. After all, she already held a Main Storyline in her hand.
She wasn’t lacking in XP for the time being. What she needed was the Psionic Knowledge Chain Qiu Qingze had promised.
“This time, we’ve contacted several S-rank Certified Assassins through the Dark Web. Once the mission starts, we’ll take care of transporting you all near the Marine Biology Research Institute. When the mission is done, we’ll do our best to help you retreat. You only need to worry about two things.”
Qiu Qingze raised two fingers.
“First, the Gene Primordials have set up a new defensive line around the Marine Biology Research Institute. It’s composed of Elite Special Agents and the Undying Ones. The Elite Special Agents are manageable, but the Undying Ones are extremely difficult. Their ability to resurrect could very well lead to our exposure.”
"Second, this operation is extremely urgent. If it drags on too long and the Gene Primordials catch on, they’re very likely to destroy the research data."
Bai Fu now understood why the Railway Guild had come to her. They valued not only her strength but also the Players from Garden of Silence.
Using Players to fight against Players—certainly a clever approach.
She waved her hand. "That’s not a problem, but I have one more request."
"What request?"
"I need a detailed Map of the Goli Desert region from before the outbreak of the war."
Bai Fu planned to compare that Map with the current one of the Goli Desert to locate the research facility Old Nissen had mentioned.
Hearing that Bai Fu only wanted a Map, Qiu Qingze immediately let out a sigh of relief.
"That’s no problem. I’ll send it to you as soon as I get back. It’s settled then, Miss Silver Moon. The day after tomorrow, I’ll send someone to pick you up. You can bring up to 50 assistants."
After the conversation ended, Qiu Qingze raised his hand to rub his brow.
The Railway Guild’s cooperation with Bai Fu this time was indeed not just about her strength. They were also interested in the secrets Bai Fu possessed.
The Gene Primordials had once worked very closely with Bai Fu, but during the Bagaros operation, they suddenly turned hostile and tried to kill her. The Railway Guild strongly suspected it was because Bai Fu had learned a secret from Li Cheng.
Aside from that, the Railway Guild was also very curious about Bai Fu’s overwhelming popularity among Players.
After the ambush at Black Hawk Base, Players had fully entered the radar of all major factions. All of them were highly interested in the Players’ ability to resurrect, and the Railway Guild was no exception. They had tried various methods to investigate the cause of this resurrection ability but gained nothing.
With no other choice, they had to temporarily change their approach—from studying Players to using Players.
Undying Ones who could resurrect?
Weren’t they the perfect cannon fodder?
Unfortunately, these Undying Ones all had strong personalities and extremely sharp minds. They instantly saw through the Railway Guild’s intention of using them as disposable pawns.
Not going. Over our dead bodies!
Qiu Qingze was utterly dumbfounded. Seriously? When you guys act as Bai Fu’s cannon fodder, you charge in one faster than the next, but when it’s us, you all scatter like roaches?
Is it because Bai Fu is strong?
Hardly. In terms of strength, the Railway Guild wasn’t so weak as to be inferior to Bai Fu.
Could it be appearance discrimination?
Well, Bai Fu’s looks were indeed lethally powerful.
After some painful reflection, the Railway Guild sent out a female Special Agent whose appearance was on par with Bai Fu’s and whose strength wasn’t bad either.
To Qiu Qingze’s surprise, they hit a wall again!
At first, the Undying Ones were indeed interested in the woman they sent. They gathered around her, chattering incomprehensibly. But after a short while, they all dispersed, grumbling as they walked away.
"What the heck? I thought there’d be some new plot. Turns out it’s the same old routine. Wasted my expression."
"Bai Fu remains unmatched."
"Can fight? So what if she can fight."
"Bai Fu still reigns supreme. Ordinary women only slow down my gun‑drawing speed!"
The female Special Agent was completely devastated by these comments.
Where exactly did she fall short compared to that Bai Fu?
Fine, maybe she was lacking in a few aspects, but did the reviews have to be this far apart?
Qiu Qingze heard that as soon as she got back, she was smashing things and shouting “Bai Fu, Bai Fu” nonstop. Truly pitiful.
Why was the gap so wide?
Qiu Qingze couldn’t figure it out either. His conclusion was that Bai Fu had probably mastered some method of controlling the Undying Ones, perhaps something like a mind controller.
In any case, during this operation, their people would be observing from the shadows to see how Bai Fu commanded the Undying Ones and how she dealt with them. They were determined to uncover Bai Fu’s secret to manipulating the Undying Ones with ease!
Once they got on good terms with Bai Fu, they could dig deeper into what exactly she had learned from Li Cheng.
Any Player who knew what Qiu Qingze was thinking would definitely laugh.
There were plenty of good-looking NPCs. When they first entered the game, they did go crazy over beautiful NPCs, but over time, they had gotten used to it.
It was hard not to adapt—after all, in the game, they couldn’t even take off their pants.
Let’s just say, good looks were a dime a dozen. What’s that? You say she’s a beautiful woman who can give Main Storyline quests and lead Players to kill mobs?
Honored lady, this way. Woof woof woof!
……
After reaching an agreement with Qiu Qingze, Bai Fu politely saw Dallas from the Dark Web off.
During this process, Gao Yuan shared with her a secret that most wouldn’t know: "The current Chairman of the Railway Guild once saved the current head of the Makarov family. Because of that, the Makarov family and the Railway Guild have had very good relations in recent years. That’s why Dallas personally helped Qiu Qingze run this errand. But more likely, Dallas came not just to help Qiu Qingze, but to see the new Queen of the Dark World for himself."
"The new Queen of the Dark World—what kind of ridiculous title is that?" Bai Fu looked like she was about to roll her eyes.
Gao Yuan chuckled. "Those assassins love nothing more than giving people weird nicknames."
Bai Fu shook her head with a smile.
Since she could only bring 50 Players for this mission and the Railway Guild wouldn’t arrive until the day after tomorrow, she decided to host a selection tournament during the interim.
Want to join the operation?
Fight in the arena. As long as you make it into the top forty, you can come along.
Why top forty and not fifty?
Because Bai Fu did some behind-the-scenes maneuvering and forcibly reserved spots for Excavation‑Princess and Calamity Dragon.
No choice. They were the two top generals of the Fu Sect’s publicity department. Unless there was a special reason, they were going wherever she went.
If she let the two of them participate in the selection normally, they might get knocked out in the first round if luck wasn’t on their side.
Short of anything, you can’t be short of publicity!
Although Players had already suspected that a new mission might be coming when Dallas showed up, once they heard that Bai Fu was hosting an arena tournament—and that the top ten would receive Prayer Card rewards—they were completely hyped.
【Finally, something I’m good at!】
【That first place is mine, guaranteed!】
【Keep dreaming. The number one expert of the Fu Sect is obviously me.】
【Then I’ll settle for second best. I’ll take one of the Four Guardian positions.】
After Version 1.1 went live, the Arena gameplay became extremely popular. In the Community, Players were constantly discussing how to PK, who was great at PK, and so on. The Selection Tournament held by Bai Fu once again hit the trending topic, making Garden of Silence the center of Community discussion once more.
This was exactly the effect she wanted—
To always stay at the center of Player attention!
The more Players talked about her, the greater the potential boost she might receive next time the Developers decided to enhance her.
But what Bai Fu hadn’t expected was that this wave of popularity was soon overshadowed by another—and yet, this new hype was still related to her.
Fighting both sides of the ring, so to speak.
【Everyone hurry and check it out! The official newly released profession introduction video and the guide on how to trigger Main Storyline quests!】
Bai Fu opened the official game site.
On the flashy homepage, she immediately spotted the two new videos and a newly added character illustration beside them.
This illustration was small and placed in an obscure corner, completely outshone by other illustrations—but the introduction next to it was very eye-catching.
【Bai Fu
Master of Garden of Silence
Regional BOSS of the Goli Desert】
"Isn’t that me?"
Bai Fu clicked on the two new videos. In these videos, she was presented as the model case.
Want to play a Psionic Class?
Please refer to Bai Fu!
Not sure how to trigger a Main Storyline quest?
Raising NPC Favorability is key. For details, refer to Bai Fu!
More than that, Bai Fu discovered that the Q-version figure introducing the content in the bottom right corner of the video was a chibi version of herself. From the appearance to the voice—it was identical.
It was precisely this serious, video-explaining Tiny Bai Fu who went viral in the Community, completely stealing the spotlight from her Arena Tournament.
【Tiny one’s pretty cute, wanna squish】
【Goodness, Fu Fu made it to the homepage. She’s made it. Could she possibly push out that Giant Mech and the other yet-unrevealed NPCs from the central position in the future?】
【That might be a bit tough. Fu Fu is only the protagonist of Version 1.1. Even if she has more storyline later, it’d be hard to match those NPCs.】
【I don’t care, my Fu is number one in the world!】
Seeing the Community comments and the Live‑stream Comments rapidly flying across the video, Bai Fu’s emotions gradually became stirred.
"Did I just become the temporary Poster Girl of this version?"
This was beyond amazing!
This more or less meant the officials were acknowledging her as the current protagonist of the Goli Desert, right?
If one day she became the Poster Girl of the entire game, then she might truly become invincible. Surely the game wouldn’t kill off its Poster Girl in the storyline, right?