Chapter 97: Big Upgrade, From Version Protagonist to Star Succubus
The reaction in the Community was far greater than Bai Fu had imagined.
When she clicked into the Community, she discovered that there were already new Tiny Bai Fu emoji packs circulating, created based on what had just happened—there were more than a dozen types.
【You scoundrel, staying alive just makes rice more expensive, just hang from the streetlamp already.jpg】
【Don’t be afraid, Big-sister leader Bai Fu is here to save you.jpg】
【Lightning Whirlwind Slash (Tiny Bai Fu version).jpg】
【Tiny Bai Fu repeatedly punches another chibi character.gif】
【Tiny Bai Fu angry.jpg】
【Tiny Bai Fu draws sword and spins.gif】
Because the livestream just now had gained tremendous traction, a large number of Players were now jumping on the bandwagon, using these emoji packs.
While sharing the emojis, these Players were also cheerfully discussing how Bai Fu hung Cedric from the streetlamp—most Players had just two thoughts.
The first thought was envy.
Veteran Players were better—they’d interacted with NPCs enough to know that quite a few of them were scumbags who’d scam Players in all kinds of ways. But new Players? They had no idea.
If Bai Fu hadn’t shown up, the Players defending the Marine Biology Research Institute would’ve been exploited by Cedric for twenty to thirty more days. The worst part was, they wouldn’t have even realized they were being exploited.
But now Bai Fu had come!
Not only had she taken care of the NPC exploiting them and helped them reclaim what was rightfully theirs, she had even recruited them into the Garden of Silence.
【Damn, this feels so good. I’ve wanted to join the Garden of Silence but had no way in—these guys were just standing there and Bai Fu came to them】
【I’m a hardcore supporter of the Fu Sect. When will Fu-fu come and save me too】
The second thought was that it was incredibly entertaining.
It had been months since the game launched. Players had experienced countless storylines, but one like Bai Fu’s—venting for Players by hanging an NPC from a streetlamp—was a real one-of-a-kind, as rare as a phoenix feather or unicorn horn.
A dramatic, exciting story could leave an unforgettable impression—resonating with Players even years later.
But from the standpoint of dissemination, a good storyline clearly spread slower than iconic moments or memes in the game.
A storyline required long-winded narration, while an iconic moment or meme just needed a picture, which could instantly spark discussion and rapidly sweep across chat groups, forums, and video sites.
Like today—yet another day filled with 70,000 joy points. Or the infamous “The Last Golf 2” moment that enraged the entire community.
This iconic moment Bai Fu had just created exploded in popularity almost instantly due to a variety of overlapping factors. Many Players started giving her new nicknames.
Names like "Savior" or "Streetlamp Hero"—whether they sounded good or not, they spread well.
Some Players even bluntly gave Bai Fu a one-word nickname: “Mom!”
Other NPCs wanted to be Players’ dads—forcing them into submission. Bai Fu was different. She not only founded a Player-friendly faction like the Garden of Silence but also personally stepped in to save Players from dire straits. Wasn’t she the Players’ big dad? No—wrong gender—big mom… no, that didn’t sound nice either. Just call her “Mom.”
Standing before you now was the Compassionate Mother Bai Fu of Beyond the Stars. As for a strict father—who needed that?
【Mom, I’m hungry, I want to…】
【No, you don’t want anything】
Truthfully, Bai Fu hadn’t tried to craft her own image just now. She had simply wanted to ride the hype wave. But thanks to Players’ overinterpretation, it seemed she had crafted everything.
What was outrageous was that even the expression she wore while calculating how to farm Players had been interpreted by some as “a gentle mother’s smile.”
“Emmm… come to think of it, it was kinda gentle. At least my way of farming Players is much gentler than other NPCs.”
Bai Fu knew the art of sustainable resource exploitation.
She scrolled further through the Community and found several eye-catching posts.
【Bai Fu cosplay】
What was meant by star-level speed! (leans back dramatically)
The cosplayers were minorly famous cosers and game creators. Their speed came from two reasons—one, Bai Fu was extremely popular now, and whenever popularity soared, many would jump on the bandwagon; two, her outfit was really easy to cosplay.
White shirt on top, slightly tight black pants below. The only hard-to-source parts were her unique belt, distinct tactical pouch, and shoes.
Everything else—silver-white wig, gun model, thigh strap, sword—anyone who did regular cosplay wouldn’t lack these. Even if the styling wasn’t perfect, when assembled, it got the job done.
【Nice!】
【This UP's cosplay is a bit off—her shirt isn’t stretched tight like Fu-fu’s】
【Pad it! Being a filler model isn’t a bad thing】
【MMD pros and illustrators, it’s your time to shine!】
【Actually, instead of watching others cosplay Fu-fu, I’d rather watch Fu-fu cosplay other characters. With that face and figure of hers, any cosplay would look stunning】
【Excavation‑Princess, since you’re close to Fu-fu, can you persuade her to do some cosplay? It’s the perfect chance to promote the Garden of Silence and bring in more Players】
【Damn, that idea’s solid. If it works out, I’ll send Excavation‑Princess 10 rockets】
Bai Fu rubbed her chin.
She wasn’t interested in cosplay itself—but costume changes? That intrigued her.
Making a few more outfits would give Players a sense of freshness. And eye-catching, stylish outfits would help her leave a deeper impression while also helping cosplayers attract attention to her.
Beyond those reasons, Bai Fu had another compelling motive for wanting more outfits: it made money!
Back when negotiating with Gao Yuan, she had specifically requested that Gao Yuan open a clothing shop in Shelter Number 11 to farm Players’ gold coins. If the officials could sell skins, why couldn’t Bai Fu?
Reality proved her right. Since the in-game outfits were mostly plain—some even downright ugly—most Players with spare cash would buy new clothes at the shop.
Whether or not the clothes had stats didn’t matter. What mattered was they looked good and felt satisfying to wear.
According to Bai Fu’s observations, the top-selling outfit at the shop was her own combo of white shirt and tight black pants. With that level of popularity, who wouldn’t call her the “Clothing Sales Immortal”?
“Right now, the money made from clothes isn’t a lot. But once the Garden of Silence gets more Players, and the variety of clothes I endorse increases, and the clothes have more functions, I might end up making more money selling clothes than selling gear.”
After all, once Players leveled up, certain classes could make and sell gear. But clothes were different—even if Players could make them, they wouldn’t bother. Clothes didn’t sell for high prices and weren’t worth crafting.
This money had to be earned by Bai Fu!
Hee hee.
Before closing the Community, Bai Fu found another interesting post.
A Player said that after he uploaded Bai Fu’s video to a short video platform, it immediately attracted a crowd of viewers.
【Her name, please!】
【Whose newcomer is this? So good-looking】
【Is this a TV drama clip? The fight looks so powerful, feels like one kick could blow up my head】
Amidst the inquiries, a Fu Sect member stepped up to begin a new round of preaching.
【Hello, sir, next I will introduce to you the leader of the Fu Sect—Bai Fu…】
After months of development, and with what had just happened, Fu Sect members were no longer lacking in material to introduce Bai Fu.
Some people, upon hearing she was a game character, left in disappointment. But others, either those who hadn’t played the game or were playing other games, were drawn in.
Now it was getting interesting!
【So as long as I join the Garden of Silence I can interact with her? Wait for me to register an account】
【After registering, make sure to choose Origin Star as the Beginner Planet. Then you’ll be randomly assigned a Newbie Village. If it’s not Shelter Number 11, just delete the account and start over】
【Fu-fu’s made it, now she can even poach Players from other games】
【This is the charm of the number one Succubus of the Stars. You just have to respect it!】
In no time, Bai Fu had gained another new nickname—Succubus.
Bai Fu didn’t particularly dislike this nickname. Didn’t Liu Bei also have the title “The Han Dynasty’s Number One Succubus”? She wished she had crowds of Players and NPCs clinging to her wherever she went.
In short, with the synergy of short videos and the Fu Sect members, she had successfully attracted some new Players to Beyond the Stars. The number wasn’t huge, but it was definitely a good start.
This meant Bai Fu had truly begun to break out of the circle.
Hmm, just a little breakout, but you couldn’t say it didn’t happen, right?
Everything had a beginning. With the iconic moment gaining heat, with more and more Players cosplaying her at conventions and events, and with increasing fan creations about her, her popularity was bound to explode once again.
“Bai Fu is no longer just Bai Fu—she’s Bai Fu who can draw new Players to Beyond the Stars!”
Bai Fu was delighted.
Now the Developers had no choice but to start paying serious attention to her.
If she could produce a few more iconic moments, even if she didn’t become the game’s official Poster Girl, she would still have a strong chance of being featured as the protagonist or an important character in the next version’s promotional video.
After all, her current strength and faction were enough to influence a Beginner Planet like Origin Star. Her Plot Exploration had unknowingly reached 0.9%. These two points alone made her an NPC that couldn’t be overlooked on Origin Star—even if the Developers didn’t give her any buffs.
“It’s decided—I must find a way to unlock an Advanced Class before the new version arrives!”
Bai Fu casually closed the Community.
The first thing to do was perfectly complete this mission and get her hands on the fourth Psionic Knowledge Chain.
“Not a single sound. Could they have been discovered?”
After staring at the distant Marine Biology Research Institute for a while, Su Li started getting anxious and turned to Bai Fu.
Logically, once the Undying Ones entered the institute and reported the attack on the frontlines, the institute should’ve had some reaction. But now, it seemed like the whole place had fallen into a deep sleep.
Bai Fu remained calm: “Don’t rush. Wait a bit longer. Ten more minutes should do.”
Su Li frowned, then nodded without saying anything further.
Now, she could only trust Bai Fu.
Bai Fu knew very well that things were progressing exactly as she’d envisioned, because while she browsed Community posts, she also had Death Reaper of the Desert’s livestream open.
This time, Death Reaper of the Desert and Excavation‑Princess had split roles. Death Reaper of the Desert was responsible for entering the institute to capture footage and investigate, while Excavation‑Princess relayed the intel to Bai Fu via livestream and private messages. But what they didn’t expect was—Bai Fu could just skip that step.
Heh, I can just watch the livestream myself!
Because the Players were carrying Cedric’s corpse, they easily gained the trust of the institute’s guards—after all, the guards only knew the number of Players from the frontline, not their appearances. So even when seeing Starfish‑bro and the others, nothing seemed amiss.
The guards who received the intrusion report hurriedly contacted their superior, who in turn contacted the institute’s director.
Bad news—someone’s attacking!
Good news—according to the Undying Ones who made it back, the intruders were only three.
The director issued orders for the Undying Ones and institute guards to quickly reinforce their defenses, especially the paths leading to critical areas of the institute, which had to be tightly controlled.
“If the outer defenses can’t hold, lower the gates.”
“If the gates still can’t hold, then activate the self-destruct protocol and destroy all research data. If even one document leaks, we’re all as good as dead. Understood?”
The director’s murderous aura swept the room, making the others break into a cold sweat.
Turning his head, the director then smiled and said, “But considering there are only three of them, there’s no need to panic. What I said earlier was just the worst-case scenario.”
Right, there were only three people. What was there to fear?
Besides, they had the Undying Ones—ready at any moment to act as human bombs and take enemies down with them.
The institute staff sprang into action.
Players were just Players—they weren’t placed in important areas. But during the shuffling back and forth, they had gradually figured out the layout of the institute: where the paths led, where the gate switches were, where restricted areas were, and where the self-destruct button was located.
“Fu-fu!”
Excavation‑Princess called out to Bai Fu softly.
Bai Fu nodded. With this intel, it was enough.
“We can begin.”
Su Li was taken aback: “What’s different now from before?”
Nearby, Coyote, Bugfather Ferreira, and others also turned to look. After hearing that Bai Fu had persuaded the Undying Ones and taken out Cedric all by herself in a short amount of time, they were deeply shocked, realizing she might be even more powerful than they had imagined.
But shock was one thing—during a critical mission like this, if Bai Fu didn’t give some solid reasoning, they couldn’t justify launching an attack now as she requested.
“I don’t have time to explain everything in detail. Just know this—the Undying Ones have a special way of communicating. I already learned about the institute’s internal situation through this young lady beside me. Time is pressing. If we don’t act now, reinforcements might arrive.”
This...
Coyote and the others furrowed their brows deeper. This was the first time they’d heard that the Undying Ones had such a capability—was it real?
Bai Fu stood up: “You don’t need to attack head-on. I’ll go distract them first. Once you get my signal, then flank from the sides.”
She knew she didn’t have much authority right now, so from the beginning she hadn’t placed any hope in Coyote and the others. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told the Player to inform the institute director that there were only three intruders.
Just as Coyote and the others were about to say something, Bai Fu had already dashed out with Excavation‑Princess.
“Hey…”
Su Li opened her mouth.
Forget it.
“Let’s go with her plan. I’ll take the left side, you all take the right.”
……
Damn, so fast!
Excavation‑Princess had originally been worried she wouldn’t be able to keep up with Bai Fu’s speed. She didn’t expect that after taking just a few steps, Bai Fu would hoist her onto her back—and then she experienced a feeling akin to flying.
Fortunately, this was a game, and all sensations could be adjusted. Otherwise, she felt she might have peed herself from fright.
If she accidentally peed on Fu-fu, ouch, her life might really be over!
But now, Excavation‑Princess only felt excited.
Just this experience alone was enough for her to brag about until the game shut down.
Quick, record this and use it as an Easter egg in the next video!
The main reason Bai Fu brought Excavation‑Princess along was for appearances’ sake. She couldn’t possibly reveal in front of Players that she had a Player Interface, could watch livestreams, could browse the Community, right?
If Players really found out about that, the image she had carefully constructed would collapse. Worse, they might even think she was a Developer-planted decoy NPC meant to scam Players.
Of course, aside from using Excavation‑Princess to relay intel, Bai Fu could also use her as a human shield at critical moments. A Player shield—no pain even if it got damaged!
With the dual buffs of 【Fanaticism】 and 【Overflowing Radiance】, Bai Fu took only a few dozen seconds to dash to the vicinity of the institute.
The flashing silhouette immediately drew the attention of the guards on the defense line.
“Da-da-da——”
Bullets rained down like a curtain, instantly engulfing the figure. Along with the bullets flew over a dozen grenades.
Boom!
The explosions kicked up rolling smoke and dust, engulfing an area dozens of meters wide.
But in the next instant, that figure dashed out of the smoke and dust, completely unscathed, her speed not the least bit hindered.
The guards inside the institute felt their scalps go numb.
What kind of armored freak was this?
“Open fire! Open fire!”
“Fire the cannon!”
A guard adjusted the aim of his grenade launcher and then slammed the trigger. At the moment he pulled it, he suddenly realized a terrifying mistake—he had aimed the wrong way. This shot wasn’t aimed at the figure outside, but at his teammate beside him!
“F***!”
Curses, explosions, and screams mixed together, tearing open a hole in the dense web of firepower.
With one burst of 【Flowing Light】, Bai Fu blinked right beneath the high wall. Just as she was about to dash into the shooting port, a beam of red light suddenly descended from the sky.
Fire-type Esper Power?
No big deal!
With her Psionic Shield activated, she charged straight into the falling fireball.
“Is she dead?”
The Esper who launched the fireball held his breath, staring hard at the flames. The next second, his heart finally sank—for Bai Fu had already broken through the fireball and was right in front of him. A grenade launcher was pressed against his jaw.
Boom!
What exploded was a perfectly intact skull—and the hearts of all the guards near that shooting port.
Bai Fu flicked the grenade launcher in her hand and looked down coldly at everyone standing below the port.
Who’s next?
A monster—this was definitely a monster!
The guards’ pupils trembled violently. Watching from afar, Su Li, Coyote, and Ferreira also felt like their throats were being choked by something.
Absolute violence. Absolute strength. Was this the new Dark Web Queen—Bai Fu?
Terrifying beyond compare!
“Charge!”
They immediately launched their assault on the Marine Biology Research Institute.
At the same time, the guards within the institute also roared and charged toward Bai Fu.
PS: First chapter. There’ll be another one tonight, totaling ten thousand characters, though it might be a bit late.
Begging for monthly votes, begging for monthly votes, begging for monthly votes—need 1,000 votes per month to enter the lottery.