Find a Backer

White light flashed, and the scenery froze.

Bai Pu stood amidst a star-filled universe.

Scene after scene sped past like a movie fast-forwarded at high speed, frame after frame flashing by.

The howls of the Plague Dead, the oppressive presence of the Blood Ring Hammer Knights, the valiant figure of the female knight...

At last, the scene froze on Blood Hand Colen, black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes wide open as he died with his face turned toward the sky.

Plane World: Flesh Plague: Origin

Time Taken: 19 days, 3 hours, 33 minutes, 7 seconds

Time Period: 17th century

Region: Europe - Baltic Sea Region

Based on the missions you completed and your evaluation, you have been awarded 3,496 Spirit Energy Points.

You have accumulated 350 World Fame in the Flesh Plague: Origin Plane. Your Fame Level in the Flesh Plague: Origin Plane is C: Somewhat Famous.

You have obtained the C-rank title: Eagle Eye.

Please maintain and increase your Fame Level. The next time you enter the Flesh Plague: Origin Plane, you will receive additional benefits based on your Spirit Realm ticket.

Bai Pu checked the effects of the "Eagle Eye" title.

Eagle Eye: C-rank title. When entering a Spirit Realm Plane while wearing this title, you will gain the Investigation skill and learn partial information about a target. After using the Investigation skill, you must wait one natural day before using it again.

"Not bad. Very practical. It would be even better if I could use it in the real world..."

Bai Pu shook his head and cast aside that greedy thought. This Eagle Eye title was probably a reward for finding the Blood Ring Vanguard's headquarters in the vast northern lands with a single "eye."

Then, the Spirit Realm Will sent another prompt.

You have obtained an Awakened One's innate ability: Datafication Constitution.

You have obtained an Awakened One's innate ability: Spirit Energy Field. Attacks that do not contain Spirit Energy Particles cannot inflict actual harm upon you.

You have obtained an Awakened One's innate ability: Storage Space. Your Storage Space has a capacity of 10 cubic meters. Its length, width, and height may be changed freely, but its total volume will remain unchanged.

"Tsk, a Spirit Energy Field... This was the root cause of the decline in the state's influence during the early Spirit Energy Era. Firearms were completely retired, individuals gained transcendent power, and martial artists defied the law..."

However, as the Spirit Energy Era developed and official Awakened forces were established, the early chaos had long since come to an end. Awakened Ones had Spirit Energy Fields? The state had Spirit Energy combat units as well, all staffed by Awakened Ones and equipped with standard Spirit Realm equipment.

Nowadays, even powerful Awakened Ones had to obediently obey the law in the real world.

In the real world, the government could deploy large numbers of Secret Archer Units and Crossbowman Units at any time, crushing any Awakened One who dared challenge order through sheer numerical superiority.

Only the Spirit Realm was beyond the law, outside the jurisdiction of any national government. No matter how lawless Awakened Ones became in the Spirit Realm, the law could not touch them.

Of course, becoming an Awakened One meant one was not stupid. No one would be foolish enough to challenge the order of the real world. As long as they respected the law, the state still treated Awakened Ones quite well.

Besides, Awakened Ones were not short of money. Enjoying life in the real world was far more comfortable than becoming a wanted criminal.

A satellite map of the real world appeared before Bai Pu. The viewpoint rapidly descended and zoomed in, and soon the layout of Ward 3072 in the Superpower Private Hospital appeared before him.

Centered on the hospital bed, a massive circle encompassed Jiangnan Base City, where the Superpower Private Hospital was located, and even included several nearby satellite cities.

You are about to leave the Spirit Realm and return to the real-world plane.

You may choose any location within a radius of (100) kilometers from the teleportation anchor point as your return anchor point.

The return anchor point could be freely chosen. This was one of the things Bai Pu had looked up long ago—though he had to comply with Huaxia's laws for Awakened Ones and could not select private property as a return anchor point. It was also best not to choose private locations of the opposite sex, such as a women's restroom. Returning through such an anchor point would not violate the law, but it would invite moral condemnation from society.

It was precisely because of this rule imposed by the Spirit Realm Will that the Superpower Corporation had rushed to send people into the Spirit Realm to hunt him down. Otherwise, they could have simply waited for him at Ward 3072. Why go to all that trouble?

"It's time to go back... The real show is only just beginning!"

Amid flickering starlight, Bai Pu left that expanse of stars.

Jiangnan Base City, Xi City, a dark alley.

With a flash of white light, Bai Pu appeared at the end of the alley.

You have returned to the real world.

It has been detected that this is your first return to the real world after becoming an Awakened One. You are hereby reminded:

Please strive to gain and increase your Fame in the real world. Every three natural months, a roulette draw will be conducted based on your real-world Fame Level. Real-world roulette draws have a chance to yield tickets to enter the Spirit Realm.

Your real-world Fame is being calculated. Please wait...

Bai Pu fell silent. By this point in the Spirit Energy Era, everyone knew the importance of real-world Fame.

The monthly roulette draw could yield Spirit Energy Points, equipment, items, and all sorts of things useful to Awakened Ones. That alone was enough to make people flock to it.

Not to mention that the roulette had a chance of yielding a ticket, which meant an opportunity to enter the Spirit Realm! This was something the lotteries in other Spirit Realm Planes did not offer. Thus, real-world Fame was more important than Fame in most Spirit Realm Planes.

In today's society, Awakened Ones used every trick they could think of to build "real-world Fame." Those with good looks and likable personalities became streamers; those talented in the arts debuted as celebrities; and a small number of Awakened Ones confident in their strength entered Awakened One leagues...

Calculation complete. Your real-world Fame is 197 points. Current Fame Level: D (Emerging Talent).

How did I end up with D-rank Fame?

Bai Pu was stunned. What did D-rank Fame mean? At the very least, it meant being a streamer with tens of thousands of followers, or a minor second- or third-tier celebrity who had played an important supporting role in a film or television drama.

Bai Pu had grown up in an orphanage. Frail and sickly, he had few friends and knew very few people. How could he possibly have D-rank Fame?

After thinking it over, the only thing that could have caused his real-world Fame to soar was the Superpower Corporation.

And... it was probably infamy!

Perhaps Bai Pu's name had already been registered with the Security Department.

"This isn't necessarily a bad thing. If handled properly, infamy can become a good reputation. The Superpower Corporation and I are natural enemies, and the gap in our current strength is enormous. I have to fight for real-world Fame with everything I have! The greater my Fame, the less room the Superpower Corporation has to use dirty tricks against me—huh?"

"I didn't expect my looks to be this good after recovering my health." Bai Pu admired himself in the window of an army-green jeep parked by the roadside, momentarily lost in thought. "Should I consider learning singing, dancing, and rap, then debuting as a celebrity?"

No wonder the female natives of the Flesh Plague: Origin Plane had gained Favorability toward him so quickly. Although his appearance had undergone adaptive adjustment in the Spirit Realm, his hidden Charm attribute would not decrease. If his original looks were good, his adjusted appearance would not be bad either.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing a woman with wheat-colored skin and tea-colored glasses. Her eyes shot over the upper rim of her glasses. "Are you drunk? Wandering around in the middle of the night half-dressed like that—be careful not to get hauled off to the Security Department as a pervert!"

Bai Pu had not expected anyone to be inside the car.

Hearing the words "half-dressed," Bai Pu shuddered. Only then did he realize that he was not wearing anything at all, aside from a spiked iron pauldron.

The clothes Qin had given Bai Pu could not be brought out of the Spirit Realm. The ragged linen clothes automatically provided by the Spirit Realm Will also vanished when he left the Spirit Realm.

Bai Pu had entered the Spirit Realm naked, and he had returned to the real world almost naked as well.

Bai Pu's Endurance attribute had increased too quickly recently, dulling his perception of cold and heat. Put another way, he did not get cold easily.

Fortunately, she could probably only see his upper body and had not yet discovered the embarrassing fact that he was not wearing pants.

With a flash, Bai Pu slipped away.

The beauty in tea-colored glasses leaned her head out of the car window and watched Bai Pu's rapidly vanishing back. She muttered, "So he's an Awakened One too. Did he just return from the Spirit Realm?"

After a brief pause, the beauty in tea-colored glasses added, "...His butt is pretty perky, though."

Half an hour later, Bai Pu walked down the street in a set of old clothes. His only piece of equipment—the iron pauldron—had been stored in his Storage Space.

He wore a tracksuit top and a pair of faded jeans. Bai Pu had picked them up from the old-clothing collection station of a community charity organization—these collection stations accepted unused old clothes donated by residents, which the charity would distribute to those in need.

Bai Pu was quite in need right now.

"I'm probably the most pathetic Awakened One around."

Bai Pu mocked himself.

In the real world, he did not want to steal or rob. It was not because his moral standards were particularly high, but because he had set a bottom line for himself.

Awakened Ones could act lawlessly in the Spirit Realm, but if they did not restrain themselves after returning to the real world, it would be easy to lose track of the difference between the Spirit Realm and reality—to disregard human life, ignore rules, and eventually walk down the road of no return.

"The Superpower Corporation's influence in the real world is far greater than its influence in Flesh Plague: Origin. But in the real world, constrained by rules and order, the contest is about who is better at exploiting the rules of the real-world game!"

"Right now, the Superpower Corporation has the advantage of making the first move. They may have already used official channels to monitor my accounts and social connections... I can't use the balance in my personal account, and I can't even show up in my old neighborhood! Otherwise, the Superpower Corporation will quickly pinpoint my location."

Bai Pu pondered silently. That was also why, when he returned, he had not chosen the capital of the Jiangnan District—Jiangnan Base City—but Xi City, eighty kilometers away.

In Xi City, Bai Pu was unfamiliar with the area, so his movements were naturally restricted. But the Superpower Corporation's surveillance network would also be much weaker.

"I need to find myself a backer!"

Bai Pu looked up. On the giant screen in Xi City Plaza, a news report was playing: "We welcome Mr. Bratton, General Manager of Byron Pharmaceuticals Group, to Xi City for an inspection. During this visit, the Byron delegation will discuss trade cooperation with several well-known companies, including Great Tang Pharmaceutical. The discussions may involve procurement projects for a variety of bulk pharmaceutical raw materials and will inject new vitality into Xi City's economic development..."