Starting Today, I'll Be a Protector

After a cacophony of wails and howls, the players gradually calmed down.

This was precisely the time to maintain gentlemanly conduct and not act rashly, lest they accidentally turn Bai Fu's favorability from positive to negative.

There were lessons learned in blood.

On the first day the game opened, many players, unaware of the situation, thought that Above the Stars was like other games, and that they could get close to any attractive NPCs they saw.

As a result, these players were all beaten up without exception, and the NPCs' favorability towards them instantly dropped from [Normal] to [Looking at them like trash].

Some players only harassed random NPCs. Even if they were disliked, it didn't affect their continued gameplay.

Some players were truly miserable. They provoked NPCs who were positioned similarly to the "Chicken God of Creekwood Town." As soon as they appeared, everyone in the newbie village would jump out to attack them. To play the game normally, they had to delete their accounts and start over.

After these incidents, players began to attach great importance to the favorability stat.

At this moment, a group of players in the livestream chat were discussing how high Bai Fu's favorability was towards the players present.

[It should have been a normal 0 at the start. After what just happened, it's probably over 20.]

[With only 20 favorability she's already like this to players, imagine what 80-90 favorability would be like!]

[Haha, I'm just guessing. Maybe the favorability is more than 20.]

[Are any of the players present skilled in reconnaissance? Take a look.]

Digging Princess and the others exchanged glances.

Reconnaissance skills in the game were not innate; players had to actively learn them. They hadn't encountered such skills since the game launched.

However, this problem was quickly resolved.

While they were exchanging glances, more and more players arrived.

Among them, a female player named Calamity Dragon was particularly eye-catching.

Although she had a very imposing name, her appearance, hairstyle, and accessories were all in a cute style.

Her slightly curly pink bob haircut was so normal among the sea of explosive hair, Saiyan hair, and starfish hair that it was almost abnormal.

"Here I come! I thought I was late, but it turns out I arrived just in time!"

"Wait, do you have reconnaissance skills?"

"Just lucky, just lucky." Calamity Dragon laughed heartily.

"Go, go, go, get to the front row, quickly let me see!"

Calamity Dragon was thus pushed to the front.

At this moment, the entire world seemed to stop. All observers waited for Calamity Dragon's reconnaissance results.

Swish!

Calamity Dragon cast a reconnaissance skill.

Then, she shared the information she'd gathered with Digging Princess, who then posted the information in the livestream chat.

[Name]: Bai Fu
[Template]: ?
[Main Profession]: ?
[Sub Profession]: ?
[Health]: ?
[Attributes]: ?
[Skills]: ?
[Talent]: ?
[Favorability]: Cherished like a treasure (82)
[Danger Level]: Red

As soon as this result came out, everyone except Bai Fu was stunned.

[Ho... how much? Am I seeing things?]

[You're not mistaken, it's 82, really 82! Even if you don't recognize these two numbers, you should understand what "Cherished like a treasure" means, right? It means Fu Fu loves and values us like treasures!]

[Get lost, get lost! Fu Fu values Digging Princess and them, not you spectators watching the show in the livestream.]

[I hate it! Why wasn't I at Abandoned Cooling Plant? I want to enjoy Fu Bao's love too!]

[It's fake, right? How could it be so high? That's 82! A little more and it would be "Intimate." Just helping Bai Fu once couldn't possibly raise it this high. It's a bug, it must be a bug!]

The players in the livestream chat argued heatedly about whether this was a bug.

The side that believed it wasn't a bug had very strong arguments and naturally gained the upper hand in the debate.

[Are you guys stupid? Fu Fu is inherently a kind person. And she doesn't know we can revive. Think about it, for someone as kind as her to witness us die for her, how could her favorability not be high?]

[Holy crap, that makes sense. If an NPC died for me, my favorability towards them would skyrocket too.]

[Fu Bao, my treasure, why are you so cute?]

Looking at the players' discussions and the reconnaissance data displayed in the livestream, Bai Fu couldn't help but secretly give a thumbs-up.

This reconnaissance skill is truly accurate at judging people!

Do you ask if she dislikes players? Of course not.

Do you ask if she treasures players? Isn't that obvious? Players help her complete tasks, praise her, and shower her with gold. If she doesn't treat these players as "treasures," what else would she consider a treasure?

She only regrets not having more treasures to help her ascend immediately.

With that thought, she suddenly said, "What's wrong, why have you all stopped moving?"

This confused voice immediately brought Digging Princess and the others back to reality.

Now wasn't the time for discussions in the livestream; Bai Fu was still standing right in front of them.

"It's like this," Digging Princess quickly explained. "We were just discussing it, and we can't accept this money."

"Oh, right, right, we really can't accept it."

"Sister Fufu, don't worry about us, hurry and tend to your own injuries."

The players chimed in with their agreement.

Bai Fu frowned. "No, you must accept this money. Otherwise, I'll get angry!"

If you don't accept it, how can I tell Martin that I was a step too late and you guys snatched away the bulk of the money?

If I don't say that, how can I put the majority of the money I got from Brother Dabiao into my own pocket?

Bai Fu had already planned this. The [Debt Collection] quest only asked her to collect as much debt as possible, but it didn't specify how much "much" was. So, she'd just blame the players later and casually dismiss Martin with a small portion.

"This..."

Digging Princess and the others clearly hadn't expected Bai Fu's attitude to be so resolute.

After repeatedly refusing to no avail, they could only silently accept Bai Fu's gesture.

With this money, from now on, they would properly protect Fu Bao!

Digging Princess was even preparing to write an article in the community forum.

That's more like it.

Bai Fu was very satisfied with the players' reaction.

She had defeated her enemy, gained money, experience, and a massive amount of popularity. The players received emotional value from her. Everyone had a bright future!

"I should have stayed to bury your fallen comrades with you, to let their souls return to the stars, but..." Bai Fu clutched her chest and sighed. "The commotion here will soon attract others. For safety reasons, you should leave with me."

Patrick Star quickly asked, "Then where can we find you if we need anything?"

Bai Fu stopped walking but didn't turn back.

"When I first met you, I said that knowing some things wouldn't do you any good, but you still came close."

She paused, as if gathering her emotions, and after a long while, continued:

"I hope when I see you again, you are as safe and sound as you are now."

Bai Fu left.

Bathed in the setting sun, her retreating figure appeared both lonely and possessed a sense of awe-inspiring strength.

The players were momentarily lost in thought.

It wasn't until Bai Fu disappeared that Calamity Dragon scratched her head and asked, "Does Bai Fu mean she agrees to us looking for her?"

Patrick Star nodded. "It seems she was cornered by our persistence and had no choice but to accept."

"Hooray!"

The surrounding players cheered.

Being shameless and persistent, though shameless, was actually effective. Now they could continue to increase their favorability!

"Let's go, we should go too."

The players, in small groups, left Brother Dabiao, who was undeniably dead, behind, chattering and laughing.

They felt like they had won big today.

They had not only gained Bai Fu's favor but also received far more experience rewards than grinding bricks after defeating Brother Dabiao. Some lucky players had even picked up weapons, which was incredibly satisfying.

Even Black Tiger Afu, a battle-hungry player who didn't care about Bai Fu's appearance or identity, was now beaming.

Great, great, great! Next time, he'll follow Digging Princess and the others to latch onto Bai Fu's coattails!