The BOSS Is Actually Me? [Seeking Follow-ups]

"The money I got from that debt-ridden old man, plus this month's salary, and the supervisor bonus—871 in total."

Bai Fu let out a slight sigh of relief after recalculating her accounts.

The currency issued by Lynn's settlement had decent purchasing power; this amount was enough to keep her and An Ya from worrying about food and basic necessities for several months.

But that was just basic living expenses—dreaming of an upper-class lifestyle was pure fantasy.

The less developed the material conditions, the higher the price for quality goods. Those who risked transporting good stuff to the Abandoned Cooling Plant were merchants, not philanthropists.

Bai Fu stuffed the money into her piggy bank.

Since she had nothing better to do, she casually opened the Abandoned Cooling Plant section of the Star Travel Society.

Unlike yesterday, when players were all discussing her, today's community posts were much more varied.

Some players were sharing tips on killing and disposing of bodies.

Others were analyzing which early-game professions suited casual players best.

Of course, players going crazy over her photos and videos was an unavoidable part of the community these days.

[Day one without seeing Fu Fu, I miss her]

[Brothers, I've got Bai Fu addiction, someone drop some Fu Bao beauty pics]

[Haven't you noticed Fu Fu's outfit doesn't suit her? If she switched to Makima's set, that'd be perfect, preferably with a whip in hand, hehe]

[Cut it out, are Fu Bao and Makima the same style? Makima treats Denji like a dog, but Fu Bao treats us like treasures. Do you even know what a Favorability of 82 means?!]

[I don't care, I want a big sister in a black tie, white shirt, and black slacks!]

[Let's be real—Fu Fu being nice to us doesn't mean she's a good person. She's part of the villainous Wildfire Gang. What if she's a story boss, and one day she suddenly shows a health bar?]

This reply had a chilling effect; it took dozens of seconds before a new response appeared.

[I'll say this first—even if Fu Fu is a boss, I won't fight her. Worst case, I skip this main quest. There's more than one main quest on every Novice Planet in this game]

[Support. And even if Fu Fu is a boss, that doesn't mean she can't be redeemed later. Isn't Vegeta a classic example?]

[If the writers mess this up, I'll lead a bunch of emperors to their doorstep!]

[Damn, you guys are letting your looks dictate your morals]

[Bullshit! Just because someone's a boss doesn't make them evil. Maybe it's just a difference in stance, or duty-bound? I don't believe Fu Fu is the kind of irredeemable villain—otherwise, she wouldn't care whether we live or die.]

A heated exchange of opinions erupted in the thread over whether Bai Fu was a bad woman who only treated players well, or a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Bai Fu was practically stuffed with popcorn from all the drama.

If she could post, she'd jump in right now to stir the pot herself.

Only by muddying the waters further would the players' emotions—like "guilt" or "affection"—rebound more richly and enduringly when they learned she was actually a "mole."

But she had to be careful not to push too hard; otherwise, before the "truth" came out, some radical player might come and stab her.

Bai Fu exited this thread and clicked on the hot post below discussing Martin's death.

Not long ago, the Wildfire Gang had put out word that Outsiders had murdered Martin, and they would retaliate more fiercely.

The news quickly reached the players.

[The Wildfire Gang says one of their supervisors got killed by a player. Who's that savage? That's an elite mob, you know]

[@Patrick Star, Pat, Pat, was that you?]

[Damn, that's seriously impressive—soloing an elite mob! I can't do that. This game's too realistic; I've even set the gore to zero, but I still can't fight NPCs. Guess I'll just be a life-skill player]

[Pat, you considering making a guide video?]

[Pat, you going for a first-kill boss record?]

One @ after another quickly summoned the man himself, Patrick Star, who hurried to explain.

Patrick Star: [(Dog head question mark emoji) Brothers, you're overestimating me. I'm not that tough. This game's different from others—rolling has no invincibility frames, and you don't start with a dodge skill. At my current level, soloing an elite mob is almost impossible]

[Almost, so it's possible?]

Patrick Star: [It is possible. This game's crafting system is insane—you can make stuff even without blueprints. I've heard some big shot has already made black powder. If someone can handcraft a gun, even at level 1, taking down a normal elite mob in the Novice Village would be no problem]

[Damn, that's awesome. So science and engineering nerds are about to dominate?]

[Hey, so it wasn't Pat? Then who was it?]

[I thought Pat was already unbeatable—whose general is this?]

Once Patrick Star explained, the farming-minded players got excited and derailed the thread's discussion entirely.

Fighting and killing were thrilling, but farming and climbing the tech tree weren't bad either.

It wasn't until a player named [Convert to My Fu] showed up that the thread veered back to combat.

[@Patrick Star, Pat, Pat, you free? I got a hidden quest with a huge reward]

Patrick Star: [How huge?]

Convert to My Fu: [3500 experience points]

That number stunned Bai Fu.

A single mission with 3500 experience points as a reward—you little bastard, you didn't take on a boss-killing mission, did you?

That was enough to level up her Spiritual Apprentice again.

She focused, trying to see if she could glean anything from the conversation between Convert to My Fu and Patrick Star, then cut herself a slice of the pie.

The other players were even more stunned by that number; they wouldn't earn that much experience even after ten days of grinding.

[Godfather, where did you pick up that mission?]

[Fuck, it's the three-surnamed slave!]

Convert to My Fu: [I got lucky. While wandering around Wildfire Gang territory, an NPC with an exclamation mark over his head walked up to me. I asked if he needed help, and he gave me an assassination mission. There's no way I can finish this alone, so I had to come find you, Patrick, for help.]

Patrick Star: [Bro, I'll add you as a friend. Let's chat in private messages.]

Convert to My Fu: [OK.]

The two of them vanished just like that.

A full twenty minutes passed before they reappeared.

Patrick Star: [Recruiting five teammates. Priority to those who can make special traps or weapons, or those who can command or are good at action games! Note: the mission location is in this area (attached image). The mission time is after 7 PM, so make sure you can reach the mission point from where you are, and that you're free during that time slot.]

[Ah, only recruiting five people?]

[Noob looking up to the big shots.]

[Isn't that area Wildfire Gang territory? No wonder the mission reward is so high. Just sneaking in there would take a lot of effort.]

Even though the requirements were strict, Patrick Star still managed to recruit five teammates in just a few minutes.

Counting Black Tiger Afu, the Calamity Dragon who knew reconnaissance, and Digging Princess who had led him against Brother Dabiao before, a ten-man hunting squad was formed.

Bai Fu stared intently at the map Patrick Star had posted.

A red circle was drawn on the map. Coincidentally enough, her home was right inside that circled area.

"Is the mission target someone living in this area?"

An NPC offering 3500 experience points was definitely stronger than Brother Dabiao.

Bai Fu thought it over. There didn't seem to be any NPC that strong near her home. The living conditions in this area were pretty poor; anyone with real strength or status wouldn't live here.

Could it be that Patrick Star posted a fake map?

Wait. She seemed to have missed someone.

"Aren't I the NPC stronger than Brother Dabiao?"

Bai Fu's face instantly darkened.

She quickly found a spot with a good view and crouched down. When evening came and she saw Patrick Star and the others appear in her sight under the cover of night, her hanging heart finally died.

Fine, fine. The "BOSS" the players were coming to hunt really was her!