A chilling aura coiled around everyone in the room, heavy and oppressive. It was not yet suffocating, but it gave them the terrifying feeling that their hearts were being clutched by something, as if their lives hung by a thread.
Pain!
It hurt so much!
Digging Princess could not understand why things had turned out this way.
For the first time, she had met an NPC who could prove that her brilliant analysis was correct;
For the first time, she had built a good relationship with that NPC.
These two pleasant things had come together. She should have been even happier, so why had things turned out like this?
Once what had happened here got out, even if it was later proven that Bai Fu's setup was even more impressive than what she had analyzed in her post, she could forget about making a comeback or slapping anyone's face. She might as well consider going to Gotham to confront Batman, which would better suit her new identity.
In the deathly silence, the first person to break it was Bai Fu.
"Not answering? Then don't blame me for getting rough."
She clenched her left hand into a fist, her killing intent chilling.
Blocking an iron rod with her arm and catching a blade barehanded, she had come through the whole series of moves without a scratch. No one doubted that this punch could kill Digging Princess!
At the critical moment, Patrick Star stepped forward.
"Wait!"
That shout directly shattered the invisible pressure. Everyone's eyes, including Bai Fu's, focused on Patrick Star.
A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead. Patrick Star hurriedly took two deep breaths.
"This is a misunderstanding. No, I can't really call it a misunderstanding. The main thing is that we didn't know the target of this mission was you. If you're willing to listen, I can explain!"
"Is that so?"
Bai Fu did not give a direct answer. Her expression remained stern, but she unclenched her fist and lowered Digging Princess to the ground.
She had not attacked. That meant there was still a chance?
Patrick Star hurriedly explained how Convert to My Fu had accepted the mission.
"That's how it happened. If we'd known the target was you, we definitely would have come to inform you right away."
Calamity Dragon immediately added from the side, "That's right, Sister Fu Fu. If we'd really wanted to deal with you, we would have done it yesterday. There was no need to wait until now."
Once the two of them opened their mouths, the other players seized on them like a lifeline and began talking over one another.
"Fu Fu, the sun and moon can testify to my feelings for you!"
The mistake had already been made, and they regretted it bitterly. All they could do now was salvage the situation as much as possible so they would not be buried on the spot. Perhaps they could still raise their Favorability back up in the future.
Just as the group of players anxiously called out to her, Bai Fu suddenly released Digging Princess.
Huh?
Digging Princess froze. The others were just as baffled, watching as Bai Fu hurriedly walked up to one of the players.
"You. If I remember correctly, wasn't your neck twisted yesterday? Why are you...?"
After saying that, Bai Fu walked over to Patrick Star.
"And you. You didn't die, but your right hand was seriously injured. Why has it recovered completely after only a day? There shouldn't be medical skills this advanced here!"
Shock, confusion, disbelief.
At that moment, Bai Fu's expression was so rich that even a young heartthrob would have cried out, "Impossible!"
Seeing her like that, Patrick Star's anxious heart finally settled. Now that they had a topic of conversation, they could communicate normally.
"It's like this, Sister Fu. Just as we said yesterday, we can't truly die in this world. See? His coming back to life is proof."
Patrick Star pointed toward one of them.
"Resurrection? How could such a thing be possible? Although it can supposedly be achieved through methods like summoning souls, relying on just you... Wait, it seems it isn't entirely impossible!"
Bai Fu seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and her pupils abruptly contracted.
Her reaction made the players even more confused. Convert to My Fu, whose mentality had nearly collapsed after the blow, also raised her head.
What was going on?
Patrick Star was still the one who mustered his courage.
"Is something wrong?"
Bai Fu returned to her poker face. "You aren't people from Zu Yuan Star, are you?"
The question was somewhat bewildering, but Patrick Star still nodded instinctively. "No."
Bai Fu closed her eyes. Several seconds passed before she opened them again.
"Looks like that Holy Word might not be false after all."
Her voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"What Holy Word?"
"I once heard the Holy Word. It said that when justice shattered and danger emerged, the Undying from beyond the mists would follow the will of the Supreme Will and arrive in our homeland. After crossing the boundary between life and death, they would rekindle the flame here."
As she spoke those over-the-top lines, the frost on Bai Fu's face finally began to melt. The anger hidden deep in her eyes gradually vanished, replaced by suspicion.
At this moment, even Black Tiger Afu, who had never cared much about the plot, shuddered violently.
Wasn't what Bai Fu had said exactly the game's setting?
The Undying meant the players, right?
The game world had fallen into crisis—the developers' setting—so the Supreme Will—the game company—had summoned the players into the game. After crossing the boundary between life and death—meaning being tortured by monsters hundreds or thousands of times—they would rekindle the flame of the game world—the game's finale.
An NPC who could state such a setting could never be an ordinary member of the Wildfire Gang. Bai Fu definitely had an enormous, enormous secret!
She had heard the Holy Word. Could she be a saint from somewhere?
Patrick Star was utterly shocked.
He hurriedly turned to look at Digging Princess.
Perhaps Digging Princess had always guessed wrong in the past and been scolded for overinterpreting things, but this time, she had really done it!
She had done it!
Digging Princess was so excited that she nearly rushed over, hugged Bai Fu's leg, and rubbed against it twice.
The other players were just as excited.
Whether they liked Bai Fu's appearance or were pursuing hidden quests, they all felt as if they had struck treasure.
Before they could stay excited for long, Bai Fu poured cold water over them.
"To be honest, I've always been skeptical of this Holy Word. I find it even harder to imagine that the legendary Brave would come to assassinate me in the middle of the night."
Ah, this...
All the players lowered their heads in shame.
They really were damn well dead. They had actually made such a terrible mistake. How were they supposed to atone for it now?
"But this time..." Bai Fu paused. "I'll believe half of it for now. Even the Brave can make inexperienced mistakes."
Huh?
This time, it was the players' turn to raise their heads and stare at Bai Fu in disbelief.
They had never expected Bai Fu's attitude toward them to reverse so unexpectedly.
What surprised them even more was that Bai Fu walked over to Digging Princess and slowly straightened the clothes she had disheveled earlier.
She was so gentle!
By comparison, even Black Tiger Afu, who only cared about killing monsters and leveling up, felt a little embarrassed. The other players were even more guilt-ridden, feeling that they owed Bai Fu far too much and had no idea how to repay her.
"Besides, after thinking it over carefully, what you said isn't impossible either. Someone has indeed been treating me as a thorn in their side recently. I originally planned to conceal my strength, but now it seems that will be difficult."
Bai Fu moved her hand away from Digging Princess.
"All right. You caused such a commotion just now. Someone might come to investigate. If they see you, you won't be able to escape. Leave for now. I'll come find you tomorrow."
Bai Fu gave them an address.
She had said things so plainly that Digging Princess and the others could only do as she said.
Even after their feet touched the uneven road, they still felt that everything that had happened tonight was unreal.
"The legendary Brave. Looks like we have to prove ourselves to Fu Fu from now on."
"How strong do you think Bai Fu really is? When she grabbed Digging Princess just now, I felt like I was about to freeze solid just from looking at her."
"Who knows? I only know that Fu Fu is an incredibly gentle person."
"Don't you think Fu Fu is incredibly cool? That block, that squeeze—too cool! The way she combines gentleness and ruthlessness is just too cool!" Digging Princess's eyes glittered with stars.
Convert to My Fu sighed emotionally. "That's Fu Fu. Gentleness is her nature, but she bears an incredibly heavy mission and has no choice but to show her ruthless side to her enemies."
As he spoke, one player said with lingering fear, "Luckily, Bai Fu's true strength is terrifyingly powerful. Otherwise, we would have made a grave mistake tonight. We might even have severed an important part of the plot."
It would have been fine if he had not said that, but the other players' expressions changed the moment he did.
Embarrassment became guilt, and guilt became a raging fury.
"We'll talk about the other matters later. I'm going to settle accounts with the person who posted the mission right now!"
Convert to My Fu clenched his fists.
The other players all said they would go along.
In the evening breeze, ten players in a state of red rage stormed toward the mission hand-in location.
Watching them leave, Bai Fu nodded in satisfaction.
She was rather looking forward to seeing how the person who wanted to eliminate her would react after learning that their subordinates had been beaten senseless by players.
PS: Esteemed readers, please follow the new book! Following it is extremely important. Please, please!
By the way, I wanted to ask: During the new-book period, is it better to update with one chapter at 5 p.m. and another at 10 p.m. every day, or release both chapters together at night?
Before you continue