After all that effort, Bai Fu had finally established the mysterious persona she'd envisioned in the players' minds. Her identity as a member of the Wildfire Gang—which players at the Abandoned Cooling Plant considered a mark against her—had been replaced by that of an undercover agent.
From now on, all she had to do was gradually flesh out this mysterious persona based on the players' forum discussions and her own plans for the future.
And that wasn't all Bai Fu had gained.
What mattered most to her at this stage was the guilt the players felt toward her.
Because of that guilt, she was no longer just a "pretty face" in their eyes. Because of that guilt, she could get the players to do what she wanted more easily.
That performance had been worth every second.
Bai Fu returned home in high spirits. In fact, she still had several trump cards up her sleeve.
What was the quickest way to create a character who left a strong impression and was well liked?
Aside from making the character seem incredibly impressive, the simplest trick was to create misunderstandings and make them sacrifice themselves!
For example:
There was a female character in a game who was mysterious and beautiful, but from the moment she appeared, all kinds of clues hinted that she was a villain. As the story progressed, the players found themselves trapped in a desperate situation—and she opened the road to final victory for them with the most spectacular, grandiose self-sacrifice.
Add a few more carefully crafted details, and the result would be absolutely devastating. Every blow would strike the players right in the heart—and the writers right in the ass. There'd be no way the players wouldn't remember her.
For now, though, Bai Fu could only think about it. She wasn't strong enough to pull off something that reckless.
"An Ya, come out and eat."
"Ah, Boss, are we really not going to do anything about those outsiders and the person who called them here?"
"It's fine. They'll take care of it for us. Come eat first."
Nine that night.
Beside a massive, battered water tank, a man in a white undershirt raised his wrist and glanced at his timeworn watch.
"Is it that late already? If everything went smoothly, Bai Fu should be dead by now."
The big shot had given him 2,000 yuan for this job. He'd expected it to take a lot of effort, but he'd managed to bribe an outsider for just 500. He'd pocketed the 1,500 difference in one go. What a windfall.
Those outsiders really were adorably stupid.
They'd take any job and work with anyone. Weren't they even a little worried that someone might kill them after they finished the job?
Kid, today I'm going to teach you a lesson. You'll learn just how treacherous the world can be!
The man in the white undershirt bounced his leg, feeling pleased with himself.
A few minutes later, Convert to My Fu appeared in his field of vision.
Back already? These outsiders really were as reliable as the rumors said.
The man in the white undershirt chuckled and walked over, but after just a few steps, he realized something was wrong.
Convert to My Fu wasn't alone. Four outsiders were with him, each one looking murderous, as though someone owed them a million yuan.
"What are you trying to do?"
The man in the white undershirt felt his asshole clench. He had a bad feeling about this.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Convert to My Fu sneered. "No need to go easy on a bastard like this. Everyone, get him!"
He charged in and threw a handful of lime powder.
Watch closely. This is the Fu Fu combat method!
Before the man in the white undershirt could react, Calamity Dragon threw a makeshift net over him.
"Get him!"
At Patrick Star's shout, the others raised their clubs and started beating him mercilessly.
One blow, two, three. The searing pain made the man in the white undershirt see red.
"You damn outsiders, you filthy beggars! You dare ambush me? I'll kill you!"
He fought his way out of the net, eyes bulging, his face twisted into a terrifying mask. He looked like a man-eating devil.
But before he could gloat for even a second, Digging Princess flung the chili powder she'd hidden beforehand.
"Cough, cough, cough..." One of the players nearby started coughing violently. "Digging Treasure, aim better! You got me too!"
Digging Princess hurriedly waved her hands. "I'll do better next time, I swear!"
They still had time to chat, but the man in the white undershirt was on the verge of losing it.
His eyes hadn't even recovered from the lime, and now they'd thrown chili powder at him too. Were these outsiders going to sprinkle salt and pepper on him next?
He had no desire to keep fighting. He stumbled away, figuring that since he knew the area so well, he had a decent chance of escaping.
After running for a while, the man in the white undershirt looked back and shouted a threat.
"You bunch of assholes, just you wait! Sooner or later, I'll—"
Halfway through, he suddenly let out a scream.
"Fuck! Who scattered nails on the ground?"
The sharp pain in his foot threw him off balance, and he went sprawling with a thud.
When his blurry vision caught sight of several more players emerging from the darkness, he began to understand.
Without a doubt, those outsiders had secretly scattered the nails.
Damn, the world really was treacherous!
He'd heard outsiders took contracts seriously and always did their best to complete their jobs. Why didn't that apply to him? He hadn't even made a move, and they were already messing with him like this. What had he ever done to them?
He'd seen plenty of scumbags, but this was the first time he'd encountered anyone so shameless. If all outsiders were like this, the Abandoned Cooling Plant had no future!
"What do you want?" The man in the white undershirt struggled to his feet.
Convert to My Fu kicked him. "Tell me. Who hired you to ask me to kill someone?"
A man could be killed, but not humiliated!
That was what the man in the white undershirt had wanted to say, but when he saw the lime powder in Convert to My Fu's hand, he immediately backed down.
"I'll talk, I'll talk! Stop hitting me! It was Cao Wenliang, the Wildfire Gang's Minister of Logistics. He forced me to do it!"
While Convert to My Fu interrogated the man in the white undershirt, Patrick Star didn't say a word. His eyes just kept lighting up.
These methods were pretty underhanded, but they really worked!
If they'd fought this elite monster head-on, at least a few of their ten-man team would have died. With bad luck, they could even have been wiped out. Instead, now they'd only suffered some minor injuries.
Was this how you were really supposed to play the game?
He'd been agonizing over class choices and leveling strategies before, but that was just his past experience with other games limiting his thinking.
A free game called for the freest way of playing!
At that moment, something seemed to awaken in Patrick Star.
Late that night, someone knocked on the door of the Wildfire Gang's logistics department office.
"Come in."
The door swung open, and someone rushed in, panicked.
Cao Wenliang set down his cup. "Is Bai Fu dead?"
The messenger hurriedly shook his head. "N-no. She's alive. The man we sent was killed. Someone saw a group of outsiders beat him to death."
"What?" Cao Wenliang jumped to his feet, his square face radiating menace. "How did he provoke those outsiders?"
The messenger answered nervously, "I don't know."
"Useless! You're all useless! You can't even handle such a simple task. What good are you?"
Cao Wenliang smashed the cup with a punch, then stormed outside in a rage.
"Minister, where are you going...?"
"I'm going to see the boss. Damn it, I want those outsiders dead!"
Cao Wenliang was blazing with anger.
He couldn't figure out why those outsiders had suddenly turned so savage, but he'd thought of another way.
If hiring outsiders to kill Bai Fu had failed, he'd send Bai Fu to fight those outsiders himself.
If I can't kill you, then I'll take your name!
P.S. Thanks to the reader who sent in the tip.
After thinking it over, I've decided to release two chapters at a time from now on, so the story flows better.
Before you continue