Quiet, I'm thinking

"Boss, y-you okay?"

Seeing Bai Fu suddenly fall silent, her face turning pale and then green, An Ya couldn't help getting nervous again.

She'd thought the Boss had returned to normal, but judging by the way things looked now, could that punch she'd taken while collecting a debt have damaged her brain?

No! The Boss couldn't have been beaten senseless!

An Ya rushed over, tears and snot streaming down her face. "Boss, snap out of it! If something happens to you, I... I'll go fight that old bastard who hit you!"

Bai Fu rubbed An Ya's head. "Quiet, I'm thinking."

Becoming a character players loved wasn't easy.

First, she had to figure out what kind of NPC players would like.

Bai Fu crudely divided popular NPCs into two categories.

1. Hot.

2. Not hot.

She wasn't making that up on a whim. She'd done her research!

It worked for men and women, humans and beasts, even refrigerators.

When it came down to it, didn't most people play games for pleasure?

Visual and auditory stimulation was pleasurable, and so was emotional resonance. "Hot" was simply the easiest, most direct way to give players a visual and auditory thrill.

But don't underestimate that word, "hot." Otherwise, players would teach you a lesson with their wallets.

With new games coming out by the dozen these days, "average" was already out of fashion. Only the most "distinctive" premium offerings stayed popular on adult sites after the waves had swept everything else away.

Life was short. Who didn't want to indulge a little?

So, what did "distinctive" mean?

Bai Fu looked herself over.

Bright eyes and pearly teeth, a graceful figure and flawless skin, ample curves that wouldn't sag—both her looks and her figure were at least a nine out of ten.

Her hardware was up to par. But good hardware only got her through the door; she needed the right software to bring out its full potential.

Could she pull off the legendary "sword drawn from the chest" routine?

Could she afford custom outfits like those silky thigh-highs with milk-foam trim?

Could she learn the enchanting yet refined air of a seductress from the Hehuan Sect?

Bai Fu looked at herself, poor enough to make your heart ache, then at herself, who couldn't even bite open a lighter.

With no money and no tricks—and no desire to learn from those Hehuan Sect seductresses—the most likely response would be, "Seen it. Nice. So what's next?"

That wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to be popular for a while; she wanted to keep raking in players' and developers' money.

Looks like she'd have to take the second route: become an old-school artist who won players over with her performance, and whom they'd still remember fondly years later.

Based on what she knew and what players said in the community, Bai Fu roughly sorted these old-school artists into several types.

First: champions of justice or villains with overwhelming charisma.

Second: big sisters who sheltered players from the storm, or even burned themselves up to forge a brighter future.

Third: tragic heroes who made people sigh, "Oh, vast heavens, why are you so cruel to [x]?"

Fourth: wealthy young ladies who showered players with money and used their wealth to create the future.

Fifth: companions who stayed by the players' side, quietly supporting them and standing up to anyone who picked on them.

Sixth: people who appeared only for a fleeting moment, yet stirred players' hearts and lingered in their memories for years to come.

Seventh: other.

There seemed to be plenty of options, but choosing wasn't hard.

Bai Fu knew her own limitations.

She wanted to be a champion of justice, a supervillain who plunged everyone into despair, or a big sister whose very presence put people at ease. But she didn't have what it took, okay?

As for being a wealthy young lady who showered people with money, that was even more far-fetched.

After looking at all the options, her only choices for now were to be a companion or a player's first love.

Being a companion came with too many restrictions, so she might as well become a player's first love.

A shot fired in youth would find its mark in the heart years later, in the name of nostalgia.

"While players are still confused from just entering the game, I'll earn some goodwill with them first. That way, even when they find out I'm with the Wildfire Gang, they won't attack right away."

Earning goodwill was easy. Bai Fu was confident.

She hadn't been blessed with this face for nothing. Just showing a little leg would be enough to attract a crowd of players, and she was planning to stage a pretty-girl-saves-the-"hero" scene to clear her name, too.

Once she'd left players with the impression that she was probably a good person, her next step would be to establish a persona.

A good persona could break through the limits of the senses and reach straight into people's souls.

Only the popularity that came from that could truly last.

Of course, what Bai Fu really cared about was power. Building popularity was just a shortcut to getting stronger.

She treated establishing a persona like making a wish.

Developers, watch closely. This is what I should look like in the players' eyes. To avoid disappointing them and hurting the game's reputation, shouldn't you give me a few extra points?

She wasn't threatening the developers, either. If a character became so outstanding that the developers couldn't control her, wouldn't that make them look like skilled character designers?

If they really gave her those points, her strength would grow, the players' expectations would be met, and the developers' moms and bonuses would be safe.

Now that's what I call a three-way win!

With that in mind, Bai Fu was extremely cautious when establishing her persona.

A persona like "20 years old, divorced, with an 11-year-old kid" could quickly get her plenty of attention, but it wouldn't help her get stronger, so she immediately ruled it out.

"At this stage, I should lean toward being a mysterious figure. Let the players imagine who I really am. That way, I can adjust things whenever I need to, and I won't have to deal with the awkwardness of my persona falling apart."

After all, she could say she was unfathomable without specifying what was unfathomable about her. If the players guessed wrong, how could they blame her? They should blame those dumbass developers!

And if the players came up with an interesting persona, she could just steal it.

Win!

Bai Fu glanced at An Ya beside her.

"An Ya!"

"Here!" An Ya, who'd been pulled aside, immediately stepped forward. "Boss, are we going to teach those lawless Outsiders a lesson now?"

Bai Fu shook her head. "That's shortsighted. Those Outsiders are worth far more than the bounty the Wildfire Gang has put up. An Ya, you need to broaden your horizons. Our journey is to the stars and the sea. We can't let small gains make us lose sight of the bigger picture."

An Ya: "..."

Bai Fu smiled like a witch who ate children. "Do you want to wake up every day in the middle of a 500-square-meter bed? Do you want to..."

An Ya grimaced. "Boss, I wouldn't even dare dream of that."

Bai Fu was speechless.

Young people shouldn't act so old. Dream more often. What if it comes true?

"If you want that, then cooperate with me. I've found a way to make a fortune through those Outsiders."

An Ya was skeptical. "What do I have to do?"

Bai Fu said, "I haven't figured out your persona yet. For now, just follow behind me and act mysterious."

Writing a loli was different from writing a young woman or a mature woman. If she forced them into the same mold, she could accidentally make it look like a pure-prison aesthetic.

As a law-abiding, five-star citizen, Bai Fu wasn't that depraved.

She planned to meet the players first and see whether they preferred crazy lolis or young-lady lolis. Then she'd tailor a persona for An Ya that complemented her own.

An Ya nodded, only half understanding. "Act mysterious?"

Bai Fu stood up. "Don't get hung up on it. Come on, let's go out."

An Ya hurriedly asked, "Boss, where are we going?"

Bai Fu said, "To a hair salon. Before we get started, we're going to dye our hair white and give ourselves a buff."

She'd heard that white hair was especially effective on Chinese players. Two white-haired girls meant double the effect—wouldn't that max out their goodwill?

"Huh?"

An Ya wondered if she'd misheard.

What did dyeing their hair white have to do with sleeping in a five-hundred-square-meter bed?

Oh no, the old bastard who owed money had really beaten the Boss stupid!

No, Boss! What am I supposed to do if you go crazy?!