Who Let You Be This Free? [Double Chapter]

"Are we going to the morning meeting right away?"

Early in the morning, Bai Fu had been full of energy, but the moment she got this news, she wilted.

Even after transmigrating, she still had to attend morning meetings. Was this just one of those things every wage slave had to put up with?

"There's nothing we can do. Another brother was killed by an Outsider yesterday, and it was a gruesome death. Da Biao only got lime thrown in his eyes. The guy who died yesterday got lime and chili powder. Boss is furious right now."

The messenger gave a bitter smile and pointed to the goggles on his face.

"These are new supplies from Logistics. Boss said we have to put these on before dealing with Outsiders from now on. Oh, and Boss gave everyone a bag of lime. He said we should give them a taste of their own... own what was it again?"

Bai Fu's mouth twitched.

Wasn't something a little off here?

She imagined the scene: players and the Wildfire Gang ran into each other in a narrow alley. After trading insults, both sides suddenly pulled bags of lime from their waists and threw them into each other's eyes.

Damn, they really were willing to use any means necessary!

The atmosphere at the Abandoned Cooling Plant had already been awful. Now it seemed to be getting even worse.

For now, they were only throwing lime. She didn't even want to imagine what they might throw next. If a bunch of shit-throwers and concentrated-sulfuric-acid throwers suddenly showed up, would everyone at the Abandoned Cooling Plant have to go out wearing door panels, turning themselves into steel-gate zombies?

What a bunch of degenerates!

Who let you be this free?

Bai Fu was secretly relieved. Good thing she had the foresight to focus on Constitution. These cheap shots would affect her much less.

After telling An Ya not to wander off, she followed the messenger to the Wildfire Gang headquarters.

The meeting hall was already crowded. As soon as she sat down, someone in the front row smiled at her.

Bai Fu searched her memories. If she wasn't mistaken, that was Cao Wenliang, the head of Logistics!

She had only ever seen Cao Wenliang from afar, but he had one distinctive feature that made him easy to remember—

[Cao Wenliang may be bad at literature, but his looks are worse!]

Bai Fu smiled back.

The morning meeting's agenda was surely nothing more than Boss losing his temper and then giving everyone a pep talk. She could skip the long-winded nonsense at the beginning and just listen to the conclusion.

At the thought, she grinned. It was great having a panel no one else could see. While everyone else had to sit there and listen, she could openly browse the community.

Now was the perfect time to check out how players were reacting to last night.

When she opened the Abandoned Cooling Plant section, Bai Fu found two new hot threads with over a thousand replies each.

Both had been posted by Digging Princess.

The first one was titled:

[See Fu Fu's Coolness From Above, Through a First-Person View]

Bai Fu clicked on it. The first reply read, "Where did this clickbait title come from? 'From above'? Why not go to the sky while you're at it?" The second reply said, "Sorry, I was wrong. It really is a first-person view from above."

She looked at the post.

Digging Princess recounted what had happened the night before from her own perspective. The post included several videos, one of which Digging Princess had filmed after Bai Fu grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up.

High definition, uncensored, right in her face!

All right, all right. It really was a first-person view!

The videos had already driven the post's popularity through the roof, and this one sent it straight to a whole new level.

[She caught a blade with her bare hands! Ahhh, my wife is so cool!]

[She looks perfect even in a close-up! Someone give the modelers an extra chicken drumstick!]

[Now this is interesting. Bai Fu's words were kind of cryptic, but she's definitely not an ordinary person.]

[That's awesome, Digging Treasure! You actually guessed right this time. Time to come out and get grilled!]

[I'm crying. How can you still be talking about that? Look at Fu Bao's trembling eyes! My heart's breaking. Thank goodness the misunderstanding was cleared up in the end.]

[When she cursed me, she called me a legendary Brave. Heh heh.]

[Wake up. Trash like you can't be a Brave.]

A whole crowd of players cheerfully discussed Bai Fu's true identity.

Some said she was a female secret agent, some said she was the God of War reborn, and others claimed she was a member of an interstellar faction who had fled into exile.

Bai Fu read the comments with as much interest as if she were reading a short story.

If you've got more to say, keep going. That'll make it easier for her to copy!

She had to admit, these leeks were getting more and more robust. And, just as she'd hoped, they'd learned to make up theories about her identity.

Then Bai Fu opened the second post.

In this post, Digging Princess had edited together the "players fighting Bai Fu" and the "players fighting the guy in the white undershirt."

She had only meant to make a simple record, and use the guy in the white undershirt to highlight how impressive Bai Fu was. She hadn't expected the video to catch fire and spread to other sections of the Star Travel Society.

Even players who had no interest in Bai Fu at all, and were focused solely on leveling up, came pouring in.

[Whoa, I heard yesterday that players can make their own items, but this game's freedom still exceeds my expectations.]

[You can do that too?]

[Got it. I'm going to get myself some lime!]

[This is great. This game cured my digital ED.]

Quite a few players forwarded the video after watching it.

The video's widespread circulation also brought Bai Fu a wave of new attention.

[Who's this female character?]

[Bai Fu, an NPC from Zu Yuan Star.]

Bai Fu was in a pretty good mood, but when she scrolled down to the next comment, her pupils suddenly contracted.

Above the Stars: [Hello, we've found your video very promising and would like to edit some of it into a promotional trailer. If you're interested, please click the link in the message center.]

This wasn't a phishing comment. In the game Above the Stars, only the official account could use that name.

Whoa, the official account had noticed Digging Princess's video?

Bai Fu couldn't help giving Digging Princess a thumbs-up.

Well done, Digging Princess!

If she made it into the promotional trailer, even if she only appeared for a single second, she'd no longer count as an ordinary NPC.

Maybe the developers would buff her in the next update. If the players helped build up the hype and pushed for it, there'd be an even better chance.

Who knew when she might become the star of a promotional trailer? Of course, she meant becoming an important character in the version's story—not a version boss who made a flashy entrance only to show a health bar for the players to attack.

In any case, she really had to thank the old geezer who'd sent people to assassinate her.

If not for him, she never would've earned a wave of player Favorability or landed the chance to appear in an official promotional trailer.

Bai Fu closed the community, fully satisfied.

By then, the Wildfire Gang Boss's long-winded speech was nearly over. He gave his final instructions.

At the same time, Bai Fu received a game notification.

[You have triggered Faction Quest [Wildfire Blaze]]

[Quest Introduction: The Outsiders' brutality crossed the Wildfire Gang Boss's line. Driven by fury, the Wildfire Gang Boss has decided to retaliate against the Outsiders more fiercely.]

[Quest Objective: Kill or capture Outsiders. Note: There is no specific target number for this quest, but failure may lower your faction reputation (0/∞).]

[Rewards: 200 experience and 1 faction reputation for each Outsider killed or captured.]

[Accept/Decline]

Bai Fu gladly accepted.

For the past couple of days, she and An Ya had been plotting how to capture players and make money. They'd been struggling to find a good excuse, and now the Wildfire Gang Boss had handed one to her on a silver platter.

What a good person!

After the morning meeting, Bai Fu first went to meet with the other members of her team, then headed to Logistics to collect supplies.

At the entrance to Logistics, Cao Wenliang smiled at her again.

Once she'd taken her things and left, Cao Wenliang narrowed his eyes.

Now that he'd used the excuse of getting even to persuade Boss to give everyone goggles and lime, this battle was bound to get extremely intense.

With Bai Fu's abilities, if she dared take part in a fight of this level, she wouldn't last long before the Outsiders killed her.

If she wanted to stay alive, she'd have to turn into a cowardly lizard.

Then things would be easy. Every other team would have something to show for it, while Bai Fu's results would be zero. He wouldn't even have to say anything; Boss would strip her of her position, and might even kill her.

"Now this is a truly perfect plan!"

Cao Wenliang happily lit a cigarette.

"Stay here and don't go wandering around. I'll go find out what's going on and come back for you."

After handing out the equipment to her team members, Bai Fu gave them several more reminders before leaving.

She'd arranged to meet with the players yesterday. Now was the perfect time to pass along the Wildfire Gang Boss's message and earn some Favorability while she was at it.

Before heading to the meeting place, she made a special trip home to bring An Ya along.

The journey went smoothly. Twenty minutes later, Bai Fu arrived at the destination.

She didn't hurry out. Instead, she first walked around the area to make sure nothing could go wrong. Then she turned to An Ya.

"Do you remember what I just told you?"

"I do, Boss!"

"Good. Let's go!"

Bai Fu led An Ya toward the run-down house where Digging Princess and the others were hiding.

They hadn't gone far when Digging Princess spotted her and An Ya.

"She's here! She's here!"

At her call, all the players present stood up.

"Fu—"

"Shh." Bai Fu raised her right index finger to her lips. "We're short on time, so I'll keep this brief. Did you kill a man in a white undershirt last night?"

Calamity Dragon raised her hand. "That's right. He was the one who sent us to assassinate you."

"You all acted too rashly this time." Bai Fu shook her head and recounted what had happened that morning. "As a member of the Wildfire Gang, I've also been ordered to act. But don't worry, I won't attack you."

"Huh?"

Digging Princess and the others exchanged glances.

They were touched that Bai Fu had come to tell them this.

But that raised a question. If Bai Fu didn't attack the players, how was she supposed to explain herself to the Wildfire Gang?

Pai Da voiced the question on everyone's minds.

"I have my own way," Bai Fu said.

The moment she finished speaking, An Ya beside her grew anxious. "Boss, you're acting tough again. These Outsiders can come back to life anyway. You could just capture a few of them and—"

"An Ya!"

Bai Fu suddenly raised her voice, cutting An Ya off.

An Ya pouted and looked aggrieved, but in the end, she didn't say anything.

Bai Fu's face showed a hint of helplessness. "Sorry, she's still a child. Sometimes she speaks without thinking."

"It's fine, it's fine. You don't need to apologize."

Digging Princess quickly shook her head.

How could she not tell that Bai Fu hadn't meant what she'd said?

But that was just who Fu Fu was. She was always so kind, always trying not to trouble other people!

Digging Princess said urgently, "Fu Fu, I know the Wildfire Gang can't really threaten you, given your true abilities. But you must have joined them under a false identity to investigate something in secret. If you don't capture us this time, the Wildfire Gang will hold you accountable. If your identity gets exposed because of that, it'll be a disaster."

What had happened last night already left her feeling guilty. If she caused Fu Fu's plan to fail too, how could she ever face her again?

Convert to My Fu nodded. "That's right, Fu Fu. You don't have to make this so complicated. Just capture us and hand us over."

With the two of them leading the way, the other players chimed in one after another.

"We can just respawn anyway."

"Besides, we don't feel pain. Even if the Wildfire Gang beats us up, it's fine."

To put Bai Fu at ease, Pai Da began to lay it out:

"Fu Fu, let me put it this way. Given our relationship with the Wildfire Gang right now, a battle between us is inevitable. The problem is, we know almost nothing about the Wildfire Gang. If you capture us this time, we can take the opportunity to learn about what goes on inside the gang."

Pai Da's words made the players around them brighten up.

He was right.

That way, they wouldn't have to make things difficult for Bai Fu, and they could uncover the Wildfire Gang's map at the same time. If they got lucky, they might even trigger a special quest. It was a win-win-win!

"Fu Fu, stop fretting over it."

Pai Da continued persuading her. "Fu Fu, I've already come up with an excuse for you. Just say you stumbled across us by chance, put sleeping drugs in our food, and captured us all while we were unconscious."

"Hey, that's a good excuse. The Wildfire Gang definitely won't suspect a thing. They'll just say Fu Fu's amazing."

"Whoa, Pai Da's got a quick mind. He came up with a solution in no time."

"..."

Bai Fu hesitated to speak.

Her original plan had been to take one or two players back to hand over, then bring back one or two more after a while. In a single trip, she could easily make over a thousand experience points.

But things had taken an unexpected turn.

She'd only hinted at her intentions through An Ya. She hadn't even had a chance to start her brilliant performance, and these players had already fast-forwarded straight to the ending.

Was this the result of building up their guilt?

Bai Fu was overjoyed.

While everyone else was still trying to figure out where to find players and how to kill them, her players had already tied themselves up and delivered themselves to her.

Now that was what you called a quest!

"I can't do anything with you people. I'll go get some sedatives first, so it looks as convincing as possible."

Bai Fu "tearfully" raked in 2,000 experience.

Just as she was about to leave, Digging Princess called out to her.

"By the way, Fu Fu, there's something I forgot to tell you."

"What?"

"Yesterday, when we attacked that man in the white vest, he said the Wildfire Gang's logistics minister had ordered him to come after you."

Wouldn't that be Cao Wenliang?

Bai Fu understood at once.

You old bastard. No wonder you had nothing better to do than grin at me first thing in the morning. Now you've sealed your own death warrant!

"Thanks for the warning."

P.S. I combined two chapters into one. Sigh, I was especially busy during the day today, so the update was an hour later than scheduled. I'm terribly sorry.

Thanks to Tianji Weiba Miao, Long Live Great and Glorious Human Civilization, Lan Duo, and _Dinghu Mountain_ for the tips.