Who let you become so free?

"Morning meeting, right now?"

Early in the morning, Bai Fu, who had been energetic, deflated completely upon hearing the news.

Even after transmigrating, I still have to attend morning meetings? Is this the fate of a wage slave?

"It can't be helped. Another brother died at the hands of the Outsiders yesterday. He died horribly. Da Biao was just splashed with Lime in the eyes, but this guy was splashed with Lime and chili powder. The boss is really angry right now."

The messenger pointed to the goggles on his face with a wry smile.

"This is new gear from the logistics department. The boss said we have to wear these from now on when dealing with those Outsiders. Oh, and the boss distributed Lime to each of us, saying we should give them an eye for an eye... or was it something else?"

Bai Fu's mouth twitched.

Isn't this a bit... off?

She imagined the scene: players and the Wildfire Gang meet head-on. After a round of insults, both sides suddenly pull out packets of Lime and throw them into each other's eyes.

Damn it, they'll do anything!

The atmosphere in the Abandoned Cooling Plant was already bad, and now it seemed to have gotten even worse.

Now they're just throwing Lime, but who knows what they'll throw in the future? If a group of poop-throwers and sulfuric acid-throwers suddenly appear, will people in the Abandoned Cooling Plant have to wear shields when they go out, becoming steel-door zombies?

So uncivilized!

Why have you all become so... free?

Bai Fu secretly felt fortunate. Luckily, she had focused on leveling up her Constitution, so sneak attacks like these would have much less impact on her.

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 wracked her memory. If she remembered correctly, that person should be the head of logistics, Cao Wenliang!

In reality, she had only seen Cao Wenliang from afar once, but Cao Wenliang had a characteristic that made him easy to remember—

[Although Cao Wenliang isn't well-educated, he's ugly!]

Bai Fu returned his smile.

The theme of today's morning meeting would undoubtedly be the gang leader throwing a tantrum and then giving a motivational speech. She could completely skip the lengthy preamble and just listen for the conclusion.

She couldn't help but feel pleased at the thought. Having a panel that others couldn't see was truly awesome. While others had to endure it, she could openly browse the community.

Now was a good time to check the players' reactions after last night's events.

Upon opening the Abandoned Cooling Plant section, Bai Fu noticed two new trending posts with over 1000 replies.

Both posts were made by Digging Princess.

The first one:

[First-person perspective takes you to witness Fufu's coolness from above]

Bai Fu clicked on it. The first reply was, "What kind of clickbait is this? 'From above'? Why don't you fly to the sky?" The second reply then changed to, "Sorry, I was wrong. It really is first-person perspective and from above."

She looked at the post content.

Digging Princess recounted last night's events from the perspective of an eyewitness, inserting several videos. One of them was filmed by Digging Princess after Bai Fu grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up.

High-definition, uncensored, close-up!

Good, good, good. It really is that first-person perspective!

The previous videos had already maximized the post's popularity, but this video propelled it to a whole new level.

[Catching a blade bare-handed, ahhh, my wife is so cool!]

[Even in a close-up shot, she's still perfect. Someone get this person some extra chicken legs for the modeling!]

[This is getting interesting. Although what Bai Fu said was a bit confusing, her true identity must be extraordinary.]

[Awesome, Digging Treasure, you actually guessed correctly this time. It's time for you to come out and take credit.]

[I'm crying. What time is it, and you're still discussing this? Look at Fu Bao's trembling eyes. My heart is breaking. Thankfully, the misunderstanding was resolved in the end.]

[When she cursed at me, she even called me a legendary hero. Hehe.]

[Wake up, a noob can't be a hero.]

A group of players was discussing Bai Fu's true identity in a harmonious atmosphere.

Some said she was a female secret agent, others that she was a war god reborn, and some even claimed she was a member of an escaped cosmic force.

Bai Fu read it with great interest, like reading a short story.

Keep talking, the more you say, the more I can copy!

She had to admit, these "leeks" were growing thicker and stronger. And, just as she wished, they had learned to speculate about her identity.

Afterward, Bai Fu clicked on the second post.

In this post, Digging Princess edited together the "process of the players fighting her" and the "process of the players fighting the guy in the white vest."

She had originally just wanted to record it simply and use the white vest guy to highlight Bai Fu's power. She hadn't expected this video to become so popular that it spread to other sections of Star Travel Society.

Even players who were completely uninterested in Bai Fu, or who were solely focused on leveling up, flocked to see it.

Wow, I heard yesterday that players could craft items themselves, but the freedom in this game still exceeds my imagination.

You can do that too?

Learned it, I'm gonna get some Lime too!

Awesome, this game cured my gamer ED.

Quite a few players forwarded the video after seeing it.

This high-frequency spread also brought Bai Fu a wave of new popularity.

Who is this female character?

Bai Fu, an NPC from Zu Yuan Star.

Bai Fu was in a great mood, but when she flipped to the next comment, her pupils suddenly contracted.

Above the Stars: [Hello, we found your video to be very promising and hope to include your content in our promotional video. If you are interested, please click the link in the backend.]

This wasn't a phishing reply. In the game Above the Stars, only the official team could use a name like this.

No way, Digging Princess's video got noticed by the official team?

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

Well done, Digging Princess!

If she were featured in the promotional video, even for just one second, she wouldn't just be an ordinary NPC anymore.

Maybe the developers would buff her in the next update. If players also hyped her up, the chance would be even greater.

She wondered when she could become the protagonist of a promotional video. Of course, she meant becoming an important story character in a version update, not just appearing cool, showing her health bar, and then being fought by players as a boss.

In short, she really had to thank that old scoundrel who sent people to assassinate her this time.

If it weren't for him, how could she have gained so much favor with the players and earned a chance to be in the official promotional video?

Bai Fu closed the community page with satisfaction.

At this time, the Wildfire Gang leader's long speech was almost over, and he gave his final instructions.

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

[You have triggered a Faction Quest [Wildfire Burning]]

[Quest Description: The brutal actions of the Outsiders have crossed the Wildfire Gang leader's boundaries. Driven by rage, the Wildfire Gang leader has decided to launch a more intense retaliation against the Outsiders.]

[Quest Objective: Kill or capture Outsiders. Note: There is no specific quantity requirement for this quest, but failure may result in a decrease in faction reputation (0/∞).]

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

[Accept / Reject]

Bai Fu readily accepted.

She had been planning to capture players with An Ya to make money a couple of days ago, and just when she was looking for a good excuse, the Wildfire Gang leader had sent her a pillow.

What a good person!

After the morning meeting, Bai Fu first met with the members of her group before heading to the logistics department to collect supplies.

At the entrance of the logistics department, Cao Wenliang smiled at her again.

Until she left with the items, Cao Wenliang narrowed his eyes.

After he persuaded the boss to distribute goggles and Lime to everyone under the pretext of an eye for an eye, this battle would definitely become extremely fierce.

With Bai Fu's strength, if she dared to participate in a battle of this magnitude, she would die at the hands of the Outsiders before long.

If she wanted to survive, she could only transform into a coward.

This way, things would be easy. Other groups would have achievements, but Bai Fu would have zero. At that time, he wouldn't have to say anything; the boss would demote her, and might even kill her.

"This is the truly perfect plan!"

Cao Wenliang happily lit a cigarette.

"Don't wander around here. I'll go scout for information and come back for you."

After distributing the equipment to her team members, Bai Fu repeatedly instructed them before leaving.

She had arranged to meet with players yesterday, and now was the perfect time to relay the Wildfire Gang leader's meeting Spirit and boost their favorability.

Before heading to the agreed location, she specifically went home to bring An Ya along.

The journey was smooth. Twenty minutes later, Bai Fu arrived at her destination.

She didn't rush out immediately but first scouted the surroundings to ensure there were no accidents. Then, she turned to An Ya beside her.

"Remember what I told you just now?"

"Got it, boss!"

"Excellent, let's go!"

Bai Fu led An Ya towards the dilapidated house where Digging Princess and the others were hiding.

Not long after she started walking, Digging Princess discovered her and An Ya.

"They're here, they're here!"

With a shout, all the players present stood up.

"Fu..."

"Shh." Bai Fu raised her right index finger to her lips. "The situation is urgent, so I'll get straight to the point. Did you guys take out a man in a white tank top last night?"

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

"You guys were too impulsive this time." Bai Fu shook her head and recounted what happened that morning. "As a member of the Wildfire Gang, I also received orders. But don't worry, I won't lay a hand on you."

"Huh?"

Digging Princess and the others exchanged confused glances.

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

But this brought up a problem: if Bai Fu didn't act against the players, how would she explain it to the Wildfire Gang?

Patrick Star voiced the doubt in his heart.

"I have my ways," Bai Fu replied.

As soon as she finished speaking, An Ya, standing beside her, became anxious. "Boss, you're pushing yourself again. Anyway, these Outsiders can revive. You can just grab a few and hand them..."

"An Ya!"

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

An Ya pouted, looking wronged, but ultimately said nothing more.

A hint of helplessness appeared on Bai Fu's face. "I'm sorry, she's still a child and speaks without thinking."

"It's okay, no need to apologize,"

Digging Princess quickly shook her head.

How could she not see that Bai Fu's words were insincere?

But this was Bai Fu, always so kind, always not wanting to trouble others!

"Fu Fu," Digging Princess said urgently, "I know you're not afraid of the Wildfire Gang with your true strength, but you must have gone undercover in the Wildfire Gang to investigate something. If you don't capture us this time, the Wildfire Gang will definitely hold you accountable. It would be terrible if your identity was exposed."

She already felt guilty about last night. If she caused Bai Fu's plan to fail again, she wouldn't be able to face Bai Fu.

Convert to My Fu nodded. "Yeah, Fu Fu, you don't need to make things so complicated. Just capture us and hand us over to fulfill your duty."

With them leading the way, the other players chimed in.

"We can revive anyway."

"Not only that, we don't feel pain. Even if the Wildfire Gang people want to beat us, it's fine."

To reassure Bai Fu, Patrick Star analyzed:

"Sister Fu, let me put it this way: given our current relationship with the Wildfire Gang, a major conflict is inevitable sooner or later. The problem now is that we know very little about the Wildfire Gang. If you capture us this time, we can take this opportunity to understand the internal situation of the Wildfire Gang."

Patrick Star's words made the eyes of the surrounding players light up.

That's right.

This way, they wouldn't put Bai Fu in a difficult position, they could directly explore the Wildfire Gang map, and if they were lucky, they might even trigger special quests. It was a win-win-win!

"Fu Fu, stop hesitating."

Patrick Star continued to persuade. "Sister Fu, I've even thought of an excuse for you. Just say you accidentally discovered us, put sleeping powder in our food, and then captured us all while we were unconscious."

"Hey, that's a great excuse! This way, the Wildfire Gang won't suspect anything and will only say that Sister Fu is amazing."

"Wow, Pat's brain is so sharp, he thought of a solution so quickly."

"..."

Bai Fu wanted to say something but stopped.

Her original plan was to bring back one or two players to report, and then bring back one or two more after a while. This way, she could earn over a thousand experience points at least.

But things had developed beyond her expectations.

She had only hinted at her intention through An Ya, and before she could even start her brilliant performance, these players had already fast-forwarded to the grand finale themselves.

Was this the effect of feeling guilty towards the players?

Bai Fu was overjoyed.

While others were still pondering where to find players and how to take them down, these players had already tied themselves up and delivered themselves to her.

This was what a mission should be like!

"I really can't do anything about you guys. I'll go get some special medicine first and try to make it as realistic as possible."

Bai Fu "tearfully" earned a whopping 2000 experience points.

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

"Oh right, Fu Fu, I forgot to tell you something."

"What?"

"When they attacked that guy in the white vest yesterday, he said the logistics minister of the Wildfire Gang ordered him to harm you."

That would be Cao Wenliang!

Bai Fu understood immediately.

You old bastard, no wonder you were grinning at me for no reason this morning. Now you've sealed your own doom!

"Thanks for the heads-up."

P.S.: Combined two chapters. Sigh, I was extremely busy today, causing the update to be an hour later than scheduled. My deepest apologies.

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