The room fell briefly silent.
At this critical moment, none of the players had expected Bai Fu to suddenly say something like that.
But on second thought, her reaction seemed perfectly reasonable.
Their actions just now had indeed been a little willful. But setting that aside, their refusal to leave and insistence on staying to shoulder the burden together could also be called reliable.
In other games, they would have been showing off to thin air.
Because they would be facing NPCs who could only repeat their prewritten lines. Even if an NPC had been reminiscing with the players about their adventures with deep affection just a second ago, the moment the quest ended, they would turn into a stone-faced automaton and might not even acknowledge the players.
But in Above the Stars, things were completely different, because the NPCs here were intelligent enough to seem real.
After seeing this reliable side of them, it was only natural for Bai Fu to make such a heartfelt remark. She was a kindhearted, wonderful person, after all.
The legendary Brave?
That's right! We were the legendary Braves from "another world," fighting for love and justice!
Thinking of this, several players who were usually paragons of virtue couldn't help straightening their backs.
Even the players who liked to run into the village to kill chickens or find different ways to drag NPCs into monster nests were in a pretty good mood.
They played games to have fun, and being praised sincerely by an NPC was one kind of fun.
Bai Fu couldn't help snickering. That's right, that's exactly the reaction I wanted.
But this wasn't the time to get smug. The key to raising Favorability was still ahead.
"Since you insist on an explanation, I'll give you one. The Wildfire Gang has organized a strike team, and their target is your base. They're already outside. I came here pretending to be recklessly eager to take credit, before they launched their full assault."
"What?"
The news shocked all the players. Those closest to the windows hurried to look outside.
Bai Fu urged them, "With your current strength, there's no way you can beat this strike team. Take your things and move out now. If you wait any longer, it'll be too late."
As soon as she finished speaking, Convert to My Fu sprang to his feet, visibly agitated. "I'm not leaving. If I go, they'll realize you came to warn us, Fu Fu, and all your plans will fall apart. You might even end up in danger. I'm not leaving, no matter what."
Many players agreed with him.
"There's no point in leaving. These are all elite monsters, right? Taking even one of them down would be a win. Besides, we've got a faction battle quest, and all the damage we rack up can be converted into experience later."
"Come on, guys, it's a game! We wouldn't run away when things got tough in real life, so why would we run away in a game?"
"Let's fight! My blade's thirsty!"
"Haha, Afu, that's our guy!"
Whenever something like this happened, Black Tiger Afu was always the first to charge in.
Watching them act so carefree or fired up, Bai Fu furrowed her brows even deeper.
She seemed to be working herself up.
One second, two seconds... five seconds...
"Shut up!"
A deep, suppressed growl exploded through the room.
All the players stared at Bai Fu in astonishment as she suddenly erupted.
"What do you think the Wildfire Gang is after? Do you think they're just trying to raid your base?"
"This..." Digging Princess hesitated. Never mind, time to turn on the camera first!
Bai Fu snapped, "How naive! The Wildfire Gang's ultimate goal is to keep shrinking your living space until they drive you into the contamination zone. You'd be no use to anyone if you stayed here. In the end, you'd only lose a pile of supplies and make it even less likely that you could defeat the Wildfire Gang. Preserving your strength and waiting for an opportunity is what you should be doing right now!"
"She has a point, but losing these supplies wouldn't really make much difference."
"Yeah, and getting driven into the contamination zone wouldn't be a big deal either."
A few players whispered among themselves.
Bai Fu's voice warped even further.
"You don't understand. You don't understand any of it! The contamination zone outside the settlement is full of sources of contamination. Humans, animals, and plants will all mutate if they come into contact with them. At best, they'll die. At worst, they'll become mindless monsters. Even the most skilled scavengers don't dare stay in the contamination zone for long. What would you even do there? Turn into monsters and let me kill you?"
"That's not what we mean, but you—"
"You, you, you—what about you?! My affairs are none of your concern! It's just a stupid quest. If it fails, then it fails. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourselves. Ask yourselves what you came here for in the first place!"
That tirade left the players in the room stunned. Not a single one of them spoke for more than ten seconds.
Bai Fu remained perfectly calm.
She wasn't worried at all that her words would scare the players off. She'd thought everything through before coming here.
If the players ran, she could claim to have taken down the players' entire base all by herself and probably rake in plenty of rewards from the [Turning the Tables] quest.
The downside was that people might suspect she was connected to the players, which could bring the Wildfire Gang down on her. But it wouldn't be a big problem. The money she'd saved from taking out Brother Dabiao and capturing players was already enough for her to flee with An Ya to another settlement.
What would the players choose?
Bai Fu glanced around.
Calamity Dragon clenched her fists, worked up and emotional.
[Dammit, even my dad's never yelled at me!]
But being yelled at didn't feel that bad. Bai Fu was yelling because she cared about them and didn't want to see them go off to die. Besides, Bai Fu looked much better all worked up and furious than when she wore that poker face.
Maybe "much better" wasn't quite right. It was more that the character suddenly felt so much more alive.
She was no longer some mysterious expert hidden behind a veil of clouds. She felt more like a real big-sister figure.
Maybe this was what people meant by immersion?
If this were a gacha game, Calamity Dragon thought she might already be spending money.
The other players weren't nearly as worked up as Calamity Dragon. They began talking in their party channel.
[She yelled at us, but I kind of liked it. Am I a masochist?]
[I never thought Fu Fu would go this far. She's risking everything for us. If she's exposed, will she really be safe?]
[The damn Wildfire Gang, the damn devs!]
[Devs: ?]
[Why are you just standing there? Cry!]
[Fu Bao, my Fu Bao...]
[That expression, that tone—this game's so immersive! I never used to care what NPCs were saying.]
[Quit freaking out. Anyway, we can't let Bai Fu get exposed, or this storyline could get cut off.]
Their thoughts weren't all the same, but at that moment they shared one conviction—
They were playing a game with insanely high freedom. How could the legendary Braves let tragedy befall someone who had traveled alongside them?
Sure, the Wildfire Gang was powerful in Novice Village, and the contamination zone did sound terrifying. But so what?
They had charged forward through a hail of bullets beneath the onslaught of planes and artillery, seeking peace for the world of tomorrow;
They had faced their fears in a dark, freezing hospital and finally brought peace to the souls of those who had died unjustly;
They had crossed the world, challenging gods and demons with mortal bodies, to give the people of a shattered land a chance to live again.
They were damn players—players who feared nothing!
Pai Da stepped forward. "Sister Fu, I completely understand how you feel, but I've still decided to stay. Don't get upset yet. I know you might be disappointed in me right now. You probably think I'm too stubborn to listen, too confident in my abilities, and too emotional. But..."
He glanced at the other players beside him, a bright smile spreading across his face.
"Maybe that's why the Supreme Will chose me to become an Undying. Those qualities aren't always good, but if I weren't stubborn, how would I have the courage to challenge powerful opponents again and again? If I weren't so confident in myself, how would I dare face danger head-on? If I weren't so emotional, why would I care so much about the world beyond the mist?"
Strength was the reason a king ruled.
And stubbornness was what gave players the courage to face kings!
Pai Da's confident, slightly chuunibyou speech immediately sparked an animated discussion among the players.
[Holy crap, Pai Da nailed it!]
[That's awesome, Pai Da! How'd you come up with that? Supreme Will, Undying, the world beyond the mist—you stitched together every term Bai Fu used!]
[Now that you put it that way, I feel like I'm awesome too. In reality, I just wanted to kill some time with a game.]
[You might only have wanted to kill some time, but there's no denying you really did save the world.]
[Not gonna lie, it's only at this moment that I think this game's fun. It reminds me of a game I played before. I'd already leveled up enough to easily kill the final boss, but because of the game's mechanics, all I could do was watch my companions, who'd been with me every step of the way, sacrifice themselves. In the end, I couldn't even say goodbye to her the way I wanted.]
[Man, this time we're making our own story. So let's make sure we have no regrets!]
[Enough, enough! I'm fired up as hell!]
Convert to My Fu, now burning with enthusiasm, was the second to step forward. "I'm staying too. I won't let the Wildfire Gang hurt you, Fu Fu!"
Next, Digging Princess, Calamity Dragon, and some players Bai Fu hadn't seen before stepped forward.
"I'm staying."
"Me too."
In the end, only Black Tiger Afu remained in the corner.
"What are you all looking at me for? Don't you get me yet? I only care about fighting. I never planned on leaving in the first place."
"Hahaha!"
Laughter filled the room.
"You..."
Bai Fu's gaze swept across the players' faces, as if she wanted to etch each one into her memory.
Good, good. You really knew how to play along!
"I've made myself clear, but you still won't listen. If anything happens to you, don't blame me!"
Convert to My Fu said, "This is my choice. No matter what happens, I won't blame you, Fu Fu."
Bai Fu turned her head away.
The others didn't know whether she didn't believe him, or whether she was simply unhappy that her kindness had been ignored.
[What do we do?]
[We have to find a way to cheer Fu Bao up.]
[If we fight well, Bai Fu will calm down on her own.]
[Don't rush. Let me check first.]
Calamity Dragon secretly used a scouting skill on Bai Fu.
[Name]: Bai Fu [Template]: ? [Main Class]: ? [Sub-Class]: ? [Health]: ? [Attributes]: ? [Skills]: ? [Talents]: ? [Favorability]: Treasured Above All (83) [Threat Level]: Red
When the data came back, Calamity Dragon almost thought she was seeing things.
What? 83? That was one point higher than the 82 she'd seen earlier!
So Fu Fu was a tsundere after all. She said it had nothing to do with her, and turned her face away, but her Favorability hadn't dropped. It had gone up instead.
Calamity Dragon quickly shared the panel with the other players.
The moment they saw the data, they all relaxed.
[Fu Bao is so nice, always putting up with me.]
[Next vote, we're definitely putting Fu Fu in first place!]
[Let's go, let's go! If her Favorability hasn't dropped, then we can just charge ahead!]
Digging Princess looked at Pai Da. "How should we fight?"
Pai Da replied, "A straight-up fight would be too difficult. Let's split into two groups. One group stays here to set traps; the other intercepts the Wildfire Gang and lures them toward the traps. Oh, and let the people who went out know. If they make it back in time, we can catch the enemy in a pincer attack."
One player shook his head. "There aren't many people out there. Even if they all make it back in time, we probably won't have enough to surround them."
"Doesn't matter. I'll handle it!" Calamity Dragon crossed her arms.
Digging Princess froze for a moment, then caught on. "I almost forgot, Sister Calamity's loaded!"
Calamity Dragon grinned and brought out her ultimate move—
She posted on the forum and paid people to come help!
"Good, good. I feel like our odds just went up a lot."
"Don't get cocky. Most of them are elite monsters, and their leader might be a mini-boss."
"Who cares? They're only mortals. Even if they're gods, if they have a health bar, I'll kill them and show you!"
"Brother Convert, go coat your weapon in golden juice."
"Too bad we don't have enough time. Otherwise, I could make a dust explosion and blow those bastards up."
The players gathered together and quickly divided up the work. None of them seemed worried about the coming battle.
All they had to do was fight!
Once everything was ready, Digging Princess, the first player to meet Bai Fu, walked up to her. "Fu Fu, the battle's about to start. You should leave while you still can, so you don't get caught in the crossfire."
Bai Fu pouted. "At this point, do you think I can still leave? If I do, they'll be even more suspicious that I'm connected to you."
"Ah, then what do we do now?"
Bai Fu held out both hands. "Go ahead. Tie me up, and rough me up a bit while you're at it. Give me a few injuries."
Digging Princess quickly refused. "No, absolutely not. How could I hit you?"
The other players hurriedly agreed.
Bai Fu's tone sharpened. "I've been here for nearly ten minutes. If nothing happened in all that time, do you think the people outside would believe it?"
Now that she mentioned it, that did seem hard to believe.
"Enough, hurry up. Once you're done, take me outside as a hostage and use me to threaten them. They definitely won't accept. They'll try to provoke you into killing me instead. Don't worry about anything else. Once the fighting starts, just throw me to the side. I'll leave on my own."
Even after Bai Fu had spelled it out, none of the players dared lay a hand on her.
Convert to My Fu's eyes turned red.
Damn it, Fu Fu was already risking her cover for them. How could they let her make an even greater sacrifice?
"You're not coming? Then I'll do it myself!" Bai Fu raised her hand.
Digging Princess hurried over and grabbed her sleeve.
"Wait, wait, Fu Fu! I'll tie you up, okay? There's no need to hit you. Just let your hair down, then smear on some red paint to disguise yourself. They're far away, so they won't be able to see clearly anyway."
At last, they reached an agreement.
A minute later, Digging Princess and the Calamity Dragon flanked Bai Fu, escorting her toward the exit.
When they reached the door, the two exchanged a glance.
This time, they absolutely couldn't let Fu Fu's sacrifice go to waste!
Before you continue