"You're here."
An impatient voice came from the second-floor platform.
Cao Wenliang hurriedly looked up. The moment he saw Bai Fu, his body jolted.
He had never expected to be discovered. And judging by Bai Fu's words, she had known he was coming all along.
How was that possible?
Other than passing Bai Fu this morning, he had never even glared at her in person.
Were there really people in the world who would think, "Someone glared at me once in a crowd, so they must be plotting against me," and immediately prepare for it?
Damn, that was twisted!
While Cao Wenliang's expression shifted back and forth, Bai Fu spoke again. "I'm guessing your next question is—how did I know you were coming?"
"How did you know I—"
Cao Wenliang stopped halfway through and hurriedly shut his mouth.
"Are you wondering if I can read minds?" Bai Fu laughed. "Relax, of course I don't have that kind of superpower."
Cao Wenliang immediately drew his gun, pointed it at Bai Fu, and barked, "Cut the crap."
Bai Fu wasn't fazed. "Aren't you even a little curious why, when I knew you'd come looking for me, I still came here in the middle of the night instead of going to bed?"
Cao Wenliang's pupils contracted.
Shit, a trap!
He hurriedly raised his gun and looked around. "Come out! Whoever's hiding there, come out!"
As time passed, Cao Wenliang gradually realized something was wrong.
If people really were lying in ambush nearby, why would Bai Fu give them away for no reason?
He quickly looked up again. Sure enough, Bai Fu, who had been standing on the second-floor platform moments ago, had disappeared.
"Fuck, you dare mess with me? You're dead!"
Cao Wenliang flew into a rage and charged toward the stairwell with his gun.
He was extremely fast, taking only a few strides to rush upstairs. All he saw was a stretch of rubble and ruins.
"You couldn't have gone far in such a short time. Come out quietly, and I'll make it less painful for you. Otherwise, once I catch you, I'll make you feel what it means to wish you were dead. I'll show you a living hell!"
There was no response.
"You like playing cat and mouse with me so much? Fine, I'll play as long as you want. This place is far from the Wildfire Gang, so don't expect anyone to come save you!"
Perhaps because he was imagining himself catching Bai Fu soon, Cao Wenliang grew extremely worked up, and his breathing unconsciously quickened.
He weaved through the rubble, laughing every now and then and tossing out threats.
"Here I come!"
"Do you know what it feels like to have your fingernails pulled out one by one?"
"Your fingers are pretty. I'll break them one joint at a time."
While he searched all around, Bai Fu silently counted from her hiding place.
One thousand minus seven equals—no, that wasn't what she was supposed to count. She was counting—
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. All right, time's up."
When enough time had passed, Bai Fu stood and cast [Spiritual Vision] at Cao Wenliang, who had his back to her.
The skill check succeeded, and Cao Wenliang's status panel appeared.
[Name]: Cao Wenliang (Elite) (Tired) (Slightly Injured) [Health]: 124/130 [Attributes]: Strength 14 (-4), Agility 7 (-2), Constitution 10, Intelligence 3, Spirit 3, Inspiration 4
Bai Fu smiled when she saw the stats.
She knew very well that with her extreme stat distribution, it would be difficult for Cao Wenliang to kill her, but it would be just as hard for her to kill him.
After all, Cao Wenliang had seven points of Agility, while she had a pitiful three.
If they fought and Cao Wenliang shamelessly used his trump card, [You Give Way], to run away, she really wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
But things were different now.
When she'd first met Cao Wenliang, she had used a combo of [Rate Amplification (Inferior)] and [Power Surge (Inferior)] on him.
After that, she'd stalled him with her sharp tongue until his first Power Surge buff wore off, then immediately hit him with the second combo.
With the ten-percent bonus to active-skill effects from [Low-Level Psychic Specialization] included, the two combos had directly drained forty-four percent of Cao Wenliang's stamina. The loss of stamina had lowered his Strength and Agility on the status panel. His Agility was now down to five.
Five Agility was still higher than her three.
But it didn't matter. Bai Fu still had one more trump card to play.
After attacking the players' stronghold, she'd earned three thousand experience from the Faction Quest. That was enough to raise her [Unemployed] class to Lv. 5.
[[Unemployed] raised to Lv. 4, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Attribute Points +1] [[Unemployed] raised to Lv. 5, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Attribute Points +1]
Two notifications rang out in quick succession.
Without hesitation, Bai Fu put both of her newly earned attribute points into Agility. Her stats became—
[Strength 7, Agility 5, Constitution 24, Intelligence 3, Spirit 11, Inspiration 11]
"I only have five points of Psychic Energy left, but that's more than enough."
After all, she still had a class-specific skill that could restore five points of Psychic Energy at the cost of twenty Health.
The time had come to reverse the roles in this game of cat and mouse!
A glint flashed in Bai Fu's eyes.
"Cao Wenliang!"
She called out.
Cao Wenliang whipped around. After a moment of shock, a vicious grin spread across his face. "What, you realized you can't keep hiding, so you came out? But it's too late!"
He laughed and strode toward Bai Fu.
Bai Fu casually stretched, then asked with a smile, "I'm waiting for your Strength boost to wear off. What are you waiting for?"
Strength boost?
Cao Wenliang was briefly taken aback.
But he quickly dismissed her words. "I fell for your trick once already. You think I'll fall for it again?"
He pulled the trigger.
The gunshot ripped through the night. A flash of light appeared and vanished, and the bullet struck the wall ten centimeters to Bai Fu's left.
"If you don't want to get shot, stand still."
To his surprise, Bai Fu acted as though she hadn't heard him and walked straight toward him.
"Heh, you're actually coming closer? You're not running away—you're coming right toward me."
Cao Wenliang grew even more excited.
He reached for Bai Fu's hair, but she simply sidestepped to the left and dodged his attack.
Only then did Cao Wenliang suddenly realize that his body felt a little tired. But there was no time left to figure out why.
Bai Fu's right foot, empowered by Frenzy, slammed into his chest.
The Wildfire Gang's Boss had already kicked him there once. With the old injury compounded by the new one, a bright red [-9] popped above Cao Wenliang's head as he hit the ground.
"You little shit! Die!"
That kick sent Cao Wenliang's reason flying. He raised his right hand and fired at Bai Fu.
Only after the gunshot rang out did he come to his senses.
It was over. At this close range, Bai Fu couldn't possibly survive a shot. He'd said he would torture her, but now it was all ruined!
Cao Wenliang looked up in frustration.
But things weren't as he'd imagined. Bai Fu hadn't fallen. Nor was her body blooming with bright sprays of blood. She was smiling, her right hand slightly raised, and between her five fingers she was pinching a bullet!
"You..."
At that moment, Cao Wenliang felt as if something had lodged in his throat. An unprecedented chill climbed up his spine and shot straight to his scalp.
Catching a bullet with her bare hand was something he'd never even dared imagine!
He watched helplessly as Bai Fu slipped the bullet into her pocket, then watched as she took the pistol from his hand.
Your gun is nice, but now it's mine!
Bai Fu examined the gun in her hand with interest.
[Trash Star P7] [Quality]: Gray [Basic Stats]: Attack Power 16–23, Rate of Fire 2 rounds/s, Magazine Capacity 8 rounds, Effective Range 50 m [Additional Effects]: None
"My calculations were right. After using Hardening, a shoddy pistol like this couldn't pose much of a threat to me."
Bai Fu was confident she could catch a bullet with her bare hand.
The gun Cao Wenliang used was the same model as the one the External Affairs Department Minister had used last night.
When the minister had shot at the players, she'd kept an eye on the damage numbers. After comparing the players' stats with her own, she'd figured that unless the gun hit a weak spot, it couldn't threaten her.
And that was exactly what had happened. The shot had only taken two points off her Health. With 270 Health in total, that damage was nothing to worry about.
Even if she'd misjudged and the bullet had lodged in her palm, Bai Fu still wouldn't have been afraid.
Unlike ordinary NPCs, her body was governed by stats. She had an ability every NPC envied: the miraculous healing power of breathing!
As long as she left combat and had no disabilities or major damage-over-time debuffs, her wounds would eventually heal as her Health recovered.
If she didn't have that ability, she wouldn't dare take on quests at such a high intensity.
"Now, it's time to send you on your way."
Bai Fu raised the gun.
By now, Cao Wenliang had already scrambled to his feet and was sprinting wildly toward the Wildfire Gang.
Bai Fu pulled the trigger.
The bullet shot out of the barrel and hit Cao Wenliang in the butt. He let out a scream and fell to the ground.
"Did I miss?"
Bai Fu rolled her eyes.
She'd clearly aimed at Cao Wenliang's back.
Whatever. It wasn't a big deal. If she was bad at it, she just had to practice more!
Bai Fu put the gun away and rushed over to Cao Wenliang. Just as he pushed himself upright, she kicked him in the chest again.
"Ah!" Cao Wenliang let out a beastlike roar from his throat. "Bai... Aaaaaah..."
He'd meant to shout Bai Fu's name, but his mouth had suddenly hardened, leaving him able to make only garbled sounds.
Before he could figure out what had happened, Bai Fu kicked him in the jaw.
[-27]
The kick not only dealt heavy damage but also inflicted a ten-second [Stun] debuff on Cao Wenliang.
Bai Fu pressed the gun against Cao Wenliang's neck. "I wasn't planning to kill you this soon, but you insisted on getting yourself killed. So I don't have a choice."
Bang!
The bullet tore into Cao Wenliang's throat. After struggling for a while, his Health bar emptied completely.
[You killed Cao Wenliang, Contribution: 100%. Adjusted for the level difference, you gained 1,750 experience.]
Just as when she'd killed Martin, no quest was triggered this time. That made sense. She and Cao Wenliang were in the same faction, after all. It would be ridiculous if killing someone from her own faction triggered a quest reward.
Bai Fu dragged Cao Wenliang's body farther away and set up a few makeshift disguises that were easy to see through before heading home.
The next day, she didn't receive any news from the Wildfire Gang until noon.
"Minister Cao is dead!"
"I heard those Outsiders killed him to get revenge for the attack the night before last. What a miserable death! His jaw and throat were smashed to pieces. The Boss rushed over as soon as he got the news."
"Damn it, those Outsiders are completely lawless!"
When Bai Fu followed the others to the scene, she saw the Wildfire Gang's Boss crouched down, examining Cao Wenliang's body.
Standing beside the Boss was a woman Bai Fu had never seen before. The woman clearly had Western features, and her hair was an icy blue color that couldn't occur in real life. She stood expressionless, radiating an aura that warned everyone to keep their distance.
"Who's that?"
Someone nearby explained, "She's an honored guest from out of town. The Boss has been entertaining her lately. Otherwise, those Outsiders wouldn't be acting so brazenly."
Bai Fu reflexively cast [Spiritual Vision] on her.
[Skill check failed]
"?"
Bai Fu was startled. This was the first time her Spiritual Vision check had failed. Even the Wildfire Gang's Boss wasn't that absurd; at worst, all the data it returned would be question marks.
She had a feeling she'd stumbled onto some hidden quest—or the main quest for this Novice Village, the Abandoned Cooling Plant.
As she thought it over, the Wildfire Gang's Boss stood up. "Looks like I'll have to make time to meet those Outsiders myself."
"Wait."
Suddenly, the woman, cold as ice, spoke up.
The Wildfire Gang's Boss turned to her in confusion.
"It probably wasn't those Outsiders who killed him."
"Why do you say that?"
"Think about the encounters your people have had with those Outsiders these past few days. They only use despicable tricks. If they'd done this, there'd be traces of human waste on him and around here."
Holy crap, Sherlock, you've discovered the key clue!
In almost an instant, everyone around them turned to stare at the ice-cold woman.
Bai Fu was no exception.
You came straight out of a Detective Conan movie, didn't you? How did you figure that out?
The onlookers whispered among themselves.
Whenever they'd gone out to fight those Outsiders in recent days, they'd always run into a few complete bastards who smeared shit on their weapons. It had been the same when the External Affairs Department Minister launched his surprise attack the day before yesterday. There was no reason the Outsiders Cao Wenliang encountered would suddenly have turned into decent people.
The Wildfire Gang's Boss's expression changed. "If it wasn't the Outsiders, then..."
The woman of ice said, "I'm not sure. There's no evidence."
The Wildfire Gang's Boss said nothing more, but he couldn't hide his anxiety.
Whether Outsiders had killed Cao Wenliang or not, the fact that this had happened meant the survival of the entire Wildfire Gang was under threat. He had no choice but to take it even more seriously.
He thought of Bai Fu.
He had finally found a successor who seemed to have great potential. He couldn't let her follow in that fool Cao Wenliang's footsteps too.
After ordering his men to drag Cao Wenliang's body back, he shouted to the attendant standing guard at the door:
"Go get Bai Fu. I have a new mission for her."
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