Though An Ya really didn't want to, Bai Fu insisted, and her hair was dyed a beautiful silver-white.
She crouched miserably in the sunlight.
"One, two, three..."
She counted her money, Credit Coins, one by one. When she finished, she started counting on her fingers.
"Looks like I'll have to drink thin porridge every day from now on."
Bai Fu's mouth twitched.
She hadn't come here to drink thin porridge. She'd done that to save money before transmigrating, and if she was still doing it after transmigrating, wouldn't that make the whole thing pointless?
She patted An Ya on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. Once we get started, everything will get better!"
If she hadn't been short on money, she'd even wanted to dress herself and An Ya up as a "yin-yang duo."
[Bai Fu: white hair, black outfit.]
[An Ya: black hair, white outfit.]
If the two of them stood in front of the players like that and still couldn't toy with them in the palm of their hands like Tom, she'd eat a player right there and then!
After reassuring An Ya, it was time to get down to business.
But where should she go to farm players' Favorability?
The Abandoned Cooling Plant settlement was unexpectedly huge. Searching the streets at random for players worth rescuing would be a real hassle.
That was why, while getting her hair dyed, Bai Fu had opened the game community, [Star Travel Society], and found the Abandoned Cooling Plant section to see if she could turn up anything useful.
The community was bustling, with players eagerly sharing what they'd seen.
[Guys, I made a face that looks like an Old God, and they arrested me as soon as I entered the game. How do I delete my save and start over? I'm waiting online, and it's urgent.]
[I'm done. Why do they have to lock in your gender? I want to play a female character!]
[Bad review. The game clearly modeled the, uh, equipment, but I can't take off the boxers they gave me.]
[Anyone got an 18+ patch? Good people will have a peaceful life.]
Bai Fu rolled her eyes.
Ignoring those idiotic players, she continued looking for someone to rescue.
In principle, there were four kinds of players she wouldn't rescue.
She wouldn't rescue professional players, because they were too skilled. If they were in a predicament, it would be beyond her ability to solve.
She wouldn't rescue smart players, because they were too intelligent. Being around them would be stressful, and she might give herself away and ruin everything.
She wouldn't rescue battle-crazed players, because they were too ruthless. Their minds were full of "Fight! Awesome!" and if she accidentally showed them her health bar, they might chop her up.
She wouldn't rescue players who were just in it for a laugh, because they were too crazy. Their brains were like Schrödinger's cat: until they did something, you could never guess what they were planning.
Bai Fu switched back and forth between the forum and livestream sections of the community. She didn't find an interesting target until she left the hair salon.
In a livestream titled [(Walking Simulator) Explore the Stars from Scratch: Abandoned Cooling Plant Edition], a player named [Digging Princess] was streaming.
She wandered through the streets and alleys of the Abandoned Cooling Plant, occasionally exclaiming things like "Ah, this light! Ah, this water!"
Honestly, she wasn't doing much, but her livestream had already drawn more than a thousand viewers.
A few of the players had joined to admire the scenery, but most were there to map the area. If someone was measuring the map for free, of course they'd hurry over to learn from them.
Aside from the scenery-watchers and mapmakers, the rest were there for the laughs. Digging Princess might not have been doing anything, but her livestream was full of things happening.
[Holy crap, there are people fighting over there, smashing each other in the crotch with bricks.]
[Watched it. The hit feedback sucks.]
[Identifying the guy above as a certified old jar.]
[You little black fan, you're saying that hit feedback sucks? Show me something that does it better.]
"What kind of feedback?"
Bai Fu only gave those jokey comments a quick glance. She was more interested in what the livestream's regulars were saying.
From their comments, she learned that Digging Princess was a UP Master who specialized in making game videos.
Since she was terrible at games, Digging Princess had to attract fans with videos about Walking Simulator, Game Archaeology, and Digging into New Games.
But she'd been making videos for two and a half years, and hadn't gained many followers at all.
There were already plenty of high-quality UP Masters making game archaeology videos. Newcomers couldn't even get a taste unless they came up with something original.
As for exploring new games, it wasn't that she was bad at it; she just took it too far.
Digging Princess was especially good at overanalyzing things.
She could always piece together a story more epic than the Three Kingdoms from game lore more fragmented than Elden Ring's.
"Don't believe me? Just wait and see!"
That was Digging Princess's catchphrase.
At first, the viewers believed her. Whoa, was that character really so important? Was the plot really that incredible?
But after a while, the game developers would make it clear through their actions: "Sis, we really didn't put that much thought into it!"
After that happened often enough, Digging Princess's new-game exploration series died off.
But she was a determined person.
She felt that she wasn't the one who was wrong. The world was!
As she put it—
I just haven't found a game that resonates with my soul yet. When one finally comes along, I'll pierce through every sneer from the old days with my burning spear.
Most players had this to say about that—
Looks like her chuuni disease has flared up again!
Watching Digging Princess wander around, Bai Fu suddenly smiled in relief.
Bad at games + not very bright + prone to overanalyzing + livestreaming UP Master.
Wasn't she the chosen one Bai Fu had been looking for?
Heh, woman, you've successfully caught my interest!
Bai Fu had originally planned to pay someone to hassle Digging Princess, then swoop in to save her, but she soon realized there was no need.
Digging Princess was exploring a hard-to-navigate alley.
In the folksy Abandoned Cooling Plant, alleys like this had a more than 90 percent chance of spawning at least one highwayman.
Sure enough, after walking into an alley piled with junk, Digging Princess was stopped by a muscular man in a tank top.
"Hm?"
Bai Fu paused.
Hadn't this guy been standing behind the old geezer who punched her when she went to collect a debt two days ago?
His skills were average. Nothing to worry about.
What a coincidence, buddy!
Bai Fu figured this was the perfect chance to get revenge and clear her name.
"An Ya, come on. We've got work to do!"
In the alley.
Staring at the muscular man across from her, who looked like he'd stepped out of a Hong Kong comic, Digging Princess felt her heart sink.
Just as DIO couldn't remember how many slices of bread he'd eaten, Digging Princess, a gaming UP Master, couldn't remember how many dangers she'd faced in games.
Just last week, she'd been beaten up by monsters for five hundred rounds in a dark mental hospital.
The night before, she'd played a horror game like P.T. before going to bed.
Given her courage, a mere human thug in a game shouldn't have scared her.
And yet she was afraid—so afraid she couldn't move, as if she'd been frozen by Monkey's immobilizing spell.
It wasn't her fault. Above the Stars was simply too realistic.
Realistic in every sense of the word!
The game had been officially announced only half a year ago. Its promotional campaign wasn't huge, but its slogans had still caught plenty of people's attention.
A universe that breathed. A mind-blowing 99% level of realism. It had certainly left people eager to see more.
Many had assumed it was a scam. Digging Princess had thought so too, until she entered the game with a skeptical mindset and realized that those so-called beta testers weren't shills.
Ninety-nine percent?
One hundred percent!
This was clearly a revolutionary game.
Anyone who didn't know better might think it was the real world, disguised as a game with a little UI added!
That incredible realism was exactly why Digging Princess felt afraid when confronted by the big guy blocking her path.
If she got killed, would she really come back to life?
"I can't tell! I really can't tell!"
Just then, the thug blocking her way spoke.
"Outsider?"
"I..."
"Looks like you are. Hah! I'm in great luck today. I just stepped out and already found an Outsider." The thug grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow.
Digging Princess was extremely nervous. "What do you want?"
"What do you think? I'm taking you in for the bounty, of course. You Outsiders have made enemies of the Wildfire Gang as soon as you arrived. You've got some nerve!"
The thug couldn't help but marvel at that.
When faced with a local gang like the Wildfire Gang, these Outsiders weren't afraid at all. They'd stolen supplies from the gang, and when they were cornered, they'd threatened the gang instead, saying things like, "You're finished. You dare mess with us, you're finished. Nobody anywhere can save you."
What a joke. They didn't have a single Credit Coin to their names!
The thug pulled out a sack and, without another word, threw it over Digging Princess's head.
"Hey, what are you—help! Help!"
Darkness engulfed her. Digging Princess struggled with all her might, but with only 3 points of Strength, there was no way she could break free.
"Go ahead and scream. Nobody's coming to save you!" Thinking of the hefty bounty the Wildfire Gang had offered, the thug couldn't help chuckling.
That classic line set off the livestream chat.
[It's got that familiar flavor!]
[Did I enter the wrong livestream? Weren't we supposed to be in a walking simulator?]
[The locals sure are friendly.]
[The Abandoned Cooling Plant, also known as Alien Gotham.]
Amid the laughter, a cool, melodious voice rang out in the livestream, commanding and sharp.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Hm?"
The thug let go of Digging Princess and turned around.
Taking advantage of the moment, Digging Princess finally pulled off the sack. She braced herself against a rotten wooden crate and staggered to her feet.
The thug blocked her view, so she had to sidestep.
As soon as she moved, the blazing sunlight poured into her eyes. She quickly raised a hand to shield them.
Tsk, it was so dazzling!
After a while, her eyes gradually adjusted to the sudden brightness.
She saw her: a young girl standing with her back to the light.
The gentle sunlight gilded the girl's silhouette, and the breeze coming from the side lifted her long, silky silver-white hair.
The breeze came at just the right moment.
It slipped through the narrow alley, wound around the piles of junk, and finally struck Digging Princess squarely between the brows.
Still dazed, Digging Princess unconsciously opened her mouth wide. At that moment, she thought she could finally answer a question she'd been asked many years ago.
"Do you believe in the light?"
"I do!"
Before you continue