Let the Players Charge Ahead [Please Keep Reading]

Number Seven's death made Bai Fu feel that helping the players improve their strength at the right time had indeed been an excellent decision.

Otherwise, even if those players had pinned Number Seven to the ground just now, they would have struggled to restrain him. And without the players' efforts, her plan to reap Number Seven's life would have been nothing but a fantasy.

Of course, Bai Fu wasn't the only one who had won big in this battle. The players had too.

Number Seven's level far exceeded the players', and that massive level gap brought equally massive experience bonuses.

After his death, even players who had dealt only 2 points of damage received 196 experience points. The player who had thrown the Poison Sac received a whopping 1,724 experience points, making all the other players green with envy.

For a while, all the players excitedly crowded around Bai Fu.

Who wouldn't like an NPC who was pretty and could help them level up?

[An angel!]

[If I'd known Bai Fu was coming, I would've used all my items to go all-out on that bastard. Now I've lost several hundred experience points. I'm crying.]

[No one try to stop me. If something like this happens again, I'll definitely charge in at the front!]

[Keep dreaming. You think a good opportunity like that will be your turn?]

Bai Fu did not stay at the players' base for long. After making a round to strengthen her presence in their minds, she left.

Before returning to the Wildfire Gang, she wandered around nearby, but unfortunately, she still did not trigger any high-reward missions.

It didn't matter. She had already gained more than enough today.

Setting aside the experience rewards, the video of her taking out Number Seven with two shots was uploaded to the community, causing her popularity to surge again. She was on the verge of surpassing Big Mecha and temporarily taking first place on the popularity rankings.

Bai Fu was deeply satisfied.

She felt that she could not simply sit around waiting for the game developers to buff her. She needed to make good use of this popularity and have the players contribute to her grand plan of leveling up quickly.

The indicator lights on the laboratory equipment flashed incessantly. Number Nine stood guard at the door with his arms crossed, his face full of impatience.

"Why isn't he back yet?"

A full eight hours had passed since Number Seven left. During that time, not a single message had come back, making him extremely uneasy.

After a while, the laboratory door was pushed open, and the Wildfire Gang Boss walked in.

"Where is he?" Number Nine demanded anxiously.

The Wildfire Gang Boss said, "We couldn't find him."

Number Nine's brows furrowed. "If you couldn't find him, why didn't you send more people to look?"

"Wouldn't sending too many people out alert them?"

"Are you fucking brain-dead?" Number Nine suddenly roared. "If you're afraid of alerting them, can't you use another excuse, like claiming you're going to arrest Outsiders? Send people out to look for him right now. If you can't find him, just you wait!"

The Wildfire Gang Boss's face flushed red, but in the end, he obediently agreed.

"I'll go right away."

With that, he hurried off.

Though he looked utterly dejected, he was already celebrating inside.

Those Outsiders really were fucking fierce. They had actually made Number Seven disappear for good. But while Number Seven was gone, Number Nine was still here causing trouble.

The Wildfire Gang Boss hardened his heart, gritted his teeth, and decided to make a big move—

He would secretly notify the Outsiders and have them send Number Nine off too!

He had to kill them. Number Seven and Number Nine were both lunatics. If he did not get them all killed, sooner or later they would kill him instead.

"Since you refuse to act like a human, don't blame me for refusing to act like one too!"

After leaving through the hidden door, the Wildfire Gang Boss immediately arranged for his men to search for the missing Number Seven. Then he went to find Bai Fu.

"Bai Fu, do you think I can trust you?"

What kind of question was that? My name might be written as Bai Fu, but it was pronounced loyalty!

Bai Fu immediately declared her loyalty. "Boss, you promoted me with your own hands. There cannot be two suns in the sky; in my heart, there is only one sun, and that is you!"

The Wildfire Gang Boss said, "I'm glad to hear you say that. I have a very dangerous task at hand. I'm too conspicuous to act personally, so I need you to do it."

Bai Fu nodded. "Just say the word, Boss."

Dangerous?

She would accept the mission first. If it was truly too dangerous, she would run.

The Wildfire Gang Boss began explaining his predicament.

[You have triggered the hidden mission: [Kill with a Borrowed Knife]]

[Mission Description: During his dealings with the distinguished guests from outside, the Wildfire Gang Boss has come under threat to his life. Having reached the end of his rope, he has decided to make a desperate gamble and use the players' hands to eliminate the threat. He knows this is an extremely dangerous mission, but he still wishes to entrust this heavy responsibility to you.]

[Mission Objective: Inform the players of Number Nine's existence]

[Reward: 2,000 experience points, 10 faction reputation, 5,000 Credit Coins]

Bai Fu's expression turned slightly strange.

This mission was indeed extremely dangerous for the other members of the Wildfire Gang. One slip, and they could end up getting taken out by the players, so a reward of 2,000 experience points was fairly reasonable.

But for her, it was just a matter of saying a few words. This was practically free experience—there was no reason not to take it.

Seeing Bai Fu accept the mission without hesitation, the Wildfire Gang's Boss smiled in satisfaction.

He had considered asking someone else for help, but even he wanted to laugh at the thought of trust in a place like the Wildfire Gang. Everyone was here for profit. If he asked one of those old hands already stuffed to the gills, they might weigh their options and sell him out to Number Nine. It was more suitable to find an energetic young person like Bai Fu.

"Go on."

The Wildfire Gang's Boss waved his hand. He had already spotted Number Nine walking toward him.

Bai Fu turned and left. After she had gone some distance, she vaguely heard Number Nine say that he intended to personally join the investigation.

"One is called Number Seven, and the other is called Number Nine. Although the Wildfire Gang's Boss didn't say it outright earlier, it looks like those distinguished Outsiders he mentioned are members of The Truth Society. I wonder what The Truth Society is doing here."

Bai Fu was very curious. A tiny place like the Abandoned Cooling Plant did not look like somewhere with much profit to be made.

She made no unnecessary moves. First, she went to the player base and made sure the information was delivered.

On her way back to the Wildfire Gang, she saw a pickup truck fitted with multiple layers of armor parked by the roadside. Two people stood beside it, a man and a woman, both seemingly quite young. The man wore a leather jacket, while the woman wore a work jacket.

This was the first intact vehicle Bai Fu had seen since becoming an NPC. Instinctively, she cast Spiritual Vision on them twice.

The male NPC's status panel was fairly simple.

[Name]: Yago Kaufman (Elite)

[Template]: Special

[Main Class]: Sniper Lv.2 [Lower Class: Agent Lv.10 (Max Level)]

The female NPC's status panel also appeared simple at first glance.

[Name]: Xia Shi (Elite)

[Template]: Normal

[Main Class]: Junior Mechanic Lv.2 [Lower Class: Scholar Lv.10 (Max Level)]

After skipping past a string of unimportant data, Bai Fu's gaze settled on Xia Shi's [Talent]. What entered her sight was a dazzlingly red [Strong Luck].

[Strong Luck]: Born with exceptionally good luck.

Though the description was only a simple sentence, Bai Fu immediately understood that this woman named Xia Shi was the kind of lifeform that inspired envy, jealousy, and hatred—

A luck god!

The terror of luck gods needed no explanation. They could casually pull two SSRs in a ten-pull and successfully cash out from Pinduoduo. Rumor had it that luck gods lived short lives, but that needed to be clarified: luck gods actually lived very long lives.

Fainted from rage at those damn lucky bastards.jpg

Bai Fu hurriedly closed the status panel. She could not stand looking at that dazzling Talent.

"What are those two doing here? Judging by their classes, they definitely aren't ordinary people."

A bad feeling arose in Bai Fu's heart. First The Truth Society had surfaced, and now a group of people of unknown origin had arrived. It looked like something big was about to happen at the Abandoned Cooling Plant.

Although major incidents in a game's Novice Village were practically standard plot fare, her current strength was not enough to guarantee her own safety. That was a headache.

Perhaps she should consider leaving the Abandoned Cooling Plant.

With her current strength and wealth, leaving the Abandoned Cooling Plant would not be difficult at all. In a large settlement, she could not only take on higher-level missions, but also find knowledge books for class advancement. The only problem was that the players would not be able to follow her anytime soon.

Bai Fu pondered for a moment. Just as she was preparing to leave, she spotted someone she sort of knew.

In an alley across the street, Number Nine was staring fixedly at the woman named Xia Shi. He watched her for more than ten seconds before finally turning away.

Although Bai Fu did not know what Number Nine was doing, the look in his eyes told her he was up to no good.

"Better send him off to reunite with Number Seven sooner rather than later."

Bai Fu turned back and informed the players of Number Nine's whereabouts.

The players, already itching for a fight, grabbed their weapons and chased after him without another word.

With their previous experience dealing with Number Seven, the players were fired up. They were determined to use the new tactics they had come up with to score big in this battle.

This time, they had nothing to worry about. Bai Fu had already said that the Wildfire Gang's Boss wanted to use them to get rid of Number Nine, so the Wildfire Gang definitely would not interfere. They only needed to deal with Number Nine alone. The hidden mission triggered after Bai Fu finished speaking seemed to confirm this as well.

In truth, even if the Wildfire Gang's Boss was plotting against them behind the scenes, they were not afraid.

As long as they took out Number Nine, they could earn a huge amount of experience to level up. Once their levels rose, hehehe, trying to scheme against them? Did he not understand what it meant to crush all tricks with overwhelming force?

Bai Fu followed close behind the players.

They made their way forward and quietly approached the Wildfire Gang.

Just as the players were debating whether to charge straight in or lie in ambush outside, Number Nine had already returned to the underground laboratory.

"I saw people from Gene Primordial outside. They're from the Fourth Division. Those Outsiders must be connected to them, and Number Seven's disappearance definitely has something to do with them too. They've discovered our whereabouts."

A cold gleam flickered in Number Nine's eyes.

"Not only did they take out Number Seven today, they even showed themselves in person. It seems they have no intention of staying hidden any longer. I estimate they'll launch a full-scale assault on the Wildfire Gang very soon."

Yulia's face was grim. "Even at the fastest, I still need two more days to complete the basic verification on my end."

"Two days?" Number Nine's breathing hitched. "That's too long. But the experiment absolutely cannot stop. Since there isn't enough time, I'll buy it for us!"

Yulia asked, "What are you going to do?"

Number Nine took a translucent green cylinder from a crate on the ground. "Use this."

"Lure bait? Do you know what consequences using that will cause?" Yulia's expression changed drastically.

Number Nine smiled. "Mutated lifeforms will swarm in like sharks smelling blood. Along the way, they'll attack every living thing they see until those things die or become their kind."

"You know that, and you still want to use it?"

"Once we use it, the people outside will be too busy dealing with the mutated lifeforms to interfere with your experiment. Don't worry. Even if the Fourth Division requests help from Lynn in time, it'll still take more than two days for reinforcements to arrive. That's enough time for you to finish the verification."

Number Nine picked up the lure bait and headed straight for the door.

He felt no psychological burden whatsoever. They had originally planned to use the lure bait to destroy the entire Abandoned Cooling Plant after the experiment was over, erasing all traces of their presence. They were merely doing it a little earlier now.

"You're insane!" Yulia shouted.

Number Nine stopped. "Insane? Yulia, you need to understand—we are The Truth Society! Don't try any little tricks. Think about yourself, think about the people back home, think about the kindness Chairman has shown you. All you need to do is use this abandoned cooling equipment to complete the verification as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if Chairman gets angry, you... heh heh..."

His cruel laughter echoed through the laboratory. Only when the lab door shut did everything return to silence.

Yulia silently walked over to the cooling chamber and continued the verification from before. This was not the time to think about anything else.

After leaving the laboratory, Number Nine carried the lure bait straight toward the outskirts of the Abandoned Cooling Plant.

His main goal was not to kill everyone in the Abandoned Cooling Plant, but to kill the two Fourth Division agents and all the Outsiders, buying time for Yulia's verification. Therefore, he planned to secretly pour the lure bait near where the Outsiders were hiding.

"I don't care whether you really have immortal bodies or not. Once this place becomes a paradise for mutated lifeforms, even if you can truly revive, you'll only be living a fate worse than death!"

Number Nine's gaze was ice-cold.

After leaving the Wildfire Gang, he had walked roughly four or five hundred meters when a shout suddenly came from the roadside.

"He's out!"

"Who?"

The moment Number Nine turned around, he saw several arrows flying toward him from afar. He hurriedly bent down to dodge, but the next second, more than a dozen burly men leaped out from both sides.

"Hmph, trying to run?"

"Hold down his legs!"

Amid the shouting, a whole pile of things flew out from the roadside.

Lime, chili powder, lassos, fishing nets, slippery slime, Poison Sacs... The players in the throwing group tossed whatever they had, completely unconcerned about whether they might injure their allies.

The sudden, savage, and utterly unreasonable assault left Number Nine completely stunned.

By the time he came to his senses, a Type II Deformed Insect's Poison Sac was already about to smash into his face.

"Damn it!"

Number Nine hurriedly threw himself backward. The Poison Sac flew past, practically grazing his scalp, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

The Poison Sac's venom could not kill him, but if it landed on his face, the pain alone would leave him temporarily unable to fight.

"I'll kill every last one of you!"

Number Nine roared furiously as he got back to his feet.

Just then, he suddenly sensed someone rapidly closing in from behind.

Trying to launch a sneak attack?

Number Nine laughed in anger.

Courting death!

With a twist of his shoulder, he grabbed the fist of Convert to My Fu, who was charging at him.

"You think you can—"

Number Nine did not finish his sentence. In the next instant, Convert to My Fu lifted her leg and delivered a heavy kick straight to his crotch.

Smack—the sound of eggs cracking.

"AAAH—"

The intense pain directly shocked Number Nine's entire body rigid.

Not just him—even the other players around them felt a chill between their legs and instinctively took a step back away from Convert to My Fu.

"That's vicious," Bai Fu murmured as she watched from the shadows.

The players had performed far better than she had expected. She did not even need to make a move. Though she would lose out on some experience by not fighting, she also would not have to worry about exposing herself.

Seeing the other players retreat, Convert to My Fu grew anxious. "What are you standing around for? Come kick his balls together! Otherwise, he'll recover his ability to move soon!"

"Oh, oh, coming! I'm coming!"

Patrick Star felt somewhat ashamed. He had actually gotten distracted in the middle of a fight, but he did not think it was his fault. Convert to My Fu had simply been too ruthless. Who wouldn't fear a move like that?

As Patrick Star stepped forward, the other players also came back to their senses.

They drew their weapons. Some went for the balls, while others stabbed at his ass.

Luckily, Number Nine was no ordinary person, but a mutant. After enduring the initial shock, he forcibly withstood the agony of the successive blows to the groin and pressed the button on the Spiritual Energy Restraint hidden in his pocket.

Buzz!

The instant the players were restrained, Number Nine smashed the lure bait onto the ground with all his might.

This place was far from the edge of the Abandoned Cooling Plant. By the time the mutant creatures caught the scent of the bait and came charging over, it would probably be quite a while.

But how could he spare the time to think about that now? He had to smash it first. Afterward, he pulled an injection from his pocket and jabbed it into his arm.

Once the injection was done, Number Nine limped toward the Wildfire Gang despite his injuries.

The Spiritual Energy Restraint could only hold someone for at most a minute. Against those with high intuition, it could even restrain them for only a few seconds.

He had no intention of counterattacking the players now. All he wanted was to escape back to the laboratory as quickly as possible.

Over ten seconds later, one player was the first to break free of the restraint.

"Fuck, my EXP! Stop right there!"

Soon, more and more players broke free. They no longer cared that the Wildfire Gang was right ahead and rushed after him one after another. How could they let a duck that had reached their mouths fly away?

"Hey, what are you doing?"

At the Wildfire Gang's base, the lackeys left behind were dumbfounded when they saw the players charging toward them. It took them quite a while to snap out of it.

"What are you standing around for? Go get the Boss back, quick! The Outsiders are attacking!"

They scattered in all directions. No one dared to actually step forward and intercept the players. The players' shameless fighting style had already scared them witless in the previous battle.

They only made a little over a hundred a month—why risk their lives? As long as they got the news to the Boss and the others, they had earned their pay.

Bai Fu did not hurry after them to watch the show. Instead, she hastily cast Spiritual Vision on the thing Number Nine had smashed before fleeing.

There had to be a reason Number Nine had suddenly smashed that thing while running away.

[Lure Bait (Damaged)]

[Quality]: Blue

[Additional Effect]: After use, can lure nearby mutant creatures. Radiation range: 5 kilometers. Duration: 1 month.

"Five kilometers is already enough to cover the contaminated zone."

After seeing the data returned by Spiritual Vision, Bai Fu's face turned green.

The terror of mutant creatures went without saying. She did not know how many mutants this lure bait could attract, but even if there were only a hundred of them, the Chain Reaction they caused would be enough to bring down the entire Abandoned Cooling Plant.

"Is that bastard trying to drag the entire Abandoned Cooling Plant down with him?"

Run away?

No, it was clearly impossible to run now. After all, the convoy traveling from the Abandoned Cooling Plant to Lynn only made a round trip at most once a week.

At this point, Bai Fu could no longer worry about anything else. She hurried home and had An Ya hide in the basement first, then returned to the Wildfire Gang.

All she could hope was that Number Nine had something on him that could suppress the lure bait. Otherwise, this would become a huge disaster.

PS: Thanks to Jerrycua032 for the donation.

I originally wanted to write a bit more, but the plot made it awkward to split the chapter, and it was almost midnight already. I'll make tomorrow's chapter longer instead.

Also, let me recommend a friend's book, My Mortal Enemy and I Swapped Bodies After Being Reborn.