Bai Fu's Wicked Leveling Method [Triple Chapter—Please Read On]

By the time Bai Fu rushed back to the scene, the players had already chased Number Nine into the hidden door.

Because the underground passage was rather narrow, quite a few players were still stuck outside, unable to get in.

"How's it looking inside?"

"I heard there's a BOSS in there, and she's really pretty."

"We're already jumping into high-end content this fast?"

"Idiot, don't fall for her honey trap. So what if she's pretty? If she's an enemy, we chop her up!"

The players left outside were all buzzing with excitement. They had never expected to trigger a BOSS battle so soon after entering the game. Wasn't this far more interesting than slowly grinding and working away in other Novice Villages?

They only hated that they had not run fast enough to squeeze to the front. If the BOSS got killed, they would not get a share of anything.

Just as they fretted, a commotion suddenly erupted ahead.

"Huh, is it my turn to go in?"

"Go in my ass! Back up, back up, get out!"

"What happened?"

Almost instantly, chaos broke out around the hidden door.

Bai Fu saw some players trying to squeeze inside, but even more were desperately fleeing out.

Something had happened?

A little over a minute later, all the players who had rushed in earlier came spilling back out. However, several of them were clearly acting strangely. Like berserkers whose bloodline had awakened, they attacked anyone they saw, even other players standing right in front of them.

"Damn it, Old Five, what are you doing? Don't tell me this guy defected? Hey, hey, hey, don't hit my face, you bastard!"

"You think I want to? I'm being controlled! I can't control my body at all! Get away from me, aaah!"

"Ah, I'm about to die! Compensate me for my EXP!"

Bai Fu used Spiritual Vision on the player called Old Five and discovered an [Envoys] status after his name.

[Envoys]: Yulia's innate ability. Can control the bodies of targets with Inspiration <15. Duration depends on the difference in Inspiration between both parties.

Bai Fu's expression darkened. This innate ability was a little absurd. In a Novice Village, where everyone's stats were low, it was practically a slaughter machine. Even her own Inspiration was only 12 right now; everyone else's was even lower.

No, not just in the Novice Village. Even for level 20 characters, unless they had a talent related to Inspiration, their Inspiration stat would usually not exceed 15. They would still end up being controlled.

What the hell? How had such an overpowered BOSS suddenly appeared?

Bai Fu stared at the hidden door.

As the players wreaked havoc, a somewhat familiar figure emerged from within. She was the ice-blue-haired woman who had appeared beside the Wildfire Gang's Boss that day.

So this was Yulia?

Her eyes were wide open, an eerie silvery-white glow radiating from her pupils.

"Get away!"

A player cried out, but it was already too late. The two players closest to Yulia shuddered, and soon the [Envoys] status appeared after their names.

"We're screwed."

Now, both the formidable Patrick Star and the scheming Convert to My Fu were numb.

A BOSS like this was simply impossible to fight at this stage. She only needed to control some of the players to bring down the entire player group.

Damn it, Number Nine had been right within their grasp, and now he had just flown away. EXP, my EXP!

"Haha, weren't you guys pretty capable? Come on, try acting cocky again!"

Number Nine stepped out from behind Yulia, laughing wildly.

He had rushed back because he knew Yulia possessed this ability. It was truly unreasonable, but as long as they had the restraint locks issued by the Chairman, they had nothing to fear from Yulia.

Number Nine's arrogant expression made the players grit their teeth.

Fine, fine, you old bastard. We've marked you now, so just you wait. When the time comes, we'll twist your head right off!

Yulia frowned and snapped, "Shut up."

"You—"

Number Nine had barely opened his mouth when Yulia cut him off again.

"If you think you can snipe me, then try pulling the trigger."

Hmm?

This time, not only Number Nine but the players were stunned.

Snipe her? Pull the trigger? But no one here had a sniper rifle.

"Do you think I'm just trying to bluff you? Don't forget, I'm an expert in psychic energy. My sensory abilities are no worse than those devices you carry around with you."

Yulia's gaze landed on a water tower, and everyone else looked over as well.

"I only came over to investigate because I heard some strange sounds here. I never expected to catch such a big fish."

After a moment, a disgruntled-looking man jumped out from behind the water tower with a sniper rifle in hand. A young woman in work clothes stood beside him.

"Yago, I already told you, a sneak attack won't work against her."

"How would we know if we don't try? What if it does?"

After arguing for a few moments, Yago turned his attention to Yulia. "Although you've taken quite a few hostages, you're being delusional if you think that'll let you escape. You should surrender now. This is Gene Primordial territory—The Truth Society's reinforcements can't possibly get here anytime soon."

Yulia was unconcerned. "You should worry about your own safety first. Number Nine just smashed an inducing bait. Even if you run off to deal with it right now, it's already too late."

"What?"

Yago, who had still been relatively relaxed, was thoroughly shocked by those words.

"Everyone here knows. Oh, and so does the one hiding over there."

I've been discovered?

When Yago and Xia Shi had been dragged out, Bai Fu had suspected that she had been exposed as well.

She stepped out and stopped hiding.

"It's Fu Fu!"

The sharp-eyed players spotted her immediately.

But most of the players remained restrained at this moment and did not rush over right away. A "cutscene" was playing beside them. Under normal circumstances, they would not have bothered watching this stuff—they would have just started fighting—but they could not beat their opponents right now. They could only settle down and see what this BOSS was really about.

Upon learning what Number Nine had done, Yago roared, "Have you lost your minds? This will draw all the mutant lifeforms nearby over here! Everyone in the entire Abandoned Cooling Plant will die!"

Yulia's expression turned cold. "Instead of wasting time yelling here, think about how you're going to survive the coming Insect Tide."

"Fuck, you animals!"

Yago and Xia Shi raised their guns at the same time, but the instant they moved, the players controlled by Yulia stepped in front of them.

"Are you going to shoot?" Yulia brushed back the hair by her ear, looking utterly relaxed.

The veins on Yago and Xia Shi's foreheads bulged, but neither dared pull the trigger. They were not lunatics like those people from The Truth Society. They could not slaughter innocent people just to achieve their goals.

Damn it.

They had only received word from their informant a few days ago that members of The Truth Society had secretly infiltrated Gene Primordial. They had only received their mission three days ago—to conduct a routine investigation at the Abandoned Cooling Plant. Why had they run into a massive crisis the very day they arrived?

This was too bizarre.

There had been no investigation, no battle of wits with the enemy. The cast list had barely finished rolling before they were fast-forwarded straight to the final battle before the ending. Was this how a normal script was supposed to go? Had someone fucking rewritten the script before they even arrived?

Yago was drenched in sweat, but no matter how badly he was sweating, he had to keep playing along.

The inducing bait had already been deployed. Running away was unlikely to work. Their only chance to survive was to give it everything they had.

"Xia Shi, I'll keep watch here. Go check the situation outside first, and while you're at it, connec—"

As he spoke, Yago's voice abruptly faded away, because the players had caught his attention.

"Those two look like they belong to some righteous organization."

"Inducing bait? From the description, it sounds like one of those monster-attracting cages. Pretty badass. If we could get some, couldn't we combine them with traps and farm monsters automatically?"

"That's a good idea. The question is, how do we get them?"

"Holy shit, they're going to massacre an entire city without even a word? What fucking scum!"

"Are we about to fight a defensive battle?"

A group of players gathered together and chatted, completely ignoring their surroundings. Some laughed, some looked serious, and some were eager to jump into action.

Meanwhile, another group of players had gathered around Bai Fu, peppering her with questions.

"Fu Fu, Fu Fu, is this what you've been investigating all along?"

"More or less."

"What is The Truth Society? And what is Gene Primordial?"

"The Truth Society and Gene Primordial are two of the five major powers on Zu Yuan Star. Among them..."

Yago stared in utter disbelief.

No, what are you people doing?

At a place like this, in a situation like this, was this really the time for an enthusiastic chat? Had they not noticed that they had become hostages?

What the fuck!

Yago rubbed his eyes hard. He was starting to suspect that he was dreaming; otherwise, there was no way to explain why these people were so relaxed.

"Yago." Xia Shi's voice rang out.

Yago swallowed. "What is it?"

"Let me pinch you."

"Get lost, get lost! Pinch yourself if you want to pinch someone."

Yago quickly dodged aside. He was now certain that he was not dreaming, which meant the only explanation was that this group of people had gone insane.

The world could not have suddenly gone insane, could it? Although the world had become very crazy since the great war a century ago, crazy was not the same as deranged. These people's behavior was completely beyond reason.

Honestly, it was not just Yago. Other than Bai Fu and the players themselves, who here would not have been utterly confused by what they were seeing?

Yulia and Number Nine had begun to suspect that the players were nothing more than aliens wearing human skin.

The bizarre atmosphere was not broken until Patrick Star shouted loudly.

"What are you two standing around for? Shoot her already!"

Yago suddenly raised his head and stared at Patrick Star in astonishment. "Were you talking to me?"

"Didn't you hear her say the Insect Tide is about to arrive? Everyone will die when that happens!" Patrick Star said urgently. "Shoot her now! She must have something on her that can repel the insects, or she'd never dare trigger the Insect Tide so recklessly!"

"That may be true, but..."

Yago and Xia Shi stared fixedly at the group of players under Yulia's control.

They would die. These people would definitely be sacrificed!

"What are you still hesitating for? They're just a few human shields. Don't tell me you don't have enough bullets on you?"

After Patrick Star shouted, the controlled players began shouting too.

"Shoot! I'm controlled already. I'm going to die sooner or later anyway. If you're not shooting now, are you saving your bullets for New Year's?"

"Stop dithering! The longer this drags on, the more damage the Insect Tide will cause!"

Yago and Xia Shi exchanged a glance.

They suddenly felt ashamed. Just moments ago, they had called these people lunatics, yet it was these lunatics who stepped forward at the critical moment, willing to sacrifice themselves for everyone else.

What kind of spirit was this? It was fucking moving!

"Xia Shi."

"Yago."

The two nodded at each other, feeling boundless strength surge up from the depths of their hearts.

To keep these people from dying in vain, for the Abandoned Cooling Plant, and for themselves, they had to kill those two beasts from The Truth Society!

Bai Fu was a little speechless.

Wasn't this her favorite trick? How had the players copied it to farm Favorability with other NPCs?

The instant Yago and Xia Shi raised their guns again, Yulia's eyes turned silver-white. She did not really want to use this move too often, as it drained her significantly. She was afraid something might go wrong later, but since the other side had not been frightened off, she had no choice but to fight. She had to complete the experimental verification and could not allow anyone to interfere with her.

"Kill them!"

The battle erupted again, and the entire Wildfire Gang descended into chaos.

Yago and Xia Shi constantly adjusted their positions, trying to shoot Yulia, but Yulia's perception was terrifyingly strong. She could always calculate the angle of their shots in advance, then control players to block the bullets for her. Even while dealing with Yago and Xia Shi, she could still divide her attention to control other players and launch attacks.

At that moment, she stood daintily at the entrance to the hidden door, her ice-blue hair fluttering beneath the fluorescent glow. She looked like an exquisitely skilled puppeteer, and also like a masterful symphony conductor—indescribably elegant.

"Damn it, is this what an effects-build player looks like?"

Bai Fu felt that if her skill effects were as cool as Yulia's, her popularity would probably have crushed that giant mech long ago.

When playing games, who didn't like playing someone cool?

She temporarily set those thoughts aside. After observing for so long, she had discovered that the greatest limitation of Yulia's [Envoys] skill was not that the target's Inspiration had to be below 15, but its range.

"At most thirty meters. Beyond that distance, it can't take effect."

This was good news for Yago and Xia Shi, but not particularly good news for her, because she lacked long-range attack methods.

Although she had obtained a gun from Cao Wenliang earlier, her marksmanship was truly not worth praising. At close range, she was fine, but anything beyond thirty meters tested her aim a little too much.

If she had enough bullets, she could still launch a saturation attack, but she only had two bullets now.

"Who can I take out with two bullets?"

Yulia was the first to be ruled out. Her perception was too strong. Even Yago and Xia Shi could not hit her, much less Bai Fu.

Bai Fu set her sights on Number Nine.

Although Number Nine had been beaten up by the players earlier, it was not because he was weak. He simply had not expected the players to attack his balls. In close combat alone, he was actually stronger than Yago, so it was best to eliminate him early and prevent him from recovering and becoming a major threat.

There was another benefit to killing him. Bai Fu had now accumulated 8,755 experience points. As long as she killed Number Nine, the experience she gained would be enough for her to level up again. Then she could raise her Inspiration straight to 15, directly becoming immune to Yulia's control.

Would it hit?

Bai Fu placed her hand on her gun.

Unless necessary, she did not actually want to stand out casually, because she might end up provoking the colossal force that was The Truth Society.

But now The Truth Society was disregarding all rules and trying to force her into a dead end. She could only hit back hard.

Bai Fu first secretly cast Frenzy on Number Nine's stomach and intestines.

She did not use her skill on Yulia. When her Spiritual Vision had failed on Yulia before, she had vaguely sensed something. Now, she had further confirmed her suspicion—

Yulia was a psionic genius with an Inspiration attribute of at least 20. Bai Fu's skill would most likely not work on Yulia. Even if it did, Yulia would immediately notice it, causing Bai Fu to become the primary target.

"I just need to wait a few more minutes."

Bai Fu narrowed her eyes and began slowly adjusting her position.

Under Yulia's control, the players fought each other with exceptional ferocity.

It had to be said that Yulia's mana bar was truly enormous. Bai Fu estimated roughly that Yulia had controlled over thirty players by now, yet she still appeared completely at ease. It seemed the plan of exhausting Yulia to death through sheer player numbers was not going to work.

As the fight dragged on, Yago and Xia Shi grew increasingly anxious. They had already taken down seven players in a row, yet they still hadn't dealt Yulia any damage. Was that woman a monster?

The players' mentality began to shift as well.

Wasn't this raid instance a little too difficult? Two powerful NPCs had spawned, yet they still couldn't win. Now they could only hope that the group of players who had come after watching Digging Princess's stream would arrive soon.

Right, Fu Fu had also been lying in ambush nearby the whole time. She must have had some plan.

Time passed slowly.

Bai Fu stared fixedly at Number Nine. At one moment, she suddenly noticed Number Nine instinctively reach out and press a hand against his stomach.

Now!

Frenzy enhanced her eyes, improving her vision. Frenzy enhanced her hands, increasing her stability while holding the gun.

Bai Fu swiftly drew her gun.

Her first shot targeted Number Nine's chest.

Bang!

The bullet struck Number Nine's left shoulder.

"-9"

Her second shot still targeted Number Nine's chest.

Bang!

The bullet flew past a player's armpit and struck Number Nine directly in the heart.

"-47"

It was a red critical hit. One shot inflicted Number Nine with the severe injury and bleeding status.

"Got him!"

Bai Fu clenched her left fist hard. Although those two shots had not killed Number Nine outright, the bleeding alone was enough to pronounce his death sentence.

"Nice work!"

Yago and Xia Shi were overjoyed at the sight.

The players shouted along with them, "Fu Fu is awesome!"

How could this be?

Number Nine pressed a hand to his chest. He had never dreamed that, when the situation was going so well, someone would shoot him in the heart. He had clearly been guarding against those two the whole time, but he never expected there to be another scheming bastard hiding nearby.

Was he going to die?

No, absolutely not. How could he die here so easily?!

Struggling, Number Nine pulled another injectable drug from his pocket and jabbed it into his neck without hesitation.

"Number Nine!" Yulia's expression changed.

A bad feeling suddenly rose in Bai Fu's heart. She hurriedly used Spiritual Vision on Number Nine.

[Name]: Number Nine (Elite) (Mutation Progress 38%...41%...100%)

When the mutation progress bar filled up, Number Nine's body began to twist grotesquely. In just a few seconds, he turned into a purple-skinned monster with a horribly warped body.

His entire body was covered in cysts, and he could barely be said to retain a humanoid form.

But that was not the most troublesome part. After turning into a mutant monster, his health bar rose considerably, and his original bleeding status disappeared.

[Health Points]: 131/310

Though he was still severely injured, he would not die anytime soon.

If he didn't die, Bai Fu would not get any experience. Without experience, she could not level up. If she could not level up, she could not become immune to the [Envoys] skill.

"Ahhh—"

The mutated Number Nine let out an earth-shaking roar.

Yulia shook her head and used Envoys to restrain Number Nine first. Number Nine had already lost his mind; if she did not control him, even she might be attacked.

Actually, this was fine too. This way, she had one more fighter.

It was just that...

Yulia's gaze fell on Bai Fu.

For the first time, their eyes met.

Have I been targeted?

Bai Fu looked at the players still fighting each other. Things had come to this, so she could only resort to that crooked method.

Even if Number Nine died, who said there were no other "monsters" here who could provide her with experience to level up? Weren't there plenty of players here?

The players' levels had risen considerably compared to before. Now, each player should be able to provide her with 200 to 400 experience points.

As long as she killed ten players, she could level up once. If she could kill sixty players, she might have a chance to max out Spiritual Apprentice!

In the past, she naturally would not have dared to slaughter players recklessly, not even in an emergency. But things were different now.

"Yulia has the [Envoys] skill."

She could deliberately let Yulia control her, then kill the players. That way, she could gain experience without worrying about lowering the players' Favorability. Once she had accumulated enough experience, she could level up and break free of the restraint. That was Bai Fu's crooked leveling method!

PS: Thanks to Shiina Mahiru's Skirt Hem for the tip.

Three chapters in one—please, I'm begging for follows!