Burning Herself Out for the Players, the Most Touching Episode [Two-in-One, Please Keep Reading]

Although she had already made up her mind, Bai Fu was not foolish enough to rush straight in.

That would look far too eager. She was worried Yulia would see through her, causing the plan to fail.

She needed to think of a way, but while she was pondering, Yulia had already made her move.

"Go kill her!"

Several players hit by the [Envoys] skill charged at Bai Fu against their will, their faces turning green from the shock.

Holy shit, you're making us fight Bai Fu? You're too despicable!

"Ahhh, somebody stop me! If my Favorability drops, how am I supposed to get hidden quests?"

"Fuck you, BOSS! You'll die a horrible death!"

Amid their shouting, the players closest to Bai Fu were the first to react.

"Damn it, stop them."

"Bai Fu is our main damage dealer. We can't beat this BOSS without her. We can't let them interfere with Bai Fu."

The two groups of players collided and began fighting right in front of Bai Fu.

They traded punches and kicks, fighting back and forth. It looked like an ordinary battle, but Yulia read a different meaning into it.

Like Number Seven and Number Nine, she had originally assumed these Outsiders had been summoned by the Gene Primordial.

But judging from the battle just now, these Outsiders did not know those two people from the Gene Primordial at all. Instead, they were extremely familiar with Bai Fu.

No.

Their relationship could no longer be described by the simple word "familiar."

If they were merely acquainted, why would they be willing to sacrifice themselves to protect Bai Fu? Why would they even beg their companions to kill them quickly out of fear of angering her?

"How do they see Bai Fu? Do they like her, respect her, fear her, or is it a bit of everything?"

Interesting.

Yulia realized she had found a way to resolve the current trouble quickly. As long as she successfully controlled Bai Fu, the troublesome Outsiders would become far less of a problem. Without them getting in the way, she could deal with those two from the Gene Primordial without restraint.

The subtle change in her expression was quickly caught by the ever-vigilant Yago, who immediately issued a warning.

"Be careful. She must be plotting something in secret!"

Unfortunately, no matter how much Yago calculated, he never expected the person he was warning to be an actress.

Bai Fu maneuvered through the players caught in the melee. She did not strike the controlled players with full force. Even when one of them came at her, she merely pushed them away. At the same time, she shielded the uncontrolled players whenever they were in danger.

That move earned her another wave of Favorability from the players.

"Fu Fu, don't worry about me! Think of the bigger picture and just kill me!"

Bai Fu gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry, everyone. To defeat her, to keep the Abandoned Cooling Plant from being overrun by the Insect Tide, I can only resort to this!"

The controlled players burst into laughter. "Fu Fu, I don't blame you."

The next second, Bai Fu plunged a blade into his body.

Yulia nodded to herself. When she had watched this episode as a child, she had nearly cried. But her heart had long since turned cold. She would not exactly laugh out loud, but at the very least, she would not feel the slightest bit moved by it.

She had to complete that experimental verification. No matter who tried to stop her, it would not matter!

While fending off Yago and Xia Shi's constant harassment, she continuously manipulated the players to force Bai Fu into position.

The good news was that Bai Fu, immersed in the deaths of the Outsiders, truly had not noticed Yulia drawing closer and closer.

The instant Bai Fu pushed away an Outsider whose life was in danger, Yulia's eyes widened sharply.

[Envoys]

Silvery-white light shot from her pupils, aimed directly at Bai Fu.

"Oh no!"

Yago and Xia Shi's expressions changed drastically.

The hearts of the players who saw Bai Fu enveloped in silver light all sank as well.

They wanted to do something, but with their strength, what could they possibly do at a time like this?

They could only watch helplessly as Bai Fu's body suddenly stiffened. That was clearly a sign that she had already been controlled.

"It's over, it's over. We're completely screwed now!"

Even setting Bai Fu's identity aside and considering only her strength, anyone with eyes could see that this BOSS battle had gone from bad to worse.

When Bai Fu had been on the players' side, they had still been unable to suppress that BOSS. Now Bai Fu, who could cripple Number Nine with two shots, had been controlled by the BOSS. They would probably be beaten so badly they could not even raise their heads. Even help from those two Gene Primordial agents would be useless.

And if they considered Bai Fu's relationship with the players, as well as the secrets hidden within her, then this BOSS battle was even more impossible to fight.

They could not seriously attack Bai Fu, could they?

[I believe that even if we attacked her, Fu Fu wouldn't hold it against us with her personality, but... I just can't bring myself to do it!]

Digging Princess clenched her teeth.

Most of the players present agreed with her.

They could find no reason to fight Bai Fu. They already knew they couldn't win, and attacking Bai Fu would bring them no benefit beyond making that BOSS happy.

[How about we retreat for now and come back after gathering more players to fight this BOSS?]

A player suggested.

They definitely had to fight the BOSS. If they didn't, the Abandoned Cooling Plant would be attacked by the Insect Tide. If the Abandoned Cooling Plant was destroyed by the Insect Tide, playing the game would become even harder for them afterward.

But the suggestion was immediately rejected.

[Putting aside whether that BOSS will let us leave so easily, what happens to Fu Fu and those two NPCs if we go?]

That was a very real problem.

They would inevitably suffer huge losses during a retreat. Well, that actually wasn't much of a problem—they were players and could revive after dying, at worst losing some experience.

But if they retreated, those two NPCs might still have a chance to escape, while Bai Fu would be doomed.

So, they couldn't retreat.

[Fuck, what a bastard. All we can do now is try our best to avoid Fu Fu while attacking that BOSS. Hopefully, we can hold out until other players arrive to support us.]

[Can we even avoid her?]

[Sigh, it's all my fault. If she hadn't tried to cover me, Fu Fu wouldn't have been ambushed and controlled by that BOSS.]

[I'll pull Bai Fu's aggro. You guys work with those two NPCs. I refuse to believe that BOSS can keep controlling her forever. There's no way Novice Village would make a BOSS this unsolvable.]

During the discussion, Patrick Star stepped forward.

His expression was solemn and his gaze resolute, calming some of the panicked players a little.

[Patrick, I'll help you.]

[Me too!]

More than a dozen players stepped forward.

The scene looked rather solemn, but not everyone watching through Digging Princess's livestream felt that way. In particular, the players who had been crushed by Bai Fu in the previous popularity vote were absolutely delighted.

Good, good, good. It would be even better if Bai Fu died here!

While the players were dividing into action groups, Yago and Xia Shi were already beginning to consider retreating.

They had no idea that players could revive, nor did they know that more players were currently rushing over. Upon seeing that Bai Fu had truly been controlled, their first thought was that killing Yulia was now impossible. What they should do was retreat temporarily, regroup, and see whether another opportunity would arise afterward.

But what happened next truly exceeded their expectations—

Not only did the players not run, they instead split themselves into two groups. The smaller group surrounded Bai Fu, while the larger group ran over to them.

"As long as we can kill that BOSS, we'll cooperate with you with everything we have. We'll do whatever you want us to do—even if you need us to be meat shields!"

Of course, the players weren't going this far solely to save Bai Fu. Everyone knew how to do the math. As long as they killed the BOSS, they would still come out ahead even if they died two or three times here.

Since things had come to this, fortune favored the bold!

"You people..."

Yago was stunned by the players' attitude.

Then he smiled. Right, this was their home. Where else could they retreat to?

Then they would fight. Since these people wanted to take a gamble, they would gamble. Even if they truly retreated, it would be hard for them to find another chance to fight their way back, because the Insect Tide was about to arrive.

"If you've already prepared yourselves to make sacrifices, then let me explain my plan. This may be our only chance of winning."

"Go ahead. Determination to make sacrifices? That's nothing."

"Good."

Yago turned to look toward Bai Fu.

At that moment, the controlled Bai Fu was already locked in a melee with the players. Several more players, controlled by Yulia, were charging toward Yago and the others.

"Then I'll keep it brief..."

Yago began speaking rapidly.

Yulia's gaze kept shifting between the two groups of players.

She had expected controlling Bai Fu to make the battle much easier, but she had never expected the results to be this good.

After Bai Fu began attacking, those Outsiders didn't dare fight back at all. They could only keep dodging and use methods such as blocking her with their bodies to stop Bai Fu from getting closer to Yago.

Just who was Bai Fu, anyway?

In any case, Yulia was in an excellent mood now, the corners of her lips curling into an almost imperceptible smile.

That being the case, she no longer needed to expend energy controlling more Outsiders. The energy she saved could be used to deal with unexpected situations, such as sneak attacks from those two even more annoying Gene Primordial agents.

"Trying to snipe me with special bullets? Dream on!"

Yulia changed her mind. She decided to have Bai Fu kill all the Outsiders blocking her path first, then deal with the two Gene Primordial agents.

Go!

The command was sent, and Bai Fu received a game prompt.

[Under the effect of [Envoys], you have changed your attack target to player [Patrick Star].]

She twisted her body and threw a full-force punch at Patrick Star.

"Get out of the way!"

Bai Fu shouted a warning.

But the shift had come far too suddenly, and her warning was half a beat too late. Patrick Star had no time to react. Unable to dodge, he could only take it head-on.

Bang!

Bai Fu's fist slammed heavily into Patrick Star's chest.

The players standing nearby felt their scalps tingle the instant Bai Fu threw that punch. Given Bai Fu's strength—enough to catch a blade barehanded—killing Patrick Star with a full-force punch should have been effortless.

If Patrick Star died, the others lacked both his strength and his footwork. They would probably fall soon afterward.

They were screwed. Their battle plan had completely failed.

"Wait!"

Just as everyone fell into despair, Convert to My Fu widened her eyes and shouted.

Something was wrong.

That was right. Patrick Star hadn't been killed. After taking Bai Fu's punch, he staggered back seven or eight steps, but his body remained upright. The damage number floating over his head was only "-17."

"Huh?"

Patrick Star and the other players were all stunned.

-

17?

With Bai Fu's strength, even if that punch hadn't killed Patrick Star, there was no way it should have dealt so little damage!

"What's going on?"

Yulia frowned, realizing things were not so simple. She immediately directed Bai Fu to keep attacking Patrick Star.

"Patrick, get out of the way! You can't die!"

When Bai Fu charged in for a second time, one player shoved Patrick Star aside and took Bai Fu's punch in his place.

This time, he was sent flying several meters away, but when he landed, he wasn't dead either.

"-23"

The players stared at one another, unable to understand it. They simply couldn't understand why the damage was so low. And it wasn't just the damage—Bai Fu's speed didn't seem as fast as they had imagined, either.

Although most players still couldn't keep up with her, those who had primarily invested in Agility could easily dodge Bai Fu's attacks as long as they concentrated.

Had a bug occurred? Or did being controlled lower one's attributes? Or was Yulia's power nearing its limit?

The players had no time to think. Still unwilling to believe it, Yulia ordered Bai Fu to attack the players with all her strength and make sure every last one of them was killed.

Thus, Bai Fu shouted, "Get out of the way!" and "I'm sorry!" while "viciously" beating up the players. After two or three minutes, she had finally killed three unfortunate players who had been too slow to run.

Though the efficiency was rather low, she successfully gained 820 experience points. Including the controlled players she had killed before being controlled herself, she had now accumulated 10,545 experience points in total—enough to level up once.

Bai Fu did not hesitate and raised Spiritual Apprentice to Lv9, but she did not rush to put the 2 free attribute points into Inspiration.

It wasn't time yet. She needed to save up more experience, then wait for an opportunity to get close to Yulia. That would be the time to break free of her restraints.

Just as Bai Fu continued shouting, "Get out of the way," Digging Princess, who had been circling around the edge, suddenly cried out in delighted realization.

"I get it! I completely get it!"

What did she get?

Countless gazes turned toward her.

Digging Princess continued, "Fu Fu hasn't been completely controlled! She's still fighting that BOSS. She can't bear to hurt us, so she's desperately suppressing her own strength!"

"!"

Holy shit.

As soon as she said that, the players at the scene, the players watching the livestream, Yago, Xia Shi, Yulia, and Bai Fu were all dumbfounded.

That made so much sense. Otherwise, there was simply no explanation for why Bai Fu was so slow and dealt so little damage. After all, Bai Fu was clearly strong enough to catch blades barehanded without getting hurt.

Of course, no normal person would think that Bai Fu had put nearly all her attribute points into Constitution.

[I'm fucking crying, is this Fu Fu? I never expected that even at a time like this, she'd still be thinking about us.]

[She must think that if she kills all the players now, this battle will definitely be lost, so she's desperately resisting.]

[I can't even imagine how much effort Fu Fu is putting into resisting the skill's control. She's burning herself out!]

[Fu Bao, keep it up! Break free from that bad woman's restraints already!]

After one encouraging barrage comment floated past, the other players began shouting as well.

"Big Sis Fu Fu, we believe in you! You can definitely break free of the control!"

There were quite a few cringey, melodramatic lines mixed in, but when those cries came together, they erupted with a force that even Yago and Xia Shi could not help but be moved by.

For the sake of those she cherished, and those who cherished her, even while trapped, she still fought the evil with everything she had. This was youth. This was hot-blooded passion!

The infected Yago felt that his shooting accuracy had improved considerably.

Exactly right, bro, sis—you're absolutely right!

Bai Fu herself had never expected it could be explained that way. The look she gave Digging Princess grew increasingly fervent. If this wasn't genius, then what the hell was?

Unlike the excited Bai Fu, Yulia had fallen into a state of utter rage.

At a time like this, you're still putting on the most touching episode right in front of me? Fine, then I'll make your relationship even more touching!

"Kill every last one of them!"

Although Bai Fu had suppressed her strength, her current level was already enough to take down those Outsiders. It was just a little slow.

The players struck by Bai Fu were neither discouraged nor saddened. Every time another player fell, they only shouted with greater enthusiasm.

"Go, white-haired big sis!"

"I'm sorry, everyone. If it weren't for me, things wouldn't have turned out like this. If this keeps going..."

Bai Fu threw heavy punch after heavy punch, her scarlet eyes glaring wide. As the number of players who fell at her hands increased, her voice began to tremble.

Digging Princess shouted back, "Fu Fu, I believe in you! The embodiment of justice will never lose to someone who casually manipulates other people's lives!"

Ah!

Yulia felt like she was about to be talked to death. It had been a long time since she had been this irritated. What the hell was wrong with these Outsiders—and with Bai Fu?

No. Something had to change.

Yulia had already noticed Yago aiming his Sniper Rifle at her, while Xia Shi kept using single shots to force her to reposition.

"Fall back!"

She immediately gave the order, telling Bai Fu and the other controlled players to cover her retreat underground first, where they could fight using the narrow terrain.

"Don't let her retreat inside! It'll be even harder to fight once she gets in there!" Patrick Star shouted.

Convert to My Fu stepped forward as well. "Stop Fu Fu! Don't let Fu Fu reunite with her, or all of Fu Fu's efforts might be wasted!"

Dream on!

A flash gleamed in Yulia's eyes. Whoever stood in her way would die. She ordered Bai Fu to seize a weapon from one of the players.

Since fists didn't hurt people that much, she would use a sharp blade to slash and stab at their weak points. Even if it couldn't kill in one blow, it could still inflict severe injuries.

"Fu Fu, wake up already!"

"Ahhh..."

The players kept shouting, shouting even after they had fallen to the ground.

The blood-red haze reflected in Bai Fu's eyes grew denser and denser. Just a little more, just a little more—she only needed a few more players.

One, two, three...

When she was only a dozen meters or so from Yulia, the experience she had accumulated finally broke ten thousand again, reaching 11,945.

At that moment, Bai Fu's gaze fell on the mutated Number Nine.

Enough. This was the final piece of her puzzle!

PS: Thanks to dudududu for the donation. 5,000 words—please keep following!

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