Bai Fu's aim was terrible. Even after spending some time practicing, she still wasn't much good in an actual fight.
Considering the dangerous situation she was facing, she had already decided to use her remaining free career slot to learn a gunner-type profession.
She didn't need to level it very high. Earning some attribute points and unlocking a few skills that improved shooting accuracy would be enough, so it wouldn't slow down her first profession's leveling.
The profession system in Above the Stars didn't limit the total number of professions a player could learn, but at the beginning, players only received three free career slots. Once all three were filled, they had to spend a certain amount of experience to unlock a new slot before they could learn another profession.
Unlocking the first new career slot wasn't too expensive; it only cost ten thousand experience. So Bai Fu wasn't worried that she might encounter a better profession in the future but have to watch helplessly without being able to learn it.
Just ten thousand experience.
As things stood, she could earn that much by killing three elite monsters at the Elite Assassin level. If her opponent was on the same level as the person she'd just traded insults with over the radio, one would probably be enough.
That person might not have been stronger than the three assassins she'd just killed. But the experience the game awarded for killing monsters wasn't based solely on their strength. It was calculated by considering multiple factors, including the monster's strength, level, template, and identity.
Take the mysterious Chairman of the Truth Society, for example. Suppose his true strength was only equivalent to one An Ya. Thanks to the bonus from his identity, the experience players would receive for killing him would still be worth more than ten thousand An Yas put together.
Bai Fu was looking forward to whatever reward the person she'd cussed out would give her.
Unfortunately, she waited on the fourth floor for more than ten minutes, until her legs were numb, and he still didn't show.
She was a little speechless.
After she'd mocked him mercilessly in the public channel and he'd heard his subordinates get killed with his own ears, all he did was make a threat before turning into a coward.
"Have you learned strategic butt-clenching, too?"
Bai Fu suspected that the man had spent his previous life hanging out in the Nasus fan club. Weren't those threats he'd made over the radio basically saying—
Do you know who you've provoked? You've provoked the mighty Desert Death God! Keep acting tough for now. The day I've stacked enough Q and come out of the jungle will be the day you regret it!
Her opinion was that the idea sounded lovely, but she wasn't some squishy support. She was the Desert Emperor in a full-tank build.
This was the story of the Emperor (Bai Fu) and her many Sand Soldiers (the players), each of whom could level up and build their own gear, as they took on the Desert Death God.
Bai Fu put away the Grenade Launcher. By then, voices were already calling out from downstairs.
The Fourth Division had arrived.
At the head of the group was Xia Shi, her face full of worry. Seeing the Elite Assassin's corpse only made her more concerned for Bai Fu and An Ya.
"Why did this have to happen right now?!"
She was about to rush into the stairwell when an agent in a Powered Exoskeleton reached out from behind and grabbed her by the arm.
"Did you forget what the Intelligence Bureau's agent guidelines taught you? The assassins might not have left yet. Charging in recklessly would be suicide. Stay right behind me."
Xia Shi wanted to argue, but she was no match for the Powered Exoskeleton's strength, so she had to comply.
Bai Fu, An Ya, please don't be dead!
After examining the Elite Assassin's corpse, the dozen-odd agents headed cautiously up the stairs, each step taken with care. They were afraid that several assassins might suddenly spring out of the darkness. But nothing happened, even as they reached the area near Xia Shi's apartment.
The agent in the Powered Exoskeleton gestured to those behind him, telling them not to move while he went in to check the situation.
Once everyone had given him the OK, he strode steadily toward the door. But after only two steps, he stopped.
Footsteps!
Every Fourth Division agent present held their breath, staring fixedly at the figure cast from inside the room.
Closer. The footsteps were getting closer.
The agent in the Powered Exoskeleton raised his left arm. A Heavy Gatling Gun was mounted there. The moment whoever was inside showed their face, the machine gun would turn them into a pincushion!
"Relax. It's me."
A woman's voice came from inside.
Xia Shi was the first to react. "That's Bai Fu!"
The moment she spoke, Bai Fu walked out of the room holding a glass of water. With more than a dozen guns pointed at her, she didn't show the slightest trace of fear.
"You in the Fourth Division certainly have an unusual way of welcoming guests."
The agents exchanged glances as they looked at Bai Fu's smiling face.
They thought they were seeing things.
After hearing that Xia Shi's apartment had been attacked, most of them had assumed Bai Fu was doomed. Even if they hurried over, all they'd be able to do was collect her body.
But Bai Fu wasn't just alive; she didn't even have a noticeable wound.
"Did the assassins come for you?" the agent in the Powered Exoskeleton asked urgently.
Bai Fu took a sip of water. "They did."
"Where are they?"
"You saw one on the way up, didn't you? The other two are lying near the Garbage Incinerator."
The agents couldn't spare a thought for anything else. They hurried back downstairs, and when they saw the two bodies neatly laid out by the wall, they were all stunned.
"I know this guy. He's Hyena, a B-Rank Assassin on the Dark Web!"
"His expression... What the hell is that?"
Hyena had been shot four times. One of the bullets had hit his heart, which should have been the fatal wound. But no one was paying attention to that now. All eyes were fixed on his face—
It was twisted as if he'd witnessed Sadako crawling out of a television!
"What did he go through before he died?"
The agents felt a chill run through them. Almost instinctively, they looked up at Bai Fu, standing by the window at the end of the third-floor corridor.
Everything had been done by this woman who'd come from the Abandoned Cooling Plant. From that moment on, no one dared look down on Bai Fu again.
Several minutes later, everyone gathered around the coffee table in Xia Shi's apartment.
"Ms. Bai Fu." The agent who'd climbed out of the Powered Exoskeleton looked serious. "I'm Xu Hong, captain of the First Squad of the Fourth Division's Operations Group and the person in charge of this operation. I need to confirm something with you."
"You want to know how I killed them, right? The truth is, I'm a Spiritual Energy Priest."
Bai Fu shared what she could currently reveal.
Even if she didn't say anything, the Fourth Division and the Truth Society would suspect she had some special ability. In that case, she might as well reveal part of the truth selectively, using it to conceal her greatest advantage—
A Constitution score so high it looked like she was flipping off her opponents!
Sure enough, once they learned she was a Spiritual Energy Priest, the Fourth Division agents all looked enlightened.
"That explains it."
A Spiritual Energy Priest was a prestigious mage-class profession. Though it leaned more toward support, she'd still had a good chance of catching those assassins off guard with the information gap and wiping them out.
Xu Hong nodded slightly. "I need to apologize for tonight's assassination attempt. The Fourth Division promised to protect you, but we still—"
"Captain, don't you think this is strange?" Xia Shi suddenly interrupted him.
Xu Hong frowned. "Strange?"
Xia Shi said, "The assassins showed up right after I received a message and went to a tactical meeting. They also came during the shift change for the people assigned to protect this place. I don't believe it's just a coincidence. There must be a mole in the Fourth Division!"
"Xia Shi!" Xu Hong snapped. "The Intelligence Bureau headquarters called the emergency meeting. Are you saying there's a mole at headquarters?"
Xu Hong's tone didn't scare Xia Shi in the slightest. "Maybe there is! Who can guarantee headquarters is clean? We have to investigate this properly. Bai Fu is a hero who stood against the Truth Society. We can't stand by and let them butcher her. Otherwise, who'll dare to stand up to the Truth Society in the future?"
Xu Hong stared at Xia Shi, who was bristling with indignation. After a long silence, he finally forced out, "Don't go around saying things that undermine unity."
He turned toward Bai Fu, his face apologetic. "Sorry you had to witness that."
Bai Fu was unfazed. "It's fine."
Xu Hong stood up. "I don't have anything else to ask for now. I need to take the things we recovered from the assassins back for testing as soon as possible. Don't worry. They'll be stationed here for the next couple of days. Unless the Truth Society has gone completely mad, they won't dare make any more moves for a while."
Bai Fu nodded.
After seeing Xu Hong off, only she, An Ya, and Xia Shi, huddled on the sofa, remained in the room.
After a moment of silence, Bai Fu asked, "Do you have a serious grudge against the Truth Society?"
Xia Shi looked up, her brown eyes full of confusion. "Why do you ask?"
Bai Fu said, "Because you're more worked up about the Truth Society than any of them."
Xia Shi explained, "Oh, that. Actually, Captain Xu and the others have an even deeper grudge against the Truth Society. Captain Xu... Never mind. I just hate them, plain and simple. They murder, loot, and commit every kind of evil."
Was it that protagonist-specific compassion?
"To be honest, I hate the Human Alliance, too. But at least those people have a reason for killing, even if their reasons are extreme. The Truth Society is different. You can't understand them. They don't follow any rules when they act, and before they start, no one knows what they're going to do. I hate that kind of chaos. I joined the Fourth Division because I wanted to destroy the Truth Society."
I see. The lawful-good type.
Bai Fu smiled.
If Xia Shi learned her true identity, she definitely wouldn't like her.
After all, she might be the most rule-breaking NPC in the world. Her very existence was a breach of order.
Xia Shi was in the middle of denouncing the Truth Society's crimes when the device on her wrist, a sort of Pip-Boy Personal Terminal, rang.
"Give me a moment."
She got up and went out onto the balcony. A few minutes later, she returned, her expression extremely grave.
"I have bad news. The chief just contacted me. The Truth Society has revised its assassination bounty on you."
This didn't surprise Bai Fu at all. "What did they change it to?"
Xia Shi said, "An A-Rank bounty, with a massive reward of five hundred thousand! They also announced they'd take you out within half a month."
Wow, I'm worth half a million now?
Bai Fu asked, "What's the highest bounty on the Dark Web?"
"Twenty-five million Credit Coins. It's on the Chairman of the Truth Society himself."
Fifty times as much?
Bai Fu was slightly surprised, but she quickly calmed down.
Five hundred thousand wasn't her limit. She was going to be the woman who ruled the Wasteland. If everything went smoothly, she'd be at the top of the Dark Web's bounty list sooner or later!
As Bai Fu was musing over this, a game notification sounded in her ear.
[You have triggered a special mission: [Shadow of Truth]]
She opened the details page.
[Mission Description: The Truth Society has issued a new bounty on you. Your actions seem to have enraged them, and they've resolved to deploy greater forces to kill you and proclaim to the world that the Truth Society's authority must not be challenged. But the Truth Society has underestimated the vitality of weeds. Wildfires cannot consume them completely; can a storm really uproot them?]
[Mission Objective: Repel the next wave of assassins from the Truth Society]
[Reward: 30,000 experience, 15 Zu Yuan Star Reputation, title: [Shadow of Truth]]
[Note: Based on your performance, you may have the opportunity to unlock further missions]
[This mission must be accepted]
The reward was great: a whole thirty thousand experience, plus a title. The Wildfire title she'd gotten earlier had given her thirty extra Health. Shadow of Truth sounded like a higher-tier title, so its bonus had to be even better.
Bai Fu was almost tempted to shout, "Let the storm rage harder!"
Xia Shi said, "You're in danger now. For your safety, I suggest you find somewhere to hide or simply cooperate with our Gene Primordial Intelligence Bureau. There's a mole in the Intelligence Bureau, but it's still the safest place outside the military."
"I'll give it serious thought."
Bai Fu figured it was better to rely on the Fourth Division for intelligence, at least for now.
Over the next two days, the Fourth Division was constantly in meetings.
In the morning, they discussed the assassination attempt on Bai Fu. In the afternoon, they discussed the message received from Intelligence Bureau headquarters.
Not long ago, agents from the Intelligence Bureau's Third Division had intercepted a secret message from the Truth Society and used it to pinpoint one of their bases. The Gene Primordial had decided to launch a raid on the base and flatten it.
With everyone in the Fourth Division busy, Bai Fu had time on her hands.
Aside from unlocking a [Gunner] profession, she spent the rest of her time keeping an eye on the players' movements.
Digging Princess's "success" had inspired too many players. Now, all the players in the Abandoned Cooling Plant were trying to save up enough money for a train ticket.
On the third day after Digging Princess met Bai Fu, another train left the Abandoned Cooling Plant and headed straight for Lynn.
Almost everyone on board was a player. Some were close friends of Digging Princess who'd been notified right away, including Patrick Star, Black Tiger Afu, Calamity Dragon, and Convert to My Fu. Others had bought tickets with guild funding, such as Sword Aura Piercing Sky from the Iron Rain Guild.
As the Abandoned Cooling Plant receded beyond the train window, Convert to My Fu clenched his fist in excitement.
"Lynn, we're coming!"
Seeing the post they'd made, Bai Fu grew excited, too.
"My Sand Soldiers have arrived!"
With players on her side, she was finally at full strength!
Trying to assassinate me, are you?
I'll show you what true terror looks like!
PS: Thanks to Shui Bingyue for the tip.
Before you continue