The Terror of a Hardcore Ruthless Man

The meeting of the Fourth Division had been going on for two full days, yet there was still no progress.

Although many were unwilling to admit it, the attempted assassination of Bai Fu suggested that there was a high probability that a spy from The Truth Society had infiltrated the upper echelons of the Intelligence Bureau. This presented them with a realistic problem—

Was it possible that the intelligence intercepted by headquarters was actually fake news leaked by that very spy?

If it was, then proceeding according to the original plan would be walking straight into a trap.

If it wasn't, they still dared not act rashly, not knowing whether the spy had already relayed the information to The Truth Society. They could only send people to scout first, but such reconnaissance would likely cause them to miss the optimal window for an attack.

"This is fucking bullshit."

The leader of the operations team had a fiery temper. Seeing that everyone else in the conference room remained silent, he couldn't help but slam his fist heavily onto the table.

Not everyone was as checked out as the division chief, Lu Yuelin. He had hoped this operation would be a chance to perform well and lay a solid foundation for a promotion and a raise, reaching the peak of his career. Now, as long as the matter of the spy remained unresolved, the operation could not be implemented.

"If I find out who the mole is, I'm going to shove a gun barrel right up their ass and let them taste the ecstasy of a bullet hitting their prostate!"

Seeing the operations team leader getting increasingly out of line, Lu Yuelin gave a light cough to change the subject. "Let's wait and see what headquarters has to say. I still have a lot of trust in everyone here in the division."

The operations team leader let out a huff.

The conference room fell into silence once again, though this time it didn't last long.

Li Cheng, another high-ranking secretary of the Fourth Division, broke the silence. "We can find a way to lure the spy out."

"How?"

"Bai Fu." Li Cheng slowly uttered the name. "The reason that spy was exposed was to kill Bai Fu. After the assassination attempt failed, The Truth Society immediately increased the bounty on Bai Fu, raising it to five hundred thousand in one go. That is no small sum; you have to realize that the division chief's head is only worth one million. This shows that they have now listed Bai Fu as a must-kill target. If there is an opportunity to kill Bai Fu, I believe that spy will definitely strike again."

The operations team leader said, "Li Cheng, if I recall correctly, just two days ago you were still saying that Bai Fu might be a mole sent by The Truth Society, and that everything she did before was a bitter-meat scheme set up by them. Why are you suddenly wanting to cooperate with her today?"

Everyone's gaze shifted to Li Cheng, who remained unfazed.

"This is also a test for Bai Fu. We can take this opportunity to observe her. Compared to believing there is a spy from The Truth Society in the upper ranks, I am more inclined to believe that this assassination was staged by her. That wouldn't be difficult for her to pull off."

"The idea is good, but how are you going to get her to cooperate with us? You and I both know how dangerous it is to be bait," the operations team leader pressed.

Li Cheng remained calm. "Doesn't she want to view the advanced Spiritual Energy Knowledge we possess? Tell her that if she can help us find the spy, we will allow her to see it."

The operations team leader's mouth twitched. "Are you just dangling a carrot in front of her? Not to mention whether the higher-ups will agree to your proposal, you're adding a condition that she has to find the spy first. Only a fool would do that work for you. What if she dies halfway through? She wouldn't get any benefits at all. Would you do it? I know I wouldn't."

Others didn't dare to confront Li Cheng because he had connections, but the team leader wasn't afraid, as he had his own backing.

Li Cheng's expression darkened, but he didn't lash out. "I will apply to the higher-ups. Of course, if you can come up with a better plan, I'll shut up immediately."

At this critical moment, Lu Yuelin, the peacemaker, stepped in. He checked his watch. "It's getting late. Since we can't reach a conclusion anyway, let's just leave it at that and go eat."

This immediately piqued the interest of most people present.

"What's for dinner at the cafeteria tonight?"

"Fried chicken legs."

"Nice, nice, nice. I can definitely scarf down a few extra bowls of rice now."

Li Cheng didn't say a word; he left with a livid expression on his face.

Upon hearing that Bai Fu not only hadn't died but had actually taken out the three assassins sent to kill her, the usually composed leader of The Truth Society felt his face turn a shade of green.

"Three against one, and you got wiped out? Do you even know how to play?"

He immediately summoned the head of the combat unit and berated them loudly.

"Didn't you tell me to leave the elimination of the target to you, that I could rest easy? Is this how you make me rest easy?"

It was one thing to fail to kill the leader of the Gene Primordial Intelligence Bureau, but now they couldn't even beat a small fry who had to rely on a burst of power just to break free from Yulia's decoy restraints. They had even exposed the existence of their spy. What was next? Were they going to get humiliated by some random passerby?

They had absolutely no shame left!

The head of the combat unit was sweating profusely as they hurriedly explained.

"Bai Fu wasn't killed because she is actually a Spiritual Energy Priest. Nobody knew this intel beforehand, which allowed her to use the information gap to pull off a counter-kill. Now that we've figured out her background, we can send stronger assassins to send her on her way at any time. However..."

"However what?"

The head of the unit, trembling with fear, first explained the situation regarding the Fourth Division.

"Chairman, actually, Bai Fu not being assassinated this time might not be a bad thing. Right now, the Gene Primordial Intelligence Bureau is in chaos because of the spy in their ranks. They are even trying to use Bai Fu to lure the snake out of its hole and catch our spy; they have no energy left to pay attention to our other operations."

The chairman pondered for a moment.

That was true. From this perspective, Bai Fu was actually a pretty good chess piece. Her existence could tie up a lot of the Intelligence Bureau's energy.

"Then let Bai Fu live a few more days. Let our people play along with the Intelligence Bureau. When the time is right, send Bai Fu on her way!"

The head of the combat unit quickly agreed.

The chairman sneered. A small fry—could she really turn the world upside down?

Bai Fu waited for an entire day.

During this time, because Digging Princess hadn't seen her for nearly two days, many people on the forum felt that something had happened to her. She specifically sent someone to tell Digging Princess that she was fine and had just run into some minor trouble. She hadn't expected this small gesture to trigger intense discussion among the Players, many of whom felt that her actions must have a deep hidden meaning.

[What? Fu Fu is in trouble?]

"What's there to be so surprised about? If Fu Fu didn't run into trouble, we wouldn't have a chance to make an appearance."

"Digging Princess is only level 9 right now. There's still a long way to go before unlocking an advanced class."

"If I remember correctly, the quests in this game are dynamic. Unlike other games where you can drag out a quest for a long time after accepting it, that last bit of plot was clearly urging Digging Princess to level up quickly. If she levels up too slowly, she might not be able to pick up the follow-up quests."

"Suddenly rushing us like this—could something have happened to Fu Fu?"

"Judging by the tone Fu Fu used when talking to Digging Princess earlier, it shouldn't be that serious."

"Tone doesn't prove anything. Maybe Fu Fu was just acting relaxed because she didn't want us to worry. Don't forget she still has injuries; I don't believe those injuries have zero impact on her."

These words made the group of players anxious, regretting that they couldn't get to Lynn right now, unable to help even if they wanted to.

They no longer had the energy to be jealous of Patrick Star and the others who were about to arrive in Lynn. Instead, they kept tagging Patrick Star and the others on the forum, urging them to level up their strength as soon as they reached Lynn and then confirm what kind of trouble Bai Fu had encountered.

Patrick Star and his group turned solemn after receiving the messages.

They were anxious too, but leveling up wasn't something you could just do on command. They were completely in the dark about Lynn. They only hoped they could unlock their advanced classes before the time limit expired and trigger new quests. Who knew if they would ever have another chance to trigger quests related to Bai Fu if this questline was broken?

With a sense of urgency, the moment their vehicle arrived at the Lynn station, Convert to My Fu took action.

"Let's split up first to familiarize ourselves with the situation in Lynn and see if we can find any repeatable quests to grind Experience. If we don't find anything, we'll regroup and go find Digging Princess. What do you think?"

"I have no problem with that."

"Let's do it."

Convert to My Fu's proposal was unanimously approved.

After separating from the other players, he turned on his livestream.

He wasn't actually interested in livestreaming; he played games for his own enjoyment and had no desire to share that joy with others. However, he was a total novice when it came to finding quests, so he felt it was necessary to consult the opinions of his viewers.

In the past, people crowdfunded novels; today, we crowdfund gaming. It's perfectly reasonable!

Once Convert to My Fu started the stream, a large group of players quickly flooded in. Bai Fu also arrived after seeing the relevant news on the forum.

Since she was idle anyway, she might as well observe these players' actions. That way, she could better manipulate them the next time she met them.

Eight o'clock in the evening.

"I'm level 8 right now. To unlock an advanced class in a short time, I still need over 37,000 Experience to reach level 11. Honestly, the pressure is immense."

"At the Abandoned Cooling Plant, I could team up with other players to grind Amoeba, but there are hardly any players here. Teaming up to grind bugs is definitely not an option. For now, I can only look for some errand quests."

"It's best to find quests that reward both Experience and money. Only by earning money can I buy high-level weapons and food. The hunger system in this game is too realistic; being hungry causes your stats to drop, and you could even starve to death. If I starve to death, it's all for nothing."

Convert to My Fu walked through the streets and alleys of Lynn, explaining the problems he was currently facing as he went.

Following the suggestions from the players in the livestream, he triggered several hidden quests that had no prompts one after another. Unfortunately, after busying himself for an hour, he had only managed to scrape together a little over 1,000 Experience and a few dozen Credit Coins.

At this rate, who knows how long it would take to save up enough Experience? It might take four or five days. The problem was, would he even be able to trigger Bai Fu's quest in four or five days?

Convert to My Fu felt he had to change his approach. He probably needed to pull off something hardcore.

First, get some money, then spend it on gear to go grind monsters for levels, or take on monster-hunting quests.

"Should I go rob a bank?"

Convert to My Fu quickly dismissed this thought.

For one, he didn't have a decent weapon. For another, Lynn was different from the Abandoned Cooling Plant; this was a large settlement directly under the jurisdiction of the Gene Primordial, featuring not only the Fourth Division of intelligence but also police and various other violent enforcement agencies.

If he dared to rob a bank now, he would truly be a dung beetle going out for a stroll—looking for shit.

Even if he wasn't beaten to death on the spot, he would be arrested and thrown into a detention center.

Robbing a bank was a no-go, and he didn't know how to counterfeit money. What else could he do? Become a con artist, a mercenary, a hitman, or something else?

Convert to My Fu fell into a state of distress.

As he walked, he saw someone walk out from the side of the road with a grin.

"Haha, I've got money! This time I'll definitely win it all back!"

Good grief, did he just run into a gambling addict?

Convert to My Fu turned his head and saw over a dozen people crowding around what looked like a factory gate.

He edged closer and listened for a good while before realizing these people were here to borrow money—the kind with very high interest rates.

The lender was a man called Knife Bro. These borrowers were all penniless, and in the end, the only thing they had left to put up as collateral was themselves.

"I'll put up a kidney."

"I'll put up..."

Convert to My Fu's mind immediately sprang to life. He might not know how to do anything else, but couldn't he borrow money and not pay it back?

He hurried over and grabbed someone who had just finished borrowing money.

"Aren't they afraid you'll just run off without paying?"

The borrower shrugged. "Run off? Where to? Everywhere outside the station means facing mutated monsters. They have people watching the station at all times. And it's no use going to the police; they have connections at the precinct."

Hearing this, Convert to My Fu was delighted. This was exactly what he wanted. It meant that Knife Bro wouldn't refuse to lend him money just because he was a stranger.

Sure enough, when he heard he wanted to borrow money, Knife Bro's face blossomed into a smile brighter than a chrysanthemum. However, when he heard that he wanted to put up everything on his body that could be mortgaged as collateral, Knife Bro's expression turned somewhat strange.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"You've got a bit of a gambling streak, brother. But since you want to bet, I'll play along."

Just like that, Convert to My Fu successfully obtained 5,000 Credit Coins. He couldn't help but grumble.

"I mortgaged every valuable thing on me and only got 5,000 Credit Coins. Even though the purchasing power of Credit Coins is high, this is still way too much of a rip-off."

After getting the money, he asked for the location of the Black Market and then hurried off to buy weapons without a moment's delay.

Lynn was Lynn, after all. Handguns, which were almost impossible to find at the Abandoned Cooling Plant, could be bought here through the Black Market.

Just as Convert to My Fu was fiddling with the handgun he had just bought, Knife Bro, who had lent him the money earlier, suddenly showed up with his men.

"The repayment deadline hasn't arrived yet, so why are you looking for me?"

Knife Bro wore a cold expression. "You bought so many weapons, brother. Looking at this setup, you're planning to do something big, right? I don't think you have the ability to pay me back at all, so I find it necessary to collect your collateral in advance."

These words were the fuse.

Seeing that the other side was about to use force, Convert to My Fu stopped pretending.

You think that just because you showed up so quickly, I wouldn't be able to get money out of you?

He shot and killed Knife Bro, who was charging at the front, with two shots, and then took himself out with one shot just as the others were about to grab him.

This ruthlessness left the others completely stunned.

What the hell kind of person is this? He shoots himself the moment things look bad. They all had a feeling they had provoked something truly terrifying.

After respawning, Convert to My Fu immediately contacted Patrick Star and the others.

[Patrick, Patrick, I've discovered a way to make money.]

He shared the story of borrowing the money with Patrick Star and the others.

And so, overnight, several local loan sharks in the Lynn settlement encountered something extremely bizarre.

A group of ruthless people had appeared from nowhere. These people would show up, mortgage their entire bodies to borrow money, and then go off to purchase weapons. Once the loan sharks' men tracked them down, these ruthless people would launch an attack without a word and then commit suicide.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, they were completely bewildered.

What the hell?

They felt like they were bursting with rage, but there was nowhere to vent it because the people who had made them angry were already dead. In the end, all they could recover were some weapons and a corpse.

What they didn't know was that at this moment, Convert to My Fu and the others had already gathered together. After borrowing the money, they had hidden a portion of it immediately. After committing suicide and respawning, they secretly retrieved the money. When they tallied it all up, they had earned 20,000 Credit Coins in just one night!

[Holy crap, you can play like this?]

The Players in the livestream were stunned.

[Awesome, but you can't use this trick too often. If you use it too much, the enemy will start guarding against it.]

[You guys are such jerks, messing with the NPCs like this. Where is your conscience?]

Bai Fu was speechless too.

As expected of you guys, the ones who would enchant weapons with liquid gold!

PS: Thanks to Tropical Storm Spiral Flying Penguin for the donation.