New Knowledge Chain Unlocked

The actions of Convert to My Fu and the others regarding Lynn quickly caused a sensation on the forums.

Players who had spawned near Lynn beat their chests in envy, regretting that they hadn't managed to catch a ride to Lynn, which resulted in Convert to My Fu and his group seizing the opportunity and cutting off that path to easy money.

If they dared to try anything similar with Lynn now, let alone borrowing money, they would be lucky if they didn't get their legs broken on the spot.

Players in other regions, however, were overjoyed after seeing the tactics used by Convert to My Fu and his group.

This path might have been blocked at Lynn, but it certainly wasn't elsewhere.

The sharpest players took action the moment they received the news. Almost simultaneously, various Dark Forces on different Novice Planets across the galaxy were taught a harsh lesson by different players—

Lending money carries risks; approach players with caution!

If you try to play tough with players, they will show you what a truly hardcore ruthless person is. Being ruthless to others is nothing; being ruthless to oneself is the real deal.

Those players who pulled off big scores shared their results on the forums. Among them, the most eye-catching achievement belonged to a player named Summer Snowing, who spawned on Kro Star.

After borrowing the money, Summer Snowing went to acquire a few bombs. He then charged directly into the headquarters of the Dark Forces that had lent him the money. Surrounded by minions, he detonated the bombs. As luck would have it, the explosion occurred right next to the organization's ammunition depot, triggering a chain reaction that sent the entire Dark Forces organization to the sky.

Legendary!

After this maneuver, Summer Snowing's level skyrocketed, propelling him to the top of the server rankings. Furthermore, he was hailed as a City Hero for cracking down on crime and was exceptionally promoted into the National Faction, creating a massive gap between him and the other players.

[?]

[How much dog shit did you step in to have this kind of luck?]

[Speak up, are you the developer's biological father?]

[Eat my spear, you lucky bastard!]

Seeing Summer Snowing's record, the players on the forum exploded. Even Convert to My Fu and his group, who had pioneered this tactic, were a bit stunned. They suddenly felt that the 20,000 Credit Coins in their hands didn't seem so appealing anymore.

"Don't panic. Being fast for a moment doesn't mean being fast for a lifetime. Besides, he doesn't have a direct competitive relationship with us. We just need to unlock our Advanced Class as soon as possible and trigger the new quest from Bai Fu. I believe that once we complete Bai Fu's quest, the rewards we get will definitely be more than his."

Sword Aura Piercing Sky, the guild leader of the Iron Rain Guild, said with a chuckle from the side.

Convert to My Fu and the others nodded repeatedly.

They had a very good impression of Sword Aura Piercing Sky.

When they first hitched a ride with him, they thought that Sword Aura Piercing Sky, being the leader of a large guild, would be difficult to get along with. However, after spending time together, they found that not only was he very pleasant to talk to, but he was also very willing to teach them detailed game knowledge. It was no wonder the Iron Rain Guild had remained standing through several different games.

They could never have imagined that all of this was just an act by Sword Aura Piercing Sky.

The night before they took the ride, Sword Aura Piercing Sky had held a meeting with the core members of the Iron Rain Guild, where he gave important instructions.

That was, while looking for an opportunity to join The Truth Society, they must also grind Favorability with Bai Fu just like other players. They weren't doing this for any hidden quests Bai Fu might have, but to collect more intelligence on her, which would serve as a generous gift for joining The Truth Society.

He certainly didn't want to start as a grunt after joining The Truth Society; if he was going to do it, he was going to do it big!

Considering that they were complete strangers to Bai Fu at the moment, while Digging Princess and the others had already grinded Bai Fu's favorability up to over 80, Sword Aura Piercing Sky issued a second directive.

That was to be willing to invest heavily when making contact with Bai Fu—whether it be money, various supplies, or even actively throwing their lives away—as long as they could get Bai Fu's favorability up as quickly as possible, it wouldn't matter if it slowed down their own leveling speed.

"Although we'll lose a bit in the early stages, as long as we join The Truth Society with information on Bai Fu, everything will get better!"

In truth, if Bai Fu weren't so famous and if there weren't so many players trying to get close to her, Sword Aura Piercing Sky wouldn't have wanted to take such a risky path to join The Truth Society.

During the meeting, some players expressed concern. They thought Sword Aura Piercing Sky's plan was great, but dealing with Bai Fu might provoke backlash from many other players, which would be detrimental to the guild's development.

Sword Aura Piercing Sky waved his hand. "Don't worry, we don't need to deal with Bai Fu directly. We'll just use her and Digging Princess and the others to fish for some intel for The Truth Society. Once we join The Truth Society, our levels will rise quickly. By then, why would we care about those ordinary players? The important thing is to complete the patron's mission."

The patron is god!

Thinking that he would soon be able to meet Bai Fu, Sword Aura Piercing Sky's mood began to stir with excitement.

"Let's go meet up with Digging Princess first. To find Bai Fu, we'll need her cooperation."

The other players had no objections, and the group of a dozen or so set off, carrying their money.

Seeing the players adapt to Lynn so quickly in the livestream, Bai Fu nodded with satisfaction.

She had previously cooperated very happily with Digging Princess, Patrick Star, Convert to My Fu, and the others. Now that another batch of professional players had arrived, she felt even more confident in dealing with the Fourth Division and The Truth Society.

I need to find a few opportunities to give them those advanced knowledge books so they don't get stuck at their level caps.

The next day, Bai Fu found her chance.

Xia Shi sent a message saying that the Fourth Division had important matters to discuss with her.

On the way to the Fourth Division, Bai Fu handed An Ya and the advanced knowledge books over to Digging Princess. She wasn't comfortable leaving An Ya alone at Xia Shi's place; heaven knows when the assassin and that spy would team up again. It was better to have the players keep an eye on An Ya.

Given her relationship with An Ya, the players would never stand by and watch An Ya get killed by an assassin.

Bai Fu arrived at the Fourth Division, and waiting for her in the conference room were all the high-ranking officials of the Fourth Division.

"I'll let my secretary, Li Cheng, explain the specific situation." Lu Yuelin ceded the floor to Li Cheng.

Li Cheng stood up and introduced the cooperation items discussed in the meeting not long ago.

"I know you want to see advanced Spiritual Energy Knowledge, so I specifically applied to the higher-ups for it. Just a moment ago, I received the data transmitted from headquarters."

He held up a hard drive.

Bai Fu immediately cast Spiritual Vision on the hard drive.

Data Hard Drive (Special)

[Quality]: White

[Additional Effect]: A seemingly ordinary hard drive, but it contains advanced Spiritual Energy Knowledge mastered by the Gene Primordial.

"..."

Bai Fu's breath hitched slightly.

Yes, yes, yes, this is it!

She had been looking forward to this for a long time; she hadn't expected it to be placed right in front of her now. She tried her best to control her expression to avoid anyone noticing anything unusual.

Li Cheng continued, "Being bait is dangerous; there's a chance you could die at any moment. But by cooperating with us, not only do you have a chance to obtain the advanced Spiritual Energy Knowledge you want, but once the spy is caught, the threat The Truth Society poses to you will also be greatly reduced. You should think about it carefully."

Bai Fu gave a hum of acknowledgment.

She was weighing whether or not she should cooperate with the Fourth Division.

Given her true strength, it was already difficult for ordinary assassins to kill her, but that didn't mean she could act with complete impunity.

What if an assassin brought out a Large-caliber Sniper Rifle or some high-powered explosives?

Of course, special assassins who had mastered superpowers, like Yulia, could also pose a threat to her.

For safety reasons, it would be best for her to reject Li Cheng's proposal, but if she missed this current opportunity, she didn't know how long she would have to wait to get her hands on the Spiritual Energy Knowledge Chain mastered by the Gene Primordial.

Bai Fu's eyes shifted slightly as she thought of a good plan.

After pretending to ponder for a while, she raised her head. At this moment, she brought out the same acting skills she had used the night she parted ways with the Player.

Showtime!

"Having a spy watching from the shadows is indeed quite annoying." Bai Fu nodded. "I can agree to cooperate with you, but there is a prerequisite."

Li Cheng asked, "What prerequisite?"

Bai Fu said, "Director Lu once said that even if he applied to the higher-ups, it would be difficult to obtain advanced Spiritual Energy Knowledge, yet you have managed to get it. Although the situation is different now than it was before, I still need to verify the goods first to avoid being deceived."

Li Cheng's face darkened. "Are you questioning my credibility?"

Before Bai Fu could speak, the leader of the operations team stepped forward to undermine him: "As for your credibility, it is indeed worth questioning when it needs to be questioned."

Bang!

Li Cheng slammed his hand heavily onto the table. "Say that again?"

Lu Yuelin quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Peace brings wealth. Isn't it just a verification? If she wants to verify it, let her verify it to put her mind at ease. Just use the terminal in the conference room."

The others couldn't keep watching the show anymore and chimed in one after another.

"Take a look, what could you possibly lose?"

"Are you really afraid that Bai Fu could steal the data on the hard drive right in front of all of us?"

"It's not like there's actually anything wrong with the data on the drive, haha."

Because the Fourth Division was filled with people who had connections, its internal factions were incredibly complex. However, most people shared one consensus: they couldn't stand Li Cheng.

In a spy thriller, Li Cheng would be the type of person who is desperate to get ahead and prove himself, yet has managed to sour his relationship with almost every single colleague.

Seeing this situation, Bai Fu knew she had won.

Sure enough, faced with the group's chatter, Li Cheng handed the hard drive to her with a livid expression. "I assume I don't need to teach you how to use a terminal, do I?"

Bai Fu smiled. "No need."

Li Cheng kept a cold face. "There are over a dozen pairs of eyes watching here, and all the terminals in the Fourth Division have been specially encrypted."

Bai Fu wore an innocent expression.

What kind of bad intentions could a little white rabbit like me possibly have? Do you really think I have genius hacker skills and could secretly copy the data on this hard drive without anyone noticing?

You're really overestimating me. I'm just an unremarkable cheater.

Copy?

I'll just read the progress bar and learn it directly!

In front of everyone, Bai Fu connected the hard drive to the terminal and opened the file reader. A prompt followed.

[You have begun reading <Advanced Spiritual Energy Knowledge Mastered by the Gene Primordial>. Intermediate Spiritual Energy Specialization is in effect. Your reading speed +20%. Current progress: 0.1%...]

Advanced knowledge lived up to its name. While she usually only needed twenty minutes to read other books, this progress bar stretched out to several hours.

After all, this was just an inspection; the Fourth Division would never let her sit at the terminal for hours.

However, it wasn't a big problem. What Bai Fu was after was the Spiritual Energy Knowledge Chain contained within, so she focused her reading on that content.

The conference room fell into a silence. Li Cheng sat in his chair, staring at Bai Fu's back with a blank expression. No one knew what he was thinking.

Twenty-some minutes later, Bai Fu received a game prompt.

[You have unlocked Spiritual Energy Knowledge Chain (2)]

After mastering two knowledge chains, her knowledge chain bonuses changed to—

[All active Spiritual Energy skills effect +40%, Spiritual Energy resistance +40%, Spiritual Energy recovery speed +2/minute]

[Note: Unlock a new knowledge chain, all active Spiritual Energy skills effect +20%, Spiritual Energy resistance +10%, unlock Spiritual Energy Bonus]

This bonus made Bai Fu feel incredible. Including the bonus from Intermediate Spiritual Energy Mastery, the effectiveness of her active skills had increased by a full 60%, completely overshadowing the average Spiritual Energy Priest.

This was precisely where the gap between Advanced Classes and Advanced Classes (Specialized) lay.

This was also the key reason why many high-level players in the community advised against holding back levels or training multiple classes simultaneously. Even if one wanted to train multiple classes, it was best to wait until the main class reached the Advanced level; otherwise, it was very easy for other players to pull ahead.

Bai Fu's gaze lingered on the Spiritual Energy Bonus in the remarks.

This bonus was equally critical. It didn't just improve a player's attributes and strength; from an Advanced Class to a higher tier, players would face a true [Class Advancement] alongside collecting knowledge chains. It was just like in DNF, where after reaching a certain level, a Ghost Knight could advance into a Berserker, Soul Bender, Asura, and so on.

In Above the Stars, the direction of the bonuses a player chose determined the path their main class would take in the future.

Spiritual Energy classes were positioned as buff-oriented supports in the early stages, but as levels increased and more skills became available, they could also focus on combat, curses, or healing.

Although she had already unlocked the Spiritual Energy Knowledge Chain, Bai Fu did not stop reading. She discovered that there were plenty of other good things on this hard drive, such as an incomplete Spiritual Energy Knowledge Chain and some special skills.

Li Cheng was getting impatient. "How much longer are you going to check?"

Bai Fu remained calm. "What's the rush? If I don't check it thoroughly, how will I know if the content inside is just made up?"

After another few minutes, Li Cheng stood up and walked over to the terminal.

"It's already been half an hour. If you keep stalling, we won't need to hold this meeting at all."

Fine.

Bai Fu closed the terminal, still feeling like she hadn't had enough.

In that short time, she had accumulated quite a bit of knowledge and even unlocked a new skill: [Spiritual Energy Shield].

[Spiritual Energy Shield]: Consumes spiritual energy to form a full-body shield equal to (Spiritual Energy Value * 2), lasting 5 minutes with a 12-second cooldown.

If she consumed all her spiritual energy, she would gain 230 points of health out of thin air. But the true power of the Spiritual Energy Shield clearly went beyond that; as long as the shield wasn't depleted, any damage she took would not be converted into actual physical injury. Relying on this to trade damage with enemies would be incredibly profitable.

Got another meal, brothers!

Facing Li Cheng's gloomy expression, Bai Fu was in a great mood.

"I just flipped through the data on the hard drive. I'm not sure about the rest, but the parts I checked are fine. I believe in your sincerity regarding our cooperation, and I am willing to work with you to lure that spy out."

Hearing this, Li Cheng's tense expression softened slightly.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"Pleasure, indeed."

Bai Fu was indeed quite pleased.

She could have easily run off after obtaining the knowledge chain, but she still wanted to see if she could snag a few high-reward missions here at the Fourth Division.

If there was, he would play along with the Fourth Division a bit longer; if not, he would take An Ya and make a quick escape.

After seeing everyone off, Li Cheng began to chuckle.

A spy?

He was that very spy!

But no one knew this, and no one even suspected him. Before Bai Fu appeared, he had been someone who antagonized everyone and had poor relationships with all, so his constant clashing with Bai Fu during this period was merely a continuation of his established persona.

After the Fourth Division left, Li Cheng sent a message to his contact.

In the upcoming operation, the Fourth Division would impose a network blockade across all of Lynn, so this would be the last message he could send to The Truth Society for some time.

Bai Fu, I'll play with you slowly. Once the Chairman officially initiates the operation and there is no longer a need to divert the Intelligence Bureau's attention, that will be the time to send you to your grave!

The Fourth Division's work was arranged quickly.

When Bai Fu went to pick up An Ya, she found Sword Aura Piercing Sky playing with her. Judging by the situation, it was clear that Sword Aura Piercing Sky was trying to pry information out of An Ya.

But who was An Ya?

An Ya was her top disciple. After being instructed by her, An Ya had turned into a master of misdirection, taking ambiguity and playing coy to the extreme. As a result, Sword Aura Piercing Sky had been busy for two hours, buying An Ya snacks and running errands to get groceries for her, yet in the end, he hadn't managed to fish out a single piece of useful information.

"I'll be damned if I can't fool a little kid!"

Sword Aura Piercing Sky was so frustrated he was grinding his teeth, but he had no choice but to keep acting like a refined gentleman.

No pain, no gain!

Soon, Sword Aura Piercing Sky waited for his chance to boost his Favorability with Bai Fu. It was the second day after he had met her.

"I am currently inconvenienced, so I need you all to help me investigate something."