A few hours before Bai Fu found the players, Xia Shi brought the latest news from the Fourth Division.
"Mission assignments are out."
"What mission?"
"A raid on the Dark Web's secret base in Lynn."
Xia Shi explained in detail.
On Zu Yuan Star, aside from the five major factions—the Gene Primordial, the Truth Society, and the others—there were many smaller forces that were just as formidable in their own right. The Makarov Family, the organization behind the Dark Web, was one of them.
Before the war, the Makarov Family had been a globally renowned mercenary organization. After the war, the surviving family members expanded their business to survive and began working as assassins.
Their professional ability was extraordinary. They had never failed once in more than a decade. After that, they simply moved behind the scenes and started running a platform.
The Makarov Family had always been widely praised for being "tight-lipped and never leaking client information," so when their platform went online, it immediately attracted the attention of many assassins and people who needed someone killed.
To put those people at ease, the Makarov Family's leader at the time declared that any agreement reached between assassins and employers on the Dark Web would be fully guaranteed by the Makarov Family.
Without prior negotiation, anyone who dared violate an agreement would be regarded as challenging the Makarov Family and would be hunted down by them.
When the platform first launched, the Makarov Family even offered some lucky customers a "second head at half price" discount.
With that miraculous business strategy, the Makarov Family's platform battled its way through every obstacle, defeated all its competitors, and had now become the one true god of the assassination world. It had even become an official partner of several major factions.
[More efficient, faster, stronger. When you need someone killed, choose the Makarov Family!]
Looking at the slogan displayed on the Dark Web's official website, which Xia Shi had opened in front of her, Bai Fu didn't know what to say for a moment.
Good grief, were they running a DD murder service?
Xia Shi added, "The Logistics Team checked the Radio Tower's communication records from the period before the assassin came to kill you. They didn't find any unusual signals. This means the spy is most likely hiding in Lynn, and there's a very high chance he contacted the assassin and the Truth Society through the Dark Web."
Bai Fu asked suspiciously, "Didn't you say the Makarov Family was famous for keeping its mouth shut? Will they obediently hand over the communication records? Besides, wouldn't this count as falling out with the Makarov Family?"
"At a time like this, who has the energy to worry about that?" Xia Shi curled her lips. "It doesn't matter if the Dark Web refuses. We can investigate the records ourselves. And even if we can't find anything, it's not a big deal. This operation counts as our formal declaration of war against the spy. We're giving him only three chances!"
She held up three fingers.
"This is the first. There'll be one more operation after this. If he still refuses to show himself, the director plans to take you to Haidu. Once you're there, it'll be even harder for him to make a move against you."
"What if he keeps hiding and never comes out?"
Cold leftovers.
Xia Shi helplessly spread her hands. If that really happened, the Fourth Division could only take temporary leave and refrain from participating in any further Intelligence Bureau operations.
Bai Fu fell into thought.
After Xia Shi finished explaining the current situation, Bai Fu received a game notification.
[You have triggered the quest [Raid the Dark Web]] [Quest Description: To flush out the spy hiding in the shadows, the Fourth Division has formulated a plan to raid the Dark Web's base in Lynn. They hope that you, the bait, will cooperate with the operation] [Quest Objective: Find the database at the Dark Web's Lynn base] [Reward: 5,000 EXP, 5 points of Gene Primordial faction reputation] [Accept/Decline]
As support personnel, she could gain 5,000 EXP just by completing the quest. The reward could be considered quite generous.
But Bai Fu was very dissatisfied.
After obtaining the Spiritual Energy Knowledge Chain from the Gene Primordial, she had begun considering leaving Lynn to collect Spiritual Energy Knowledge Chains elsewhere. The only reason she had stayed was to see whether she could fish a few high-reward quests out of the Fourth Division.
Now, it seemed she could give up on that idea. Five thousand EXP had been a lot to her before, but now it wasn't even enough for half a level.
"I still have to do it myself."
She was definitely leaving, but before she did, Bai Fu planned to complete the [Shadow of Truth] quest that had been triggered after the Truth Society raised the bounty. That quest offered not only 30,000 EXP but also an additional title.
The quest objective was to kill the newly arrived assassin. However, because she was under the Fourth Division's tight protection, those assassins didn't dare show themselves for the time being.
"I need to think of something."
Bai Fu set her sights on the players.
The Fourth Division could use her as bait, and she could use the players as bait. She hadn't farmed all that Favorability with them for nothing!
And so, Bai Fu brought An Ya to the hotel where Digging Princess lived.
There were only a few players in the hotel at this time. The rest had gone out to look for suitable targets. With money borrowed from the local criminal forces, Patrick Star and the others had bought quite a few firearms. With the powerful firepower of those weapons supporting them, they had wiped out several small criminal gangs over the past two days, and their EXP had risen rapidly.
Patrick Star, who had already been the highest-level player, had now successfully unlocked the Advanced Class Martial Artist. He had evolved from a rookie into a backbone combatant of the Novice Planet, making countless players envious.
When they heard that Bai Fu had something to discuss, Digging Princess, Calamity Dragon, and Convert to My Fu quickly gathered around her.
"Here's the situation."
Surrounded by Digging Princess and the others, Bai Fu began telling a half-true, half-false story.
The gist was—
"I'm investigating a group of very, very bad people. During the investigation, another group of very, very bad people began watching me. I'm not sure whether the two groups are connected. To ensure the investigation proceeds smoothly, I need to find out who's watching me. But I can't conduct an obvious probe, because that might alert them and cause all my previous efforts to go to waste."
Bai Fu deliberately didn't say that the people watching her were the Truth Society.
She did so mainly because, when she had deceived Digging Princess before, she had specifically emphasized that there were certain things she couldn't tell the players yet—not even their names—or it would bring endless nightmares upon them.
If she told the players now that she was investigating the Truth Society, wouldn't that contradict what she had said before?
Besides, keeping the subject of her investigation secret could create a sense of mystery and drive the players to keep approaching her in search of the truth.
Digging Princess said, "Fu Fu, just tell us. How do you need us to help?"
Bai Fu explained, "Before coming to you, I thought about it all night, trying to come up with a suitable plan. But no matter how much I tossed and turned, I ultimately realized that the only way to identify the people watching me at the lowest possible cost was to rely on your strength!"
What? They could only rely on them?
Digging Princess's chest instinctively puffed up.
This was recognition!
She could already imagine how the other players would react when they heard this. Fortunately, she had started recording a video. She could upload this segment to the community later.
"I need you to disguise yourself as me and act as bait. This mission is very dangerous, and you might die. But you're an Undying, so... I'm sorry."
Bai Fu lowered her head, looking somewhat guilty.
When Digging Princess heard this, she was delighted.
Seeing how nervous Bai Fu was, she had thought it would be something serious. It turned out she only had to act as bait. She was a player, after all. What did she have to fear from death?
"Leave it to me. But..." Digging Princess scratched her head. "Our heights are fairly similar, Fu Fu, but we don't look alike in any other way. Disguising myself as you probably won't be easy."
Calamity Dragon nodded in agreement. "Hair can be dyed, and breasts can be padded. But the face... No amount of makeup could make them identical."
"That's easy." Bai Fu took out two black masks. "I'll wear this during the operation. You can wear one too. Oh, and there's also this outfit."
She took out another bag containing clothes identical to her own.
"With these, I can indeed look fairly similar to you. But to completely fool those people hiding in the shadows, we may need to do a little more."
At that moment, inspiration flashed through Digging Princess's mind.
"Fu Fu, can you say a few lines?"
"What should I say?"
"Just these few lines..."
Bai Fu immediately understood what Digging Princess meant. She wanted to record Bai Fu's words with the game's recording function and play them back while impersonating her.
Identical clothes and appearance, identical voice—who could still say Digging Princess didn't look like her?
Excellent. I hereby appoint you the King of Ideas!
Bai Fu happily cooperated.
In the corner of the room, Sword Aura Piercing Sky watched Bai Fu and the others chatting animatedly, his face turning green.
Eighteen that year, standing in a hotel meeting like a lackey.
They were clearly acting in the same story together, yet only Digging Princess had received a quest. He had it even worse—he hadn't even managed to get a chance to speak with Bai Fu. He was purely an outsider.
Sword Aura Piercing Sky was thoroughly provoked. In the past, he had always been the brightest person at the center of the crowd.
But this was only temporary!
He secretly made up his mind. During the upcoming operation, if he found an opportunity, he would win everything.
Bai Fu's Favorability, An Ya's Favorability, a stepping stone to the Truth Society—he wanted it all!
That evening, Bai Fu met up with the Fourth Division's operation squad.
Seeing her new outfit, Xia Shi and Xu Hong, the captain of the operation group's First Squad, were both stunned.
"Why are you wearing a mask?"
Bai Fu explained, "This way, it'll be harder for the Dark Web's people to recognize me. My name is already on the Dark Web's bounty list. Unless necessary, I don't want to directly clash with the Makarov Family again."
The explanation was perfectly reasonable, so Xia Shi and Xu Hong didn't say anything more.
"Begin the operation!"
Including Bai Fu, the five of them hurried toward the Dark Web's base in Lynn at high speed.
The base was extremely well hidden. An ordinary person wouldn't notice anything unusual at all. Although the Fourth Division had learned the base's location long ago, the Dark Web had many business dealings with the Gene Primordial, so they had always treated the base as if it didn't exist. The Dark Web's operators were usually quite sensible as well and never took the initiative to cause friction with the Fourth Division.
Tonight's circumstances were highly unusual.
When Xu Hong led the charge into the base, the people inside didn't react at all.
"Everyone, put your hands up!"
"Y-you... What do you want?"
Several people playing cards around a table stood up. They threw down the cards in their hands and very obediently raised both hands.
When Xu Hong approached, one of them suddenly changed expression. "Aren't you from the Fourth Division? What do you mean by this?"
Xu Hong sneered and pressed his gun against the man's forehead. "What do you think I mean? Tell me. Was the person who hired the assassin to kill Bai Fu communicating with the assassin through your private network? Is he hiding in Lynn?"
The man stared grimly at the gun pointed at him. "The Dark Web's principle is to never reveal our clients' information. Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you—let alone the fact that I don't."
"You don't have to tell me. I'll investigate it myself."
Xu Hong exchanged a glance with his subordinates and signaled for them to tie up the card players.
The man with the gun pointed at him shouted, "You're destroying the relationship between the Makarov Family and the Gene Primordial! If the people above blame you, can you bear the responsibility?"
Xu Hong acted as if he hadn't heard him. Once the men were bound, he led the search of the base.
Just as he reached a storeroom, Bai Fu's eyes suddenly narrowed.
"Careful! There's someone inside!"
But it seemed too late. The moment Xu Hong's hand touched the doorknob, the door opened. A pitch-black gun barrel appeared in his line of sight.
Damn it!
Although he was wearing a bulletproof vest, at such close range, the vest couldn't stop a bullet of this caliber.
Bang.
Flames burst from the muzzle, and the bullet shot out.
For an instant, Xu Hong despaired. But when the bullet struck him, he found that the pain wasn't as intense as he had imagined. He hurriedly lowered his head. First, he saw the bullet that had pierced his bulletproof vest. Then he saw the bullet wound. It was swollen and red, but surprisingly little blood had come out.
"A minor Spiritual Energy technique. It can strengthen the skin's defensive power."
Bai Fu calmly walked past Xu Hong, grabbed the ambusher by the throat, and slammed him to the ground.
What...
Xu Hong and Xia Shi were both stunned. Was she really going to be this composed? She was support!
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and check whether the records are hidden in this room." Bai Fu urged them.
Xu Hong hurried inside. "Right away, right away."
While waiting for Xu Hong's investigation results, Bai Fu remained on high alert. She didn't know when an assassin seeking her life might leap out from somewhere.
In truth, she believed that the spy absolutely wouldn't dare make a move during this operation. It was too conspicuous and would easily expose his true identity.
Bai Fu waited for more than ten minutes. Xu Hong then emerged from the room carrying several hard drives.
"Leave the rest to the Appraisal Team. Take everyone in this base away and lock them up for now!"
As soon as they heard this, the Dark Web's people panicked.
"What are you trying to do? Even if the Gene Primordial isn't afraid of the Makarov Family, do you really think you individuals have nothing to fear?"
"Let go of me! Let go of me!"
"Fuck you! I was about to win that hand, and now you've ruined everything!"
No matter how much the Dark Web's people cursed, Xu Hong remained as calm as ever, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing.
"That's just how the captain is." Xia Shi whispered to Bai Fu. "Thanks to you, he survived tonight. Otherwise, even if he hadn't died, he would've suffered serious injuries."
Bai Fu nodded lightly. The quest was complete, and she had received 5,000 EXP, but she didn't care about that at all now. The upcoming operation was the true key to tonight.
Back at the hotel, Sword Aura Piercing Sky was filled with anticipation as well.
He was going to show Bai Fu his courage and wisdom. After beating up the people who had tried to harm Bai Fu, he would then use his flesh and blood to shield her from a bullet right in front of her. He refused to believe he couldn't raise Bai Fu's Favorability.
Once he raised Bai Fu's Favorability, he would be able to pry information out of her.
"Truth Society, prepare to witness my value. I'll help you turn the situation around!"
Sword Aura Piercing Sky stared fixedly out the window.
A few minutes later, he shouted in the squad channel.
"Bai Fu is here!"
P.S. Thanks for the rewards from Tropical Storm Spiral Flying Penguin and Was a Cat in My Past Life.
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