Born, I Have Already Remembered You!

While the Fourth Division was busy decrypting the data seized from the Dark Web stronghold, Bai Fu strolled leisurely past the window of the inn sponsored by Digging Princess and the others.

This was her signal to the Players.

She believed the commotion from earlier had certainly caught the attention of the assassins and spies lurking in the shadows. If things went as expected, the newly arrived assassins were watching her right now; the moment she showed the slightest opening, those killers would jump out to send her to her grave.

Of course, this was all just Bai Fu's speculation. She couldn't be certain if those assassins would truly dare to strike while the Fourth Division had already placed Lynn under lockdown.

Not all assassins were like the Makarov Family, who would find a way to complete a mission once accepted, even if the cost of completion meant sacrificing themselves. Most assassins operated with the philosophy of slipping away when the situation looked grim.

They were assassins to make money; if they lost their lives, the money would be useless.

After confirming that the Players in the inn had noticed her, Bai Fu returned to Xia Shi's residence under the cover of Xia Shi and the others.

Next was waiting.

She chatted with Xia Shi intermittently, mostly wanting to get a deeper understanding of her.

From their conversation, Bai Fu learned that Xia Shi grew up in a single-parent household. Her father was a veteran leader at the Gene Primordial Technology Bureau, making her a textbook second-generation official.

However, Xia Shi had a major falling out with her father regarding her career choice after graduation. Her father wanted her to follow in his footsteps and join the Technology Bureau, but out of her hatred for The Truth Society, she ignored his advice and insisted on joining the Intelligence Bureau.

In her own words—

"I haven't spoken a single word to that old stubborn mule for two months."

Bai Fu nodded inwardly.

On the surface, Xia Shi was the type of winner in life who possessed both brilliant talent and an extraordinary family background. But considering she was highly likely to be an important plot character, or even a protagonist, in the main storyline of Zu Yuan Star, something big was bound to happen to her next.

Games of this type rarely featured a protagonist who was overpowered from start to finish, because that would leave the Players with no sense of participation. Players came to a game to seek fun, not to act as coolies only to be told, "Why are you still here?" after finishing their labor.

Once Xia Shi drifted off to sleep, Bai Fu officially began her move.

She snuck out of the room, bypassed the guards whose positions she had already pinpointed, and headed straight for the inn.

Twenty minutes later.

Patrick Star, Convert to My Fu, Sword Aura Piercing Sky, and the others left the inn one after another.

Once they were all in position, Digging Princess, who had long since disguised herself to look like Bai Fu, also walked out of the inn.

Digging Princess: [I've left the inn. Feeling good.]

Patrick Star: [Digging Treasure, this performance is all on you now!]

Calamity Dragon: [Don't worry, Digging Treasure. I'm watching from upstairs. I'll notify you the moment anyone approaches.]

Sword Aura Piercing Sky: [Remember to look around at every intersection. Put on a show of checking to see if you're being followed.]

Digging Princess: [Hmm, I've already rehearsed this in front of the mirror many times!]

She took a deep breath and moved slowly along the wall.

The streets under the cover of night were deserted, exuding a daunting and terrifying aura everywhere, but Digging Princess wasn't afraid at all because she was playing Good Days on loop!

While surfing the web before, she had heard people say that if you replace the jump-scare music of horror movies with festive music, the horror effect drops sharply. It seemed that was indeed the case.

Against the backdrop of "Hey~ today is a good day, everything you wish for can come true," even the fierce stray dog that suddenly darted past on the side of the road looked pleasant and refined to her.

If I play Good Days while participating in combat in the future, will I be less nervous?

Digging Princess dismissed the thought.

If she were killing people, with blood splattering and limbs flying, while playing Good Days, people who didn't know better might think she was playing some kind of twisted game. Her livestream channel might even get reported and banned.

Just as Digging Princess was slowly making her way to the battlefield, Li Cheng was leisurely reading a book at home.

"Beep, beep-beep-beep, beep."

Suddenly, three knocks—short, long, short—came from the walkie-talkie on the round table beside him.

The code was correct.

Li Cheng put down his book and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"What is it? Keep it brief."

The killer on the other end of the walkie-talkie said urgently, "Bai Fu snuck out of her residence alone. We followed her the whole way, and she stopped outside an abandoned hospital. She seems to be talking into some kind of communicator right now."

"!"

Li Cheng sat up straight.

He knew that Bai Fu wasn't simple; it was impossible for her to really just be a lucky village girl who suddenly awakened superpowers.

"Move in quietly and try your best to figure out what she's saying."

"What if we get discovered?"

Li Cheng tapped his index finger on the table, closed his eyes, and thought for a moment: "If you can capture her alive, do it. If you can't, kill her on the spot!"

According to his original plan, he was going to toy with Bai Fu and the Fourth Division for a while longer before making a move, so as to better divert the attention of the Intelligence Bureau. But there was no need for that now; the fact that Bai Fu ran out in the middle of the night to be killed or captured was enough to throw the Intelligence Bureau into chaos for a while.

"It would be best to bring back a live captive."

Li Cheng's eyes narrowed. He couldn't wait to let Bai Fu experience the torture methods of The Truth Society.

As professionals, the few killers moved quickly once they received their orders.

They acted with extreme caution, even utilizing special abilities, but they could never have imagined that on the roof of a building not far away, a player had been using the game's built-in video recording function to keep watch.

Do you even know what a telephoto lens that can see individual pores looks like!

[They're here, they're here! There are four of them in total!]

Calamity Dragon shouted in the squad channel.

All the players tensed their bodies, and among them, the five players from the Iron Rain Guild were the most excited.

Sword Aura Piercing Sky immediately switched to the guild channel: [Old Dog, get ready!]

The player called Old Dog went by the nickname Dog Head Man, and he was a veteran of the Iron Rain Guild: [Don't worry. With our strength and coordination, if we really get serious, grinding favorability with a Saint Mother character like Bai Fu will be a piece of cake!]

Sword Aura Piercing Sky placed his hand on the gun at his waist. He had waited too long for this moment. While crouching in the sewer earlier, he had been feeling anxious, terrified that the people hiding in the shadows watching Bai Fu wouldn't show up, causing them to waste their time crouching there all night.

Don't let his usual display of confidence in front of others fool you; he was actually under quite a bit of pressure.

He was the guild leader, but the guild wasn't his personal fiefdom. The reason the others had unanimously supported his decision to defect to The Truth Society was because they trusted him, and he had to live up to that trust.

If his decision caused the guild's development speed to fall short of expectations, even if the others didn't blame him, the financial backers would certainly have something to say.

Fortunately, his expectations were not in vain; those four pieces of trash hiding in the shadows had truly been lured out.

He was now only two steps away from success.

Step one: Take this opportunity to increase Bai Fu's favorability.

Step two: Find The Truth Society.

As for extracting information from Bai Fu, Sword Aura Piercing Sky didn't view it as a problem at all.

Just as Dog Head Man had said, Bai Fu could sacrifice herself for the safety of the Abandoned Cooling Plant without regard for her own heavy past. She was undoubtedly a Saint Mother (in a positive sense) character. After gaining the trust of a Saint Mother character, if it were still difficult to extract information, it would be an insult to Bai Fu's Saint Mother persona.

Sword Aura Piercing Sky stared intently at the game footage and reconnaissance results shared by Calamity Dragon. Now, he was just waiting for those four killers to make the first move; that would be the moment for them to reveal themselves.

Digging Princess asked in the squad channel: [Hey, hey, hey, if they attack later, should I run directly, or stand there and let them hit me?]

Patrick Star: [Running might make the other side notice something unusual. Try your best to stall for time. Once Fu Fu receives the news and arrives, everything will be set.]

Just as Digging Princess was about to reply with a "good," an abnormal chill suddenly clung to the back of her neck like an ice cube.

Her heart went cold. In the blink of an eye, not only her back, but she discovered that her vision had been swallowed by darkness; all the lights around her had vanished.

[You have been subjected to Dark Erosion. Checking... Check failed. Your vision -100%.]

[You have been subjected to Shadow Entanglement.]

Two notifications rang out in succession.

Digging Princess realized there was a problem, but it was already too late. A sharp object pressed against her lower back, and a soft, beautiful female voice whispered into her ear.

"Little sister, you'd best not move around, or big sister's dagger might just pierce your kidney."

Digging Princess struggled to keep her body from trembling. She quickly asked in the party channel: [What is going on? I didn't even see her move.]

Calamity Dragon frowned: [I saw that woman melt into a shadow. By the time she reappeared, she was already behind you. What an incredible skill!]

The opponent had superpowers; this was going to be difficult.

But this didn't make the players present back down. Are you kidding? She even had a health bar visible!

[Notify Fu Fu. Digging Treasure, try to get some information out of her first. We're on our way.]

[Got it.]

Everyone sprang into action. Bai Fu, who had been hiding in the inn, received a reminder from the player acting as her communications officer.

"The assassin this time actually has superpowers? No wonder the mission reward is so high."

Bai Fu felt her blood boiling.

Strong strength was a good thing. The stronger they were, the higher the rewards for taking them down.

She opened the door. The inn was several streets away from the abandoned hospital where Digging Princess was, but that distance was nothing to her now.

After unlocking the Gunner class and leveling it up to Level 5, her attributes had become:

[Attributes]: Strength 11, Agility 12, Constitution 47, Intelligence 5, Spirit 19, Inspiration 23

She had also unlocked two new skills.

[Low-level Shooting Mastery]: Shooting accuracy modifier +10%

[Precision Shooting Level 3]: Shooting accuracy modifier +6%, ranged attack critical hit rate +3%

Although 12 points of Agility couldn't compare to an average Elite Assassin or elite agent, it was more than enough for traversing the city.

Even though the shooting accuracy modifier from the two new skills was only 16%, it was enough for her to evolve from a "human-outline-tracer" to someone with a high probability of hitting her target at a distance of twenty or thirty meters.

"Let's go!"

Bai Fu dashed into the night.

On the other side, Digging Princess, with the blade still pressed against her, tried to ask about the assassin's origins, but the female assassin ignored her completely, instead pulling out handcuffs to restrain her.

Well, there was no other choice then.

Digging Princess suddenly raised her right foot and stomped down heavily toward the female assassin's foot.

The female assassin seemed to have anticipated this move; she shifted her foot ten centimeters to the right, narrowly dodging the stomp.

"Little girl, you're not being very well-behaved. Since that's the case, I'll have to teach you a lesson."

She plunged her blade into Digging Princess's back. The placement of the strike was extremely precise—enough to cause excruciating pain, but not enough to kill her from blood loss.

However, what the female assassin didn't expect was that Digging Princess, despite being stabbed, broke free from her restraint as if nothing had happened.

Turn, draw, fire—all in one fluid motion.

Didn't expect that, did you? I have my pain receptors turned off!

The female assassin tilted her head. She dodged quickly, but the sudden, burning pain on her neck continued to irritate her nerves.

"You're courting death!"

She made a move to stab Digging Princess to death.

The other three assassins hiding in the shadows quickly stepped out. "Calm down. The employer wants her alive."

"How do you expect me to stay cal—"

Before the female assassin could finish her sentence, several gunshots rang out from the darkness, forcing her to calm down.

"It's an ambush!"

The expressions of the four assassins changed drastically. They scattered quickly, and upon confirming that the hidden attackers' marksmanship wasn't very good, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, they had once again underestimated their opponents.

Although the individual strength of the Players was crushed by them, the Players not only had a numerical advantage but also Calamity Dragon reporting their positions from high above.

What is the result of four experts fighting over a dozen newbies who have full map vision and are completely fearless of death?

"Why are bullets coming from a place like this?"

"How did they find me?"

"Just how many of them are there?"

"Damn it, I got shot in the ass!"

In the darkness, the four assassins became increasingly alarmed as the fight dragged on. Their opponents didn't say a word, firing with cold efficiency. For a moment, they had the illusion that they were the law-abiding citizens and the people on the other side were the true assassins.

The female assassin gritted her teeth and locked her eyes on the fallen Digging Princess. Perhaps only by controlling the bait, Bai Fu, could they successfully escape.

"I'll suppress their fire. You three are responsible for seizing that woman."

Her body dissolved into shadows and vanished from the spot. The remaining three assassins could no longer worry about anything else; they began to maneuver constantly to dodge bullets, gradually closing in on Digging Princess.

After a bout of chaos, one of the assassins rolled forward until he reached Digging Princess. He drew his gun, pressed it against her forehead, and shouted, "Everyone stop, or I'll kill her right now!"

The response was an even denser barrage of gunfire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets rained down like a storm, striking Digging Princess and the assassin alike.

The assassin's eyes remained wide open even as he collapsed to the ground. He couldn't fathom why the people hiding in the shadows were killing Bai Fu along with him—could it be that they weren't on the same side?

The female assassin, who had just finished off a Player using her superpower, was stunned by the sight.

How the hell are we supposed to fight a group of lunatics like this?

She only wanted to run away now.

But just as she prepared to move, Sword Aura Piercing Sky lunged out from the side.

The Iron Rain Guild had turned this into a stage to show their worth; they were going all out!

So what if the opponent was strong? Even if they would be killed after holding them off for only a few seconds, as long as they could stall until Bai Fu arrived, every sacrifice would be worth it.

For the sake of Bai Fu's Favorability, charge!

One Iron Rain Guild Player charged out, then two, then three...

As they charged, they screamed at the top of their lungs.

"How dare you try to assassinate Fu Fu! I'm going to send you to hell right now!"

"Die, die, die! Everyone who dares to go against Fu Fu must die!"

"F*ck your mother, how dare you target Fu Fu!"

The female assassin was numb. Seeing this, she thought she had accidentally stumbled into a fan meet for some idol's fanatical supporters.

Wait, if you people respect Bai Fu so much, why did you just riddle her with bullets a moment ago?

Patrick Star and the others were also dumbfounded.

Damn, so the Iron Rain Guild were also fanatical supporters of Fu Fu? This was truly unexpected. Convert to My Fu couldn't help but wonder if his own support for Bai Fu was insufficient; after all, he hadn't rushed out to block those three assassins like the members of the Iron Rain Guild had.

The female assassin plunged her blade into the heart of the nearest Player. She was just about to deal with the next one when she was shocked to find that the Player with the pierced heart had grabbed onto her leg with a death grip.

He wasn't dead yet?

"Get off me!"

She kicked the Player on the ground away, then transformed into a shadow and reappeared behind Sword Aura Piercing Sky.

Sensing danger, Sword Aura Piercing Sky gathered his energy and erupted, slamming his elbow violently toward the female assassin's lower abdomen. The move was incredibly swift, forcing the female assassin to block with her right hand.

"Hit... no, wait!"

Before Sword Aura Piercing Sky could celebrate, he saw the female assassin manifest multiple phantoms. As the phantoms moved, a blade swept solidly across his chest, drawing a large spray of blood.

Damn it, she's too strong. There's no way to beat her.

Sword Aura Piercing Sky didn't lose heart; instead, his voice grew even louder.

"Since you've come today, as long as I have a breath left, you won't be escaping! I won't give you the chance to keep harming Bai Fu!"

"Just you?"

The female assassin sneered.

The next second, a bullet suddenly shot out from the dark night, accurately striking her left arm.

Ugh.

The female assassin let out a muffled groan. She wanted to see who was ambushing her, but when she finally made out the appearance of the person walking out of the darkness, her heart sank.

It was Bai Fu!

This meant that they had truly fallen into a trap tonight!

Without a word, Bai Fu unleashed a barrage of gunfire at the female assassin. The female assassin spat in frustration.

She wouldn't be able to kill anyone tonight, but if she wanted to escape, no one here could stop her!

She transformed into a shadow once again. Unlike before, however, this time she bolted straight toward the roof of the building.

"Hmph, trying to run?"

Bai Fu remained unbothered.

This female assassin's superpower was indeed formidable, but she had made a mistake—she shouldn't have gone toward the sky.

The moment the female assassin reached the rooftop, Bai Fu used Combat Etiquette on her.

This time, Bai Fu made no extra movements; she just stood there quietly. She was standing firmly, but the ground beneath the female assassin's feet was empty.

"You... ah!"

The female assassin fell straight down from the thirty-meter-high rooftop. The moment she hit the ground, Bai Fu fired six consecutive shots into her head, leaving her face a bloody, unrecognizable mess. She was dead beyond any doubt.

[You have killed Shadow Snake, contribution 94.2%, gained 6594 Experience after correction based on level difference]

Bai Fu looked toward Patrick Star, Sword Aura Piercing Sky, and the others.

To be honest, she was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected the leader of a major guild to be her fanboy, let alone one who would put in so much effort during the battle. It seemed her charm was truly extraordinary.

She nodded and then swiftly charged toward the other assassins.

Watching this scene from the sidelines, Patrick Star, Sword Aura Piercing Sky, and the others couldn't help but drop their jaws.

When did Bai Fu become so powerful?

Right, it must be her injuries. Her injuries must have improved, allowing her strength to recover somewhat!

Sword Aura Piercing Sky was in a great mood.

His performance tonight had surely maxed out Bai Fu's favorability; his plan was already more than half complete.

"Hahaha!"

In that instant, Sword Aura Piercing Sky's mind was filled with visions of his perfect trajectory: relying on tonight's actions to gain massive favorability with Bai Fu, then subtly prying a wealth of information about her from An Ya, and finally using that intelligence to defect to The Truth Society. He would be highly valued by them, and through this brilliant maneuver, he would lead the Iron Rain Guild to overtake the others, becoming the number one guild in Above the Stars and securing his own place in the history of online gaming.

In the time that followed, Bai Fu worked with the few surviving players to take down another assassin. As for the last remaining assassin, she didn't pursue him, choosing instead to let him escape.

Of course, just because she didn't chase him didn't mean she hadn't sent players to track him in the shadows.

"Damn it, damn it! Where the hell did a freak like Bai Fu come from?"

The surviving assassin had cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He had taken a bullet to the rear, and it was only because he had been hit that he managed to keep hiding and luckily break out of the encirclement.

Right now, he had absolutely no desire to continue the mission.

"I have important intelligence. I need to tell you in person."

After contacting Li Cheng via the walkie-talkie, the surviving assassin hopped and skipped his way forward. It took him over twenty minutes to finally meet Li Cheng.

"What is it? Don't you know this is a special time?"

"See for yourself!"

The surviving assassin transferred the footage captured by his terminal to Li Cheng.

The more Li Cheng watched, the uglier his expression became, especially after seeing the remarks made by the Dog Head Man from the Iron Rain Guild.

At the time, another assassin had demanded of the Dog Head Man, "You're protecting Bai Fu like this—aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

The Dog Head Man acted as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, clutching his stomach and laughing wildly. "Retaliation? You think you, or the trash behind you, are capable of that? You've provoked Fu Fu. If you're smart, you'll surrender now. Otherwise, there isn't a soul in heaven or on earth who can save you!"

Arrogant!

It was the first time Li Cheng had ever seen someone so arrogant.

Fine, fine, fine. You bastard, I've memorized your face. If I ever catch you in the future, I will make you wish you were dead!

Li Cheng turned off his terminal and suddenly said to the killer before him, "Go and take out the person outside."

"Outside?" The killer was stunned.

Li Cheng cursed, "You idiot, he's been tailing you for half the day, and you haven't even noticed?"

The corner of the killer's eye twitched.

So he had been followed?

"I'll go right now!"

PS: A 6000-word mega-chapter, please keep reading!