Bai Fu insisted on bringing a group of players along with her for two main reasons.
First, she wanted the players to keep promoting her on video-sharing websites and in online communities, ensuring she maintained a steady level of exposure. She didn't want to end up like characters in other games, forgotten as soon as their banner, event, or personal story ended, then overtaken by some other female NPC.
The second reason was simply that players were incredibly useful. And the players who'd been shaped into her image over three versions of the game were even more useful.
They could haul bricks, act as meat shields, put on a show, and explore unknown areas...
There was no end to the ways players could be put to work.
No matter how bad her mood was, seeing those players gazing at her so eagerly while often shouting "Fu Fu, you're so kind!" would naturally cheer Bai Fu up.
Spending time with Yulia could easily leave her parched and aching all over. Spending time with players was different. The experience could be summed up in two words: relaxing!
All in all, Bai Fu had high hopes for the group of players she'd brought along.
Watching the unfamiliar alien walk away, she came up with a new idea.
She secretly sent out a few Little Bai Fus to follow the alien, then gave the players a quest to explore the cargo hub. As they were getting ready to move out, she called An Ya over to give them a few ideas.
Convert to My Fu, do you remember the Fu... uh, no, I mean, do you remember how you went around the gangs in Lynn's settlement, using collateral to borrow money?
That trick no longer worked on the Novice Planet. The NPCs there knew