novelraw Chapter 163 : Advancement to A-rank Peak, Bai Fu’s Calamity Legion Takes Shape!
Chapter 163 : Advancement to A-rank Peak, Bai Fu’s Calamity Legion Takes Shape!
Chapter 163: Advancement to A-rank Peak, Bai Fu’s Calamity Legion Takes Shape!
After Bai Fu released the new test quest, all Players fell into a frenzy.
If they didn’t seize this opportunity, according to Bai Fu, they’d have to wait several more months before they could leave Origin Star for the Star Sea.
Several months?
They could barely hold it for a day without going crazy!
Had Bai Fu not deliberately seduced them, they might have held back a bit longer—but now? How could they possibly hold back?
【Urgent urgent urgent, I’m the Urgent King】
【Aaaah I’m going for it, I’m really going for it, I’m taking that first place for sure!】
【Are you aiming for first place, or are you charging at first place?】
When Bai Fu unloaded five virtual combat platforms capable of testing Player strength from the spaceship, those wolf-like Players surged forward like a tidal wave and instantly swallowed her whole.
“Everyone calm down, line up properly, one at a time. There are still five days left.”
Bai Fu deliberately emphasized the words “five days” as she shouted.
That phrase, just like a Succubus’s air kiss, instantly hooked the souls of the Players.
Only five days left?
Some Players had originally planned to complete a few Quests to raise their level a little before challenging, but now they had completely abandoned that idea. If they kept grinding, Fu-fu would be gone, and they’d end up in a “chasing-the-wife crematorium” and “regret beyond remedy” scenario.
But now came a serious problem: if they didn’t raise their level, they truly had no confidence in making it into the top 3000 during the test.
3000 slots looked like a lot, but considering there were hundreds of thousands of Players currently on Origin Star, that number wasn’t exaggerated—after all, Beyond the Stars had broken the record previously held by WOW for concurrent online Players.
【Damn it, why only 3000 spots? I want in on this Star Sea mega-party too!】
【Be thankful, 3000 is a lot! This is a spaceship, not a ↑↓ train. You can’t buy standing tickets.】
In fact, the spaceship Bai Fu brought could accommodate far more than 3000 people. 3000 was just the rated capacity, not the limit.
A minivan could fit twenty or thirty people if you crammed them in—same with this spaceship. If you had Players enter metro-mode, the experience might suffer a bit, but it could totally squeeze in tens of thousands.
The reason Bai Fu didn’t do that came down to two main points.
The first was practical: bringing too many Players to the Star Sea at once would be unmanageable for her. She wouldn’t be able to provide all the basic services for them, and after a while, even if the Players recognized her status as the Protagonist, they’d leave if they couldn’t enjoy a good gameplay experience with her.
Could she allow that?
She had worked so hard to bring Players to the Star Sea just so she could keep them close—whenever she lacked XP, she’d pull them out and squeeze a bit. If the Players ran off to other places, who else could she squeeze? Herself? Or Yulia? That would only squeeze stamina—not a single drop of XP!
The second reason was to maximize profit. By keeping the number low, she could better stimulate competition among Players and more effectively squeeze out XP.
When she said only 3000 were needed, she had deliberately emphasized she’d return in a few months. That move was like a Succubus flicking her tail while walking away—Players who couldn’t get in but wanted to join the Star Sea journey would become even more motivated under the tail’s allure, stockpiling more XP, so that the next time she came back, she could feast even more.
If she took tens of thousands of Players in one go and it became too easy to reach the Star Sea, the Players would get complacent. And then what would she squeeze? She came to eat meat, not sip broth.
“Harvesting Players is a real art.”
While Bai Fu was musing, a Player opened the Instance Store and spent half the XP he had been saving for upgrades to buy several temporary defensive and speed-boosting Skills.
This virtual test didn’t require defeating opponents—just achieving a high combat score, which depended on factors like output and survival time.
After successfully purchasing new Skills, the Player challenged the test again.
“907 points, damn, that’s 300 points more than before—instantly jumped to rank 81, now I’m solid!”
He was overjoyed, but quickly realized the situation wasn’t stable at all.
Other Players, seeing the drastic difference in his scores between attempts, immediately investigated. Upon learning that he had broken his record by purchasing new Skills at the Instance Store, they quickly followed suit.
You’re not the only one willing to spend XP on Skills!
【Buy buy buy!】
【Get me one too!】
Soon, every Player on Origin Star confident in their strength joined this mega-party that ultimately had nearly a hundred thousand participants.
At first, Players only needed 1000 points to top the test rankings. But as more competitive maniacs entered the fray, that number rapidly climbed.
1100!
1200!
“1337, holy crap, you beast!”
By the evening of the third day, the top score had reached 1408. From that point on, every extra point required massive effort—but Players remained enthusiastically engaged, as if they were playing ranked mode.
That’s when some cunning veterans came into play. Though they had enough strength to enter the top 3000, they deliberately held back, planning to swoop in near the end and snatch a spot.
Bai Fu only had one thing to say—beautiful play!
With those Players drawing the fire, no one would call her a profiteer.
What profiteering? It had always been like this! The Players gave up their XP, and she gave them rare knowledge acquired from the Star Sea. The only possibly questionable act was creating a conceptual pressure that made Players spend XP unnecessarily.
But that was no big deal—anyway, the Players were happy. Just look at those glowing faces!
Seeing the Players’ shining eyes, Bai Fu gleefully lifted her toes.
“Grind! Grind like hell for me!”
“Damn it, haven’t you eaten breakfast? Give me more of your XP!”
Her cheeks were flushed as if she had drunk fake liquor.
“Hey, your eyes are glowing red,” Yulia reminded her from the side.
Bai Fu waved dismissively. No need to worry—after all, they were indoors, and the Players couldn’t see her.
“I’m just really happy. It’s rare to return to Origin Star, my second home. I’m just so thrilled.”
She crossed her legs proudly, and her big toe mischievously hooked the red strap of her slipper.
Yulia: “……”
Do you expect me to believe a single word you say?
Sigh, those poor Undying Ones, dancing in the palm of Bai Fu’s hand.
Sometimes, Yulia genuinely suspected that Bai Fu was a Succubus—one of the high-grade ones who could absorb other people’s vitality from afar to strengthen herself.
Otherwise, why did she always feel so exhausted after every experiment with Bai Fu? Surely it wasn’t because she was so immersed in the work that she lost track of time?
Wait, that probably wasn’t a good enough reason—she should’ve used the Undying Ones as an example.
It seemed that next time she had Bai Fu cooperate with her research, she’d need to add a few new research items specifically for Bai Fu. As a doctor, her interest in doing experiments with Bai Fu was practically limitless.
Putting away those strange thoughts, Yulia began reporting the results she had tortured out of those researchers from the Singularity Company.
Calling it a report was generous—it was more like submitting a shopping list.
As long as there was a base sample, creating Dissociative Potion wasn’t hard. What they needed were a few pieces of equipment.
“I’ve checked. It’ll cost around 130,000 Credit Coins, and if we include a purification unit, that’s another 60,000.”
That was no small cost, but Bai Fu still decided to spend it.
The Dissociative Potion was an item that could enhance basic attributes. Its appeal to Players was self-evident. As long as she didn’t price it too outrageously, all the Players would come to buy it. As long as production kept up, she should be able to make enough to feed Yulia in no time.
Oh, right—she almost forgot another issue. The base sample also had its limits.
“Once this base sample is squeezed dry, my strength should be up there already. Then I’ll just find another!”
The base sample for Dissociative Potion was tied to Vic’s main storyline. Bai Fu believed that as long as Players kept pushing the main story, she would eventually find another base sample.
After finishing discussions with Yulia about the new method of harvesting XP from Players entering the Star Sea, Bai Fu once again went to find Xia Shi.
“I’m leaving tomorrow night. Have you made your decision?”
Xia Shi nodded. “I’ve thought it through. I’m going with you.”
Bai Fu let out a sigh of relief.
With Xia Shi on board, her Player-farming team was finally starting to take shape. Prayer Cards, potions, and mechanical equipment—three hands playing at once—were enough to meet Players’ basic needs. Though Xia Shi and Yulia’s levels weren’t high yet, neither were the Players'. If they crafted things too advanced, Players wouldn’t even be able to afford them.
On the final day, Bai Fu went to meet again with Su Li and the leaders of various major factions. This time was mainly to reinforce her presence, and to negotiate the location of the ground Starport, balancing everyone’s interests.
After seeing the immense growth she had achieved in just two months, none of the factions had any objections to her proposed distributions. Instead, they solemnly promised to complete the Psionic Purification efforts before her next return, laying a solid foundation for the next stage of the Origin Star Reconstruction Project.
At sunset, the selection test Quest officially settled. Some Players were as ecstatic as Van Jin passing the imperial exam, some fainted in anger, and some watched the stream with jealousy and regret.
【This is Bai Fu, after all. Why did I ever think she’d stop being the Protagonist after leaving Origin Star? If only I had reincarnated to Origin Star earlier, maybe I could’ve caught that ship too】
This emotion led many Players—whose characters had been ruined, who picked the wrong class, the wrong starter planet, or were just unhappy—to bite the bullet and create alts to transfer to Origin Star.
But most Players didn’t act rashly. The cost of starting over was too high. They chose to endure. After all, version 1.3 was already halfway over. Just two more versions and they’d see the dawn of the Star Sea.
The happiest person after the test Quest ended was, of course, Bai Fu. This time, she squeezed nearly 100,000 Players who had been grinding through version 1.3 for two months—an absurd profit—
A full 470 million XP!
That was an average of over 4,000 XP per Player. For comparison, last version she had to work a whole month just to squeeze 100 million XP from Players. But that was Star Sea loot—this was raw XP-squeezing efficiency at its finest.
Bai Fu didn’t hesitate for even a second.
Found you—delicious XP!
She dumped over 200 million XP in one go, leveling her Phenomenon Constructor class to Lv25 max level. The moment her level maxed, the game prompted her—
【You have unlocked a class advancement Quest. Please choose one of the following three branches to complete】
【Branch 1: Heart of Summoning - Collect one Summoning-type Psionic advanced knowledge (S-rank), and additionally learn five Summoning-type Prayer Card blueprints of no less than purple quality】
【Branch 2: Phenomenon Construction - Collect one Phenomenon Construction-type Psionic advanced knowledge (S-rank), and additionally upgrade Phenomenon Construction to Lv3】
【Branch 3: Mind Scroll - Collect one Prayer-type Psionic advanced knowledge (S-rank), and additionally raise Inspiration to 700】
This advancement Quest was very unique—it triggered without requiring any advanced knowledge, but completing it still involved gathering advanced knowledge.
The reason for its uniqueness was that transitioning from A-rank to S-rank would make classes more specialized. In previous Class Transfers, no matter which branch you completed, you’d end up with the same class. But this time was different—each branch led to a different class.
Naturally, a unique Class Transfer came with unique and powerful bonuses. But the truly unique leap was still the one from S-rank to Calamity-rank.
Class Transfer?
Calling that leap an Awakening was more accurate.
The best of S-rank Psionicists might flatten a city, but a Calamity-rank Psionicist could shake the continent—some could even use special methods to shatter a planet. They were walking planet-killers. Even in the core regions of those three universal civilizations, such beings were deeply respected.
Bai Fu examined the three Quest branches. It was clear each focused respectively on Summoning, Construction, and Prayer Cards.
She didn’t particularly favor one over the others—nor did she need to.
Now that she had caught these Players—excellent XP-providing crops who regularly delivered massive amounts of XP—her XP deficit was far smaller than that of a normal Player or regular NPC. She could afford to learn more Skills and blueprints to diversify her combat style, making herself harder to counter.
“Whichever branch I can complete quickest, I’ll go with that. The others aren’t locked out anyway, just more costly to learn post-Class Transfer.”
Bai Fu closed the Class Transfer Quest and excitedly opened her status panel.
With this level-up, she gained 13 levels at once, bringing her main class total to level 75. The attribute boost was quite significant.
【HP】: 13846/13846
【Psionic Value】: 16505/16505
【Qi】: 940/940
【Attributes】: Strength 97, Agility 164, Constitution 314, Intelligence 206, Spirit 168, Inspiration 659
Her Inspiration stat alone had increased by one-fourth since before the level-up. Counting the bonuses, her overall power boost was even greater.
Bai Fu confirmed it—there was a massive gap between a regular A-rank Psionicist and an A-rank peak one!
In fact, the gap between a normal S-rank Psionicist and someone like Fei Ye, an S+ rank Psionicist, was even larger. From an NPC perspective, the jump from S-rank to Calamity-rank seemed like one tier, but from a Player level perspective, it was massive: a jump from level 100 to 101 for Class Transfer, then another from 110 to 111 for Awakening—a full 35-level difference.
Still, Bai Fu wasn’t too worried about the gap.
Now she could start bringing large numbers of Players from Origin Star to the Star Sea. In a while, once she was fully established in the Star Sea, she’d fly to every starter planet and squeeze Player XP on a tour.
After that tour, she couldn’t even imagine how much XP she’d collect from the Players—definitely a massive amount, enough to make her tremble with excitement.
With all that XP behind her, her only remaining concern was how to most efficiently complete her Class Transfer Quest.
Bai Fu glanced at her remaining experience—2.4 billion. That was one extravagant display of wealth. She pointed at her eyes, then began tapping the upgrade buttons behind every Prayer Card she had learned.
Max them out. Max them all!
After tapping until her hands ached, she still had 2.1 billion experience left. Nothing more to say—time to gamble on some Cards first.
Next, she needed to assist Fei Ye in resisting the Flood Disaster. The so-called Flood Disaster referred to the cosmic Insect Swarm rampaging through the edge worlds. To deal with such special monsters, the embodiment of quantity and evolution, she needed more Prayer Cards like 【Fixed Void Ball】—cards that might have low output, but offered sustained damage and wide attack range.
After over fifty consecutive failures, she finally fused a suitable Card.
【Falling Demon Gravel】—this card, when used, summoned a Psionic vortex that continually sprayed Psionically condensed gravel outward throughout its duration, dealing burning damage to targets it struck.
Aside from 【Falling Demon Gravel】, Bai Fu also obtained a summoning card—【Big Black Fu】.
Big Black Fu was a super-enlarged version of Little Black Fu. While Little Black Fu was only thirty to forty centimeters tall, Big Black Fu stood a full four meters tall, larger than many powered armors.
Little Black Fu didn’t have much HP and lost HP over time, but Big Black Fu was different. It had a thick health bar, and once summoned, it would not disappear unless manually dismissed or killed. It had no special abilities and couldn’t unleash Psionic Burst like an upgraded Little Black Fu, but it was immensely strong. It was perfect as a charging tank leading a squad of Little Black Fus into battle.
“Everything’s great—just the production cost is a bit high.”
Bai Fu grew more and more pained for her bank account.
Let’s go.
With everything ready, there was no need to remain on Origin Star. She would be back in a while anyway.
After saying goodbye to some familiar faces and repeatedly stressing that she would return soon to urge Players to keep accumulating experience, Bai Fu boarded the ship with the 3,000 Players she had selected. The boisterous cheers faded as the ship’s hatch closed, and every Player inside the ship was too excited to sit still.
After heading to the Star Sea, Fu‑fu had grown even more formidable. But no one knew where her limits truly lay. Now, finally, they could follow Fu‑fu closely and explore those limits themselves.
【I am the chosen one, it’s clearly me!】
【I’ve always believed in Fu‑fu. Even when so many said she became a side character, I chose to believe. This is my reward.】
【Lift off! Taking off!】
The Players on the ship toured the vessel while flaunting in the community. It infuriated Players from other planets.
Just you wait—we’re going to urge our own Protagonists to hurry and take us into the Star Sea too!
Bai Fu’s wings gave a light flap on Origin Star, and the wind she stirred swept across the boundless Star Sea, landing straight on the other starter planets.
In an instant, several Protagonists, including Melulu, were dumbfounded.
“Learn from Bai Fu, defeat the villains quickly, and take you into the Star Sea?”
Excuse me, who is Bai Fu? Are villains the kind that you can defeat just by saying so? And entering the Star Sea—are you saying there are other civilizations out in the universe? The problem is, we don’t even have the tech for long-distance travel in the Star Sea.
【I don’t care. I want the Star Sea. I want Fu‑fu.】
Bai Fu gave a small smile. Heh—wasn’t this how popularity continued to grow?
From departure to leaving Origin Star, she spent seven and a half days in total. If there were no delays along the way, she would arrive just in time to meet Fei Ye before she joined up with the other Supervisors and the Star Web Commonwealth.
But Bai Fu wasn’t in a hurry to meet Fei Ye. She wanted to use this opportunity to leave a deeper impression on Fei Ye, to make her fully realize Bai Fu’s value. That way, Bai Fu could better trail behind Fei Ye, drinking soup and eating meat off her coattails.
“Delay it a little—wait until the commission starts and Fei Ye is scrambling from lack of personnel, then descend like a divine Fu. No way that won’t earn some favorability!”
Perfect.
……
Three days later, Star Web Commonwealth.
Not long ago, Fei Ye had already met with the other Supervisors dispatched by the Star Covenant. Since she brought only a few subordinates to the rendezvous, she was unsurprisingly met with scorn.
She had wanted to rebut, but couldn’t. All she could do was feign boldness, just like when speaking through a communicator.
“Bringing more people is pointless. What matters is elite troops. Elites are all you need to solve the problem!”
The other Supervisors just smiled and said nothing.
Bringing more people is pointless? Try having more people first.
In truth, they enjoyed taking on missions with Fei Ye. Her presence almost guaranteed they wouldn’t place last in this mission’s rankings.
The Lord of the Covenant kept a loose grip on the Star Covenant, but internal competition among departments remained fierce. Everyone sought the Lord’s favor. Recently, the Operations Minister of the Initial Gate Galaxy Cluster was rumored to be reassigned, and the vacant position was likely to fall to one of the current Supervisors. As such, competition was intense—maybe they couldn’t come first, but no one wanted to come dead last.
“The frontline commander of the Star Web Commonwealth just sent a message—he’s already waiting for us on Sky Lake Star. Let’s depart now,” Herbert suddenly said.
None of the Supervisors objected.
Fei Ye opened her mouth but said nothing. Next to her, Green Sludge looked extremely grim.
“Bai Fu still isn’t back. Did something happen on the way, or did she escape with the ship?”
Fei Ye shook her head. “I believe she wouldn’t run.”
Green Sludge glanced at the unmoving Black Fu in the distance.
Because of the hostage?
“No—because of her past, and because her eyes are so pure.”
Those were eyes purer than a snow leopard’s!
Fei Ye believed that someone with such eyes must be a sincere, kind, trustworthy, and loyal good person.
“Let’s go.”
She called over Green Sludge, a few other subordinates, Black Fu, and dozens of Players, then boarded the ship headed for Sky Lake Star.