For elementary school kids, "Pretty Cure" might be a bit childish, but for adults, it's just perfect.
"Mum, I'm in love!"
"Damn it, white-haired beauty, ugh, I'm good."
"Shit, this character model, only in a game free from political correctness, can you absolutely not miss out on playing."
"You give me a pretty girl, and I give you money, that's fair."
"Stop spamming the chat, everyone move aside, I want to see my wife!"
"Stars Above" never featured pretty female characters like 2B or Tifa in its promotions, focusing instead on lifelike graphics and high degrees of freedom.
In fact, the first batch of players who rushed in really came for the graphics and gameplay.
But liking high-quality graphics and gameplay doesn't mean players won't like pretty girls; many players spend hours modding their games with huge, fair-skinned character mods before they even start playing.
Bai Fu's entrance bathed in light was completely unexpected for the players, yet it hit their interest point perfectly.
As a result, the chat in the livestream was flooded with messages in mere seconds.
Seeing this scene, Bai Fu was deeply grieved.
What a sin!
If she could issue tasks like a normal NPC, would she still be doing this random gig? Just transform into the "Stars Above" version of Celia and let players keep her in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction?
With tears in her eyes, Bai Fu secretly waves her hand, signaling An Ya, who was fanning her vigorously from the side, to stop.
As her silver-white hair settled down, she walked straight into the alley.
The burly man who had kidnapped Digging Girl snapped back to reality.
"You... You're that guy who came to see the boss for debt collection a few days ago, aren't you?"
The burly man's brows relaxed.
Actually, when they first knocked out Bai Fu, they were panicking; after all, Bai Fu was from the Wildfire Gang, and they feared bloody retaliation, so they quickly returned her.
But after learning that Bai Fu was just an ordinary extra member, they calmed down.
Just a small fry!
What's past is past, and what's now is now.
In the past, beating up Bai Fu would have been difficult to justify, but recently the Wildfire Gang had set their sights on a gang of lawless outsiders and urgently needed a large number of thugs to back them up. They were just the ones who could help the Wildfire Gang, so the gang would certainly not trouble them over a "renewable" expendable.
The burly man started talking tough.
"You just came looking for trouble the other day, and today you're here to compete with my business? Don't think I'm scared of you just because you're with the Wildfire Gang!"
Wait a second, Wildfire Gang?
Digging Girl and the watching players were stunned.
Although they had only been playing the game for a short while, they'd learned through various channels that the Wildfire Gang was the number one villainous force in the core area of the Abandoned Cooling Factory, and because of some daring players, the gang's affinity with all players was negative.
The tables have turned.
My wife isn't a Pretty Cure; she's a female executive of an evil organization!
Some players were heartbroken.
Some players were even more excited.
Bai Fu, who was always keeping an eye on the chat, nodded secretly.
These reactions were all within her expectations; otherwise, she wouldn't have come here to stir things up.
In Martial World, it's the same when saving a life: the one doing the saving, if attractive, might get a "pledge of one's self" in return. If not so attractive, it would probably end up as "I'll repay you in the next life."
Ah, this cute world where appearances matter!
Bai Fu stared blankly at the burly man: "I'm not interested in competing with you for business, I just want to tell you to stay out of Wildfire Gang and outsider affairs if you want to live."
The burly man laughed: "What if I don't take the advice and insist on getting involved? Don't be funny; you are you, Wildfire Gang is Wildfire Gang, you don't scare me."
Bai Fu shook her head: "You know nothing of fear."
"Do you mean to say I've provoked someone I shouldn't have?" The burly man said dismissively, curling his lip.
Bai Fu: "..."
How dare you steal my line?
That was the culmination of reading hundreds of fantasy novels, to be snatched away by you like that!
Bai Fu was angry.
The burly man also got angry; he wasn't someone who liked to reason. He preferred fists over words.
After trading a couple of punches, he strode furiously towards Bai Fu.
"Come on, beat me and you can take her! If you lose, hahaha..."
There were no bystanders here now; he could kill Bai Fu without fear of retaliation.
Bring it on, who's afraid of whom, don't think your muscles can maul me, this is a world with extraordinary strength, do you think my 3 inspiration points were for nothing?
Bai Fu walked toward the muscular man without a trace of fear.
In the alley, they moved towards each other—one left, one right, step by step—fast approaching like DIO and Fish Seller about to walk into a destined duel, their outlines taut with the anticipation of the imminent battle.
The sound of the wind, the noise of random objects... all noises vanished at this moment.
Even the daylight seemed suddenly much dimmer.
This was the perfect stage.
At least that was what it seemed to the observing players.
"OMG, real-life Mortal Kombat!"
"Where's the hit sensation police? Come out and judge."
"OMG, how dare you hit my wife, I'm gonna kill you aaaargh!"
After three seconds of silence, Bai Fu and the muscular man finally came close.
At that moment, the man raised his right fist, Bai Fu lifted her right hand, and the players held their breath.
The next moment, the man swung his right fist, Bai Fu threw the lime she'd been hiding in her palm straight into the man's eyes.
"?????"
"!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"
"┌(.Д.)┐"
What happened to a fair fight?
Now the players were a bit uncertain who was the real rookie.
As the muscular man screamed in pain, holding his eyes, Bai Fu had already performed a sliding step to his back.
Pull out a knife, kidney strike, turn the blade, all in one go!
"-31!"
An emboldened critical damage number burst out above the man's head.
But it wasn't over, the "bleeding" debuff kicked in, and a series of "-1," "-2" continuously appeared above him.
In just a few seconds, the muscular man's blood bar was emptied.
Goodnight, Macabre.
"You have killed a Local Rascal (Ordinary), gaining 150 experience points."
After the series of moves, Bai Fu displayed no discomfort, starting to wonder if she was the same kind of psycho who liked busting heads with a golf club.
I hope I'm fine!
But soon, Bai Fu felt something was off again—how could there be something wrong with her, someone raised on SpongeBob SquarePants?
It was playing "Stars Above" that did it, the digitization of her body and memories of surviving in the Abandoned Cooling Factory that desensitized her to blood.
Bai Fu wiped the blood off her knife.
After putting away the knife, she walked up to Digging Girl, still in shock, and meticulously straightened Digging Girl's rumpled clothes and hair.
"It's getting dark, you should head home."
Pat, pat.
Bai Fu patted Digging Girl's shoulders, giving her an encouraging smile before turning to walk out of the alley.
"Hey, I..."
Digging Girl quickly reached out but stumbled and fell, unable to follow.
All she could do was watch.
She saw Bai Fu walk to the mouth of the alley, take the hand of An Ya, who was already waiting there.
As Bai Fu was about to disappear from sight, she hurriedly called out, "Your name! Your name!"
"Knowing it won't do you any good."
The voice drifted on the wind, and by then, Bai Fu's figure had completely vanished.
Gently I leave, just as I gently arrived.
Were it not for the muscular man lying on the ground covered in blood, many players would have thought this was the most beautiful dream of the summer.
The next moment, the live stream chat exploded.
"She's so bad, I love it!"
"Who called my wife a rookie just now? Show yourself!"
"Wildfire Gang member? I don't care! I only have one question, who is she?"
"I have to find her!"