An Ya felt somewhat guilty under Bai Fu's slightly strange gaze.
She tugged at her bleached hair and began to reflect.
"Big Brother, did I give too high a percentage to those outsiders? How about changing it to ninety-ten? But I think by doing that, we might make more, yet those outsiders might get some other ideas, leading to a failure in long-lasting cooperation."
She cautiously offered her opinion.
Her earnest expression, coupled with her cute face, could easily fool anyone unaware of the context into thinking she was engaged in some charitable act when, in reality, she was contemplating a scheme as vicious as the dark trade.
Bai Fu rolled her eyes.
Speaking with every sentence starting with "Old Man," a flash of genius from her would equate to an idea brilliant enough to stand beside the great failings and virtues, exemplifying a child raised in our Abandoned Cooling Factory.
Bai Fu thought that An Ya was only suitable to be used as a unit of combat power now. Otherwise, with her money-hungry mindset, she feared that An Ya might turn the Abandoned Cooling Factory into a Palu Factory and then "cordially" invite Players to play, assuming the role of Palu inhabitants.
Child, you're invincible.
She couldn't help but want to exclaim, "My sister An Ya truly has the potential to hang from the lamppost."
"An Ya, we can't do this. Our friendship with those outsiders is as pure as white clouds. How can we tarnish it with filthy money?"
Bai Fu took decisive action.
She couldn't just stand by and watch An Ya stray onto the wrong path.
An Ya looked into Bai Fu's eyes, feeling the sincerity in her gaze, and hung her head in shame.
"Big Brother, I'm sorry, I'll never..."
She was cut off mid-sentence by Bai Fu.
"We can't give them money, not even one Credit Coin, for they will question our motives and doubt our character."
"Ah?"
An Ya was dumbfounded.
Not giving money wasn't merely an issue of poor character; it was outright inhumanity.
Besides, even if those outsiders were easy to order about, surely they wouldn't be so happy to be exploited and still cozy up to us.
Could it be that they were all naturally masochistic, actually enjoying being tormented by the Big Brother?
That would be truly twisted!
Bai Fu said, "Of course, we can't directly tell them it's all for profit. We need to package it nicely, give them a different sense of achievement so they won't focus on the money anymore."
An Ya was even more confused now.
"Watch closely and learn well. Oh, and don't tell anyone outside what I've told you today, alright?" Bai Fu reminded her.
She had thought of a plan.
She would send Players in batches to the Wildfire Gang, under the pretext of assisting them in investigating the gang's secrets.
Eventually, she would make money, Players would enjoy the thrill of infiltration, and the leader of the Wildfire Gang would release his anger from the provocations—all culminating in a win-win situation for everyone!
"I still love win-win situations," thought Bai Fu, wanting to give herself a like.
Watching Bai Fu's relaxed face, An Ya breathed a sigh of relief.
She was scared to death, thinking her Big Brother had mutated into a good person.
Truly worthy of being the Big Brother, behaving so properly, she still had much to learn!
After the two returned home, Bai Fu had An Ya stay behind to cook while she went alone to see Martin.
The news of Big Brother Dabiao being roughed up by Players would soon reach Martin's ears, and she needed to preemptively take control.
"Something's happened!"
"What's wrong?"
Martin looked puzzled at Bai Fu approaching him.
Bai Fu rushed to say, "When I was out collecting debts, I saw a group of outsiders attacking Dabiao. Overpowered, he fled in a desperate scramble. It looked as though he would have a hard time surviving."
Martin became agitated immediately, "What about the money? Did you get the money back?"
Bai Fu laid out twelve Credit Coins on the table: "When I got there, his place had already been ransacked. I only found this little bit after searching every corner."
Martin was furious.
Bang!
He slammed the desk forcefully, causing the water cup to fly off.
That was his money, and it had been snatched away by those out-of-towners!
"Damn outsiders, damn your origins, I will not share the sky with you!"
He shoved the money into his pocket and stormed out in a fury.
"You did well this time, take a break. I'll give you the next task when I get back."
Bai Fu curled her lip.
It still has to be you, huh? Promised me a five percent cut and didn't give it, now you immediately want to assign me a new task—you learned from Boss Zhou, didn't you?
Luckily, she had hidden away over three hundred bucks beforehand.
[You have completed the Camp Task [Debt Repayment] and earned rewards: 2000 Experience Value, 10 Camp Reputation]
The game notification sounded.
As Bai Fu had predicted, although she only handed over twelve bucks, the game still deemed the task complete.
Current Experience Value: 3871
After grinding for so long, it was finally time to reap the rewards.
Bai Fu began leveling up.
[[Spiritual Ability Apprentice] has leveled up to Lv2, Spirit +1, Inspiration +1, attribute points +2]
…
[[Spiritual Ability Apprentice] has leveled up to Lv5, Spirit +1, Inspiration +1, attribute points +2]
[You have unlocked the exclusive passives [Innate Spirituality] and [Low-Level Inspiration Specialization]]
After completing the Hidden Task [Order Iron Fist], Bai Fu had gained an extra attribute point, which she poured all at once into Constitution, causing a seismic shift in her personal attributes.
[Template]: Ordinary
[Experience]: 71
[Main Profession]: Spiritual Ability Apprentice Lv5（0/3000）,Unemployed Lv3（0/1000）
[Secondary Profession]: None
[Life Value]: 180/180
[Spiritual Ability Value]: 45/45
[Attributes]: Power 5, Agility 3, Constitution 18, Intelligence 3, Spirit 9, Inspiration 9
[Skills]: Fervor Lv1, Hardening Lv1, Spiritual Vision
Innate Spirituality Lv1—Unified Spirit and Flesh, you can spend 20 Life Value to temporarily recover 5 Spiritual Ability Value
Low-Level Spiritual Ability Specialization—Learning efficiency and active skill effect of the Spiritual Ability System +10%
[Talent]: None
[attribute points]: 0
[Reputation]: 1
[Camp]: Wildfire Gang (Camp Reputation 10)
Her Spirit and Inspiration both saw growth, but her Constitution had doubled—now this is what you call a power surge!
Just a day and a half earlier, Bai Fu's Constitution was merely 5 points.
Getting help from players indeed speeds up leveling far more than going at it alone.
"Is this what security feels like?"
Bai Fu clenched her fists tightly, smiled as she looked at the back of her hand that was almost unchanged in appearance yet smoother overall.
Now, if she wanted to continue increasing her power, it wasn't just about accumulating experience to level up her main profession, she also needed to figure out how to get more Skill Books.
The easiest place to obtain Skill Books and Profession Books was the Wildfire Gang's library.
But with her current status, she had no right to enter the library; she must elevate her position within the Wildfire Gang.
It's worth noting that the managerial positions in the Wildfire Gang are like fixed slots—a space has to open up before she can vie for it.
So, what to do next was clear.
Bai Fu looked at the chair Martin had been sitting on before.
Old Man, I've put up with you for a long time, now I'll let you know what the wrath of a worker looks like!