"From the money owed by Old Man, plus this month's salary, and the subsidy for being a manager, the total is 871 Yuan," Bai Fu recalculated her accounts and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The currency issued by Lynn Settlement didn't have bad purchasing power; this money was enough to ensure that she and An Ya wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing expenses for a few months.
But this was only talking about basic life guarantees; aspiring to enjoy a high-class lifestyle was simply a pipe dream.
The more undeveloped the material conditions of a place are, the higher the cost is to get good stuff, and those who risked bringing quality goods to the Abandoned Cooling Factory were merchants, not saints.
Bai Fu stuffed the money into her piggy bank.
Since she was idle anyway, she casually clicked into the Abandoned Cooling Factory section of the Star Travel Society.
Unlike yesterday, where players were all discussing her, today's Community posts were more varied.
Some players were sharing their experiences with player killing.
Others were analyzing which professions were more suitable for ordinary players in the early stages.
Of course, players going crazy over her photos and videos had also become an essential part of the Community these past few days.
[First day without seeing Fufu, I miss her]
[Bros, I'm having Fu withdrawals, gimme some of Dear Fu's gorgeous pics]
[Have you guys not noticed that Fufu's outfit doesn't match her? It'd be better if she wore Makima's set instead, and maybe held a whip in her hand too, heh heh]
[Stop joking. Are Dear Fu and Makima even the same style? Makima treats Dianci like a dog, but Dear Fu treasures us like jewels, get it? Do you even understand what an Affinity of 82 signifies?]
[I don't care, I just want a big sis wearing a black tie, white shirt, and black trousers!]
[Let's talk real, Fufu being nice to us doesn't mean she's a good person; after all, she's part of the antagonist Wildfire Gang. What if she's a storyline boss, what if she suddenly turns our blood bars on us one day?]
This reply stood out for its buzzkill effect, and it took several dozen seconds before a new reply appeared.
[Let me make this clear; even if Fufu is a boss, I'm not going to attack her. It's not like there's only one main storyline per Newbie Planet.]
[Agreed, and just because Fufu is a boss doesn't mean she can't be redeemed later on. Isn't Vegeta a prime example?]
[If the scriptwriter dares to mess up, I'll lead several emperors to his doorstep immediately!]
[Wow, your values are as flexible as your facial features, huh?]
[What a load of nonsense! Is a boss always a villain? Isn't it possible they're just on a different side, or bound by their duties? Anyways, I refuse to believe that Fufu would be a villain who does nothing but evil; otherwise, she wouldn't care about whether we live or die.]
Regarding whether Bai Fu was merely a bad woman who was nice to players or a sheep in wolf's clothing, a group of players exchanged their heated opinions in the thread.
Bai Fu almost had her fill of watching the drama unfold.
If she could post, she would surely jump into the conversation to direct the narrative herself.
Only by stirring the waters even murkier could the players' emotions of "guilt" or "liking" become more dense and prolonged when they found out she was actually "undercover".
But she had to be careful not to go too far; otherwise, before the "truth" was revealed, there might be some radical players who would come and take her out with a knife.
Bai Fu exited that thread and clicked on the next hot post discussing the death of Martin.
Not long ago, the Wildfire Gang announced that a foreigner had brutally killed Martin, and they would seek even fiercer revenge.
The news quickly reached the players.
[Wildfire says one of their managers got wasted by a player, who's that hardcore, to take down an Elite Monster?]
[@Patrick, Patrick, is it you who did it?]
[Holy cow, that's incredible, to solo kill an Elite Monster! I can't, this game is too realistic; I've set bloodiness to zero, and I still can't bring myself to fight those NPCs. Guess I'm destined to be a peaceful player.]
[Is Patrick considering making a strategy video?]
[Patrick, you gonna try for a boss first kill record or what?]
One after another, mentions quickly summoned the man of the hour, Patrick, who hurriedly explained.
Patrick: [(Dog head with question mark meme) Guys, you're overestimating me, I'm not that great. This game is different from others; rolling doesn't have invincible frames, and you don't start with evasion skills. At my current level, it's nearly impossible to beat an Elite Monster in a 1-on-1 fight.]
[So nearly, you mean there's still a chance, right?]
Patrick: "It's indeed possible, the crafting function in this game is awesome. Even without blueprints, you can make stuff on your own. I've heard that some big shot already made black gunpowder. If someone could literally roll a gun out of their hands, even if it's just Level 1, it wouldn't be difficult to take on an Ordinary Elite Monster in the Newbie Village."
"Damn, that's too cool. Does this mean the engineering majors are going to take off?"
"Eh, so it wasn't done by Patrick? Then who did it?"
"I thought Patrick was already invincible under heaven. Who could this be working under?"
Once Patrick cleared things up, those players who enjoyed peaceful farming got excited, completely derailing the topic of the discussion.
Fighting and killing is thrilling, sure, but farming and climbing the tech tree isn't too shabby either.
The thread didn't get back on track to fighting and killing until a player named "Convert to Dear Fu" showed up.
"@Patrick Patrick, Patrick, do you have a moment? I've taken on a hidden task with a very high reward."
Patrick: "How high?"
Convert to Dear Fu: "3500 experience points."
That number shocked Bai Fu.
A single task with a reward of 3500 experience points? Aren't you afraid you've taken on a boss fight task?
That was enough for her to level up her Spiritual Ability Apprentice once more.
She focused, trying to catch anything she could from the conversation between Convert to Dear Fu and Patrick to sneak a piece of the action.
Other players were even more shocked when they saw the number; ten days of moving bricks might not earn them that much experience.
"Adoptive father, where did you take on the task?"
"Chuo, it's a turncoat!"
Convert to Dear Fu: "I got lucky. While I was wandering around Wildfire Gang's territory, an NPC with an exclamation mark over his head walked up to me. I asked if he needed help, and he handed me an assassination mission. There's no way I can complete it alone, so I had to come find you for help, Patrick."
Patrick: "Brother, I'll add you as a friend. Let's DM."
Convert to Dear Fu: "OK."
And just like that, they both disappeared.
It took a full twenty minutes before they reappeared.
Patrick: "Looking for five teammates, preferably those who can make special traps or weapons. Commanders or action game experts can also apply! Note, the task location is in this area (see attached map), and the mission time is after 7 in the evening. So make sure first that you can reach the task location from where you are and that you have free time during that period."
"Ah, only recruiting five people?"
"Weak Dog looking up to the pros."
"Isn't the mission location that area, Wildfire Gang territory? No wonder the reward for this mission is so high, just infiltrating there is going to be tough."
Despite the stringent requirements, in just a few minutes, Patrick still successfully recruited five teammates.
Counting Black Tiger Afu, Dragon of Catastrophe with his Reconnaissance Skill, and Digging Girl, who had helped him fight Big Brother Dabiao before, a ten-person expedition team was thus established.
Bai Fu stared intently at the map Patrick had sent out.
A red circle was drawn on the map which, oddly enough, included the area where her home was located.
"Is the target of the mission someone living in this area?"
An NPC capable of offering a reward of 3500 experience points had to be more powerful than Dabiao.
Bai Fu thought about it for a moment. There didn't seem to be any NPC that strong near her home because the living conditions in this area were quite poor; anyone with any power and status wouldn't choose to live here.
Could it be that Patrick posted a fake map?
Wait, there was one person she had overlooked.
"Am I not the NPC stronger than Dabiao?"
Bai Fu's face went dark all at once.
She hurried to find a spot with a good view to squat in. As evening came and she saw Patrick and the others emerging in the night within her field of vision, her sinking heart finally died.
Great, the "Boss" the players were going to defeat was indeed herself!