Bai Fu's approach to leveling up was crystal clear.
No matter how much popularity she could garner from players, the most crucial point was that she must survive until the first version update after the game went public; she wanted to see if the game would adjust her rubbish attribute panel based on her performance.
When survival was the goal, prioritizing Constitution over other attributes obviously offered a better cost-performance ratio.
Anyone familiar with League of Legends would know, during team fights, the enemy often targeted their AD carry or mid-laner; unless absolutely necessary, who would want to waste all their skills on a stone golem with maxed-out resistance and health?
Not every stone golem liked to wear a coral reef skin and shout, "You're going to lose," while dancing to attract aggro.
Bai Fu's decision to prioritize Constitution had reasons beyond just that.
She hadn't systematically learned combat techniques before or after her transmigration.
This meant that even if she prioritized Power, she might still get trashed in real battles due to misfires and other misplays like a "Deadly Miss."
She had to learn corresponding Body Cultivation Stream skills, explore the best skill combination strategies, and adapt to the attack rhythms of opponents to utilize her full strength.
If Bai Fu were a player, she would definitely choose this approach.
Things like Great Wilderness Prison Heaven Finger or Freedom Extreme Intent Skill look cool, but whether they could hit the target was another matter—who didn't have a few naive fantasies?
But since she was an NPC who couldn't be resurrected, she opted for a more straightforward and brutish fighting style.
Like playing a soul-like game with an ultra-heavy warrior build.
Max health, max resilience, max resistance, max stamina bar, max healing potions, then don the heaviest armor and carry the heaviest shield.
Dodge?
Not necessary.
Skill?
Not necessary.
Pray up, whip out the unlimited combat techniques learned online, engage the enemy in a "you hit yours, I hit mine" showdown, and see who ends up with a thicker blood bar!
Having made up her mind, Bai Fu quickly returned home. She stuffed a few boards on her body, changed into a thick set of clothes, and then headed straight for Big Brother Dabiao's stronghold.
...
At 18:49 in the evening, the sun dipped below the horizon.
On the dimly moonlit path, Martin kicked at a wall that had been crumbling for years, cursing under his breath.
"Are these outsiders some kind of locusts, not even leaving a single bottle cap behind?"
He had just left Big Brother Dabiao's stronghold.
Man, that place was so empty it would make a rat cry!
He initially hadn't expected Bai Fu to complete the task, planning to dock her salary harshly once she failed.
Who would have thought that those outsiders would suddenly intervene and kill Big Brother Dabiao?
Now, the task couldn't continue, and he had no excuse to dock Bai Fu's salary.
"Dammit, these out-of-towners are really too rude!"
Martin was furious.
His hobbies were quite simple.
While others might fantasize about Bai Fu's legs lasting them a year, he was different; he was only interested in making money off her or having her make money for him.
Thinking about not being able to dock her salary made him as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.
He didn't believe it would be impossible to dock her salary.
The outsiders were causing a commotion recently, so he thought he'd send Bai Fu to capture a few and bring them back. If she toughed it out and went to her death, so be it. If she dared to resist, then he'd dock her pay!
This thought greatly improved Martin's mood.
He lifted his foot to leave but then saw someone blocking his way, swathed so thoroughly only their eyes were visible.
Damn, blocking my path, you think I, Martin of the Abandoned Cooling Factory, will put up with this?
Martin immediately threw a three-hit combo of quality punches.
"Where did this stray dog come from, daring to block your dad's path? You know whose territory this is? Scram or I'll stab you to death!"
The disguised Bai Fu remained unmoved.
To be cautious, she used "Spiritual Vision" on Martin again.
[Name]: Javier Martin (Elite)
[Template]: Ordinary
[Main Profession]: Ordinary Boxer Lv6
[Secondary Profession]: None
[Life Value]: 80/80
[Attributes]: Power 8, Agility 8, Constitution 8, Intelligence 3, Spirit 4, Inspiration 2
[Skills]: Deadly Strike Lv3, Sweeping Kick Lv1
[Talent]: None
[Affinity]: Contempt (-6)
[Danger Level]: Blue
Very balanced primary attributes, in gaming terms, Martin had trained a very average account.
It's fine to train an average account in single-player games, where leveling up is too tedious, one could merely ask for help from a great master to max all attributes, becoming an uber-average account.
But in online games, approaching attribute distribution like this was somewhat unwise.
Bai Fu turned off Martin's attribute panel with confidence.
A blue indicator meant Martin's power theoretically aligned with hers, but that was just theoretical, actual combat isn't a game about comparing numbers.
"An outsider asked me to give you a message," Bai Fu said with a hoarse voice.
"An outsider?" Martin was momentarily stunned but quickly caught on, "You are Bai Fu, don't think I can't recognize you just because you've covered your face and changed your voice!"
Bai Fu: "..."
You recognized me, huh?
Well, since I've been figured out, might as well stop pretending.
She removed her headgear: "Martin, fuck your mother, how dare you use An Ya to threaten me."
"I thought you wouldn't resist, so you were waiting here," Martin sneered and clenched his fist, "Interesting, I hope you can amuse me."
Martin, who found himself ambushed, remained calm. Big Brother Dabiao could knock out Bai Fu with one punch; his strength was slightly inferior to Dabiao's, but if not one punch, two should do the job, right?
This little nobody dares to trouble me, their superior? What a reversal of the heavens!
He laughed and walked toward Bai Fu.
The moment he got close, his sandbag-sized fist, like a heavy cannon, roared towards Bai Fu, the strong wind from the punch even blowing her hair.
Hip and waist combined—the power bursted, with "Deadly Strike Lv3" overloading.
Bang!
The punch solidly hit Bai Fu's stomach.
Critical hit!
"-4!"
A bright red damage number floated above Bai Fu's head.
Bai Fu's body swayed slightly, but she quickly stabilized.
What, it actually did 4 points of damage?
Bai Fu was shocked.
Martin was dumbfounded.
He felt like he had punched an iron plate, not only failing to topple Bai Fu but also swelling his own hand.
You fucking turned it on, didn't you?
Martin, refusing to believe, relentlessly pounded at Bai Fu with the cries of "Ora Ora Ora."
"-1", "-1", "-3", "-1"…
Bai Fu dodged left and right, and due to her lesser agility, she only perfectly avoided about half of the attacks; her shoulders, joints, and other parts still took numerous punches. Martin kept hitting until his whole body ached and his eyes blurred before he stopped, hoping it was enough to turn Bai Fu to mush.
Initially, Bai Fu was a bit worried, thinking she had pointlessly upgraded her constitution.
But as Martin's punching slowed and the damage he inflicted reduced, not even managing to produce 1 point of damage anymore, she felt thoroughly relieved.
See, this is why you don't skimp on constitution, you virtual loser!
Bai Fu checked her own blood volume.
[153/180]
That was quite safe.
"All right, now it's my turn to play."
Bai Fu picked up a big stick and swung it upwards in a large spinning motion towards Martin's crotch.
The secret technique of unrestricted martial arts, "Deadly Chicken Strike," was activated.
Martin, although aware of the danger, couldn't dodge in time due to his muscle soreness and limited lung capacity.
Fuck my life, what kind of monster is this, to take so many punches and be totally fine?
He could only watch helplessly as the big stick came closer.
Snap!
"-16!"
The same bright red number, also a critical hit.
A severe pain surged from below straight to his crown, and in the moment of impact, Martin was entirely paralyzed, his mouth opened to scream, but his throat and mouth suddenly "Hardened," reducing his scream to a monotone, low "oh" sound—he could neither cry nor call for help.
Bai Fu showed no mercy, swinging the stick repeatedly in consecutive strikes.
"-13", "-11", "-8"
Snap, the big stick broke, but by then Martin's life points had been reduced to just 32.
Fear and pain filled his eyes as he, relying on his last bit of reason, rolled trying to escape.
Bai Fu, without a word, stepped heavily on Martin's face with the thick sole of her boot.
Crack.
The bridge of his nose collapsed, and the back of his skull splattered with a large patch of fresh blood.
When Bai Fu moved her boot away, Martin was utterly out of breath.
[You have killed Javier Martin, contribution 100%, adjusted based on level difference to obtain 640 points of experience.]
Bai Fu removed her blood-stained gloves and stuffed them into her pocket.
That's what you get for not practicing "Groin Guard Skill," kid!
At the moment, Bai Fu felt as refreshed as drinking a bottle of ice-cold Coca-Cola on a hot summer day—she felt one word—
Awesome!