Who Made Her an NPC?!

### Chapter 217: Parasite Plan Activation, Advancing Bai Fu [5k]

After raising her total level to 110, Bai Fu was full of confidence in her current strength.

With all bonuses activated, her Inspiration attribute could reach up to 2,138 points. Although this state could only last for three minutes, unless the opponent had special life-saving methods like Sessia, three minutes would be enough for her to defeat most S+ rated opponents.

Now, when facing the Tower of Secrets, as long as she wasn’t surrounded by a group of S+ rated characters or blocked by a Catastrophe Tier, even if she couldn’t win, she could easily withdraw.

After finally boosting her strength, not doing anything felt like a waste. The first thing that came to mind was helping the Dark Domain Bug Queen collect four more samples of the Dissociative Medication prototype.

She was very interested in the plot involving the main quest, but what really caught her attention was the reward—a “Spiritual Source of the Dark Domain Bug Queen.”

According to the Dark Domain Bug Queen, this item could significantly boost spiritual attributes, whether used on herself or Scarlet Leaf, allowing them to escape the erosion of the chaotic void and evolve into “Prophets.”

Bai Fu planned to give the Spiritual Source to Scarlet Leaf.

Throughout their journey from entering the Celestial Sea to now, Scarlet Leaf had helped her a lot, even risking her life at one point. It was impossible for Bai Fu not to feel moved.

Bai Fu could tell that despite Scarlet Leaf’s reluctance to express it, she was deeply worried about the potential loss of control over the Void Blood inside her body.

Solving this long-standing problem for Scarlet Leaf was not only a way to repay her gratitude but also a way to strengthen her own side.

The Sworn One had said that once Scarlet Leaf was free from the troubles of the Void Blood, she could advance to the Catastrophe Tier. With a Catastrophe Tier present, the Silent Courtyard and Star Network could communicate on equal terms from a power perspective.

However, there was a serious issue Bai Fu faced now—

Where could she find the remaining four prototypes?

Sessia had already revealed everything she knew, and after her previous raid, the Tower of Secrets would surely become more vigilant.

“Let’s see if the player spies within the Tower of Secrets can dig out some information. If not, we’ll have to take more direct action and interrogate the people of the Tower of Secrets directly,” Bai Fu instructed Jiujiao to convey the message.

She assigned a task to investigate the whereabouts of the prototypes to some trusted player spies and asked other spies to closely monitor every move of the Tower of Secrets to see what kind of bugs they were researching.

“Relax, Fu Fu, I guarantee the completion of the mission!”

Jiujiao readily agreed.

However, plans often change. Before new intelligence arrived, players loyal to Sessia reported important information.

After two months of searching, these players finally found an NPC who returned annually to the ruins of the biological laboratory.

[His name is Didier. We found him on a planet called Ta Feng in the Chaotic Star Path. When we first found him, he was eating dirt.]

Eating dirt?

Bai Fu was stunned for a moment.

After the detailed explanation from the players, she understood that “eating dirt” literally meant eating dirt.

Didier had gone mad.

When the players found him, he was in a frenzied state, squatting on the ground, digging mud with his bare hands while laughing maniacally. After laughing for a while, he would cry and repeatedly mutter “I’m sorry,” before stuffing dirt into his mouth.

Fortunately, among the players who found him were several who specialized in mental techniques, which allowed them to calm him down and extract useful information from him.

Before the biological laboratory was destroyed, Didier was the head of the inspection department, so he knew many secrets of the biological laboratory.

For instance, the biological laboratory had been funded by the Tower of Secrets for a long time and was one of its faithful partners.

For example, the biological laboratory originally focused on studying alien beasts. It started conducting human-alien hybrid experiments after receiving funding from the Tower of Secrets and under the guidance of the senior research supervisor, Liuye Dao.

For example, the reason the Tower of Secrets attacked the biological laboratory was because a supplier was unexpectedly captured, causing the Tower to fear exposure and destruction of its plans, leading to the complete destruction of the laboratory.

During the destruction of the laboratory, many people were killed, including Didier, who was on the hit list. However, he narrowly escaped because he was away from the lab due to his family’s illness at the time.

However, the Tower of Secrets did not intend to let him off. They sent a force to constantly pursue him. During his escape, his family’s condition worsened, but he could do nothing. He could only watch helplessly as his family died before his eyes. Due to the urgency of the pursuit, he couldn’t even bury his deceased family and had to flee again.

The pursuit lasted for three months. When the Tower of Secrets finally stopped pursuing him, he had already gone mad from fear and guilt toward his family.

However, Didier’s madness was not complete. He occasionally regained his sanity, which was why he regularly visited the ruins of the biological laboratory.

He confessed his sins there, believing he ended up in this situation because he participated in human experiments and suffered retribution.

“This NPC regularly appears at the biological laboratory ruins, which is clearly a typical quest NPC.”

Bai Fu quickly replied to the reporting player: “Has Sessia been informed about this?”

[Not yet. We were afraid something might happen, so we didn’t tell her and immediately contacted you, Fu Fu.]

“Well done.”

Bai Fu breathed a sigh of relief.

The information Didier provided indicated that although the spider parasite incident involving Sessia was not meticulously planned by the Tower of Secrets, it was still heavily pushed by them. If Sessia found out that she had been working for the force that turned her into a monster, she might be enraged and determined to fight the Tower of Secrets.

Her strength was formidable, but fighting the Tower of Secrets alone was insufficient.

“Does Didier know any other secrets of the Tower of Secrets?” Bai Fu asked.

The player quickly replied that despite the passage of years, Didier still remembered several names that were closely connected to the Tower of Secrets. This was something he inadvertently overheard during his tenure as the head of the inspection department.

Bai Fu opened the list of names sent by the player.

One name caught her attention.

[Star Network Commonwealth – Kauira Tribe representative Reynolds]

She had met this person during her first visit to the Star Network’s home planet, Blue Sky Star. He was an elderly gentleman who seemed very approachable. At that time, he had spoken to her, calling her “Holy Maiden” affectionately.

“How could this old man be part of the Tower of Secrets? Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover!”

Bai Fu immediately decided to contact Manu to report it, but then reconsidered.

Reynolds held a high position in the Star Network. Even if she reported him, without concrete evidence and relying solely on Didier’s word, it would be difficult to bring him down. Not bringing down Reynolds would be akin to alerting the enemy.

Her goal was not to help the Star Network root out corruption but to gather more information about the Tower of Secrets through Reynolds, especially where they hid the prototypes.

“It seems I’ll need to use some underhanded but strong tactics.”

Bai Fu clenched her fist, instructing the player who found Didier to hide him temporarily and not inform Sessia of his existence.

[What if Sessia suddenly asks about him?]

The player was somewhat concerned.

“Don’t worry, her attention will soon shift elsewhere.”

Bai Fu was confident.

After comforting the player, she took a selfie making a peace sign and sent it to Sessia.

[How do you feel?]

Seeing the photo, Sessia immediately blushed.

How does she feel?

It could only mean she found the photo very suitable for spellcasting, wanting to rotate her fingers.

Sessia: [Beautiful!]

Bai Fu: [I’m not asking if it’s beautiful, I’m asking if you noticed any changes in my body]

Changes?

Sessia looked left and right but couldn’t spot any differences compared to the last time they were together, but she noticed her own body had changed.

[Forget it, I won’t play games with you. I’ve advanced to the S+ tier. I wanted to share this good news with you, and also, I have something to ask of you. Come to me.]

Alright, alright, I’m coming!

Sessia temporarily set aside the search for Didier and ran to the Initial Gateway Subcommittee in just three and a half days.

“Cough… The reason I called you here is to ask for your help.”

Bai Fu explained the situation with Reynolds, mentioning she received the information from an unnamed informant.

“Do you want me to kidnap him?”

Bai Fu shook her head: “No, I’ll handle it myself. I’m mainly worried about hidden experts from the Tower of Secrets. Bringing you along is just a precaution. Don’t worry, I’ll pay the commission.”

Sessia glanced at Scarlet Leaf standing beside her, nodded without further comment.

“Since you have no objections, let’s act immediately.”

Bai Fu didn’t want to delay.

The bug-like creatures used by the Tower of Secrets for experiments made her uneasy. After multiple setbacks, she felt the Tower of Secrets might be planning something big.

Half an hour later, Bai Fu led over a thousand players, along with Sessia, Yulia, Scarlet Leaf, Anya, and the Dark Domain Bug Queen, to Blue Sky Star.

Anya was included because she was an A-tier psychic, giving her an advantage in interrogation.

Traveling from the Star Treaty subcommittee to Blue Sky Star involved crossing two star systems, taking a total of eleven days. Throughout the journey, news frequently reported on the Tower of Secrets’ activities. Though the Tower hadn’t launched another large-scale attack on the Initial Gateway, they continued small-scale harassment, which was frustrating for the various civilizations in the Initial Gateway Star Cluster.

Bai Fu felt that if this trend continued, the conflict between the Tower of Secrets and the Initial Gateway Star Cluster might end before the 2.0 version launch. New players entering the Celestial Sea might wonder:

[Where’s my main quest? How come my big main quest disappeared?]

This was good news for her.

If players couldn’t find other main quests, they would likely turn to her, hoping she could provide clues related to the main quest.

Eleven days later.

The spaceship successfully arrived at Blue Sky Star.

As the home planet of the Star Network, Blue Sky Star had extremely strict security measures. Bai Fu was recognized even before leaving the ship.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Blue Sky Star?” The hologram of Manu appeared in the spaceship, her voice tinged with resentment.

Bai Fu smiled and made up an excuse: “I was passing by Blue Sky Star on a mission and dropped by to see how you all were doing. How have things been?”

“Don’t mention it.” Manu couldn’t help but complain, with every third sentence being a curse against the Tower of Secrets. “I haven’t rested for nearly three months straight.”

Bai Fu subtly steered the conversation towards Reynolds: “So busy, aren’t Clever and Reynolds helping out?”

Manu didn’t suspect anything and replied: “They’re busy too. Chairman Clever has been in meetings non-stop. As for Reynolds, he just left for Xiudun Star to check on the situation with the Ulysses people. I told him to go a bit later, but he said the Ulysses people are your friends, and he must ensure they’re doing well on Xiudun Star.”

“Got it.”

Bai Fu kept smiling, but her heart sank.

If this were any other time, she wouldn’t have thought much, but now, she knew Reynolds had ties to the Tower of Secrets, and the Tower was eager to tear her apart. She had to suspect that Reynolds meeting the Ulysses people had ulterior motives.

After casually chatting with Manu, she immediately redirected her course to Xiudun Star under the pretext of an urgent mission.

When she arrived at Xiudun Star, sure enough, something had happened.

[Name] Samir (Infected by Dark Domain Parasite)

[Name] Caroline (Infected by Dark Domain Parasite)

Bai Fu checked the status of over a dozen Ulysses people, each showing a new condition.

At the same time, she received a game prompt.

[You have been invaded by a Dark Domain Parasite. Judging… Judgment successful. You are immune to this invasion.]

A parasitic insect with contagious capabilities—that’s what the players described.

Bai Fu’s face darkened.

Damn the Tower of Secrets. Troubling her was one thing; now they were targeting the Ulysses people.

“Have you met anyone else besides Reynolds recently?”

This question was strange, but the Ulysses people answered honestly. To them, Bai Fu was not just a savior but the true savior.

“Today, I only met the representative Reynolds. Before that, there were others. Do you want me to list their names…”

“No need for now.”

Bai Fu was almost certain this was Reynolds’ doing.

Since the Tower of Secrets didn’t care about decorum, neither would she.

“I’ll meet Reynolds and ask him where the other prototypes are hidden.”

Right after separating from the Ulysses people, Bai Fu heard a voice in her mind.

[I know that insect. It’s modified from a Dark Domain Bug larva. It doesn’t harm the host until activated by the Bug Queen. Once activated, it will erode the host’s spirit, turning them into a node in the Dark Domain Bug network, essentially making them a puppet controlled by others.]

Bai Fu was surprised and pulled out the Dark Domain Bug Queen.

“So, how do we get rid of these parasites?”

[Simple]

The Dark Domain Bug Queen grinned proudly.

[Help me transform the bugs. Once I break out of my shell, I can command them to commit suicide. After all, I am the legitimate Dark Domain Bug Queen.]

Back to collecting prototypes again?

Bai Fu nodded. That was fine; her original purpose in seeking out Reynolds was this. Unexpectedly discovering that the Tower of Secrets was spreading these parasites was good news.

Although stopping it was too late, knowing what the Tower of Secrets was up to would make handling the situation easier.

“Then let’s go talk to our dear Mr. Reynolds and find out where the other prototypes are hidden.”

Bai Fu waited until nightfall to act.

A dark and stormy night, perfect for mischief.

Xiudun Hotel, Xiudun Star.

Reynolds, having finished dinner, sat idly at his desk flipping through an e-book. Nearby, an antique clock ticked rhythmically, adding to the quietness of the night.

He had come to Xiudun Star after receiving a message from the Tower of Secrets, instructing him to distribute a special parasite to the Ulysses people.

Being a seasoned operator, he immediately understood that the Master of the Tower of Secrets wanted revenge on Bai Fu, using the Ulysses people as pawns since they were close to her.

He wasn’t worried that Bai Fu would suspect him. The Tower of Secrets wouldn’t activate the parasites for some time.

There were countless people who had interacted with the Ulysses people during this period; Bai Fu couldn’t possibly suspect him.

“Being noticed by the Tower of Secrets isn’t a good thing. Even with the Star Treaty backing us, we can’t escape retaliation.”

Reynolds smiled and shook his head.

Just then, he sensed a gust of wind in the room.

Something was wrong!

Reynolds immediately stood up but saw a woman standing by the window, whose smile was like a bright rose, captivating and hard to look away from.

“Bai Fu!”

When did she come in?

“Do you think I’m scarier, or the Tower of Secrets?”

Suddenly, a magical blade began spinning in Bai Fu’s hand.

Reynolds said: “Holy Maiden, why are you here at this hour?”

Bai Fu growled: “The Dark Domain Parasites on the Ulysses people were distributed by you, right? As the representative of the Kauira Tribe of the Star Network, you collude with the Tower of Secrets. Reynolds, you have a lot of nerve.”

Hearing this, Reynolds’ heart nearly leaped out of his chest. He forced himself to remain calm: “Holy Maiden, I don’t understand what you’re saying. What Dark Domain…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence because Bai Fu’s spinning magical blade was now hovering in front of his throat, ready to cut at any moment.

“Don’t try to call out. It’s pointless. Anya has already sealed your room with her psychic energy. If you honestly confess your relationship with the Tower of Secrets, I can make your punishment less severe.”

Reynolds panicked.

He couldn’t comprehend how he was exposed. Even if Bai Fu didn’t kill him, revealing his collusion with the Tower of Secrets would result in his death.

He needed to stay calm.

He still had a chance.

The Tower of Secrets had sent an S+ rated superpower user to be near him. If they lost contact for ten minutes, the S+ rated superpower user would immediately notice and come to his rescue.

The Tower of Secrets people said that although Bai Fu had performed miracles on Jin Gu Star, her energy intensity was not at the Catastrophe Tier. She probably only temporarily gained some power and was still at the S+ tier.

As long as that S+ rated member from the Tower of Secrets initiated an attack, everything would be fine.

Now, he needed to buy ten minutes and wait for the S+ rated member from the Tower of Secrets to ambush and eliminate Bai Fu.

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