When You Become an NPC That Might Die Any Moment in the Novice Village

The morning breeze blew, and the barking of dogs echoed through the streets and alleys.

With the sun gradually climbing higher, the sleeping Lynn Settlement was slowly awakened.

Bai Fu drove straight to Digging Girl's residence, and sitting in the passenger seat was An Ya, the Task distributor and up-and-coming merchant from Silent Court.

After a few turns, the outline of the inn came into view, and with her sharp eyes, she immediately spotted about twenty or so of the new Players standing outside the inn from yesterday.

When she parked the car, those Players also took notice of her presence.

"Damn, it's Bai Fu!"

The Players, who had been chatting idly, swiftly turned around, their faces unable to hide their surprise and delight.

They originally thought they would need to unlock Advanced Professions to see Bai Fu again, but here she was, showing up unannounced.

Hurry, hurry, go live to make the other Players who couldn't come to Lynn jealous!

After getting out of the car, Bai Fu didn't rush to have An Ya distribute Tasks to these Players, as doing so would make her seem desperate for Players, which would make it harder for her to reap the benefits of the Players like a farmer harvests his crops if they formed that opinion of her.

She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Are you also here looking for Digging Girl?" she paused, then suddenly said to the Player standing at the front, "Long time no see, if I remember correctly, we fought together at the Abandoned Cooling Factory against the Insect Tide, and your nickname was 'Super Big Melon Skin.'"

"Holy shit!"

Super Big Melon Skin was startled.

He had never dreamed that Bai Fu would remember his name, especially since there were hundreds of Players fighting alongside her at that time.

Could it be that Fufu has a thing for me...

As this thought crossed his mind, he heard Bai Fu's voice rise again.

"Your nickname is 'Loud Rice Ball'... uh-huh, I remember you too, 'Fried Dough Foodie'..."

So Fufu had remembered the names of all the Players who had battled with her.

Feeling a sense of loss, Super Big Melon Skin soon thought it was incredibly cool, as cool as a cow on a rocket—blasting off into the sky.

In most games, NPCs wouldn't remember their names at all, and their attitude might even do a 180-degree turn as soon as a task ended.

But wait, even in Stars Above, this kind of experience was unique; who else but Bai Fu, who would erect a monument for Players, could offer this emotional value?

While the Players on site were feeling excited, those in the live stream were also having a good time.

[Please, Players, choose nicknames that sound more like real people.jpg]

[Got it, next time I'll change my nickname to "I like ya."]

[Byd, trying to take advantage, huh?]

[I can't believe Fufu can read those names without bursting into laughter, too awesome]

While everyone was chatting, Digging Girl suddenly walked out of her room.

"Fufu!"

Bai Fu turned her head to look at her, then with an apologetic face turned towards the Players huddled around her.

"I'm very sorry, but I have some urgent business with Digging Girl. Let's chat later."

With that, she led An Ya upstairs, leaving the Players downstairs with envious and jealous glances towards Digging Girl.

Damn it!

It was they who had struck up a conversation with Bai Fu first, they who were having a good time chatting with her, but as soon as Digging Girl showed up, Bai Fu walked away.

Was this the advantage of intervening early in the plot and building up high Affinity?

The feeling of having their thunder stolen was unbearable, and what made them feel even worse was the image that sprang to mind as soon as they closed their eyes: Bai Fu in Digging Girl's room, assigning her a new Task—utterly maddening.

If they had arrived at Lynn a few days earlier, might they now be the ones enjoying such treatment?

"Ah, ah, ah—"

Bai Fu saw the expressions of the group of Players downstairs and secretly chuckled; it was no accident she had chosen to come when both Digging Girl and the Players were present.

Most Players had a competitive nature, especially those who had raced over here early in the morning. Seeing Digging Girl feeling so privileged would surely light a fire under them to show themselves off.

In time, she wouldn't even have to ask; these Players would come to her of their own accord, begging her to distribute Tasks and undoubtedly performing even more vigorously once the Tasks were in hand.

In short, she'd let them dangle for a bit longer.

Bai Fu shifted her gaze back, "Is it just you here today?"

Digging Girl asked, "Should I call the others over?"

"No need," Bai Fu replied. "Just pass the message along to them later. I came here with an important notice for you—your performance yesterday has been recognized by the authority, and they agree to continue your involvement in their operations as an external unit. By the end of next week at the latest, they will be launching a new operation.

"This operation is very important—not just to the authority but to me as well. There might be something there that can help me recover more of my power. But correspondingly, the difficulty of this Task will also be very high. Prepare yourselves mentally, and if there's an emergency or if you wish to withdraw, be sure to let me know in advance."

What, a way to further recover power?

Hearing this, Digging Girl no longer had any thought of backing out. She felt that after all her efforts, she had finally gained Bai Fu's complete trust. Bai Fu had never before taken the initiative to share her personal circumstances with her.

She immediately patted her chest and assured she wouldn't drop the ball.

"Alright," Bai Fu said with a smile, "I'll be off then. I'll come back when I have time to talk about the details with you."

She left the room and before she could even go downstairs, the group of Players below had crowded around.