Chapter 202: Discovery of the Secret Tower, Bai Fu’s True Identity Revealed

The Secret Tower’s spaceship raced at top speed toward the nearby Jingu Star.

At that moment, everyone aboard the command ship, including Foster, wore grave expressions. Some of the weaker-willed even began trembling uncontrollably.

They were seasoned veterans, yet their reactions were so intense only because events had unfolded far beyond expectations.

After all, this involved one hundred million Dark Domain Worms!

Upon arrival at Jingu Star, within just a few hours the worms were slaughtered and scattered, nearly exterminated. It was a catastrophe beyond description.

Neither the Secret Tower’s members on the ship nor the well-experienced grand steward of the Secret Tower had ever witnessed such a scene.

It was all to blame on the overwhelming number of players on Jingu Star. They poured out in waves; whenever the ship’s crew thought they had seen them all, another wave would appear. After ten or more rounds, many members fell into shock and panic.

That was why, when Foster stepped forward claiming that everyone on Jingu Star was likely undead, almost none of the crew doubted him.

Once everyone accepted the absurd premise that all inhabitants of Jingu Star were undead, it became logical to speculate that all of this was a trap orchestrated by Bai Fu.

In a sense, Foster single‑handedly misled the entire fleet. Without his loud declaration, others—though afraid—wouldn’t have imagined so wildly.

From another perspective, Foster had succeeded in igniting the “Great Brain‑Fill Era.” In this age, everyone aboard the ship who had already fallen into the plot was competing wildly in speculation.

At first, they simply mocked Bai Fu, calling her a white‑cut‑black—appearing honest but hiding black intentions.

As the mocking continued, someone found lack of creativity in that and drew attention by exclaiming.

“Do you think it’s possible that Bai Fu’s conspiracy began the moment she first appeared in the Sea Lion Galaxy?”

Under that suggestion, Bai Fu was portrayed as a top agent cultivated jointly by the Starweb Commonwealth, Tidal Civilization, Celestial Eye Alliance, and Kaster Civilization. These four civilizations deliberately sent her out to attract the Secret Tower’s attention and lure them step by step into a trap.

This made Foster’s conspiracy theory even more conspiratorial. Many felt their spines grow cold.

But not everyone agreed. Someone quickly voiced dissent:

“Your imagination is big, but it’s warped, not well‑rounded!”

“If Bai Fu truly was such a top agent, that means these hundreds of millions of undead were produced by Starweb and the like. If they had that many undead, why bother scheming? They could just overwhelm us.”

“That makes sense. But then, where did Bai Fu come from?”

At that point, another master of speculation took over.

Some said her identity was clear: she came from Star Covenant. Star Covenant coveted something that belonged to the Secret Tower, so they dispatched Bai Fu to stir things up. It wouldn’t be surprising for such a supreme faction to have a cosmic artifact capable of mass‑producing undead.

Others said Bai Fu came from a higher‑dimensional world. Years ago the forerunner of the Secret Tower, the Phantom Civilization, triggered a dimensional catastrophe and released Bai Fu from the higher dimension. She might have been gravely injured but has since been recovering and now seeks revenge on the Secret Tower by calling undead projections from the higher dimension.

Still others said...

Enough with the speculation already!

Foster’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Whatever the truth, for him there was no turning back. Unlike the others, he could not surrender to Bai Fu. At the Stellar Graveyard he had sent people to pursue and kill her.

Their only option was to fight.

But a serious problem confronted him. His fighting spirit burned like a wildfire, but others were not like him.

He looked around. Some seemed to be considering escape, others surrender.

Damn them, useless!

Foster cursed inwardly, completely forgetting that it was his own wild speculation that caused this mess.

He knew that capturing Bai Fu alive would be impossible alone—he needed allies. He had to prevent morale from collapsing further.

With that in mind, he stepped forward a few paces.

“Do you all think we’re doomed?”

Those around him exchanged uneasy glances.

Foster continued, “Admittedly, we’ve fallen into Bai Fu’s trap, but that doesn’t mean we’re lost! No matter Bai Fu’s true identity, she’s currently only an S+ tier esper. That’s obvious—if she were Calamity-level, Cecia would already be dead. The moment we appeared, both she and our ship would be wiped out!”

“Really?!”

“So we still have a chance. We have five S+ among us, and with Cecia, likely hiding in the shadows, that’s six. Six against one—can we not capture Bai Fu? As long as we catch her alive before the ambush arrives and use her as a hostage, we can break out of this encirclement. Remember, we still have Dimensional Shards on hand. Those shards can buy us several hours!”

“Everyone, whether driven by hatred or forced by desperation, we joined the Secret Tower—we are people who have already died once. At this point, can we still fear this little bit of death brought by Bai Fu?”

We cannot!

Absolutely not!

Foster suddenly raised his right fist high, his voice brimming with passion.

Anyone unaware of the context would have thought he was giving a pep talk in a sports anime.

What does it mean to be fired up?

This is it!

Mina-san, let us charge once more—this time, we must—

Leave! No! Regrets!

Under Foster’s rallying cry, many Secret Tower members were deeply moved. They recalled the days of being chased all around—their lost youth—and their fighting spirit surged.

Fight! We’ll continue fighting alongside the Secret Tower for another fifty years, kyaa!

Seeing the mood had been stirred, Foster let out a breath and stepped to the control panel.

“Bai Fu, I want to talk to you!”

His voice swept across Jingu Star via the interstellar common broadcast channel. Bai Fu quickly received the signal.

Talk?

Was this rage after seeing the worms slaughtered by players, now trying to start an online rant?

Bai Fu turned to Manu beside her. “How’s your fleet doing?”

Manu replied, “The makeshift stargate was completed two days ago. Yesterday, the fleet received orders from the Joint Command. They’re already en route to Jingu Star. Because the Secret Tower wasted time releasing the Flood Demon earlier, we only need to hold out for half a day at most to wait for reinforcements.”

Only half a day?

That was shorter than Bai Fu had expected.

Just stalling for half a day wasn’t difficult for her. Her escape capabilities weren’t to be underestimated.

The only problem was if the Secret Tower realized things were going south and tried to retreat, causing the encirclement to fail. If that happened, the progress of her storyline quest to eliminate the Secret Tower would barely increase.

“I must keep the Secret Tower’s attention focused,” Bai Fu thought.

If this operation succeeded, she would not only leave a strong impression on players, but her relationship with factions like the Starweb Commonwealth and Tidal Civilization would also improve significantly. With that connection, she might be able to ask those factions to help her obtain new psionic advancement knowledge.

For now, she needed to hear what the Secret Tower wanted to say.

Bai Fu connected to the interstellar common broadcast channel.

“You Secret Tower folks really are like lingering spirits. From Tianshu Star to the Stellar Graveyard, from the Stellar Graveyard to Ulysses Star, and now chasing all the way to Jingu Star—someone not in the know might think you’re my little tail.”

So the trap had been sprung, and she was now making a victor’s declaration?

Foster sneered.

“Bai Fu, don’t think that just because we’ve fallen into your trap, you’ve already won! So what if you have a horde of undead? We of the Secret Tower have walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The situation before us won’t break our spirit—it will only make us more resolute. We will break through all obstacles, defeat all who stand in our way, capture you alive in front of everyone you arranged, and return to the Secret Tower as heroes. Don’t underestimate the bravery of the Secret Tower!”

Foster’s furious outburst left Bai Fu stunned.

Wait, what? That speech didn’t make sense.

If you already knew I set up ambushes, why aren’t you running? And you even say you want to capture me?

Bai Fu took another look—this Secret Tower fleet wasn’t as strong as the one sent by factions like the Starweb Commonwealth. Could it be that there was a powerful esper hidden in the Secret Tower’s fleet, perhaps a Calamity-tier esper?

She quickly checked the triggered quest 【Jingu Star Defense Battle】.

After the Dark Domain Worms dropped, the quest had already progressed to 14.12%. That didn’t make sense. If there really was a Calamity-tier esper in this fleet, just killing a few worms wouldn’t push the progress that high.

Calamity-tier espers could single-handedly wipe out the entire fleet, and with time, turn Jingu Star into a dead zone. Their deterrent power far surpassed this Flood Demon. Based on the quest progress, it was clear there was no Calamity-tier esper here.

So then—where did Foster’s confidence come from? Was he faking it to lower her guard?

Another thing Bai Fu found strange was Foster’s tone.

Come on, dude, why are you shouting all righteously and passionately? Who’s the villain here, again?

Something was very wrong. From her veteran actress perspective, this wasn’t acting—this destroyed the character. When things are abnormal, there’s always a reason!

While Bai Fu pondered, Foster spoke again.

“Bai Fu, I admit you are far stronger than we expected. Since you’ve set up this trap, you must’ve also thoroughly blocked all signals so we can’t report what’s happening back to headquarters.”

Uh... did I do that?

Bai Fu looked bewildered—just as Foster gave a cold laugh.

“But just as we underestimated you, you’ve underestimated us! Bet you didn’t expect it—Bai Fu, we have higher-dimensional projection. While I’ve been talking to you, I already contacted headquarters through that projection and informed them of everything happening here—your true identity included. That’s right, Bai Fu, we’ve uncovered your real identity. Your schemes end here. Ha! Are you scared? Panicking? It’s all too late!”

Bai Fu immediately made the emoji face of [Subway, Old Man, Phone].

She completely didn’t understand what Foster was talking about.

True identity?

Wasn’t her real identity “Card Queen Bai Fu from the countryside”? She’d never hidden that. Or... did the Secret Tower know she was a transmigrator with a player interface?

Come on—why would they know that?

Bai Fu was utterly confused. The more she thought, the deeper her frown.

This reaction was natural. But to people like Manu, it was... very suggestive.

Bai Fu’s true identity?

Boom!

Manu shuddered!

This question had plagued him for a long time. One of his goals in following Bai Fu to Jingu Star was to use the opportunity to uncover her identity.

From earlier investigations, he had already concluded Bai Fu was a wounded Sovereign in the process of recovery. But exactly where this Sovereign came from, and where she was headed, remained unknown.

So after arriving at Jingu Star, he interviewed many local residents and undead.

Unfortunately, the regular folk all said they didn’t know Bai Fu. The undead, though familiar with her, couldn’t offer clear explanations either.

【Fu-fu? She’s definitely the Sovereign of the Shadowed Night】

【The true power of the Sovereign of the Shadowed Night? No idea. Maybe ask the Excavation‑Princess—she might know】

【Fu-fu’s hometown might be Indigo Star... but maybe not. There’s still too little known info】

【Why are you asking this? Are you plotting something against Fu-fu?!】

Manu didn’t get any useful intel—he only became more confused, feeling that the fog surrounding Bai Fu was growing thicker.

Therefore, upon hearing that the Secret Tower had figured out Bai Fu’s true identity, it was nearly impossible for Manu not to be shocked.

How did they figure it out? And what exactly is Bai Fu’s true identity?

Judging by Bai Fu’s sudden frown, did the Secret Tower actually guess correctly?

Manu was panicking inside. He wanted to say something, but was afraid of upsetting Bai Fu.

Damn it, Secret Tower riddlers—if you know, then just say it out loud!

“I’ve said everything I needed to, Bai Fu. Just wait—I’m coming for you. This time, there’s no escape. We’ve been fully prepared to take you down!”

Foster exited the interstellar broadcast channel.

He looked down at the higher-dimensional projector in his hand, which displayed that the data had been successfully transmitted to headquarters.

Good. This way, even if he failed to escape the trap, the grand steward who received the intel wouldn’t be deceived by Bai Fu again. He might even avenge him.

Foster immediately called out from the crowd a man with a red rooster comb and faint scales on his arms.

Onandi, a fish-scale demi-human. His power rating was merely B-rank—unremarkable within the Secret Tower—but his ability was highly unique. He was a mental profiler!

He had once been arrested for committing a serial murder case. During the arrest, his mental-type esper power suddenly mutated, granting him the ability of 【Profiling】.

At lower levels, the profiling ability had no offensive or physical-enhancing effects, but it was ranked as an extremely rare SS-rank esper power—rarer even than Cecia’s ability.

Why? Because with the profiling ability, one could locate targets through psychological profiles and even predict their next move. At higher levels, profiling could be reversed to manipulate and curse the target. And by then, the targets were no longer limited to humans—animals, plants, AI lifeforms, even machines and buildings could all be manipulated. It was incredibly powerful.

Onandi didn’t possess that level of power yet. As a B-rank, he could only perform basic human profiling—but that was enough for Foster. This ability could help him locate the hiding Bai Fu.

“Begin.”

Onandi nodded. Under everyone’s gaze, he placed his hand on a blank sheet of paper.

Gradually, ink marks began appearing on the paper. After about a minute, those marks formed a top-down landscape sketch.

Foster took the sketch and slapped it onto the control panel.

“Search it!”

The ship’s AI popped up instantly, comparing the sketch to the 3D map of Jingu Star previously scanned from orbit. It quickly found a location with over 99% similarity.

Found you, Bai Fu!

Foster’s eyes gleamed as he immediately gave the attack order.

The ship roared forward. Just seconds after it departed, someone very familiar to both Bai Fu and Foster appeared in the dense forest under the ship’s previous hover point—

Cecia, restored to her original form!

“Finally found you. Last time you fooled me with illusions and a doppelgänger, but this time I won’t fall for it!”

Cecia remembered being run in circles by Bai Fu’s doppelgänger and illusion, and how Bai Fu’s real body had kicked her several times in the rear.

Last time, Bai Fu ambushed her. This time, it was her turn to ambush Bai Fu!

Cecia followed the Secret Tower fleet silently, moving quickly in stealth while thinking about how to handle Bai Fu once she caught her.

Back at headquarters, her initial plan was to kill Bai Fu immediately to prevent any complications.

But now, her thinking had changed slightly.

Just as Bai Fu said, their grudge had originally stemmed from Cecia’s envy. But Bai Fu had repeatedly toyed with her, filling her with resentment.

If she killed Bai Fu right away, wouldn’t that be letting her off too easily? Besides, she had sneaked out of the Secret Tower without permission—once she returned, the grand steward would surely punish her severely. If she didn’t extract some compensation from Bai Fu to offset that pain, this entire trip would have been in vain.

“I can’t kill her. I can’t hand her over to the Secret Tower either. I need to find a hidden place to imprison her, disable her abilities, completely cut her off from the outside world, and turn her into my personal toy. Then I can teach her however I want!”

Thinking that, Cecia pressed her belly—where Bai Fu had kicked her—and her entire body shivered with excitement.

I can’t hold it anymore. I want to capture Bai Fu and ravage her right now!

...

While Cecia burned with passion, the grand steward at Secret Tower headquarters received the message Foster had sent via higher-dimensional projection.

“What?”

After reading it, his pupils constricted.

This news was explosive.

Hundreds of millions of undead—and Bai Fu was likely either a pawn of the Oathmaster from the Star Covenant or a higher-dimensional lifeform?

The grand steward immediately used projection to confirm the intel with another member of the fleet. The reply matched Foster’s.

So it was true.

His face darkened.

If it was the former, then the Star Covenant must be after their secret of the dimension. But how did they find out? And why didn’t the Oathmaster come to steal it himself, but sent Bai Fu instead, even disguising her as a Dark Domain visitor who then accidentally joined the Star Covenant?

Right—clearly the Oathmaster feared that overt action would attract the attention of other supreme factions and invite rivals!

If it was the latter, then things were even worse. A higher-dimensional being... Bai Fu’s goal might not be a specific thing, but the entire Secret Tower’s existence.

Whatever the truth, a countermeasure was necessary.

Have Foster’s team kill Bai Fu now?

Could they even do it?

The grand steward had lost confidence. He regretted not going himself. Now it was too late to send reinforcements. If this chance was missed, he’d need another plan.

“Relying on the Secret Tower alone to deal with someone like Bai Fu is too difficult. We must bring in outside help.”

As he thought, he remembered a satirical story that had recently surfaced online mocking the Secret Tower and its leader.

That story vividly portrayed a “tragic love” between the Secret Tower leader and the Dark Domain Swarm Queen, sparking massive backlash and a coordinated strike against the Secret Tower.

That story had real impact.

Got it.

The grand steward decided to follow that example and write two similar stories.

One would claim that Bai Fu was a pawn of the Oathmaster, sent to the Sea Lion Galaxy to steal the True Spirit Pillar of the Sanctification Order, with a tangled love triangle between Bai Fu, the Oathmaster, and Hiye thrown in for mass appeal.

The other would claim Bai Fu was a higher-dimensional being who pretended to be good to gain public trust, aiming to invade the Edge Worlds. To make it compelling, he would add that Bai Fu was touched by Hiye’s sincere love and wavered, but ultimately reaffirmed her ambitions.

These stories sounded fake, right?

No problem.

The previous story about the Secret Tower leader was fake too. All it took was to embed a few real details—things most people didn’t know yet but would soon be exposed—and people would believe the whole story.

The real detail he’d add was this: Bai Fu secretly hid hundreds of millions of undead on Jingu Star. That was first-hand intel. Once it spread, the two stories would blow up with popularity.

As long as one supreme power started to doubt Bai Fu and stepped in, he wouldn’t have to worry about Bai Fu threatening the Secret Tower anymore.

Write, write, write—he had to finish and publish the stories before the news about the undead on Jingu Star went viral.

The grand steward got busy.