NOVEL NEXT Chapter 238
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Chapter 238: Cessia Ascends to Catastrophe Tier, Advantage on My Side [5k]
“Let Bai Fu personally introduce the current status and future development direction of the Dark Moon Tide!”
Andreas clapped with a smile.
As the applause filled the room, Bai Fu, with a confident smile at the corners of her mouth, walked up to the giant virtual screen at the front of the meeting room in her black high heels.
Her appearance instantly made the meeting room incredibly lively.
In this highly information-driven era, even ordinary people in remote areas of the Edge World had probably heard about Bai Fu’s brutal beating of the Catastrophe Tier Legion. Let alone the members of the Origin Corporation’s board who often invested in superhumans?
Upon receiving the news, all the members of the Origin Corporation’s board who did not have direct conflicts with Andreas could not help but be delighted.
The success of Andreas’s investment in Bai Fu was good news for him personally and even better news for the development of the Origin Corporation.
The Origin Corporation had not found new growth points in a long time, but now they had unexpectedly placed their bets on Bai Fu, a supernova. If Bai Fu did not encounter any accidents, it was foreseeable that the corporation’s investment returns would become very impressive in the next few years.
Bai Fu was not just one person; she had millions of undead under her command.
They would undoubtedly become a new calling card for the Origin Corporation, bringing countless conveniences!
“With Bai Fu’s rapid development, it seems we don’t need to seek new growth points or get involved in the internal conflicts of the Tam Civilization in the short term.”
“I agree. The situation in the Tam Civilization remains unclear, and rashly getting involved poses too much risk. It could ruin the Origin Corporation’s foundation built over nearly a thousand years.”
“Since we’ve reached an agreement, let’s politely decline Hampton’s offer.”
The discussions about Bai Fu and the Tam Civilization were conducted in private within the meeting room, and outsiders had no way of knowing what was specifically discussed.
But Hampton wasn’t a fool.
Just by looking at the expressions of others, he knew his plan to pressure Andreas during the meeting and push him off the board was doomed to fail.
What the hell!
Hampton’s blood surged, and his face turned red like a monkey’s butt.
Seeing his unusual expression, Andreas, who wanted to strangle him, seized the opportunity to “comfort” him: “Mr. Hampton, your face doesn’t look right. Are you feeling unwell? If you’re not feeling well, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. If something happens, the Origin Corporation will lose a capable general.”
Already suffering a heavy defeat, Hampton didn’t want to lose face again.
He forced down his anger and said he was fine, just a bit excited seeing the famous Bai Fu for the first time.
“You know, my granddaughter is a fan of Bai Fu. She’s been urging me to get her a signed photo of Bai Fu.”
“Such a thing? Mr. Hampton, I am deeply honored. Signed photos? After the meeting, I’ll give you a stack!” Bai Fu smiled warmly.
“That’s really kind of you.”
Hampton felt his heart bleeding.
Who the hell wants Bai Fu’s signed photo!
Forget it.
Once he got the photos, he would sell them, at least making some profit from Bai Fu!
After a brief conversation, Bai Fu began discussing the current state of the Dark Moon Tide and its future plans.
She planned to build at least one base in every star cluster of the Edge World, aiming to turn the Dark Moon Tide into the largest private armed company within five years, becoming a gold-standard investment for the Origin Corporation and providing security services.
She was good at making grand promises.
If this had happened before, everyone would have thought she was exaggerating. But now, with Bai Fu having beaten the Catastrophe Tier Legion, the directors of the Origin Corporation happily swallowed her promises.
You are powerful, you are the Holy Maiden, you are the queen, whatever you say goes!
Bai Fu became the sole focus of the internal meeting.
As for the Tam Civilization, even Hampton himself didn’t mention it, so others wouldn’t either.
Seeing that the grand promises were almost complete, Bai Fu also confronted the Catastrophe Tier Legion.
Even if the Catastrophe Tier Legion intercepted her halfway, without the Origin Corporation’s help, she wouldn’t let this threat go. Now that she had the chance to bring the Origin Corporation’s help, she could also annoy Hampton, so she was full of vigor.
“We need to fully deal with the Catastrophe Tier Legion?”
For a moment, the meeting room fell silent as everyone weighed the pros and cons.
Bai Fu needed very little support—just two things:
<ul><li>A three-year low-interest loan</li>
<li>Intelligence support from the Origin Corporation</li>
</ul>
If they supported Bai Fu, the Origin Corporation would be standing firmly against the Catastrophe Tier Legion. If Bai Fu couldn’t quickly eliminate the Catastrophe Tier Legion, the Origin Corporation might suffer some losses.
The Catastrophe Tier Legion members weren’t good people; they had strong grudges and would bite back even if they knew they were weaker than the Origin Corporation.
If they didn’t support Bai Fu, the relationship they had just built might crack. And if another corporation suddenly came along and poached Bai Fu…
On second thought, supporting Bai Fu was better.
If Bai Fu truly eliminated the Catastrophe Tier Legion, they could use this event to mend relations with forces previously in conflict with the Catastrophe Tier Legion.
There’s no investment without risk.
As long as the returns were significant, risks were just minor obstacles!
Andreas led the support for Bai Fu, followed by others casting their votes in favor.
Finally, Andreas looked at Hampton: “Mr. Hampton, what do you think?”
“I… “
Hampton’s face had already turned a pig liver color.
First, he allied with the Catastrophe Tier Legion to fight Bai Fu, then after the Catastrophe Tier Legion was beaten, he switched to support Bai Fu to fight them. Even if Blood Stain understood his predicament, he might still harbor resentment towards Hampton due to Blood Stain’s personality.
Blood Stain’s revenge list:
<ol><li>Bai Fu</li>
<li>Scarlet Leaf</li>
<li>Hampton</li>
</ol>
What the hell, is there no justice?
His moves had landed him in a trap.
It was all because Blood Stain bragged that he could definitely kill Bai Fu. Oh, Blood Stain lost his horse long ago, so it’s fine now.
Hampton swallowed his anger again.
He put on a thick-skinned smile: “As a director of the Origin Corporation, for the development of the Origin Corporation, I naturally support this.”
Great, a landslide victory!
Andreas felt refreshed, as if he had suddenly become several years younger.
He took over the conversation from Bai Fu, recalling the past of the Origin Corporation and looking forward to its future.
“With everyone’s cooperation, one day the Origin Corporation can become the largest corporation in the Edge World!”
Clap, clap, clap—
In the midst of enthusiastic applause, the internal meeting concluded, but the hidden currents beneath the surface grew more turbulent.
Immediately after the meeting ended, Hampton and other members of the Tam faction, Bai Fu and Andreas’s faction, gathered separately for meetings.
The Tam faction discussed how to deal with Blood Stain and how to proceed with their collaboration with the Tam Civilization.
Hampton was seething with rage, but after careful consideration, he decided he couldn’t just cut ties with the Catastrophe Tier Legion. Otherwise, if Blood Stain bites him when he’s about to die, it would be troublesome.
“The Catastrophe Tier Legion lost two Catastrophe Tier members. Blood Stain is probably in a bad mood, and it won’t be easy to talk to him.”
“I’ll offer him a deal he can’t refuse.”
Hampton’s deal referred to the formula for the Rose Potion.
Originally, this formula was supposed to be given to Blood Stain upon completing the task, but now to keep Blood Stain loyal, he had to make a sacrifice.
In addition to the Rose Potion formula, he promised to timely inform Blood Stain of Bai Fu’s movements.
“Bai Fu is your enemy, and she’s mine too. Together, we can take her out once and for all, eliminating a future threat and avenging your fallen brothers and sisters!”
Before this conversation, Blood Stain genuinely hated Hampton.
But seeing Hampton send the Rose Potion formula so readily, most of his anger dissipated.
“Good.” Blood Stain’s face showed a fierce determination, “We are in the same boat now. At such critical moments, no one can slack off, or else it’ll be too late to regret it!”
This statement was full of threats. Hampton could only express his agreement.
For so many years, today was the best he could manage, and he dared not lose his temper with anyone.
Everything was Bai Fu’s fault!
Blood Stain shared similar thoughts.
Everything was Bai Fu’s fault!
A few hours ago, he was still worrying about how to kill Bai Fu. Now that he had the Rose Potion formula, everything finally became manageable.
“Bai Fu’s strength is comparable to mine, but once I use the Rose Potion, she’ll be at my mercy. Heh, thinking you can use the Origin Corporation to kill me?”
Blood Stain’s eyes flickered with blood-red light.
Including him, the Catastrophe Tier Legion now had four Catastrophe Tier members. Their numbers were still 4 vs 4 compared to Bai Fu’s group, but their side’s four would significantly outweigh Bai Fu’s.
This time, the advantage was clearly on his side.
Unfortunately, to gain this advantage, he lost two close friends with decades of friendship.
“Odrych, Qingli, I will bring Bai Fu’s corpse to your graves to honor you!”
While Blood Stain urgently collected materials for the Rose Potion, Bai Fu and Andreas also seriously discussed strategies to defeat the Catastrophe Tier Legion.
Bai Fu was confident about defeating the Catastrophe Tier Legion, as she still had over two billion experience points unused. Using these points, her strength could increase by at least 20-30%, and with luck, she might even gain more if she obtained rare Prayer Cards or Skills.
By the way, after half a year of blissful bonding with Yulia, her Apostle Heart was nearing its sixth level, giving her an additional 160 Inspiration.
“The advantage is mine!”
To further solidify her advantage, Bai Fu specially asked Andreas to keep an eye out for rare Prayer Card blueprints, special Spiritual Energy techniques, and A-tier or higher Superhumans.
Without hesitation, Andreas agreed to Bai Fu’s request.
Anything can be negotiated!
The only concern was that Andreas worried that if Hampton and others were truly aligned with the Catastrophe Tier Legion, they might secretly pass intelligence to the Catastrophe Tier Legion.
“Let them pass. Only then can I find the Catastrophe Tier Legion members. Otherwise, with such a vast Edge World, if they really want to hide, it would take me a while to find them.”
Andreas said, “If you are confident, that’s great. For recent matters, if you can’t reach me, contact my brother. He’ll help you.”
Bai Fu replied, “For now, nothing urgent. I plan to return to the Ulysses base first, bring more Undead, and prepare for the battle against the Catastrophe Tier Legion.”
Players were excellent at gathering intelligence, ground warfare, and space battles.
However, Bai Fu’s main purpose in inviting players was not for these reasons.
On one hand, she wanted to give players more experience, which she could later exploit.
On the other hand, fighting the Catastrophe Tier Legion was dangerous. Bringing more players would allow her to quickly recover using the Life Drain ability copied from Cessia in case of emergencies.
Andreas had no objections.
After bidding farewell, Bai Fu immediately returned to the Ulysses base with Scarlet Leaf and Yulia.
On the way, Yulia suddenly approached Bai Fu.
“I think I might have found a way to control the spider inside Cessia and help her ascend to the Catastrophe Tier.”
“Huh?”
Bai Fu was shocked.
She hadn’t expected much from Yulia’s research abilities, thinking she could only produce basic potions useful to players. However, Yulia had surprised her greatly.
Is this the fortune of a child destined to find the True Essence Pillar?
“What method?” Bai Fu quickly asked.
If Cessia could ascend to the Catastrophe Tier, eliminating the Catastrophe Tier Legion would be even more certain.
Yulia explained, “When you fought Blood Stain, I noticed his ability could weaken life intensity. Your evolved ability tree can copy abilities, right? If you copy Blood Stain’s specific ability and apply it to the spider beast inside Cessia, it could help her gain an advantage in the competition for life control.”
Bai Fu pondered.
Specific ability?
After defeating Blood Stain, she received a skill card, Blood Stain’s Bleeding Curse. She wasn’t sure if the Bleeding Curse would work.
Bai Fu told Yulia about the situation.
“You’ve already copied an ability? Is it the ability to limit injury recovery? Let me see…”
Yulia thought for a moment and nodded vigorously.
“This ability should be effective, but compared to directly weakening life intensity, using this ability requires Cessia to pay an extra cost.”
Yulia’s extra cost meant Cessia would have to hurt herself, putting both herself and the spider in an injured state, then use the Bleeding Curse on the spider. Once the spider was affected, Cessia would quickly use a life recovery skill to regain health, disrupting the balance and putting Cessia at an advantage.
Whether Cessia could successfully ascend to the Catastrophe Tier and completely eliminate the spider depended on her own efforts.
“Given Cessia’s extensive experience battling the spider, I believe she can handle it.”
Bai Fu nodded, believing this as well. The cost Yulia mentioned wasn’t much of a cost for Cessia.
Just losing some health, which could be easily recovered.
“Let’s try it. Even if it fails, there’s no real cost.”
Under the cover of the tranquil night, they swiftly moved forward.
Upon arriving at the Ulysses base, Bai Fu immediately called Cessia and shared the good news with her.
Cessia had approached Yulia hoping for a solution to the spider inside her, but when Yulia actually provided a solution, she was still stunned.
Her hand rose, her mouth slightly open, her mind filled with myriad emotions, yet she didn’t know how to express herself.
Yulia calmly walked up to her, “You don’t need to thank me. Thank Bai Fu instead. She rescued you from the Tower of Secrets, and the skills she copied from Blood Stain helped. As for my suggestion… Without Bai Fu, I wouldn’t be here.”
Yulia spoke sincerely because she genuinely didn’t need Cessia’s gratitude.
She had approached Cessia partly out of interest in her abilities and partly because Cessia could help Bai Fu. The latter was the key point.
Cessia nodded.
In her view, gratitude was shown through actions, not words!
“Let’s start!”
In the laboratory, Cessia didn’t hesitate to strike herself hard.
Bai Fu seized the opportunity and used the Bleeding Curse on the spider inside Cessia.
Then, they waited.
Cessia didn’t keep others waiting long. After breaking the balance and taking the upper hand, she decisively completed the ascension to the Catastrophe Tier and the refinement of the spider.
Two hours later, Bai Fu noticed on the data panel that Cessia’s tier rating had reached the Catastrophe Tier, with her physical attributes soaring to 2261 points.
Using up a Scarlet Leaf True Essence and gaining a more functional Cessia, it was settled.
“It’s time to send the Catastrophe Tier Legion on their way and solidify the reputation of my Bai Fu Legion!”
With fame and power, she could seize more benefits in the upcoming main plot of the Tam Civilization.
Set out!
Under Bai Fu’s guidance, the fleet of over fifty spaceships from the Silent Courtyard set off towards the rumored active area of the Catastrophe Tier Legion.
Before setting out, she specifically informed Andreas.
Andreas didn’t hide anything from others, casually passing the message to Hampton, who promptly informed Blood Stain about Bai Fu’s departure.
Blood Stain stood up, his eyes cold and fierce.
Bai Fu was confident, but she never dreamed that he had grown stronger.
“Set out!”
…