"The money I got from the old debt-ridden guy, plus this month's salary, and the supervisor's allowance, totals 871 yuan."
Lily, who had recounted the money, breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The currency issued by Lin En Settlement had decent purchasing power; this money was enough to ensure that she and Anya wouldn't have to worry about food, clothing, and other expenses for several months.
However, this was only for basic living expenses; dreaming of a luxurious life was pure fantasy.
The less developed a place's material conditions, the higher the price one had to pay to acquire good goods. Those who risked bringing good goods to the Abandoned Cooling Plant were merchants, not philanthropists.
Lily stuffed the money into her piggy bank.
Since she had nothing to do, she casually opened the Abandoned Cooling Plant section of the Star Wanderer Community.
Unlike yesterday, when players were all discussing her, today the community's post topics were much more varied.
Some players were sharing experiences of killing people and disposing of bodies.
Some players were analyzing which professions were more suitable for Ordinary players in the early stages.
Of course, players going crazy over her photos and videos had also become an indispensable part of the community in recent days.
"First day without Fu Fu, missing her."
"Brothers, my Fu addiction is acting up, hit me with some beautiful photos of Lily."
"Haven't you noticed that Fu Fu's outfit doesn't suit her? It would be much better if she wore the Makima set, preferably with a whip in her hand, hehe."
"Don't be silly, are Lily and Makima the same style? Makima treats Denji like a dog, but Lily treats us like treasures, do you understand the value of 82 affection points?!"
"I don't care, I just want a big sister wearing a black tie, white shirt, and black trousers!"
"Let's talk about something realistic. Fu Fu being good to us doesn't mean she's a good person. She's a member of the villainous Wildfire Gang after all. What if she's a plot BOSS? What if she suddenly shows us her health bar one day?"
The chilling effect of this reply was outstanding; it took dozens of seconds for a new reply to appear below it.
"I'll state upfront, even if Fu Fu is a BOSS, I won't fight her. The worst I can do is not do this main quest. This game has more than one main quest on each starter planet."
"Support! And Fu Fu being a BOSS doesn't mean she can't be whitewashed later, isn't Vegeta a classic example?"
"If the scriptwriter dares to mess around, I'll immediately lead several Great Emperors to his doorstep!"
"Good heavens, your morals follow your looks, all of you."
"Nonsense! Does being a BOSS necessarily mean being a bad person? Is it possible that it's just a difference in position or due to her responsibilities? Anyway, I don't believe Fu Fu is the kind of evil person who commits all sorts of atrocities, otherwise she wouldn't care about our lives or deaths at all."
Regarding whether Lily was a bad woman who was only good to players, or a sheep in wolf's clothing, a group of players fiercely exchanged their opinions in the post.
Lily was almost full from all the gossip.
If she could post, she would definitely jump in to stir up her own hype.
Only by making the waters murkier would the 'guilt' or 'love' and other emotions that bounced back from players, once they learned she was actually an 'undercover agent,' be more pure and long-lasting.
But it was important not to push too hard, otherwise, before the 'truth' was exposed, some radical players might come and kill her.
Lily exited this post and clicked on the hot post below discussing Martin's death.
Not long ago, the Wildfire Gang released news saying that Outsiders had brutally murdered Martin, and they would launch even more intense retaliation.
This news quickly reached the players' ears.
"The Wildfire Gang says one of their supervisors was taken out by a player. Who's that fierce? That's an Elite Monster, you know."
"@Patrick Star, Pai Da, Pai Da, was it you?"
"Holy cow, this is really awesome, actually being able to solo an Elite Monster! I can't do it. This game's realism is too high. I've already set the gore to 0, but I still don't dare to fight those NPCs. It seems I can only be a life-skill player."
"Pai Da, consider making a strategy video?"
"Pai Da, do you want to try for a first BOSS kill record?"
One @ after another quickly summoned the real Patrick Star, who hastily explained.
Patrick Star: "(Dog head question mark emoji) Brothers, you overestimate me. I'm not that fierce. This game is different from other games; rolling doesn't have invincibility frames, and you don't start with evasion skills. At my current level, it's almost impossible to win a one-on-one fight against an Elite Monster."
"Almost, meaning there's a possibility?"
Patrick Star: "There is indeed a possibility. This game's crafting system is amazing. You can make things yourself even without blueprints. I heard that some big shot has already made black powder. If someone can hand-craft a gun, even if they're only level 1, fighting an Ordinary Elite Monster in a starter village wouldn't be difficult."
"Holy cow, that's too awesome! So, are the engineering big shots going to take off?"
"Eh, it wasn't Pai Da who did it? Then who was it?"
"I originally thought Pai Da was invincible, so whose subordinate is this?"
As soon as Patrick Star came out to explain, the players who enjoyed farming immediately got excited, completely derailing the discussion in the post.
Fighting and killing was thrilling, but farming and advancing technology wasn't bad either.
It wasn't until a player named [Convert to My Lily] appeared that the post's content veered back to fighting and killing.
"@Patrick Star, Pai Da, Pai Da, are you free? I've received a hidden quest with a very high reward."
Patrick Star: "How high?"
Convert to My Lily: "3500 experience points."
This number directly shocked Lily.
A single quest with a 3500 experience point reward? You little brat, you probably took on a BOSS-killing quest, didn't you?
That was enough for her to level up her Psionic Apprentice another rank.
She concentrated, trying to analyze something from Convert to My Lily and Patrick Star's conversation, then go get a piece of the pie.
Other players were even more shocked by this number; they might not earn that much experience even after ten days of grinding.
"Godfather, where did you get the quest?"
"Damn, it's the three-surnamed slave!"
Convert to My Lily: "I was lucky. While wandering aimlessly in the Wildfire Gang's territory, an NPC with an exclamation mark walked up to me. I asked him if he needed help, and he gave me an assassination quest. I definitely can't complete this quest alone, so I could only come to you, Pai Da, for help."
Patrick Star: "Brother, I'll add you as a friend, let's chat in private."
Convert to My Lily: "OK."
The two disappeared from the chat.
It took a full twenty minutes before they reappeared.
Patrick Star: "Recruiting five teammates. Priority will be given to those who can craft special traps and weapons. Those who can command or are action game experts are also welcome! Note, the quest location is in this area (attached map), and the quest time is after 7 PM, so make sure you can reach the quest location and are free during that time."
"Ah, only recruiting five people?"
"Noobs look up to the big shots."
"Isn't that quest area the Wildfire Gang's territory? No wonder the quest reward is so high; just sneaking in there will take a lot of effort."
Despite the strict requirements, Patrick Star successfully recruited five teammates in just a few minutes.
Counting Black Tiger Afu, Calamity Dragon who had reconnaissance skills, and Excavation Princess who had helped him fight Brother Dabiao before, a ten-person Crusade team was thus formed.
Lily stared intently at the map Patrick Star had posted.
A red circle was drawn on the map, and it was quite a coincidence, as her home was within the area encompassed by the red circle.
"Is the quest target someone living in this area?"
An NPC who could offer a 3500 experience point reward was definitely stronger than Brother Dabiao.
Lily thought for a moment. There didn't seem to be any NPCs that strong near her home, because the living conditions in this area were relatively poor; anyone with a bit of strength and status wouldn't live here.
Could it be that the map Patrick Star posted was fake?
Wait, she seemed to have missed someone.
"Aren't I the NPC who is stronger than Brother Dabiao?"
Lily's face instantly darkened.
She quickly found a good vantage point to stake out. When evening came and she saw Patrick Star and the others appear in her sight under the cover of night, her hanging heart finally died.
Alright, alright, the "BOSS" that the players were going to defeat was indeed herself!