Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

Lin Miao, who woke up early in the morning to match the residents' daily routine, had only one thought in her mind: Lillie should rest.

He yawned as he sat down at the computer and began to act on the plan he had devised the day before.

Although the residents would also go out to scout on their own, they could never match his speed in overseeing the entire situation.

Lin Miao swiped the mouse, trying to see as much of the distant area as possible; this was one of his long-standing habits.

As the residents expanded their reconnaissance range, the work took longer and longer, especially since the Oren tribe, which launched the attack, was located in a more remote area than ever before.

Lin Miao frowned and muttered under her breath, "Isn't there any way to improve this thing?"

Just clicking to switch screens is already time-consuming; if you drag the screen up, down, left, and right to view it, it will only take even longer.

In other words, mouse operations that were previously easy to use become increasingly inefficient as the detection distance increases.

If he could find a solution during a system update, he could search through those fully functional programs. But right now, he has neither extra points nor the time to search slowly.

After quickly checking the safety of the surroundings, Lin Miao muttered to herself, "No problem."

He then cut the camera back to the village. By this time, the village was bustling with activity and full of life.

Watching their busy figures through the screen, Lin Miao occasionally felt as if they were just ordinary game characters. However, these villagers were neither as stupid and mechanical as game AI, nor were they subject to any rules.

Even without him watching the screen, they would make their own judgments and act autonomously, even taking into account details he might overlook, so he didn't need to give them every single instruction. The stronger they became, the lighter the burden on Lin Miao's shoulders became.

【monster hunter】

[Number of people that can be dispatched: 0/2]

However, now that the game has become an important part of the residents' lives, there are some things that they can't handle on their own, and Lin Miao, the administrator, has to intervene.

The first thing to do is to assign people to the newly activated game.

Previously, we only had Lillie do a brief trial run; now it's time to officially send permanent staff.

Lin Miao ultimately chose two reliable warriors, newcomers who had recently joined the village: Thorfinn and Dulin.

Although she didn't know what they were thinking, Lin Miao decided not to send the rookie who had just awakened his magic power, but instead to use these two veterans with rich combat experience.

Before taking them into the game, Lin Miao first left the two of them in front of a warehouse full of malfunctioning artifacts.

Fortunately, they immediately understood and, together with the other villagers, quickly began to collect the spoils: black carapaces, fangs, needles, wings, and even the heart of a monster, which almost filled the entire cart.

Lin Miao secretly rejoiced: being able to understand immediately was a great help.

Lin Miao controlled the Palico to stand beside the cart, glaring at the two who were still cowering and constantly trying to read each other's expressions. Then she raised her hand and pulled them into the game world, the city where monster hunters gathered, a place that Lillie had also visited.

Lin Miao glanced at her still-unchanged Palico body and couldn't help but click her tongue: It's really not that great. This body is not suitable for frontline combat at all. At most, it can only play a supporting role. I can only hope that these two warriors will learn the special skills unique to this place and fight hard.

Afterwards, Lin Miao led the two bewildered individuals to the Hunter's Guild, where they encountered An Xia, a guild employee responsible for issuing quests.

Anxia's eyes widened immediately upon seeing them. She frantically searched for Lillie in the crowd and asked, "I thought you weren't coming, but you really did. But where did that lady go?"

Anxia's gaze quickly fell on the Zerg byproducts on the cart. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she made no attempt to hide her desire to possess them. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Just as I imagined!"

Following that, An Xia presented Lin Miao with a trade option, asking, "The payment will be based on the market rate. Which form would you prefer? In-game gold coins, or would you like to exchange them for equivalent equipment, materials, or other physical items?"

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Miao chose to receive a reward in kind.

After all, the appeal of this game lies in the equipment and crafting techniques made from special materials.

Anxia seemed quite satisfied with the deal. She lowered her head, handed over the agreed-upon items, and said with a smile, "I hope we can meet often in the future, little one."

These are all high-level equipment and materials crafted from materials obtained by hunting powerful enemies.

Lin Miao immediately controlled the Palico to jump around on the cart full of equipment, pointing at the equipment and urging Thorfinn and Dulin, who were standing there dumbfounded, to quickly pick out a few pieces to wear.

The two slow-witted guys finally realized what was happening and hurriedly put on their clothes.

Lin Miao thought to herself: I'll start by leveling up my proficiency with the smaller enemies.

After Lin Miao used the mouse to send the cart back to the village alone, he repeatedly squatted and stood up in front of the two people who were wearing hunter gear made from the byproducts of the mutants, signaling them to follow.

This versatile action, which can be used in almost every game, now seems to be able to convey meaning smoothly between them. Even the two warriors who teamed up with him for the first time understood Lin Miao's meaning and immediately followed.

Lin Miao's goal was clear: to accumulate their proficiency and byproducts through hunting missions until they learned crafting techniques and could produce their own equipment.

Thorfinn gripped his longbow tightly and said in a low voice, "It's time to show our true skills."

Once you leave the city, the vast wilderness unfolds before you, with all sorts of monsters roaming and scurrying through the forests—the perfect place for a hunt.

Their target for today's hunt is a relatively weak small monster, the Red Velociraptor, which is also the first creature that beginners will encounter. It is a giant bird monster designed based on the Terror Bird.

The target wasn't hard to find. The giant bird with red feathers spotted them and, instead of fleeing, charged forward. Compared to the residents' height, this bird was at least two meters tall, but according to the game's mechanics, even a complete newbie could easily take it down.

When Thorfinn and Dulin, both warriors from the steppes, saw this guy, they were taken aback, but their expressions quickly changed, and they assumed standard fighting stances.

As a skilled archer, Thorfinn raised his large longbow, which he was using for the first time, and aimed it steadily at the monster. The arrow he was about to shoot was made from the byproducts of the red Velociraptor.

The arrow struck the monster's chest with pinpoint accuracy in an instant, causing the charging behemoth to stagger and come to a halt.

As the mascot character, Lin Miao couldn't offer much help beyond cheering from behind. Watching the fluid attack sequence, she couldn't help but chuckle and mutter, "Not bad, huh?"

At the same time, Dulin, wielding a giant bone hammer, rushed forward and swung the hammer with all his might, smashing the monster's leg bones to pieces.

Perhaps because the two had been working together for many years, they were able to complete the objective more smoothly and efficiently than the newbies in the game.

For experienced steppe warriors, this level of combat seemed to be no challenge at all.

Lin Miao controlled her character to walk towards the two people who were catching their breath, and approached the fallen Red Velociraptor corpse.

The collection button lit up instantly, and all the loot was automatically put into Lin Miao's backpack. The corpse that had been lying on the ground also evaporated in an instant.

Faced with the game's unique special effects, Thorfinn and Dulin stared wide-eyed in surprise at the Palico controlled by Lin Miao.

Lin Miao thought to herself: I adapted much faster than I expected.

After collecting their spoils, Lin Miao led the two still dumbfounded individuals onward. He needed to improve their adaptability to this world, complete the beginner quest of defeating ten red velociraptors, and then gradually raise their hunter rank to hunt more powerful enemies, repeating this cycle endlessly.

Although they chose the weakest monsters on the map, they easily defeated the monsters of this world with their own strength and basic equipment, even without Lillie's powerful skills.

If this continues, with just a little assistance, they will be able to act independently and achieve results.

The equipment obtained through these achievements will become anti-malfunction weapons imbued with special powers, providing stronger protection for the residents who continue to fight against terrifying monsters.

Lin Miao played the game for several hours with Thorfinn and Dulin, who had been transformed from grassland warriors into hunters of mutated monsters.

Hunting, gathering byproducts, and taking short breaks—through this repetitive process, the two quickly adapted to hunting.

Perhaps it was because they usually lived a rugged life of hunting and fighting on the grasslands that this strong adaptability helped them a lot.

Lin Miao knew very well that as long as they became more proficient, they would be able to take over from her and properly guide the younger generation when they joined.

After all, this game also offers a team-based online function, but due to system limitations, it is not possible to team up with other real players, but it can bring in more residents from outside to form hunting teams.

When they finished off all the target red Velociraptors and returned to the guild with the byproducts to complete the mission certification, guild employee Anxia showed a surprised expression, chuckled, and distributed their rewards, saying, "So you're experienced? You completed the mission faster than expected."

Lin Miao didn't sell the byproducts from this hunt for the time being. Once they learned the crafting techniques, these materials would be put to even greater use.

Anxia then issued a new mission, saying, "As agreed, I'm giving you a new mission. If you can complete it this time, your hunter rank will be increased. But don't push yourself too hard."

Lin Miao looked at the mission panel and considered that since they still had potions to restore their stamina, he planned to end the two hunters' journey for the day after they completed this mission.

But at that moment, the in-game personnel list and status table, which were separately categorized and saved to prevent accidents, suddenly showed a red change notification.

Startled by the sudden situation, Lin Miao immediately minimized the ongoing Monster Hunter quest and opened the Minecraft game window that was hanging separately in the quest log. That was the dungeon where hunters fought to obtain the essence of monsters.

【Laurel】

【Traits: Short Swordsmanship (Growth Rate 66%), Shadow (Potential)】

[Deployment: Minecraft - Underground City]

Overall Fatigue Level: 100% (Injured)

[Magic Value: 12%]

[Emotion: Extreme pain]

Outside the line of sight of the character who was standing still above the stone house, it was clear that something had happened to their companions who were fighting in the dungeon.

Lin Miao immediately maneuvered her character towards the dungeon, and sure enough, hordes of monsters blocked her path.

While frantically devouring food to replenish HP, Lin Miao wielded his iron sword, haphazardly slashing through monsters blocking his path.

Finally, Lin Miao saw his companions: Mista and Bruno, who had been fighting side by side, were desperately trying to protect Rosie, who was covered in blood and lying on the ground, but they were cornered by the swarming enemies.

Lin Miao looked at the monster icon on the screen and instantly understood the problem: Why? Ah, it's Phantom Wing.

With their strength, there's no way they could possibly stumble in such a low-level area.

Although it's inevitable to make mistakes as a living, breathing person rather than a game character, at least the current predicament is not caused by any mistake.

Lin Miao looked at the irregular, huge cracks on the underground city wall and couldn't help but curse under his breath: "Damn it, the underground city wall, which clearly requires a pickaxe of titanium alloy or higher to break, has actually been damaged."

Judging from the shape of those cracks, they could not have been dug out with a pickaxe. They were probably damaged by continuous attacks during their training. After all, once they learned the skills, they could even split hard rocks with a knife.

From behind that broken wall crawled out a BOSS-level monster that should have been dwelling deeper in the dungeon: a crazed evil spirit, Phantom Wing, draped in tattered old cloth, hovering in the air, capable of inflicting powerful debuffs.

They definitely couldn't withstand that kind of mental debuff. Before things escalated into a major disaster, Lin Miao quickly maneuvered her character to rush between Huan Yi and the three, standing in front of them.

Bewildered and sweating profusely, Mista stared wide-eyed at the suddenly appearing character, her eyes filled with shock.

But it's simply impossible for them, who are already struggling to even carry out normal operations, to continue fighting.

Lin Miao's character was also losing health continuously due to the debuff effect of the Phantom Wing, and her movements became extremely sluggish.

To remove this debuff, a special potion is needed, but he currently has neither the materials nor the tools to make one.

Besides, even if he had the potion, with his current equipment level, he wouldn't be able to kill Phantom Wing.

Unlike ordinary gamers, he is more focused on helping the residents than on farming materials to upgrade himself.

Lin Miao gritted her teeth and growled, "Get out of my way!"

Instead of fighting head-on, he simply stacked blocks layer by layer, instantly blocking the passage behind him.

The phantom wing let out a terrifying scream of extreme anger, but the debuff that could freeze even the strongest warriors was nothing more than annoying noise to Lin Miao outside the screen.

In the blink of an eye, a thick stone wall was erected in front of them. The Phantom Wing, which had no ability to destroy it, could only roar in helpless rage on the other side of the wall.

Lin Miao thought to herself: I need to prepare a backup plan.

After hastily healing Rose's injuries with his healing skill, he kicked Mista, who was still stunned and hadn't gotten rid of the debuff, in the butt, signaling him to quickly pick Rose up.

Immediately afterwards, he led the three of them quickly up the stairs and escaped the perilous underground city.