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

"Frosty Vengeful Spirit".

The first enemies of Chapter Three appeared before Lin Miao and Lillie.

These spirits, imbued with the chill of the north, dragged their half-rotten bodies with a clattering sound, brandishing their farm tools as they charged forward.

Although they were farmers in life, wielding only farming tools like hoes and shovels, the evil magic entwined around those tools was enough to freeze one's very bones.

While Lin Miao unleashed defensive magic to parry the enemy's attacks, Lillie, exhaling a misty aura, stomped the ground and charged forward, cleaving the enemy's body in two with a single strike.

Having achieved unexpected growth based on her personal strength, she effortlessly slayed the surging enemies, much like a veteran player experiencing beginner difficulty.

Watching Lillie so actively that he didn't need to lift a finger, Lin Miao muttered to himself as he typed, "Hasn't she appeared here?"

Currently, this place appears to be exactly the same as the original game. Although even background details that are not usually noticed have been checked, no traces of what appears to be a glitch have been found.

He felt somewhat relieved, but then he thought to himself: the demon minions are no pushovers.

Perhaps the invading malfunction was instead defeated by the demons in the game, since the strength of the demon enemies in this game is indeed outrageous.

As Lin Miao worked with Lillie to advance to the beginning of Chapter 3, she relaxed a little after clearing her mind.

Even if a glitch appears in the game world, his job remains the same: as long as a glitch appears, he just needs to eliminate it.

When Lillie, who had fought alongside him against dozens of enemies without stopping, took a short break, Lin Miao minimized the game window and opened Monster Hunter.

These free-range hunters are now able to independently track and hunt their targets.

As these skilled warriors gradually acquire superior equipment, they can now easily defeat even high-level enemies. Their innate hunter talents have long since blossomed in their status bars.

It is worth noting that the injured Tina was sticking close to them, observing the hunt.

It's quite novel for an important NPC to participate in hunting like this.

Thorfinn asked Tina about hunting techniques, and Tina nodded, adding information that the hunters didn't know:

"The strongest high-level mutant species in this area is the flying dragon, among which the red-scaled crimson dragon is an extremely rare and powerful species. If you want to venture into this dangerous place, you must be fully prepared."

Since Lin Miao didn't do anything, Tina generously shared knowledge that only high-level hunters knew with Thorfinn, who was standing to the side.

Enemy habits, weaknesses, and other details that have never been revealed in the game.

Her guidance was of great help to the residents who knew nothing about the Monster Hunter world.

Tina watched the group packing their belongings and said, "It seems it's about time to end the hunt."

Upon hearing Tina's words, the hunters, who were preparing to return home, began packing their belongings to head back to the city.

However, at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, a lot of noise appeared on Lin Miao's game screen, and not only the residents, but even Tina looked around in a panic.

Tina exclaimed in surprise, "W-what's going on? It's a new species!"

The enemy quickly revealed its true form. These creatures, like the malfunctioning entities, were completely different from ordinary beasts, even more linear than the malfunctioning entities.

There was no trace of violence, only a chilling coldness and deathly silence.

Lin Miao thought to herself: Sure enough, their target is the residents.

He quickly grabbed the keyboard, jumped off Thorfinn's back, and assumed a fighting stance.

The giant scorpion that appeared brandished its thick pincers and venomous stinger and lunged straight at them, its movements as fluid and efficient as a programmed command.

Injured and unable to move, Tina anxiously shouted, "Danger!"

But it seemed too late to evacuate everyone safely. The hunters, including Lin Miao, drew their weapons to fight off the malfunctioning creature.

Lin Miao thought to herself: Fortunately, this body can also use weapons.

During the process, he snatched a large bone warhammer from Thorfinn's back, who was holding a bow.

Although the hammer was larger than the Palico Lin Miao had transformed into, surprisingly, he was able to swing it steadily.

The group launched a coordinated attack on the scorpion.

Dulin, wielding a greatsword, and Armin, holding a spear, locked its pincers. The instant Thorfinn's arrow struck its poisoned needle, Lucia leaped into the air, stomping on the ground and trees, and cleanly severed its tail with her battle axe.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Miao rushed forward, swung the hammer and struck repeatedly, smashing the insect's face covered by the black carapace.

The dying insect monster spewed black tentacles from its carapace to attack him, simultaneously releasing a thick cloud of poisonous mist. The residents, terrified, hurriedly covered their faces and retreated, some shouting, "Poisonous!"

Lin Miao's character's HP dropped rapidly due to poisoning, but he frantically ate food from his backpack to recover health, and his attacks never stopped.

Only someone who is incapable of feeling pain and ignores his injuries could perform such a crazy act, which is precisely why it is so effective and violent.

When Lin Miao input the command and unleashed a powerful attack that followed a jump and an aerial spin, completely shattering the insect monster's head, Tina muttered in a daze, "You cat... you're really amazing."

In their eyes, Lin Miao, who ignored enemy attacks and only focused on outputting damage, was indeed extremely strange.

After a brief commotion, Lin Miao stared at the multiple game windows that were open at the same time and told Li Sushang what had happened that day.

Li Sushang sent a message: Do these guys even appear in games?

Lin Miao said into the microphone, "Their goal is to kill residents active in the area, so it's always better to be careful."

As a newcomer, Li Sushang will inevitably have to fight against the malfunctioning entities that have invaded the game.

Lin Miao continued, "Leaving aside the game for now, we also need to consider countermeasures for those guys in real life, those that appear in other places on the desktop."

Li Sushang immediately replied: That's right, to be honest, it's impossible to figure out where those guys came from.

Their conversation quickly turned to the malfunction that had appeared on the table.

Although we continue to fight them, we still don't know where they came from or how they appeared.

Although the spatial rift known as the Nest was discovered and closed by hand, this was merely a stopgap measure to maintain the status quo and did not seem to be a fundamental solution.

Those guys will definitely expand into areas uninhabited by residents, devour the locals to grow stronger, and then turn around and attack the residents.

With them even infiltrating the game world, it is a foregone conclusion that the battles against them will become increasingly fierce in the future.

Lin Miao fiddled with the mouse, looking at one of the powers she could use: [Desktop Destruction Stage Two]. The next stage of the hammer was the chainsaw.

This chainsaw, capable of tearing screens, is designed to inflict massive damage on faulty components in a short period of time.

◆◆◆

In the heart of the once tranquil grassland, Theodore, mounted on his horse, stared blankly at the horrific devastation before him, and asked in a hoarse voice, "How severe... is the damage?"

The land was completely overturned, revealing its deep texture, with bloodstains and corpses scattered everywhere.

The most conspicuous trace is that of the giant monster that died after leaving behind fangs and carapace fragments.

Where the giant centipede died, only the dead soil, stained black by the toxins, remained.

A subordinate soldier, with an expression of extreme disgust, bowed and reported: "Many soldiers have been killed or wounded, and the number of casualties exceeds one hundred. Those creatures are extremely venomous; those bitten must have limbs amputated on the spot to barely survive."

Theodore frowned and continued, "The monsters that were appearing one after another have suddenly vanished?"

The soldier pointed to the distant plains and replied, "Yes. Those creatures that used to emerge every now and then disappeared completely at some point in time."

Upon hearing the report, Theodore frowned deeply and muttered under his breath, "What the hell is going on to the east?"

He once sent thousands of Gaelic tribes to explore the East, but that land remains an unknown territory to this day.

And it was under these circumstances that the influx of unidentified monsters from there caused Theodore to completely lose interest in the East.

Because of the things related to that land, he has already lost a considerable number of his people, which is utterly disgusting.

The warrior beside him said in a deep voice, "Those guys can also use evil sorcery. Maybe these monsters were sent by them? I've asked the oldest man and those who know the ancient legends, and they all say they've never seen such a monster before."

The soldiers suggested that these insects might be monsters driven by Zhen Dan.

Although he hadn't seen it with his own eyes and dared not believe it entirely, Theodore had witnessed the various miraculous powers displayed by Cinnabar, and ultimately could not completely deny this hypothesis.

Theodore clicked his tongue and said in a deep voice, "Tsk, if that's really the case, then those guys are the villains we should all stop fighting for steppe hegemony against and jointly punish."

But he also knew that he couldn't start a war rashly.

Ultimately, Theodore chose a more realistic approach: he decided to acknowledge the power that China possessed in the northeast and attempt to engage in dialogue with them.

Theodore surveyed the warriors in the tent and asked loudly, "Who is willing to act as an envoy and go to those people?"

Everyone present looked at each other in bewilderment. The infamous reputation of Aurora had spread far and wide, and it would take immense courage to go to that "nest".

Theodore's gaze swept over the crowd, and he semi-forcefully selected envoys, giving them the special mission of investigating detailed information about China. He said sternly, "Go and find out their true nature, and their relationship with these terrible monsters!"

◆◆◆

Every evening at dusk, Attila would gather the people who came and went in the game world to hear their reports.

This time, the hunters assigned to Monster Hunter reported that insectoids had also appeared in the game world.

Upon hearing the news that the Zerg had appeared in the game world, the group of people sitting around were shocked and stirred up agitation.

Attila scratched his head and sighed at Thorfinn, who was reporting to him, "Have black monsters appeared even in that other world?"

Thorfinn immediately bowed and replied, "Yes. Although we were fortunate enough to join forces with that sir to successfully defeat it, according to the testimony of A-rank hunter Tina, it was a creature resembling a giant scorpion that was very difficult to deal with."

Attila nodded and continued, "Hmm...you mean the female warrior you mentioned last time?"

Lillie, who was also present, suddenly realized and sighed as she understood why Lin Miao was so absent-minded today.

Just as Lillie had expected, he was on guard against potential malfunctions.

Bruno, who was present, immediately spoke up, saying, "I...we haven't found anything here today."

Attila nodded and solemnly warned the group, "So far, those guys have only been discovered in the Hunter World. Everyone should be careful. Lillie said that the Lord is also on guard."

It is a well-known fact that faulty entities are becoming more active and powerful over time, but they are also growing stronger.

Attila thought to himself: So those guys have started making their move too. But we're fully prepared and won't back down.

After the meeting, Attila and the others went outside and were greeted by a vast tribe that was too large to take in at a glance.

It's a world of difference from the initial few tents—no, it couldn't even compare to what it was a few days ago.

Most striking are the towering city walls being built by architects who were originally porters.

The original wall was only three blocks high, a mere 3 meters, but now it has been built with ten blocks, forming a five-layered wall.

The movers were stacking bricks and building artificial stairs along the inner wall. They were climbing to unprecedented heights, and some even began to complain of experiencing acrophobia.

This building is no less impressive than the city walls built by southern settlers to defend against plunder.

However, due to the rapid increase in the number of porters, the construction speed was not slow. Every day, several meters thick walls were built with clanging sounds.

Attila summoned Maureen, who was busy at work, and asked, "Roughly speaking, how long will it take to complete?"

Despite being severely exhausted, Maureen, holding the blueprints, cheerfully answered while installing the bricks:

"If the project goes smoothly, it can be completed within a few months. If we add more workers or their skills improve, it can be done even faster."

In fact, Maureen is gradually enjoying the fun of building giant structures with her own hands. This feeling has become stronger ever since she saw the various buildings that Lin Miao built with her character in the game world.

Maureen's eyes gleamed as she continued, "After the city walls are completed, we can pave the remaining roads and build bridges over the rivers. In addition, there are large warehouses and underground facilities..."

Attila couldn't help but laugh as he interrupted her, "Calm down. Of course I'll give you these tasks, but you're so excited, what about the others? Won't they find it too much work?"

Maureen immediately shook her head and replied, "Although it's hard work, fulfilling our duty with the power bestowed by the Guardian God is the right way. There's no room for laziness or cheating here."

The other movers, though not as completely absorbed in their work as Maureen, were also very enthusiastic.

Even if they cannot become warriors, being recognized by the guardian deity and faithfully fulfilling their duties is enough to satisfy them.

Attila looked at the residents who were still cheerful despite being assigned heavy labor and sighed with admiration.

Whatever orders he gave, the residents accepted them gladly.

While Attila was certainly a just and wise patriarch, it was the guardian deity behind him who endowed him with supreme authority and power.

Having experienced the power of faith firsthand, Attila would never give up that power.

A thought quickly formed in his mind: if he could spread it widely, wouldn't he be able to expand his power without having to fight pointlessly?

He was certain that the guardian deity would gladly accept these believers, since they needed more troops to fight the black monster.

Just then, someone flew back to the village from the sky; they were members of the reconnaissance team who had gone out on a long-term reconnaissance mission a few days earlier.

The scout dismounted, rushed to Attila, and loudly reported the news.

Attila, seeing his panting appearance, was taken aback and quickly asked, "Is this true? Great Patriarch Theodore... sent an envoy?"