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

Lin Miao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The problem of external forces was finally resolved, and now they could finally focus on dealing with those malfunctioning entities.

The three main types of enemies threatening the desktop inhabitants are external forces, glitch entities, and hostile forces within the game.

The most dangerous and unpredictable force was the external power led by the great patriarch Theodore, with whom the inhabitants had already waged several wars.

If Attila's current agreement is successfully reached, this long-standing concern will be greatly alleviated.

Lin Miao believes that this alone makes it a very worthwhile deal.

Although doing so would mean losing the tactical option of increasing population by occupying enemy territory, Lin Miao believed that Attila must have considered this as well.

Lin Miao's goal became clear: to strengthen the defenses and acquire more resources.

Now that a major threat has been easily eliminated, the next step is to strengthen the defenses of the Northern Fortress with the newly activated defense game, Kingdom Rush, while continuing to gather resources within the game.

His first priority was to acquire the hunter-specific equipment that had begun to be issued to warriors and soldiers.

These pieces of equipment, which in Monster Hunter require money to buy or crafting skills to acquire, are currently being purchased in bulk through the in-game store to replenish the village's inventory.

Anxia from the Hunter's Guild stared in astonishment at the large quantity of Zerg byproducts brought back by the residents, and couldn't help but ask, "This is truly remarkable. Not only are you incredibly powerful, but you've also managed to acquire so many of these rare black insect byproducts. Where did you get them from?"

Although hunters in this world regard the byproducts of the Zerg as high-quality forging materials, such materials are usually extremely rare.

However, the residents had just fought a fierce battle with swarms of insects and collected a huge amount of byproducts from the mountains of corpses.

It's no exaggeration to say that money came in like a tidal wave.

Lin Miao used the money she earned in the game to buy up all the goods in the basic store and then transported them all back to the real world.

Even if the store's inventory is depleted, the remaining money will be enough to be distributed as a bonus to all the hunters who fought side by side in the game.

With their prize money in hand, the hunters went to taverns to buy chilled drinks or ordered a feast, each relieving the stress of days of battle in their own way.

Lin Miao was not satisfied with this. He knew in his heart that simply stockpiling goods was not enough. He would eventually have to learn to produce them himself.

Despite buying as much stock as possible, demand still exceeds supply.

To gather the necessary equipment for the entire army, the Zerg byproducts such as their hard shells, sharp venomous stingers, and mandibles could not simply be sold for money; they had to be processed and utilized by the Zerg themselves.

Crafting equipment requires entirely new skills that are completely different from those of hunters, so Lin Miao carefully reviewed the status records of all the villagers.

【Ava the Dwarf】

【Traits: Dexterity, Blacksmith (Potential)】

【deploy:-】

What caught his attention at the time was Ava, the dwarf who had moved there with Hessen.

This young dwarf woman stayed at home doing odd jobs while Herson, the architect, was busy building the city walls.

Lin Miao realized that her talent might not be in housework like sewing, but rather in making professional equipment. So he transferred one of the hunters and assigned Ava to the position of monster hunter.

Naturally, Ava and the hunters were stunned.

Ava was suddenly thrown into a strange world she had only heard of, while the hunters were there because a different race they had only recently met had suddenly appeared.

Lin Miao thought to herself: What does race matter? We're all on the same team anyway.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to understand the chaos they were experiencing.

Lin Miao controlled her Palico, hopping and skipping through the panicked crowd, attracting everyone's attention.

As everyone looked at the Palico with puzzled expressions, Lin Miao manipulated the Palico, which was repeatedly crouching and standing, and led them to a certain place in the city.

Lin Miao knew that the seniors would comfort Ava.

Sure enough, the hunters who had followed as planned were patiently explaining the situation to the still-shaken Ava.

Although Ava was still stiff from nervousness, her expression quickly softened.

Taking this opportunity, Lin Miao led them to an NPC, who was a master craftsman who ran a large workshop.

The workshop owner, a muscular man with a wolf's head and a human body, recognized them immediately and said irritably, "What are you little brats doing? All the equipment I've been making lately keeps getting stolen, isn't that what you're doing?"

Thinking about how he had recently emptied the place of all the equipment, Lin Miao couldn't help but chuckle and clicked on the option to learn equipment crafting with his mouse.

"Want to learn the crafting techniques?" The master looked at everyone with disdain.

This grumpy old craftsman's tendency to smack his lips was exactly like his reaction in the game: "All of you? No? Then who wants to learn?"

Lin Miao shook her head as she controlled her character.

When the master pressed for details about who it was, he turned around and found Ava in the bewildered hunters, controlling his character to repeatedly squat and stand in front of her.

Ava pointed at herself with a trembling finger, her voice filled with disbelief.

But Lin Miao had already seen through her hidden talent and confidently pushed her in front of the master while controlling the character.

"Then let's give it a try." The master looked at the trembling Ava in front of him and grinned menacingly.

"What is this...?" Ava murmured to herself.

"Don't worry too much. So far, that person's choices have never been wrong," a senior hunter quickly reassured him.

For Ava, who had been quietly staying at home but was forcibly brought here, this was a complete shock; she never dreamed that she would be chosen.

But the experienced hunters comforted her. Although they were also surprised that Ava, who was from another race, was chosen, they decided to trust that judgment since it was the choice of that person.

These hunters were also ordinary soldiers whose talents were discovered by that lord, and who eventually embarked on the path of hunting.

Because they had experienced it firsthand, they were able to confidently tell Ava that everything would go smoothly.

As the master craftsman spoke, he handed Ava a heavy forging hammer and said in a deep voice, "Making equipment from mutant byproducts requires more than just skill. If you can't truly perceive and control the power contained within, no matter how hard you forge it, you won't be able to unleash its true potential. Give it a try. Whether you have talent or not, you'll know once you try it with this."

"But..." Ava took the hammer with trembling hands.

The method for testing talent is to process the hard shell without destroying the energy channels contained within it.

Although it's designed as a rhythm game in the game, Ava has to rely on her own senses to swing the hammer herself.

Lin Miao knew in her heart that Ava could not possibly fail.

After all, he knew all about her situation from the beginning, which is why he brought her here specifically.

Ava touched the huge, heavy monster's shell in front of her and suddenly felt a strange, indescribable resonance, causing her to tremble.

"Where did they find someone like this, Palico?"

The mentor's pupils contracted slightly upon witnessing this scene. He understood the profound meaning in the eyes of the cat that was quietly observing Ava, as if it had foreseen all of this.

Next, Ava began to break down the carapace little by little by tapping it with a hammer.

She relied entirely on her senses, meticulously crafting the carapace like a sculptor, while the mutated magic contained within it was completely absorbed and condensed into the finished carapace.

【Characteristics: Skilled Hands, Blacksmith】

"Have you awakened?"

Lin Miao, who witnessed the entire process through the monitor, smiled with satisfaction when he saw the previously dormant characteristics in Ava's status bar fully emerge.

"That's amazing, such exceptional talent. You'll learn it very quickly."

The mentor chuckled as he looked at the shell, which was already perfect after her first attempt.

This marks a historic moment when the village produces its first blacksmith capable of processing Zerg byproducts.

[Achievement Completed: Self-sufficiency]

"If we can maintain a stable supply of equipment, it will be like completing another task."

Lin Miao turned off the achievement notification that popped up on the screen and watched Ava, who was officially starting to learn equipment crafting in the game.

Unlike in a game where you suddenly learn a skill with a "ding," Ava's talent only means she can master it quickly; she still needs to go through a long learning process.

However, Lin Miao believed that if Ava could learn a skill there and return to the village to open a workshop to teach others, the number of blacksmiths in the village should gradually increase, just like the number of architects and miners now.

"We seemed to have encountered a minor crisis just now, but we managed to get through it smoothly."

Lin Miao yawned, stretched, and picked up the mouse and keyboard again.

While some are diligently learning equipment crafting, others are repeatedly battling monsters and honing their skills, and still others are busy building walls, conducting reconnaissance, or fighting against malfunctioning programs.

The villagers, led by Attila, are now capable of handling things on their own, which has saved him a lot of trouble, but there is still a mountain of work to be done.

Lin Miao logged back into Dark Souls, the game Lillie was playing. As his character began to move, Lillie immediately greeted him with a smile: "Welcome!"

Lin Miao thought to himself: This game now exists purely for her. Looking at Lillie's bright smile on the screen, he controlled his character to give a thumbs-up in response.

While other games focus more on maintaining the village's operation or collecting resources for the residents, Dark Souls is now a game entirely designed for Lillie alone.

In fact, simply changing the warriors' classes, giving them skills, and training them would have been enough. However, as the chapters progressed, Lillie, who had become the protagonist of the game, grew at a speed that was almost as fast as a real player.

Through experiences and encounters she could never have in the world before, her mind and body have become increasingly resilient.

Lin Miao couldn't help but wonder to himself: Just how far can Lillie go?

Will they really reach a state of demigodhood at the end, like game characters?

Or will even this change?

Now, he has become an observer who looks forward to and watches Lillie grow up.

Moreover, the stronger Lillie is, the easier it is for her to defeat powerful enemies, which is an undeniably good thing from a practical point of view.

"chill……"

Lillie bit her lip, a bone-chilling cold enveloping her entire body.

The enemy they are facing now is the boss of Chapter 3, the Frost Demon Lord.

This Ice King, who was controlled by a valiant frontier count, even gained the power of the malfunctioning entity and transformed into an even more powerful being.

The BOSS, looking at the group who had wiped out all his subordinates and arrived here, grinned, revealing a sinister smile: "Come on. The holy aura emanating from you is quite strange. Could it be... that you have some connection with these insects?"

The walls of the fortress collapsed with a deafening roar, revealing a figure in jet-black armor riding a giant bone dragon.

In the thoracic cavity of the bone dragon, a huge tumor formed by the aggregation of parasitic malfunctions is slowly wriggling.

"Those monsters are evil spirits that only want to devour the world; even demons cannot withstand them."

Lillie shouted at the demon lord who was trying to exploit the malfunction.

Having witnessed firsthand the danger of the malfunction destroying the dwarf kingdom and attempting to devour the entire world, she was qualified to say such things.

"Stop being so arrogant. These guys are nothing but simple-minded beasts. I can see through them; their thought processes are incredibly simplistic... Killing you is their only mechanical obsession."

The BOSS sneered and exhaled a chilling breath.

This demon, capable of discerning others' psychological weaknesses, can also see through the essence of a malfunctioning program.

In his eyes, the faulty components were nothing more than a pack of wild beasts.

Although they were driven by an intense obsession to "kill all those associated with the system," unlike ordinary wild beasts, it meant nothing to him.

The BOSS continued, "The fact that even trash like this dares to show up shows that your era is over, just like those few standing behind you right now."

"I absolutely want to kill..." Lillie's face flushed with anger as she was mocked and pointed at, but she couldn't continue. Someone reached out and pressed down on her shoulder.

Lin Miao thought to herself: Since we're going to fight anyway, why bother arguing?

He controlled his character and reached out to press down on Lillie's shoulder.

Although the mask obscured the character's expression, the girl still nodded knowingly.

"Ready? Then disappear!"

After confirming the opponent's fighting spirit, the BOSS grinned.

At the same time, the skeletal dragon suddenly spread its bone wings and spewed out a stream of extremely cold breath from its mouth.