For running away first?
Liang Chuan didn't feel even half a gram of guilt.
Because he knew perfectly well—
If it weren't for the Player Faction Mission forcing those players to stay online,
every last one of them would've logged out without even looking back.
Who would give a damn about the fate of the Bio-Energy Terminal otherwise?
Only rewards and punishments could make players obedient.
Not "loyalty." Not "honor." Never "feelings."
If he were a player, he wouldn't risk his neck for an NPC either.
And if an NPC dropped good loot?
He'd kill the NPC without hesitation.
So to Liang Chuan, players were tools.
Tools to be used.
Tools to be discarded.
Self-interest always came first.
He ran for some distance, only to encounter more abyssal beasts.
He immediately activated Gale Step, vanishing into thin air.
As invisibility neared its end, he slipped behind a Hilichurl archer and swung his stone axe down.
BOOM!
The double-damage strike broke stealth and instantly killed the Hilichurl.
Liang Chuan grabbed its crude crossbow and kept running.
But the more he ran, the uglier his expression became.
No matter which direction he tried—
The global map showed black-red dots everywhere.
Gale Step's cooldown still had 30 seconds left.
"Great… just great.
Even if more abyssal creatures came through the gate than in the game,
it shouldn't be this exaggerated, right?
Has the entire forest turned abyssal?
Even small Slimes?!"
A nearby Hilichurl rushed at him—
and he killed it with a quick counter-slash.
"Huh? The EXP from this one is only about 5% higher than a normal version.
And the hit-feedback isn't as heavy either…
Meaning it's not as strong as the ones near the base."
A spark of realization flashed in his mind.
Abyssal corruption… spreads.
It infects anything—
human or monster.
Most of the creatures in the forest weren't originally abyssal.
They'd merely been contaminated by real abyssal monsters passing through.
These lightly-infected ones hadn't fully transformed yet—
their strength hadn't escalated to nightmare levels.
"No wonder killing abyssal Hilichurls in the base felt easier and easier.
I thought we were getting stronger…
Turns out most of them were just half-baked infections."
Understanding this eased a lot of pressure.
He continued moving through the forest, conserving stamina and attacking only when absolutely necessary.
His goal wasn't to kill.
His goal was to drag this out.
Drag.
Drag as long as possible.
After nearly half an hour—
A cluster of white markers finally appeared on the global map.
Reinforcements had arrived.
From above, more than a dozen Feathery Plume warriors rode Fluffwing Drakes, swooping across the forest canopy.
One coordinated dive from warrior and drake was enough to take out an abyssal beast in one strike.
Explosions boomed from the direction of the camp.
Liang Chuan checked the map—
Chaska was unleashing artillery-like blasts with her massive lance, wiping out clusters of abyssal markers at terrifying speed.
"As expected of a tribal hero… her mob-clearing is insane."
A Feathery Plume warrior landed beside him.
"Traveler from afar, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for rescuing me."
"This is our duty. Visitors in Natlan are under our protection."
The warrior swung off the drake.
"I am Mutota, leader of the Feathery Plume Society.
If you need anything, seek me out.
There are still many abyssal beasts to purge—I won't delay further."
With a pat to his Fluffwing Drake, he soared skyward again.
Liang Chuan watched them leave, eyes filled with envy.
Riding a Fluffwing Drake…
Now that looked nice.
Could he use a Regulator Collar to tame one?
Would that piss off the entire Feathery Plume Society…?
Something to think about later.
With reinforcements handling the heavy work, Liang Chuan headed back toward the base.
Near the outskirts, he ran into Fire Flame Yan and Beef.
"Ah! It's Chuan-bro! You're alive! Thank the archons!"
Fire Flame Yan practically jumped in joy.
He remembered the game rules clearly—
If the "BOSS" died, the whole game instance collapsed and all players lost their accounts.
So when Liang Chuan ran away earlier—
They weren't angry.
They were relieved.
A main crystal that knows how to run for its life?
Now that's a main crystal you can trust.
"How's the situation on your side?" Liang Chuan asked.
"Well… after you, uh… tactically withdrew, we split up to kite the mobs."
Fire Flame Yan explained:
"That axe-wielding giant Hilichurl?
Way too strong.
The 'Bodyguard' player got one-shot—instant decapitation!"
He shuddered.
"We've all scattered around the camp area.
Not sure how the others are doing."
Liang Chuan immediately opened the global map.
The base consisted of three buildings:
Bio-Energy Terminal, Wooden Shelter, Workbench.
Together, they formed a circular safe zone with a radius of 150 meters.
Each additional building expanded the radius by 50 meters.
The players, afraid of leaving the safe zone and being flagged as "mission inactive," had all stuck close.
Which meant—
half of them were already dead.
Including all three fire mages who made him cough blood earlier.
"I told you… picking fire mages early game…
Five points in every physical stat—
You can't even 1v1 a normal Hilichurl!
Surviving abyssal ones would've been the miracle."
He shook his head.
As for why Fire Flame Yan survived?
Because Beef tanked everything for him—
and literally carried him on his back to run away.
"Feathery Plume reinforcements are here.
It's counterattack time."
Liang Chuan raised his chin toward them.
They just stared blankly.
Liang Chuan almost smacked their heads.
"MOVE!!!
What are you two standing around for?!
Go help them clear mobs!"
If there was free EXP to leech—
why were they hesitating?!
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