The speaker wore a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, and beneath it, a pair of slender elven ears peeked out.
Her long, reddish-purple hair danced in the breeze. She was stunning—youthful, radiant—but beneath that beauty lingered an untamed, feral aura.
At this moment, she was floating midair, standing atop a massive spear taller than a man, looking down imperiously at the two players below.
If Liang Chuan were here, he would have recognized her instantly—Chasca, the gold-ranked mediator of the Flower-Feather Clan.
But the two players didn't have a clue who she was.
Seeing her descend from the sky, riding a spear and questioning them sharply, both immediately panicked.
They thought she was some kind of law enforcement NPC in this world!
"Crap, crap, crap! This is bad! We're doomed! The forest's on fire, and now the sheriff's fallen for me!"
[Huo Yanyan], clutching the charred boar carcass, pulled a long face.
"Don't tell me we're about to get thrown in jail on our first day in-game!"
"No way! We can't just sit and wait for death! Even if she's a law enforcer NPC—if she's got a visible HP bar, that means she can die!"
[IReallyEatBeef] clenched his fists.
"Bro… maybe take a look at the size of that gun barrel she's pointing at us before you say that?"
[Huo Yanyan] inhaled deeply. "If she shoots us once, I feel like we'll owe her ten health bars!"
"So what do we do then...?"
[IReallyEatBeef] spread his hands helplessly.
"This game's revival system costs way too much bio-energy. So... we better play it safe when we have to. Especially early games, when resources are scarce!"
After saying that, [Huo Yanyan] quickly raised his voice toward the airborne woman.
"Esteemed law enforcer! We admit we were wrong! But please understand—if we hadn't hunted, we would've starved to death!
Could you… maybe let us off this time since we're newbies?"
"Newbies?"
Chasca tilted her head, examining them.
"Judging by your looks, you're clearly not from any of the Natlan tribes. Black hair, black eyes... Liyue travelers, perhaps?"
She pondered for a moment, then spoke calmly.
"Setting fires in the forest can be a serious offense or a minor one.
Since you didn't cause any major damage this time, I'll overlook it.
But if you disturb the Lord of Fire with such recklessness again—even as travelers from Liyue—you'll still be punished."
"Thank you! Thank you for sparing us!"
[Huo Yanyan] and [IReallyEatBeef] bowed repeatedly.
"If you're truly that hungry," Chasca added, glancing at Huo Yanyan's weak, hollow-eyed expression, "head northeast about ten kilometers.
You'll reach the territory of the Masters of the Night-Wind tribe. The locals there will take you in."
"Thank you for the tip! We'll head there if needed!"
[Huo Yanyan] replied hastily.
"Uh… by the way," [IReallyEatBeef] raised his hand, "do you happen to know where we can find Hilichurls nearby?"
Finally meeting a native NPC, he wasn't going to waste the opportunity to gather intel.
"Hilichurls? What business do you have with them?"
Chasca frowned, puzzled.
"Bring them back to chop trees and mine rocks."
[IReallyEatBeef] answered honestly.
"You want to enslave Hilichurls to work for you?"
Chasca looked genuinely shocked.
"Those creatures are dangerous enough that most people try to exterminate them—and you want to keep them as laborers?"
"It's not like we want to, it's just... we have to finish a mis—"
[IReallyEatBeef] almost blurted out "mission," but [Huo Yanyan] quickly stopped him.
"Are you out of your mind?! Don't just tell an NPC everything!
This game's 100% realism means these NPCs have top-tier AI!
Every single word you say could trigger a chain of consequences!"
"You're right… less talk, more action!"
[IReallyEatBeef] nodded, chastised.
Seeing the two "Liyue travelers" finally shut up, Chasca paused for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"If you keep heading west and leave the forest, another five kilometers beyond, you'll reach the coast.
There's a Hilichurl camp there.
But given your current strength, I strongly advise you to give up that idea.
There are a lot of them—plus several Mitachurl.
You two don't stand a chance."
However, instead of being frightened, the two players' eyes lit up.
"You heard that? There's a Hilichurl camp to the west—and tons of them!"
[Huo Yanyan] lifted his chin, grinning.
"That's gotta be a perfect early-game grinding spot!"
"But it's just the two of us. How are we supposed to raid a Hilichurl camp?"
[IReallyEatBeef] asked, confused.
"Bro, is your head full of muscles? After all these years of gaming, you've never pulled mobs before?"
[Huo Yanyan] sighed.
"You don't fight the whole camp at once! We set up traps and lure a few at a time!"
"Pulling mobs is usually the assassin's job... I main tanks, so it didn't come to mind."
[IReallyEatBeef] said, scratching his head.
"Anyway, let's get out of the law enforcer's line of sight first."
[Huo Yanyan] waved politely toward Chasca.
"If there's nothing else, we'll be on our way!"
He glanced down at the boar carcass beside him and gestured for [IReallyEatBeef] to help him carry it back.
"Whoooosh!!!"
A powerful gust swept past as Chasca soared higher into the clouds on her spear, vanishing from their view.
"This game's not just some ordinary fantasy world...
Flying on a spear like that—it's magitech, not magic..."
[Huo Yanyan] muttered under his breath.
On the way back to their base, hunger got the better of him.
Unable to resist, he tore off a chunk of raw boar meat, conjured a tiny flame, and roasted it on the spot.
After eating a small piece, he could literally see his Satiety bar climb back up.
The [Hunger] debuff disappeared.
"Filling, but… no flavor."
He sighed.
"Of course it doesn't. No seasoning, and that little hand-flame of yours can't even control the heat properly.
If you don't get food poisoning, consider yourself lucky."
[IReallyEatBeef] snorted.
"Don't jinx it... now that you mention it, my stomach's acting up a bit.
No way this game actually simulates diarrhea, right?!
Developers, for god's sake, why'd you include that mechanic?!"
Clutching his gut, [Huo Yanyan] urged his companion to hurry up.
By picking up the pace, they made it back to base in just forty minutes.
After greeting Liang Chuan briefly, [Huo Yanyan] dashed off in a hurry.
"What's up with him?"
Liang Chuan squinted.
"Ate half-cooked boar meat. Now he's… paying for it."
[IReallyEatBeef] replied bluntly.
Liang Chuan: "…"
"Well, at least you brought back a boar. That's something.
But tell me—" Liang Chuan lifted his gaze toward the clouds above.
"—that person up there. You brought her here, didn't you?"
High in the air, Chasca flinched.
"How is that possible... I didn't sense any elemental energy from that Liyue man…
So how did he detect me?"