The only reason Liang Chuan had been able to locate Chasca in the first place was thanks to a system-granted ability—[Global Map].
Every area that players had explored, every creature or landmark they had ever seen—
Liang Chuan could view all of it within his mind's eye.
The moment Chasca appeared before the players, Liang Chuan noticed her presence.
What he hadn't expected, however, was how utterly brainless his two players could be—
they had actually dragged a wild boar straight back to the base.
Would it have killed them to take a detour?
If it had been a band of Treasure Hoarders or a high-level monster instead of Chasca…
they'd all be dead meat by now!
When [IReallyEatBeef] noticed Liang Chuan's expression, he immediately looked around nervously, tilting his head toward the sky.
"Boss! Cops are here! Run! I'll hold them off!!!"
Liang Chuan: "…"
He could only stare speechlessly.
This guy was constantly trying to rack up Favorability points with him.
With a wave of his hand, Liang Chuan gestured for him to calm down.
"It's fine. She doesn't mean any harm.
She's probably just curious why we're here."
At that moment, Chasca descended through the clouds, standing atop her spear.
She glanced at Liang Chuan, about to speak—
but suddenly turned sharply toward the northeast.
"Not good—Abyssal energy! Another wave of Abyssal monsters has breached the Masters of the Night-Wind sector!"
Her brows furrowed, and she launched herself back into the sky, vanishing in the direction of the disturbance.
"Brother Chuan, what did she mean by 'Abyssal monsters'?"
[IReallyEatBeef] asked.
Liang Chuan sighed.
"How do I even explain that… literally? They're monsters from the Abyss."
"And what's the difference between them and normal ones?"
He thought for a moment, then answered gravely,
"From now on, any monster you see could be an Abyssal variant.
The difference is whether they're tainted by Void Energy—that's what we call Abyssal power.
Let's put it this way: a regular Hilichurl with Void Energy is several times stronger than normal."
"HELP!!! HELP ME!!! I'M BEING AMBUSHED BY A HILICHURL!!!"
Just then, [BlazingFlame]'s desperate cry rang out in the distance.
"This Hilichurl has no honor! It ambushed me at my most vulnerable moment!!!"
He came sprinting back toward them, clutching his pants,
a small Hilichurl trotting after him at a disturbingly calm pace.
"Hey! A free Hilichurl just walked up to us! That's another task off my list!"
[IReallyEatBeef] shouted excitedly and started charging forward—
—but Liang Chuan stopped him with a raised hand.
"Wait. That Hilichurl… something's off."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Hilichurls might be monsters, but they still have emotions—anger, fear, even curiosity.
That one, though… It's empty.
Like a walking corpse.
It only sees us as prey."
Realizing this, Liang Chuan immediately opened his [Global Map].
Sure enough—the icon representing that Hilichurl was different.
Players, Teyvat natives, and Liang Chuan himself appeared as white markers.
Normal monsters or hostile enemies showed up as red dots.
But this one—
This Hilichurl was marked in black and red.
"You wanted to know what an Abyssal monster looks like?
Well, that's one right there."
He quickly issued mental commands—
all the working Hilichurls dropped their tools and switched from "farmer" to "militia mode," activating Base Defense Protocol.
Liang Chuan grabbed his [Wooden Armor] and [Bow and Arrows], readying for combat.
"You two, fight alongside the Hilichurls and cover me.
Once it gets close enough—attack together!"
He knocked an arrow and took aim at the Abyssal Hilichurl twenty meters away.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow flew—
he'd aimed for the top head,
but instead struck… the lower one.
Both [BlazingFlame] and [IReallyEatBeef] winced in sympathy, their legs squeezing together.
A normal Hilichurl would've collapsed instantly from such a fatal wound.
But the Abyssal Hilichurl didn't even flinch—
it just kept walking toward them,
apparently unconcerned about the loss of its "second head."
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Liang Chuan lost three more arrows.
This time, his shots were dead-on—heart, leg, and neck.
But even as its body was riddled with arrows, the creature kept advancing.
"That—That's not a Hilichurl!
That's a zombie!
It won't die unless you hit the head!"
[BlazingFlame] yelled in disbelief.
The Abyssal Hilichurl was now less than five meters away.
"What are you waiting for? Everyone, attack!!!"
[IReallyEatBeef], serving as the team's tank, charged forward.
He slammed into the Hilichurl, tackling it to the ground.
The impact was heavy, but the monster still managed to counter.
"Bang!"
Its small fist smashed into [IReallyEatBeef]'s abdomen,
and the big man curled up instantly, gasping like a stunned shrimp.
"That much damage from one punch?! It took out the tank in a single hit?!"
[BlazingFlame] exclaimed.
The six regular Hilichurls Liang Chuan commanded rushed in under his orders,
swinging axes and hammers with all their strength.
Their strikes were effective—limbs flew, and black ichor splattered the ground.
But every time one of them attacked, the Abyssal Hilichurl retaliated—
each blow killing a Hilichurl outright.
When it finally went down for good,
only Liang Chuan, [BlazingFlame], and two of his enslaved Hilichurls were still standing.
They barely had time to catch their breath—
before despair set in again.
[BlazingFlame] froze, pointing toward the forest, his mouth hanging open in silent horror.
Liang Chuan followed his gaze—
and his pupils contracted sharply.
Countless Abyssal Hilichurls were shambling through the trees,
their black-red eyes glowing in the darkness.
"In the game, an Abyssal Rift only spawns a few monsters at most…
So why the hell are there so many here?!"
He frowned, thinking fast.
"The only good news is… they haven't spotted us yet.
If they do… we're finished."
Just then, one of his controlled Hilichurls suddenly broke formation—
and shouted toward the forest at the top of its lungs:
"Yikayaika!!! (Enemies!!!) Yikayaika!!! (Enemies!!!)"
Liang Chuan's expression froze—
his face drained of color.