Split into Two Groups

Squeak.

Squeak squeak.

A fat Rat Demon was frantically fleeing in every direction. Behind it, the grass rustled as a spotted leopard pursued its prey at an unhurried pace.

The rodent monster ahead had been frightened into using all its strength to run for its life. Before long, it was obvious that its stamina had been completely depleted, and its speed had fallen far below what it had been.

The leopard hunting from behind, however, was still full of energy. It had deliberately maintained its distance from its prey, moving only fast enough not to lose track of it. Its goal had been to wait for this very moment.

Now, it only needed to exert a little more effort to easily send this exhausted, plump Rat Demon into its stomach.

This was its survival wisdom.

However, just as it was preparing to launch its final attack—

Squeak squeak!

The Rat Demon ahead suddenly let out an inexplicably agonized cry.

Its instinctive sense of danger forced the poised leopard to stop. Its yellow-brown eyes warily fixed on the Rat Demon lying motionless ahead, its body twitching violently.

And then—

Around the Rat Demon, the withered plants and dying grass were covered in black, viscous matter. The corrupted ground seemed alive, writhing and twisting disgustingly.

If the leopard had turned around and fled at once, it might have escaped unharmed.

Unfortunately, its survival wisdom had not taught it how to deal with the situation before it.

It was even still thinking about its plump Rat Demon prey.

Then, the leopard got exactly what it wanted.

The Rat Demon staggered back to its feet. Its skin peeled away layer after layer like old calluses, revealing the rotting muscles beneath. Its eyes, originally timid and fearful, now glowed scarlet as they stared fixedly at the only other living creature present.

Squeak!

Accompanied by a sharp, shrill cry, the Rat Demon that should have been the prey pounced at the leopard that had been hunting it. Only then did the leopard finally realize that something was wrong.

After smacking away the rotting Rat Demon that had bitten onto its leg, the leopard turned and fled in a panic instead.

But it had only run a few steps.

Thud!

Accompanied by a miserable whimper, the leopard collapsed to the ground. Its body began spinning and twitching, replaying the exact same scene that had happened to the Rat Demon moments earlier.

When the leopard stood up again, its eyes glowed scarlet as well. Its whole body gave off a foul stench of decay, making it look like a corpse that had come back to life.

This scene was not occurring only here. It was happening all over Claw Forest, one place after another.

Vivian and the others, rushing through the forest at full speed, witnessed the same sight.

Big Watermelon and Melee God of Magic were being carried under one arm each by the girl as she ran toward the edge of the forest. The two players were both shocked and terrified as they rapidly sent private messages.

"What the hell is going on? Why does this look like some kind of zombie virus? We're not playing a horror game, are we?" Melee God of Magic was nearly scared shitless.

He had personally seen a rabbit whose entire body had rotted away leap up from the ground and bite at them. Vivian had reacted quickly and stomped its head to pieces.

But who would have thought that even after that, the rabbit—with its brains spilled all over the ground—would stagger back to its feet and continue searching for the next living creature?

"I don't know whether it's a horror game, but... did you notice the names of these mutated monsters?" Big Watermelon was considerably calmer than Melee God of Magic.

He had found a few clues in the monster panels he had obtained through reconnaissance.

"Whatever kind of monster they are, once they mutate, they all seem to be called Abyss Creatures."

"Huh? Now that you mention it, that does seem true! But what exactly is this Abyssal Fall? I'm sure I've never seen it in the game's background lore."

"Not sure."

"But let's just follow the plot for now! No matter what, it looks like we can finally get into Huodian City!?" Big Watermelon's voice was clearly tinged with excitement.

This showed the difference in mindset between the players and the true natives of this world.

Other than their instinctive fear of these terrifying Abyss Creatures, the former felt mostly thrilled. They were eager to see the major events that were about to unfold, even if those events would become a disaster.

But as for the latter—

All that could be said was that the two players' hopes of entering the city were probably going to come to nothing.

What should she do now!

What should she do!

Second Personality Vivian was responsible for escaping Claw Forest, while Vivian of the main personality paced anxiously back and forth in the mental space, her brows tightly furrowed.

A difficult choice lay before Vivian.

What the players thought of was the major plot and major events, and the chance to go to a major city. But the first thing that had surfaced in Vivian's mind was her family.

She had to notify all the villages around the forest as soon as possible and have everyone evacuate!

But—

She also bore another important responsibility: Bella had entrusted her with carrying a token back to Huodian City as quickly as possible and delivering this news to the city's influential figures.

Moreover, the importance of this news was enough to alarm the God of Fire. At least, that was what the soul of the Bishop of the Fire God Cult had said.

So on one side was her home, while on the other was the greater good.

Should she prioritize the small matter or the big one?

In this extremely urgent situation, Vivian had only enough time to choose one side.

"Forget about Huodian City. They'll find out sooner or later. Let's hurry back to the village and organize everyone's evacuation!" Second Personality's voice rang out from within without the slightest hesitation.

Clearly, she had chosen to prioritize the small matter.

"But... what if failing to spread this news leads to even worse consequences?"

Vivian had witnessed the infection speed of those zombie creatures with her own eyes.

If they were not stopped, it would not take long for most of the monsters in Claw Forest to become rotting creatures that could do nothing but attack every living thing in sight.

And that was without even counting the source of it all—the nest cave they had just escaped from, the terrifying mutated Bone Winged Dragon, and those strange, evil Black Hands.

"Without Huodian City's support, even if we evacuate early, it won't help. With just us... we simply can't deal with those monsters!"

It was not only for the greater good. For her own sake, Vivian had to deliver the news to Huodian City and ask the city's influential figures and the God of Fire for protection.

"This is so annoying, so annoying! Then tell me, what are we supposed to do now?" A deep sense of powerlessness rose from Second Personality's heart, making her increasingly irritated.

Yes, what was she supposed to do?

Just as the girl's thoughts were in complete disarray, Liao Zixuan, who had remained silent all this time, quietly sighed.

He had originally only wanted to properly enjoy his witch-raising game.

But now, it seemed that the situation had reached the point where he had no choice but to intervene.

Fine.

So it was the Abyssal Fall, huh? He had not even gone looking for trouble with it, and it had already come over to cause trouble for him.

Then they would have some fun!

Thus, without hesitating any longer, Liao Zixuan used Telepathy to send Vivian his plan—a plan that could satisfy both sides.

The plan was actually very simple.

Since neither matter could be neglected—since they needed to deliver the message and urgently evacuate the villagers—

Why not split into two groups?

You, Vivian—

Continue taking the Fire God Cult token to Huodian City to deliver the message and request reinforcements.

As for returning to the village, organizing the villagers, persuading them to evacuate quickly, and establishing a village guard—

Leave it to...

him.

Wouldn't that solve everything?