Before embarking on his new assignment, Lin Ke dedicated a full day to research. In the quiet of his lab, he combed through the Guild's restricted database, absorbing every piece of information available on the C-Rank zone designated as the 'Weeping Woods'. Unlike the open, rocky terrain of the Blackstone Wilderness, the Weeping Woods was a dense, ancient forest known for its high humidity and unique, often aggressive, flora and fauna. The reports on its corruption were sparse but concerning, mentioning unnaturally accelerated plant growth and insect life exhibiting hive-mind-like aggression.
Armed with knowledge, he set out the next morning. The entrance to the Weeping Woods was marked by a Guild-issued warning beacon. Beyond it, the forest immediately lived up to its name. The trees were ancient and enormous, their branches weighed down by thick, hanging moss that dripped a slow, steady stream of black, viscous sap, as if the entire forest were perpetually crying. The air was thick and heavy, and an unnatural silence permeated the woods; there was no birdsong, only the faint, unsettling buzz of unseen insects.
"Stay close," Lin Ke said, his voice low. The Terran Titan Vole walked beside him, its heavy, solid footsteps a reassuring presence in the oppressive quiet.
The signs of corruption were everywhere. The bark of the trees had sickly, purple veins running through it. The undergrowth was a tangled mass of thorny, unnatural-looking vines.
They hadn't traveled more than a hundred meters into the woods when the first attack came. It wasn't from a single creature, but from the environment itself. The thorny vines along the path suddenly writhed to life, lashing out like whips, trying to ensnare the Titan Vole's legs.
Simultaneously, a high-pitched chittering sound erupted from the canopy above, and dozens of insects, each the size of a man's fist with a single, glowing purple eye, dropped from the leaves. They were Corrupted Thorn-Crawlers, and they immediately began firing sharp, needle-like thorns from their abdomens.
"A coordinated attack," Lin Ke analyzed instantly, his mind calm amidst the chaos. "The vines try to immobilize, the crawlers attack from range."
His Titan Vole's raw power was immense, but it was a single, mighty target. A direct 'Earth Spike' might destroy some, but the fast-moving insects and widespread vines presented a new kind of tactical problem that brute force alone couldn't solve efficiently.
"Ignore the crawlers! Use your weight! Trample the vines!" Lin Ke commanded.
The Titan Vole let out a defiant roar. Instead of trying to dodge, it lowered its head and charged forward, its immense weight and armored plating simply plowing through the lashing vines, tearing them from their roots.
"Now, disrupt their terrain! Earth Spike, rolling barrage!"
This time, the Titan Vole didn't target the creatures. It slammed its paw into the ground, and then again, and again, creating a moving wave of churning earth and rock spikes. The forest floor became a chaotic, unstable mess. The fast-moving Thorn-Crawlers, suddenly finding their footing gone, stumbled and were thrown into disarray, their coordinated attack pattern broken. Their speed was useless on the broken ground.
"Excellent," Lin Ke praised. "Now, finish them."
With the crawlers now grouped together and struggling to move, the Titan Vole unleashed one final, focused 'Earth Spike' into the center of their ranks, wiping out the remaining threats in a single, decisive blow.
After purifying the minimal essence from the defeated creatures, Lin Ke pushed deeper into the woods. He had handled the welcoming party, but his true mission objective lay ahead. The Gene Editor's energy scanner showed a massive, singular concentration of Abyssal Corruption emanating from the heart of the forest.
This was the alpha-level threat that Director Thorne had sent him to neutralize. He and his titan, having adapted to the new challenges of this corrupted forest, moved forward cautiously, ready to face the boss of the Weeping Woods.