Two days had passed since Tinalari left to visit his friend. Left to his own devices, Lin Feng had effectively exterminated every monster camp in the vicinity.
His Dexterity trait had reached level 4. His control over his body was now absurdly precise. Forget walking a tightrope; if he went back to his old world, he could probably ace a circus acrobat audition and crush the competition.
Naturally, the most obvious change was his reaction speed. It felt as smooth as upgrading from 2G internet straight to 5G.
Staring at his stack of combat traits, Lin Feng figured his actual fighting capability was getting ridiculous. As for Xiaobai, given his steady-as-an-old-dog personality, he was happy to let it stay a cute, low-presence mascot that just ate and slept all day. At least, that was the plan.
Noticing his level had stopped climbing, he breathed a sigh of relief. It meant the Lesser Lord Kusanali, unable to drag him into a dream, had temporarily given up.
Since Nahida is still locked in the Sanctuary of Surasthana, she has no one to use except a few Aranara who won't approach human settlements.
The more he thought about it, the more he pitied the little Archon. He decided that before leaving Sumeru, he would find a way to meet her and see if he could help. After all, jumping from level 19 to 36 was largely thanks to her and her Statue.
As usual, after breakfast, Lin Feng headed into the rainforest for his daily patrol.
"Help! Someone, please help!"
He had barely stepped into the trees when a cry for help reached him.
Aiding travelers in distress was core ranger work. Lin Feng sprinted toward the sound.
"I'm Lin Feng, a Forest Ranger here. Uncle, please calm down. What happened?"
Identifying himself immediately, Lin Feng saw the source of the desperate shouting—a middle-aged Liyue merchant with black hair and long robes.
"Oh, young man, please help!"
"My daughter! My daughter was taken by monsters—!"
The merchant was beside himself, repeating the same phrases over and over.
"Please, calm down!"
Lin Feng released a pulse of elemental energy. The Dendro power, tinged with the "Dream's Blessing" trait, successfully soothed the panic and restored a shred of the man's reason.
"Which direction? What did they look like? What kind of monster?"
Knowing this was no time for pleasantries, Lin Feng fired off key questions.
"Just ahead on this road!"
The uncle realized the urgency and spilled the details fast.
"About half an hour ago, we were driving our cart past a dark patch of woods. Suddenly, a swarm of mechanical monsters emitting black smoke rushed out! Our horses spooked and ran in opposite directions!"
"My daughter is Liyuean, about your age. Please, you have to bring her back!"
"I... I can give you the whole caravan's assets! Just save Little Lu!"
"I... I'll kneel for you!"
The merchant moved to drop to his knees. Lin Feng caught his arm, stopping him.
"No kneeling needed. We can talk rewards later. I'm from Liyue too, Uncle—you kneeling to me would shorten my lifespan. I'll do my best to bring her back. Please don't wander off; I'll take your statement later."
Hearing the details, Lin Feng knew this was trouble. He told the man to stay put and dashed into the rainforest at full speed.
From the description, they had likely encountered a "Withering Zone." They had probably only skirted the edge—otherwise, the uncle wouldn't have made it out.
But his daughter had likely been carried deep into the zone by a panicked horse.
Studying under Tinalari had updated Lin Feng's knowledge of the Withering.
First, Withering phenomena were currently rare in reality, and almost never appeared on the forest edge.
Second, the Withering was lethal to ordinary humans. Even ignoring the projected monsters, just standing inside drained life force. Half an hour was the danger threshold. Only Allogenes could resist it for longer.
To clear a Withering Zone, one had to use Dendro attacks on the Withering Branches, destroy all monster projections, and then eliminate the exposed core—the Tumor of the Withering.
Reviewing the mechanics, Lin Feng calculated the time the daughter had been inside. Half an hour. His heart sank, and he pushed his legs faster.
Please let the monster difficulty be reasonable, he prayed silently.
The strongest monsters in a Withering Zone were Ley Line projections. If it was just fungi, it would be easy. But with bad luck, he could face high-level Ruin Drakes or Lawachurls.
As he ran, the light around him dimmed. The sky and forest took on an ominous violet-red hue. Birdsong and insect chirps vanished, replaced by a deathly silence.
The Withering.
Lin Feng shivered. Feeling the malevolent force eroding the air around him, a visceral disgust welled up in his mind—this was a power antithetical to all life.
The moment he entered, his danger sense flared. He leaped backward and sideways, dodging a laser beam that seared the air where he had just been.
He spun to face the enemy.
Three mechanical constructs, segmented like centipedes, with triangular heads glowing as they charged their next attack. Ruin Destroyers.
"Entangle!" "Earth Spike!"
Lin Feng didn't hold back. He opened with full power.
Vines as thick as a waist lashed out from all directions, binding the centipede-like machines. Dense, hard wooden spikes erupted from below, stabbing at the bound constructs.
"Huh?!"
Lin Feng stared in disbelief. The Ruin Destroyers took the full brunt of the spikes. Though damaged, they were still functional.
Using lasers to shear the vines, they spun their long bodies like drills, tore open the earth, and vanished underground.
!
Having suffered through this mechanic enough times in the game, Lin Feng leaped away instantly.
A split second later, the three machines burst from the ground where he had been standing. They unleashed an omnidirectional laser barrage. The brilliant light lit up the gloom like a miniature sun; the intense heat scorched the air, filling it with the stench of ozone.
"Now!"
Familiar with their patterns, Lin Feng didn't dodge the frightening display. Instead, he condensed pure Dendro into sharp arrows and fired them from a distance, aiming straight for the exposed cores of the three machines.
Zzzzt...
The sound of short-circuiting machinery rang out. Orange electricity crackled over the Ruin Destroyers as they slumped into paralysis.
Seizing the opening, Lin Feng compressed the ambient Dendro into a maximum-output bomb and hurled it into the center of the trio.
BOOM!
The three constructs shuddered once, then dissolved into black ash, fading into the air.