The moment Lin Ke crossed the threshold of the city gate, the world changed. The manicured, sterile environment of Mo City was gone, replaced by a raw, untamed landscape that stretched to the horizon. The air itself felt different, heavy with the scent of wild earth and the faint, metallic tang of strange minerals.
This was the Blackstone Wilderness. The name was apt. The ground was a jagged carpet of black, shale-like rocks and sparse, hardy vegetation that clung stubbornly to life. The sky above seemed wider, and the silence was a profound entity, broken only by the whisper of the wind and the crunch of Lin Ke's boots on the gravel. This was a world without rules, without referees, where survival was the only metric of success.
"Alright, little guy," Lin Ke said softly, his voice seeming small in the vast emptiness. "Stay alert. We're on our own now."
"Ji!" The Rock Vole on his shoulder responded with a low chirp, its nose twitching as it took in the myriad new smells. Its body was tense, a coiled spring ready to react.
Lin Ke did not move forward recklessly. He was a researcher in a new, undocumented laboratory. He took out his terminal, its map providing a basic topographical layout, but he knew the real map was the one he would build in his mind. He activated the Gene Editor, his eyes beginning their ceaseless scan of the environment.
[Flora Scan: Black-Vein Moss. Contains high levels of iron. Non-toxic.] [Fauna Scan: Trace DNA of Rock-Skitter Lizards (non-hostile), Wind-Scorpions (hostile, venomous).] [Energy Scan: Ambient energy levels are low. Pockets of chaotic energy signatures detected deeper in the sector. Probability of corrupted lifeforms: High.]
For the first hour, he moved methodically, his pace steady. He was a ghost in the landscape, observing, analyzing, and committing every detail to memory. He noted the natural choke points in the rocky canyons, the locations of small caves that could serve as temporary shelters, and the flight patterns of carrion birds high above.
It was in the second hour that he found what he was looking for.
The Gene Editor flashed a warning, a spike of chaotic energy appearing on his mental radar. He took cover behind a large, black boulder and peered around its edge. In a small clearing ahead, a creature was basking on a sun-warmed rock. It resembled a large lizard, about a meter long, with skin that looked like cracked stone. But this was no natural creature. Dark, pulsating purple veins crisscrossed its body, and its eyes glowed with the malevolent light of the Abyssal Corruption.
[Target: Corrupted Stone-Lizard] [Rank: E+] [Attribute: Rock/Corruption] [Analysis: Subject possesses a hardened stone hide and the ability to spit a weak corrosive acid. Corruption has amplified its aggression and physical strength but has created a genetic instability in its neck region.]
An E+ Rank creature. A perfect first test.
"Stay low," Lin Ke whispered to his Rock Vole. "We initiate. Target the legs first to cripple its mobility."
The Rock Vole slid silently from his shoulder, using the rocky terrain as cover. It was no longer just a pet; it was a trained operative executing a mission.
Lin Ke gave the signal. The Rock Vole burst from behind a rock, launching a 'Rock Throw' not at the creature's body, but at its feet. The sharp stone clattered against the lizard's leg, causing it to hiss in annoyance and turn its attention. The hunt had begun.
The Corrupted Stone-Lizard was faster than its bulky appearance suggested. It charged, its maw opening to spray a glob of hissing, purple acid.
"Evade, circle right," Lin Ke commanded calmly. The Rock Vole, drilled relentlessly in agility, sidestepped the acid, which splattered harmlessly against the ground. The fight was a deadly dance. The lizard lunged and spat, and the Rock Vole, guided by Lin Ke's precise commands, weaved and dodged, always staying just out of reach, forcing the corrupted creature to expend its energy.
"It's getting angry. Its movements are becoming predictable," Lin Ke analyzed, seeing the pattern emerge. "It lowers its head 0.6 seconds before spitting. That's our window."
After another dodge, Lin Ke gave the decisive command. "Now! Exploit the opening! Target the neck!"
The Rock Vole didn't hesitate. As the lizard lowered its head for another acid spit, it shot forward, leaping into the air and slamming its body into the genetically unstable neck region the Gene Editor had identified.
CRACK.
The corrupted creature convulsed and fell, its unnatural life extinguished. As before, its body began to dissolve into a black sludge, releasing a small, pulsating orb of purple energy. Lin Ke, now experienced, calmly activated the Gene Editor's 'Purify and Absorb' function.
[Purification complete. Raw Corrupted Gene Essence (15 units) acquired.]
He had done it. His first successful hunt in the wilderness. He now had a proven method for farming the resource he so desperately needed. A feeling of grim satisfaction washed over him.
But as he scanned the area to ensure it was secure, his Gene Editor picked up something else. Faint tracks on the ground near the clearing. They were lizard-like, but much, much larger. And the residual corruption signature left in them was significantly more potent.
He had found his hunting ground, but he was not the only hunter here. Something bigger, and far more dangerous, was nearby. The Blackstone Wilderness had welcomed him with its first test, and now, it was showing him the shadow of its next.