Hours bled into one another. Lin Ke remained motionless in the shadows, a living statue of patience. The sun arced across the sky, casting long shadows that shifted and danced across the desolate landscape. He ate a single, tasteless ration bar and drank a few sips of water, never taking his eyes off the dark maw of the cave.
Finally, as the sky began to bleed with the bruised purples and oranges of dusk, there was a change. A low, guttural rumble emanated from the cave, and the colossal form of the Alpha Corrupted Stone-Lizard emerged, its glowing purple eyes blinking in the fading light. It stretched its massive limbs, shook its obsidian-scaled head, and began to lumber away from the cave, starting its nightly patrol.
This was the moment.
"Rock Vole," Lin Ke whispered, his voice a ghost on the wind. "Phase one. Execute."
His partner, positioned a hundred meters away, had been waiting for the same signal. The Rock Vole dug its claws into the earth, unearthing a large, heavy stone. With a grunt of effort, it hurled the rock high into the air, aiming not for the Alpha, but for a sheer cliff face a quarter of a kilometer away in the opposite direction of the Alpha's patrol route.
CRACK... RUMBLE... CRASH!
The stone struck the cliff, dislodging a cascade of smaller rocks and creating a loud, echoing rockslide. The noise was violent and sudden, shattering the evening's quiet.
The Alpha, its patrol just begun, whipped its head around, its glowing eyes fixing on the source of the sound. It let out an aggressive, territorial hiss. A potential challenger or a large, clumsy prey animal had entered its domain. Its instinct to investigate the disturbance overrode its simple patrol pattern. It changed course, moving with surprising speed towards the distant noise, and away from its lair.
The diversion was a success. The clock was ticking.
"Phase two," Lin Ke breathed, his heart pounding. He slid from his hiding place and darted towards the now-unprotected cave entrance.
Entering the lair was like stepping into another world. The air was cold, damp, and thick with the cloying, sweet smell of corruption. The only light came from the faint, sickly glow of the fungi on the walls, casting his shadow long and monstrous before him. Every crunch of loose stone under his boots sounded like a thunderclap in the oppressive silence. He moved with practiced stealth, his body low, his senses on high alert, just as he had planned from his observations.
He reached the center of the cavern. There it was: the nest. The five corrupted eggs pulsed with a soft, rhythmic, purple light, like five malevolent hearts. The energy they radiated was palpable, making the hair on his arms stand on end.
He didn't have time to choose the "best" one. He moved to the closest egg, his hands trembling slightly as he reached down. It was heavier than he expected and strangely warm to the touch. He carefully lifted it from the nest, cradling the massive, pulsating object in his arms.
He had it. He had the prize.
He turned to make his escape, his mind already calculating his route back to the city. But then, a sound from the cave entrance froze his blood.
It was a low, rumbling growl, filled with a dawning, furious intelligence. It was much closer than it should be.
The rockslide diversion had worked, but not for as long as he had calculated. The Alpha, perhaps realizing the sound was not a true threat, or driven by a deeper instinct to protect its young, had abandoned its investigation. It was returning.
Lin Ke was trapped. He stood in the heart of the monster's lair, holding its stolen offspring, as the massive, enraged shadow of the Alpha predator fell over the entrance of the cave, blocking his only exit.