Ravine continued her trek through the vast Russian wilderness, her synthetic feet pressing against earth that had been untouched by human footsteps for who knew how long. The endless expanse of vegetation stretched before her, a green sea of possibilities and dangers.

  I've tried entering contact with the other members many times now, but it seems impossible to create a direct link, she thought, frustration creeping into her mechanical consciousness. She pressed the button in the center of her left palm, and a holographic screen materialized, displaying her entire body composition in blue wireframe. On her left ear, a red glow pulsed ominously, accompanied by the words: ERROR MALFUNCTION.

  "Tch, I figured," she muttered. "I'll have to let Zhon know about it once I meet them."

  Following the guidance lines overlaid on her vision, she pressed deeper into the wilderness until she encountered a deep swamp. A weathered red stop sign jutted from the marshy ground, its surface covered in Cyrillic markings: "Опасность."

  She touched the post, feeling the rust flake against her synthetic skin. "Danger, huh?"

  Activating her thermal scanners, she swept the perimeter for heat signatures that might indicate living beings. The readout came back empty.

  "I guess this zone won't be a problem after all," she concluded, stepping into the murky water. She had spotted a cave that would provide a shortcut to reach the others faster.

  As the swamp water enveloped her legs, an unexpected sensation registered through her sensors. This water is different from the one in the pod. This one is so dirty and heavy... it's hard to move.

  She began swimming through the contaminated water, her scanners automatically cataloguing the various aquatic plants that swayed in the murky depths. Earth truly does have variety, she observed with something approaching wonder.

  Pressing her left palm again, she activated her aquatic form. Webbing materialized between her fingers and toes, transforming her hands and feet into efficient swimming appendages.

  "I guess we have to thank the third squadron for these upgrades," she said, noting the dramatic improvement in her speed. "This will make things go way faster now."

  She glided through the water with newfound ease, heading toward an underwater passage. But as she approached the surface, an urgent warning flashed across her visual interface: WARNING: ORGANIC FORM ATTACK INCOMING.

  Her head snapped around. "Huh?! I thought these parts were supposed to be free of life?"

  Plant-like appendages erupted from the water, wrapping around her legs with crushing force. Before she could react, they launched her skyward, sending her crashing into a nearby tree with bone-jarring impact.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  DAMAGE RECEIVED. PREPARE TO ENGAGE IN BATTLE.

  "What am I looking for?" she asked her internal assistant system.

  "No data received... Good luck," came the unhelpful response.

  "As expected, you're as useless as ever," Ravine grumbled, drawing her lance-spear from her inventory.

  But before she could assume a proper fighting stance, more plant appendages burst from the ground, binding her arms and legs with iron-like grip. The more she struggled, the tighter they squeezed.

  Damn it, I can't move, she thought desperately. First it happened in the water and now outside of it, yet I never detected a living being. Could it be that plants have evolved in a way that lets them do this? In such a short amount of time? There's just no way. So then what is it?

  "In any case, I can't stay here or these plants are going to crush my components in no time."

  She was hurled through the air again as a medium-sized creature emerged from the swamp's depths, slamming her back down with tremendous force. Ravine quickly recovered, rolling away to create distance between herself and her attacker. She assumed a combat stance, spear at the ready.

  "I know this may be a lost cause, but... do you have any info on this creature that could be useful to me?"

  Beep. "Negative."

  "I thought so."

  The creature lunged forward, catapulting itself at her with incredible speed. Ravine used its momentum against it, dashing forward with lightning reflexes to impale what she assumed was the center of its mass. Her spear passed through empty air—the creature's body parted like water around the weapon.

  As she landed and spun to face her opponent, realization dawned. This might take longer than expected. Its core isn't in the middle. Plants are different from us androids.

  "Hey, assistant, tell me something."

  "Yes, Ravine?"

  "According to data from the previous squadrons, can you cross-reference 'plant-like creature' and 'lethal strike points '?"

  Beep. "The S.A.M., otherwise called the Shoot Apical Meristem, is situated at the very tip of the plant."

  "I see. All right then, let's finish this."

  Ravine launched into motion, her enhanced agility allowing her to leap and dash around the creature with magnificent speed, attempting to confuse and disorient it. She struck at its vine-like legs, eliciting a roar of pain before the damaged tissue rapidly regenerated.

  As she continued her acrobatic assault, dodging two devastating swipes from the creature's appendages, she called out, "Assistant, override my current limitations and allow me to go even faster. This thing won't go down with my current speed."

  Beep. "Requesting override. Waiting for confirmation."

  The creature's vines finally managed to snare her again, yanking her close for what appeared to be a finishing blow. Another beep echoed in her head, followed by a familiar bolt of energy surging through her systems.

  "Request accepted."

  Ravine exhaled and became a blur of motion, striking the creature with godlike speed from every direction. Her attacks came so fast that its regenerative abilities couldn't keep pace.

  "I will hit with speeds so high you won't be able to keep up with me anymore!"

  With a final, devastating strike, she shattered the tip at the very top of the creature's mass. "Just die already!"

  The creature's remains scattered across the swamp like fallen leaves. Among the debris, Ravine noticed a green sphere pulsing with faint light.

  I wonder what that is, she thought, reaching down to crush it between her fingers.

  A notification appeared on her interface: NEW DATA UPLOADED TO THE MOTHER SHIP - NEW CREATURE FOUND: BOLGUS VINUS - WEAKNESS: S.A.M.

  "I guess that answers our questions," she said. "I must hurry and join the others before I attract more of them."

  As she prepared to re-enter the water, another notification flashed: NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: CHITINOUS ARM.

  She looked down at her arms in amazement. They had transformed, now resembling the plant-like appendages of the creature she had just defeated. As she flexed her new limbs experimentally, a smile crossed her features.

  "Things just got more interesting..."