Super Gene

The big fluffy tail of the silver fox hooked Han Sen’s legs, and tickled him as it moved up and down.

Han Sen was beginning to realize that the silver fox had no intention of causing him harm, so he crouched to hold him. Without resisting, the silver fox allowed itself to be picked up in Han Sen’s arm and thoroughly hugged. The fox’s tail wagged in ecstasy.

”This silver fox is so strange; I wonder where it came from?” Han Sen held the calm silver fox with a puzzled expression on his face.

Some people had been known to own and keep some creatures, but they were usually kept behind bars, imprisoned against their will. More often than not, they’d eventually be killed to be served up as food.

Such creatures were known to have wild and varying personalities, but there was one common thread that linked most wild monsters together – their desire to attack and kill humans on sight. It did not matter how humans approached or responded, that’s what they would do.

But this silver fox was showing itself to be the opposite of everything Han Sen thought he knew. It was so calm. If Han Sen hadn’t seen it almost kill Yi Dong Mu, he’d be hard-pressed to believe that the fluffy little animal in his arms was a super creature.

So now Han Sen was in a difficult situation. Although it was docile and friendly at this point in time, there was no guarantee it would always be like this. If the silver fox turned violent after Han Sen returned home with it, it would be a disaster.

Across the ice fields, no one could bear the wrath of a super creature, and Han Sen was taken back to the image of the blue seahorse that had burned down the Seabed Shelter. That gave him a chill.

”I can’t bring it back. There’s no way I’d be able to bring it back.” Han Sen watched the cute silver fox sit lovingly in his arms but had to resist. Though it hurt him to do so, he returned it to the ground.

”Little fox, it’s not that I don’t want to bring you with me, and if I was on my own I would... I just can’t risk bringing you back in the presence of others. If something happened, it wouldn’t just be my problem. You should go home,” Han Sen told the silver fox, then turned around and left.

But the silver fox didn’t listen, and continued following and mimicking every step Han Sen took. If he stepped forward, it did too. If Han Sen stopped, it would too. Han Sen thought about chasing it away, but whenever he looked at the creature, it returned a delightfully cute, puppy-dog look that melted his heart.

Furthermore, Han Sen did not dare use force. The silver fox was far stronger than he was, and he feared what might happen if he attacked it. It was highly likely Han Sen would be the one to suffer the greater misfortune.

Besides, the adorable sight of the silver fox was enough to stay his hand.

Looking back at the silver fox that refused to be left behind, Han Sen picked him up once more. Like a little cat, he dug into Han Sen’s chest and was the cutest thing.

”Fine, I will take you to the Crystal Palace. If something happens there, at least you won’t be harming anyone else.” Han Sen brought out his wings, and with the silver fox in his arms, took to the skies.

He’d have to hide the silver fox before meeting the evolvers, too. The tall tales that might be spun out of this turn of events would be dizzying.

”I’ll just leave them to wait where they are, then. They are the ones that chose not to accompany me, after all. There is no harm in leaving them in the freezing cold for a little while longer.” Han Sen clutched the silver fox tightly, as he flew higher and higher to leave the area.

As Han Sen prepared to fly towards the Ice Lake, he saw a multitude of ice snakes jump out from the snow in the ice valley. It was strange – the place had been empty before. There was an extra-large ice snake amongst them, as well, and his entire body was scaled in silver. It gleamed like the snow, and it was 100 meters long. It was a terrible sight.

”The silver-eyed ice snake king?” Han Sen was shocked. When he entered the valley and traversed it earlier, he had caught no sight of it. Where did it come from?

Han Sen’s heart jumped, and he returned down to the snow valley. But when he returned, he saw the snake king and its clan return deep beneath the snow.

”I suppose it is because of you.” Han Sen landed on the snow valley, but he could not now glimpse the faintest shadow of an ice snake. Even the king itself had disappeared.

The silver fox remained in Han Sen’s arms, pretending to be asleep. He wasn’t sure whether it understood what he was saying, or if the creature just didn’t care. Calmly, it just wagged its tail.

He flew outside the ice valley again and put the silver fox down on the peak of a snowy mountain. Then he saw the ice snakes return to the surface.

”You wait for me here, okay?” Han Sen told the silver fox and then flew back towards the valley.

This time, the silver fox didn’t follow Han Sen; it stood on top of the mountain, watching Han Sen descend into the valley.

Han Sen was going solo towards the giant pit of snakes, but this time, they did not return to below the surface. What’s more, a legion of snakes leapt up and attempted to thwart his airborne descent.

The snake king’s eyes were like braziers of silver light, staring at Han Sen. The beast spread open its own wings, and the two horns on its head shone like beacons. Like some deadly creature of ancient history, it charged towards Han Sen.

”They really must have escaped due to the silver fox’s presence.” Han Sen put away his wings and hit the snow with Treading Cloud, reverting to his previous attempt to grab the snake king’s attention and draw it to the valley’s entrance.

To go up against such a giant monster, Han Sen lacked the faith to battle it on his own. Not to mention the amount of other smaller snakes he would have to deal with at the same time. So Han Sen settled for his original plan of leading the snake king out and giving the evolvers something to do.

No matter how bad they were, he could at least get them to deal with any smaller snakes trying to prevent the slaying of their leader. Although they were afraid of them, if he led them out of the valley, the snow wouldn’t be thick enough to cloak them. In such conditions, the evolvers could take on the snakes with far greater ease.

Han Sen was unsure whether the snake king had been suppressed by the presence of a silver fox in recent times because its insane temper was far beyond Han Sen’s expectations. Without reprieve or thought, it mindlessly went after Han Sen. Its speed was surprising. With its silver wings allowing it to lash, twirl and snap its way through the sky in its pursuit of Han Sen, its mouth was perpetually open, ready to gobble up its desired prey.

Han Sen was no sluggard, though, as he dodged the attempted bites with ease. The faint trail he left in the snow made a zigzag, however, as he kept dodging the snake king and its minions. Before long, he had it made it through to outside the snow valley.

Wang Liang and the other evolvers outside the valley were still waiting in nervous anticipation to see Han Sen return.

”He’s been gone too long. I bet you he was killed by the snake king.”

”If that were true, how come we have not heard anything?”

”I bet he didn’t even see the snake king; the man can’t even fly. To keep running like that, he probably kept attracting more and more ice snakes until they overwhelmed him. He probably died before reaching the snake king.”

”What do we do then? Should we continue waiting?”

”It would probably be best to wait a little longer. If we leave now, and he does indeed return, we won’t be able to explain our desertion.”

”But he’s been gone for so long. There is no way he’ll be coming back now, after all this time.”

”Just wait a bit longer; if we’ve waited this long already, what does it matter if we wait a little more? The day is gone, anyway. If he doesn’t return by tomorrow then we can leave.”

While everyone was talking, they suddenly heard movement from the valley. When they went to look, all of their mouths dropped to the ground.

They saw Han Sen running like a madman out of the valley, and behind him, a monstrous sea of snakes flying, twirling, writhing and slithering after him. In the middle, one that looked like a dragon was in the hottest pursuit. Its wings were outstretched as it tried to capture Han Sen, and each snap missed him only by a second. The insane sight sent their pulses racing in fear.