Super Gene

The silver fox saw the red mushroom, opened its mouth, and swallowed it.

And then Han Sen and the fox looked at each other. There was no movement for quite some time.

”That’s it? Give me some reaction, at least.” Han Sen waited for a while longer, but still, the silver fox did not react. He might as well have eaten a candy bar.

After waiting a while further, there was still no sign of anything changing. The only curious thing he had learnt was that the silver fox was very interested in eating it.

Fortunately, Han Sen knew where he could find another two; back in the snow. So he returned to that icy tundra and dug up one of the two remaining mushrooms.

This time, though, he didn’t give it to silver fox. Instead, he cut it into pieces and hung one slice from a tree. Then, he waited to see if any creatures in the vicinity would take interest in it.

It wasn’t much later when a boar arrived. It came for the mushroom, but despite a few strenuous jumps, it was unable to nab the food of its desire. It didn’t give up so easily, though, for it then circled around the mushroom that was dangling from the tree, refusing to leave it.

A while later a few smaller creatures arrived, like snakes and bugs. There was a squirrel amongst them, and it quickly raced up the tree and got the mushroom. It hastily swallowed every morsel.

The squirrel had grey hair, but after eating the mushroom, it turned red. Then, the creature shone like a beautiful ruby gem.

Han Sen grabbed a few more slices of the mushroom and spread them about the area, to see if he could test it out on a number of other creatures.

Han Sen then discovered something new. Not every creature was interested in the mushroom, only a good deal of them.

But every creature Han Sen saw eat a bit of that mushroom had a noticeable change. Their response to the food was vastly different than the silver fox’s reaction, when it did nothing, without letting out nary a fart.

When ordinary creatures ate it, however, they appeared smarter, more energized, and of course, red. But aside from that, Han Sen couldn’t tell what more.

Han Sen recorded the reaction given by the creatures after eating a piece of the red mushroom, then returned to the Alliance. He sent the data to Professor Sun for analysis.

Professor Sun told him that he would need some time, and that he would give Han Sen the results of his research in about two days time.

Han Sen had half a mushroom left that he planned to keep. Unfortunately for him, he left it lying around and the silver fox caught scent of its presence, dashed to it, and gobbled it all up. After eating the mushroom, it leapt into Han Sen’s arms and fell asleep.

”It is fortunate I did not take both; otherwise, they’d all be in your belly. That would be a waste.” Han Sen was glad.

Qi Xiuwen was still away in his talks with Li Xinglun and Philip and had yet to return. Han Sen could only assume that the talks were not going so well. But he wasn’t in a rush, so he had plenty of time to relax and read a few books. He also spent some time training his Dongxuan Sutra and Jade-Sun Force. He even managed to squeeze in time for a bit of practice with Dual. Overall, the days were calm and without interruption. It had been a while since things were this relaxing.

”Han Sen, after my analysis, I have come to the conclusion that the red mushroom you discovered is a provision that can increase one’s vitality. It’s not the most in-depth research result, but I would suggest that you try it out yourself. Eat a little bit and see what happens.” Professor Sun seemed to be quite interested in the red mushroom. He didn’t wait for Han Sen to follow up on his request, and he got in touch as soon as he could.

”You don’t think there’ll be any problems with it, do you?” Han Sen felt a little strange, for he would feel bad eating this in the shelter.

”Just eat a little bit; no more than ten grams of the stuff. But be prepared! If something does go wrong and it doesn’t sit well in your stomach, make sure you have an alchemical concoction to help flush it out. General medicine for sickness would be good, too. You’ll most likely be on your own doing this, so be prepared to save yourself.” After that, Professor Sun continued, ”But from what I can see, it should not be harmful. If it really is something that can strengthen your body, then go for it. Just don’t eat too much, lest it bring you harm.”

”I’ll think about it.” Han Sen did not dare to say he would indeed try eating it.

”It’s a shame I don’t know anyone out on the Icefield. If I did, I could have someone accompany you and help test it out,” Professor Sun said in a remorseful tone of voice.

But what Professor Sun had just said gave Han Sen an idea. If he did not want to take the risk of eating it, why not find someone else to do it for him?

”That Zhu Ting has Deadly Perfume. It should be no problem for a toxic man like that to try it out. I’ll get him to give it a go!” Han Sen thought, deciding Zhu Ting would be his guinea pig.

Zhu Ting had to be the tester, for if it was someone closer with Han Sen and something went wrong, Han Sen couldn’t handle the responsibility of bringing harm to his friends. Besides, Zhu Ting was known to eat poison like he had a sweet tooth for the stuff, so there was no one more qualified to try out the red mushroom than him, anyway.

Han Sen picked up the last bit of mushroom he had from when he was testing it out on the creatures of the Icefield and threw it into a meal he was cooking. He prepared a few different dishes and invited Zhu Ting over for dinner.

”Come, let’s drink together this night!” Han Sen dragged Zhu Ting over to sit down, speaking with overbearing friendliness.

Zhu Ting looked at Han Sen with an extremely puzzled expression, thinking, ”Why would this guy invite me over for dinner? He must be conspiring against me or something. Is the food poisoned? Does he want to poison me, huh? Is that it? No way, he’s not that stupid. Surely, he knows I have Deadly Perfume and I am immune to poison. He must have dropped his brain somewhere, if he has thought to poison me.”

Han Sen was acting all nice, dishing Zhu Ting as much food as he could, topping up his drink after every swig. ”Brother Zhu, have you gotten used to living out here on the Icefield? If you are having issues, feel free to confide in me. I may not be able to help you with big things, but if it’s something relatively small, I’ll do what I can to make your life here all the more comfortable.”

Zhu Ting then retreated back into his mind and said to himself, ”Something here is not right. This guy must be buttering me up because he needs me for something. There is no way he is being this nice out of the kindness of his heart.” Zhu Ting rolled his eyes and then boisterously thought, ”Fine, if you have something you want to ask of me, and you’re even going so far as to call me brother, I am going to be the boss.”

”Brother Han, if there is something you want, just tell me. Considering our relationship, there is no need for you to put on such a show.” Zhu Ting was scoffing the food and chugging the wine as he spoke.

”I do have a favor to ask of you, funnily enough,” Han Sen said.

”Then shoot. If you and I are brothers, there are no hoops you need to jump through before asking me something, and neither must you beat around the bush. If I can help...” Zhu Ting’s tone of voice then changed. ”You know, it is difficult to live. I am so poor. I have very little money.”

”No problem. If you help me out, I’ll give you ten thousand coins. No sweat,” Han Sen told him.

”Ten thousand?” Zhu Ting froze, thinking, ”What do you think I am? A beggar? Ten thousand won’t even buy me an afternoon refreshment.”

Zhu Ting laughed and responded, ”Ten thousand. Haha! You want me to help you drink something?”

”Something like that. I dug up some mushrooms out on the Icefield. I would like you try some out and tell me whether or not they are poisonous. I know you have Deadly Perfume, which makes you immune.”

”You are only going to give me ten thousand for doing something as dangerous as that?!” Zhu Ting peered at Han Sen with an expression that painted him as a bona fide cheap bastard.

”Oh no.” Han Sen slapped his lap.

”Oh no what?” Zhu Ting looked spooked.

”Why didn’t you say something earlier? I thought you had already agreed, and see? I have already served you the food.” Han Sen was wearing his innocent face.

”You bastard.” Zhu Ting’s face started turning green.