Super Gene

It was nighttime, but the glade was brightly lit beneath the gracious glow of the moon. Han Sen witnessed the slayer of the three-horned beast, and he noted how familiar its killer looked.

“No way!” Han Sen saw it was a woman with dragon-scaled skin, draconic horns, and wings. She was wielding a cleaver.

Before Han Sen became a demi-god, he had eaten the food she had prepared for him each and every day.

She looked exactly like the spirit-chef the Serpent Throne had been mimicking. While Serpent Throne had generated a sentient doll in her image, this was the real one. This was her, live and in the flesh.

After she lopped the beast’s head off, she picked up the creature’s carcass and went on her way. She was the size of an average human, but she was able to carry the entire lifeless body of a beast that had to be at least three times her own size with great ease.

She went away at a brisk pace, too. And when the gathering of lesser creatures saw the head of their leader oozing blood into the soil, they started freaking out and running away.

The sheep woke up, roused from its deep slumber by all the commotion. And when its eyes fell across the bloody head, just like the rest, it wanted to spring back to its feet and race off.

But Han Sen grabbed the sheep by its tail to stop it. Unfortunately, it paid no heed and simply kept on going.

Han Sen was unable to hold onto his tail due to the speed he was going, and the sheep kept crying out as he went, “I’m going to die, bub! I’m going to die!”

Although he had grown fond of the fluffy thing, Han Sen couldn’t be bothered with tracking it down. Instead, he was keener on examining the severed head.

Now that he knew what was killing the primitive creatures of the land, he didn’t feel the need to run off. With his prior connection to the spirit, he didn’t fear her so much that he’d flee the area like the rest.

The chef was able to slay primitive creatures with ease, and knowing that, it was obvious she wasn’t going to waste time hunting down ordinary creatures he was equivalent to, anyway.

Han Sen imagined an analogy, appropriate for the chef that she was. In his mind, he compared her to a world-class chef who was proficient at preparing the greatest cuisine that a most magnificent restaurant could offer. To settle for ordinary creatures would be reducing herself to being the dishwasher.

Han Sen would be another wretched plate to clean, in her eyes. And the less she had to clean, the better. As such, he believed himself to be safe staying in the vicinity, if he didn’t bother her.

Han Sen examined the cow-like head and lifted it up. He was going to cook what little of it he could, in the hopes of earning a couple of primitive geno points. And as much as he would have liked to go after the chef, he felt he didn’t need to just yet. That wasn’t on his agenda, for the time being.

And even though he once had the chef for a doll, that wouldn’t guarantee the real spirit would be friendly to him. After what he had witnessed with Three-Eyed Demon, Han Sen would prefer keeping his distance for a little while, in case he found himself getting grilled and carved like a turkey.

Seeing how she one-hit killed the three-horned beast, Han Sen knew he had no chance of fighting her. If he approached her, and she wasn’t friendly to him or Bao’er, their chances of survival were pretty slim.

Picking up the head, Han Sen fancied starting a fire so he could cook it.

The entire time he was following the sheep, all he was able to eat were plants. Fed up of pulling grass out of his teeth, Han Sen was on cloud nine at the prospect of sinking his teeth into delicious meat again.

He was familiar with the area now, too. He and Bao’er went into a nearby forest with the head, and he cleaned and prepared the head with his water abilities.

The cow’s head was ridiculously juicy, and the aroma of its sizzling made their bellies groan with hunger.

Of course, the last thing Han Sen wanted was to draw the attention and ire of other hungry mouths that might be lurking in the area, so he made sure to mask the smell so they could remain hidden.

Bao’er was drooling at the sight of the succulent meat, and she chewed on the air with a restless mouth, in ardent anticipation of the meal that awaited her.

“Can I eat yet?” Bao’er couldn’t help but ask.

Han Sen did not have any spices with him, and if the meat was still raw, it wouldn’t go down like the treat he wanted it to be. So, he told her, “It’s almost done. You need to learn some manners. Don’t look like you’ve come down with a fever while you’re waiting for food. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve eaten some of Daddy Cool’s cooking.”

“Bao’er does have manners. Yep! See?” Bao’er sat up straight then, wanting to give the illusion she was a grown-up woman with some semblance of elegance. But when the scent of the meat tickled her nostrils once more, she practically started drooling. As if possessed by a ghost, she began leaning towards the meat.

Han Sen couldn’t blame her, though. He himself was staring at the meat like a starved, angry wolf.

Before it was fully cooked, Han Sen began to carve a few cooked slices of meat off the head. Then, he hastily served them to Bao’er and himself.

“Dad, this is good!” Bao’er exclaimed, as they both gorged on the delicious meat like pigs.

It was like a Turkish grill. The head had quite a bit of meat on it, more than Han Sen expected. But still, the pair was hungry for more. Bao’er was so hungry, she sucked on all the meat-stripped bones she could.

Bao’er ended up eating the most, and disappointingly, Han Sen didn’t receive any primitive geno points. It wasn’t surprising, though, given it was only the beast’s head.

That’s not to say nothing of worth was earned. The three horns had resisted the fire for the entire duration of being cooked. They looked like they’d make useful tools or weapons. With Jadeskin, Han Sen poked the horns and noted how sturdy they still felt. They looked like they’d make for hardy tools, indeed.

Since Han Sen was practically naked in the Fourth God’s Sanctuary, he settled on using them as weapons for the time being.

The horns were hard, but if Han Sen used the Dongxuan Sutra to remove them from the head, they’d surely break. So, Han Sen settled on using Jadeskin to dig them out completely.

The skull was cone-shaped, and the parts he broke off looked to make a fine handle and handguards. The way the horns were shaped and serrated, they looked as if they’d make good sword breakers. And since they were lethally sharp, they’d make decent spears, too.

And it was at that moment, Han Sen suddenly felt something approach. He turned around and there she was—the chef, cleaver in hand. She was a mere ten meters away.