Super Gene

Han Sen made a silent gesture to Lan Se. Qiao picked up the phone.

Qiao answered the call at dinner because it was Hardman calling. Everyone knew what he’d be calling for. Qiao didn’t want Han Sen to get any confusion or doubts, however, so she answered the phone right there in front of him. She didn’t let Hardman know that Lan Se was there with them, too.

“President Qiao, can you talk?” Hardman was worried about Han Sen possibly being there.

He thought he had offended Han Sen, and that Han Sen wouldn’t agree to any repurchase. So, he thought to get to him through Qiao.

“Yes, you may speak,” Qiao answered.

Hardman didn’t beat around the bush. He directly told her, “Qiao, I want Han Sen back. How about I double the money you gave me, in exchange for him?”

“Manager Hard, I only have one person in my employ. Giving me money doesn’t solve the issue of having that number reduced to zero.” Qiao looked at Han Sen and smiled.

Hardman gritted his teeth and decided to raise the price. “Okay, triple.”

“Manager Hard, this isn’t a monetary issue. No matter how much money you give me, I will not be able to find anyone to replace Han Sen. My team needs to go on.” Qiao’s face didn’t change, and she remained smiling.

That meant she was telling Hardman that Han Sen was not for sale. It didn’t matter how much money she was offered.

Hardman looked glum, so he decided to play his final card. “President Qiao, how about I quadruple the price you paid me. And I’ll find you another Baron to replace him, with abilities that can equal Han Sen’s. On top of that, he’ll be loaned out to you for three years.”

Qiao and Lan Se thought this was very strange. The offer was extremely good.

Han Sen thought this was normal. He actually thought Hardman was being too cheap and still offering far too little.

Qiao said, “Manager Hard, you should know Han Sen has used a xenogeneic weapon. It does not belong to him, and if he leaves Wizard, he will have to return it. Knowing this, do you still wish to buy him?”

“Yes.” Hardman gritted his teeth. He really had to buy Han Sen to please the third master. If he didn’t, things would go poorly. He had to buy him back through any means necessary, even if that meant dipping into his own pockets.

“I am so sorry. I can see your sincerity, but I cannot sell him,” Qiao said firmly.

Hardman looked ill, but he still went on with his plight. He said, “Qiao, don’t reject me just yet. At least sleep on the prospect. You said Han Sen relies on a xenogeneic weapon, and he can’t fight xenogeneics otherwise. If something went wrong, he’d die. He is not a Noble, and he won’t level up to slay higher tier xenogeneics. The Baron I can lend to you will be a different story entirely. Plus, with the money you’ll be given, you could assemble a great team. Even if you keep him for now, do you really think Han Sen will stay with Wizard two years down the line, when the contract is up?”

“Manager Hard, I am sorry. Han Sen is not for sale.” Qiao spoke with seriousness.

“There is no need to answer me yet. Again, you should think about it. And if the price still isn’t enough, there is plenty more we can discuss. Think about it first. Think about it. We can talk more another time.” Hardman’s heart was bleeding.

After the call, Qiao turned to speak to Han Sen. “You heard what he has to say. What are your plans and thoughts? I would like to keep you, but if you do want to switch, I won’t force you to stay where you do not wish to.”

Han Sen smiled and said, “I don’t have too much to offer Black Gold. Plus, I’m lazy. I can’t be bothered moving.”

Qiao looked very happy when she heard that. She raised up her cup for a toast and said, “Han Sen, I may not be able to promise you much right now, but the one promise I can make is that, while I live, I will strive to make Wizard the best it can be.”

“Let us drink in the hopes of a brighter tomorrow.” Lan Se raised up her cup as well.

“Cheers!” The glasses chinked against each other, a symbol of the promise.

Han Sen didn’t want to go to Black Gold because of his relationship with Qiao. He did admire her, but he also thought staying in Wizard meant greater freedom. Black Gold was locked down with too many rules, and since Han Sen had a lot of private stuff he wished to dive into, he thought he would be better off where he was.

Han Sen brought the ruby-looking muscle to his room for investigation.

The thing looked far prettier than any hunk of beef. It was hard, but the fat and the meat looked as soft as snow. It made people want to cook it like a good steak. Merely thinking of this, Han Sen’s mouth began to drool.

When he tried to pull it apart, he couldn’t. The Rhino Horn Dagger would only leave light marks across it And even if he could cut through it, he’d be unable to fry it.

“What is changing the mutated materials when I boil them? Surely there is more to the process than water in a pot. Something has to be affecting the materials. If I can figure out what that is, perhaps I can enjoy it like proper food.” Han Sen was going to take a while to think it over this time instead of boiling it immediately.

Over the next few days, there was little to do. Aside from practicing, he was researching how to eat xenogeneics. As he did, he discovered something of note.

Han Sen did not find out what affected the xenogeneic genes, but he learned something quite interesting.

He tried cooking the Violent Ape’s meat in a fire. As he did, he noticed that the muscle’s texture was changing, almost as if it was thawing out

The ruby texture melted into the fire, and the gemstone-like item began to transform into normal meat.

It was the same as throwing the meat into water. The materials looked like they were frozen, but after a good boil, they began to look like fine cuts of meat.

Han Sen knew this couldn’t be a normal process for Planet Kate. If this was the way things always worked, the beings in this universe should have discovered the process before. There was no way he was the first to try cooking a xenogeneic’s material.

Han Sen still didn’t know what was causing the changes, but he wasn’t too worried about it. At least he could now enjoy it as meat and not as some lame soup.

Han Sen found a frying pan and got some seasoning. He placed the thawed meat on the pan, and cut it into a few slices of a good steak. He threw the seasoning on and started to cook it

“This is how people should live.” Han Sen placed the cooked meat in his mouth and chewed. The juice and seasoning filled his mouth, and the tastiness almost made Han Sen moan.