Lockdown

Qiao looked glum. Over the last few days, she had kept her ears to the ground and tried to find the location of more xenogeneics. But strangely, it was as if they had all vanished from existence. It was like she was deaf and blind, unable to learn anything.

Qiao knew why, though. It was because she hadn't agreed to return Han Sen. Hardman was using his ties and relationships with others to prevent her from getting news of any more xenogeneics.

Compared to Black Gold Group, a tiny team like Qiao's was nothing. No one would favor Qiao and her team over a grand organization such as Black Gold Group.

A hunting team that could not locate xenogeneics was pointless. Hardman's tactic to get Qiao to relinquish Han Sen was definitely below the belt. But Qiao did not have the power to fight back against Black Gold. Hardman seemed to have enough money to block every single avenue.

Still, Qiao wasn't going to crawl back to Hardman. If she went to him now, he would start mocking her. Qiao had to overcome the roadblocks herself.

"Are there too few xenogeneics on Planet Kate?" Han Sen asked Qiao as they ate.

Qiao thought for a moment before responding. "There are two different sources of xenogeneics. One is when beings evolve and mutate, or when those mutated beings reproduce. The other source comes from another place, called Xenogeneic Space."

"What is the difference?" Han Sen asked.

Qiao explained, "The two xenogeneics you have encountered were the result of a mutation. They were Baron class, but they could become stronger in the future. Dealing with those is the easiest We can usually fight ordinary Baron types. It if it was a xenogeneic coming from Xenogeneic Space, however, it could be of any tier. They're dangerous."

"Are there any Xenogeneic Spaces around West Gran?" Han Sen knew it was rare to encounter xenogeneics, and they were rarer than Nobles. It was difficult to say if there was even one spawning once a day.

"There is one, but it is dangerous. Although it is a small Xenogeneic Space, most of the creatures inside are Baron class. Some are Viscount class, however. And they are too dangerous to risk going against. I'm trying to find new sources, hoping to find a single Baron we can take out," Qiao said.

"If it isn't too much trouble to go out and take a look, let's go," Han Sen said.

"It's too dangerous." Qiao shook her head.

"Hardman has blocked your resources, right?" Han Sen said quietly.

With the way Qiao worked, it shouldn't have taken this many days to find another monster. Han Sen wasn't stupid, though, and so he could imagine what had happened.

"I will find a way. I am a manager, so it is my role to face this problem myself. You just need to keep in the best of shape. You will have a job coming your way soon enough," Qiao said stubbornly.

Han Sen nodded and did not reply. Qiao didn't want him to take any risks, and Han Sen understood that. Besides, he had never seen the power of a Viscount at work before, so it might really be quite dangerous to go seek them out.

"What else can I do?" After eating, Qiao went out, and Han Sen went on the internet in his room.

Han Sen wanted more money-making opportunities. Qiao didn't need the ingredients, so Han Sen could buy the parts of the material she'd otherwise sell off. The only problem with that was that he needed money to do it. He needed a lot of it, too.

But Han Sen didn't have money, and he had already spent all his wages on buying the muscle from the silver ape. If he wanted to purchase more xenogeneic materials to absorb more xenogeneic genes, he had to have more cash.

Violent Ape gave him one Baron gene. Even if he could kill more of the monsters, that meant he'd have to kill a hundred Barons to get one hundred Baron genes.

There were many jobs available online, but not many would provide him the chance to earn big bucks. Han Sen wasn't very good when it came to financing, so he couldn't do financial stuff to make money.

Han Sen scrawled the web for a while, but he was unable to find anything that'd give him a lot of cash.

The phone suddenly rang, and Han Sen noticed it coming from a number he could not identify. He picked it up.

"Han Sen, where are you? I am coming to find you. Let's practice sword skills together." It was Mister Tiger calling him, and he shouted down the line loud enough to deafen Han Sen.

"Where are you? I'll come to you." Han Sen lived in Qiao's house, which was also Wizard's base. He didn't want to invite strangers there without Qiao's permission.

"I'm at home. Come here, I'll wait for you." Mister Tiger gave Han Sen his address and then closed the communicator.

There was nothing for Han Sen to do right then, so he packed a few things and went to the address Mister Tiger had provided him.

Mister Tiger's house was far larger than Qiao's, and its luxury was comparable to a five-star hotel. It was gorgeous, but it didn't even feel like a home.

"Han Sen! You are finally here. Come! Let's head to the training room." Mister Tiger was wearing baggy pants and some flip- flops. He welcomed Han Sen wholeheartedly, and invited him in.

Han Sen followed him to the indoor training room. There, he saw a variety of equipment. There was also a geno tree there for testing.

"You want to try that out?" Mister Tiger offered when he saw Han Sen looking at the geno tree. Mister Tiger was quite curious to see what Han Sen's fitness was like.

"Sure!" Han Sen wanted to know his own fitness, too.

Han Sen walked in front of the geno tree, then dropped a bit of his blood on its bark. The blood was absorbed, and all of a sudden, the tree started to grow.

If a Kate had just received their geno armor, they typically bloomed twenty flowers. That included the strength of their geno armor. Mister Tiger said he could produce a hundred, which was the average of a Baron Noble. There was obviously a large difference between commoners and nobles.

Normal people, with geno armor, could not even hope to fight against a Noble.

Han Sen and Mister Tiger were looking at the flowers that grew, and the Noble was surprised to see how many flowers actually bloomed.

"Fifty-four flowers? That is scary! You are the first I have seen to have so many flowers, despite having just generated their armor recently." Mister Tiger looked at Han Sen with genuine shock.

Han Sen hadn't evolved twice, though. He only had his Spell geno armor, and even he didn't expect that he had become twice as strong as the average Kate.

Han Sen did not know how many flowers a Baron gene could increase. He would find out the next time he tested his strength.