章 22: 22 Encounter
Roy paused for a moment, hearing such bold words, then gently placed the back of his hand on Yumemi Okazaki's forehead. "Are you running a fever?"
"I'm serious. Although it may sound like boasting, considering I became a doctor at the age of 18 under the tutelage of the greatest physicist who proved the Grand Unified Theory, my genes should be comparable to yours. So, having a child with you wouldn't be a bad idea." Yumemi Okazaki said seriously. "We could go for in vitro fertilization, or even natural conception. What do you think?"
Yumemi Okazaki suddenly felt a craving for his body.
Roy hadn't thought she was this pragmatic. Was she really willing to do such a thing with someone she had no emotional connection with, all for the sake of producing intelligent offspring?
"Don't make that expression." Yumemi Okazaki said. "I guess I have some fondness for you, so I don't mind doing such things with you."
"Let's leave that for later. I'm not ready to be a father yet."
Yumemi Okazaki looked at Roy for a moment and asked, "I'll just ask, your libido is still intact, right?"
"Probably."
"The continuation of life lies in the transmission of genes. Genes determine the instinct and impulse for reproduction. In other words, if genes can be controlled, can instincts be controlled too?"
"I don't deny that. The first stage of the Gene Lock is the use of instincts. If you rely solely on normal brain tissue to control the body, you'd need a supercomputer to support it. But if you fully utilize the stress response of various parts of the body, precise control isn't necessary."
"I'm starting to crave your genetic material more and more."
"Your words are getting dangerously close to the category of a nymphomaniac."
"Well, since you're not ready for children yet, let's put this matter aside for now. A promise holds no matter when." Yumemi Okazaki wasn't fixated on the issue. "Now that it's done, what are your plans next?"
"I'll go back to my place first and then register with the Hero Association to become a hero or something."
"I see. Then go ahead and get busy."
Just a moment ago, she was speaking such provocative words, but now it seemed like swatting a fly away, waving her hand dismissively at Roy before walking off.
However, as she left, she added, "Oh, by the way, according to Genus's research report, espers who use psychokinetic abilities are the result of benign mutations in brain tissue. So, you could try it too, see if you can use psychokinetic abilities. Personally, I'd say it's quicker to just find a esper, scan their brain structure... after all, Dark Matter can pretty much do anything."
Yumemi Okazaki's reasoning was sound.
It was definitely worth a try.
Having psychokinetic abilities would make things much easier in various aspects...
'If psychokinetic abilities possessed by espers are the result of benign mutations in some part of the body, then theoretically, I could mimic any psychokinetic ability, right?' Roy pondered, 'However, some abilities are linked to things like willpower, mental strength, and soul, which are difficult to quantify and observe. That's quite intriguing.'
Because this area was too esoteric.
Honestly, he didn't understand it very well.
Roy's thinking now leaned more toward rational cognition. For him, human consciousness was built on matter, and what we call thinking and cognition were just countless interactions of neural signals.
Based on this, it was actually not impossible to create humanoid robots similar to humans. It's just that brain tissue was too precise and complex, making replication extremely difficult.
However, Roy didn't want to deny the uniqueness of life.
Moreover, what kind of world was this?
It was a world different from the real world, and according to the current results, it was the world depicted in One Punch Man.
Of course, Roy didn't treat them as completely the same. In the early stages of exploration, Roy didn't use his experience of reading manga and watching anime as dogma.
But given this situation, any unbelievable existence should be included in the category of things to be researched.
'If it exists, it can be observed and recognized. Then comes the technology, utilization, and development of the soul.'
Materialism. Dialectical materialism.
These were the two ideological foundations of Roy's cognition of the world.
He wouldn't deny things like psychokinetic abilities, demons, souls, or magic, saying they weren't scientific. Since they existed, they were scientific. Science, after all, was systematic knowledge based on the observation, explanation, and cognition of objective phenomena.
In other words, anything that exists and can be observed is convertible into scientific knowledge.
'Well, thinking about this kind of thing now is still too early, after all, there are no objects to observe yet. Besides, I'm not very fond of thinking about things in a complicated direction.'
Setting aside the chaotic thoughts, Roy made his way to the outskirts of Z City.
Efficiency and rationalization of all actions and thoughts may sound like a good thing. But that's treating people like machines, which, honestly, goes against human nature a bit.
Roy might have set up the Gene Lock activation phase because he couldn't bear to completely lose his cultivated humanity. Otherwise, he would become a rationalistic monster.
It's precisely because of making this choice that Roy could now leisurely stroll back like this. From a rationalistic perspective, this was an inefficient and uneconomical approach. After all, it consumed physical energy and could encounter annoying monsters. Wouldn't it be simpler to just use space-time jumps?
Casually vaporizing a monster, Roy noticed someone approaching.
It was Saitama and Genos.
Indeed, in Z City, there were only these two people who wandered the streets as carefreely as Roy.
"Saitama-san, Genos." Roy greeted them. "It's rare to see you both moving at such a slow pace. Are you going somewhere to do something?"
"Roy!" Saitama showed a slight smile. "Haven't seen you in a few days. Where have you been?"
"I've been at Dr. Okizaki's place... What about you guys?"
"Well." Genos stepped forward, "Saitama-sensei and I are about to register with the Hero Association to become professional heroes."
"Huh... Saitama-san, aren't you a hero for fun?"
"There are various reasons." Saitama seemed reluctant to disclose the cause.
Genos answered for Saitama, "Actually, it's like this. Today, when Saitama-sensei was out fighting for justice, he came back complaining that he wasn't famous and then realized he wasn't actually a professional hero. None of the monsters he defeated were recognized..."
"That's enough, Genos, stop talking!" Saitama quickly intervened.
"I see. So, Saitama-san, you feel your popularity is too low, right?"
Saitama blushed.
Then, he blurted out, "Ah! That's right! It's so frustrating! I've been fighting evil since three years ago, and today someone told me they didn't know me and even mistook me for a terrorist when I walked down the street. Isn't that too much! I've been fighting crime for three years!"
Forgive Saitama for his small vanity.
He also wanted to have his own fans, but now, rather than saying his popularity was low, it was more accurate to say he had no popularity at all.
Although he wasn't particularly concerned.
But he was still a little annoyed.
He looked at Roy, "By the way, Roy. Why don't you come with us to register as a hero? Although you've never considered yourself a hero, intentionally or unintentionally, you must have eliminated quite a few monsters, right?"
"I suppose..." Roy hadn't really counted this kind of thing. "Sure, let's go together."
"Huh, you agreed so readily?"
"Didn't you invite me?"
"I just said it casually." Saitama replied, "Because I feel you're not very enthusiastic about this kind of thing."
Roy replied with a smile, "Well, I don't have anything special to do anyway. Speaking of which, Saitama-san, aren't you also doing something meaningless?"
Saitama was slightly stunned and didn't say anything.
Arguing over such trivial matters seemed to serve no real purpose. Roy didn't even return to his place and instead accompanied the two he met by chance as they headed to the Hero Association.
***
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