Han Sen was at his wit's end, and this was a moment that required his all. He had a friend on the precipice of death, and if he wanted to save her, he couldn't hold back. He summoned every geno core he possessed and activated super king spirit mode.
Before Han Sen could finish his transformation, though, he heard a scream. Then, a surge of power erupted from a nearby mountaintop.
That power was like a shockwave or a tsunami that washed across the land, toppling trees and hewing rocks as it went. It seemed to have a target, too: Death Demon Dragon.
The ferocious mantis swung its cutters through the air, acknowledging the force that was coming for it. It tried to swing and strike the ripple of power in an attempt to break it.
Roar!
Then, the Death Demon Dragon was done. It had been obliterated. Nothing but fleshy chunks of its being lay scattered around, in the ruined landscape that had now been painted with its blood.
After it died, its geno core shattered and faded away like a data purge.
A mist composed of its blood choked the air for a while, limiting visibility, and giving Han Sen and Dragon Lady chills. It was a surreal moment, and it was as if they had been taken to a realm of the dead. A solemn, isolated place that was broken, with its topography dyed a number of senseless, freakish colors.
A sacred-blood creature had just been one-shotted. The power to accomplish something like that had to extremely horrid.
"Run! I think I've heard this before, back when the snowstorm hit. Two powerful forces collided that day." Han Sen pulled on Dragon Lady to move while they still had the liberty to.
The lady chef was able to retrieve her egg before departure, too. Whether or not the venture was deemed successful, she couldn't be sure, but she was at least happy to keep what she had struggled for.
The pair ran all the way back to Shadow Shelter without stopping. Fortunately, along the way, nothing else transpired. The elite that had destroyed the mantis was nowhere to be seen.
"Did we luck out? Did that thing try to help us out with the Death Demon Dragon?" Han Sen wondered to himself. It had seemed like a very convenient save.
Back in the shelter, Han Sen saw Starsea Beast and Red Pony grazing about. The fact they had returned as they were told, and were now safe and sound, brought much relief to his mind.
Dragon Lady was in a jovial mood, upon her return. With the egg safe and sound, she found a place to hide it.
Han Sen had enjoyed her company thus far, but what had just occurred had made him wary. He thought Dragon Lady might be a walking timebomb, if she was indeed able to summon creatures that not even she herself could control. If she wasn't careful, and perhaps ended up summoning a super creature someday, it'd all be over for the lot of them.
"I need to talk to her, and... advise that she doesn't summon her ingredients in the proximity of Shadow Shelter," Han Sen said to himself.
Han Sen was hungry after the ordeal, so he chowed down on some primitive meat. He gorged on enough of the stuff that his tally finally reached a hundred primitive geno points. This had netted him an additional four-thousand fitness levels.
Still, actively going out to kill mutant creatures wasn't going to be easy. That was next on the agenda, but mutant creatures frequently lived together, and more often than not, they had a boss.
Han Sen had been in the Fourth God's Sanctuary for some time, and he was both surprised and disappointed he had yet to earn any mutant geno points from plants he might be able to consume.
Han Sen always thought eating geno plants was the best way to collect genes. And even if it wasn't always the fastest, it was most certainly the easiest. If he was able to grow many such plants himself, things would be peachy.
Unfortunately, Han Sen did not know how to grow such plants. And what's more, those plants took a very long time to grow. He'd still need a way of shortening their growth time.
Although the Black Crystal was effective at doing this in the Third God's Sanctuary, his shelter wasn't an isolated stronghold where he could make use of such techniques in secret. Others were sure to find out, if he tried such a practice in Shadow Shelter.
As Han Sen mulled these matters over, Green Cow informed him there was another human who wanted to see him. His name was Su Mianhua. Han Sen did not know there was another human in his shelter, but it was nice to know. So, he informed Green Cow to lead him forward.
The fellow seemed a little old, and Han Sen guessed he might have been old when he first came to the Fourth God's Sanctuary.
Han Sen thought Su Mianhua was going to ask for his help, as most humans might look to do, but he was surprised to learn that this wasn't the case.
After Su Mianhua explained his purpose and what he had been up to during his time in the shelter, and Han Sen wasn't sure whether he should have been plain shocked or absolutely mortified.
Han Sen unsealed the teleporter after he claimed the shelter for himself, so Su Mianhua was able to return to the Alliance and conduct tests there. Unfortunately, the Alliance didn't have the materials he sought, and the breakthroughs he sought to achieve weren't possible outside the sanctuary.
Su Mianhua had just come to Han Sen to ask if there was a way he might collect ingredients for his less-than-savory deeds.
To earn Han Sen's trust, though, he had to provide full disclosure regarding the purpose and intent of his research. Any findings were shared and would continue to be, too, once he was able to continue.
"Let me get this straight: all these years, Nan Litian has kept you in this place for the sole purpose of researching the corpses of creatures, all for geno fluid?" Han Sen asked.
Su Mianhua answered, "I've made some decent progress. It involves the use of creature blood, in which we can gain the powers of the original creature for a temporary amount of time," Su Mianhua said.
"Will it permanently affect or maybe damage our bodies?" Han Sen asked.
"I don't know. There weren't any other humans around, so I was unable to conduct tests. I have been testing this on monkeys, however. Their bodies do change following injection; and after a while, those changes fade away." Su Mianhua, to his credit, thought honesty was the best policy. He wasn't going to lie about his findings and progress.
"Does that mean Angel Gene Fluid contains shura blood?" Han Sen said.
Su Mianhua said, "I've heard that theory before, but my research is standalone. I lack sufficient tools and electronics to work on this properly, though. Results still seem to be a ways off."
Han Sen then thought to himself, "I'm still not sure about Zero getting that geno fluid, but I know the geno fluid was taken from a shura grave. Now, with a professional here, maybe there is something more I can learn."