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 heâd be calling for. Qiao didnât want Han Sen to get any confusion or doubts, however, so she answered the phone right there in front of him. She didnât let Hardman know that Lan Se was there with them, too.
âPresident Qiao, can you talk?â Hardman was worried about Han Sen possibly being there.
He thought he had offended Han Sen, and that Han Sen wouldnât agree to any repurchase. So, he thought to get to him through Qiao.
âYes, you may speak,â Qiao answered.
Hardman didnât beat around the bush. He directly told her, âQiao, I want Han Sen back. How about I double the money you gave me, in exchange for him?â
âManager Hard, I only have one person in my employ. Giving me money doesnât solve the issue of having that number reduced to zero.â Qiao looked at Han Sen and smiled.
Hardman gritted his teeth and decided to raise the price. âOkay, triple.â
âManager Hard, this isnât 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.â Qiaoâs face didnât change, and she remained smiling.
That meant she was telling Hardman that Han Sen was not for sale. It didnât matter how much money she was offered.
Hardman looked glum, so he decided to play his final card. âPresident Qiao, how about I quadruple the price you paid me. And Iâll find you another Baron to replace him, with abilities that can equal Han Senâs. On top of that, heâll be loaned out to you for three years.â
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, âManager 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?â
âYes.â Hardman gritted his teeth. He really had to buy Han Sen to please the third master. If he didnât, things would go poorly. He had to buy him back through any means necessary, even if that meant dipping into his own pockets.
âI am so sorry. I can see your sincerity, but I cannot sell him,â Qiao said firmly.
Hardman looked ill, but he still went on with his plight. He said, âQiao, donât reject me just yet. At least sleep on the prospect. You said Han Sen relies on a xenogeneic weapon, and he canât fight xenogeneics otherwise. If something went wrong, heâd die. He is not a Noble, and he wonât level up to slay higher tier xenogeneics. The Baron I can lend to you will be a different story entirely. Plus, with the money youâll 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?â
âManager Hard, I am sorry. Han Sen is not for sale.â Qiao spoke with seriousness.
âThere is no need to answer me yet. Again, you should think about it. And if the price still isnât enough, there is plenty more we can discuss. Think about it first. Think about it. We can talk more another time.â Hardmanâs heart was bleeding.
After the call, Qiao turned to speak to Han Sen. âYou 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 wonât force you to stay where you do not wish to.â
Han Sen smiled and said, âI donât have too much to offer Black Gold. Plus, Iâm lazy. I canât be bothered moving.â
Qiao looked very happy when she heard that. She raised up her cup for a toast and said, âHan 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.â
âLet us drink in the hopes of a brighter tomorrow.â Lan Se raised up her cup as well.
âCheers!â The glasses chinked against each other, a symbol of the promise.
Han Sen didnât 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 Senâs mouth began to drool.
When he tried to pull it apart, he couldnât. The Rhino Horn Dagger would only leave light marks across it And even if he could cut through it, heâd be unable to fry it.
âWhat 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.â 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 Apeâs meat in a fire. As he did, he noticed that the muscleâs 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 couldnât 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 xenogeneicâs material.
Han Sen still didnât know what was causing the changes, but he wasnât 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
âThis is how people should live.â 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.