Super Gene

The host of metal rhinos moved down to the riverbank. They eventually walked into the stream and began playing in the water that looked a lot like mercury.

They had great, hulking metal bodies. They looked like they were made from rough, dull steel, and their bodies were a stark contrast to the glimmering silver river.

Han Sen didn’t know what the silver liquid in the river was, but it was most certainly not water. The metal rhinos drank the silver liquid freely, though, so there was a small chance that the liquid was harmless.

While the rhinos drank and played, a rumbling noise began to come from the forest. Many more metal creatures came down from the mountains and emerged from the forests. They all went straight for the river, and when they reached it, they began to drink from it.

There were metal snakes that had to have been at least one hundred meters long. There were silver-colored lions and centipedes with a seemingly-infinite number of legs. There was a great variety of metallic creatures, all headed for the river with an insatiable thirst.

The metal creatures looked very scary. At first glance, they appeared to be Duke or even King class monsters. For some reason, though, there didn’t seem to be any hostility between the various creatures. Many low-level metal creatures came forward to drink the silver liquid alongside the more powerful ones.

“The metal creatures sure seem very friendly,” White Real said with curiosity.

“Perhaps not.” Yuya summoned a pigeon-like xenogeneic. It came out of his sleeve and flew towards the river. The bird xenogeneic obviously wasn’t a creature that was native to Metal World.

A bronze body suddenly soared through the sky. The creature was shaped something like a dragonfly, but it was made completely of bronze. Its body was at least five meters long, and its bulging eyes and mandibles made it look monstrous.

The bronze body flew past the river, and it snapped up the bird xenogeneic that Yuya had released. It gobbled up the bird with just a few seconds of chewing, feathers and all.

Everyone was frozen, and Yuya felt compelled to say, “It looks like they are only friendly to other creatures that are native to Metal World. Outsiders don’t receive the same treatment.”

Han Sen nodded. Now, he really admired Yunyi. The creatures had crossed over mountains and traversed forests to get there from all around, but the minor place Yunyi had selected for camp was absent of creatures.

Even if creatures did come close to their safe zone, they could fall back into their cave and remain hidden. No one would be able to find them there. It was a solid spot to establish camp.

Because there were too many powerful metal creatures nearby, Han Sen set up a rota of shifts for the men to keep an eye on those creatures. For now, no one was to travel.

Ten hours later, some of the metal creatures were still occupying the river. The beasts kept coming and going. It seemed as if it might have been the only river on the planet, and as a result, everyone would eventually swing by to drink from it.

“Captain Han, come and take a look at this.” Han Sen was resting when Yuya suddenly called him.

Han Sen got up and followed Yuya to the mouth of the cave and peered cautiously outside. The metal creatures that were near the river were starting to look nervous. They began staying out of the liquid, visibly fearful of something.

Han Sen waited and watched a while, until eventually, a white metal beast approached the river. Whenever the other creatures saw it draw near, they avoided it. None were keen to step in its way.

Han Sen observed the white metal beast. It did not look very big, probably about two meters long. But it was white and looked like a mammoth.

That metal mammoth went right into the river and began sucking up the silvery liquid with its snout. The other metal creatures made sure to stay far away from the mammoth, all of them keeping a vigilant eye on the beast. It looked as if they didn’t dare drink the liquid while the mammoth did.

They waited until the mammoth was satisfied and left the area. When it was gone, the average metal creatures returned to the river and resumed drinking.

Seeing that mammoth walk back into the metal forest, Han Sen and Yuya looked at each other and sighed. When the mammoth appeared, they did not dare to even breathe. The last thing they wanted was for that thing to find them.

The mammoth was very powerful. A Marquise wouldn’t be able to deal with such a fiend.

“It looks like our situation is not very favorable. Only Marquises can enter this place, and yet some of the creatures here are King class? One mistake could leave all of us dead,” Yuya said.

Yunyi nodded and said, “Those of the other races might be in hiding, as well. We can wait for now, but it does seem as if the metal creatures only emerge when the sky turns pink. Perhaps when the magnetic storm returns to blue, the creatures will all disappear again.”

Han Sen and the others thought that made perfect sense. There was no need to rush their operation, either. They had to take their time and figure things out, first and foremost.

They set up a series of shifts for watching the river. Over the course of time, many different types of metal creatures came to drink from the river.

There were other scary things like the mammoth, as well, which was quite worrying for Han Sen’s team.

After eighty hours, the stream of metal creatures visiting the river began to slow. And before long, the pink magnetic storm began to change. An hour later, the lightning flashing across the sky returned to blue. Things looked normal again.

Finally, the Marquises concluded that there were no more metal creatures coming to the river. Han Sen sent out a few trackers to explore the area.

The results were as expected, but it surprised them all the same. The metal creatures that had appeared near the river were now all gone. It was as if they had just vanished.

“Oh no! Have they turned invisible? Or are they just hiding away someplace underground?” White Real asked with a strange look.

Yuya did not speak. They were all deep in thought. The Metal World was strange, and they couldn’t come to much of a conclusion until they learned a lot more.

While Han Sen and the others were thinking, someone approached them from the direction of the mountain. When he reached the perimeter they had established, he called out to them.

“I am Kahn of the Demon. Is your group from Sky Palace?”

Han Sen looked around carefully, but the only person he could see was Kahn. He went forward to speak to the felon, taking Yuya with him. “Kahn? What are you doing here?”

“You are the leader of this team, Han Sen? Great! Since we’re already friends, we can co-operate.” Kahn laughed.

“I don’t recall us ever having much in the way of co-operation,” Han Sen responded coldly.

“To be honest, I don’t recall being chummy with you, either. But right now, the Dragon, Buddha, and Destroyed are all working together. If we don’t form some sort of alliance, they might come after us in this dangerous place.” As he spoke, Kahn’s shoulders slumped.

“Why should I believe you?” Han Sen did not move.

“We arrived here long before you did. I think you’ll be interested in the information I possess.” Kahn smiled.