Transcendent Gene
Chapter 57: Departure [1]

Chapter 57: Departure [1]

Gio only had a few connections in Gastle even though he’d lived there for almost a decade. Other than the Old Lady and Ricky, Seb was really the only one he had to visit.

After all, he probably gave the man a heart attack when he escaped back then. He didn’t want to leave without apologizing.

Nevertheless, it went well. Seb was just relieved that he had backup, as he was able to spend more time following his lead after learning that Gio was safe.

In the end, not only did he gain information on Bloodrend that he didn’t previously had, but Gio also accomplished his goal.

More importantly, it had been two days since he returned. It was right around time for "that" to happen.

And happen it did. When it came evening, the sound of omnicopter blades roared above Gastle’s walls.

When Gio, alongside many other residents, left their homes to see what was causing the commotion, they were introduced to the scene of a massive snake corpse hovering over the city.

It was being carried by a fleet of four omnicopters, a necessary number to transport the massive thing.

They slowly lowered the corpse in front of the gate, giving Gio more than enough time to reach them. The Old Lady naturally didn’t show her face, but Seb was already present when he arrived.

He was her proxy, and since he’d already had contact with the team, he was the best person to appear.

The corpse gently touched the ground before the lines attached to it were detached. As they retreated back into the undersides of those omnicopters, they landed on the sand.

Only a single person exited the vehicles to meet them. He, who was driving the closest copter, approached Seb and Gio, looking between them before his eyes finally settled on the younger boy.

"Gio?"

"That’s me."

"I see. You’re younger than expected. My name is Gerald Price. Just call me Price. I’m not a part of the main team you’ll be working with, but if you’re operating out of the zephyr, we’ll see each other often."

He held his hand out and Gio promptly shook it.

"I may be young, but don’t underestimate me too much. You’ll come to regret that."

Price smiled a little and nodded.

"Right. I would hope so, otherwise, I might have to start questioning the Captain’s judgement."

He turned his head towards the serpent corpse.

"Anyway, we were told to bring this to the city, but there isn’t a great place to drop it inside. Will you be able to take care of the rest?"

"We can handle it."

Seb was the one who answered.

"There is already a team on its way to dissect the corpse and bring it inside in pieces. There is no need for you to worry any further."

Price raised his brow slightly. He didn’t expect Seb to draw such a clear line between them and Gastle, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t understand it.

Sometimes, relationships, even if only assumed, could become poison.

"Since it’s like that, we’ll take our leave. Gio, I’ll see you the day after tomorrow?"

"I’ll be there."

"Great."

Price grinned and patted him on the shoulder. After another short farewell, he jumped back into his omnicopter and took off with the rest of the fleet.

They were far enough away for the beating of their blades to blend in with the sound of the wind before Seb spoke up.

"I wasn’t able to see the corpse before, but...you killed this thing?"

Gio grinned. He had to admit that even he was impressed with himself.

"It wasn’t anything but some tricks, but they worked the way I wanted them to, so I guess I deserve some credit too."

"Haa..."

Seb shook his head wryly.

"You’re a crazy kid. You realize there probably isn’t another person your age with a feat like this under their belt, right?"

"Maybe, but does it matter? It won’t be recorded anyway."

Gio shrugged off the praise. Maybe there weren’t other fourteen-year-olds doing what he was doing, but if they had the right information, anyone could replicate his feat.

He wasn’t special. He just had the time to properly think through his actions and the ability to perfectly remember those thoughts.

He watched as an array of people left Gastle covered in hazmat suits that would protect them from anything that was emitted when they cut open the beast.

By the time they reached the corpse, Seb had already brought him back inside.

Those people were wearing protective equipment for a reason. Dissecting a beast led to the excretion of several fluids, gasses, and organs that could potentially have harmful effects on the human body.

This was especially true for a venomous beast that had a separate poison gland and was killed using an even stronger poison.

Gio didn’t have to worry about that anymore. The Old Lady would take care of selling everything that could be sold and repurposing the rest. After she took her cut, he would be given the rest.

’Well, that money probably won’t be usable for a while.’

It wasn’t as if he had a bank account, so there wasn’t a way for the Old Lady to get it to him while he was away.

In the end, he still shrugged it off.

’I’m assuming I won’t have much need for money while I’m with Raymond’s team. If I do, I can just come back for it, right?’

It wasn’t of his concern. He planned to visit Nightreign to grab some necessities, but there was another place he needed to go first.

"Gio, the Lady called for you," Seb said before they separated.

"Oh? Did she say why?"

Seb shook his head.

"No. Just go to her house. She should be there now."

Gio nodded and did as he was told. He didn’t have to worry about being scolded or nagged anymore, so he had no reason to avoid the Old Lady.

He approached her home in the outer ring which was only a few streets away from his own and knocked on the door.

It opened almost immediately.

"Gio, you’re here!" she said with a smile.

"Come in. I have something for you."

Her house was much more furnished than his. She had a proper dining table and chairs along with a study area near the entrance.

Gio walked in and found him a seat as she went to a nearby shelf and grabbed a silver case off the top shelf.

"I’ve been developing this ever since you were a much younger child. It is probably the greatest achievement I’ve made in research that you’ve helped in."

She placed it on the table and sat down.

"You used to get mad every time I told you that being a Sequencer was impossible with your Weakness to Healing. I realized that a day like this might come, so I started developing these."

She popped the locks sealing the case and opened it, revealing a group of five ampules filled with a glowing pale green liquid.

"This is...?"

"Instant healing."

Gio’s eyes widened at her words.

"Instant healing? That’s impossible, isn’t it?"

"It is. These also don’t provide real instant healing. However, they’ll be of the greatest benefit to you."

Pushing the case towards him, she continued.

"This is my power of healing condensed into an essence and turned into a healing serum. It will allow you to receive the rapid healing of a real Healer without being directly healed. If my theory is correct, you should be able to use these with almost no side effects."

Gio’s eyes were practically the size of saucers.

’She...condensed her power into a physical substance?’

Ever since returning to the past, he had somehow been discovering that everyone around him was much greater than he thought they were.