Chapter 19 - The Webs of Fate

Now Han Sen was shocked. Actually, Yu Tang is.

Although he was a great peak cultivator in his past life, he was still very young and inexperienced. If it were not for a woman he had a random affair with, it was possible that he would have died a virgin.

This means that much of life, destiny, and how things in the universe work were difficult to wrap his head around. And one of them was what was in front of him. He hadn't come here for days and, from what he could tell, he should have already missed the event where he meets Qin Xuan here. It was something that shouldn't be happening anymore.

Even so. There he was, and there she was sitting on the ground, possibly with an injured ankle. It was as if there was an invisible line of destiny that dictated that this event must occur.

And even though Han Sen has no problem with it, it is still very irritating to think that he must obey the lines of destiny. His cultivator mind and heart scream for infinite freedom.

'I am very weak...' But he recognized his own ignorance and weakness to change that. Besides the fact that it was an inconsequential event and that would actually help him a lot.

After all, it wasn't like he knew everything that happens on the planet. Qin Xuan could have been occupied with something he doesn't know and only had the chance to come here now. And, coincidentally, he also came. It was something he had no control over.

"Are you okay?" Han Sen approached, hiding the tail that his armor had. Now he only looked like a gray-armored knight, and even a little imposing.

"I'm fine, just hurt my ankle. A mutant Quartz Scorpion caught me off guard..." Qin Xuan spoke openly about it.

She didn't want to say that it was already the second time she came to this cave, and she was very careless now. She was investigating if this cave was also a nest of mutant creatures. As she wanted to vent a little about the life as a leader, she didn't send anyone to do it and came herself. And now she ended up injured.

”Need help? Your ankle looks worse than just hurt.” Han Sen approached her and crouched down, pointing his pinky finger to her ankle.

"I would appreciate it. Be careful with the scorpions, they can sting you." Qin Xuan thanked Han Sen and smiled. She didn't know why, but she had no qualms about accepting help from a newcomer like him. In the First God's Sanctuary, this was a rarity.

”Well, I don't think they'll be able to do it anyway. Where's the mutant scorpion? It's your hunt, you should keep it.” Han Sen helped her up, taking great care not to hurt her ankle.

"Ah!"

As she was pulled so easily, Qin Xuan ended up tripping over her injured foot and her face hit Han Sen's chest. He had already removed his armor by then, so that she wouldn't get hurt.

”Sorry. It wasn't on purpose.” Of course it was on purpose. His strength was enough for him to lift her above his head. [Frost King Sutra] worked wonders for his strength and stamina.

"It's all right..." Qin Xuan leaned on him properly, making the two of them in a strangely intimate position. It seemed like they were a couple walking together. And she could also feel a slightly abnormal amount of muscles for a newcomer like him. 'Did he always looked so muscular?’

Without paying attention to the thoughts she might have had, Han Sen walked with her calmly, picking up the body of the mutant scorpion on the way. At some point, Qin Xuan was feeling more pain than usual and had to climb onto Han Sen's back so she wouldn't have to walk. It was strange for them at first, but eventually she accepted it.

'The scent of him... It's so good...' Qin Xuan was holding back from taking a deep breath right now. She didn't know what had come over her to do this with someone so young, but his scent was intoxicating. As she was being carried, she felt his strong arms holding onto her legs and it seemed like he was carrying nothing but air. This entire trip was something Qin Xuan had never experienced with anyone in her life.

Finally, they arrived close to the entrance of the Steel Armor Shelter, but still at a safe distance. After all, it would be quite strange if the ‘Goddess’ Qin Xuan arrived at the Shelter being carried by a newbie. The repercussions of this would be immense, something neither of them would like.

”Well, how was my transportation service? I know I need to improve on stability and speed, but it's something we can work on over time.” Han Sen set her down on the ground and helped her sit on a rock.

”Haha, you are very funny." Qin Xuan pretended to laugh, but actually found it very funny internally. "But I would still give you four stars."

"Wow, and here I was hoping for five stars..." Han Sen pretended to be disappointed. "Okay, enough joking. Take your hunt, I'll go hunt mine too."

"You can keep it, it's your payment. You didn't have any obligation to help me, but you did it anyway. Thank you." Qin Xuan handed back the mutant scorpion, not wanting to be in debt to him. It was something she didn't need that much, and repaying seemed fairer now.

”So, shamelessly, I'll accept before you change your mind.” Laughing a little, he put the scorpion back in his backpack. Looking at Qin Xuan for a moment, he thought of something and decided to take a chance.

"What are you looking at?" She asked when she saw him looking at her and raising his eyebrow.

"You know, it's a bit complicated. Do you remember the Bloody Killer robbery by the golden guy?" He spoke first, and continued when he caught her attention, "I was hunting these days in those mountains when I found an improvised camp, and some bones scattered on the ground. I also saw that there was a soft land that seemed to be moved, and when I looked there, I found a big double-edged axe."

"Did you find his gear??" Qin Xuan immediately grabbed Han Sen's arm, completely interested. She, like everyone else, really wanted that gear and Beast Soul.

"Apparently yes. I had never seen the axe before, but I think it might belong to him. Do you want to keep it?" Han Sen had no fear of being discovered as the golden guy. After all, who would associate the friendly newbie with a powerful thief? That's why he covered up by claiming he found the gear.

"How much do you want for it? Two million dollars?" As a fair person, she knew she couldn't just take the gear. If he found it, then it was his. The only one who could complain about the loss was the golden donkey guy for burying such a valuable equipment in the middle of nowhere.

"I don't need money. I need Beast Souls. The only mutant Beast Soul I managed to get was this one, and I had to sell one of my kidneys to buy it. My mother even hitted me with a frying pan." Han Sen showed her the Beast Soul of the Black Spine Crocodile.

"What do you want then?" Qin Xuan laughed and acknowledged the effort he made, "The most I can offer you is two Mutant Beast Souls.”

"I need exactly two. One Pet and one Beast Soul in the shape of a crossbow. Any one will do, as long as it's two." Han Sen had already decided the path he would follow now, with his current identity. He wanted to be a Ranger, capable of assassinating and shooting from afar without any problems. When he wore the golden armor, he would be a melee fighter, using any sword or large weapon available.

”I have a pet, but I won't have the crossbow. I can search for it and give you the information, send someone there to get it and then pass it on to you. Is that okay?” She remembered that someone at the Shelter has a crossbow, but she already forgot where they got it from.

”So pass me the Beast Soul Pet now, and send me through Comlink the information on where I can get the Crossbow and a Bolt, so I can shoot. Whether I win the Beast Souls or not, it will be my problem. " Han Sen preferred it this way. He could look for the bow and arrow later, but for now it would have to be the crossbow and bolt. His hunting would be much faster this way.

"Okay, it can be done." As soon as the agreement was made, Qin Xuan handed over the only Mutant Pet Beast Soul she had left that had not yet transformed, which was the Three-eyed Cat.

"A kitten? Seriously? Did you have the courage to kill a kitten?" Han Sen raised his eyebrow at her.

"It was necessary!" She still hadn't redeemed herself from the guilt, but this newcomer threw it in her face.

"Well, goodbye, Miss Qin Xuan. It was a pleasure doing business with you. I'll wait for you at the meeting point I'll send you through the comlink." Han Sen said goodbye to her and started walking into the forest. He still had a lot to do.

"Goodbye, Han Sen." She watched the newcomer enter the forest and disappear. Her interest in the boy was growing without her even noticing.

⍙⍙⍙

Pff! Pff! Pff!

"Finally finished. It took longer than I expected." Han Sen had just put the last tiny screws on the delivery robot he designed himself.

With a design that seemed friendly and cute, this robot was able to fly at incredible speeds within the city and also navigate on the ground. It had a vast variety of systems such as navigation, monitoring, cooling, heating, security, and even a music and party system if the customer wanted.

The production costs were very cheap and Han Sen had to design some internal parts himself. In fact, almost the entire robot was redesigned. Even some alterations to the motherboard were necessary, and he recorded all the designs to patent them at once, along with the entire robot project.

Typing some things on the computer, Han Sen sent all the copied data to the Alliance (Government) center so that they could approve the patents and his company would finally begin producing the robots.

"I am already shocked at how expensive all of this is going to be..." Han Sen looked at the projects he had worked on for the past few days and was a little impressed. He was using supporting software that calculated production costs based on various factors that could arise.

There were three companies that Han Sen would open all at once. The Alliance's capital freedom easily authorized this type of behavior, but each company would have to have a different identification and suffer from different fees depending on the business branch.

The main company, Moon Star Industries, was responsible for and owned all patents, licenses, and businesses that he could open in the future, regardless of the industry. It would be the head, as well as the one that would generate the most revenue by being responsible for contacting customers for sales.

The second company, which would be an automated component and assembly factory, he lovingly called Into Pieces FCTY (Factory). It will produce any component that Han Sen wants and also assemble most of the products. It will be the company that will require the most production and expansion costs, giving zero profit if he chooses not to rent it out to other companies.

And last, but not least, was the Marketing company that would be much needed. If he wanted to expand quickly and win the hearts of the masses more easily, he should have a Marketing company that drives sales. He decided to adopt the name Digital Crowd.

While he was focused on that, a small figure entered his room and threw herself at him, pouting.

"Big Brother, I want ice cream!"