"Wow! Man! Isn't this amazing"
Marcus was joyous, thought raced across his mind, the thought of being unkillable.
'But it is too good to be true right? can someone really have such ability?'
"Hey! Parasite, let's get on with it"
Marcus said with a smirk
"Should I place my hand on it?"
Marcus' body was coursing with adrenaline.
He was already moving his right hand to position on the creature which seemed to swim backward as if it had guessed the situation.
Perhaps it was because of Marcus' face it saw because his eye was reflecting that of a predator who has cornered its prey.
[Inexactly! Host needs to consume creature to usurp gene remains]
Ew!
Marcus almost spat out as if it was already in his mouth, swallowing a creature, not to talk of a salamander. The thought almost made him puke his guts out.
"What the hell! You got to be kidding, I can't do that" he protested.
[Host will be able to heal any injury]
"But..."
Marcus blinked blankly twice, he was almost feeling demotivated, like how was he supposed to do it.
[Host will almost be immortal]
"But..."
[Host will only be vulnerable to aging and illness]
[Even if host was hit by an airplane on the runway, host won't die, all damage will be healed in seconds! ]
Marcus wrinkled his brow in suspicion.
"Wait a minute, it seemed this system is acting suspiciously, why is it encouraging me, when did it turn into a life coach"
The voice didn't say anything.
"Even if I was to swallow it, won't it be poisonous?"
Marcus wondered, from what he thought, salamanders are poisonous amphibians, although they don't have poisonous bites but their skin is poisonous.
Even with touch, if someone who touches a salamander were to use an unwashed hand to touch their eyes or mouth, it would make someone sick immediately.
Consuming it would be like consuming poison.
Marcus shook his head in absolute disapproval, it's better to find an ordinary gem—gene core—to consume than to consume a poisonous creature.
[Notice!: Host has nothing to fear, contrary to some species of salamander that secret toxic mucus from glands on their skin to defend against predators, Axolotl are completely harmless, their bodies do not contain poison or anything toxic given they are not carrying disease that can affect Host]
"Oh... So axolotl as a salamander isn't poisonous, I see"
Marcus realised.
"But there is no way I'm swallowing that!" He yelled at the axolotl and it shifted back immediately as if it was scared.
[Should system disable gustation?]
'Gustation?, I think that is the sense of taste' Marcus nodded in realisation.
"Yuck!"
The thought of having something wriggling around his stomach is unbearable, a repulsive feeling arouse from him immediately.
"Hey! System, can't I like, maybe I can roast it, you know, cook it, add some seasoning or spice ..., Right?"
Marcus made an awkward laughter.
[No]
"Oh"
That one word of answer is enough for him to know that it can't work, to gain a creature's ability, the creature must be consumed raw and that means it will probably die, that what it meant by Gene remains.
Marcus moved closer to the tank, there isn't any advantage without a disadvantage, and with this much advantage the ability brings, Marcus thought it was a small price to pay.
But still, there was something bothering him, poor Mei Ling's reaction when her sweet little pale Axolotl was nowhere to be found, Marcus didn't know what he would tell her.
'Well, I think I owe her, if I gained this power, since that shit armor didn't work, this one is also great, since this system works like a video game, my strength will probably increase over time, I will join either the independent awakened or the awakened league the government created'
Marcus thought aback at their pay, his head rang.
'¥350,000! That is much and that is the least pay, I think the least rank is C-rank, I wonder how much the independent awakened make'
"I'm joining the independent ones, why would I work for the government"
Marcus only lived for himself and his mum, being bossed around by any other person was out of the equation, he would do what he felt like doing anytime he wanted.
*Ding!*
[Multiple random rewards are available in every gene usurped!]
Marcus coiled his right arm and clenched his fist.
"Yes, I will grow stronger, conquering every numbered area, even stronger than Madison Walker, the immovable Sovereign of the US and Wang Jun of China and many many others at the peak of humanity"
Marcus said in absolute confidence, his face wearing a determined expression.
"Perhaps I will become the unkillable Sovereign of Yangdao" his lips curled into a smile as his determined face relaxed.
But Marcus knew deep down that his attitude was deviant from that; he was the type who liked to work for his own gain, and showing off was out of the equation.
Marcus believed in acting inconspicuously to hide his abilities from enemies, even resorting to trickery if necessary.
He lived by the creed: to deceive an enemy, you have to deceive a friend.
Although Marcus didn't have a single person he could call a friend in that case he wouldn't mind deceiving anyone.
Marcus gazed at the axolotl for a while, an endangered species because of their polluted natural habitat.
Then he dipped his right hand into the tank and grabbed at it at the edge of the tank it glued at.
It was small, around three inches long.
Marcus took it out, it was now opening its mouth slightly while wiggling around in his light grip.
Its body was very slippery but Marcus managed to hang on.
"Hey! Parasite, have you disabled gustation?"
Marcus asked, even with my resolution, he couldn't possibly swallow it in one go without disabling gustation first.
[On it]
*Ding!*
[Gustation disabled successfully!]
"Amazing!"
He went to the table by the door, Marcus hadn't even eaten breakfast and the time was gone, the time was around 2:50 p.m.
Marcus had already tasted his saliva but he couldn't really differentiate since he hadn't eaten anything.
'When is that Mei Ling coming home'
Marcus wondered.
While holding the wriggling axolotl in his left arm grip, he used his right arm to pick up the small carton of milk, tore it package with his teeth, and gulped down some.
"Wow! I can't taste anything!"
Marcus was amazed as he wriggled his tongue around his mouth to savour the taste but it was tasteless as if his whole tongue was numb.
Marcus placed the carton of milk down on the table.
"Alright, let's do this"
The axolotl was still in his left-hand grip.
With one snap, Marcus snapped the head of the wriggling creature.
Its bone was so soft that Marcus had to press its head with his thumb downwards very well.
After some soft snapping sound he stopped, its body was limp and with one swift movement, Marcus had swallowed it in one go as if taking medication.
He quickly took the milk and gulped down the remaining.
*Ding!*
[Axolotl has been consumed and disintegrated
*Ding!*
[Gene has been usurped successfully!]
[Which gear would host like to craft?]
The floating screen manifested in front of Marcus again and displayed some options.
[Almighty Surgical hands]
[Heavenly Surgical needle]
[godly bandage]
"Hmm... Every one of them is kinda cool!!!"
Marcus' eyes widened, will this actually work, he still had his doubts but when he remembered what happened to him, the doubt dissipated and then he chose.
"Almighty Surgical hands"
Marcus said.
It's better to have a soothing hand that would just be placed on the injured area then boom! All heal.
The thought of having a surgical needle piercing his body and patching him up in order to heal him sent shivers down Marcus' spine.
[Crafting in progress...]
*Ding!*
[Gear crafted successfully!]
Then Marcus saw a picture appeared on the screen, he looked closely, it was a pair of hands in white gloves.
"So that is the Almighty Surgical hands, not bad"
*Ding!*
[Host has crafted a gear!]
[+10 gene tokens!]
[+30 XP!]