The next day.

6th September, Year 714 A.G.

Leon woke up late.

He woke up feeling fresh and revitalized. After 5 days of non-stop battle against the Neon Beasts that were born of the nuclear disaster at the containment zone, it was nice to finally have a long night of sleep again.

Having a beautiful woman in his arms spiced the experience up even more.

Also, surprisingly, Leon got breakfast in bed!

Tyla woke up long before him and instead of staying angry at him, she took it upon herself to make their stay in the new hotel in Canyon Hub memorable as with the privileges tied to Leon’s name, she went to the hotel kitchen and requested to cook.

She wanted to make home-made food for him.

During the past week while away from him, she’d been overthinking a lot. ’Maybe it’s because he’s not tried my homemade food yet, maybe that’s why he’s not feeling attached to me... that bastard!’

’Fine, I’ll make you some food!’

’I’ll make it so sweet that you won’t dare go a day without it! You’ll crave it every single day of your life, I promise!’

’And by craving it, you’ll crave me!’

Tyla was a woman of action and once she set her mind to something, she wouldn’t hesitate to go all in for it.

Early that morning, she woke up and did shopping online. And once the goods were delivered freshly from Canyon Hub’s most reputable green farm, she made the best Geneform dish in the kitchen and served him in bed.

The aroma alone made Leon gulp and salivate.

He alternated his gaze between the food and Tyla 3 different times, feeling hesitant which only made her more annoyed.

"What?"

Leon flinched, then he chuckled. "Nothing. It’s just, um... are you still angry at me?"

Tyla looked at him for a moment, confused, but then she read the hidden meaning in his words and rolled your eyes. "You think I poisoned your food?"

She scoffed. "Do I even have the money to afford a poison that’ll affect a D Rank Ascended?"

Leon nodded thoughtfully. "That’s fair".

She immediately scowled. "So you actually thought I poisoned your food???"

Leon froze. "It’s not like that, it’s just..."

"Ugh," she groaned and angrily stormed off the room, leaving Leon wondering if he should go beg her for forgiveness or to eat.

In the end, one more look at the food made him conclude.

He didn’t know if he’d eaten food like this before, but the sight and the aroma of the food alone were triggering reactions in him that he couldn’t attribute a memory to.

’I didn’t know she could cook’.

He dug in immediately without hesitation.

More than 10 minutes later, Leon supported himself on the bed with both his hands, looking at the wall in front of him in a daze.

’My God...!’

’Oh my days... and I thought I’ve been eating since I awakened...’

’Damn, this is beyond food, this is a discovery!’

Leon didn’t hide his praise. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He left the room and immediately searched for Tyla with Davis’s help before heaping praise on her cooking.

"That was the best food I’ve ever eaten!" He held nothing back.

And though Tyla folded her arms, looking away like she was still angry, Leon could see the faint blush on her cheeks.

He chuckled. "I don’t mind eating something like this every day".

"Humph," Tyla snorted. "I haven’t forgiven you yet".

"Come on!" Leon almost cried.

Well, he wasn’t exactly crying, he did it deliberately and he got the reaction that he wanted as he saw her lips subtly curl into a smile. She tried to hide it, but hiding from him was nearly impossible when he had eyes everywhere with his invisible C-5 drones.

She snorted, then she said. "Actually, that’s just 1 of the home-made recipes that my mother taught me".

She looked away, smiling. "Have I told you? She was a professional chef".

"Damn, really?"

’Is this luck or what?’ Leon sighed in a daze. ’I doubt 99% of Geneforms in this world have ever eaten anything this delicious!’

’What did I do in my past life to bag such a perfect woman?’

Unknown to him, Tyla’s plan already worked.

In his head, subconsciously, Leon was no longer seeing Tyla as just a sexual acquaintance. He was already beginning to see her as something more.

That morning, to make up for his past sins for avoiding her for so many days, Leon atoned with another round of sex. This time, maybe it was because of the food, but they connected in a deeper manner than ever before.

Leon felt like her attraction to him was gradually increasing.

Tyla’s effort was working.

After such a perfect morning, Leon didn’t rush to leave Tyla and go to work immediately, instead while still in bed with her his wandering thoughts made him remember something that he’d been thinking of asking Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq for some time.

Without hesitation, he instructed Davis.

"Place a call to Lt. Colonel Umar".

DING!

"Yes master".

Ring... Ring...

After about a dozen seconds of ringing, the call connected.

Click!

"Hello". The Lt. Colonel’s deep voice rumbled. "Any problem?"

"Any problem?" Leon was taken aback. "Come on man, are we strangers? We’ve been through life and death together already and your first question is any problem when you see my call?"

The Lt. Colonel went quiet for a few seconds like he was thinking, then he said. "Ok, my partner," he added calmly. "What are you in urgent need of?"

Leon’s lips twitched. ’Lost cause... a f*cking lost cause!’

He sighed, then he said. "I’ve been thinking. I’ve done my research and I know that Dhruv is a generation younger than you and Colonel Garfield".

"You are well over a hundred years old already, and watching you fight during the raid of the underground terrorist base, I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve not slowed down at all compared to Colonel Garfield".

"The Colonel is retired and from what I know, his body is deteriorating. I know it’s partially due to special circumstances, but still, I’ve been curious".

Again, Lt. Colonel Umar took a few seconds to think before answering.

"Every Class is different, but you should have felt it yourself, the D Rank promotion increases not just your vitality but your lifespan literally".

"Even the weakest Class physically at D Rank, their physical prime lasts at least 200 years, and they can easily live 300 years before they start deteriorating physically in the absence of any notable and unusual injury".

"For Gene Augurs like myself though, we’re the best Class physically in all of Neo-Tokara. Our physical prime can easily last 500 years and beyond".

"And it generally takes an average of 700 years before our bodies start deteriorating".

"So yeah, I can still keep on fighting comfortably for another 400 years at least before I start thinking of retirement".

Leon was stunned, but then the Lt. Colonel added. "Does that answer your question?"

Leon twitched his lips. ’Must you add that?’

In the end, he nodded. "Yeah, that was very informative".

"Then if you don’t mind, I have a lot of work to do".

Click!

’Eh?’ Leon looked at the virtual projection of Davis, flabbergasted. ’Did he just cut the call? Just like that? This f*cking old man!’

In the end, lazy to stand up, he stayed in bed, enjoying Tyla’s company for another hour before finally standing up.

They bathed together, and finally Leon left for his new workshop.

Colonel Alphonse secured a new workshop for him in Canyon Hub yesterday.

It was time to start working.

...

[Hey guys, I’m very sorry for the last 3 days of no updates. My illness escalated and I got admitted at the hospital, I was completely restricted from accessing my laptop to rest so I couldn’t write. But I feel much better now.]