Chapter 103 - 102: Settling Rick Kaye at Seven Steele House

Sev Steele took out her dagger and swiftly harvested the mutated hazel mushrooms. Doctor Jenkins could only resign himself to helping out, storing the spoils into his Space Button.

As Sev harvested, she counted. Goodness! There were a full eighty-three mutated hazel mushrooms!

After finishing the harvest, Sev’s gaze landed on what was mixed at the base of the stems. Upon closer inspection, she could tell there were actually only seven plants in total. Hazel mushrooms were the kind of fungi where a single plant could produce a whole cluster of mushrooms.

Searching around the seven plants, she soon found two tall, distinct plants. Their orange-yellow stems were quite robust, averaging over three meters tall. The stems were bare, completely devoid of leaves, possessing only degenerated scale-like leaf sheaths that made them look like a forest of bare sticks. Bunches of yellowish-brown, spindle-sized fruits hung from the top, looking rather bizarre.

Sev looked at Doctor Jenkins and asked, "Did you bring a shovel? If we dig under these two plants, we’ll find the tubers of the mutated Gastrodia."

Doctor Jenkins originally thought she was just bluffing him to pick mushrooms, but to his surprise, there were actual medicinal herbs. He took out an A Level Alloy entrenching shovel and handed it to Sev. He was a dignified doctor, after all; he disdained doing manual labor like digging dirt.

Sev took the shovel and began to dig, not feeling the slightest bit of unfairness.

Everyone had their own strengths. Doctor Jenkins was an elite existence—well-connected, knowledgeable, wise, and possessing a high Power Level. It was only right that she put in some physical effort while he provided protection and escort.

If the skin of the Gastrodia was broken, its medicinal efficacy would be compromised and it would easily rot, so Sev could only widen the excavation area as much as possible. Once she dug down to the tubers, she went straight in with her bare hands to clear away the dirt.

Seeing this, Doctor Jenkins retrieved a pair of gloves from his Space Button and tossed them to her. These gloves were far superior to the ones the Mercenary Guild had lent them when they were digging potatoes earlier. They were soft, form-fitting, and highly resilient. Wearing them felt like wearing nothing at all, yet they effectively prevented the skin on her hands from being scratched by the dirt and roots.

The tubers of the Gastrodia were buried under the soil like potatoes, surrounded by entanglements of hazel mushroom mycelium. To save time, Sev had no choice but to dig them out along with the mycelium.

From the two mutated Gastrodia plants, she excavated a total of over ten pounds of tubers.

Doctor Jenkins eyed the pile of dirt-stained, pale-yellow tubers with suspicion. Most of them were oval or oblong, with circular transverse wrinkles on the surface that vaguely resembled the growth rings of a tree. One end was rather blunt and rounded, leaving a reddish-brown, withered terminal bud that looked like a parrot’s beak. The other end was more pointed, featuring a circular, sunken scar.

They felt extremely hard to the touch, just like stones. Where one was accidentally snapped during the digging, the exposed cross-section was dense and smooth, displaying a translucent waxy texture akin to jade. Doctor Jenkins decided that once they returned, he would slice off a piece and take it to the laboratory to analyze its composition.

The people on the aircraft carrier were still waiting. Not daring to delay, Sev hurriedly led Doctor Jenkins back after digging up the mutated Gastrodia.

Butler Stone had been continuously scanning them with his spiritual power. He "saw" Sev harvesting a type of unknown large mushroom and digging up the underground tubers of another plant, but he couldn’t figure out what these two things were used for. He wanted to ask, but couldn’t bring himself to put down his pride as an elder.

Seeing his hesitant expression, Sev took the initiative to ask Doctor Jenkins for a few hazel mushrooms and gifted them to Crystal Stone.

"These fresh ones can be used directly to make soup, or you can sprinkle them with salt and roast them.

"After being sun-dried, they can be stored for a very long time. When you want to eat them, just take them out and soak them in warm water," Sev explained.

Crystal Stone wasn’t good at cooking and looked a bit at a loss while holding the hazel mushrooms. Butler Stone quickly took them from her and said, "Thank you, little girl! I didn’t expect that large mushrooms could also be non-toxic. I’ll personally cook a pot of soup to try it out later."

Butler Stone had a keen interest in cooking before the Great War. Unfortunately, the plants that could be pressed for oil had all died out after the war, and the stockpiled cooking oil was entirely depleted within two years. Livestock had either died or mutated and fled deep into the dense forests. Whenever they occasionally hunted a Mutant Beast with a thick layer of fat, the rendered grease fell far short of meeting the demand, even among the higher-ups of the various security zones.

In a situation where many people couldn’t even fill their stomachs, no one cared about the raw materials for various seasonings. Nowadays, one could only buy two types of seasonings in the supermarkets: salt and powdered sugar.

Gradually, the culinary heritage of Planet Veridia was severed. People either boiled or roasted their food. With monotonous recipes and a meager variety of ingredients, his interest in cooking had slowly faded. Now, suddenly discovering a new ingredient, Butler Stone’s passion for cooking was reawakened.

On the journey back, he enthusiastically discussed cooking methods with Sev. When the conversation reached an exciting point, he even took the initiative to exchange contact numbers with her.

Sev was also very generous, unreservedly teaching him how to make mushroom soup, egg custard, and cheese. She also specially gave him two Mutated Lemon Fruits. Sev had purposefully picked them and put them in her breast pocket before leaving the house that morning. At the time, she had figured that if they were out for too long and needed to roast food in the wild, she would need them, so she had brought salt, powdered sugar, and two lemon fruits.

The Head of the Stone Family also took an interest when he saw the Mutated Lemon Fruits, stating that he wanted to take them back for cultivation. Considering he was a Sixth Tier Wood Element, Sev felt that he would definitely be able to cultivate them successfully.

The aircraft carrier flew to the location where Sev had originally met up with Doctor Jenkins. Seeing that there was no one around, Butler Stone opened the cabin door and personally saw them to the ground.

The Head of the Stone Family took the two captives away. Doctor Jenkins supported Rick Kaye, who had already woken up, and looked at Sev with a burning gaze.

"I need to discuss something with you. For the time being, I plan to temporarily house him at Seven Steele House. Please help take care of him."

He used a declarative tone. Although he said he was discussing it, he had actually made a unilateral decision.

Rick Kaye looked at him in confusion, and Doctor Jenkins explained, "I don’t plan on publicly announcing the recovery of my detoxification Ability just yet.

"My current identity is a public official in District Nine. If I bring you back to my place, it’s highly likely to expose your whereabouts.

"Lana Florian has escaped. Once your whereabouts are exposed, she will likely find someone to assassinate you again.

"Given your current condition, you’re not suited to return to the Second Security Zone, either. You definitely have enemies there who would take advantage of your illness to claim your life.

"After thinking it over, the only option is to house you at Seven Steele House. The Slums are the one place no one will pay attention to."

"But the living conditions at my home are really poor. I’m afraid Mr. Quinn will feel wronged," Sev finally squeezed out after a long pause.

She genuinely didn’t want to invite trouble. If word got out and Lana Florian sent people over, she feared that her family of five—mother and children—would all be silenced.

"Don’t worry," Doctor Jenkins said. "My arrival in District Nine was highly confidential to begin with. Back then, the Chief Manager found someone reliable to make the arrangements.

"That person only knows that I’m a distant relative of the Chief Manager who was forced to hide out in District Nine after offending a big shot.

"Within the family, only my father and the Chief Manager know that I’m in District Nine.

"Seeing me suddenly appear with my Ability recovered, Lana Florian will definitely assume that I’ll take Rick Kaye back to The Jenkins Family, or take him to The Stone Family for treatment.

"District Nine is actually the last place she would suspect."

Although Doctor Jenkins’s analysis was perfectly logical, Sev still felt very apprehensive. However, since she had already waded into these muddy waters, it seemed impossible for her to wash her hands clean of the matter.

"Alright, then let’s head back separately. You can deliver him straight to my house," Sev finally nodded.

Rick Kaye actually wanted to just bury himself right then and there. He was currently no different from a paralyzed patient; every living day was a torment, and he would only be a burden to others.

Sev saw through his thoughts and smiled brightly. "Mr. Quinn, my daughter just awakened her Ability. Could you teach her some basic knowledge regarding Abilities?"

Rick Kaye instantly understood her intention. She wanted him to be the child’s teacher, serving as compensation for her taking care of him.

Realizing that he could still be of some use before he died, he finally nodded in agreement.