Chapter 104 - 103: Will Never Forget for the Rest of My Life

Sev chopped a good number of branches with her axe, bundling them onto the handcart. She also casually gathered a few wild vegetable leaves nearby, stuffing them into a torn sack and stacking it on top of the firewood.

If she was going to put on a show, she had to go all the way. When she came out this morning, she had disguised herself as if she were going out to gather firewood.

Sev slowly pushed the handcart back, while Doctor Jenkins simply shoved Rick Kaye and Rose into his Invisible Flying Device, flying directly into the safe zone from the sky.

By the time Sev returned home, Doctor Jenkins had already come and gone.

Rick Kaye had been placed on the large bed in the master bedroom. Currently, he was leaning against the headboard, having a staring contest with the three boys gathered around the bed. Beside him lay Rose, who was still fast asleep. The little girl’s complexion had long since returned to normal; her breathing was even, and her small face was flushed pink from slumber.

Seeing Sev walk in, Rick finally felt a wave of relief. He spoke apologetically, his voice somewhat hoarse, "I’m sorry, Miss Steele. I’ve taken over your bedroom.

"But this was all Jared Jenkins’s doing. I wanted to move to the living room, but the children are too small to support my weight."

Sev hadn’t expected Doctor Jenkins to be so unreliable, just dropping them off and running away. At the very least, he should have waited for her to return so they could discuss it. However, since things had already come to this, she could only figure out the arrangements herself.

"It’s fine. Just rest here. I’ll buy a sofa bed for the living room, so it’ll be convenient to go in and out," Sev smiled at him casually.

She then called the three boys out to the living room. Looking at Rusty with a serious expression, she lowered her voice and asked, "What did Mr. Jenkins say to you?"

"He suddenly appeared in our yard, supporting Mr. Quinn with his Left Hand and carrying Rose in his right hand. It startled us.

"Then he said Mr. Quinn was injured and had nowhere to live, so he could only stay at our place temporarily.

"He also said that as long as we promised not to tell anyone about Mr. Quinn staying here, he would pay us a thousand points every day."

As Rusty spoke, his little face couldn’t hide his excitement. But since his mother had lowered her voice, he also tried his best to speak in a whisper, afraid of disturbing the person in the bedroom.

Sev was left speechless.

Doctor Jenkins was truly simple and crude. Knowing that the children in The Slums couldn’t resist the temptation of so much money, he simply chose to buy their silence.

"Uh, actually, here’s what happened. You’ve all seen Mr. Quinn before. He’s the great hero who wiped out the rat tide and saved everyone that night.

"But he was framed by bad guys and severely injured. He needs a safe place to recover.

"So, we have to hide him well and make sure no one finds out he’s at our house. Otherwise, the bad guys will find him and kill him.

"This is very important. Do you all understand?" Sev explained to them in detail.

She felt they ought to know the truth about something like this. She didn’t want the children to be willing to take Rick in purely for the money. She wanted them to treat him with genuine sincerity, care for him, and look after him during his final days. Consider it an alternative form of hospice care. He shouldn’t leave this world carrying pain and despair.

Sure enough, the three boys’ expressions changed after hearing her words. Their eyes no longer held a thirst for money, but rather admiration and sorrow for a hero.

Firestone was the first to speak. "Mom, when I grow up and become strong, I’ll definitely find a chance to avenge Mr. Quinn and kill the bad guys who hurt him!"

"Yeah! Even if we can’t beat them, we’ll find a way to trap those bad guys to death!" Zephyr chimed in.

"Both of you need to keep your mouths shut. You are not allowed to say a single word about Mr. Quinn to outsiders, let alone let anyone know he’s living at our house," Rusty warned his two younger brothers, his gaze sharp.

"We promise we won’t say anything!" Firestone and Zephyr both raised their hands to swear.

"Alright, go do what you need to do now. When you have free time, if Mr. Quinn doesn’t mind you being noisy, go spend more time with him.

"Lying in bed all day by himself will be very boring.

"Also, if Mr. Quinn needs to use the restroom, call me to help support him," Sev instructed.

"Okay, we got it!" the three boys answered in unison.

What Sev didn’t know was that the words she had spoken in the living room—thinking she had sufficiently lowered her voice and closed the door—were heard clearly by Rick Kaye.

Rick felt a mix of complex emotions. Ever since he had awakened his Ability, his life had become increasingly affluent. Having been in a high position for a long time, he had gradually forgotten the days when he struggled at the bottom just to stay fed and warm. Although he didn’t look down on ordinary Scavengers, he had developed a sense of detachment from them, as if he and they belonged to two entirely different worlds.

But now, betrayed by the people in his own Ability user world, he had been reduced to an ordinary person who couldn’t use his Ability, and a disabled one paralyzed on one side of his body at that. In such a state, he had been forcibly placed by Doctor Jenkins in the home of Sev and her family of Scavengers, forcing them to take great risks to take him in and care for him. He thought this family would despise him, perhaps even secretly curse him to die sooner. Yet Sev had told the children that he was a hero framed by bad people. And the children’s first reaction upon hearing her words was to promise to avenge him when they grew up. They clearly had no prior interactions, nor had he ever given them any significant help, yet they treated him with such pure sincerity.

At this moment, Rick suddenly felt that his remaining days wouldn’t be so unbearable. He decided to write down all of his insights on improving one’s Ability for the children to study in the future. Furthermore, before he died, he would divide his belongings into two, leaving half to Jared Jenkins and the other half to this family. Thinking of this, his deadened heart seemed to grow warm. He even had the illusion that the un-frozen half of his body felt much more comfortable. He began to feel drowsy; his eyelids grew heavy, and he slowly fell into a deep sleep.

Sev was cooking dinner in the kitchen. She washed and chopped the newly acquired mutant hazel mushrooms, setting them aside. She took out the last mutant bird egg Hayden Hanson had gifted her, cracked open the shell, poured out the egg, and beat it. She mixed in the remaining mutant milk, keeping the ratio of egg to milk at 1:1.5. Finally, she added an appropriate amount of refined salt and the chopped hazel mushrooms. After stirring it evenly, she steamed it in a basket for half an hour. Soon, a large basin of hazel mushroom and milk egg custard was ready to be served.

In his sleep, Rick smelled the aroma. In his dream, there was a table full of delicacies, wafting steaming fragrances, yet frustratingly, he could see them but couldn’t eat them. In his anxiety, Rick woke up.

The tantalizing scent, a mix of milky and savory aromas, filled his nostrils. Suddenly, his stomach let out a loud GRUMBLE. He really wanted to say he was hungry and wanted to eat, but he was too embarrassed to speak up.

As he was agonizing over it, he felt a gaze fixed on him from his side. Turning his head, Rick met a pair of large eyes, as pure as water.

The little girl had woken up and was studying him carefully, her dark, round eyes darting about. After a good while, she spoke in her sweet, milky voice, "Mister, I think I’ve seen you before."

Young children were forgetful, and she had been very sleepy that night. Although only a few days had passed, her impression of Rick Kaye had already grown somewhat blurry.

"Yeah, we just met a few days ago, but you’ve already forgotten me. Mister is so sad!" Rick suddenly felt the urge to tease her.

"I’m sorry, Mister. Rose didn’t mean to forget you. Please don’t be mad.

"How about you tell me your name now? I promise I’ll remember you this time, and I’ll never forget you for the rest of my life!" The little girl hurriedly apologized, pledging solemnly.

Rick was amused by her. This was the first time he had smiled since his betrayal. The smile dispelled the gloom in his heart. Lowering his head, Rick leaned close to Rose and whispered, "Rose, Mister is very strong. Do you want to be my apprentice?"