Chapter 111 - 110: The Bad Woman Sold the Firestone for Furniture?

Seeing Sev Steele staring intently at her dressing table, the beautiful middle-aged woman asked with a smile, "Are you interested in this too?"

"Mhm, I really like it!" Sev replied. She wanted to offer a few words of praise but didn’t know what to say.

"I’m planning a long trip soon, and these pieces of furniture won’t be easy to take with me. If you like it, you can take it for an extra 1,000 points!"

The woman’s words only deepened Sev’s confusion. She clearly didn’t look like she was short on money, and someone like her should have a Space Button, shouldn’t she? Sensing her confusion, the woman didn’t explain. She simply said, "There is a tricycle in the woodshed. You can borrow it to transport these two pieces of furniture."

"Thank you so much!" Sev said gratefully. She was so excited right then that she wanted to scream out loud. However, she didn’t forget to immediately ask for the woman’s contact number so she could transfer the 1,000 points for the dressing table.

Hearing her request, the woman hesitated for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. "Meeting someone who likes these two pieces of furniture can be considered a kind of fate."

Sev exchanged contact numbers with her and saw that her full name was Artie Sawyer. Previously, on the trading platform, her nickname had simply been "Artie." It was clear that she couldn’t be bothered to think of a screen name, so Artie Sawyer was likely her real name.

Sensing that Artie didn’t like to chat much, Sev tactfully got to work moving the furniture. Seth Jennings was a Second Tier Ability User, after all. As soon as she pitched in, Sev felt like she had been reduced to an assistant, barely needing to exert any effort at all.

The two of them quickly loaded the furniture onto the tricycle. Artie even thoughtfully provided them with an old quilt to use as a protective cushion. She offered it so naturally, without the slightest hint of giving charity, that Sev accepted it just as openly.

Seth rode the tricycle in front while Sev pushed from behind. The two of them soon arrived back at Area C. Just as they were nearing home, Seth suddenly received a mission from her mercenary group. She could only hastily shove half a mutated turtledove into Sev’s hands before rushing off.

Sev pedaled the tricycle the rest of the way home and called for Rusty and Zephyr to help her move the furniture.

The boys immediately noticed that Firestone, who had gone out with her, hadn’t come back. The two brothers exchanged a glance, suddenly struck with panic! These two pieces of furniture looked very High Level at first glance, meaning they were definitely valuable. Could it be that the bad woman had taken Firestone out to sell him in exchange for these two pieces of furniture?

Rusty had mostly stopped thinking of his adoptive mother as the "bad woman" these past few days, but at this moment, the moniker resurfaced in his mind. Previously, when Rose had fallen into a coma, Rusty had worried that his adoptive mother would take his little sister out into the wilderness and abandon her. Later, his little sister had been brought back in one piece, her illness completely cured—but now, Firestone had inexplicably disappeared. Rusty wanted to ask, but though he opened his mouth several times, he didn’t dare voice the question.

Their adoptive mother had treated them much better these past few days, but the wasteland didn’t tolerate freeloaders, not even children. In the past, their adoptive mother had tolerated them because they ate very little and the authorities provided a monthly subsidy for them. But now, she fed them well and made sure they were full every day. He and Zephyr could weave soft mats to earn money; Zephyr was good at it and earned a lot. Although Rusty wasn’t as skilled and earned less, he would soon turn eight and would be able to go out scavenging to help support the family. His little sister could grow Mutated Lemon Fruit, and their adoptive mother always needed lemon juice for seasoning when cooking.

Calculating it like this, Firestone was currently the only one in the family who couldn’t earn any money. He had heard that some rich men liked to toy with little boys. Could his adoptive mother have sold Firestone to someone like that?

As soon as this thought popped into his head, Rusty couldn’t help but shake his head desperately. No, that was impossible! If his adoptive mother truly wanted to sell Firestone, there would have been no need to feed him so much precious food. He remembered how he had just misunderstood her intentions to throw his little sister away yesterday. If this turned out to be another misunderstanding, his adoptive mother would definitely be very angry, right?

Seeing that his older brother didn’t dare to ask, Zephyr naturally didn’t dare either. In the end, the two brothers decided to go to Rose and have her ask their adoptive mother. They had noticed that their adoptive mother’s attitude toward Rose had been the gentlest these past few days. It was probably because their little sister had awakened an Ability, right? Ignorant as they might be, even they knew how precious an Ability user was.

Sev didn’t notice her two sons’ inner turmoil at all. Right now, she was busy processing the soaked Mutated Dragon Claw Beans. Although the Dragon Claw Beans back on Azure could have their toxins completely removed by soaking for a full day, the ones here were Mutated Dragon Claw Beans. Since the wasteland authorities had classified them as toxic and inedible, their toxicity was surely much stronger than that of ordinary Dragon Claw Beans. Therefore, Sev had soaked them for three days and three nights consecutively. She had also borrowed a needle-shaped detector from Rick Kaye, and only after the test results showed they were non-toxic did she dare to fish them out of the water tank with peace of mind.

She was just about to call her two sons over to help dry them when she saw her youngest daughter run into the kitchen on her short little legs.

"Mommy, why didn’t my second brother come back? Did he sneak off to play by himself?"

When Rose asked this, her little eyes were clearly darting around, looking entirely guilty. Sev understood with a single glance. Someone had taught her to ask this, and without needing to think about it, she knew it was definitely Rusty.

"Your second brother had something to do. He might not be back until tomorrow morning," Sev replied in a gentle tone.

Rose wanted to ask more, but her oldest brother had only taught her that one sentence. She didn’t know what to say next.

Seeing Rose like this, Sev became even more certain of her guess. Amused but exasperated, she raised her voice and yelled, "Rusty, Zephyr, get your butts over here and help me!"

Rusty and Zephyr immediately ran over obediently and helped her carry the bed boards into the courtyard. In the kitchen, Sev sliced the soaked Dragon Claw Beans into thin shreds so they would dry more easily. Rose carried the basin of shredded beans her mother had sliced out to the courtyard. Rusty and Zephyr carefully spread them out evenly, making sure the shreds didn’t pile up or overlap to prevent them from molding before they could dry.

The mother and her three children each had their own tasks. When Rick Kaye woke up from his nap in the bedroom, he saw this busy and lively scene. He wanted to help too. Although half of his body was stiff and numb, the other half could still move.

Rick called Rose into the room and asked her to help convey his intentions to Sev. Sev felt that if she coddled him too much, he would probably feel uncomfortable. Besides, staying cooped up in the room all day wasn’t good for his physical and mental health. So, she helped support him as he walked out into the courtyard.

Then, she brought out the mutated Jerusalem artichokes she had dug up along with the potatoes the other day, and asked him to help use a brush to clean the dirt off their skins. Brushing them clean before washing would save a lot of water. After all, purified water wasn’t cheap—it cost 100 points per ton.

Ever since Rick had awakened his Ability, his Power Level had risen rapidly thanks to his talent and hard work. He hadn’t done this kind of manual labor in many years. Yet at this moment, he was extremely patient, cleaning them meticulously and not missing a single speck of dirt hidden in the crevices.

When Doctor Jenkins swiped his card and entered the courtyard, this was the exact scene he saw.