Chapter 126 - 124: Big Shots Snatching Food

Doctor Jenkins and Sev Steele watched as the gray mist gradually faded, revealing a cluster of flames surrounding Firestone.

Looking closely, they could see it was shaped like a flower with intricate petals in a brilliant fiery red.

It was beautiful, yet anyone could tell it was a cluster of flames.

Firestone was still fast asleep. His body was no longer flushed red and had returned to a normal color, but fiery red specks of light were still spilling from him.

Doctor Jenkins tentatively released his Spirit Ability. This time, he met no resistance and probed the boy’s body directly.

"He’s doing very well right now. His Ability awakened successfully, and there are no signs of damage to his meridians," Doctor Jenkins said. "The only thing to watch out for is that in the initial stages, the Fire Ability can leak out unconsciously during sleep and start a fire."

He then cast another Jelly Cradle Barrier over the boy’s body.

It would isolate him from harm and prevent the leaking fire element particles from starting a blaze.

The flames trapped inside the Barrier seemed rather displeased. They crashed against the Barrier several times, only to be bounced back onto Firestone, eventually having no choice but to obediently continue circling him.

"This Barrier drains quite a bit of my Ability. Remember to pay off your debt with good food," Doctor Jenkins said bluntly.

"Don’t worry. Whenever I cook something delicious in the future, you’ll definitely get your share," Sev said with a smile.

"Hmph! If you had let me taste it a bit earlier this time, it might not have led to such serious consequences," Doctor Jenkins said.

"Yes, yes, it’s all my fault! But even I haven’t had a single bite yet," Sev apologized perfunctorily, playing along with a hint of grievance.

She had been busy since she woke up, and her stomach was now rumbling with hunger. She hadn’t even had the time to eat a mouthful of food—did she have it easy?

Before Sev left the broken chest this time, she leaned in and said earnestly, "Big Boss, thank you so much for saving my two sons. Whenever I make something delicious in the future, I will definitely bring it over to honor you!"

The stark contrast in her attitude made her feel a little embarrassed, but who could blame her when this entity had helped her twice in a row?

She decided that starting today, she would forgive the Big Boss for almost sucking her dry. From now on, she would treat it like a revered ancestor.

Who knew, she might have to rely on it to save her life at a critical moment.

Whether the Big Boss heard her or not, the Life Tree Totem at the bottom of the chest remained exactly the same, without the slightest change.

Sev and Doctor Jenkins returned to the room. Rose was probably exhausted, having climbed up next to her eldest brother to sleep.

Curly, likely worried about her, extended a long vine and wrapped it around her wrist.

Silvy lay obediently in the crook of her neck. Not sleepy at all, it stared up at the ceiling with its black, beady eyes.

Zephyr had been sleeping quietly against the wall the entire time. He was quite lucky; he only experienced a state of drunkenness and wasn’t forced into an Ability awakening.

Looking at him, Sev felt incredibly relieved.

If something else had gone wrong with him, she suspected the Big Boss in the chest might have grown impatient and simply abandoned them.

Doctor Jenkins also felt a bit concerned when Sev told him that Rick Kaye had fallen into such a deep sleep at the table that he couldn’t be woken up.

He used his spiritual power to probe and discovered that Rick’s body had spontaneously put up a faint defense.

This was clearly a sign that he was improving. Doctor Jenkins’s heart pounded, his hands trembling with excitement.

Although he had already confirmed that the dish Sev cooked had special effects, he assumed it would only significantly impact ordinary children and couldn’t possibly offer much help to a Seventh Tier Ability User like Rick.

But facts proved that it had indeed affected Rick. As for how substantial this effect was, he couldn’t judge just yet; he would have to wait until Rick woke up to find out.

"Weren’t you hungry just now? Hurry up and make another portion of that dish. I can take some back to study its effects," Doctor Jenkins said.

He had already polished off the small half-bowl he had so painstakingly snagged earlier.

Such a delicacy was tastier than any gourmet food he had eaten before. How could half a small bowl be enough to satisfy his cravings?

"Alright," Sev said. She actually wanted to know what kind of reaction she would have after eating this dish of braised radish with cracklings.

Replicating the dish was simple, but Sev cooked it much more meticulously this time, unlike the rough preparation she had done for the Big Boss in the chest.

The two of them sat face-to-face at the dining table and began to savor the food.

Sev finally got to eat the stir-fry she had been longing for, feeling as if her life was complete.

Then, she started to mock herself. Back on Azure, she had eaten her fair share of delicacies, but she had never felt this level of satisfaction.

It truly was a case of how times change; a person’s demands in life would shift along with their environment.

She recalled how she once thought that if she suddenly won the lottery and got a few million, she would take her grandfather to a small town, buy a house, and live a leisurely life.

She thought that the rest of her life would then be filled with nothing but happiness, free of worries.

But now, a simple plate of stir-fry made her feel like her life was complete. It just went to show how low her standards had dropped.

Amidst her musings, Sev suddenly felt her whole body heat up. Her head spun a little, and the Doctor Jenkins in front of her seemed to split into two.

She immediately realized that she was entering a state of drunkenness.

Even though she had tried her best to eat less crackling and more of the radish and its greens, why was this still happening?

Doctor Jenkins, on the other hand, was perfectly normal. Aside from feeling that his spiritual power was a bit more active, he experienced no unusual symptoms.

It seemed this dish mainly had a significant impact on ordinary people and Ability users with damaged meridians.

Using his spiritual power, Doctor Jenkins levitated the sleeping Sev, carried her to the Arhat Bed, and laid her down. He then carried the remaining half-plate of food into the master bedroom.

As he ate, he said smugly, "Rick, can you smell this?"

The sleeping Rick Kaye suddenly opened his eyes.

He had fallen asleep earlier because his damaged meridians were slowly repairing themselves, and his body had entered a deep sleep out of self-preservation.

However, he was a Seventh Tier Ability User after all. Although the braised radish with diced meat he had eaten continuously released Energy, it was merely a drop in the bucket for him.

He quickly depleted all this Energy, and his body snapped out of its slumber. Smelling the extremely enticing aroma, he naturally woke up.

Before Doctor Jenkins could even react, the plate in his hands was snatched away by Rick. Rick casually pulled a pair of chopsticks from his Space Button and buried his head in his food, eating ravenously.

A minute later, he had demolished the small half-plate of food like a whirlwind.

Doctor Jenkins watched in stunned silence, but he had no intention of snatching it back.

If eating this could help Rick, he could resist the urge to eat it no matter how much he craved it.

"So tell me, what exactly is the situation?" Doctor Jenkins asked.

"It has a repairing effect on meridians, but because the food Level is too low, the effect isn’t massive.

"However, it’s great for relieving pain. After eating it, my body feels very comfortable, making it easy for someone as tormented as me to fall asleep," Rick said earnestly.

"So, is it the diced meat that’s doing it, or the radish and its greens soaking up the grease?" Doctor Jenkins asked.

"I can’t tell either," Rick shook his head.

"Alright. It doesn’t matter if you can’t tell. As long as it can ease your pain, it’s already incredibly rare," Doctor Jenkins said.

"Are you willing to stop fighting me for food from now on?" Rick teased.

"I am. As long as it lets you live a little more comfortably before you die," Doctor Jenkins said.

"You jinx, can’t you say something nice for once?" Rick glared at him.

"All the nice words in the world won’t save your life," Doctor Jenkins said deadpan.

"Don’t you think there’s something extraordinary about Miss Steele?" Rick suddenly asked.