Chapter 131 - 129: The Cannon Fodder Big Shot’s Promise

The information she received from Hayden Hanson left Sev Steele feeling anxious.

Having a genius in the family was a pleasant surprise, but when that genius was too heaven-defying, the surprise quickly turned into terror.

All three children had awakened their Abilities before the age of eight. Firestone was under the protection of his prospective master, Mr. Fuller. Even if it was discovered that he had awakened an Ability, it was likely no one would dare touch him.

Rusty was already past seven and a half. Sev had checked his household registration information; he would turn eight in just over two months.

As long as they could keep it hidden for this short period, his awakening would fall into the normal range, and the authorities would have no reason to forcefully take him away.

Right now, her biggest headache was Rose. With such a heaven-defying Ability, even with both Doctor Jenkins and Rick Kaye backing her, it probably wouldn’t be enough to keep her safe!

The more Sev thought about it, the more anxious she became. Having just woken up and eaten some cheese and shredded potato pancakes, Rick Kaye quickly noticed that something was wrong with her.

Leaning on his crutches, he limped into the living room and asked bluntly, "What happened? Tell me. Although I might look like a cripple, I can still help you solve a few problems."

"Can you... keep Rose safe?" Sev asked doubtfully.

"Do you think that just because I’m a cripple now, I’d let others bully my apprentice?" Rick Kaye said with displeasure.

He felt that this woman had terrible judgment. Did she even know what the title of Judge truly meant?

The only reason he was hiding here to recover from his injuries was that he didn’t want to incite massive turmoil among the upper echelons of the Second Security Zone.

Lana Florian daring to stab him in the back was absolutely not as simple as an emotional betrayal. There had to be someone backing and instigating her from behind the scenes, and enormous interests were involved.

If she had simply wanted to dump him as her fiancé, she wouldn’t have needed to take such a desperate risk. After all, he had never forced her into anything.

"Don’t worry," Rick Kaye said. "Even if I were truly going to die, I would entrust my apprentice to someone reliable before drawing my last breath."

Sev suddenly remembered that, according to the original novel, Rick Kaye should already be dead. Yet here he was, still alive. This proved that aside from her own anomalous existence, a second massive variable had appeared in this world.

After hesitating again and again, she decided to come clean with him.

Secrets had a way of getting out. The unique nature of Rose’s Ability would be exposed sooner or later.

Rather than waiting for things to spiral out of control, it was better to make preparations in advance.

Among the people she could trust, Hayden Hanson and Seth Jennings clearly didn’t have enough weight. That left only Doctor Jenkins and him.

Compared to Doctor Jenkins, her top choice was naturally the dying Rick Kaye.

If her Rose could heal Rick Kaye, a Seventh Tier Thunder Ability user—along with The Doomsday Fleet under his command—he would become her daughter’s most powerful backer.

Sev concisely relayed Hayden Hanson’s words. Hearing this, Rick Kaye wasn’t overly shocked.

He had already noticed the little girl’s abnormality during the very first time she massaged his legs.

Not even the Healing Ability of the Head of the Stone Family could elicit a reaction from the half of his body suffering from frostbite inflicted by Lana Florian’s Ice Ability, yet this little girl had somehow managed it.

She had made him feel a stinging pain.

Moreover, after being in close contact with her over the past two days, he could feel pain wherever she touched him.

If her Power Level weren’t so low, this unique trait of hers might very well heal the half of his body that had been handed a death sentence.

Since she could heal this type of trauma on him, it was no surprise that she could also mend the physical deterioration caused by genetic collapse.

Furthermore, before Hayden Hanson’s genetic collapse, he was only a Second Tier Ability User. His body would be much easier to repair than Rick’s Seventh Tier body.

"Don’t worry. I’ll have Jared Jenkins add another layer of isolation shielding to my apprentice. I guarantee no one will discover that she has awakened an Ability.

"As for that Hayden Hanson, we can take care of him before he leaks this secret..." Rick Kaye trailed off, making a slicing motion across his throat.

Sev was startled, a shiver running down her spine!

Although she had witnessed bloody scenes like Mutant Beasts eating people since transmigrating, casually murdering someone was still completely unacceptable to an upstanding citizen like her who had grown up in a peaceful, modern era.

Besides, Hayden Hanson was such a good person!

"No! Hanson is honest and kind," Sev hurriedly explained. "On the day of the rat tide, if it hadn’t been for him, all four of us would have died.

"He’s also saved me out in the wilderness several times, and he usually takes great care of the children.

"Just today, after discovering this secret, he even said that he wouldn’t let Rose heal him for now. He was terrified of exposing the secret and bringing her harm."

Seeing her anxious demeanor, Rick Kaye knew she was determined to protect Hayden Hanson. He didn’t blame her for lacking ruthlessness.

After all, if she hadn’t possessed such kindness, she would never have warned him about her prophetic dream back then.

Thinking of this, he smiled. "Since you trust him, I’ll follow your lead and trust him this once.

"Taking a step back, even if this secret is leaked in the future, I will make sure to send my apprentice somewhere safe before anyone who covets her Ability can get to her."

Sev couldn’t help but inwardly complain, "Big shot, if you can really pull that off, why didn’t you pack yourself up and ship yourself off to a safe place?"

However, since Rick Kaye dared to say such things, he probably had some degree of confidence. After all, as a crucial figure in the Second Security Zone, he wouldn’t just make empty promises, right?

Feeling slightly more at ease, Sev began to ponder what kind of portable, delicious food she should prepare for Ms. Artie Sawyer.

Up until now, she actually hadn’t been able to make any delicacies with a long shelf life. The most important reason was that she lacked a proper oven!

An oven could slowly bake and dehydrate food, yielding deliciously crispy and fragrant results.

More crucially, food baked in an oven had a significantly extended shelf life.

When they were browsing the supermarket the other day, Sev had specifically looked for one, but there were simply no ovens for sale.

Among the wasteland residents, ordinary Scavengers primarily lived on officially produced Nutrition Blocks, with wild vegetables foraged from the wilderness as their only other staple.

During the warmer months, they would eat fresh wild vegetables, and in the winter, they would consume dried ones.

Therefore, their cooking utensils generally consisted of nothing more than alloy pots meant for steaming or boiling, along with simple barbecue grills.

Ability users were a bit better off than ordinary people. They could go out to hunt Mutant Beasts and sell the meat, bones, and Crystal Cores for a substantial amount of money.

As their Power Levels increased, so did their savings, allowing them to buy houses in The Gilded Ward and become residents there.

Although they were wealthier than ordinary Scavengers and could enjoy a more varied diet, none of them would hire cooks to prepare meals in their homes.

They constantly worried that a cook might steal their food to take back to their own families.

After all, food was the most precious commodity in the wasteland. Who would allow starving, impoverished people free reign in their kitchens?

As a result, the residents of The Gilded Ward also stuck to the three simplest cooking methods: steaming, boiling, and roasting.

The poor couldn’t even fill their stomachs, so how could they even consider the culinary arts?

The rich were busy improving their Abilities and going out to hunt High Tier Mutant Beasts, leaving them with no time to study cooking either.

Without cooks, there naturally wouldn’t be a diverse range of cooking utensils.

Sev racked her brains, even considering rummaging through a scrap yard to see if she could find an old oven left over from before the nuclear war.

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the "rough handicraft" shimmering with a metallic luster in the corner of the room, and a flash of Spiritual Light struck her mind!

Since her wonderful eldest son was capable of crafting an alloy fruit tree, then making an oven shouldn’t be a problem, right?