Chapter 133 - 131: Custom-Made Pocket Crossbow

Sev Steele carried the food box to Mr. Fuller’s home. This time, she didn’t dare bring Rose along.

Thinking of the secret hidden in her, she wished she could hide the little girl in her own courtyard forever. The outside world was simply too dangerous.

Mr. Fuller’s family once again tasted the new delicacies. Shannon Fuller was now completely in awe of Sev’s cooking skills.

She kept circling her, pouring out free praises, "Miss Steele, you’re beautiful and so clever with your hands. I’m so jealous that Firestone has a mother like you."

Firestone wondered why the young miss had suddenly started calling him her "little brother Firestone" when she had always called him a brat.

Mr. Fuller was also very grateful to Sev now. If it weren’t for the diced meat and braised radish she had sent over, his granddaughter wouldn’t have had the chance to awaken her Ability at all.

In his eyes, simply taking her son in as an apprentice was nowhere near enough to repay this favor.

But he had always preferred to express his gratitude through practical actions rather than sweet words.

"Miss Steele, is there any weapon you want? I don’t have any other skills, but I do know a thing or two about forging weapons," Mr. Fuller offered after eating the delicious food she had brought.

Prompted by his words, Sev actually thought of a weapon that was most suitable for an ordinary person like her.

"Since you offered, I won’t hold back!" Sev said.

She directly grabbed the paper and pencil he had left on the table, quickly sketching out the structural diagram of a Pocket Crossbow.

"This is what you want? The concept is so novel, and its lethality is quite high. It’s truly an eye-opener!" Mr. Fuller exclaimed in excitement.

The armaments on Planet Veridia had been highly advanced even before the nuclear war. Because of this, cold weapons were barely used anymore, mostly hoarded away by collectors.

After entering the Wasteland Era, the lack of energy meant that laser guns couldn’t be used for extended periods. Cold weapons thus became indispensable substitutes in protracted battles.

When Ability users went hunting, they usually carried laser guns along with various bladed weapons as auxiliary gear. Crossbows had gradually become obsolete because constantly replenishing Arrows was too troublesome.

But Sev was an ordinary person. If she swung longblades or spears, her stamina wouldn’t be able to keep up in a drawn-out fight.

This compact Crossbow was perfect for sneak attacks. As long as it was operated properly, its lethality wasn’t weak—making it exactly what she needed.

Even a weaponsmith like Mr. Fuller had only seen the blueprints for large-scale Crossbows in historical archives during his youth.

This was the first time he had seen a structural diagram for a Pocket Crossbow that could double as a concealed weapon.

But a master was a master. After studying the blueprint for just a moment, he understood it completely.

"Come pick it up in three days. I’ll use magnetic metal for its Arrows, so you can easily retrieve the fired Arrows using a Strong Magnet," Mr. Fuller said.

He actually could have just asked Firestone to bring it home to her, but he insisted she come to pick it up herself so he could eat her delicious cooking again.

Having received Mr. Fuller’s promise, Sev was instantly overjoyed!

Delivering these meals had definitely been worth it. Not only did it bring her closer to Master Firestone, but she also scored a handy weapon. It was killing two birds with one stone.

After leaving Mr. Fuller’s home, she took a detour to Painter Sawyer House. In her food box, she had specially packed samples of three different delicacies.

Visiting twice in one day made her feel like she was coming over too frequently, but she was worried that if Artie Sawyer left early, she wouldn’t be able to deliver the whole-wheat vegetable crackers she had made.

When Artie came out to open the door this time, she was accompanied by a young man with a cold and stern expression.

He stood tall and straight, dressed in a sleek, ink-black combat suit.

His brow was sharp, his thin lips pressed tightly together, and his jawline formed a fierce, tense curve.

His most distinguishing feature was a scar on his left brow bone. When he looked at people, his gaze was scrutinizing, sweeping over her from the inside out like an X-ray machine.

Finally, he looked at Artie. His eyes softened, and he complained, "Artie, you can never be too careful. Your guard against strangers is way too low."

Sev almost failed to keep her composure. Although his words sounded reasonable, shouldn’t he have avoided saying them right in front of the person he was talking about?

She didn’t believe for a second that he lacked the Ability to set up a sound-isolation barrier. He was clearly doing this on purpose to warn her!

Artie glared at him before turning to Sev with a smile. "I’m so sorry, Miss Steele! My Silas Lynn has been a bodyguard for so long that he’s used to seeing danger in every shadow. Please don’t take his words to heart."

"It’s alright. I rushed over because I wanted you to try a few new dishes I made. If you like them, I can make more to sell to you!" Sev replied with a smile, glancing at Silas along the way. Her eyes were candid, not showing the slightest bit of anger.

Silas stepped ahead of Artie to take the food box. Without any politeness, he pulled out a needle-shaped detector and poked everything inside one by one.

Only after confirming it was non-toxic did he allow Artie to taste it.

Artie didn’t hold back either, sampling each one and deliberately sharing a portion of everything with Silas.

Silas ate it reluctantly, but then the expression on his face changed.

"The taste is excellent. Make some more and deliver them tomorrow. You won’t be shortchanged on the price," he said, his tone carrying a hint of condescension.

Sev was a bit angry. She had only gone out of her way to make these delicacies and bring them over because Artie had been so friendly to her and Zephyr.

Though she said she was selling them, she actually only intended to charge a friendly rate to repay the favor of selling her the Arhat Bed and dressing table at such a cheap price.

But this Silas really treated her like a servant cook who could be summoned at will.

Thinking of this, Sev said flatly, "I’m sorry! I’m going out into the wilderness tomorrow to gather winter supplies. I won’t have time to come over."

"You!" Silas pointed at her, about to lose his temper, but he was stopped by a single glance from Artie.

"Miss Steele, how about this? I’ll provide the ingredients, and you come over tomorrow to help me make them. In exchange, I’ll have Silas go gather the firewood and food you need for winter," Artie said in a gentle tone.

Sev rolled her eyes at Silas, then smiled at Artie. "Alright, deal!"

Silas was panting heavily in anger, but he was completely helpless against her. He could only turn his head away sharply, refusing to look at her again.

After agreeing on a time for tomorrow, Sev didn’t linger any longer. She got up and said her goodbyes.

On the way back, she constantly felt eyes staring at her back. But every time she turned around, let alone a peeping tom, she couldn’t even see a ghost of a shadow.

She felt frustrated, only hating that she wasn’t an Ability user with sharper five senses. Otherwise, she definitely would have caught that stalker.

Since she had promised Artie to go over and help make food, Sev went to bed early and even set an alarm.

Lying in bed, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had forgotten something, but she just couldn’t remember what it was.

In her dream, she returned to Azure, walking through the dense forest of the back mountain with her grandfather.

From the grass along the path, a grasshopper or a panicked wild hare would occasionally dart out.

She was chatting and laughing with her grandfather. As they walked, a lush branch covered in green leaves suddenly extended in front of her, whipping fiercely against her cheek.

Sev winced in pain. Just as she was about to take out her trusty short knife to chop the branch off, she saw it morph into an angry face right before her eyes. "You made delicious food! Why didn’t you send some to me, this Venerable One?"

Sev was startled and stammered, "Who are you? Don’t try to scare me! I’m not afraid of you. My grandpa is here to protect me!"

However, right after she said those words, her grandfather’s figure suddenly vanished from her sight.

"Grandpa! Where are you?" she cried out in panic, turning pale with fright.

Then, she jolted awake from the dream!