Chapter 138 - 136: Devil’s Heart

"To have a Fifth Tier Wind Element willing to serve as a guard, it seems this Artie Sawyer is quite formidable. But as far as I know, there is no one by that name in District Nine. It seems she must be living in seclusion here, or hiding from powerful enemies," Rick Kaye said.

Since Artie Sawyer was just like him, not wanting to draw attention, and there was no bad blood between them, even if Silas Lynn had sensed the Ability fluctuations in this courtyard, he would probably pretend not to know. The security alert was temporarily lifted, so Rick Kaye turned around and returned to his bedroom.

In fact, Silas Lynn had indeed come and gone in a hurry, not staying a second longer than necessary. However, protecting Artie Sawyer over the years had long ago ingrained a keen vigilance in him. The moment he entered the courtyard, he sensed the faint fluctuations of an Ability—the slight residue left behind after Rusty and Rose had used theirs. Although they both wore the Ability Concealing Devices given by Doctor Jenkins, the devices could only absorb the vast majority of the dissipated Energy, not one hundred percent.

Silas Lynn hurried back to the villa and told Artie Sawyer about his discovery.

"Are you sure that two children in Miss Steele’s home have awakened their Abilities?" Artie Sawyer asked in astonishment.

Among Scavenger children, there were those who awakened their Abilities before the age of eight, and without exception, they all possessed extremely high Ability talent. Because Scavenger children grew up malnourished, their Energy intake was insufficient to support an Ability awakening. During the awakening process, they would often fail due to a lack of Energy. Best case scenario, their foundation would be damaged; worst case scenario, they would die on the spot. Yet, Seven Steele House actually had two living children who had successfully awakened their Abilities. It was simply unbelievable.

"I’m certain. One is a Wood Element, and the other is a Gold Element. Moreover, they are both wearing Ability Concealing Devices. If I hadn’t sensed the faint Ability residue in the courtyard, I wouldn’t have discovered they had awakened their Abilities," Silas Lynn said.

"It seems someone is helping them hide it, and it’s someone with significant Energy. Knowing this sets my mind at ease," Artie Sawyer said.

She had a very good impression of Sev Steele. Initially, it was because Sev had taken a liking to her Antique Arhat Bed. After all, in this Wasteland Era, practically no one would buy such a thing. The wealthy of The Gilded Ward disdained it as an old item, while the poor couldn’t afford it. Most importantly, it didn’t look like a bed, but rather like a weirdly-shaped, hard wooden sofa. Sev liked her Antique Arhat Bed, and in Artie Sawyer’s eyes, that made her a kindred spirit. Later, when Sev also took a fancy to her antique dressing table, Artie felt even more strongly that she had found a true confidante.

She had deliberately sold these two antique pieces of furniture to Sev at a low price just so Sev wouldn’t feel any psychological burden. When Sev took the furniture away, Artie had also intentionally let her ride off with the tricycle. She figured since she was leaving in a few days anyway, the tricycle could be a gift. But Sev had unexpectedly returned the tricycle before her departure, and had even brought her delicious food as a gift. Artie Sawyer felt that she was a good judge of character—Sev Steele was indeed qualified to be her kindred spirit.

Now, knowing that two children in Sev’s family had awakened their Abilities, her first reaction was worry. She feared that Sev’s children would be forcibly taken away by the higher-ups of District Nine and sent to the youth training camp. Although children from The Gilded Ward were also sent there for training, their parents would always bribe the lead instructors, ensuring they had protectors when they went out. However, for Scavenger children there, survival was left entirely to fate. To the higher-ups, only the Scavenger children who could survive in brutal combat were worth spending a fortune to cultivate.

Since Sev’s children now had someone protecting them, Artie would just pretend she didn’t know they had awakened their Abilities.

Meanwhile, Sev Steele fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

Early the next morning, when she woke up, she saw Zephyr weaving a flower basket out of vines. This was something she had taught him to weave last time. It had all started because the raw materials sent over by Boss King had included a few short, thin vines mixed in. Zephyr had felt they were too small to weave into cushions and planned to throw them into the woodshed for firewood, but Sev casually used them to weave a small flower basket. Unfortunately, there were no flowers in the house, so she gave the small basket to Rose to hold the few hair ties Rick Kaye had given her. Of course, these hair ties were originally bought by Rick Kaye years ago to give to Lana Florian. However, she had found them ugly and casually tossed them into her Space Button. But Rose thought these hair ties were extremely beautiful. She cherished every single one, and if Rick Kaye hadn’t forcefully taken them to tie her hair, she wouldn’t have been willing to use even one.

Zephyr had originally planned to gift Artie Sawyer a woven vine cushion, but he had coincidentally acquired a bouquet of flowers last night, so he decided to weave a flower basket for her instead. He wove a simple yet elegant basket and arranged a uniquely shaped cluster of baby’s breath inside. It looked stunning at first glance.

This cluster of baby’s breath was something he had found last night while cleaning the wild vegetables Silas Lynn had sent over. Silas Lynn had accidentally mixed it in and brought it back while pulling up the wild vegetables. Zephyr had never seen this kind of flower before, so he had specifically borrowed a needle-shaped detector from Mr. Quinn, which indicated it was toxic and inedible. He had originally planned to throw it away, but he truly thought it was too beautiful.

Later, Rick Kaye told him that as long as he didn’t eat it, merely touching the flower wouldn’t poison him. Moreover, if hung on a wall, its petals wouldn’t fall off after air-drying, allowing it to maintain its beautiful shape for a long time. Back in the day, he had collected a large bouquet to give to Lana Florian, which was considered a rare bit of romance from his youth.

Zephyr inserted the flowers into the small basket, making Sev sigh in admiration. This kid had natural artistic talent and was handsome and charming. If he grew up on Azure, he would definitely be a heartthrob! Even Rick Kaye felt inferior when he saw it. The little guy’s hands were truly dexterous. It was obviously just a bunch of wild flowers, yet he managed to arrange them into such a beautiful shape. However, having such a brother was good. Constantly exposed to this from a young age, it would save his little disciple from being easily swept off her feet by some young punk in the future.

Seeing that her son was gifting a beautiful ornamental flower basket, Sev decided to give something more practical—a portable outdoor egg-roll table. This was something she had previously seen in a travel documentary for backpackers, and it was perfect for camping. Apart from vines, the raw materials also required a steel pipe frame. Before her eldest son awakened his Ability, she had no way to make it. But now, all she needed to do was draw a structural diagram for the steel pipe frame and hand it over to Rusty, and everything would be sorted. The tabletop was woven from vines and could be rolled up like a scroll, making it both portable and capable of bearing weight.

Sev also considered that Artie Sawyer and the others would often go out hunting Mutant Beasts, and bringing this along would be very convenient for picnics. She also paired the table with four small folding stools, using old canvas over metal frames.

After the mother and son had prepared their gifts, Sev brought a large bowl of freshly made cheese, and the two headed to Painter Sawyer House together.

Artie Sawyer was as excited as a little girl to receive her farewell gifts, smiling exceptionally brightly as she held the small flower basket. Silas Lynn, however, wore a serious face as he asked Sev for instructions on how to fold and set up the portable egg-roll table.

Sev taught him earnestly, "Look, like this. Roll up the tabletop and detach the legs. It’s also very simple to use—just lay the tabletop flat and attach the legs."

After trying it twice, Silas Lynn was able to handle it easily, and a rare smile appeared on his face. This was the first time Sev had ever seen him smile.

When Sev stood up to say goodbye and prepared to leave, Silas Lynn spoke up, "Is there really nothing you want?"

"Now that you mention it, I actually do. In the future, when you go out into the wild, if you come across any wild chili pepper seeds, please pick some and bring them back for me," Sev said.

"What’s a wild chili pepper?" Silas Lynn looked completely bewildered. He was about the same age as Sev, and both were orphans who had survived the nuclear war. However, he had been luckier, as he was picked up and raised by Artie Sawyer, saving him from suffering too much hardship.

Sev detailed the color, shape, branches, and leaves of the wild chili pepper. Hearing this, Silas Lynn immediately said, "You must be talking about the Devil’s Heart, right? Artie once picked its fruit. It’s golden-red and shaped like a heart. If its juice gets in your eyes, they will swell and stay red for at least three days!"

Hearing this, Artie Sawyer chimed in, "Yes, exactly! I suffered so much that time.

"Later, I collected its seeds, planning to cultivate it and extract poison to deal with Mutant Beasts, but unfortunately, it didn’t work."

As Artie spoke, she rummaged through a pile of bottles and jars, eventually digging out over a dozen lentil-shaped seeds. Seeing them, Sev was so excited she almost cried! Good heavens, they really were chili seeds!

Seeing her reaction, Artie handed all the chili seeds directly to her, looking hesitant. "You aren’t planning to use these for cooking, are you?"

"Mhm, mhm! But these seeds are too precious. I want to try cultivating them first, and then I’ll make delicious food for you to taste," Sev nodded vigorously.

Artie Sawyer and Silas Lynn both stared at her in sheer terror, adamantly refusing to be her guinea pigs.

Sev flashed a knowing smile. "I just hope you don’t end up begging me for a bite when the time comes!"