Chapter 144 - 142: Rick Kaye Doesn’t Want to Freeload

"Mom, it’s too cold outside," Rusty suddenly spoke up. "I’ll dig a spacious cellar so my sister can grow some shade-loving wild vegetables. This winter, we’ll definitely make sure you get to eat fresh greens."

Although today was his first time going out to forage, he had noticed that some wild vegetables still grew lush and green even when obscured by dense tree canopies. For example, dandelions, shepherd’s purse, and chickweed—perhaps others too, he just hadn’t seen them yet.

Hearing her eldest son’s words, Sev Steele couldn’t help but feel a twinge of shame. As an adult, she was actually outdone by a child; failing to build a greenhouse had left her utterly dispirited. "All right! As long as our whole family works hard together, our days will definitely get better and more prosperous!" She laughed heartily, her bright smile infecting every member of the family.

Zephyr said earnestly, "Mom, please don’t think I’m useless. When I grow up, I’ll definitely become more and more useful too."

Sev replied in a solemn tone, "Our Zephyr will definitely be the most useful one in the future. Mom is still waiting for you to take our whole family into The Gilded Ward."

"Mhm, I promise! I’ll definitely bring everyone to live in The Gilded Ward!" Zephyr nodded seriously.

Watching the family’s interactions from the sidelines, Rick Kaye felt a long-lost warmth of home wash over his heart. He also wanted to become a part of this family and work desperately hard so that every member could live a good life. Before that, however, he had to first resolve the issue of half his body being eroded by the Ice Attribute Ability, which prevented his meridians from functioning properly.

"Ahem! Good apprentice, it’s dark out. Time for bed. You still have classes tomorrow morning," he said to Rose, clearing his throat.

"Okay! I’ll just go check on all the plants, wash my face and feet, and then I’ll go to sleep!" Rose answered obediently.

Recently, she had formed a new habit. Every morning when she woke up and every night before bed, she would communicate with every plant in the house. By sending them a tiny bit of green light, they would feed back just a little more green light in return. She gained an advantage, and they grew a bit taller and sturdier.

The little girl didn’t understand why this happened. Her mom called it a "win-win situation," but she still couldn’t wrap her head around it. Her mom told her she was still little and didn’t need to understand, saying this was simply "leaving a lingering fragrance in the hand that gifts roses." In plain terms—if you give someone sweet-smelling flowers, your own palms will smell sweet too.

She had consulted her master. Rick Kaye explained, "This is a special skill of Ability users. They have a specific, high-Energy element inside their bodies. When they exchange this element with elements of the same attribute in nature, it stimulates the hidden Energy in some of those natural elements, turning them into high-Energy elements as well."

Her master’s words were a mouthful, and she couldn’t remember them. She only memorized one thing: after giving her green light to all the plants, she could earn back even more green light. Mhm, that was enough. After earning more green light, the little girl climbed into bed and quickly fell fast asleep.

Rick Kaye slept beside her. Whenever the Ability unconsciously radiating from Rose’s body touched him, a faint, prickling pain would flare up. This feeling was wonderful! It was the feeling of Vitality. He was no longer a numb, senseless, lifeless walking corpse. Relying on this faint Ability brimming with Vitality, Rick Kaye used his mind to control the Thunder Power within him, repeatedly striking the numb half of his body.

After several days of this nourishing treatment, he had managed to force the chill out of his bone marrow and slowly push it toward the outer layer of his bones. Although the progress was slow, he believed that given time, he could definitely restore his entire meridian system to normal. At that point, he would be able to freely use his own Ability to nourish every cell in his body. He would eventually regain the majesty of a Judge!

Thinking of the kindness Sev’s family had shown him, Rick Kaye couldn’t help but open his Space Button. There truly wasn’t much inventory inside. However, he was a Seventh Tier Ability User after all; even with limited stock, casually selling a single item could be exchanged for plenty of supplies. But this was District Nine. He didn’t dare offload his inventory carelessly, afraid of drawing unnecessary trouble. He did still have tens of millions of points left in his personal account, but he didn’t dare make random transfers, as that would leak the safe zone he was currently residing in. Thinking about it this way, he really was just a freeloader leeching off Seven Steele House. For the first time in his life, Rick Kaye felt incomparably ashamed.

That guy, Jared Jenkins, had told the kids of Seven Steele House that placing him there to recover would earn them a daily compensation of a thousand points. In reality, he had just spouted a lie on the fly and tossed it entirely out of his mind afterward. He hadn’t transferred a single cent to Sev. Naturally, the kids didn’t dare ask their mom if Mr. Jenkins had transferred the money to her. Sev herself hadn’t taken the lie to heart either, not even once bringing up the matter of making him pay.

Jared Jenkins certainly wouldn’t feel ashamed about this. At the very least, he had gifted the three kids an Ability Concealing Device each, with a starting auction price of a million points. But him, Rick Kaye? From the day he moved in, he truly hadn’t paid a single dime. Especially considering how he had shamelessly declared he would take Rose as his apprentice, yet hadn’t even presented a decent introductory gift to his disciple. From beginning to end, all he had given the little girl were a few ugly hair ties. The more he thought about it, the more he wished he could find a crack in the ground and swallow himself whole!

Tormented half to death by shame, Rick Kaye dumped everything inside his Space Button onto the floor. He began poking through the pile with his crutch, hoping to pick out a few items he could give as gifts to Sev and the four kids. They had to be practical, highly valuable, and absolutely inconspicuous. Gifts that satisfied all three conditions simultaneously were truly hard to find.

Suddenly, he spotted a filthy, old microchip. This was something he had traded from a stinky old man in the safe zone back in his youth, after spending a Herculean amount of effort hunting down a Second Tier Mutated Gale Wolf. Stored inside was detailed data on common wild Mutated plants and animals below the Third Tier—complete with images and specifics. Most crucially, it recorded the weaknesses and valuable parts of these flora and fauna, making it perfect for a Low Tier Ability user to use while hunting. The item was equipped with an anti-theft self-destruct mechanism and could be copied a total of three times. Back when he had just acquired it, he copied a file into his own watch and another into Lana Florian’s watch. Now, only the final copy remained. He decided to give this to Sev. That should count as a decent gift, right?

Having settled on Sev’s gift, he continued poking around. Before long, he actually managed to fish out a gift perfectly suited for Rusty. It was a wristband device attached to a palm-sized metal box. Inside the box was a small folding space, housing a set of portable universal repair tools. They ranged from heavy-duty equipment like a cutter, welder, electric drill, and soldering iron, to smaller items like a multifunctional electrician’s knife (equipped with various screwdriver heads, flatheads, and Torx bits), wrenches, pliers, and hammers. There were even some simple small parts, such as screws, nuts, and steel nails of various sizes. All in all, it was an essential, all-purpose toolbox for home and travel. Best of all, the metal box came with its own solar charging panel, capable of recharging the power tools.

Rick Kaye treasured this item deeply; normally, he wouldn’t even bear to let his subordinates borrow it. Now, in order to salvage his image as a freeloader, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, bear the pain, and part with it. Rusty already liked tinkering with mechanical things, and now that he had awakened a Gold Ability, this item was perfect for him. If he could reverse-engineer and replicate a set, that would be even better. When the time came, Rick Kaye could shamelessly ask for this original set back.