Chapter 24 - 23: Reasonable Excuse

Skinny’s nickname was "Jadewind," which Sev only noticed when they exchanged contact numbers.

The nickname almost made her split her sides laughing!

This guy was way too full of himself!

However, since they were trading through the autonomous trading platform, it was naturally impossible to reveal their real names.

When she sold the dried wild yams the day before yesterday, she had given herself a temporary nickname—Sev Steele.

Her current identity was Seventeen, and she was afraid that if she went too long without using her real name, she would forget where she came from.

Although she was ordering a month’s supply of milk at once, the platform’s payment method only deducted one-third of the total upfront.

Moreover, this money would be temporarily held by the platform. Ten days later, the platform’s customer service would conduct a follow-up to confirm that the buyer had indeed received the goods and that the quality was satisfactory before transferring the funds to the seller’s account.

This was largely similar to the online shopping platforms on Azure, which gave buyers a lot of peace of mind.

Sev glanced at her account statement:

Initial deposit: 3,774 points.

Day before yesterday’s transaction list—

Purchased 30 vacuum bags: -15 points.

First rental of autonomous trading stall: -10 points.

Sold 10 pounds of wild yam strips: +1,990 points.

Tip reward: +1,288 points.

Balance the day before yesterday: 7,027 points.

Yesterday’s transaction list: +370,000 points.

Yesterday’s balance: 377,027 points.

Today’s transaction list—

Ordered milk, total 20,000 points. First installment (one-third): -6,667 points.

Rented trading stall: -10 points.

Today’s balance: 370,350 points.

Seeing her account balance suddenly drop by over six thousand points made Sev feel the pinch even more than when she spent 100,000 points forging daggers yesterday.

Yesterday’s expense had been a strict necessity. Just like an Azurean buying a phone or renting an apartment, no matter how much it hurt her wallet, it had to be spent.

But today’s expense was for milk. Although it was something she should spend on, no one would die from not drinking milk, so spending the money definitely stung.

Sev walked out of the trading hall, giving herself a pep talk along the way. "Money is just meant to be spent and earned back. What’s there to ache over?"

By the time she reached her front door, the sting had already faded.

Her little cubs would be able to drink milk soon. The thought of raising those skin-and-bones kids into chubby and healthy children filled her with a profound sense of accomplishment.

Skinny arrived very quickly; he showed up right on her heels.

After the doorbell rang and Sev remotely authorized entry, Skinny took out a service card and swiped it over the scanner.

The door opened. Once inside, Skinny swiftly installed a metal box onto the inner wall of the courtyard gate in just a few quick moves.

The metal box was embedded into the door, featuring a circular opening just the right size to fit a bottle of milk.

Skinny explained eagerly, "Miss Steele, from now on, I will deliver the milk on time every morning through this opening into the box.

"You can easily take the milk bottles out from the inside. Once you’re done drinking, just put the empty bottles back into the box.

"I’ll come by at ten every night, swipe this service card to unlock this yellow button, and then press it to retrieve the empties."

Listening to his explanation, Sev found the setup incredibly convenient.

It seemed that as long as one earned enough money, even in this wasteland, they could enjoy a very comfortable and convenient life.

"Mr. Jadewind, I only have one requirement: keep my personal information confidential.

"If any outsider finds out that I’m ordering your milk long-term, you won’t just lose me as a customer—you’ll also face a formal complaint from me!" Sev stared at him with sharp eyes.

This was the wasteland, and milk was a highly luxurious food item. Once her information as a buyer was leaked, it would undoubtedly attract unnecessary trouble.

"Please rest assured, Miss Steele. Protecting customer privacy is the primary rule that the trading platform adheres to.

"I’ve been doing this for years, and my reputation is absolutely guaranteed!" Skinny naturally nodded repeatedly.

Inwardly, he was astounded. "This is the first time I’ve ever delivered milk to The Slums, and to a major client dropping twenty thousand points at once, no less!"

In truth, many of those living in The Gilded Ward only looked glamorous on the surface. Their priorities were clothing, appearance, weapons, and equipment.

As for high-luxury foods like milk, only a tiny minority of truly wealthy individuals were willing to shell out for long-term subscriptions.

Most of the time, the buyers were mercenaries who frequently braved the wilderness to hunt Mutant Beasts. On their occasional trips home, they might buy a single bottle as a gift for their children.

Skinny couldn’t understand it at all. Even if an ordinary person living in The Slums had struck it rich, they shouldn’t be spending so much money on a non-essential item like milk!

Since he couldn’t figure it out, he stopped trying. As long as he could sell his milk, that was all that mattered.

After Skinny left, the four little ones stared at their adoptive mother in utter shock.

She was holding three heavy plastic bottles filled with a white liquid they had never seen before.

They had just heard that skinny little man say this stuff was called milk.

They had never seen milk, let alone tasted it, and had no idea what it tasted like.

Last night, Mr. Jenkins had said that Silvy needed to drink milk, so their adoptive mother had specifically gone to the trading hall today to buy some.

But Silvy was so tiny. Could he really finish that much milk?

"What are you standing around for like statues? Hurry up and start a fire. I need to boil the milk!" Sev barked fiercely.

The four little ones scurried to the kitchen. Lighting the fire, adding firewood, and boiling water, they buzzed around happily.

Perhaps because their adoptive mother had earned a lot of money over the last two days, she hadn’t even locked the water faucet when she went out.

The children thought that boiling milk was just like making mushroom soup, requiring boiling water first.

However, once the water boiled, Sev poured it into a clean wooden basin. Then, she twisted the caps off the three milk bottles and poured them into the pot, one by one.

A rich, milky aroma instantly filled the kitchen. Rose was the first to sniff the air.

"This smells a bit like biscuits. It smells so good!" The little girl wore an intoxicated expression.

"Our Rose is so smart. Those biscuits have milk in them, which is why they smell like this," Sev praised casually.

Right after saying it, she suddenly realized her persona as a wicked adoptive mother was crumbling!

To distract the children and keep them from noticing her slipping character, Sev hurriedly added, "I had good luck today and happened to catch Mr. Forrester’s milk on sale, so I ordered a lot at once.

"Silvy can’t finish it all, so we’ll all drink it together."

"Mom, this milk must be really expensive, right?" Rusty asked hesitantly.

"It’s definitely more expensive than tap water, but I heard that drinking this can increase the chances of an Ability awakening.

"I’m just an ordinary person, and it’s too taxing to raise you four brats. If even one of you can awaken an Ability, our whole family won’t have to worry about food or drink ever again."

As Sev said this, a flash of Spiritual Light struck her mind. Wasn’t this the perfect excuse for being willing to spend a fortune on milk for them?