Chapter 39: Mutated Aphid

After a few seconds, an automated voice announced, "BEEP! Edible plant detected: Mutated Lemon Fruit. Radiation level: 21. Classification: Low radiation.

"This species is critically endangered and extremely rare. Please deliver it to the local Agricultural Research Institute for study immediately."

"Good heavens!" Doctor Jenkins muttered in shock. "This little girl actually managed to accelerate the growth of a low-radiation plant! If those old geezers at the Agricultural Research Institute found out about such monstrous talent, they’d fight tooth and nail over her!"

Nobody in the kitchen heard Doctor Jenkins’s commotion. Sev Steele was busy washing her hands, the faucet letting out a steady SPLASH. Besides, Doctor Jenkins had closed the door the moment he entered the room to keep the kitchen’s stench out, completely isolating the sound.

For once, Doctor Jenkins managed to keep his composure. He stayed in the room quietly until Sev’s voice rang out from outside. "Doctor Jenkins, the egg and milk custard is hot and ready. Come out and eat it while it’s warm!"

"Has that stench in the kitchen cleared up yet?" Doctor Jenkins asked through the door.

"It doesn’t stink anymore. The fragrance covered it all up!" Sev replied.

To quickly dispel the mixture of awful odors he had complained about, she deliberately boiled the remaining half of the crushed lemon fruit in a pot. Without sugar, of course, she couldn’t make delicious lemonade, but it would still taste better than plain boiled water. Once the lemonade came to a boil, the lemon’s uniquely tart and refreshing fragrance instantly permeated the kitchen, completely masking the original strange smell.

Sev was intentionally trying to get on Doctor Jenkins’s good side tonight. After all, she still had a pile of special supplies that she needed his help pricing and selling.

Doctor Jenkins stepped out and wasn’t surprised to see Hayden Hanson still there. Sev was a young woman, after all; it was perfectly normal for a man to want to stick around her. However, Doctor Jenkins completely lacked the self-awareness to realize he was being a third wheel. He walked out of the bedroom, closed the door behind him, and plopped down confidently at the small round table.

Pulling a beautiful porcelain bowl out of his Space Button, he handed it to Sev and instructed her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Keep this at your place for now. I’ll use it whenever I come over for meals. Make sure you wash it clean!"

"Screw you. Do you really think you’re the boss around here?" Sev thought. But she only dared to keep her indignation to herself.

She took the exquisite porcelain bowl, gulping slightly. She really wanted to keep it for herself and make it her own exclusive rice bowl.

Upon taking his first bite of the custard, Doctor Jenkins’s hands trembled with excitement. "You’re an absolute culinary genius! How did you ever think to steam eggs and milk together?

"No, wait, you also added some special fruit juice and saltwater."

"It’s a pity I don’t have any white sugar here. A sweet custard would be even more delicious," Sev said with a calm expression.

"Why didn’t you say so earlier? I have sugar at my place! I’ll definitely bring some next time!" Doctor Jenkins looked ready to kick himself.

That reminded him of his original reason for coming over today—he had meant to bring her some ingredients. He pulled a vacuum-sealed bag out of his Space Button and tossed it to her casually. "Here! The meat quality of this thing is excellent. Let’s see if you can turn it into something super delicious!"

Sev stared at the few plump, white, wriggling worms in the bag. Her hand trembled, and the bag dropped to the floor. She immediately turned her head and began to dry heave.

"What’s with that reaction? This is a Mutated Aphid! It has a radiation level of 31, making it a highly desirable low-radiation item.

"Its meat is tender, thick, and wonderfully chewy, not to mention extremely nutritious.

"It took me a lot of effort to get my hands on this, so don’t be ungrateful!" Doctor Jenkins complained.

"What... exactly is this?" Sev asked after taking a few deep breaths.

"A Mutated Aphid! Well, given your background, I suppose you haven’t even heard of them, let alone seen one!" Doctor Jenkins said.

"An aphid?" When Sev first laid eyes on it, she had thought it was a maggot crawling around a rural dry toilet in the middle of summer.

"Can you find these things in the woods?" Sev asked.

"In your dreams!

"They nearly went extinct after the nuclear winter.

"By pure chance, when the Mercenary Guild was out hunting, they found a few of them in a valley sheltered from the wind on all sides.

"They brought them back and handed them over to the Agricultural Research Institute, who spent a massive amount of effort breeding them.

"Even though this thing has mutated, it’s just as picky a eater as before. It only likes to suck the sap from the tender parts of plants. They’re incredibly difficult to raise!"

After Doctor Jenkins’s explanation, Sev’s initial nausea faded. She actually wasn’t like other girls who were terrified of soft, squishy bugs; she simply couldn’t stomach the thought of toilet maggots. Once she knew this thing lived on tree sap, she accepted it immediately.

Bending down to pick up the vacuum-sealed bag from the floor, she smiled. "My apologies for my ignorance, wronging such an excellent ingredient.

"With this top-tier meat quality, the fat will SIZZLE when it’s grilled over charcoal. Just thinking about the scene makes my mouth water!"

As she spoke, she casually weighed it in her hand. It was easily a full kilogram! It seemed Doctor Jenkins really was quite generous, willing to bring her such rare meat ingredients. Although he was only here for her cooking skills and would definitely eat a portion of it once it was prepared, the kids at her house would at least get a taste of meat.

"Will it be okay for normal people to eat this?" Sev asked just in case.

"Of course. It’s a mutated insect, and since its main diet consists of plant sap, the Energy contained in its meat is relatively mild.

"It’s just like Mutated Milk, mutated eggs, and mutated fish roe from the sea. Ordinary people can eat all of those," Doctor Jenkins replied.

Sev finally understood that the rule against eating Mutant beast meat wasn’t absolute. The original owner of this body and the children had always eaten a vegetarian diet simply because they couldn’t afford these precious ingredients, and the chances of finding such things while scavenging in the wilderness were practically zero.

"How... should I store this?" Sev asked next.

"It’s best to cook them straight away while they’re still alive. If you aren’t going to eat them tonight, you can only preserve them by soaking them in saltwater," Doctor Jenkins said, glancing at the custard in the porcelain bowl before him.

He probably wouldn’t have the stomach space to eat it tonight, so he’d have to wait until tomorrow evening. He hadn’t brought this top-tier ingredient over out of the goodness of his heart. He needed to taste the Mutated Aphids prepared by Sev himself to see if they were even more delicious than the ones he had eaten in the grand restaurants.

Sev naturally caught his underlying meaning. Following his advice, she poured the entire bag of Mutated Aphids into a bowl of diluted saltwater. The plump white bugs wriggled and thrashed in the water, bobbing up and down. They were about the size of a pinky finger, their bodies an almost translucent pearly white, and their three pairs of legs kicked frantically.

Sev didn’t feel the slightest bit of pity. As humans at the top of the food chain, they could forage locally and eat any edible ingredient, no matter the adversity. Furthermore, this thing was supposedly rich in protein and fat, making it perfect for supplementing the children’s nutrition.