Chapter 4: Fooling the Illiterate Little Brat

"Stay calm! Stay calm! I need to keep up my persona so I don’t give myself away!"

On the way back, Sev Steele kept mentally preparing herself. Her current identity was a vicious adoptive mother. If she changed too drastically all at once, it would inevitably arouse suspicion from those around her. So, she kept a straight face as much as possible during the journey, suppressing the sympathy and pity in her heart. To avoid scolding the child, she pretended to be utterly exhausted and remained silent.

Following behind Rusty for about ten minutes, they finally arrived at the small courtyard where they lived. The lot covered 100 square meters. The front yard, an empty space of about 50 square meters directly in front of the house, was completely open and unobstructed. The main building sat at the northernmost end of the courtyard, its back wall shared with the neighbor’s property.

The interior layout was very simple. The kitchen, which also served as the living room, was located on the left side—the west side—of the house and took up the most space. A cramped bathroom sat right next to its east side. The master and secondary bedrooms were behind the kitchen and bathroom, connected by a central corridor.

Although the slum dwellers in the safe zone were extremely poor, their courtyard walls were all over two meters high and made of a special alloy—a necessary defense against Mutant Rat swarms. That way, when Mutant Rats attacked, they couldn’t break through the walls or doors and were forced to tunnel underground instead. However, popping out of a tunnel meant dealing with cramped spaces and restricted movement, making it impossible for them to swarm and overwhelm a target all at once. The people hiding inside the courtyard could just wait patiently and treat it like a game of whack-a-mole, directly smashing the Mutant Rats’ heads the moment they popped out.

These walls were uniformly built by the government, with designated personnel responsible for regular maintenance to ensure they remained sturdy. Of course, there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Every household had to pay a monthly usage and maintenance fee of 100 Contribution Points for their alloy walls.

The courtyard gate featured an iris recognition system that only allowed one person to pass at a time. Anyone trying to tailgate their way in would be hit with an electric shock. This was designed to prevent someone from tailing a homeowner and committing a home invasion.

Sev couldn’t help but marvel, "The advanced technology of this wasteland combined with its extreme material scarcity truly form two completely opposite extremes."

When the nuclear war broke out back then, ninety percent of humanity had perished. After ten years of nuclear winter, followed by fifteen years of ubiquitous, excessively high radiation upon returning to the surface, more than half of the remaining survivors died off. Today’s survivors amounted to a mere one-thirtieth of the pre-apocalyptic population.

With plenty of land and few people, even an orphan like the original owner of this body had been able to apply for such a large courtyard upon coming of age. However, while the courtyard was big, the house only took up 50 square meters, leaving the other half as empty space. After all, building a house required more manpower and resources, and there was no need for public housing to be that luxurious. Naturally, the government left such a large open space to make it convenient for the poor to dry and preserve their winter food supplies.

Sev and her newly acquired eldest son entered the courtyard one after the other. Hearing the commotion, the three little ones hurried out.

The second child, Firestone, brought over a dilapidated bamboo recliner. The third, Zephyr, held a cup of warm water. The fourth, Rose, said with a fawning expression, "You’ve worked hard, Mom!"

Having done all this, the three little ones stood before her, trembling with their heads bowed, ready to endure their adoptive mother’s beatings and scoldings. This was the usual routine, and they only hoped that their adoptive mother would use her mouth more and her hands less. After all, being yelled at didn’t physically hurt; it was much better than being beaten.

Sev drank the water while frowning and casting sidelong glances at the three little ones. This was the original owner’s habitual posture. Since Sev certainly wasn’t going to hit the children, she could only use her eyes to express her feigned disgust for them.

"Sigh! What a sin!" she thought.

After getting a clear look at the three children’s faces, Sev felt that the original owner’s luck must have been off the charts when adopting them! The children were incredibly good-looking, each one more attractive than the last.

The second child, Firestone, looked robust and energetic, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. He was naturally broad-shouldered and big-boned, so even with a lack of food and clothing, he didn’t appear overly frail.

The third child, Zephyr, was the prettiest of the three boys. He had charming peach-blossom eyes and a fine, straight nose. Even with his thin, pale cheeks, it was hard to hide his elegant and refined demeanor.

"Sigh! Who knows how many girls he’ll captivate when he grows up!" Sev marveled internally, her gaze finally landing on the youngest.

Little Rose had a pair of clear blue eyes like the ocean, paired with naturally curly black hair, making her look exactly like an East-meets-West porcelain doll. It was just a pity that she was malnourished. Her small face was thin, and her skin looked rather pale. But as long as she was properly fed for a while, she would definitely become a super little beauty!

Sev couldn’t hold back her internal screaming. "Ahhh! I’ve only seen such a beautiful little cutie in movies before, but now there’s a real one right in front of me! And I can cuddle her as much as I want. This is pure bliss!"