Chapter 43: Unexpected Disaster

Sev’s critical gaze once again caught the attention of the shop owner, Goldie. He looked at her with a smile and asked, "Ma’am, are you also interested in wicker weaving?"

As a barbershop owner, having excellent skills wasn’t enough; he also needed a knack for diplomacy. When there were many customers, he had to try his best to look after everyone, especially those waiting, so they wouldn’t feel neglected.

"I know a little. If I were the one weaving it, it would definitely be better than this," Sev replied without an ounce of modesty.

"That’s great! I wonder if I might have the honor of asking you to weave a few cushions for me? The price is negotiable," Goldie said while removing a hair-steaming cap from a male customer.

"Of course, but you’ll have to provide the materials. As for the price, there’s no rush. We can discuss it after you’ve seen the finished product," Sev said.

She felt that the original owner of her body making the four children twist ropes every day was exhausting work that barely earned them a few points. If she could take on the job of weaving wicker cushions, she could teach the children the craft, ensuring their labor was fairly rewarded. After all, this was the wasteland. She couldn’t shelter them the way Azure Steele had treated her children, or they would never survive in this cruel environment in the future.

Hearing this, Goldie knew her skills had to be decent. He immediately nodded. "Alright. We’ll discuss it after I finish cutting your child’s hair."

The female customer with a head full of curlers finally couldn’t help but lean over and interject. "Goldie, don’t be fooled by a lowly Scavenger. One look at her rough hands and you know she’ll just waste your materials for nothing!"

Sev cast a sidelong glance at her, only then taking in her appearance. The woman was around twenty-five years old with a very hot figure. Her facial features were plain, covered in heavy makeup that was clearly made of cheap, inferior cosmetics. One look was enough to tell she wasn’t a true wealthy heiress. She wore a tight, golden-brown leather dress with an extremely low neckline. As she leaned in close to Goldie, her chest practically spilled out.

Yet Goldie seemed completely oblivious to this, his hands continuing to unhurriedly style the male customer’s hair.

Sev couldn’t help but admire Goldie’s steadfastness. Against such temptation, any man who couldn’t control his lower half would have gone weak in the knees long ago.

Seeing Goldie press his lips together without the slightest intention of replying, the female customer felt a flash of humiliation. However, clearly not daring to lash out at him, she redirected her anger at Sev.

"Hey! How does a lowly Scavenger like you have the nerve to step foot in Goldie’s shop? Hurry up and get the hell out of here with your little bastard!" she spat, marching over to the bench and pointing a finger at Sev.

Before leaving the house today, Sev had boasted to her son that she was going to use her money to slap the faces of snobby saleswomen. She hadn’t expected to run into a piece of work like this before even stepping into a supermarket in The Gilded Ward. Could she tolerate this?

Sev stood up with a SWISH and unceremoniously delivered a vicious slap to the female customer’s face, right over her cheap makeup.

SLAP!

The crisp sound rang out in the shop. Goldie’s eyes widened, and the male customer was equally dumbfounded.

Neither of them had expected that Sev, a Scavenger from The Slums, would dare to strike a woman from The Gilded Ward. Even though they both knew exactly what kind of shady business the woman was involved in over there, anyone who could survive in The Gilded Ward had to have some tricks up her sleeve. The Scavenger before them would likely suffer if she earned this woman’s grudge. Both men couldn’t help but silently light a candle for Sev in their hearts.

Goldie was already considering whether he should stand up for Sev and shield her from this unprovoked disaster. But he wanted to observe a little longer; after all, this was his first time meeting Sev, and they had absolutely no prior relationship.

After freezing in shock for a few seconds, the female customer let out an earth-shattering shriek. "Lowlife! You filthy lowlife, how dare you strike a resident of The Gilded Ward! You’re dead!"

"Oh? Since when did the Ninth Security Zone have a law like that?" Sev asked coolly.

Beside her, Rusty was already trembling in fear. Since he was little, his parents had constantly drilled one rule into his head: never antagonize the people from The Gilded Ward! They had power, influence, and money. Crushing a Scavenger from The Slums was as easy as squashing a bug. He had only just begun to accept this adoptive mother in his heart, and now she had stirred up such massive trouble.

Rusty wondered if he kneeled down right now and kowtowed to this female customer—smashing his head until it broke and bled profusely—whether she would let his adoptive mother off the hook.

"Lowlife! I’ll kill you!" Seeing that Sev wasn’t the least bit intimidated, the female customer lunged straight at her, reaching out to strangle her neck.

Sev easily sidestepped the attack. The woman, her face twisted in a vicious snarl, crashed right into the bench. The already loose wicker cushion completely fell apart under the heavy impact of her body. She fared even worse; her face smashed against the wooden backrest of the bench, instantly bruising her left cheekbone.

"AAAGH!" the female customer shrieked, scrambling up from the bench. She extended her long fingernails, aiming to claw at Sev’s face.

In truth, the woman had harbored a grudge from the moment Sev walked through the door. Despite wearing the rough canvas clothes typical of a Scavenger, Sev possessed a bright, captivating face. She wore no makeup at all, yet she had easily earned the shop owner’s admiration. That was the real reason she had actively picked a fight.

Seeing that the woman wanted to scratch up his adoptive mother’s face, Rusty instinctively stuck out his short little leg and tripped her.

The female customer instantly lost her balance and pitched forward toward Sev. When Sev sidestepped once more, the woman plummeted straight toward the floor.

Watching from the sidelines, Rusty was both thrilled and terrified. He had been in plenty of fights with the other kids in The Slums, but this was his first time fighting an adult. Moreover, the opponent was a woman from The Gilded Ward. In truth, he was terrified she would discover his little scheme.

Fortunately, the female customer hadn’t noticed his presence, assuming she had simply lost her footing. However, she chalked this offense up to Sev as well. If the Scavenger hadn’t dodged, she would have landed on her at worst, using her body as a human cushion to break the fall. Instead, she had caused her to crash into the floor. Thankfully, she had reacted quickly enough to catch herself with her hands, or her face would have been ruined.

Sprawled on the floor, the female customer raised her hands, only to see that her palms were scraped and two of her long fingernails had snapped off. She was both a miserable mess and in agonizing pain. Finally unable to hold it in, she opened her mouth wide and burst into loud, wailing tears.

Goldie was helpless in the face of this. After all, it had happened in his shop. As the owner, he couldn’t exactly pretend he hadn’t seen it.

The male customer was actually rather impressed with Sev by this point, but he couldn’t be bothered to meddle in other people’s business. He simply scanned the 3D code in the shop, paid his eighty points, and turned to leave.

Goldie had no choice but to walk over and pull the female customer up, trying to coax her. "Miss Crowe, stop crying. You’ll ruin your makeup."

Miss Crowe was extremely vain. Hearing that her makeup was ruined, she completely forgot about causing any more trouble. She instantly stopped crying, pulled out her compact, and hurried over to a mirror to touch up her face.

Sev was genuinely in awe of the woman now. After everything that had just happened, she still had the presence of mind to reapply her makeup!

Having absolutely no desire to waste any more time here, she turned to Goldie. "Boss, I have things to do, so I’ll be leaving now."