Chapter 45: Striking First

Although Sev Steele had followed her grandfather into the mountains to hunt since she was a child, aside from her decisiveness during a hunt, she was actually quite gentle in her daily life. At this moment, realizing she was faintly developing sociopathic tendencies, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of panic.

In her past life on Azure, the wealth gap had also been massive, but the vast majority of ordinary people could still eat their fill, dress warmly, and send their children to school. Therefore, she had never resented the rich. On the contrary, she believed that if people could make a fortune, it was either because they were smart and hardworking, or because they inherited good luck from their ancestors. In short, while she envied their wealth, she felt absolutely no jealousy or hatred, much less any urge to rob the rich to feed the poor.

But here, she had witnessed with her own eyes the four children in her home growing sallow and emaciated from a lack of nutrition. Meanwhile, in this small supermarket in The Gilded Ward, the price of the cheapest outfit could buy two thousand Nutrition Blocks—enough to keep her children well-fed for an entire winter. While the people in The Slums faced starvation and the freezing cold, those in The Gilded Ward could casually buy an outfit worth enough food to sustain a slum family through the winter. Were the lives of the poor really so worthless? She finally seemed to understand why those four little ones at home would grow up to become major villains who slaughtered without batting an eye.

As emotions churned in Sev’s heart, she caught a glimpse of a tag on a set of children’s clothing out of the corner of her eye: ’Thermostatic Children’s Sportswear (Adjustable Temperature Range: -32°C to 32°C).’

She immediately froze on the spot. The original owner of her body had never worn clothes bought from a supermarket in The Gilded Ward, nor had she ever heard of such temperature-regulating special materials while growing up in the underground air-raid shelters. If it really could automatically adjust its temperature when worn, then this price didn’t seem too outrageous after all. She felt a twinge of guilt over her earlier self-righteous indignation.

Feeling slightly sheepish, Sev felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to hear Rusty say nervously, "Mom, that saleslady is walking toward us. Is she going to kick us out?"

Sev followed his gaze and saw a young woman in the store’s uniform swaying her hips as she approached. She was tall and had a good figure. Though her face wasn’t breathtakingly beautiful, she was still quite pretty. Unfortunately, this pretty face was currently as dark as ink, wearing an expression that looked like someone had just dug up her ancestors’ graves. One glance was enough for Sev to understand exactly what she intended to do with such an aggressive approach.

"Miss, please take this set of children’s clothes out for my son to try on. If it looks good on him, wrap it up for me first. I’ll settle the bill for everything together when I leave." Sev’s voice wasn’t loud, but her enunciation was clear and firm. She planned to seize the initiative, denying the saleslady any chance to lash out at them.

As expected, the saleswoman froze. Chasing Scavengers out of the supermarket was tacitly approved by the manager, but it wasn’t something that could be explicitly ordered. After all, driving away customers wouldn’t sound good if word got out. However, supermarkets in The Gilded Ward all had an unspoken rule: if a clerk chased away a Scavenger, the boss would never criticize their customer service. So, the moment she saw these Scavengers walk in, her first instinct was to kick them out to prevent other customers from feeling disgusted and ruining their shopping experience. But this Scavenger clearly intended to make a real purchase—and more than just one outfit at that. Remembering that she would earn a two percent commission on any goods sold from her counter, the saleswoman swallowed the harsh words that had already reached the tip of her tongue.

She quickly adjusted her expression, squeezing out a professional smile, and bowed to Sev and her son in greeting.

"Hello, Madam! Hello, Young Master! I am Bubbles, a sales associate for Area C, at your service!

"Madam, you are incredibly lucky today. You’ve arrived right as our supermarket is hosting a promotion.

"The children’s clothing section is currently buy two, get one free. If you pick out another piece for the young master from our other styles, you’ll be able to enjoy a third one absolutely free."

For the first time in his life, Rusty was called "Young Master." He couldn’t quite process it, convinced that he must be hallucinating from being too nervous.

Sev, on the other hand, secretly admired the saleswoman. Although she was just as snobbish as the rest, her ability to read the room and adapt was truly exceptional. Sev knew she could never switch faces so quickly and seamlessly herself. Her goal today was to shop, so she naturally had no intention of picking fights or causing unnecessary complications. Since the woman had extended an olive branch, she casually accepted it.

"Alright! Then please show me which clothes are participating in this promotion," Sev said with an easy smile.

Bubbles felt that although this woman dressed like a Scavenger, her poised and unyielding demeanor rivaled that of the wealthy ladies in The Gilded Ward. She wondered if the woman might be a fallen heiress. Fortunes change, and no flower blooms forever. She might be down on her luck today, but no one could say for sure that she wouldn’t make a comeback in the future. Even though she had been reduced to a Scavenger, she could still afford children’s clothes that cost over ten thousand points apiece. Clearly, she was worlds apart from ordinary Scavengers. Getting acquainted with someone like this during their lowest point might just bring Bubbles some benefits in the future. At this thought, her smile grew even more genuine.

"Madam, the colors of these models over here might not look as vibrant, but they are very practical.

"The thermal insulation material they use is all D Level, yet the price is only about seventy percent of the trendy styles made with the same material over there.

"Factor in the buy two, get one free promotion, and each outfit ends up costing only a third of the trendy ones. It’s a fantastic bargain.

"This promotion just started today. My neighbor bought two sets just half an hour ago."

Bubbles’s voice was sweet and gentle, and she had quite a way with words. Sev was immediately tempted.

Although Rusty couldn’t read the price tags on the clothes, he knew the items here were all outrageously expensive. Seeing his adoptive mother’s interest piqued, he reached out and tugged at her sleeve. "Mom, we don’t need new clothes. Just buy an outfit for yourself."

Rusty figured that if his mother wanted to visit this supermarket again in the future, having a presentable outfit would prevent the salesladies from looking down on her.

Hearing the boy’s words, Sev felt a warmth spread through her chest. The little guy was currently wearing a tattered pair of canvas overalls scavenged from a junkyard, sporting two holes at the knees and a noticeable tear at the hem. On top, he wore an old jacket made of an unidentifiable material with the elbows completely worn through. Since it was autumn, he could still make do, but once winter arrived, he would likely be left shivering from the cold.

The other three children were no better off; none of them had decent winter clothing. Did that mean when winter came, the four little ones would just have to huddle together in bed under a worn-out space blanket to keep warm? Yet even facing that reality, the boy still resisted the temptation of new clothes, only thinking of getting a respectable outfit for her—his supposedly wicked adoptive mother.