Chapter 51: Pork Belly, Pork Belly, Pork Belly!

(Following the editor’s notice, this story will become a VIP novel tomorrow. The scheduled VIP launch is at 10:00 AM on January 18th, with a three-Chapter mass release!

Since you are all veteran readers, I won’t write a lengthy launch speech. The author is shamelessly asking for your first subscriptions here.

Dear friends, if you have money, please support with money; if you don’t, please support with your presence. Cast your votes, leave good reviews, and the author thanks you in advance!)

Under Doctor Jenkins’s mockery and the children’s earnest persuasion, Sev Steele finally picked up a fat, golden-brown roasted Mutated Aphid with her chopsticks.

Closing her eyes, she continuously braced herself, chanting in her mind, "Roasted pork belly, pork belly, pork belly. Important things must be said three times!"

Then, with a solemn and tragic expression, she popped the fat aphid into her mouth and took a vicious first bite.

CRUNCH.

A very slight, crisp sound erupted between her teeth as the charred skin broke apart.

Immediately after, scalding hot grease burst in her mouth. Accompanied by a rich, meaty aroma, it was like a flavor bomb that blew Sev Steele’s mind completely blank!

This taste... it actually tasted exactly like pork belly, and not just any pork belly, but premium pork belly from a free-range farm pig! It was her favorite kind—the perfect ratio of fat and lean meat that melted wonderfully in her mouth!

Back on Azure, she had been different from other young women her age. She never actively dieted to lose weight, nor did she avoid fatty meat out of fear of getting fat. Compared to scrawny ribs, she preferred the fatty yet lean pork belly!

Sev Steele couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. "How is this a bug? This is clearly a supreme delicacy from the wilderness!"

Doctor Jenkins rolled his eyes at her. "Hmph! Ignorant woman. Now you know how delicious the ingredients I gave you are, right?"

"Hehe! What can I say? I’m an orphan who grew up in the Slums, so of course my horizons are narrow." Sev Steele chuckled sheepishly and hurriedly took out a small bowl of leftover cheese from the cupboard. "Try my homemade cheese. It’ll definitely add a unique flavor when paired with the roast meat. I saved this especially for you. I couldn’t even bear to eat much of it myself."

Doctor Jenkins had eaten cheese before, but it was always the kind that rivaled rocks in hardness and carried a sour, stinky odor. This was his first time seeing fresh cheese. However, he had a very sharp nose; just one whiff and he knew it was a dairy product.

"You call this... cheese?" he asked, a bit skeptical.

"Of course. It’s fresh cheese, and it tastes really good," Sev Steele said.

The last two times Doctor Jenkins had freeloaded meals at her house, he had tasted unprecedented delicacies. For today’s roasted aphids, she had seasoned them with lemon juice and roasted them to perfection, making them taste significantly better than if anyone else had cooked them. Therefore, he didn’t doubt Sev Steele’s culinary skills at all.

He scooped up a spoonful of the fresh cheese and put it in his mouth. Its texture was as delicate as coagulated fat, melting instantly on the tongue with a faint scent of lemon and a rich, milky aroma.

"Mhm, it really is far better than that hard cheese!" Doctor Jenkins praised. "I like it made this way. Make a larger batch next time. I’ll store it in my Space Button and eat it slowly," he added bluntly.

Off to the side, Rusty quietly rolled his eyes. This man really was miles worse than Mr. Hanson! Eating their food and demanding to take more home—he had zero self-awareness!

"No problem!" Sev Steele agreed readily.

Through these recent interactions, she had finally figured him out. Although he spoke rather bluntly, he wasn’t the type to take advantage of others for nothing. For instance, the first time he came over for a free meal, he brought a pack of biscuits. The second time he came to freeload, he not only brought her so many Mutated Aphids, but also worked overtime to help her and Hayden Hanson with their evaluation and settlement.

Given his status, he certainly wouldn’t care about their meager appraisal fees. He was purely returning a favor, unwilling to eat and take things for free. The price of these aphids was undoubtedly very expensive—likely the kind of delicacy that was priceless and unavailable on the market. Yet, he had given her such precious ingredients without batting an eye.

Since Sev Steele was an orphan, she would doubly repay any kindness shown to her. That was why she had thought of saving some delicious food for Doctor Jenkins.

The Energy contained in the Mutated Aphids was denser and stronger than that in mutant milk, but much milder compared to typical Mutant beast meat. After Sev Steele and the three boys had eaten two each, they began to feel a dizzy, drunken sensation.

Frightened, she quickly said, "Stop, everyone! No more eating!"

Firestone was a fast eater, and he had already shoved his third aphid into his mouth and bitten off half of it. He figured that since he had already eaten half, he might as well finish it. Fortunately, he had a relatively high tolerance for Energy. His cheeks only turned slightly pink, and he didn’t feel dizzy at all.

Rose had already eaten two aphids by now. Aside from feeling a warm sensation throughout her body, she had no other reactions.

Doctor Jenkins spoke up. "The little girl can eat more."

Sev Steele was startled. She wondered, "Has this guy already noticed that Rose awakened an Ability?"

Seeing her expression, Doctor Jenkins shot her a disdainful glance. "Tch. Did you think I was as stupid as you?"

As he spoke, he casually retrieved two clear, emerald-green Crystal Cores from his Space Button. One was larger, and the other was slightly smaller.

Looking at these two Crystal Cores, Sev Steele wondered, "Why do they look a bit familiar?"

"That’s right, I kept them on purpose. These things will be useful for the little girl. They might even save her life at a critical moment," Doctor Jenkins said, his expression turning serious.

"Then I’ll refund you the money," Sev Steele said. She tapped open her watch, intending to transfer the funds to him. Although it pained her greatly, since he said it could save Rose’s life, she had to return the money no matter how much it hurt.

"Refund what? Just treat it as my congratulatory gift to the little girl! Back in the day, whenever a familiar family had a child awaken an Ability, the elders would always send gifts to celebrate," Doctor Jenkins explained with rare patience.

Sev Steele recalled the prices he had set for these two Crystal Cores last night. The First Tier one was eighty thousand points, and the Second Tier one was two hundred thousand points, making a total of 280,000 points. She owed him a massive favor now!

She was just pondering how to persuade him to accept the 280,000 points when she heard Silvy’s sharp SQUEAK SQUEAK coming from the room.

Upon hearing this sound, Doctor Jenkins’s expression drastically changed. He made a hand gesture to everyone. "Shh! Be quiet!"

Then, he closed his eyes, and a colorless, transparent ring of light emanated from his body. The light ring rippled outward layer by layer, just like the ripples spreading in concentric circles when a stone is tossed into a calm body of water. However, the light rings radiating from his body expanded at an incredibly fast speed and covered an extremely wide area.

About a dozen seconds later, the light rings vanished. Doctor Jenkins suddenly opened his eyes, his expression grave as he announced, "There’s a Mutant Rat tide approaching! It’s only a little over two hundred meters away from the safe zone gates!"

As he spoke, he tapped his bracelet, directly bringing up an encrypted page for official higher-ups, and pressed the "Level Two Mutant Beast Tide Alarm."

In an instant, sharp, piercing alarm sirens blared throughout the entire safe zone!

Sev Steele never expected Doctor Jenkins to be such an impulsive person. Was he really that confident in his own judgment? If he misjudged the situation, wouldn’t it cause a massive false alarm? But she quickly realized that since Doctor Jenkins could open this kind of special alarm page, he clearly possessed an authority far beyond her imagination!

"Why are you still spacing out? Hurry up and bring the brats inside!" Doctor Jenkins roared loudly upon seeing her in a daze.