Chapter 58 - 57: Rose Helps Everyone Replenish Energy

Hayden Hanson noticed that there were no more mutant rats reinforcing the attack on the front wall of the kitchen. He turned to Zephyr, who had been helping all along, and said, "I’ll leave this to you. I’m going to the back to help out."

"Got it! Don’t worry, Mr. Hanson, I promise to guard this spot!" Zephyr shouted.

The little boy was so hyped up that his stomach was even starting to rumble. Thankfully, he had eaten a roasted ant egg and two roasted aphids tonight. If he had only had a bowl of wild vegetable soup like before, his legs would have probably given out from hunger by now.

With Seth Jennings and Sev Steele holding the line at the second bedroom’s back wall, Hayden decided to check on the master bedroom’s back wall. Those were the only two walls in the entire house shared with the neighbors, making them the most vulnerable points right now.

He arrived just in time. A hole had just been breached through the master bedroom’s wall.

As Hayden thrust his blade into the opening, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. If this rat tide didn’t retreat, just how much longer could they hold out?

Area D was inhabited by impoverished scavengers with low combat power, so its defenses were naturally the worst. He had originally chosen Area D just to have some peace and quiet while waiting to die. Right now, however, he was incredibly glad that he had decisively dragged Seth along to Seven Steele House the moment the alarms blared. Otherwise, with just the two of them, it would have been nearly impossible to defend his own yard.

Now, with Seth’s help and the toxic spray Sev had whipped up, they were barely managing to hold the line by working together. As for the other households, he didn’t even need to think about it; most of them had likely been entirely wiped out.

But he had no time for sorrow—his stamina was already starting to wane. Though he and Sev had engaged in two battles earlier at Virenswood, both had been quick and decisive.

Tonight was entirely different. The mutant rats were launching relentless, unending waves of attacks. He had been swinging his blade non-stop, losing count of how many he had killed. But it had to be at least fifty or sixty. If it weren’t for his unwavering resolve to protect the children, he probably would have collapsed a long time ago.

Meanwhile, Rose was buzzing with excitement. Her Curly was actually defending an entire wall by itself!

She had given it lots and lots of green light, which allowed it to grow so fast—half the credit belonged to her! The little girl desperately wanted to share her joy with someone, but everyone was busy.

In the kitchen, her third brother was yawning while keeping a close eye on the hole in the front wall.

In the master bedroom, her second brother was guarding the side wall, occasionally giving the breach a quick spray.

Mom and Ms. Jennings were defending four or five holes in the second bedroom’s back wall, continuously slaughtering mutant rats. Her oldest brother was also in the second bedroom, guarding its side wall.

Over in the master bedroom, Mr. Hanson slashed his blade again and again, killing the giant rats pouring through the back wall. Rose noticed that he looked exhausted, his face awfully pale. She didn’t know how to help him.

Mr. Hanson was tall and strong. She couldn’t even lift the blade in his hands, let alone help him chop up the bad rats.

Then, she remembered how Curly had surged in growth after absorbing her green light. A flash of spiritual light sparked in her little head! If she transferred some of the green light from her body to Mr. Hanson, would he perk up a bit too?

Children rarely overthink things; once the idea formed, she acted on it.

Hayden was seeing stars, running purely on fumes as he mechanically swung his blade at the breach. His vision blurred to the point where he wouldn’t have even been able to tell if there were living creatures in the hole had it not been for the glowing red eyes of the mutant rats.

Suddenly, he felt a warm current flow into his back.

It was like a silent, trickling stream. Wherever it passed, every cell in his body reacted like parched earth receiving long-awaited rain, infused with profound vitality.

The sensation was all too familiar. He had felt this exact feeling once before, when he was gravely injured, hovering near death, and had been taken to a healing ability user for treatment.

Only, that experience paled in comparison to this one. He couldn’t quite articulate it, but it felt as if the physical decay caused by his genetic breakdown was actually being alleviated.

Tears pricked at Hayden’s eyes. He whipped his head around and saw green light flowing from the little girl’s fingertips directly into his body. For a split second, he was so tense he forgot to breathe, terrified that this was merely a hallucination brought on by his dizziness.

But he quickly snapped out of it. They were in the middle of a life-and-death battle—hallucination or not, he had to hold the line! He decisively turned back and continued swinging his blade.

A few minutes later, he was one hundred percent certain that his stamina had genuinely been replenished and his deteriorating body was being repaired. Though the mending was minuscule, the relief was remarkably pronounced for someone constantly suffering the agony of genetic breakdown. It was like a drowning man finally breaching the surface to take a lungful of fresh air.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Hayden’s spirits soared. He swung his blade so fast it became a blur.

Seeing that Mr. Hanson was visibly reenergized, Rose felt she couldn’t play favorites. Moving her little legs, she ran, PATTER PATTER, to find her mom and Ms. Jennings.

Seth and Sev were currently dealing with six breaches, each responsible for guarding three. Seth had already overdrawn her abilities earlier to harden the floors and walls, and her physical strength was noticeably failing now.

Sev wasn’t faring much better. This body belonged to an ordinary person who had struggled to survive as an orphan since childhood; its physique was far from robust. Her arms felt as heavy as boulders; lifting them even once required every ounce of her strength.

Rose ran up behind them and pointed one hand at each of their backs. Green light poured out endlessly, sinking into both of their bodies.

Feeling the sudden changes in their bodies, Sev and Seth turned around in unison, only to see the little girl looking terribly pale and swaying pitifully on her feet. Her hands were still continuously channeling green light into them.

"Stop, right now!" Seth shouted immediately. "Overdrawing your abilities will damage your foundation!"

As an ability user, she could tell at a glance that the little girl was transferring her own energy to replenish their stamina.

It was true that a small minority of wood ability users possessed healing abilities, but Rose was only a four-year-old child—just how was she doing this? However, this was clearly not the time to investigate. She was only terrified that the little girl didn’t understand the severity of the situation and would end up hurting herself.

Hearing Seth’s warning, Sev snapped to her senses. She hurriedly pulled out the two wood element crystal cores that Doctor Jenkins had pressed into her hands before the beast tide arrived.

When the alarms had blared, she had casually stuffed the crystal cores into her inner pocket. Now, she brought them out and pressed them right into Rose’s hands.

"Go sit by the wooden crate and try to absorb the energy from these two crystal cores!" she said with a stern expression.

"Don’t rush it," Seth quickly added. "Absorb it slowly!"

Rose herself hadn’t expected to feel so awful after giving away so much green light. Feeling dizzy and weak in the knees, she clutched the two crystal cores tightly, wobbled over to the wooden crate in the master bedroom, and plopped her butt onto the floor.