Chapter 70 - 69: Friendship Between Women Forms Just Like That

Hayden Hanson and Seth Jennings truly lived up to their reputation as teammates. They worked together seamlessly; the moment Hayden reached out, Seth handed over the bowl filled with mud mixed with straw.

On Sev’s side, Rusty helped her out. She was quite familiar with the work of patching up holes. In the past, when she lived in the countryside with her grandfather, their house would leak when it rained, and mice would dig holes at the base of the walls. They always patched these up themselves, though back then, she was the one helping her grandfather. Thinking of him, her eyes couldn’t help but redden.

Rusty whispered from the side, "Mom, when I grow up, I’ll make a lot of money and buy our family a house in The Gilded Ward. I heard the alloy layers in the walls there are super thick. Not even Mutant Rats can chew through them."

Sev felt somewhat misunderstood by her eldest son, but the boy was incredibly considerate and sensible, even knowing how to comfort her.

Patching the holes was actually quite simple. They just needed to fill them with the mixed mud and straw, press it firm, and then smooth out both sides. Houses in The Slums of the wasteland weren’t that particular anyway. With patches of various colors on the walls, no one would consider it an eyesore. After all, filling their stomachs was the most important thing.

Once all the holes in the wall were patched, Sev picked a lemon fruit, mashed it up, added water, and boiled it in a pot. After adding a bit of powdered sugar, a simple lemon syrup water was ready. She scooped a large bowl for each of the two guests and a small bowl for each of the children. Everyone sat around the small round table to drink.

"Hanson, Miss Jennings, I happen to have something I want to discuss with you," Sev said.

"Go ahead and say it. We’re all friends now. As long as it’s something within my power, I will definitely do my best!" Seth was the first to speak up, and Hayden nodded in agreement.

By now, Sev had figured it out. Seth was impatient and straightforward, so there was no need to beat around the bush.

"Alright, then I’ll be direct. The night before last, my Rose channeled her Ability to both of you to help restore your stamina. I assume you both know she has awakened her Ability?"

"Yeah, I realized it right then," Seth said, and Hayden nodded again.

"Rose is only a little over four years old. I don’t want her to be forcibly taken away by the management, so I want to ask you two to help keep this a secret," Sev said.

"Don’t worry, I definitely won’t blab to anyone else," Seth declared immediately.

"Neither will I," Hayden added.

"But the little girl still can’t control her Energy very well. Any Ability user who comes into close contact with her will easily notice it," Seth said with concern.

"To be honest with you two, Doctor Jenkins gave her a treasure that conceals her power. As long as she doesn’t use her Ability in front of outsiders, no one will find out," Sev explained.

"Really? That’s great! Let me tell you, I really like little Rose. If you agree, I’d even want to take her as my goddaughter.

"Having just awakened an Ability, she should frequently eat some First Tier mutant beast meat to supplement her nutrition and steadily raise her Power Level. In the future, when I go out hunting and get some high-quality First Tier mutant beast meat, I’ll bring it all over to you to ensure she doesn’t lack nutrients," Seth said enthusiastically.

Sev could tell that her expression was sincere and not at all fake, which immediately made her feel relieved. "Haha! Alright! Then I’ll thank her godmother on behalf of my daughter!" she laughed heartily.

Hayden watched the interaction between the two women and felt as though he had faded into the background. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. He wondered why Seth and Sev had become such good friends when he was the one who was Sev’s neighbor, and Seth was only meeting her for the second time. Women’s friendships were truly strange; they just sparked out of nowhere!

Seth, on the other hand, felt that since they had fought Mutant Rats together, patched a wall together, and enjoyed a delicious meal together, it would be strange if they hadn’t become friends!

While Sev was chatting with the two of them, the four children weren’t idle either. Their mother had mentioned earlier while cooking in the kitchen that she was going to the woods tomorrow to gather some wild vegetable seeds and bring them back to plant in wooden boxes. So, Rusty led his two younger brothers in dividing the soil they had hauled back last night into the scavenged wooden boxes, then fetched water to soak it.

Rose busied herself alongside her brothers, holding a small, chipped bowl and scooping the dirt one bowl at a time.

After finishing this task, Rusty directed his brothers to organize the miscellaneous items they had moved over yesterday. Zephyr dug out a canvas bag and hurriedly brought it over to Sev. "Mom, these are the cushions we wove. Are we taking them to Boss King?"

With all the chaos over the past two days, Sev had completely forgotten about this. Given Boss Goldie’s shrewdness, coupled with the fact that he lived in Sector A, he would certainly be fine.

Seeing that she had things to do, Seth finished the last sip of lemon syrup water in her bowl and stood up to take her leave. Before walking out the door, she licked her lips and said, "Sev, your cooking skills are seriously too good. I’ve decided I’m going to come over and freeload off your meals frequently from now on.

"For the sake of my goddaughter, you definitely won’t kick me out, right?"

Seth’s tone was clearly playful and endearing toward Sev, acting just like a true best friend.

Sev smiled. "Of course not. There are six people in my family; adding you just means setting out one more pair of bowls and chopsticks."

She then turned to look at Hayden. "Hanson, it’s a hassle for you to cook all by yourself too. Whenever you don’t feel like cooking, just come over and eat with us. It’s livelier with more people, and the food tastes even better when everyone’s fighting for a bite!"

"Alright!" Hayden nodded, almost as if he were possessed, unexpectedly failing to utter a polite refusal.

After the two left, Sev grabbed Goldie’s backpack, preparing to go to the barbershop to find him. On the way, she coincidentally ran into Seth again. It turned out she also lived in Sector A.

Hearing that Sev was heading to The Golden Scissors Barbershop, she said, "Perfect, let’s go together. You can learn where my house is along the way, so you can come hang out with me when you have free time."

Sev and Seth walked to the entrance of the barbershop together and saw Goldie carrying a water bucket, washing down the front steps.

Seeing that he was busy, Sev waved the backpack at him and said, "Boss King, I’m here to deliver this. How about you finish up first, and we chat later?"

"Miss Steele, don’t leave! I’ll be done here very soon. Please just wait two minutes," Goldie said hurriedly.

Sev stood there waiting, and Seth kept her company, planning to take her to see her house after she finished her business. Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind, followed by a sickly sweet, squeaky voice.

"Goldie, it’s so great that you’re okay! I was worrying about you all night yesterday, terrified you’d get hurt by those beasts."

Sev recognized the voice without even turning around. Wasn’t this the same Miss Crowe who had picked a fight and gotten beaten up by her? It truly was a small world!

Miss Crowe walked over briskly. As she passed by Sev, she finally recognized her and immediately shrieked, "You damn lowlife! You’re actually not dead? I guess bad weeds really do live forever!"

Seth had only just become best friends with Sev and was still in the middle of building their bond. Seeing someone come up and bully her friend right off the bat, how could she tolerate it? Without a second thought, she raised her hand and delivered a ruthless slap to Miss Crowe’s face.

The slap Sev had given Miss Crowe the day before yesterday had not been light, and the bruises on her face still hadn’t faded. Now, having taken another heavy slap, five distinct finger marks instantly bloomed across her cheek—caked in thick, cheap powder—as it rapidly swelled red.