Chapter 80 - 79: Rose’s Meridians Severely Damaged

Sev Steele shook her head. Her entire body felt light and completely free of any weakness. She stood in place, waiting quietly for a few minutes. Everything felt normal.

"I guess I probably had low blood sugar from skipping breakfast. I really feel better now. Let’s go home," she said decisively.

Sev Steele wasn’t exactly sure how expensive medical bills were at the Ninth Security Zone’s hospital, but in the original host’s memories, she had always just toughed it out whenever she got sick. Scavengers in Area D would rather die of illness than go to the hospital—unless they were pregnant. Childbirth came with official subsidies; all medical expenses, from prenatal check-ups to delivery, were completely free. This was an incentive policy adopted by the higher-ups to reduce the negative population growth.

Even so, the total population of the security zone was decreasing year by year. Demographers predicted that if this status quo persisted, District Nine would disappear in a few centuries. With the support of this incentive, some female Scavengers would even drag out their illnesses until they got pregnant just to take advantage of the benefits.

However, the original host had never considered having children. After all, no matter how good the policy was, the vulnerability of pregnancy was unavoidable. Moreover, she had seen many women who, after giving birth, would rather starve to death themselves than let their children go hungry. Instead of enduring ten months of vulnerability, suffering agonizing pain to give birth, and then being controlled by maternal instinct to value the child’s life above her own, the original host preferred adopting orphans. That way, she could enjoy the official subsidies while treating them like beasts of burden without any guilt.

Sev Steele did have some savings now, but she had four kids to raise and countless expenses. Therefore, once she confirmed she was temporarily fine, she definitely wasn’t willing to spend money on the hospital.

Hayden Hanson didn’t try to persuade her anymore, knowing exactly how heavy her burden was.

Rusty, however, mustered up his courage and spoke up. "Mom, you should still go to the hospital for a check-up.

"You looked really scary just now. Rose and Zephyr were both crying from fright."

Sev Steele looked down at the boy. His eyes were still a bit red, making it obvious that he had been crying too. Only then did she realize that, until these four kids grew up, both she and the original host were the pillars of this family. If their adoptive mother died, the family would fall apart.

"Don’t worry, I’m really fine now. Let’s go, let’s head home!" Sev Steele rubbed the top of the boy’s head.

Rusty froze for a full three seconds. This was the first time since he could remember that his adoptive mother had patted his head. In the past, he had seen other children in Area D having their heads rubbed just as gently by their biological mothers. Back then, he hadn’t understood what that gesture even meant. But now, he understood. It was a feeling impossible to describe with words—like his entire body was soaking in warm water, cozy and soft. It made him happy, so happy that he wanted to scream. Yet he also felt shy, wishing he could bury his head inside his collar.

***

Upon arriving back home, Sev Steele heard muffled sobbing coming from the children’s bedroom. She hurried inside and saw the two little brothers, Firestone and Zephyr, hugging each other and crying until they were out of breath. Lying on the bed was Rose. Her face was pale, her eyes tightly shut, and her body was subconsciously trembling. It was obvious she was in pain.

"What happened to Rose?" Sev Steele asked in a panic.

"She overdrew her Ability for you," Hayden Hanson said from behind her. "She also forcibly absorbed too much Crystal Core Energy, which damaged her meridians."

"Can a doctor treat this condition?" Sev Steele grew even more panicked.

"No. She possesses a Wood Ability, which has self-healing properties.

"If she can’t even heal her own damaged meridians, your only option is to find a Healing Ability User at the Fourth Tier or higher.

"But as far as I know, there is only one Healing Ability User above the Fourth Tier in the Ninth Security Zone.

"That person rarely treats patients. Whenever they do, it’s only under pressure from the higher-ups, and they charge an astronomical medical fee.

"Even if you added all of your savings and mine together, it wouldn’t be enough to hire them even once," Hayden Hanson explained.

Sev Steele’s heart turned ice-cold. She sat on the edge of the bed in a daze. Rusty obediently led Zephyr and Firestone out to the living room. Seeing that he couldn’t be of any help, Hayden Hanson excused himself and went home.

Sev Steele sat blankly for a long time, carefully recalling what had just happened. She remembered finding a wood grain pattern at the bottom of that box that resembled a Life Tree Totem. While repeatedly rubbing it, her finger seemed to get pricked, and then her mind had gone completely blank. She couldn’t remember anything after that. Her only impression was that her body felt as if it had been entirely drained by something.

Connecting this to Rose’s current condition, it wasn’t hard to deduce the truth. The little girl must have noticed she was in a terrible state and desperately channeled her Ability into her, hoping to alleviate her symptoms.

At this thought, Sev Steele quickly rummaged under her pillow for the metal can containing the nine Wood Element Crystal Cores. She discovered it was missing, only to finally locate it in Rose’s arms. Upon opening it, she found that four Crystal Cores were gone—and they were the four largest ones. Looking at Rose’s tightly clenched little fists, she saw a Crystal Core in each hand, their surfaces already starting to turn gray.

This reckless child! How much nerve did she have to absorb an entire Fourth Tier and a Third Tier Crystal Core in one breath! As if that wasn’t enough, she still had two unfinished Third Tier Crystal Cores in her hands! Was she trying to bring disaster upon herself?

She was a child who had awakened her Ability less than ten days ago. During the rat battle the other day, she had already overdrawn her Ability just to replenish the adults’ Energy. Afterward, while unconscious, her body had instinctively absorbed the First Tier and Second Tier Crystal Cores given by Doctor Jenkins, causing her Power Level to rapidly break through to the Second Tier. Now, barely two days later, she was leaping tiers to absorb Crystal Cores again. It was no wonder her meridians had sustained severe damage.

If Sev Steele had been conscious at the time, she would rather have been drained into a dried husk than let Rose overdraw her Ability and damage her body like this. Unfortunately, what was done was done, and there was no taking it back.

Sev Steele felt a mix of guilt and despair. She desperately wanted to help her little daughter repair her meridians, but she was completely powerless. She racked her brain until it ached, but she couldn’t think of a single solution.

Suddenly, a Spiritual Light flashed in her mind! She remembered the alloy pendant she had brought back from the giant tree stump in the wilderness. Since its material was higher than S Level, it had to be worth a lot of money, right? As long as she had enough money, she might be able to ask Doctor Jenkins for help and beg that Healing Element expert to save her child!

This was the only lifeline she could grasp right now, even though she wasn’t completely sure if the item was actually valuable. Thinking of this, Sev Steele didn’t waste a single second. She immediately raised her watch and dialed Doctor Jenkins’s communication number.