Chapter 94 - 93: There Is No Kindness Without Reason in This World

Taking two roasted Mutated Aphids, she diced them and boiled them in water with a pinch of salt to serve as a makeshift broth. Then, she mixed mashed potatoes, milk, and the broth in a 1:2:1 ratio, simmering it slowly over low heat. She also washed a leftover mutated shepherd’s purse leaf from yesterday, chopping it up and setting it aside.

When she heard Doctor Jenkins coming through the door, she casually tossed the chopped leaves into the soup. Before Doctor Jenkins could speak, she smiled and announced, "TA-DA! Freshly made potato puree soup is ready! Come have a taste!"

Doctor Jenkins’s dark, gloomy face instantly cleared up the moment he walked in and smelled the aroma. He sniffed the air and unceremoniously sat down at the dining table. Sev fawned over him, serving him a large bowl before sitting opposite him to watch him eat. Doctor Jenkins took a spoonful, blowing on it and slurping it down. A look of satisfaction and enjoyment washed over his features.

"Hmph! This is about the only thing you’re good for!" he grunted, taking a second spoonful. He couldn’t stop eating.

As Doctor Jenkins ate, Sev chattered away, recounting everything she had experienced that day. He had already heard before coming over that the Mercenary Guild had taken the Scavengers out to dig for Mutated potatoes today. They had run into a small-scale marmot tide and encountered a Third Tier mutated armadillo, nearly losing a few of the guild’s elites. He had figured that with Sev’s cleverness, she would definitely find a safe place to hide and wait out the battle. He never expected her to recklessly charge in and almost lose her life.

"You’re just an ordinary person. What are you trying to prove?" Doctor Jenkins said. "I gave you that dagger for self-defense, yet you dared to show it off in public! You’re lucky you weren’t beaten to death on the spot!" The more he spoke, the angrier he got. He thought Rose was truly unlucky to have such a foolish and reckless adoptive mother! Seeing Sev stay silent, he demanded, "Hand over the dagger! I’ll add a safety measure to it!"

Sev thought his phrasing sounded a bit ambiguous! Of course, she only dared to think it. She wouldn’t dare say it out loud. Her relationship with Doctor Jenkins hadn’t reached the point where they could casually joke around. She watched as he retrieved a transparent yellow scabbard from his Space Button and slid it onto the dagger. Seeing how perfectly the scabbard and dagger fit together, Sev knew they were originally a set.

She didn’t understand. Since he had been generous enough to give her the dagger, why did he keep the scabbard? The scabbard’s material looked like beeswax amber from Azure. Judging by its smooth, lustrous finish, it seemed like something he often held and played with in his hands. She wondered if the scabbard held some special meaning, which was why he had been reluctant to give it away.

While Sev let her imagination run wild, Doctor Jenkins explained, "This scabbard stores an offensive Spirit Ability. If someone forcefully takes the dagger and endangers your life, it will trigger an Ability attack.

"This is just a little gadget I tinkered with back in the day. I thought I’d never need to use it in my life, but I never expected to end up in such a state.

"I’m perfectly safe right now. Since the dagger I gave you has attracted unwanted attention, keep this to protect your life."

"Ah? You can even make something like this? This is an unprecedented invention!" Sev hurriedly flattered him. What she actually wanted to say was that this treasure was just like the Life-saving Sword Energy or talismans that Great Power Cultivators gifted to their juniors in the Immortal Martial Arts novels she used to read. But this only made her feel that she owed Doctor Jenkins a favor she could never repay.

"Don’t let it weigh too heavily on you. I’m doing all this for Rose. Once her Ability returns to normal, I’m counting on her to help cultivate a key ingredient for an antidote," Doctor Jenkins said. The reason he valued Rose—aside from her talent being worthy of protection and nurturing—was fundamentally because he wanted her help in cultivating that specific plant. He hadn’t intended to reveal this so soon, but since the conversation had led them here, he had no choice but to lay his cards on the table.

Hearing his reasoning, Sev actually felt more at ease. There was no such thing as unconditional kindness in this world. They weren’t related, yet he had helped her time and time again. There had to be a price. If the price was just helping to cultivate a plant, then it was something their family could afford. After all, in the original novel, although Rose’s combat prowess was average in her adulthood, her ability to cultivate plants was incredibly strong. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been qualified to be one of the story’s villains. Right now, she only prayed that the Head of the Stone Family could truly cure her Rose.

After finishing a massive bowl of the potato puree soup, Doctor Jenkins was still left wanting more. He unapologetically scooped out another large bowl and stored it in his Space Button. Then, he got up, checked on Rose in the bedroom, and prepared to leave. Before departing, they agreed to meet at exactly nine o’clock the next morning in the mutated locust tree forest, five hundred meters outside the safe zone’s main gate. From there, they would go together to meet the Head of the Stone Family.

Only after Doctor Jenkins left did Sev realize she was so exhausted her body felt like it was falling apart. She haphazardly washed up and climbed into bed. She set an alarm for seven o’clock, kissed the sleeping Rose on the forehead, and fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

The next morning, just past six-thirty, Sev woke up before her alarm even went off. After a quick wash, she took a damp towel and carefully wiped the dirt off her new clothes. Seeing the scratches left by the marmots’ sharp claws in several places, her heart ached terribly. She had spent thirty-two thousand points on this outfit! She had only worn it out for one day, and it was already ruined! However, she was lucky she wore it yesterday. It had shielded her from the marmots’ sharp claws multiple times. If she had worn her old, tattered canvas clothes, she definitely would have suffered several severe lacerations.

There was still a lot of the potato puree soup left from last night. She drank a large bowl and wiped her mouth in satisfaction. She then warmed up some milk for Rose and Silvy. After feeding Rose, she grabbed a torn gunnysack and slipped Rose’s tiny body inside.

She had decided to bring Rose directly to meet the Head of the Stone Family. After all, she was just an ordinary Scavenger in District Nine. If the Head of the Stone Family got what he wanted and simply turned and left, she would never get another chance to bring Rose before him. However, District Nine had a rule prohibiting children under the age of eight from going out to scavenge, so this was the only way she could sneak her out of the gates.

The handcart Hayden Hanson had used to help transport the Mutated potatoes yesterday was still in her yard. Sev grabbed it and got ready to leave. Standing to the side, Rusty was fraught with anxiety. Tears welled up in his eyes as he choked out, "Mom, please don’t throw my little sister away, okay? I promise I’ll eat less and work more from now on!"

Sev reached out and poked him on the forehead. "What on earth is going through that little head of yours? Rose is the only Ability user in our family right now. Why would I throw away such a cash cow? Relax, I’m taking her to see a Healer. If we’re lucky, she might already be cured by the time we get back tonight."

Hearing this, Rusty quickly let go of her and gave her a deep bow. "Thank you, Mom!"