Chapter 98 - 97: High-Sounding Excuse

Sev Steele rubbed her eyes. Her gaze immediately locked onto Doctor Jenkins because she could feel the powerful aura radiating from him.

It was still the same face, but he seemed like an entirely different person. The faint glimmer of sharpness in his eyes completely erased his former gloomy indifference. His previously dull skin had become smooth, radiant, and supple—the kind that looked incredibly soft to the touch. The straight bridge of his nose and his tightly pressed lips traced a resolute curve, while his slightly upturned mouth pulled his jawline into a smooth, tight contour. Even his black hair, which was usually as messy as a bird’s nest, seemed to add a touch of unbridled charm to him now.

At twenty-eight, he used to look old and weathered, like a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. At this moment, however, he was so full of vitality that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was in his early twenties. Sev Steele suspected that the Doctor Jenkins she had known before was a fake, and the man before her was his true self. It felt as if a dust-covered pearl had been wiped clean, radiating dazzling brilliance once more.

The high-spirited Doctor Jenkins shot a deep look at Sev Steele. He knew that this stroke of fortune actually stemmed from her. If not for her, he might have died in some unknown corner before ever getting the cure. He owed her a massive favor. If he could become the Family Head of The Jenkins Family one day, he would ensure a life of wealth and peace for her and her four children.

Sev Steele had been immersed in an illusion earlier, frozen in shock. But since Doctor Jenkins had drunk the Antidote Potion, everyone’s attention was focused on him, so no one noticed her unusual behavior. Now that she had snapped out of the illusion and Doctor Jenkins was completely cured of his poison, the Head of the Stone Family decided to set off immediately for the depths of The Murkwood.

They had traveled here in a medium-sized aircraft carrier. The hull was made entirely of A Level Alloy, capable of withstanding attacks from a Fourth Tier Mutant Beast. Hearing Butler Stone’s detailed explanation, Sev Steele felt somewhat relieved. Once the Head of the Stone Family and his group found the Sixth Tier Two-headed Lizard, the worst-case scenario was that she could just hide inside the aircraft carrier. Her safety should be guaranteed.

Doctor Jenkins tapped his watch, entered his account and password, and logged into the encrypted intranet of District Nine’s higher-ups, pulling up an electronic map. Dozens of locations were marked with red circles. He quickly ran some calculations and analyses, then circled an area of about four square kilometers.

"Mr. Stone, if you trust me, head to this area. I am more than seventy percent sure that the Two-headed Lizard you’re looking for is right here," he said, his respectful attitude tinged with newfound closeness.

Because the Head of the Stone Family had generously given him the Antidote Potion, he had already started viewing the man as an elder, which gave him the thick skin to call him "Mr. Stone."

"Alright, we’ll follow your lead," the Head of the Stone Family said.

The aircraft carrier was incredibly fast, far exceeding Sev Steele’s understanding. Half an hour later, they arrived at the depths of The Murkwood, just outside the area circled by Doctor Jenkins. The Head of the Stone Family didn’t rush in blindly; instead, he parked the aircraft carrier in mid-air to wait for the reconnaissance results.

Doctor Jenkins closed his eyes as a colorless, transparent halo radiated from his body. The halo rippled outward in waves, growing larger and traveling further until it covered a radius of over five kilometers. Before being poisoned, his Ability had already broken through to the Fifth Tier. Now that the toxins were completely purged, his Ability was fully restored.

Butler Stone also possessed a Spirit Ability. Even though he was at the Sixth Tier, his Domain of expertise was Spirit Attack, which fell under Combat Skills. Doctor Jenkins, on the other hand, had comprehended a unique Skill—the Heaven and Earth Net. This Skill allowed him to perceive the spiritual waves, emotional states, and Energy intensities of all living beings within a certain range. Brandon Stone was well aware of his Domain, so he assigned him the reconnaissance mission.

After releasing the Heaven and Earth Net and concentrating on his search for about fifteen minutes, Doctor Jenkins finally locked onto the target.

"Quick!" he said, his eyes filled with urgency. "I sense that the Sixth Tier Two-headed Lizard is currently fighting someone. Let’s hurry over there!"

The real reason for his panic was that he had sensed violent fluctuations of a Thunder Ability. He was worried that Rick Kaye was currently fighting that Two-headed Lizard.

Hearing that their target was already in combat, the Head of the Stone Family’s first reaction was to turn around and leave. If he went over now, he would be suspected of stealing someone else’s prey. He was the family head of a major clan in the Third Security Zone, after all; doing something like that would be far beneath him.

Doctor Jenkins saw through his hesitation and was about to continue persuading him when Sev Steele spoke up.

"Head of the Stone Family, when I heard you talking about that Two-headed Lizard earlier, it sounded incredibly ferocious. It’s possible that whoever is fighting it is already losing and desperately needs saving.

"Providing help in their hour of need is always better than adding icing on the cake. Why don’t you go take a look first? If they win, you don’t even have to show your face. But if they’re being chased around by the lizard, your arrival would be the perfect opportunity to lend a hand."

The Head of the Stone Family instantly understood the underlying meaning of Sev Steele’s words. Because he valued his status, he naturally couldn’t stoop to stealing someone else’s prey. However, if he was going to help—or even save a life—that excuse would be perfectly dignified. When the time came, he could use that life-saving grace to openly offer to buy the Two-headed Lizard’s corpse. As long as he paid enough, he was confident the other party wouldn’t have the nerve to refuse him.

The aircraft carrier shot forward, flying at top speed toward the direction Doctor Jenkins had pinpointed.

Sev Steele was a bundle of nerves. By now, she could pretty much guess that the person fighting the mutated Two-headed Lizard was highly likely to be Rick Kaye. Even though she had already warned him, the plot was still progressing along its original trajectory. Was there still any hope of changing his tragic fate as cannon fodder?

Suddenly, she remembered the illusion she had seen earlier. In that vision, Hayden Hanson had clearly died during the massive Mutant Rat tide in District Nine. But she had crossed over to this world, mixed lemon juice and Blue Tears to create a venom, and attracted Doctor Jenkins with her cooking. As a result, Hayden Hanson hadn’t been forced to the point of using his Ability, and his final strike, The Frozen King, had been preserved. He ended up using it on that mutated armadillo, indirectly saving even more lives in the process.

So, perhaps Rick Kaye still had a sliver of Vitality left!

A few minutes later, the aircraft carrier came to a silent halt a hundred meters above the battlefield.

***

Half an hour earlier.

The Mutated Seven-Star Grass had matured. Rick Kaye, who had reunited with Lana Florian and had been staking out the area, charged out without a second’s hesitation. He wanted to harvest the mature Seven Star Grass for his beloved; this was the very purpose of his trip. Naturally, he also wanted to take advantage of her good mood after getting the treasure to ask for her help in securing the Antidote Potion for Jared Jenkins from her brother, Jett Florian. Driven by this selfish motive, he was determined to get his hands on the Seven Star Grass even if he got injured.

It had been a full five days since he reunited with Lana Florian. During this time, he had carefully observed her two companions because of the prophetic dream Sev Steele had told him about.

The woman was named Scarlett Thorne, a Fourth Tier Water Ability User. She looked delicate and gentle, as if she were truly made of water. The man was Flynn Jenkins, an elite from a branch of The Jenkins Family. Technically, he was a distant cousin of Jared Jenkins, but his face looked about fifty percent similar to Jared’s, making them look almost like blood brothers. However, Flynn had thick lips; compared to Jared’s refined and intellectual appearance, he looked much more simple and honest.

Flynn Jenkins was a Fifth Tier Earth Ability User who excelled at defense. Lana Florian herself possessed a Fifth Tier Ice Element. She had always been renowned as an ice beauty, and her combat strength was the highest among the three. Such a team would have a decent chance of winning against an ordinary Sixth Tier Mutant Beast, but against a Sixth Tier Two-headed Lizard, they seemed a bit too weak.

Despite his repeated observations, Rick Kaye couldn’t detect even the slightest hint of malice toward him from Lana’s two companions. On the contrary, their attitude toward him was highly respectful. Flynn Jenkins showed a kind of clumsy eagerness to please, while Scarlett Thorne not only verbally flattered him but also flirted with him subtly. He had seen these kinds of tactics plenty of times before. In the Wasteland Era, it wasn’t surprising for a woman to rely on the strong to survive.

Since Rick couldn’t find anything unusual, his guardedness gradually faded. After all, prophetic dreams weren’t always perfectly accurate, let alone the fact that Sev Steele was just an ordinary person. Still, he deliberately avoided the food offered by those two and only ate the roasted meat prepared by Lana Florian herself. Unfortunately, Lana’s cooking talent was truly abysmal. Furthermore, he had just recently tasted the Mutated Aphid roasted by Sev Steele, making Lana’s roasted meat practically impossible to swallow. As a result, he only tried a small piece before claiming he wasn’t hungry. To show his respect for her, he packed the rest into his Space Button.

However, just yesterday, the higher-ups of the Second Security Zone had sent a message stating that the Fifth Security Zone had encountered a massive Beast Tide and was requesting backup. They hoped he could rush over to help as soon as possible. Yet, with the Mutated Seven-Star Grass on the verge of maturing, he had no choice but to let his vice-captain, Derek Scott, lead the team to provide support while he stayed behind alone. He planned to take Lana Florian and her team over there immediately once the matter here was settled.