Welcome to Ability Store

Lin Qing struggled out of the reversed sticky touch of the erosion space and immediately saw Ji Lian and Elorie waiting outside for her.

"It’s quite strange... I used Divine Sense to search the ruins, but didn’t sense any Spiritual Energy Light Clusters from others—" Ji Lian suddenly changed color halfway through her sentence, "Are you hurt?"

Elorie hurried forward to support her.

"Don’t worry, let’s put me aside for now!" Lin Qing immediately reminded, "Quickly hide, someone is pursuing me from behind!"

The two quickly retreated with her to a fallen piece of flooring in the corner of the palace. Ji Lian was ready to activate the Life and Death Eight Gates Array at any time to trap the pursuers in a preset illusion.

However, after waiting in formation for half a minute, there was no movement in the erosion area.

Lin Qing couldn’t help but be surprised.

Based on her understanding of Honglian, it was unlikely that such captured prey was allowed to leave brazenly.

"Why haven’t they pursued?" she asked in bewilderment, "Could they be worried about the spread of erosion?"

"No... it’s probably for another reason," Ji Lian whispered, "I was just about to mention this; shouldn’t the mechanism send people to search the erosion area? But I’m sure no one has left this ruin, not a single footprint has been left on the muddy ground outside."

Lin Qing frowned; such a phenomenon had never been recorded in the past records of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism.

"Could it be the passage they see is different from ours?"

"Who knows, but it’s good for us," she replied indifferently, "How did you get injured? Can you tell us now?"

"Let me help stop the bleeding." Elorie tore open her shoulder’s clothing, revealing a clear knife wound.

Lin Qing grimaced, "How long did you wait for me here?"

"...Less than ten seconds."

"But in my perception, at least over half a minute passed." Lin Qing recounted her experience, "...I underestimated Honglian of this era. Fortunately, I had disguise and the Invisibility Talisman, she probably didn’t see my true face."

"Another discrepancy in the flow of time?" Ji Lian mused, "It wasn’t as frequent before."

"That’s because we haven’t illegally crossed intrusion points too many times; we mostly went through the store’s back door." Elorie muttered, having finished tending to Lin Qing’s knife wound with simple Blood Oranges and bandages to ensure quick healing.

"Thank you." Lin Qing stood up, "Let’s continue."

"Continue crossing?" Elorie looked at Lin Qing worriedly, "What if the mechanism blocks the exit?"

"I won’t be fooled by the same trick twice. Besides... I am confident in finding the correct exit." Lin Qing asserted confidently.

"Correct exit?"

"Yes, although it sounds incredible, I indeed sensed changes at the intrusion point—it’s not unchanging in its connection, more like the center where many roads intersect." Lin Qing closed her eyes, recalling the feeling of escaping the space mire, "At first, I thought this was my illusion, but seeing that the mechanism’s advance exploration team hadn’t arrived in this world, I’m more convinced of this guess."

Previously, she had never thought about the nature of erosion, just seeing it as a threat from another world line.

The hypothesis proposed by the Dimensional Limit Mechanism was an overlap theory, a phenomenon of compression between time and space in a narrow area.

The Evangelical Association treated it as an opportunity bestowed by heaven.

The Wanderers saw it as a passage, shuttling between worlds to create chaos for their own benefits.

But regardless of the viewpoint, erosion was seen as a foreign entity, an anomaly that shouldn’t appear in the world.

Perhaps they were all wrong.

Lin Qing once again stood before the intrusion point—compared to the original half-meter-sized mist cluster, it now occupied half of the room’s area and could be considered a genuine erosion area. Emerald green light surged within the erosion, like storm-breeding storm clouds, giving an indescribable sense of danger.

However, she no longer felt the previous hatred and rejection.

At this moment at least, erosion isn’t an enemy, but an enabler to achieve her wishes.

Send me to the other shore... the place I long to reach... Lin Qing silently prayed, stepping into the erosion.

The mist, like countless tiny tentacles, surged forward, gradually dividing her completely. She felt herself being torn apart, her body was no longer present, leaving only consciousness advancing bravely.

For the first time, she experienced, without the constraint of a shell, her steps could be so light.

No... Those shouldn’t be called steps.

She wasn’t walking through the mist on legs, but more like flying, guided solely by the glowing will above her head.

When Lin Qing caught up with the light, she found herself back in the small room at the World’s Window.

It’s just that the exit of erosion became much smaller, almost overlapping with the door frame.

The walls were clearly repainted, appearing quite spotless, and the originally glass curtain-wall side was covered by blinds; the floor was made of anti-slip steel plates instead of the mall’s typical imitation marble tiles. The room was no longer empty; not only were the sofa and small table fully equipped, there were also common appliances like a water dispenser, refrigerator, and microwave.

Lin Qing looked up and noticed cameras installed in all four corners on the ceiling, ensuring no blind spots were left. The wall facing the intrusion point was painted with warnings in multiple languages.

"Welcome to Jiang City, you have entered the video surveillance area."

"Before registering your identity, please do not leave the premises."

"You can also contact us via the telephone on the table, and we will ensure your safety."

The polite wording clearly didn’t match the mechanism’s style.

Lin Qing already had a vague answer in her mind.

She walked to the small table, saw the operation instructions posted underneath the phone, but she ignored them, picking up the receiver, and directly dialed Honglian’s number.

The phone quickly connected, "Hello?"

"It’s me." Lin Qing responded briefly, holding her breath, waiting for the opposite’s reply.

"Lin Qing!?" The voice on the other end erupted suddenly, sounding both surprised and delighted, "You’re back? Where are you now?"

Hearing this familiar voice, she slightly relaxed.

Honglian recognized her, indicating the timeline was after the Ability Store appeared at least.

"What year, month, and day is it today?" Yet she asked cautiously.

The other party quickly provided an answer—still in 2026, a week after they witnessed the ascension.

This was both good news and bad news. The good part was that this time the destination wasn’t wrong; she accurately connected to the original world line. The bad part was that her wished coordinate remained at Chen Xuan, yet the erosion area didn’t take her to the moment before the crisis occurred.

Moreover, from Honglian’s tone, she could hear an intense unease mixed with the irrepressible joy.

Lin Qing almost exerted every effort to restrain her impulse to directly inquire about Chen Xuan and the Ability Store over the phone.

"I am at the intrusion point at the World’s Window... Can you come to get me?"

"C98? How come you are there?" Honglian was stunned.

"It’s a long story." Lin Qing said pointedly, "Of course, I can also use a rougher method to break through the door, but considering this time point... the intrusion point should no longer be under the mechanism’s control."

"Indeed, that area is now under the joint management of Jiang City government and Beitian Academy." Honglian responded immediately, "No problem, wait a moment, I’ll notify You Chi right away."