Welcome to Ability Store

Lady Qiu was left speechless by the retort.

Even though she admitted that the other party made a good point, she couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of oddness in her heart.

In the eyes of the people of Tang City, villagers like them were irrefutably "lower class," not worth anyone’s attention. Were the people of Tang City really so superior? Not necessarily. When she worked at the academy, she saw caravans from the capital pass by, and even the guards looked down at the locals with a hint of disdain.

If even the guards were like this, what about the truly wealthy families, or even the nobility?

And Lord Taboo was undoubtedly a person of high status... of course, perhaps not even a person, but definitely someone on par with an Upper Immortal. For such an exalted figure to entrust the grand enterprise of the Great Fusion to a group of lower-class villagers? It was like Emperor Luo personally appointing the neighboring Lady Wang as the Imperial Advisor Immortal Master—utterly incredible.

Yet, despite the oddity, she also felt an inexplicable excitement.

After all, no one had ever looked at her with regard before.

Even if the one valuing her was a terrifying creature, it was better than being an unnoticed weed.

Moreover, after this week of interaction, Lady Qiu had already seen that Lord Xuan’s frightening appearance belied the beneficial deeds he did for the villagers.

Even this little house built of flesh...

No, it still felt very frightening!

She took a deep breath and nodded in agreement, "If you think I can do it, then I’m willing to try."

Chen Xuan said with satisfaction, "Pack your things and set off tomorrow."

...

...

After an eleven-hour direct flight, Walter Company’s private jet came to a steady stop on a private runway in the outskirts of Mo City.

This newly constructed runway lay within a field dense with vegetation, contrasting sharply with the wheat fields swaying in the distance. If not for the pre-known landing coordinates, few would notice its existence.

As soon as the cabin door opened, four luxury cars responsible for reception drove over, parking side by side next to the jet.

It was Long Lan Vies, Walter’s second son, who personally opened the car door, his solemn demeanor making it clear that today the company was welcoming a very important guest.

Soon, two ladies descended from the staircase.

They made no long pauses, nor did they exchange pleasantries with Long Lan, instead going straight into the car.

The attendants and bodyguards all frowned simultaneously, as they hadn’t seen such rude guests in a long time. But to their surprise, Long Lan himself didn’t mind at all; instead, he considerately bent to shield the doorframe for them, only getting into the car after the ladies were seated.

Since the leader showed no reaction, the subordinates naturally dared not speak. The convoy quickly set off, heading to their destination: the family’s secret factory.

"Welcome, Miss Lin, to our distinguished guest." Long Lan sat opposite the two, respectfully speaking, "May I ask what your friend’s name is?"

"You can just call me Liuli." Liuli said lightly.

"So it’s Miss Liuli, I understand." Long Lan sneaked a glance at the other. Her shimmering silver hair and eyes that seemed to sparkle like gem flames made her seem otherworldly. He had thought Miss Lin was already exceptionally beautiful, but Miss Liuli seemed to reach a different level.

However... Long Lan’s gaze shifted to her waist... was that a long sword? Why would she carry a cold weapon with her?

Could it be that Miss Liuli was actually Miss Lin’s personal bodyguard?

He shook his head slightly, shaking off these stray thoughts. The two before him were certainly stunning, but Long Lan dared not entertain any extra thoughts, because he knew all too well that the future of the Walter Company was in Miss Lin’s hands.

"Where’s Walter?" Lin Qing asked, raising an eyebrow, "I thought he’d be here to greet us."

Long Lan detected a hint of criticism in her tone and quickly explained, "Father’s health hasn’t been good recently, and he truly couldn’t come in person. He didn’t tell you because he didn’t want to affect the progress of your work."

"What happened to him?"

A minor illness should not impact work.

"Father’s heart has had some issues; he went into the hospital the day before yesterday and is still under observation." Long Lan sighed, "The doctors suggested he undergo surgery as soon as possible, but he insisted on waiting until after you leave, so he could respond to any decisions immediately if needed."

Hearing this, Lin Qing’s expression softened slightly.

She, too, had been worried about Walter’s attitude—now without the Ability Store, she couldn’t quickly travel to the company headquarters through the branch stores anymore. If this caught the attention of prying eyes, it might lead to unfavorable speculations. Lin Qing also understood that the best way to avoid exposure was to minimize contact and maintain the cooperative relationship by inertia, but she indeed had a pressing reason to come this time.

Fortunately, it seemed her worries were unfounded. The Walter family, at least for the moment, had not yet noticed that the Ability Store was no longer in existence.

"I saw on TV the frenzy caused by the launch of your first batch of products." Lin Qing looked out at the pastoral scenery, changing the subject to something more relaxed.

"That was entirely anticipated." At this, Long Lan’s face broke into a smile, "My father and I never doubted the commercial potential of smart prosthetics; it not only knocks all other eye-wear devices off the market but will truly open a new Chapter for electronic implants!"

Simply put, the first-generation consumer prosthetic eye, EONE, was snatched up as soon as it hit the market.

It didn’t follow the traditional electronic product route of lavish advertising before selling, but instead directly partnered with hospitals, choosing the permanently blind as its first clients.

These patients came with the mindset of a last resort, not expecting any chance of seeing again. When they were finally able to see clearly around them again, whether they cried tears of joy or babbled incoherently from excitement, it was all faithfully recorded by cameras, turning the event itself into sensational news.

The second wave of frenzy occurred after the functionalities of the prosthetic eye were gradually explored—as people increasingly realized the capabilities of this device, it quickly transitioned from being merely a medical appliance to becoming the most fashionable tech novelty.

"We’ve only produced over a thousand prosthetic eyes so far, yet global orders have already exceeded ten thousand." Long Lan marveled, "You know, each EONE is priced at $160,000, comparable to a sports car."

And counterintuitively, its production cost is relatively low... Compared to those chip and phone manufacturers requiring huge investments, Walter Company built its assembly lines with just civilian CNC machines and second-hand robotic arms, and the necessary raw materials could be bought off-the-shelf, resulting in a profit margin eclipsing all previous arms trade.

Most importantly, there were no legal risks involved with these smart prosthetics, eliminating the need to navigate the gray areas like arms sales, making it a business capable of ensuring the family’s enduring prosperity.

Precisely for this reason, Miss Lin became so crucial to the Walter family.

Lin Qing smiled but remained silent.

Long Lan was not privy to the secret factory’s inside story, but she was. Rather than a factory, it was more like a mechanical body occupied by N959. All the equipment brought in had long been completely transformed by it, becoming a veritable black box capable of spitting out finished products after consuming raw materials, with no need for human operation. Moreover, the goods produced on the assembly line were all unqualified "components" that only became complete merchandise after being repaired by rare devices; how could the profits not be high?