Welcome to Ability Store

"Mr. Chen, is there any connection between these two things?" Zhao Qian seemingly asked in frustration.

"It’s very simple. You not only know the existence of the backlash phenomenon but also know the source of Forbidden Abilities—they usually come from the bestowal of a more powerful existence, vastly different from the abilities that humans naturally awaken to acquire."

Chen Xuan toyed with the coin in his hand and slowly said, "You’re reluctant to let go of this power because a stronger origin means closer to ascension, but you’re also afraid that the echo of Forbidden Abilities will invade this world, which is why you’ve eliminated this part of the store manager’s memory. If it were the real Xu Enya and Luo Dan, they couldn’t possibly have not heard of such a coin."

Zhao Qian shook her head, "Forbidden Abilities are extremely rare, so it’s normal for these two candidates not to have seen one—"

She suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence.

"Did you discover the issue?" Chen Xuan sneered, "It’s not strange they haven’t seen it, but haven’t any of the so-called store managers living in the ’Computation Well’ seen it? Xu Enya said she’s been here for ten years, and Luo Dan for eight. If they have really been in the city for that long, they should have heard about the worm-patterned coin from other store managers."

"This can only indicate one thing: when you reshaped these candidates, you didn’t include the Forbidden information. The reason is simple because the store managers who come here have all been processed in the same way by you, making them temporarily forget the existence of Forbidden Abilities."

He leaned forward and said decisively, "You fear the existence behind the forbidden—although a store manager loses the Ability Store, they can no longer use any abilities, but who can assure the echo of the forbidden will not appear here? It was only when I saw the Star God coin that I understood what I had overlooked."

Panic flashed across Zhao Qian’s face.

She fell into a trance again.

This time her absence was longer than the last, roughly three to four minutes, and another person’s figure appeared next to her.

Liang Mingzhe arrived.

"Mr. Chen, your observational ability truly amazes me." With his hands behind his back, he eyed Chen Xuan, "Sure enough, having witnessed ascension, your understanding of Forbidden Abilities is far superior to other candidates. But I don’t understand... why you are rushing to bring this up."

"Let me go." Chen Xuan replied word by word, "The store manager’s ability can go to anyone; I just want to return to my hometown. That way, I will not unleash the power of the forbidden, and you can continue to study your path to ascension."

Liang Mingzhe pointed his right hand, and a chair appeared in front of him.

He sat down leisurely, "You know, Mr. Chen, you’re not the first person to make such a request."

Chen Xuan did not respond.

This too was within his expectations, as there were so many store managers, not everyone could be grateful for the ways of Salvation Ark. Even with the Ability Store, even an ordinary person can soar to great heights, but there are always some who resent being imprisoned by an invisible cage for life more.

"Unfortunately, in the aspect of returning home, I have not deceived you." Professor Liang said sincerely, "To that world, you are already dead—body decayed, soul dispersed, true death in every sense. And your consciousness has transformed to be loaded into the Computation Well. In other words, even if you had a living original body here, they couldn’t fuse together, let alone we haven’t mastered the technology to create such fleshly containers."

"As for your threat, I can only see it as an empty bluff. Forbidden Abilities indeed come from the bestowal by powerful existences, but don’t forget, the Ability Store can also grant abilities to others... In a sense, with the fusion of vast candidate experiences and a powerful Computation Well, it has already become a force comparable to those ascension enemies."

Liang Mingzhe confidently adjusted his glasses, "In other worlds, perhaps, but on the Salvation Ark, you cannot wield any Thought Power. Neither ordinary abilities nor Forbidden Abilities can be used—this I can guarantee."

Chen Xuan silently observed him for a few seconds before speaking, "So your answer is still a refusal?"

"I can’t promise you something we cannot achieve." the old man answered frankly. At this moment, he suddenly put his hand to the side of his head, seemingly communicating with others, "...I just received news, the research team has roughly identified the information causing the incident. They will re-implement the blockade, and you will return to the state before the conversation."

Chen Xuan showed a hint of ridicule at the corner of his mouth, "Your assistant was just denying, saying there was absolutely no interference with my memory."

"Apologies, it’s her first time encountering such a situation; lack of experience is inevitable." Liang Mingzhe glanced at Zhao Qian, who lowered her head in fear. "But you also misjudged some parts; we are not as malicious as you think. For instance, we do treat candidates as heroes, and after collecting all the information, they haven’t been erased but sealed at the bottom of the Computation Well."

"We cannot afford the risk of backlash, so we can only use digitized simulation store managers to participate in information collection, but this is just a temporary expedient. I believe that one day in the future, they’ll awaken and join us in welcoming the glory of human ascension."

He finished speaking and even took off his glasses, wiping the wrinkled corners of his eyes, as if even he was moved by his words.

"Ha... hahaha..." Chen Xuan’s sneer finally turned into uproarious laughter.

"What’s so funny?" Zhao Qian glared and asked.

"If you were a demon, you might recruit quite a few followers." Chen Xuan’s expression shifted, "Treating store managers as heroes? You don’t even dare to directly ask them like this! Why? Because you’re afraid of being deceived; after all, it’s you who used the store managers first. Even for gathering information, you have to create a virtual world and use some simulacrum people to drop hints—isn’t that enough to show your attitude?"

"Further talk is pointless." Liang Mingzhe finally put away his amiable expression and impatiently instructed his assistant, "Hurry up and start the reboot process."

"Even if I can’t go back, I will not stay in this place." Chen Xuan squeezed the Star God coin in front of him, "Hey, didn’t you say that as long as I agree to be your Angel Envoy, no matter where I am, you’ll immediately respond to my call?"

"Who are you talking to?" Zhao Qian interrogated harshly.

"Stop with the futile resistance." The old man, unconcerned, stood up, intending to leave, "You can’t wield abilities here."

"It’s not an ability." Chen Xuan took a deep breath, "It’s a promise made by someone who calls themselves the ’God of Change.’"

"A promise? What do you mean?" He stopped, with the wrinkles on his forehead forming deep grooves.

"Didn’t I tell you? I have not only witnessed ascension but also exchanged deeply with another ascension enemy."

Before Chen Xuan finished speaking, a black door suddenly rose behind him!

In an instant, alarms blared throughout the research institute.

"Data overflow! Detecting the surge of unknown codes!"

"Not good, the system has been breached! The firewall is unresponsive!"

"Is this really... data?"

Researchers stared incredulously at the screen before them, seeing twisted characters crawling between code lines, mercilessly occupying all blank space, seemingly possessing self-aware intent like living beings.

The character set of the Computation Well couldn’t possibly store these mysterious symbols, and upon closer examination, they appeared more like countless weirdly shaped insects!

"Professor!" Everyone simultaneously turned to gaze at Liang Mingzhe.

Veins bulged on the old man’s forehead, his face ashen, he screamed at the main control computer, "You scoundrel, what on earth did you do!?"

"I’ve brought you an ascension enemy." Chen Xuan replied solemnly.

With his murmur, a tall figure with a worm-face and human body stepped through the black door, standing steadily beside Chen Xuan.

"Good evening, everyone." The Star God gracefully bowed its chest to the opposite side, jaw emitting a hissing friction sound, "Look at what my Angel Envoy has brought to me? What a pleasantly surprising world this is."