Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 48 - 47: Make the World Chaotic? No—Make Abilities in High Demand!

Chapter 48: Chapter 47: Make the World Chaotic? No—Make Abilities in High Demand!

"It is now 8:21 PM, recording is normal," Lin Qing pressed the shooting button on her phone, "So, the first World Saving Strategy Meeting begins. Attendees: Lin Qing and the store manager, Mr."

"Is it really necessary to be this formal?" Chen Xuan rubbed his forehead. Even though they called it a meeting, it was just the two of them sitting around the coffee table, no different from their usual chats. Even the phone was his, and if it ever got leaked, as the store manager, he’d lose face.

"It must be this way. We are engaging in an important and serious enterprise, and keeping records is absolutely essential. Even if we both perish halfway, our successors can inherit our work through these records."

"Hold on! What do you mean by perish halfway, if you can’t speak properly, just don’t speak!"

Chen Xuan felt a bit uncomfortable thinking about the "still alive" part of the store manager’s ability.

"You’re right, this is indeed a responsibility I should shoulder." Lin Qing’s gaze dimmed slightly, but soon returned to normal, "Rest assured, if we encounter major risks in the future, I will make every effort to protect you."

Chen Xuan held his forehead, deciding not to delve further with her on this issue, "Let me go over it again, the world will be destroyed by a nanobot disaster, orchestrated by the Dimensional Limit Mechanism and the corporate sponsors behind it. Considering this technological revolution will occur in thirty years, you’re planning to stop the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, right?"

Lin Qing contemplated for a moment, "The general logic isn’t wrong, but using ’we’ in the last sentence would be more appropriate. The mechanism is dedicated to the control and storage of all abilities, regardless if it’s through recruitment, trade, or plunder, it doesn’t differentiate. Since you haven’t been exposed yet, you don’t see the mechanism as a major issue, but once you’re detected, it’ll be a war."

"War? I thought you’d say it would be one-sided suppression." Chen Xuan opened a bag of chips for himself.

Even after just having dinner, he needs to munch on something while chatting.

"Saying that would underestimate you. Store manager, your abilities are stronger than you think. The customers who have received your help will all become your potential allies, so this is absolutely not a one-sided battle but a war between two forces," Lin Qing said earnestly.

Chen Xuan felt a bit uneasy at her praise, "But my name is not on the intrusion list."

"I’ve been pondering over this too." She moved closer to him, changing from sitting face-to-face to side-by-side. Then she reached over and dipped her hand into the bag of chips, "Maybe you’re a variable, or the threat you posed was too great, categorized as a higher-level secret, so after being eliminated, no information remained."

"Hmm... then why not consider I’ve joined the mechanism and became one of them? You’ve said their member information hasn’t leaked, right?"

Crunch.

Lin Qing chewed on the chip, a bit of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Store manager... would you be willing to hand over all your abilities and be governed by them?"

"Probably not."

"That’s settled then." She let out a sigh of relief, "I also don’t think you’re that kind of person. The Dimensional Limit Mechanism cannot offer you any benefits; at the very least, they certainly wouldn’t pay for the abilities they acquire."

Chen Xuan didn’t worry anymore about why he wasn’t on the list, "Do you have any specific plans? In terms of stopping the mechanism."

Lin Qing coughed twice and sat up straight.

"No."

Chen Xuan nearly choked, "Not a single one?"

"I was a combatant before, skilled with everything from armed spacecraft to Gauss rifles, just not very adept at coming up with ideas..." she admitted a bit embarrassedly, "In the past, our strategic plans were all provided by the intelligence department and supercomputers."

Well... when I met her, she was indeed fighting armed mechas on her own strength.

"Though, it’s not like there is nothing at all," Lin Qing added, "There was a leading figure when the Dimensional Limit Mechanism split. Judging by her age, she should still be alive in 2025. And even willing to break from the original mechanism to maintain her own operational independence—I initially thought, if you could find her, maybe you could find an ally inside and out."

Then she sent over a photo.

Chen Xuan picked up his phone for a look, it was an old lady in heavy protective gear, amidst the ruins of a city in the background.

"Do you have a name?"

"Codename Honglian, but back then her followers preferred to call her ’Leader.’

"No other information?" He wondered, why does this photo look like it’s of a refugee?

"Nothing else, her personal information is heavily protected, at that time the mechanism was insistent on hunting her down."

"That plan won’t work," Chen Xuan stated directly, "Both our adversary and we operate in secrecy, that’s a balance. But if you actively seek out their secrets, it turns our secrecy into transparency. Any slight mistake and we’ll be exposed."

Even though she once belonged to the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, two mechanisms separated by a century are essentially a world apart.

In this era, not many people even know of the mechanism’s existence, let alone one of its members.

"Let me think..." Chen Xuan pondered, "Without the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, the world wouldn’t necessarily become worse, right?"

"No doubt about it," Lin Qing confirmed, "Many intrusion points are indeed quite hazardous, and if left alone, could even have city-destroying consequences. An escalation of intrusion could cause worse ability-related crime issues, but these are of no comparison to Earth’s ecosystem being entirely destroyed. The mechanism’s initial intent was good, but the result was contrary to their wishes."

"Once, I met Joan in another world," he pondered, "By the inertia of history, she was supposed to die at nineteen, but I changed her fate. Wouldn’t that affect history?"

"Good question. The early mechanism was very concerned about this issue that would even consider these intrusion points as pollution." Lin Qing spoke while munching on her chips, "But that misjudgment was due to insufficient technology. Later, the research department was able to precisely measure the gravity fluctuation coefficients of each world, proving a world cannot invade another one on its own. So some seemingly similar histories in fact have vast differences."

"So, was the parallel universe theory proven in the future?"

"The universe model is very complex. We can only make step-by-step progress, far from a definitive conclusion." She nodded and then shook her head, "Actually, it’s not like you all haven’t observed ’nonexistent mass’ already, with a mass percentage as high as ninety percent. It’s called dark matter by researchers, and it very likely is the mass from other worlds."

Wow, publishing this conclusion could possibly earn a Nobel at the very least, right?

"Wait a minute, based on what you said, the world line is the only one. No matter what you do, it won’t change the future of the ecosystem being destroyed?" Chen Xuan found a flaw.

"That is the crux!" Lin Qing’s voice became spirited, "Right, theoretically impossible, but you indeed managed it!" She raised her hand and shook a wristwatch—having a highly cybernetic body yet she wore an electronic watch was certainly odd, "This thing is a miniaturized gravitational wave detector. Whenever the fluctuation coefficient changes, it would alert me, which is why I was so astonished to see Earth still intact. Your crossings to other worlds aren’t via intrusion points but likely through your unique ability, which could be the key to breaking the impossible!"

Chen Xuan had a suspicion that she was somehow engaging in a sort of sales pitch.

If she hadn’t mentioned those things, she would be an outright cyberpunk spirit beauty.

"You’re doubting me." Lin Qing keenly noticed his distraction, "I understand, though, human development is like the parable of the blind men and the elephant, we can only observe what we can see. Under this premise, any theory can be overturned."

"You’re quite open-minded."

"Not open-minded, just sticking to facts," she corrected.

"Alright... since intrusion and abilities need not be completely banned, we can’t allow the mechanism to comfortably remain hidden underwater." Chen Xuan thought for a bit, "We need to stir the waters, make it as murky as possible, bringing it into public view. By doing so, it would have to expend much of its effort dealing with public opinion, which would make finding people and its vulnerabilities easier."

"You mean, revealing the existence of Otherworld invasion and abilities?" Lin Qing instantly grasped his intention.

"Exactly, to me, it’s incredible how the mechanism managed to keep this under wraps for so long. But surely, their shady treatment of ability users would explode in public opinion, and everyone would be very interested in this matter."

"... Indeed, it’s a brilliant idea!" The girl couldn’t help but clap, "After all, people’s acquisition of abilities is due to the invasion points, not something they can control themselves. To forcibly strip them of it is to infringe upon their basic rights. This way, we don’t have to act directly; the public would naturally resist the mechanism."

Whether they resist or join... it’s too early to draw conclusions, Chen Xuan thought.

But one thing is certain, when these secrets come to light, it will undoubtedly cause a stir in society. Unlike Zone 52’s research on aliens, where alien bodies and UFOs remain folklore without any solid evidence, abilities are tangible and observable.

Moreover, this approach carries minimal risk, making it perfect for testing waters.

Apart from the disruption exposure might cause the mechanism, at least the subject of abilities can be brought to the table for discussion. Those ordinary people without abilities will naturally grow envious of those "lucky ones" who gained abilities, thus creating demand.

And where there’s demand, there will be supply.

This would certainly become a profitable venture for the Ability Store.