Chapter 380: Chapter 380: Birth by Pact
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"Can you let me know in advance when you come up with a new idea?" After listening to Chen Xuan’s explanation, Honglian couldn’t help but complain.
The ability user from the Arbitration Court of the Mechanism came suddenly and left just as quickly. After hearing him say he would consider it, they turned and left without even a goodbye, leaving behind a speechless Chen Xuan, a dumbfounded Honglian, and a large crowd of curious onlookers.
It wasn’t until they returned to the shop in the neighborhood that he had the chance to explain his purpose.
"How could I possibly join the Dimensional Limit Mechanism in the future?" Chen Xuan sighed, "Can’t you trust me a little more?"
"If I didn’t trust you, you wouldn’t have seen me then." Honglian pouted, "In the end, it’s because you have too many secrets, and I still don’t know you well enough."
He couldn’t help but fall silent.
The complaint from the other side was undoubtedly true.
Because Honglian was not a customer chosen by the store, he couldn’t reveal the secrets of the Ability Store to her like he could to Liu Shuyue and Lin Qing.
His silence instead made Honglian a little uncomfortable.
She coughed twice, "I didn’t mean to force you to confess everything. It’s fine to wait until you feel like talking. Anyway... before we find the real Lin Qing, I’ll be on your side."
"What, did you two have a fight?" A soft laugh came from behind, from Liuli.
"No." They replied in unison.
"Oh, so no," she sized up the two playfully, "Can’t you trust me a little more? I don’t know you well enough... Before I came out from behind the bar, I thought it was a couple arguing in the store."
Chen Xuan rolled his eyes, "You’re overthinking it."
However, Honglian did not respond.
He looked at her in surprise, only to find her quietly organizing the shelves.
"By the way, the ability user from the Arbitration Court you mentioned... was she called Lin?" Liuli asked.
Chen Xuan nodded, "That’s how she introduced herself."
"Strange..." she adjusted her hat, "I clearly pierced her head. She should be dead for sure. Could the future change and affect the past?"
"You killed her?" Chen Xuan asked, baffled.
"In the battle at Beitian Academy, the ability user I encountered was named that." Liuli shrugged, "She should also be a member of the Arbitration Court, with ice and snow abilities."
Ability... related to ice and snow... This phrase struck Chen Xuan’s mind like lightning.
He couldn’t help but pause, and that familiar feeling resurfaced in his mind.
That’s what happened!
Back then, he entrusted Liuli with intercepting the powerful enemies in the west courtyard, Liu Shuyue to deal with the eastern courtyard’s adversaries, while he and Xu Xuanling launched a surprise attack on Xiao Canong’s command vehicle—when passing over Beitian Academy, he noticed the Cyan Grass Hall area was covered in frost, as if a cold wave had swept through. He later learned that Liuli was seriously injured in the battle with the Arbitration Court ability user, but ultimately emerged victorious.
He didn’t inquire about the details of this battle with the recuperating Liuli, and Liuli never boasted about her triumph after recovery, as if killing a potent ability user was commonplace for her. He only had vague impressions from the Hunting Team’s rumors: the enemy excelled in Ice and Snow Power, capable of freezing blood at a hundred paces, taking lives. This vague impression sparked a sense of familiarity with Lin’s ability description.
"What did she look like?" Chen Xuan asked subconsciously.
"Slanted eyes, tall and thin... She seemed a bit frail. But that’s all a disguise; her tactics are ruthless—a commendable opponent," Liuli recalled, pursing her lips. "Also, she likes painting her nails black... For a Warrior, her nails were far too long."
Chen Xuan was at a loss. Her focus seemed different from the norm.
"I have her picture." Honglian suddenly said, "When they got off the spaceship, I secretly took a few shots with my phone."
"You should have said so earlier." Chen Xuan quickly said, "Show it to Liuli."
Liuli examined the phone handed to her and after a few glances, shook her head slightly, "Not quite the same... but not entirely different either. The person attacking Beitian Academy seemed more sharp and fierce, while this one... has similar features, but much less intensity."
"So they’re not the same person?" Honglian asked.
"Hmm, I don’t think so."
"That’s right!" Chen Xuan’s voice suddenly raised by eight octaves, "That’s right! Now I understand, this is the purpose of that ability!"
"What ability?"
"What purpose?"
They both asked in unison.
"’Protocol Incarnation’... It’s not an ability Lin Qing gained by chance, but something imposed on her by someone else—just like Shixin granting abilities to others!" Chen Xuan clapped his hands, "But the latter requires no cost, while the former does... It seems it not only grants abilities but can also rewrite someone’s identity... even altering their fate!"
Every ability that goes to the store, Chen Xuan personally experiences it, and ’Protocol Incarnation’ was no exception.
But placing it in the ability frame had no effect, as if it didn’t exist at all.
This is not because he can’t use this ability.
Abilities from store transactions come with a part of the user’s experience and memory, but he felt nothing, indicating Lin Qing was unaware she had this ability.
The reason she became a Future Warrior was that ’Protocol Incarnation’ defined her life. On this predetermined path, Lin Qing would fight for the splintered Mechanical Resistance Army until the last moment. The ’Protocol Incarnation’ taken from her was a destiny unique to her, and the transaction at the Crystal Palace, in a sense, ended her obligation to fulfill that mission.
Just as the current Lin is not the Lin of the past.
Lin Qing is not the Honglian of the past either.
Their connection isn’t biological, nor is it simple cloning—it was an ability user who created it all, allowing them to become reflections of each other across a long temporal divide.
"You mean... the agency uses this method to perpetuate powerful abilities?" Honglian murmured after listening.
"Exactly, that’s why they’re so greedy to control all the Wanderers."
Protecting world stability is just a pretense.
Collecting more Wanderers than other organizations secures a wider range of abilities, which in turn accelerates the mechanism’s rapid advancement, ultimately cultivating them into a global hegemonic power.
And this transfer technique is quite brilliant, with seemingly minimal side effects on the original. For instance, Lin being killed by Liuli during the attack on Beitian Academy didn’t rewrite history, but the future still saw another Lin with the same ability, indicating her backup was prepared well before the mission began.
"Is such a thing... really possible?" Honglian still found it hard to believe, "Lin Qing inherited... my fate?"
"No... I fear those are two separate matters." Chen Xuan shook his head, "The so-called protocol depends entirely on how the one wielding the ability manipulates it. Its greatest function is inheriting valuable abilities... as for memories and missions... those are merely attached."
"Do you have any evidence?"
"Of course... you and Lin Qing both have the ability called ’Mind Fortress.’" he replied.
All the clues from the past were now nested together.
"What exactly does that ability do?"
Honglian had heard Chen Xuan mention before that she had this ability, but she had never sensed its existence.
Previously, Chen Xuan couldn’t make a rash conclusion, but now he felt he could answer this question, "Judging from the name, the person who possesses this ability has strong mental willpower, able to resist outside interference, much like a fortress."
"Huh?" Honglian rolled her eyes, "Is that considered an ability? Determined individuals are everywhere in the world!"
"It’s not that simple. I guess... it fits precisely with the strategic direction of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism: prosthetic adaptability." Chen Xuan said.
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