Welcome to Ability Store

Chapter 414: Chapter 415: A Reassuring Exchange

Lin rescued Rodiya and sent her to New City, far from trouble. She joined the agency initially as a start of a new life, but unexpectedly, the Evangelical Association eventually detected the intelligence she carried away—even though she did not disclose any of it to any Mechanical Officer.

"I’ve told you everything you wanted to know, now you can take me away, right?" Rodiya threw off the quilt, attempting to get down from the hospital bed, "I always felt unsafe here, my death notice should have been conveyed by an insider, but he was caught by you..."

Chen Xuan reached out to stop her, "No, you can’t leave."

"What?" She was taken aback, then she realized, "You mean to say joining the agency is my destiny... just because you saw in the future that I am a Mechanical Officer?"

"Changing the future might lead to many unintended consequences, if unnecessary—"

"I don’t care about that damn future!" Rodiya yelled interrupting him, "You promised to protect me completely, if I die, your friend can never be found again either..."

Her voice suddenly lowered.

This is where Mind Reading Technique comes in handy.

Even if Chen Xuan doesn’t explain, she can understand that Chen Xuan hasn’t changed his promise.

"...Are you serious?" Rodiya asked in disbelief, "Send me to the agency headquarters, a place you can’t even touch, and still be confident in keeping me safe?"

"Exactly." Chen Xuan affirmed.

"How do you plan to do that?"

This time, it was his turn to be surprised, "Can’t you hear the plan I have in mind?"

Rodiya hesitantly pressed her forehead, "What’s this... all I hear is noise, I can’t understand..."

Clearly, this situation was extremely rare for her.

Chen Xuan was just thinking about ability exchange. He suddenly realized that the information about the Ability Store was interfered with, even though related keywords kept flashing in his mind, all she could hear was noise.

Given this, he simply suggested, "Do you know what the World Ability Center is?"

This time she successfully captured his thoughts.

"...Shixin?" Rodiya was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "A consciousness born from myriad abilities... does such a magical thing truly exist in the world?"

"Yes, it is also my greatest support against the Dimensional Limit Mechanism." Chen Xuan nodded, "Simply put, I plan to use its power to exchange your ability."

For him, this was the most secure choice—retrieving Lin Qing was something he had to do personally and not entrust to any other Ability User. At the same time, once Rodiya gave up the Mind Reading Technique, she would no longer need to fear the agency probing her ability and then coercing her into becoming an incubation machine for the Mechanical Officers.

As for the secrets she held, they were not really a big issue. The danger of secrets arises because they are not yet public; once Chen Xuan disseminates them actively, the Evangelical Association would naturally have no more reason to pursue Rodiya.

He believed Rodiya could think of this key point, which is whether she is willing to relinquish this ability.

"Really? That’s great!" Unexpectedly, Rodiya grabbed his hands, the excitement on her face was overflowing!

"Uh... you don’t like your ability?"

"Of course, who would like such an ability!" She replied without hesitation, "Every day there’s an endless stream of whispers, most are dark and disgusting, listening to them for another second makes me want to puke, and I can’t block my ears either. Yes! It is indeed convenient at times, but the trouble it brings far outweighs the convenience, not to mention it also attracts life-threatening dangers! I just want to live a bit more easily, rather than constantly being anxious about those secrets."

"If that’s the case, then let’s start now." Chen Xuan did not wish to delay, to avoid unnecessary complications.

Rodiya quickly nodded, "What should I do? Pray to Shixin?"

"No need, you just need to look at the camera." Chen Xuan took out his phone and aimed at her, actually pressing the scan button on his glasses.

"Mind Reading Technique" LV3, Gold.

—"You can taste the thoughts and ideas of others, and even record a person’s birth, aging, illness, and death. After seeing all of life, can you answer this question to yourself: What really is the human heart? Reminder: The effect is better when used making contact."

Chen Xuan had read this description before.

But after hearing Rodiya’s story, he had an inkling of the answer to this self-question.

The Mind Reading Technique doesn’t read thoughts or ideas.

Otherwise, when he recalled information about the Ability Store, she shouldn’t have only heard noise.

"The human heart is the soul." He whispered.

"What?" Rodiya paused.

"Nothing, you just need to agree next."

Chen Xuan executed a formal exchange, allowing her to become a registered customer of the store, able to use the "customer recall" function to quickly escape in an emergency.

The moment the trade was completed, Rodiya looked at her hands in surprise, saying, "Shixin... gave me two abilities?"

She initially thought the exchange was simply to take away her ability, but unexpectedly, there was compensation.

"Yes, since you have to stay in the agency, having an Ability User identity is better than being a regular person." Chen Xuan said.

The exchanged abilities were "Divination Technique" and "Magic Wolf Summoning," offerings from the Witch Gathering Hall, commonly used magic by witches.

"I actually... know how to use them..." She said incredulously.

"Want to try?" Chen Xuan smiled.

The "Divination Technique" is rather abstract; it can make a "good" or "bad" judgment on a decision, with accuracy decreasing as the decision becomes more specific. For example, divining whether making a certain appointment on a particular day would work leads to an unreliable result because it’s too specific; to improve accuracy, divining that "today" is better than "going out today" and better than "going out today for an appointment." Therefore, the Witch Gathering Hall recommends using this magic to divine whether a day will be lucky, boasting an accuracy of 75.37%.

Moreover, it requires some sticks as divination materials.

Rodiya wasn’t too interested in this ability, so she chose the latter—she tried pulling out a hair and reciting an incantation, casting "Magic Wolf Summoning."

Instantly, a blue spirit wolf appeared on the hospital bed.

It was about the size of a husky but looked much more imposing, with pointed ears standing upright, vigilantly observing its surroundings as if standing guard for its master.

Rodiya gently placed her hand on the spirit wolf’s head.

The latter immediately squinted its eyes, withdrawing its alert stance, lying down on her body, enjoying the master’s touch while slightly wagging its tail.

She instantly fell in love with this ability.

"Really nice..." Honglian said somewhat enviously, "Can you help me ask Shixin for one too?"

"Sure, I’ll try for you."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow, "I’ll hold you to that."

The witch’s magic is similar to a cultivator’s spells, obtained through study and practice, but with more emphasis on compatibility—a case in point being Marina summoning a magic wolf comparable to the Fenrir of myth, as tall as an apartment building.

Chen Xuan selected these two abilities for specific reasons, knowing what Rodiya, a fugitive, most needed was a sense of security. "Divination Technique" could provide her psychological comfort, while "Magic Wolf Summoning" served as a loyal companion with some combat ability against enemies.

They might not be as magical as the Mind Reading Technique, but they provide Rodiya with genuine self-defense power.

"I feel for the first time... the world is so quiet." Rodiya murmured as she hugged her magic wolf, "If only I had met you earlier..."

The magic wolf seemed to sense its master’s emotion, sticking out its tongue to lick her cheek.

"By the way, do I have to use this ability to pass on Lin’s powers in the future?" she asked.

"Yes, to lessen disturbance to history, it’s best to do so," Chen Xuan replied, "But don’t worry, Shixin won’t retrieve these two abilities, you can use them indefinitely."

"I see." Rodiya nodded, "Seems I have the chance to return the body."

"Return?" Honglian raised an eyebrow, "You mean Xie Li’s?"

"Before transferring, I drugged her and made her pass out, then held her for a long time, so I got all her memories." She said with some embarrassment, "Actually, I wasn’t trying to back her up either, just wanted to see the dirt in her memories and the bad things she had done in life, so taking her body wouldn’t be so burdensome."