Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 168 "The Best Shop Assistant"

The incident of the unexplained illness quietly subsided.

These days, Chen Xuan still takes two hours to go to the gymnasium to treat the "patients" who have been recruited from other places.

The final count of infected individuals reached 2306, with the majority of those afflicted by the curse likely occurring within the past week. In other words, the efficiency with which the perpetrators cast curses has significantly increased recently.

Chen Xuan guessed that his ability had probably been upgraded.

This also explains why his ability level is LV1 after influencing so many people.

Perhaps at the beginning, his ability was at the green level, and then he improved it through repeated use.

What would have happened if Hokutenin hadn't discovered this?
Will his abilities continue to rise until he becomes the "King of Misfortune"? It would be quite ironic if all of humanity were destroyed by such a person.

"In the history you've recorded, have any ability users caused extremely serious damage?" Chen Xuan asked Lin Qing curiously.

She was wearing her shop assistant uniform and humming a little tune as she wiped down the shelves.

Chen Xuan initially hired her as a shop assistant mainly to meet the requirements for promotion to shop manager. Looking at her brightly colored hair and her ears adorned with decorations, she didn't seem like a typical working-class person.

However, he discovered that he was completely wrong.

Although Lin Qing likes to lie on the sofa and chew snacks when she has free time, and she also likes to use her toes to pick up tissues, she is meticulous when she is working. Whether it is serving customers or keeping the store clean, she does her best and is impeccable.

Even the old man who used to come to buy cigarettes gradually changed his opinion of Lin Qing and stopped looking at her with the same eyes one would use to look at a delinquent girl.

For example, right now, the shelves she wiped look brand new.

"Of course there was, just five years later. This matter was called the nuclear shadow of the new century, and it caused quite a stir."

"Could it be... that the nuclear power plant exploded?"

“No, it was a nuclear bomb that exploded,” Lin Qing said, as if recalling her breakfast that day. “A superhuman emerged within an extreme environmental group, gaining abilities similar to mind control… So, after a year of planning, he and his group, working together from within and without, attacked a British nuclear submarine docked for repairs in Maogang. After gaining command of the submarine, he launched strategic missiles at major British cities—”

"Wait, this really happened?" Chen Xuan was dumbfounded.

"Yes, five of the six missiles were intercepted during their boost phase, but one still landed, ultimately causing a tragedy that killed more than six million people."

Six million...

Chen Xuan twitched his lips. Compared to him, the criminal at Jiangcheng Airport was nothing.

"But at the time, the military chose to conceal the news, claiming it was an attack launched by terrorists. Because the Limit Authority had not yet appeared, and the ability users themselves were a mystery, from an outsider's perspective, it was a military-planned rebellion. It wasn't until the number of crimes committed by ability users became more and more frequent that everyone understood what was really going on."

I should have known better than to ask her.

Well, now that he's got advance notice of a shocking story, he probably won't be able to sleep soundly for the next couple of days.

"Alright, the shelves are all organized," Lin Qing said cheerfully.

"Ah...thank you."

"Hmm? Why are you suddenly thanking me?" She tilted her head slightly.

"It's nothing, I just think you're really amazing. As a future soldier, you're so good at managing a shop, and you can even cook and repair appliances..."

The more Chen Xuan talked, the more something seemed off... Wasn't this an omnipotent person?

Let's double her salary next month.

"Me?" Lin Qing laughed. "Actually, I haven't been doing any of that."

This time it was Chen Xuan's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

“Just like airplanes can be autopiloted, highly cybernetic people can also entrust AI to control their bodies.” She walked to the bar and leaned over to say, “For example, I’ve been listening to music and surfing the internet just now. I’ve already delegated the tasks to Xiao Lv, and it’s responsible for carrying them out. I only need to supervise it occasionally.”

This ability... is way too overpowered!
It's like telling a computer, "You're ready to write your own code."

"I can tell." Lin Qing curled the corners of her lips. "Mr. Manager, you feel guilty because I performed too well, so you've decided to make it up to me, right?" "You're overthinking it." Chen Xuan looked away. Come to think of it, she really didn't hide anything from him.

drip.

The phone on the table suddenly lit up, and a cute duck icon popped up.

Chen Xuan immediately picked up his phone and opened WeChat messages.

"Who is this?" Lin Qing reacted immediately. "You didn't have anyone with this profile picture in your WeChat friends list before."

"No, you still remember this?" Chen Xuan asked in surprise.

“I glanced at it when I encrypted your phone. And if I were monitoring your phone all the time, I wouldn’t have asked you this.” She shrugged. “Judging from the profile picture, it should be a girl.”

"Uh... it's that patient." Chen Xuan said in a nonchalant tone, "You see, she just told me she got home."

After Gu Zhaoning recovered from her illness, her father made a special trip from Shanghai to pick her up and thanked Chen Xuan in person.

Chen Xuan could sense that although the other party expressed his gratitude profusely, his words and expressions always conveyed a sense of distance, especially when the payment was mentioned. Perhaps the Gu family boss was too wealthy and didn't want to be too friendly to a young man, or perhaps he believed that as long as the money was sufficient, it would be enough to express his gratitude.

Chen Xuan suspected that if he had asked for 100 million, the other party might not have refused.

But he had already passed the period when he was most in need of money.

With the dividends from Baicaotang's elixirs and the funds readily available from Walter Company, the store's operation is now completely unimpeded.

So he didn't ask for any payment, only saying, "I'm helping the Northern Heaven Academy, so you don't need to pay me."

Gu Zhaoning, on the other hand, was much more sincere.

She even made an excuse to sneak back when she was about to leave Beitian Academy, apologized to Chen Xuan, and added him on WeChat, saying that if he ever went to Shanghai, he must treat her to a meal.

Now that I'm home, I still remember to send myself a message.

“Oh…” Lin Qing let out a meaningful “Oh,” “Well, she is indeed quite sensible. But I have to tell you, there’s no future for you two.”

"Pfft!" Chen Xuan spat out a mouthful of saliva. "You changed the subject way too fast!"

What the hell!

"There's no other way; the harsh truth must be revealed beforehand to avoid giving you any expectations."

Seeing how serious she was, Chen Xuan became curious. "Why?"

"Because she is the daughter of Dingsheng Pharmaceuticals. Don't be fooled by the fact that this company is now very close to Beitian Institute. In the history I remember, their interests were closely tied to those of the Weixian Agency. They were, in a sense, major contributors to the agency's achievement of leading position in pharmaceutical technology. In other words, the Gu family will become your enemy sooner or later."

There's actually such a thing...

Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow in surprise, "I thought you were just joking."

"Are you kidding the store manager's lifelong happiness? I wouldn't do something like that." Lin Qing whistled. "Although the strategic decision-making of a large company is probably not related to the boss's daughter at all, if you really become enemies, the collapse of the building will hurt your relationship. So to avoid unnecessary internal friction, it's better not to have any interaction in the first place."

Chen Xuan rolled his eyes.

"You're right, but I never thought that way in the first place."

"That would be great." Lin Qing took two quick steps, plopped down on the sofa, and started relaxing.

Looking at the severely sunken sofa, Chen Xuan suspected it wouldn't last more than a few months.

To say that the only gains from this collaboration with Beitianyuan were their recognition and the treatment they received as VIPs would be inaccurate.

He turned his gaze back to the computer, where he saw that the inventory was full of grayed-out negative abilities.

This can be considered one of his major gains—or even his most important gain.

(End of this chapter)