Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 46 A New Shop Assistant

Judging from the description, Fei Wuniang died probably because she lost the art of lovemaking.

God knows how many people's life essence she absorbed with this ability.

Besides these, there are two other abilities that Chen Xuan is particularly interested in. One is "immunity to all poisons," which is green in rarity and has a standard description, but the word "component" appears for the first time later on.

Does this mean that abilities can not only be upgraded and promoted, but also combined?

This app is just too rudimentary; its fragmented instructions seem to have come from nowhere. It has several components, but how to combine them is completely unclear. He could only speculate that the combined ability should cover all component effects and have a higher tier. Putting everything else aside, the fact that it saves on inventory space is already quite valuable.

The other one is "coin toss," purple is rare, and the price is higher than he expected.

Moreover, there is no description at all, just like with "black magic," only the word "forbidden."

What exactly is taboo about it? Doesn't the Fei dancer often use it to kill people?
Even Gillespie could freely use black magic.

However, the app's display clearly has its own logic. If being immune to all poisons is considered a kit capability, then this should be considered a series capability.

Sets, series... Chen Xuan couldn't help but think of a game that started with the number D.

Comparing these six abilities with Lin Qing's information reveals that the organization only recorded "naturally alluring," "immune to all poisons," "theft," and "coin toss." "Dance prodigy" and "the art of lovemaking" were not mentioned.

Why? Is it because they are unimportant?
At least the Hehuan Technique can satisfy some special needs, such as assassination and intelligence work.

He discovered that it wasn't difficult to draw a conclusion: the Dimensional Limitation Agency's "definition" of abilities differed from that of the Ability Shop. Dance prodigy might be Fei Wuniang's natural talent, while the Aphrodisiac Technique was a learned dual cultivation spell; neither was considered an ability. This wasn't likely the agency being picky, but rather that only abilities triggered by intrusion events could be detected by them.

The Ability Shop is different; it's like the ocean, encompassing everything.

This indirectly proves his previous guess—the Limitless Agency did not win this battle by flipping a coin.

……

As dusk approached, Chen Xuan returned to the shop.

He took out his keys, opened the roller shutter door, and found it eerily quiet inside. Lin Qing, who used to always lie on the sofa with her eyes closed, was nowhere to be seen.

The shop hasn't even been open for the past two days because the walls damaged by machine gun fire haven't been repaired yet, and her injuries haven't fully healed, so it's impossible for her to go out alone.

Thinking back to how he had recently snatched the "prey" from the Weixian Agency, Chen Xuan's heart tightened.

Could it be that the other party has come knocking on our door?

He called out to Lin Qing a few times through his headset, but there was no response.

Without further hesitation, Chen Xuan took out the barcode scanner and activated its ability to immediately recall the customer. In a flash, Lin Qing appeared at the bar, holding a spatula in her hand.

"Huh? What happened?" She looked completely bewildered.

"Where...where did you go?" Chen Xuan was also a little confused.

"I'm upstairs, why did you suddenly come downstairs?" Lin Qing was stunned for a moment, then slapped her forehead, "Oh no, the food is going to burn!"

After saying that, she turned around and ran up the stairs.

Seeing that she was alright, Chen Xuan felt relieved and curiously followed her to the third floor. This was the restaurant floor that had been added after the manager was promoted, including a private room that could accommodate more than a dozen people and a kitchen where cooking was done.

The kitchen was brightly lit.

To his surprise, there were dishes laid out on the long table outside, and more than one dish at that.

There are home-style stir-fried vegetables, as well as pan-fried fish fillets with mushrooms that are as well-presented as those in a hotel. Even a rich soup and dessert are prepared.

The lavish display left Chen Xuan dumbfounded.

He usually eats takeout or instant noodles and almost never cooks for himself.

Lin Qing then came out carrying a plate of stir-fried prawns. "I forgot to say welcome back. Please sit down. This is a celebration feast prepared for you. I don't know if it suits your taste."

Chen Xuan, who was usually very talkative, opened his mouth but didn't know where to begin.

After a long pause, he finally managed to come up with the dumbest question.

"Uh...you did all of this?"

"Not entirely. That food processor was quite advanced; it could automatically cut and wash food, cook it, and plate it. It felt like something from 20 years in the future. I just programmed it to do things my way," Lin Qing said with a smile.

Chen Xuan couldn't say for a moment whether cooking a gourmet meal himself or programming a food processor was more impressive.

But is the restaurant in the store really that advanced?
He didn't even visit the third floor after unlocking this department.

Chen Xuan hesitated for a moment, then picked up a piece of fried fish and put it in his mouth. The freshness of the chicken-of-the-woods mushroom, the crispy aroma of the fish skin, the exotic fragrance of the black truffle, and the slight spiciness of the pepper—these flavors unfolded in his mouth one after another, creating a rich and layered experience that blended perfectly. If no one had been watching, he would have hummed aloud. This was a hundred times better than any pre-made takeout.

"How was it?" Lin Qing asked expectantly.

"It's quite...delicious," Chen Xuan said honestly.

“That’s good,” she said with satisfaction. “This is the first time I’ve made these things, and it seems these recipes are reliable.”

"What recipe?" Chen Xuan pointed to the table opposite him, gesturing for her to sit down and eat with him. "Don't you need to practice cooking before you learn?"

“I don’t have time to learn how to cook. These are just bits and pieces of knowledge stored in a memory chip.” Lin Qing picked up her chopsticks. “In our time, people no longer needed to learn skills; they could just buy the relevant chips. For example, this one in my head… it contains all sorts of random information.”

"This is so convenient, it's really great," Chen Xuan exclaimed.

"There are pros and cons," she said noncommittally. "Basic education has become like a basic chip, while some knowledge has become the exclusive domain of high-ranking figures, and it's hard to buy it no matter how much money you spend."

That actually... makes it easier to solidify. Chen Xuan changed the subject, "What did you mean by the victory celebration banquet you mentioned earlier?"

"It's a little tradition passed down from the Maintenance Agency. If the first mission is successfully completed, the team will hold a banquet like this." Lin Qing blinked. "I saw that there were some vegetables in the refrigerator and the kitchen equipment was complete, so I thought I'd cook a feast. Of course... if you want to eat it in the future, I can cook it every day."

Chen Xuan realized she was deliberately trying to curry favor. "...What exactly are you up to?"

"How can you call it an attempt!" Lin Qing protested, raising her voice. "I should be fighting alongside you, but now I can only stay in the rear. I can't just sit around doing nothing!"

"That's alright, intelligence support is also very important."

"Really..." Her voice suddenly dropped eight octaves. "Then can I stay in the shop indefinitely? You told me to go out and find a job the other day, and after careful consideration, I realized that finding a job isn't difficult, but it would interfere with my important work. I need to focus all my energy on the impending crisis and also need to be in constant contact with you. The best option is... is..."

She couldn't manage to stammer out anything for a long time.

Chen Xuan naturally knew that she was embarrassed to say that she was eating and staying for free, since he had clearly stated before that he was running a shop, not an agency with special abilities.

"Sure, you've helped me open up a supply channel, so it's not like I'm staying for free."

"That's your reward for helping me fight against the government; it can't be generalized."

I didn't expect her to be so principled.

Wait a minute... I can cook. I'll be staying at the hotel for a long time. Chen Xuan suddenly realized that she was short of a shop assistant. The shop manager's rules didn't mention that she couldn't recruit customers as shop assistants. Most importantly, her world had been destroyed and she couldn't go back even if she wanted to. There was no risk of leaking secrets, nor was there any trouble of suddenly quitting.

"Hmm..." He pretended to hesitate for a moment, "How about this, you work at my restaurant. Officially you'll manage the restaurant, but you won't actually need to do much, just occasionally help me serve customers. I'll pay you a salary, how about that?"

"Really? I'm fine!"

Lin Qing's eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed, as if afraid he would change his mind.

Chen Xuan was secretly delighted. Customers and shop assistants are not the same. If he was too harsh on customers, it would have a bad reputation if word got out, but shop assistants are like his subordinates, so he could order them around as he pleased.

"By the way, are there people within the Limitless Agency who can read other people's abilities?"

"I don't know about that." Lin Qing shook her head. "Personnel information is top secret. Even after the organization split up, this intelligence was never leaked."

"What's going on with the split?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Actually, it's nothing. The organization's funding has always come from subsidies from large corporations, and nanobots are products that these companies have been pushing. Some organization members separated from the company after discovering that nanobots would cause unpredictable disasters. This happened about forty years later. Those who were still willing to serve the company were regarded as lackeys by the separated employees."

Nanobot technology will be born in thirty years... Along with it, prosthetic technology will also develop rapidly, at which time personal prosthetics will quickly become widespread, thus triggering an evolutionary revolution in society. If he hadn't personally rescued Lin Qing from the future, it would be hard to believe that the speed of development in the next few decades would be so astonishing.

"So you don't know exactly how many people are in the maintenance agency right now."

“Yes,” Lin Qing said frankly. “It’s undeniable that the organization is still a colossal entity lurking beneath the surface, and we must proceed with caution. As for your question about whether they possess certain abilities, I can only say that abilities are incredibly diverse. Even if no two are exactly alike, there are some that can be substituted for one another. For example, Fei Wu Niang, whom you defeated today, could use her ‘Plunder’ and ‘Coin Toss’ abilities to steal others’ powers, and there are many other abilities like that… So your question is most likely answered yes.”

Chen Xuan asked that pointed question, "Can institutions also deprive others of their abilities?"

Lin Qing gave a helpless smile. "The Limitless Organization truly takes protecting the world as its mission... so they will spare no expense for this goal. Although this conflicts with the values ​​of many members, stripping them of their abilities is part of the price when there is no better option."

As expected. Chen Xuan thought to himself that Fei Wuniang's information should not be related to coin toss. She was probably subjected to something like soul-searching or memory restoration techniques before she died, so the information did not mention the side effects of coin toss, or the abilities that she never became aware of.

After dinner, Chen Xuan printed out an employee contract from the housekeeper app, had Lin Qing sign it, and then scanned the contract into the database.

Soon, an employee profile appeared in the app, and the applicant met the requirements for a Level 4 store manager. Not only that, he also discovered that the number of available capability providers in the inventory had increased to [2].

In other words, as long as someone becomes an employee of the store, he can change or adjust the employee's skills and inventory capacity at any time.
To be even more capitalist, he could even package and sell Lin Qing's abilities without her knowing.

Chen Xuan suddenly felt that this store might need to expand.

(End of this chapter)