Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 83 Riding the Wind
Apart from Malena and Milton, Chen Xuan brought the remaining twenty-two people back to the restaurant on the third floor of the main store. He then divided them into six groups of four to five people each and arranged for them to stay in the restaurant's private rooms. The private rooms had water and toilets, and were quite spacious even after the tables were removed, so sleeping on the floor was not crowded at all.

Everyone knew that this trip was fraught with risks, and they would be lucky to find a safe place to sleep along the way. The environment of the private room even far exceeded their expectations.

As long as there is food every day, everyone said they could stay here for a year without any problem.

Chen Xuan returned to the branch store entrance and boarded the helicopter with Lin Qing. Liu Shuyue remained inside the branch store, working to close the main door. Once the door was closed, the store would be isolated from this world, and the interior of the building would return to its previous dilapidated state.

Chen Xuan turned around, tossed two helmets to the passengers in the back row, and gestured for them to wear them like he had.

"Sir, may I ask who this lady is...?" Milton couldn't help but ask.

"The navigator I hired will take us eastward."

This timeframe was close to the Age of Exploration, and the navigator was a crucial figure on board, responsible for calculating the course and planning the route.

Lin Qing skillfully flipped through the switches on the control panel, checking the aircraft's status. Then she gave Chen Xuan a thumbs up, "Everything is normal, we can take off at any time."

Chen Xuan flicked his index finger forward, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Lin Qing started the engine.

With the vibration of the engine, the rotor above began to slowly rotate.

The baron and the witch were both startled.

The two were surprised that these long metal strips could spin like a windmill, and quite fast at that.

But they soon realized that it was spinning way too fast!
In just a short while, even my eyes couldn't keep up with the speed at which the long strip was spinning!
However, the rotor's acceleration has only just begun.

Malena thought it was fast, but she didn't expect it to be even faster. She finally got used to it, but its speed was still increasing! In just a few dozen seconds, her mental expectations were broken several times in a row.

The truth is that anyone who rides in a helicopter for the first time will be amazed by the power unleashed by the rotor.

It's different from observing it from a distance. From a distance, you might only find it noisy; but once you're in the center of the airflow, the experience is completely different—the strong wind crashes against the ground like waves, flattening the flowers and grass at your feet and sending pebbles and dirt flying. The sound of the leaves hitting the air is like thunder, and your chest vibrates along with it, making you afraid to even breathe.

At this point, the rotor itself is completely invisible.

It formed a perfect circle above everyone's heads.

As Lin Qing slowly pulled up the collective pitch control stick, the helicopter swayed twice and then suddenly broke free from the shackles of gravity, beginning to climb upwards.

Milton gasped, instinctively sliding his body down and pressing his back firmly against the chair!
Marlena outwardly feigned composure, but inwardly she nearly cried out.

It turns out this car doesn't lack wheels; the wheels are mounted on top!

"Relax, you two just need to enjoy the scenery from now on," Chen Xuan said through the microphone on his helmet.

Soon the plane ascended to an altitude of 200 meters, and the vast city of Paris and its satellite city of Versailles could be seen in the distance.

Lin Qing incorporated the flight path plan into the flight control system and activated the automatic flight system, enabling the helicopter to fly to the designated location via inertial navigation.

Malena stared in astonishment at the rapidly moving earth, hardly believing her eyes.

Is this how gods move?
She admitted that she had underestimated the divine messenger.

Anyone who has never been far from the ground will feel a thrill that comes from the soul when they fly in the sky for the first time.

The farmland looks like a series of yellow and green squares.

The mountains have become lower and smoother, no longer as insurmountable as they used to be.

Even the most magnificent city can now be completely enclosed by the palm of a hand.

The river that runs through the kingdom seems to have shed its dirty and smelly image; it now reflects the color of the sky, like a light blue ribbon.

She seemed to have become a different kind of human being, gaining a completely new perspective on the world from now on.

Malena glanced at Milton again and saw that he had his hands clasped together, eyes closed, and was praying devoutly to God, as if this could shield him from his fear. When the plane landed in the afternoon, she was surprised to find that she had already left the French border.

The villagers, attracted by the roar of the rotor blades, spoke a language she couldn't understand.

However, Milton was able to converse fluently with them.

You couldn't tell at all that he had vomited once before.

"We are now in Lorraine," the Baron said confidently.

Wow! This is incredible speed! They've only been traveling for less than a day! Malena couldn't help but marvel. If they had traveled by carriage along the official roads, it would have probably taken half a month to arrive. Now they've not only made up for the time they spent waiting, but they've also far surpassed the distance traveled.

So slow... This was Chen Xuan's thought, especially after the store opened branches. He could cross half the globe in the blink of an eye, but now taking a helicopter was simply torture.

But this was the fastest mode of transportation he could think of.

Fixed-wing small commercial aircraft may be faster, but they have higher requirements for landing sites, unlike helicopters which can land on any flat ground.

So he chose to go back to the shop to rest, leaving the responsibility of traveling entirely to Lin Qing.

Since there was no satellite navigation or air traffic control, the subsequent journey was only undertaken during the day when the weather was good. During refueling stops, the rear passengers were rotated several times, allowing each member of the delegation to experience the sensory thrill of a high-altitude sightseeing tour.

Of course, once the novelty wore off, the long, non-stop flights became numbing. After all, comfort in small and medium-sized helicopters is practically nonexistent; the seats are rock hard, the cabin is cramped, and you have to endure the rumbling noise of the engine and rotor. As a result, in the later days, Lin Qing was often the only passenger on board—according to Chen Xuan, this was not because he wanted to be lazy, but because fewer people meant a lighter load, which effectively increased the flight range and helped the delegation arrive earlier.

After flying for eleven days, the helicopter finally crossed the South Asian region and entered the territory ruled by the Ming Dynasty from the Myanmar area.

Considering that the vast southwestern territory was still a place of exile at this time, Lin Qing decided to continue to venture deeper into the northeast, stopping wherever she found a large city.

This search took another whole day.

The next morning, Lin Qing finally found an ideal target: a giant city located on a plain.

Its scale was astonishing for its time, roughly the size of dozens of Parises, and the city was filled with tall buildings that were wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, resembling conical spires. No comparable examples of this architectural style can be found in history.

To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, she deliberately landed the helicopter in a woodland several kilometers away from the city, and then set up an inflatable hut to connect to the store's entrance.

"Phew... the air here is so much fresher." Chen Xuan walked into the woods and saw that Lin Qing had covered the helicopter with a camouflage cloth she had bought online. It has to be said, these future soldiers are truly professional.

Liu Shuyue also passed through the curtain at the same time. Before Lin Qing's combat prosthetic body could be used, she was the shop's security force.

After learning from Miss Lin for so many days, Liu Shuyue has roughly understood the store manager's management style and how the store usually expands its business.

"Shall we gather the delegation now?" she asked.

"No rush, let's investigate first." Chen Xuan shook his head and said, "Something is clearly wrong with this city. I suspect that historical information is no longer reliable. I'm not at ease if we don't go into the city to investigate."

If anything goes wrong, they can immediately send a message back to the store, but the envoy group can't run away.

Of course, trying to sneak into the city in casual clothes wouldn't work.

He might be arrested on the spot by the guards.

Fortunately, Chen Xuan had made preparations in advance. He asked Liu Shuyue to prepare two sets of clothes belonging to the Liu family. The cloth clothes worn by ordinary people have not changed much over the centuries. The word "simple and plain" can be used to describe them. The fact that they have no holes or patches is already quite enviable.

"your hair……"

Before Chen Xuan could finish speaking, Lin Qing's colorful hair instantly turned jet black and shiny.

"Amazing," Liu Shuyue murmured. "What kind of magic is this?"

"It's not hair at all, it's just flexible, luminous strands that look like hair. It can change color however you want." Lin Qing put a tattered straw hat on her head, then flashed a V-sign and smiled playfully. "Transformation complete, let's go!"

(End of this chapter)