Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 46 - 45: A Step Too Late

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"The source of the intrusion point is right in the room." Wang Baihu looked at the indicator on his wrist and said in a low voice, "Be careful."

Honglian nodded, holding the gun in both hands and forcefully shoved the door open, sweeping the empty room with the gun barrel.

"Hey, what’s the situation?"

Seeing no movement for a long time, Wang Baihu, who was hiding in the corridor, couldn’t help but ask.

"She’s dead."

"Dead? Who?" He was momentarily stunned, then followed to enter the room.

On the floor lay a withered woman, her eyes wide open, one hand reaching toward the intrusion point, seemingly trying to escape back to another world.

Honglian squatted nearby, her right hand pressing on the woman’s neck, "There’s still a little warmth, she hasn’t been dead for more than two hours. Little Pigeon, can you confirm her identity?"

"Just a moment, I’ll be right there." The person who was called rushed upstairs from below, unloaded the equipment from the backpack, and began scanning the deceased.

"Could this person be the Wanderer we’ve been looking for?" Wang Baihu frowned, "How did she die?"

"I don’t know." Honglian examined her body, "No obvious trauma, signs of a blow on the face, but not fatal." She scanned the surroundings again, "There seems to have been a fight here, but it wasn’t intense. Considering all this..."

"An ability killed her." Wang Baihu added.

"Bone, blood, and iris data have all been compared; there’s no record of her." Little Pigeon finished scanning, "She’s not from this world."

"Then she’s most likely the Wanderer." Wang Baihu’s expression turned grim, "This intrusion point is quite concealed, the intelligence team just recently marked it as suspicious waves, didn’t expect someone to act even faster than us."

"Was she killed by another Wanderer?" Little Pigeon asked timidly.

"It’s hard to say." He shook his head, the so-called Wanderers are just a special category among those who acquire abilities. Any degree of intrusion can disrupt the world’s stability, manifesting as some people awakening strange powers. Both he and Honglian belong to this category. The city has many people whose fates converge, a considerable number of whom are not tracked by the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, these people don’t count as Wanderers, but it doesn’t mean they can’t use abilities to kill."

"If not for the last Mirage incident, the intelligence team might be able to investigate who did it, but now that’s impossible." Wang Baihu sighed, "Even dogs are affected, I can’t imagine how many Ability Users emerged in the city after that day, this job is simply unmanageable."

Though they’re not responsible for aftermath, everyone works in the same place, if the Execution Team doesn’t do their job well, or if things escalate, complaints from the Logistics Team will reach the office.

"What do we do now, contact the Logistics Team to clean up the scene?" Little Pigeon asked.

"We have to do that for now." He agreed, "Though the mission hit a snag, it might not be a bad thing for you. Who knows what abilities a Wanderer might have... If a fight breaks out, a single slip could mean life or death."

Saying this, he couldn’t help but complain, "Who knows what the upper management is thinking, you just joined the mechanism recently without any field experience, and they directly put you into the Execution Team, they simply don’t care about rookies."

"Hehe, that’s not the case... The mechanism lacks personnel now, I’m willing to join the Execution Team." Little Pigeon cheekily smiled, "Though I might be inexperienced, I’ll make sure I don’t drag you down!"

"Wait, don’t call anyone yet." Honglian suddenly stopped them.

"What’s wrong?"

Her gaze had been fixed on the deceased’s hand, Wang Baihu turned his head to look, noticing a distinct bruise on the woman’s wrist, with a handgun dropped nearby.

Even if the Wanderer doesn’t belong to this world, holding a gun isn’t a rare thing. In fact, this is the advantage of Wanderers, due to frequent travels through multiple worlds, they’re more likely to acquire unknown weapons and abilities, making them harder to deal with than ordinary Ability Users.

"The killer initially stood at the entrance to the room." Honglian followed the footprints on the ground, "But after just one encounter, he swapped places with the deceased, blocking the intrusion point ahead. This process didn’t seem accidental, instead, it was quite decisive, the deceased didn’t react before being dragged out."

"Are you saying... reaching for wasn’t the intrusion point door, but her enemy?"

"Not just that, she fired during the swap," she pointed to two inconspicuous holes in the wall, "Unfortunately, neither hit the target."

"Maybe she’s not skilled with guns?" Wang Baihu shrugged, unsure what his colleague was pondering.

"According to Sister Honglian, the distance between these two was likely very close, almost point-blank." Little Pigeon murmured.

"Cut off the deceased’s escape route from the start, meaning the killer knew that door was the embodiment of the intrusion point. This wasn’t a chance encounter but a premeditated act—the killer discovered this abnormal intrusion point earlier than the Dimensional Limit Mechanism." Honglian closed her eyes as she spoke, a silhouette emerged in her mind. Likewise, firing at such close range, but that person had extremely keen eyesight, even bullet trajectories could be seen clearly...

The deceased drew her gun immediately, but if the enemy could foretell when she’d pull the trigger, even at arm’s length, it wouldn’t be easy to hit.

Next came a punch to the face, not those half-transparent blades floating in the air.

Why?

To avoid leaving conspicuous blade wounds?

Because he knew someone would soon come looking.

Honglian felt a chill down her spine, indeed, that’s what’s been bothering her since entering the room: why didn’t the killer handle the corpse? Given that he knew the bathroom door led to another world, tossing the deceased inside would only take a few minutes. But he did nothing, letting the scene remain untouched... This wasn’t a provocation to the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, but an intentional bait!

If there truly exists a group secretly dealing with the anomalies caused by Ability Users, how would one determine their identity?

The answer is simple, see with your own eyes who they are.

"Don’t move here! Stay alert!" Honglian suddenly stood up and ran towards a window.

"Huh, where are you going?" Wang Baihu hadn’t reacted yet, only to see his colleague flip out of the window.

She stepped on the wall, leapt upward to grab the eaves, and dashed onto the rooftop like a cat.

Where would that person be hiding?

On the mountain behind the club, in the farmhouses near the fields, or on the nearby overpass!?

Honglian scanned around, her gaze finally landing on the ring road in front of the club—it’s the only road connecting the club and the urban area. The bridge was teeming with traffic, every vehicle looking incredibly suspicious. The murderer might be sitting in the driver’s seat, peering through dark glass at this place.

"Hey, did you find anything?" Wang Baihu’s voice came through the earpiece.

"...No, maybe I’m overthinking it." Honglian shook her head, yet a shadow seemed to hang over her heart, as if someone was silently watching her.

...

...

Chen Xuan didn’t immediately return to Celestial Ridge District; instead, he had the driver circle the city twice.

Sitting in the back seat, he appeared to be resting with his eyes closed but was actually calming the impact from Guess the Coin—the abilities won from Fei Wuniang also included several pieces of her past life. Those memories floated in his mind like clouds, as if they were scenes from dreams.

Fei Wuniang was not her real name; she had lived in a brothel since childhood, where she could watch the bustling street from the window of a second-floor room.

It was an ancient town similar to Zhangwei.

As she grew, she became increasingly popular, meeting many patrons from all over, including a foreign man who liked to guess coins.

The man taught her the Joyful Union Technique, then died on her bed.

At the moment of death, the man showed no fear, only a sense of relief. His body turned into black water, staining the flower-embroidered sheets. Fei Wuniang wailed while clutching empty clothes, as if losing her most beloved lover.

Afterward, she became unstoppable on the path of acquiring abilities, her appearance grew even more alluring.

As for how she found the entry point or what she did in this world, her memory didn’t mention at all.

There were several moments when Chen Xuan felt as if he was Fei Wuniang, as if he had gained an extra life.

It took him a long time to shake off this influence.

Why didn’t the intelligence from the Dimensional Limit Mechanism mention this ability’s side effect?

Could it be that they didn’t obtain Fei Wuniang’s information through Guess the Coin?

For most ordinary people, they are unaware if they possess abilities at all. For example, before Chen Xuan became a store manager, he had no idea that enjoying food and sleeping soundly were considered abilities.

This implies that the Dimensional Limit Mechanism should have another method for detecting abilities.

If the captured individuals are willing to obey the mechanism, that’s fine; if they refuse to cooperate, does the mechanism have ways to strip those abilities?

Chen Xuan temporarily pressed this doubt in his heart.

Despite some unexpected side effects, this trip was indeed fruitful. He acquired six abilities from Fei Wuniang, all stored in the inventory, with the only downside being no increase in performance points.

Opening the Ability Manager app made everything clear, and they are:

"Dancing Genius" Level 2.

——"Artist in bodily control, until nerve control techniques emerge."

"Innate Charm" Level 3.

——"Upon greeting, the other party already thinks of naming their children."

"Immune to Poison" Level 5.

——"Seldom get sick, unharmed by toxins. One component of longevity ability."

"Joyful Union Technique" Level 5.

——"A major obstacle on life’s reproductive road is pleasure surpassing responsibility. It’s more thorough, not only to enjoy extreme happiness but also to absorb the essence from the other party to nourish oneself. The problem is... Is it really yours?"

"Strong Robbery" Level 1.

——"If you can’t buy it, rob it. Inferior ability, recommend permanent sealing. Warning: Any abilities obtained by non-trade means are considered severe infringement."

"Guess the Coin" Level 1.

——"Taboo +5."