Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 257: Finding Every Way
"Will there be ways to restore brain function in the future?"

Chen Xuan realized that things couldn't continue like this. The living dead only kept her body alive, but if she never woke up, it wouldn't be much different from death.

“It’s impossible.” Lin Qing shook her head. “No prosthetic body can replace the function of the brain. Even the most extreme modified warriors still need to retain their brains.”

"That memory backup you mentioned before doesn't work either?"

She shrugged. "Its function is to digitize memories. I've heard that the most advanced version can even overwrite other people's memories, with effects similar to possession. But digitized memories are not the same as the person. If a person truly has a soul, it must be bound to the brain."

Since the technological route is not feasible, the elixirs of the Lotus Cloud Sect seem to be the only solution at present.

Did they run to the summit of Kunlun Mountain to ask them for elixirs?
This idea sounds far-fetched.

Chen Xuan had been to the summit of Kunlun Mountain—through Liu Zhidong's memories. He "saw" this sect disciple standing atop the snow-capped mountain, seemingly knocking on a dark blue gate, but the gate remained unmoved. Even their disciple couldn't open the gate, so bringing Liu Shuyue along probably wouldn't make much difference.

Wait a minute... Chen Xuan suddenly thought, what about the Lotus Cloud Sect that the twins founded?

If Ji Yun and Ji Lian's sect will one day become the true Lianyun Sect, then they should have everything that the Lianyun Sect possesses.

Of course, he had no way of knowing how long this process would take.

But we can look at it from another angle. For example, we could ask Ji Yun to give us a token that the sect would definitely trust, and then use that to open the sect's gate in exchange for elixirs. If the twins are truly the founders of the Lotus Cloud Sect, then they are like patriarchs, and their descendants have no reason not to obey this order!

Lin Qing was taken aback after hearing Chen Xuan's idea.

"Uh...it seems...maybe...perhaps it will work. If the two Lotus Cloud Sects are really related."

Whether there is a relationship or not can also be determined using this method.

"I'll go there right now."

“Wait a minute,” Lin Qing called out to him, “This isn’t something that can be done in a short time. And rather than completely curing Elori, I think we should prioritize talking to her and telling her not to give up her will to live. In the future, some neuroscientists have studied that if a person is unable to sense the outside world for a long time, some brain functions will degenerate, such as the area responsible for thinking completely stopping. This is also why it is difficult for a person in a vegetative state to wake up.”

"How so? Is she in a condition where she can hear me?"

"Of course not...that's why I was wondering if your ability might work."

ability?

Chen Xuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what the other person was referring to.

"The Dream Weaver? Isn't that just a simple dream?"

"That's true, but it might not be so ethereal." Lin Qing pondered for a moment before continuing, "You're a user of this ability, so you might not feel it deeply, but in my opinion, it will affect reality to some extent."

"What do you mean?" This was the first time Chen Xuan had heard her talk about this.

"You used this ability a few times on your own before inviting me into your dream, right?"

He nodded, because Su Xingwan couldn't offer him any experience; he had to test things out little by little on his own.

“Actually, I did sense it,” Lin Qing said slowly. “I vaguely dreamed about working in the shop while I was sleeping those few days, but I didn’t pay attention to it at the time. It wasn’t until later when I entered a dream that I remembered that the blurry scene I saw in the dream was almost the same as the scene when I entered the dream.”

Uh... that's a bit of a convoluted way of putting it.

Chen Xuanli understood what she meant after a moment's thought. She dreamt about the Ability Shop, was in the Ability Shop when she entered the dream, and was still in the Ability Shop when she was working there. In short, the shop surrounded her for those few days.

This is incredible.

Even if she doesn't enter a dream, will she still be affected by the power?

“If I don’t enter the dream, I won’t be able to perceive it,” Lin Qing added. “After all, most of a real dream is forgotten as soon as you wake up, leaving only a vague impression.”

"So that's how it is." Chen Xuan quickly realized that the character in the dream was probably not purely a figment of his imagination. When creating Lin Qing, it may have indeed referenced Lin Qing's own memories, which is why she had the feeling of Zhuangzi's dream.

However, this effect is obviously limited.

Otherwise, it would be quite terrifying if the entire city had the same dream. The Jiangcheng created by the dream creator appeared deserted, with hardly anyone on the streets, clearly influenced by this restriction.

What are the limiting conditions?

Chen Xuan suddenly realized something—Lin Qing was also very familiar with him. Similarly, the reason Liu Shuyue would appear in the shop was because they knew each other.

"According to this logic, didn't Liu Shuyue also dream about the shop during those days?"

"I don't know about that. She's in another world, and her sleep schedule is different, so it's normal that I don't dream about her," Lin Qing replied.

“That makes sense.” Chen Xuan suddenly thought of Su Xingwan’s dream. “Why were there so many people in Su Xingwan’s dream? I remember she said that at the beginning, a large number of people fled the city.”

"Have you forgotten what she did before?" Lin Qing had obviously thought about this question as well.

He suddenly understood; the band's lead singer was practically an idol. The number of people she knew, and the number of people who knew her, must be several times greater than his. "Could all of those people be her fans?"

"Very likely," the other party affirmed.

“Okay, I understand your thoughts.” Chen Xuan nodded. “If I dream of Elori, I can obtain an Elori that is close to reality. At the same time, this ability will also affect her, making her dream of seeing me?”

“That’s right. If my assumption is correct, even if she doesn’t wake up, you can still communicate indirectly.”

"Then why don't I just invite her into my dream?" Chen Xuan asked.

As the one who initiated the ability, he didn't really understand the feelings of the dreamer.

"Let's not even talk about whether she can respond to your invitation while she's unconscious. Even if she could, it would only replace the Elori in your dream with an Elori whose brainwaves are disordered. It's not a good thing to think about."

Lin Qing's reasoning was simple: Chen Xuan had never seen a foolish or insane version of Elori, and the template he created in his dream was most likely the little angel he was most familiar with in daily life. But if the template were replaced by the original's fragmented consciousness, turning her into a crazy version that Chen Xuan would see, it would definitely leave a deep impression on his memory. And if he tried to recreate it later, it might be impossible to change it back.

Therefore, the safest approach is to simply dream about her without inviting her into the dream.

The two discussed the details and decided to give it a try immediately.

Of course, asking Ji Yun for a token was also necessary, so Chen Xuan first went to Mala Village and entrusted the matter to Liu Shuyue.

In any case, for Gemini, Liu Shuyue's influence was more effective than his own.

Upon arriving at Beitian Academy, Sun Suigong was quite surprised by Chen Xuan's request, "Young friend, do you want to take a nap in the medical room?"

"Yes, this is a special treatment method I came up with," Chen Xuan explained. "The equipment can remain on, but all the doctors must leave, leaving only Ms. Lin and me on site."

"Hmm..." He stroked his beard. "Alright, I agree. Anyway, this is the patient you brought in, so you decide how to treat him."

"Thank you," Chen Xuan said gratefully.

Not only were the doctors removed, but a bed was also to be moved in – this absurd act was clearly intended to damage the dean's prestige. Unfortunately, he couldn't explain the reason, nor could he provide a clear explanation.

These requests were quickly fulfilled with Dean Sun's support.

Even the lights in the medical room were turned off; the dim room was more conducive to falling asleep.

Lin Qing didn't enter his dream; instead, she stayed by his side to prevent any accidents. After all, this wasn't an ability shop, and basic safety precautions still needed to be taken into account.

Chen Xuan gazed at Elori, who was still sleeping in the glass jar, and slowly closed his eyes.

He had to create the most suitable environment for Elori to appear. Just as he couldn't recreate the Azure Dragon Vortex in Jiangcheng, a reasonable and familiar environment, coupled with matching memories, was necessary to achieve the correct result.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally fell into a deep sleep.

When Chen Xuan opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting crookedly at an old desk, with a photo frame on the desk containing a picture of Elori when she was a child.

(End of this chapter)