Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 261 Invitation

Demons are not suited for combat; they prefer to hide behind the scenes, achieving their goals through intrigue and scheming. This is the Angel Alliance's definition of their number one mortal enemy, but it was only a definition from a hundred years ago.

Elori clearly stated that the newly emerged demon was no longer weak and frail; it had not only masked its unique stench but was also incredibly powerful. She had indeed been severely injured then, but not to the point of losing a physical confrontation to a demon from a century ago. This indicated that the latter had also benefited from the progress of the times, whether from technological advancements or the use of artifacts; the demon had undeniably become more powerful than before.

Therefore, Chen Xuan also needs to gather his strongest fighting force.

Lin Qing and Liu Shuyue are definitely included, the hunting team from Mala Village can also be used, and there is another person he can recruit.

Chen Xuan entered Elori's real home through room 204.

The first thing he saw when he opened the door was Liuli leaning against the windowsill, staring blankly at the street scene outside. The large straw hat was still on her head, and the white veil covered her entire face.

Hearing the door open, she slowly turned her head. "Oh? What brings you here?"

Chen Xuan glanced around the room. The furnishings were neat and tidy, but the atmosphere was cold and impersonal, as if the room remained exactly as it had been before she left. The trash cans were also spotless, as if she hadn't produced any garbage in the past two weeks.

"Have you never ordered takeout before?"

When she left, Elori clearly gave her a credit card with enough money for living expenses.

"I am a rare creature, and it doesn't matter if a rare creature doesn't eat." Liuli propped up her hat with the hilt of her sword, her eyes crinkling with laughter. "What, you're starting to care about that now?"

Yes, this is the N21 he knows well, who always wears a smile but actually maintains a distance.

But now Chen Xuan knows that this sense of distance is not because she is averse to close contact with humans.

"Give."

He tossed something with a flick of his wrist.

Liuli easily accepted it, but was momentarily stunned when she held it up to her eyes.

It was a can of ice-cold beer.

“I… I never drink,” she said, shaking her head.

Chen Xuan almost burst out laughing. Is this the same person who could pile up empty wine bottles all over Elori's small table?

"Is it that you don't want to drink, or that you haven't had the chance to drink?" he said dismissively. "Give it a try. Famous swordsmen in history were always accompanied by fine wine."

"Do you think I'm a child?"

Despite her disdain, Liuli still opened the tab and took a sip.

"How about it?"

"What do you mean 'what'? It's just a slightly bitter drink," Liuli commented. "Besides, swordsmen don't drink this kind of wine. They'll just find it bland. You should at least bring a bottle of rice wine or baijiu."

After saying that, she took another sip.

"If you want to drink it, you can buy it yourself," Chen Xuan shrugged.

"You didn't come here just for this beer, did you?" Liuli asked him.

"Yes, I'm here to keep my promise. It's time for your knife to draw blood."

"Oh?" Liuli's eyes instantly sharpened. "You figured it out faster than I expected. Very well... Let's go."

She didn't even ask who she was going to chop up.

Chen Xuan gestured for her not to rush, saying, "I still need to prepare some things; I'm not asking you to start right now."

"Then why didn't you call me when you were about to make your move?" Liuli suddenly felt a surge of anger. "Wasn't that just making me wait for nothing?"

"Feel sorry."

"Uh... there's no need to apologize, I just said it casually..."

"I'm not sorry about that, but about leaving you here all alone."

Liuli was stunned, and even stopped eating the beer can she had brought to her lips.

Chen Xuan continued, “I used to think you were a rare object, and having guarded the temple’s treasury for so many years, you must have gotten used to being alone. But that’s not the case. Your appearance is human, and your needs are the same as humans’. And no one likes to be alone for the rest of their life.”

He initially left her there because she wasn't a customer, and keeping her in the shop might pose a safety risk. However, upon reflection, he realized he was overthinking it. Ruri would rather guard the treasure vault for another thirty years than choose to be hostile to Lucy. Now that he had absorbed Lucy's flesh and blood, he essentially inherited that constraint; otherwise, Ruri wouldn't have needed to obey him at all and would have stayed in Elori's cottage, never stepping outside. Furthermore, N21 in his dream had already shown him what a familiar Ruri would be like.

The distance she deliberately maintains is not because she doesn't want to have deep relationships with humans.

She was afraid that her nature would ruin the hard-won relationship she had with a certain friend.

"Come with me to the shop," Chen Xuan invited.

"In the shop?"

“Yes, the place where I work is also like my home,” he said with a smile. “It’s a lively place, and most of the people you know hang out there.”

“Okay.” Liuli readily agreed. “I’m very happy that you think this way. I even feel a little regretful that the day I’m going to kill someone will be delayed.”

"No, what I mean is, you can stay there permanently in the future."

After Chen Xuan finished speaking, he reached out his hand to her.

Liuli blinked and placed her hand in his palm.

……

The next step is to find the demon.

This wasn't too difficult, especially after Chen Xuan became increasingly adept at mastering the Dream Weaver's abilities.

He first went to Paris in the future, found the murder scene described by Lin Qing, and spent a day memorizing the layout of the nearby streets and buildings. This helped him to pinpoint the location more accurately in his dreams when recreating the scene.

Then he went to Beitianyuan again and fell asleep in the medical room.

Before entering the dream, Chen Xuan had already set the scene and the nature of the dream—it was a nightmare, and the protagonist was Elori. At the moment the little angel was attacked, the streets were still empty, as if it were being chased by a group of unseen shadows.

Chen Xuan directly chose to replace Elori.

The dream maker can not only invite real people into the dream and seamlessly connect with the illusory figures in the dream, but also allow him to enter the perspective of the dreamer and peek into the memory of that illusory figure at that moment.

In an instant, Chen Xuan felt his surroundings suddenly change. The streets were no longer silent, but filled with the whooshing sound of bullets whizzing through the air and the sound of pursuing footsteps behind him. Several places on his body throbbed with excruciating pain, but it was quickly suppressed by the dream—too realistic sensory feedback could easily wake him up, so a certain degree of pain reduction was necessary.

This recurring nightmare has no interpretation; it is Elori's most authentic experience and, in Lin Qing's words, the closest thing to Mewtwo's usage.

Chen Xuan saw himself fly up, then be intercepted by the demon in mid-air and forced to fall to the ground by his head.

The enemy's appearance was clearly discernible.

Because he knew Elori, and Elori had also met him, even if only briefly, but the impression she had made on her was incredibly deep.

The moment it hit the ground, the streetscape began to collapse rapidly, with countless snowflakes appearing out of thin air, as if the world was on the verge of collapse. This was due to both unstable memories and the mismatch between the phantom and the substitute, with the latter being the key factor. Chen Xuan had tried this method before; using the dream creator to experience things from another's perspective could only last for a very short time before the dream would naturally collapse.

After Chen Xuan fell to the ground, he was unable to get up again.

More than a dozen people were chasing him, almost completely blocking the alley. One of them stepped forward and pointed a gun at his forehead.

After a gunshot, everything went black instantly.

He knew that Elori had already lost consciousness, and only the living dead were maintaining her barely perceptible life.

But the memory did not end there.

It was as if the angel himself, immersed in the healing jar, was gritting his teeth and persevering, unwilling to let the dream end. Snowflakes were everywhere, densely covering the entire darkness, and Chen Xuan could only rely on sound to discern his surroundings. The chaotic footsteps quickly faded into the distance, and the long wail of sirens descended from the sky. Someone approached him, muttering as they searched his body, seemingly trying to eliminate anything that could serve as evidence. Everything that was happening at this moment was like a rapidly moving revolving lantern.

Just as the dream was about to completely collapse, he heard a conversation.

"Andorra Police Superintendent... what are you doing here?"

"I was just passing by. Work is more important, let's deal with the case first."

"Yes!"

Chen Xuan grinned.

...I've found you.

(End of this chapter)