Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 274 God Descends

After finishing his meal, Wang Baihu returned to his room on the second floor. As soon as he turned on his computer, the screen suddenly went blank.

This kind of problem is quite rare.

He frowned and reached for the reset button, but the pattern suddenly changed. Countless color blocks moved and combined, seemingly reconstructing a new picture.

At the same time, a line of text appeared at the bottom of the screen: "Your name is Wang Baihu, an operator of the Crimson Lotus Group at the Jiangcheng branch of the Limited Agency. Your abilities are 'Extraterrestrial Vision' and 'Lucky Star.' However, these are only the abilities you are familiar with. In fact, you also have two additional abilities: 'Agile Movement' and 'Tower of Despair.' This is all you have as an ability user."

In an instant, Wang Baihu got goosebumps all over his body!
His first thought was, "This is a ghost!"
What abilities each individual possesses is the biggest secret. Even the organization doesn't force them to submit the specific effects of their abilities; it only allows the execution team members to communicate on their own. In other words, the extent to which they are willing to reveal their abilities is entirely voluntary.

Although the names of these abilities sound a bit awkward, they do indeed quite match Wang Baihu's understanding of his own abilities in a literal sense.

So the question is, how did the other party find out about such a secret matter so thoroughly?
After a chill ran down his spine, Wang Baihu immediately realized that his computer had been hacked. He took out his phone to call the intelligence team, only to find that there was no signal at all.

Is this electromagnetic shielding?

Was the hacker near his residence?

Wang Baihu immediately panicked! His whole family was here right now. If something happened, could he protect everyone's safety?

At that moment, new content appeared at the bottom of the screen: "If you want to talk to me, just speak, I can hear you."

Despite his initial anxiety, his mind calmed down. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The scene changed again; this time the color blocks were smaller and much more detailed, initially resembling an abstract pixel painting. Wang Baihu realized it appeared to be a room with a huge glass jar standing in the center.

Subtitle: "Do you remember her? Don't tell anyone, this is your only chance to save her."

Who?
Why did I save her?

Wang Baihu patiently asked, "Could you please state your purpose first? Why pretend like this—"

He suddenly froze halfway through his sentence.

As the resolution of the pixel art gradually increased, he could see the silhouette of the person in the glass jar... The outline of the other person made his heart race.

Why does this person seem so familiar?
A name suddenly popped into his mind.

Elori!
Oh, right, Elori! On the day of the incident at the Five Rings Machinery Factory, he left all the new recruits in the reception hall and ran off alone to look for Honglian. As a result, a large number of mutated monsters appeared in the hall, ultimately leading to Han Yuhao and Li Xing being seriously injured, Jiang Siqi being slightly injured, and Elori simply disappearing...

Missing? Wang Baihu covered his forehead in disbelief. Why had he completely forgotten about this? It had been almost two months since then, and Elori still hadn't returned, yet he hadn't found it strange at all!
Not only him, but also Honglian and Xiaojiu didn't mention Elori at all!

Moreover, Wang Baihu discovered that he couldn't recall how he had forgotten Elori no matter what. He remembered the expansion of the eroded space, he remembered Elori fighting alongside them, and he remembered every moment the task force explored another world, but there was no space within it large enough to accommodate Elori…

It was as if she had vanished into thin air!
"She's still alive, and she's in Jiangcheng." Another line of text appeared: "You've forgotten her because history changed; a part of your memory about her was erased, so your memories don't connect, and your brain chose to forget. Just like after waking up, those fragmented dream moments only last a short time; afterwards, no matter how hard you try, you can't remember them again, unless—"

"Someone can enlighten you."

History changed? Was it caused by the Wanderers?
Wang Baihu felt a bit overwhelmed. "How can I save her?"

Subtitle: "To understand this, you must know how she became like this. To prevent things from sliding into an irreversible abyss, I must warn you that the culprit behind Elori's current state is none other than the Chief of the Jiangcheng Branch of the Agency, Xiao Kanon."

"Huh!?" He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, then quickly covered his mouth and asked in a low voice, "Does the Captain-Commander remember Elori?"

“That’s right. If this gets out, you’ll probably be in deep danger too.”

By this point in the conversation, Wang Baihu's anxiety and worry had lessened considerably. It seemed that the other party wasn't targeting his family, and the signal jamming was merely to prevent him from contacting the authorities immediately.

“If you were really worried about my safety, you wouldn’t have leaked this information to me.” He crossed his arms, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction. “Why me? Do you think I would go against Captain Xiao for an operator I’ve only known for a short time? To be honest, I don’t even know who you are!”

"If you insist on an answer, I can tell you." The subtitles flashed rapidly, but the content was somewhat unbelievable: "I am the embodiment of power and will. You can call me the World Power Center, or World Heart for short."

Wang Baihu's lips twitched. If the other party hadn't accurately pointed out his abilities, he would have definitely thought it was a hacker's prank. Moreover, the other party's description of Elori's situation was exactly the same, which made him quite conflicted. He didn't know whether to believe the other party or scoff at it.

Suddenly the screen went dark, and a large black lens appeared in the center of the screen.

"Humans are always inclined to question everything, but they tend to discard answers that defy common sense. Now I will take your 'extraterritorial perspective,' and if you agree, I can verify your doubts at the fastest speed."

A box appeared on the screen with only two options: Agree and Deny.

This UI is really rudimentary.

Abilities are innate and will accompany the possessor for life until death. How could they disappear with a pop-up window on a computer?

Wang Baihu immediately clicked "Agree" with his mouse.

"And then?" He shrugged, silently activating his ability. "How could this thing just disappear like that—huh? Ah?"

No, what about his abilities?!
Wang Baihu was horrified to discover that the power he had used for over a decade, which he knew intimately, had truly vanished! He tried several more times, with the exact same result; his most prized possession seemed to have never existed at all!
"I believe you... I believe you, okay? That ability..."

"I can take it away, and of course I can give it to you." The subtitles paused before showing the following text: "—If you still want it."

"I want it, I want it!" Wang Baihu nodded repeatedly.

No new box popped up on the screen.

He waited a moment, then cautiously tried using his ability again, and this time the familiar feeling returned.

Wang Baihu couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

In less than a minute, he felt a thin layer of sweat soaking his back.

I will never joke about my hand again.

At the same time, Wang Baihu felt a deep respect for the "World Ability Center" and dared not underestimate it in the slightest. The power to strip or bestow abilities upon a person with a mere gesture was unimaginable!

Or rather, this is the power that the Limitation Agency has been dreaming of—sealing all abilities and completely ending the chaos brought about by illegal ability users.

However… the idea of ​​a combination of abilities and will was still hard for him to believe. If the other party truly represented a supernatural power, wouldn't it be inherently hostile to mechanisms? After all, no one likes being locked in a cage.

"Come find Elori," the subtitles popped up again. "She will tell you herself what she went through and how Shawcanon betrayed her."

"How to find it?"

beep-

Just then, the sound of a car horn came from outside the window.

"Just get on the bus."

Wang Baihu hesitated. This matter sounded extremely serious, involving many things, and what could he do after knowing the truth? Could he openly defy the captain?

This is a challenge never before seen in the game "Simple Life".

Wang Baihu is not an arrogant person. Although he always clamors to compete with Honglian for the title of the strongest operator in the team, he knows that even if he can beat Honglian, he can never replace her.

He's not cut out to be a pillar of society.

So, should he reject her? To be honest, Wang Baihu really couldn't bring himself to do it... He simply couldn't leave Elori alone, because she had once been a member of the Crimson Lotus Group.

He hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Can I take someone with me? This person will absolutely not leak any information, and I believe she can make fair judgments at any time."

(End of this chapter)