Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 137 Pioneer Team
"The Immortal Alliance needs your help, and so do the King of France and the Witches' Gathering Place. If you show your face there again, you might even have a fan club lining the streets to welcome you," Lin Qing joked.

"Sigh, that's why I wanted to leave as soon as possible. After all, I'm a bit socially awkward and can't stand too much flattery," Chen Xuan sighed.

Lin Qing was already familiar with the way of communication in this era. She slightly curled the corners of her mouth and uttered two words, "Hehe."

However, Chen Xuan paused for a moment.

Yes... France is currently a dominant power in Europe, and the Immortal Alliance goes without saying, its influence extending almost all the way to the Middle East. If I were to be renowned in both camps, wouldn't that qualify me as being famous throughout the world?
Thinking of this, he suddenly became excited.

The requirements for store manager promotion don't specify that it has to be in this world!

If the requirements can be met, aside from other benefits, the milestone reward of having an extra ability placement slot is attractive enough for a Level 5 store manager.

Chen Xuan quickly returned to the bar, opened the store manager rating section, and began filling out the application email.

He has now finally realized the advantage of handwritten emails: there is plenty of space to boast about his achievements, anything related to fame can be included, and he can even attach photos of himself chatting and laughing with world leaders.

Ding-dong...

Just then, the sound of wind chimes rang out at the door.

"welcome."

As soon as Chen Xuan raised his head, Lin Qing had already delivered the welcoming speech for him.

The scenery outside remained unchanged; it was still the same Tianlu residential area in December.

"Hello." The customer nodded to Lin Qing, but instead of heading towards the shelves, she went straight to the counter. Chen Xuan realized that she was an acquaintance; if he remembered correctly, her name was Qiao Xi, and she was the daughter of the old man who frequented the store.

"Do you want to buy cigarettes for your dad?" he asked.

"No, I came here specifically to see you." Qiao Xi shook her head. "When the incident happened at the zoo last time, I heard from my dad that it was thanks to you reminding them to leave immediately if they heard any noise that they were not seriously injured. So I came to express my gratitude and thank you for helping my family."

The zoo...wasn't that something from three or four months ago?
Chen Xuan waved his hand with a smile, "You're welcome. We're all from the same neighborhood, so it's normal to give a reminder."

“But my dad says that reciprocity makes us seem stingy.” Qiao Xi took out two colored tickets and placed them on the bar. “There’s a pre-recorded event at the station, a variety show about superpower awakening. Do you want to go check it out?”

He glanced at the ticket and saw that it read "Ability Showdown," and the entry time was tomorrow night.

"Wow, isn't this that really popular show lately?" Lin Qing also leaned closer to Chen Xuan and peeked out, "It's been trending on social media several times!"

"You actually watch TV programs?" Chen Xuan asked in surprise. The last time he watched a variety show was "Who is the Singer".

"Why not watch it? It's part of online entertainment."

"The Superpower Showdown is indeed very popular." Qiao Xi chuckled softly. "I'm not trying to flatter our station, but it's the first comprehensive program in China to focus on superpowers. Every episode, many people with superpowers sign up to participate, some genuine and some imposters. The biggest selling points are that it doesn't have a pre-arranged script and has a high degree of interaction with the audience."

"Aren't you going by yourself?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Um... I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to make it tonight."

"What about your parents? These two tickets are perfect for them."

“I asked, but my dad disagreed. He said it’s more important for me to return the gift first.” Qiao Xi shrugged. “Actually, they don’t really like watching TV. My dad occasionally watches football matches, and my mom watches TV dramas on her tablet. They basically don’t pay attention to shows that don’t feature me.”

"So that's it..."

"If you really don't have time to go, you can give the tickets to a friend." Qiao Xi waved goodbye and said, "Anyway, thank you for your help last time, I'll be going now."

After the other party left, Lin Qing showed Chen Xuan the information she had found on her phone, "Tickets for this show are being scalped for 2,500 yuan each. Giving you two tickets at once is quite a generous gift."

"What, you really want to go?" Chen Xuan noticed Lin Qing seemed quite interested. "Why wouldn't I go if there's something exciting to watch? There won't be any shows like this in the future." She nodded without hesitation. "Besides, a large portion of the ability users appearing on this show don't belong to the Dimensional Limit Agency. Maybe I can find like-minded partners!"

Chen Xuan had serious doubts about this.

He realized that the other party simply wanted to find a legitimate reason to go out and have fun.

However, Chen Xuan thought again that since Lin Qing came here, she has spent most of her time in the shop and has not had a proper chance to explore Jiangcheng. It is only natural that she wants to go out and have some fun now.

Besides, she is both a shop assistant and a customer. As long as the shop manager is busy with customers outside, she will be considered to be always open for business and will not be forcibly pulled back into the shop.

In other words, even accompanying customers shopping is counted within business hours.

“Okay, let’s go and take a look at the scene then,” Chen Xuan agreed.

"Great!" Lin Qing cheered, clenching her fist.

……

……

Wanshan Wilderness, Spicy Village.

The expedition team is digging deeper into the mountains. Just two months ago, they pushed the boundary line five kilometers into the mountains and discovered gem-like minerals at the foot of a rocky hill. After some polishing, these glittering stones were bought at a high price by a caravan from Zhangwei City in exchange for much-needed supplies for the village, such as cloth, cotton, and ironware.

There is no shortage of food here, and the caves near the mountains can also be used as housing. However, there is a severe shortage of daily necessities such as clothing and bedding. You either have to ask the shopkeeper to transport them from Jiufeng City, or you have to obtain them through trade.

Everyone knows that we can't rely too much on the abilities of the immortal masters and shopkeepers. If we can solve the problems ourselves, that would be the best thing.

Therefore, the discovery by the pioneers greatly inspired the villagers' enthusiasm for reclamation. Now, the most honorable thing is to join the hunting team, while the second choice falls to the pioneers.

Liu Shuyue was also pleased to see this situation.

She wasn't hoping to dig up more gold and silver; rather, exploring the vast wilderness was a matter of village safety. Clearing one mountain after another, uncovering more of the demons' territories, eliminating them, or driving them deeper into the mountains would make the village safer.

After searching each mountain pillar, the villagers would number it and plant a blue flag on the top of the mountain to prove that it no longer posed a safety hazard.

The number has now reached the 99th mountain pillar, located 12 kilometers from the edge of the Great Wilderness.

The team leader was named Huang Ting, and he had about ten people under his command.

"Is the demon-exorcising formation set up?" He looked up and examined the mountain.

The mountains here aren't particularly large or small, and they're completely different from the mountain ranges we see outside; they're almost all independent entities. Running around their base would take at least half an hour. There are numerous crevices and caves within the mountains, and the expedition team's task is to explore them one by one to prevent wild animals and demons from hiding there.

“The talismans have been pasted on all four corners, and we haven’t sensed the aura of a powerful demon yet,” said Xiaomai, the talisman master in the group.

She had no surname and was an orphan when she came to the village, so Huang Ting basically treated her like his own daughter.

“In that case, let’s start our inspection from the bottommost cave. Stone Monkey, go and pull the rope,” Huang Ting instructed.

"Alright!" A tall, thin man responded and rushed up the mountainside with a bundle of nylon rope on his back. He clung to the mountain like a gecko, his fingers gripping the protruding rocks, and in no time he had climbed more than ten meters.

This is also a benefit that cultivation brings them.

Once he reaches the cave entrance, he will drive in rock spikes as anchor points, then throw down the taut rope, allowing the others to follow the rope to the exploration area.

As for flying around like Master Liu, that's impossible... Wind-Riding Talismans are precious resources, and even the elite members of the hunting team don't use them easily, let alone their pioneering team.

(End of this chapter)