Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 146 Clues
"If we were to become his enemy... would things turn out the same way?" Wang Baihu approached after a long while, his face still somewhat pale.

"Who knows? It's not certain yet, but he's definitely our enemy," Honglian said. "There are no signs of fighting around, which means Lu Lixin was left in this state without any resistance."

"It all happened in an instant, she probably didn't expect the other party to be so ruthless," he muttered. "If this person really wants to contribute to the world, why doesn't he join the Dimensional Organization?"

“…How would I know so much? Why ask?” Honglian glared at him, annoyed. “Maybe our publicity wasn’t enough, maybe they have their own jobs, maybe…”

She suddenly shut her mouth at this point.

"You're worried about that situation too, right?" Wang Baihu sighed. "First there was the White-Clad Fairy crossing the river, then the Botanical Garden's encroachment... and counting the murder case at the abandoned clubhouse, the activity of ability users has been far too frequent in the last six months. What if this person is in cahoots with the masked woman?"

"If the sky falls, Captain Xiao will hold it up. What are you afraid of?"

"Of course I'm scared! The captain looks like an administrative expert, sitting in his office making phone calls all day while we're the ones on the front lines!" Wang Baihu said, annoyed.

This was the first time Honglian had ever seen her partner ramble on and on.

Although he used to talk a lot of nonsense, he rarely rambled on like this when it came to doing serious business.

He was genuinely terrified... Honglian realized that her emotions had been affected by this bizarre and unpredictable ability.

"It's okay, just be one step slower than me."

"What do you mean?" Wang Baihu asked, puzzled.

"Aren't you afraid to be on the front lines? I'll be the first, you can be the second. Anyway, your test scores are always worse than mine," Honglian said, pouting.

Wang Baihu retorted angrily after being mocked like that, "Tch, can't you just do all the work for me?"

"Sure, give me your salary too."

"Just the salary? I can give you double."

Honglian looked at him suspiciously, as if trying to confirm whether he meant it sincerely or was just saying it out of anger. In the end, she shook her head and said, "Forget it. You're my only partner now. After Xiaojiu has gained more experience in two years, you can get lost."

"Are you two arguing?" Zhang Yingzi walked over carrying a notebook.

“No,” Wang Baihu denied. “This is how we communicate our friendship.”

Honglian immediately showed a look of disgust.

“I got the video footage from the police. Come and take a look.” Zhang Yingzi found a chair and sat down. The two of them crawled out of the cordon and walked behind her.

The video is incredibly clear, and from the angle, it appears to be located in a corner of the stage.

"What is this person advertising? That those with superpowers are superior to others?" Wang Baihu asked with a serious expression.

When they heard Lu Lixin call out "masked mentor," everyone's hearts sank.

“If the enemy is indeed an organized group, then we’re in big trouble,” he sighed.

“Indeed, but on the bright side, at least that person isn’t one of them,” Honglian teased. “At least we don’t have to face a strategist who knows everything about mechanisms and an assassin with terrifying abilities at the same time.”

"Look, he's here!" Zhang Yingzi pointed at the screen and reminded him.

A man walked out from the audience and stepped onto the stage. His face was completely covered, and no features could be seen at all.

"Damn it, he's really well on guard," Wang Baihu complained.

"This is good news," Zhang Yingzi said with relief. "What's good about it?"

"His reluctance to be exposed in public indicates a degree of wariness. People who are overly confident in their abilities or arrogant would disdain doing so. From a psychological perspective, this is a sign of willingness to back down."

“I agree.” Honglian nodded. “The counterexample is Lu Lixin. If I were her, I would always play the role of a host instead of tearing off the disguise… that way the camera would record her facial bone structure.”

As he spoke, the man suddenly rushed forward a short distance!

"Wait, what just happened?" Wang Baihu asked in surprise, "Did he teleport?"

It's no wonder he was surprised; Honglian even thought the video had dropped a frame.

Zhang Yingzi rewound the video a few seconds and played it in slow motion—this time the three of them saw clearly that Lu Lixin made an attack the instant he stepped onto the stage, which was completely different from what they had expected! They originally thought that the other party had launched a sneak attack first, which caught the nine thugs off guard.

In front of the high-resolution lens, a gray shadow flew out from under Lu Lixin's feet, circled around to the man's side and launched an attack, the whole process taking no more than half a second!
“It’s a technique of plunder.” Honglian recognized the ability.

Although its origin is unknown, the ability to steal is a frequently appearing ability in various records—because it has a characteristic that once someone steals from you, the victim is also likely to acquire the ability to steal, which is somewhat like a virus in the world of abilities.

It's not difficult to dodge this move, but it's difficult to dodge it as leisurely as he did!

"How did he do that? Was it also due to his abilities?" Zhang Yingzi asked, puzzled.

"No...it seems to be purely achieved through physical strength." Honglian judged after watching it several more times. "Look, there's a push-off motion when he starts. If this stage had a wooden floor, it would probably leave a footprint."

Having great strength alone is not scary. For example, the authorities once captured a thug who used berserk power. Although he could punch through an iron door and handcuffs were as soft as noodles in front of him, he couldn't control his body properly when his power was activated. Actions that he usually did subconsciously had to be done in a precise and methodical way when he was berserk, which greatly reduced his combat ability.

Now this man is obediently serving his sentence at the headquarters of the agency, completely unlike his arrogant self at the beginning.

The man in the video was different; his every move was so natural, as if he were born with such amazing power. This ability to control his movements was the most crucial point.

To the three's surprise, this person did not immediately retaliate. Instead, he walked past Lu Lixin and stopped only when he was almost at the back of the stage. Then he turned around to face the audience, and the next second, Lu Lixin collapsed.

"My God." Wang Baihu rubbed his forehead and said with a pained expression, "How can we defend against this? There was absolutely no warning. It was just a simple gesture of raising his hand, and he was turned into mincemeat."

Not only that... Honglian thought to herself, he could even use this ability on multiple targets at the same time. The reason he had to go past Lu Lixin before making his move was because he could only see everyone from the rear.

In other words, his ability takes effect as soon as he sees it.

It activates within one's field of vision, seemingly with an unavoidable effect, and has almost no initial movement... Even if you search the database of the Dimensional Authority, this ability would rank in the top ten for danger.

As is customary, the more incredible an ability is, the more stringent the restrictions will be; hopefully, his ability will be no exception.

After half an hour of on-site investigation, the intelligence gathered by the authorities gradually became more comprehensive.

First, the police found a number of witnesses—although the TV station's surveillance system had problems, most of the viewers were regulars on the city channel. They identified several hundred people through ticket purchase records and scalpers' WeChat accounts, and then called them to the scene for investigation.

Some people recognized the man on stage after watching the video – he was wearing an extra pair of sunglasses, but his hat and clothes were not much different. He was remembered not because he was special, but because he had a very cute female companion with him, and several audience members took photos of them.

The police were greatly encouraged by this news and continued their investigation in this direction, quickly finding one of the people who took the photos.

The authorities also obtained these crucial group photos.

A crucial piece of information appeared before them: the man's female companion made no attempt to disguise herself! Her appearance, hair, and physical characteristics were fully revealed in the photograph!

(End of this chapter)