Welcome to Ability Store

Chapter 317: Better to Steal Than to Buy

"What... just happened?" Chen Xuan asked in confusion.

"I don’t know!" Lin Qing’s voice was equally surprised. "I didn’t detect anything unusual in the signal transmission, the waveform didn’t change at all!"

In other words, the noise just now wasn’t caused by electromagnetic signals.

"Interesting," Chen Xuan murmured, "Could it be that some mysterious force interfered with the surveillance footage, deliberately preventing us from seeing the details of the contract’s appearance?"

Although he had long ago learned from Elorie about the demons, knowing they liked to use an ability called contracts to harvest souls, it was his first time seeing this ability in action.

"Theoretically, we rarely allow multiple people to share a contract, Mr. Xiao, this is your privilege." The elder spoke.

Xiao Canong was not frightened by this bizarre scene, only raising an eyebrow slightly, "Can I have a look?"

"Not only can you look, if you have any questions, feel free to ask," the elder with the surname Qi gestured to the five, "Undoubtedly, this is the fairest deal in the world, the contract is only formed when you wholeheartedly agree."

Five demons gathered around, placing the document in front of Xiao Canong.

"It’s now!" Lin Qing suddenly reminded.

Another image popped up on the screen—it shook violently up and down, clearly following the movement of its owner, possibly a phone or a camera-equipped watch, but either way, the moment the document was placed, it was very close to Xiao Canong.

Chen Xuan quickly pressed a button on his glasses.

The image soon moved away again.

"So, did you find his ability?"

"Strange..." Chen Xuan mumbled, "Nothing showed up..."

"Did it fail?"

"No," he was sure the scanning gun worked, as the transaction selection box had appeared in his view, but the problem was... the box was empty. "Xiao Canong... he has no ability."

"What?" Lin Qing was stunned too, "Are you sure?"

"I couldn’t see anything, anyway."

"How is that possible... he’s the head of the agency division, someone ordinary can’t hold such a position!" she doubted heavily, "Could it be he can shield your ability?"

This was a new perspective. Could someone shield the Ability Store’s peeping effect? Even a Legendary Ability would be displayed. But what if there was an ability that precisely didn’t show itself? Chen Xuan couldn’t say for sure that such a thing couldn’t exist.

Meanwhile, Xiao Canong had begun carefully reading the document.

"This says if I betray the demons, I will suffer backlash, and my soul will be imprisoned forever... Can such a clause really be fulfilled?"

"Of course, the restrictive effect of a contract surpasses everything," the elder said calmly, "I’ve seen some ability users who thought they had some skills and tried to escape the contract’s accountability, but it turned out to be wishful thinking."

"What exactly is the human soul?"

"It’s your origin, containing your will, memory, and ability."

"I actually have such a thing?" Xiao Canong half-jokingly examined his hands, "What happens if the soul is imprisoned? Sorry... I’m not saying I’ll betray you all, I just want to understand how dreadful this restraint is. After all, in my world... the soul is merely regarded as a spiritual solace."

"Mr. Xiao, you’re so talkative, why don’t you sign it and try betraying us to see for yourself?" the young man said impatiently.

"Hey, Shang He, didn’t I say he could ask whatever he wants?" Mr. Qi raised a hand to signal him to be patient, "It’s simple, Mr. Xiao, once your soul is imprisoned, you’ll become our puppet, and your body will belong to us as well."

"That would be terrible," Xiao Canong squinted his eyes and smiled.

"Precisely, the accident in Paris forced us to be more vigilant. You can also choose not to sign, and our deal ends here." The elder seemed determined to obtain this, "As I’ve said before, this is the fairest transaction in the world."

Chen Xuan realized the agency had evidently learned the importance of strange items from the last transaction.

They wanted more strange items.

Xiao Canong’s visit was most likely a directive from the higher-ups, and the demons were aware of this, so they made the contract a prerequisite for the transaction, Xiao Canong had to sign the contract before moving on to the next stage of negotiation.

The issue is... the benefits would go to the agency, but the risks would be borne by Xiao Canong himself, was he really willing to sacrifice himself for the agency?

"In other words, as long as I remain sincere towards you all, the contract will never restrain me, right?" Xiao Canong asked.

"Correct, it’s valid for ten years, and will automatically lift after ten years."

"Great, I have no objections." He directly picked up the pen on the table and signed his name at the end of the document, "Is it done now?"

The signed document transformed into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into nothingness.

Everyone exchanged glances, showing satisfied expressions.

"Yes." Mr. Qi chuckled, "Now we can formally discuss... the trade of strange items."

At this moment, a man in a suit hurried into the meeting room, whispering something into the elder’s ear.

He raised his graying eyebrows and looked at Xiao Canong, "Zhang Yingzi is your subordinate?"

"Yes, what’s happened to her?" the latter asked in surprise.

"She claims there’s an urgent matter needing to report to you and must see you immediately," Mr. Qi inquired, "What do you plan to do? If it’s agency business, we can postpone the meeting."

"No need, completing this collaboration is the most important thing." Xiao Canong instantly declined, "Let her in to report, it won’t take long for everyone."

With an affirmative response, the suited man immediately complied, and before long Zhang Yingzi appeared in the hall.

"Why is she here?" Chen Xuan casually asked.

"When I saw her in the hallway earlier, I thought she was going to the restroom," Lin Qing responded, "Pity the surveillance’s audio recording isn’t that good, otherwise we could eavesdrop on their conversation."

However, Zhang Yingzi whispered a few words to Xiao Canong, then turned and stood behind him.

"Mr. Xiao, is it something serious?" one attendee asked upon seeing this.

"Indeed, Mr. Zhou," Xiao Canong’s face was somewhat grave, "This matter is not only related to the agency but also concerns you all."

The elder surnamed Qi responded with an "Oh," "Let’s hear it?"

"The higher-ups told me, the issue of the strange items can’t be delayed, with the current trading method, it won’t work," he spread his hands, expressing regret, "We need to obtain all the strange items as soon as possible."

Everyone froze in unison.

"Don’t joke around, without seeing the new territory, the strange items won’t be handed over to you—not a single one!" the young man named Shang He scolded.

"I know, so we plan to take them by force." Xiao Canong stated one word at a time.

His words caused an uproar in the hall.

And Zhang Yingzi took off the cubic earring hanging on her ear and tossed it at her feet.

In an instant, the thumb-sized cube rapidly expanded into a massive cabinet shimmering with metallic luster! It forcibly pushed the table out of its way, scattering microphones and tea across the floor.

This drastic change not only startled the attending demons but also made Chen Xuan and Lin Qing gasp.

The agency... actually took action?

"How dare you take action on our territory!" Shang He shouted, instantly transforming from a handsome gentleman into a horned demon, clapping his hands, countless insects emerged from his body, swarming towards the two from the agency.

Others also revealed their true demon forms.

Simultaneously, the walls of the cabinet toppled around, and a group of ability users rushed out from inside—the battle between the two sides erupted instantly, so fast it dazzled the eyes!

"How is this possible?" the elder was both shocked and angry, "You clearly signed the contract, any thought against us would turn you into a slave!"

This completely overturned his understanding of his own ability!

The power of the contract was supposed to surpass all rules!

"Yes, that’s why I asked how it feels to have a soul imprisoned..." Xiao Canong didn’t participate in the fight, but retreated step by step, "But it seems now, I might not have a soul."