Welcome to Ability Store

Chapter 151 - 150: Mother of the Lu Family

"Please help me, I just want to swipe an elevator card, I won’t bother you with anything else!" The woman grabbed the security guard’s arm, repeatedly saying the same thing. Her clothes were very clean, but looked rather old-fashioned, seemingly from the style of twenty or thirty years ago, completely out of place with the bustling scene of the city center.

"Ma’am, asking me won’t help, the floors have been booked, you can’t go up without an invitation." The security guard shook off her hand and said, "If I send you up, then if the boss fires me, who will I turn to for justice? If you keep pestering, I may have to call the police!"

"This person really understands nothing, thinks she’s visiting a friend in the community." Someone watching nearby mocked.

"Might as well hold up a sign at the entrance and kneel down for injustice, it’d be more useful to cause a stir on social media."

"What’s going on?" Honglian stepped forward and asked.

Seeing the badge hanging on her chest, the security guard’s face lit up, "Ah, are you an employee of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism? You came just in time! This woman is making a scene to see you, but she doesn’t have an invitation card and can’t use the elevator, so she’s causing trouble here."

Upon hearing this, the woman suddenly got energized and reached out towards Honglian, "Great, I finally found you! I’m Lu Sisi’s mom, I have something I need to talk to you about!"

Lu Sisi... Honglian thought for a moment and realized she meant Lu Lixin.

"Let’s talk over there." She pointed to a landscaped green area on the edge of the park.

Sorry, Honglian mouthed to her two partners behind her, lunch would have to be delayed.

"It’s okay, not urgent." Wang Baihu stood at the main entrance, "Little Pigeon and I will wait for you here."

In the shrubbery, Honglian spoke, "Go ahead, what do you need from the mechanism?"

"I saw the news on TV... My daughter... she died?" Mom Lu rubbed her hands, asking somewhat timidly.

"..." Honglian least wanted to answer such questions, but had to confront the reality for the other party, "Yes, she’s dead."

"I see..." She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "What about the money she earned? I’m her biological mother, I should at least be able to get half of it!"

Honglian was stunned, she thought this answer would leave the other party devastated, but unexpectedly, they switched topics so quickly.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn’t she earn a lot of money? That brat... even called to boast, saying it was punishment for my abandoning her." Mom Lu spoke relentlessly, "What abandonment are you talking about, I sent her a lot of living expenses every year, supporting her till adulthood! Now she made something of herself, got abilities, and is still blaming me!"

Honglian felt a surge of unnameable anger.

"What do you mean ’made something of herself’? She’s become a murderer! Three died in the shopping mall explosion, one again at the TV station, and it almost escalated a hundred times more, and you call this making something of herself!?"

"Uh... Miss, please don’t be angry, I’m not articulate, just speaking carelessly, don’t take it to heart." Mom Lu hurriedly apologized when she saw her face darken, "I just want to ask, when will her assets be handled? I checked with the police station, they said this matter is handled by the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, so I came to find you—"

"It’s already been dealt with," Honglian interrupted rudely, "It was all illicit income, and should be confiscated. Even legitimate income must be used to compensate the victims! You can’t get a penny!"

"What?" The woman widened her eyes in disbelief, "But that’s millions! You wouldn’t be pocketing it yourselves, would you?"

"Let me repeat, she is a murderer, even if the person is dead, they are not exempt from associated civil compensation. She injured sixteen people, many of whom are still lying in hospital! Even if all this money is used to compensate them, it would be far from enough!"

"Why!?" Mom Lu couldn’t help but exclaim, "Why is my daughter the only one compensating? She’s not even the main offender, you have so much capability, why don’t you arrest the boss together!"

Honglian’s ears were jolted by her shouting, she couldn’t help but step back and said, "Catch her certainly, but the funds were transferred from overseas, tracing them takes time."

"You’re lying! The boss is clearly in the country, she even met the boss."

Honglian frowned, "What exactly did she tell you?"

Mom Lu began to spill all the information she knew as fast as bullets. Originally, the two parties had cut off contact for many years, basically not reaching out, until over a month ago when Lu Lixin suddenly drove to find her, flaunting her new clothes and jewelry. This move was certainly not out of filial piety, purely deliberately to anger her.

The two eventually had a big quarrel, and parted on a sour note. During the process of that fight, Lu Lixin mentioned that she had been picked by a big boss, not only becoming a famous Ability User but also earning lots and lots of money. When she becomes famous later, even if her parents kneel down and beg her for forgiveness, she won’t look at them.

More than a month ago? Honglian was somewhat surprised, "Are you sure that’s when she first awakened her ability?"

"What else could it be, in August she was still tight on money and came to me asking for money." Mom Lu clamored, "If she could use her ability at that time, how could she lower herself to speak to me, she’d be flaunting her superiority!"

August... which was two months after Lu Lixin was released from prison?

Matching both the front and rear timelines, what she said indeed had no flaws.

Honglian originally thought Lu Lixin had been granted abilities due to the Botanical Garden’s corrosion incident half a year ago, but unexpectedly, she had just awakened recently.

Of course, the awakening itself is filled with great randomness, plus the corrosion effect persists over time, so even if the timings don’t match, it’s not much of a problem. However, judging from on-site footage, Lu Lixin’s control over her abilities was quite adept, not like a newbie who had recently awakened.

Most Ability Users in the early stages cannot master their abilities proficiently, some even go their entire life without understanding what kind of abilities they’ve acquired. The Dimensional Limit Mechanism organizes ability tests also to see how many Potential Ability Users are hidden in Jiang City.

Abilities are not innate instincts; they also require diligent practice and repeated use to become well-mastered.

In other words, perhaps someone had guided Lu Lixin.

Could this "guide" be the boss Mom Lu mentioned?

If this conjecture is true, wouldn’t it mean the Evangelical Association not only transferred money to her but also sent people over here to oversee and assist in the sabotage activities?

Then, the problem would be much more serious.

"Have you ever met her boss?" Honglian asked.

"How could I, if I met him, I would directly ask him for money." Mom Lu said angrily, "Overall, that money must be divided to me, or I will come to you every day!"

"As you wish, I’ve never seen such a cold-blooded mother like you, who only thinks about money after her daughter dies!" Honglian retorted angrily, "Go cause a scene at the entrance then, see if anyone would support your claims!"

Seeing her refusal, the opposite party sat down on the ground and wailed, "What’s my fault? Her dad abandoned the family first, what could I do? I provided for her education, paid her rent, raised her for over ten years, is it wrong to request some compensation!?"

Honglian no longer wanted to engage with her, she walked towards the park entrance, leaving the sound of wailing behind.

"My daughter is just an accomplice, her boss is the true culprit, you heartless ones, letting the real culprit go unchecked, while bullying helpless people like me! You will face retribution..."

"What’s the matter?" Wang Baihu approached and suspiciously looked in the direction of the landscaped area, "Even you couldn’t persuade her?"

"Persuade what?"

"We were betting on the reason she came to the mechanism." Little Pigeon chirped, "Brother Niao said it must be because someone from her family awakened abilities and felt they could come to the Dimensional Limit Mechanism to request a job..."

Honglian let out a cold laugh and briefly explained the reason.

The two were suddenly greatly shocked.

"I’m glad my mom isn’t like that..." Wang Baihu commented, "Otherwise I might become more crazy than Lu Lixin."

"No wonder she changed her name to this." Little Pigeon expressed a sort of sadness, "Meeting after breaking ties isn’t meant to mend the rift but to further hurt each other, both are... too pitiful."

After the two colleagues sighed for a while, Wang Baihu asked, "Do you really think she was guided by someone?"

"Highly likely. Don’t forget she also used Strong Robbery Technique, this ability must have been snatched from someone else." Honglian contemplated, "In just a month, she not only mastered her awakened abilities but also used Strong Robbery so smoothly, if she had such learning ability, she wouldn’t have failed university entrance exams."

Someone should have been helping her behind the scenes.

"After dinner, I’ll report the situation to Captain Xiao." Honglian concluded, "Perhaps this case is far from over."