Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 83 - 82: Riding the Wind

Except for Marina and Milton, Chen Xuan took the remaining twenty-two people back to the main store’s third-floor restaurant, where he divided them into six groups of four to five and arranged for them to stay in the private rooms of the restaurant. The private rooms had water and toilets, and after removing the tables, they were quite spacious, with no crowding even if they slept on the floor.

Everyone knew that this trip was fraught with risks, so having a place to sleep and avoid the wind was already a blessing. Actually, the environment of the private rooms far exceeded their expectations.

As long as there was food every day, everyone said they could stay there for a year without any issue.

Chen Xuan returned to the branch’s entrance and boarded the helicopter with Lin Qing. Liu Shuyue stayed inside the branch, taking charge of closing the main door. Once the store’s door was closed, the shop would be isolated from this world, and the interior would revert to its previous dilapidated appearance.

Chen Xuan turned around and threw two helmets to the passengers in the back, signaling them to wear them like he did.

"Sir, may I ask who this lady is..." Milton couldn’t help but ask.

"She’s the navigator I invited, and she’ll take us eastward."

This time point was already close to the Age of Exploration, and the navigator was an important figure on the ship responsible for calculating directions and planning routes.

Lin Qing adeptly toggled the switches on the control panel, checked the aircraft condition, and then gave Chen Xuan a thumbs up, "Everything is normal, ready for takeoff anytime."

Chen Xuan flicked his index finger forward, the meaning of which was self-explanatory.

Lin Qing started the engine.

The rotors overhead began spinning slowly, accompanied by the rumbling sound of the engine.

The Baron and the witch were both startled.

Neither expected these long metal strips to spin like a windmill, and at quite a high speed too.

But they quickly realized that the speed was astoundingly fast!

In just a moment, their eyes couldn’t keep up with the speed of the strips’ rotation! 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Yet the acceleration of the rotors had only just begun.

Marina thought it was already fast, but didn’t expect it could go faster. As soon as she adapted, the speed kept climbing! In just a few brief moments, her mental preset limits were broken several times consecutively.

In truth, anyone flying in a helicopter for the first time would be awestruck by the power unleashed by the rotor.

Observing from a distance was entirely different; far away, it merely seemed noisy. But once in the center of the airstream, the experience was entirely different—the strong wind hit the ground like waves, flattening the plants at their feet and causing stones and dirt to fly. The sound of the blades striking the air resembled thunder, making one’s chest vibrate along, and leaving one barely daring to take a deep breath.

By this time, the rotor itself had become utterly invisible.

It formed a perfect circle above everyone’s heads.

As Lin Qing gradually pulled up the collective pitch lever, the helicopter swayed twice before breaking free from gravity’s shackles and began to ascend.

Milton gasped sharply, instinctively sliding his body down, pressing his back tightly against the seat!

Marina put on a façade of calmness, but inside she nearly screamed.

So this vehicle’s wheels are not missing; they’re just placed at the top!

"Relax, the two of you just need to enjoy the scenery from now on," Chen Xuan said through the microphone on his helmet.

Not long after, the aircraft climbed to a height of two hundred meters, and the massive Paris City and the satellite city of Versailles could already be taken in at a glance.

Lin Qing programmed the flight path into the control system, connected the autopilot, and the helicopter could then navigate to the designated location using inertial guidance.

Marina looked at the rapidly moving ground in surprise, barely believing her eyes.

Is this how gods move?

She admitted that she had underestimated the Divine Envoy.

Anyone who had never left the ground before would feel a soul-stirring sensation when flying in the sky for the first time.

The fields looked like yellow and green patches.

The mountains appeared lower and smoother, no longer as insurmountable as before.

Even the most magnificent city could now be entirely covered by a palm.

The river running through the Kingdom seemed to lose its dirty and stinky image, reflecting the color of the sky, like a light blue ribbon.

She felt as if she had become another kind of human, gaining a new perspective to observe the world from now on.

Marina turned her head to Milton again, noticing he had clasped his hands together, closed his eyes tightly, and was sincerely praying to the Lord, as if this could dispel the fear within his heart.

By the time the aircraft landed in the afternoon, she was shocked to find they had already left France’s borders.

The villagers attracted by the rotor’s noise were speaking a language she couldn’t understand.

But Milton conversed with them fluently.

You couldn’t tell he had vomited once before this.

"We are now in Lorraine," the Baron confidently judged.

How fast! What an incredible speed; they had been flying for less than a day! Marina couldn’t help but marvel. If they took a carriage on the official road, it would probably take half a month to arrive. Not only had they caught up with the previously lost time, but they also far surpassed the distance traveled.

So slow... This was Chen Xuan’s thought. Especially after the shop opened branch stores, he could traverse half the planet in a blink of an eye. Now flying by helicopter was sheer agony.

But this was the fastest method of transportation he could think of.

Perhaps a small fixed-wing civilian aircraft could be faster, but it required a high landing area, unlike a helicopter, which could land anywhere flat.

So he chose to rest in the store, leaving all the travel tasks to Lin Qing.

Without satellite navigation and tower guidance, the subsequent travel could only proceed when the daylight was favorable. When landing for refueling, he even successively rotated the passengers in the back to let each member of the Envoy Team experience the sensory stimulation of high-altitude sightseeing.

Of course, after the novelty wore off, long continuous flights started to become numbing. After all, the comfort level on a medium-small helicopter is almost zero: hard seats, cramped cabins, and enduring the rumbling noise of the engine and rotor. As a result, for several days, only Lin Qing would often be on board alone—according to Chen Xuan, this was certainly not him being lazy, but fewer people meant lighter loads, which effectively extended the range, benefiting the mission in arriving early.

After an eleven-day flight, the helicopter finally crossed the South Asia region and entered the Ming Dynasty’s area from around Myanmar.

Considering that the vast southwestern territory was still a place of exile at this time, Lin Qing decided to continue deep northeast, stopping wherever she found a major city.

This search lasted another whole day.

Early the next morning, Lin Qing finally discovered an ideal target: a giant city located on the plains.

Its size was quite astonishing for that era, almost dozens of Paris Cities large, and within the city, many high-rise buildings could be seen, broad at the base and narrow at the top, resembling conical spires. This style of architecture couldn’t find a counterpart in historical records.

To avoid unnecessary attention, she deliberately landed the helicopter in a wooded area several kilometers from the city, then set up an inflatable tent to connect the shop’s door.

"Hah... the air is fresher here." Chen Xuan walked into the woods and saw that Lin Qing had covered the helicopter with a camouflage net she bought online. One must admit, Future Warriors are indeed professionals at their job.

Liu Shuyue also came through the curtain. Before Lin Qing’s combat prosthetics could be activated, she would be the store’s force protection.

Having learned from Miss Lin for so many days, Liu Shuyue already understood the manager’s way of running the business and how the shop typically expanded its operations.

"Should we summon the Envoy Team now?" she asked.

"Not in a rush, let’s figure out the situation first," Chen Xuan shook his head, "This city clearly has something unusual about it, and I’m concerned that historical information can no longer be relied on. If we don’t go into the city to investigate, I won’t feel at ease."

If an incident occurred, they could immediately return to the store, but the Envoy Team wouldn’t have that option.

Of course, trying to blend into the city in plain clothes was definitely not feasible.

They might be arrested on the spot by guards.

Luckily, Chen Xuan had prepared in advance, having Liu Shuyue prepare two sets of Liu Family clothes—commoners’ cloth garments that hadn’t changed much over centuries, easily described as simple and plain, and without holes or patches, they were already quite enviable.

"About your hair..."

Before Chen Xuan could finish his sentence, Lin Qing’s colorful hair instantly turned jet black and shiny.

"Impressive," Liu Shuyue murmured, "What kind of magic is this?"

"It’s not hair at all; it’s just flexible illuminated fiber that looks like hair and can change to any color desired." Lin Qing put on a worn straw hat atop her head, then made a V-sign with a playful smile, "Transformation complete, let’s go!"