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Chapter 322: Not Yet Lost Hope

He knew that Xu Xuanling was no longer who she used to be.

Nowadays, the Lotus Cloud Sect has made great progress in spell techniques, formation techniques, talisman techniques, and alchemy, and the methods for healing people should be much richer than before.

Xu Xuanling, wearing a robe, descended the stairs within a few seconds.

She sat cross-legged next to Honglian, conducted a brief examination, then directly placed a palm on the other’s chest. She then transformed her palm into fingers, pressing repeatedly, pried open the other’s jaw, and administered two pills.

"Her problem isn’t significant, this should suffice," Xu Xuanling concluded as she withdrew her energy.

"It’s that simple?" Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Blood circulation is not smooth, I have used spiritual qi to guide it through. Her body contains fire toxin, but it can be neutralized naturally through organ strengthening. As for her external wounds, taking a Blood Orange pill and a No Stiffness Pill will suffice." She calmly replied, "My disciples thought the situation was dangerous, but she appears weak only; in reality, she won’t die within one or two days. Whoever acted was precise, not intending to take her life."

"I see... Thank you for your effort," Chen Xuan realized that he had underestimated her abilities.

"Not at all. I’m more than glad to assist my master," Xu Xuanling looked at him with a half-smile, "So, Master, may I ask, who is this lady?"

"She is..." Chen Xuan paused as he began.

Who is she?

She is the Execution Team officer from the Jiang City branch, Honglian.

But which Honglian is she?

Though Honglian’s significance in history is great, history has been altered! The current Honglian is merely a regular Mechanical Officer. Why did her arrival cause Lin Qing to disappear?

Earlier, in the urgency of rescuing, he had suppressed his chaotic thoughts, but now that Honglian was out of danger, the suppressed thoughts flooded his mind almost simultaneously. Until this moment, he still hadn’t fully accepted this fact, thinking he was just temporarily unable to find her.

After a pause, he looked at Xu Xuanling, "Don’t you feel... someone is missing in the store?"

"Missing? Who?" Xu Xuanling glanced around, "Master, there’s me, Miss Liuli... and with this newly arrived lady, it seems there’s even one more. Oh, are you saying Master Liu isn’t here?"

Chen Xuan shifted his gaze to Liuli, who also appeared puzzled.

They didn’t remember Lin Qing.

He had encountered a similar situation before—when Elorie helped him fend off a demon’s assault on the Holy Temple Treasure Vault, the entire history was rewritten, as if some force had covered everything over. When he asked Jiang Siqi about the apocalypse and the underground city, she claimed to have no knowledge of it.

He remembered because he was the one causing the change.

Now it seemed to be another resurgence of historical fluctuations, only it was happening in the Jiang City world.

Even though Xu Xuanling and Liuli were outsiders, their memories had adjusted because they were in this world.

The facts were undeniable; his act of teleporting Honglian back to the store had profoundly altered the future, so much so that Lin Qing herself vanished.

"Master?" Xu Xuanling, seemingly seeing the confusion in his heart, asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine... this person is also my guest, you guys... take good care of her first." Chen Xuan stood up, wobbled to the computer, "I’ll open a room for her..."

As he recalled the anxiety and abnormality Lin Qing showed earlier, suddenly everything had an answer. He discovered that perhaps his partner had long realized this fact, which triggered such intense unease.

So why did she return to normal in the end?

Was it because as the time approached, she had made her decision?

Therefore, Lin Qing never disclosed any speculation to him, worrying that once he knew, he might refrain from summoning Honglian back, leading the world line in another direction.

When did she discover that this action might lead to historical changes?

Was it that photo? Or was it... even earlier?

Also, is there a causal relationship between her and Honglian? Chen Xuan certainly didn’t believe they were unrelated; they not only looked alike, but even their abilities overlapped in places, like the "Mind Fortress" ability, which he only saw in Lin Qing and Honglian.

Blood connection? According to intelligence, the Rebel Leader had never married and had no offspring. Cloning? That’s even less likely... Clones are one-on-one genetic replicas, there shouldn’t be any differences in appearance.

Moreover, as long as Honglian is alive, both scenarios belong to outcomes that can be restored, not leading to such great impact on the future.

Chen Xuan somewhat bewildered, opened the Butler APP and shifted to the housing section.

The 202 room that belonged to Lin Qing, clearly should no longer exist.

Yet in the end, Lin Qing couldn’t open the back door and return to her homeland—

"Ah!?"

Chen Xuan couldn’t help but shout aloud.

"What’s the matter, Master?"

"Why shout at this late hour, you scared me."

Both Xu Xuanling and Liuli looked at him.

"No... it’s nothing, I stubbed my toe." Chen Xuan rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen again: Room 202 still existed! The registered guest displayed was Lin Qing.

Did she actually not disappear?

Chen Xuan hurriedly opened the guest list; as long as Lin Qing remained recorded, he’d be able to summon her back to the store in at most a day.

Yet once again, the result surprised Chen Xuan.

Lin Qing’s name was nowhere in the guest list!

This completely baffled him.

The prerequisite for registering as a tenant was becoming a guest, and the prerequisite for becoming a guest was completing a formal transaction. After the transaction, the guest’s name would necessarily appear on the list... He had gone through this process many times, familiar with it as ever. Yet now Lin Qing was no longer a guest, but remained a tenant, how did that happen?

But compared to the hollow feeling earlier, Chen Xuan felt a newfound motivation, which at least indicated Lin Qing hadn’t vanished completely, he still had the chance to bring her back!

Right, what was the rule for room cancellation?

He opened the drawer under the bar and pulled out the "Manager’s Code," rarely perused before.

"...Tenants can be removed by the manager. Remember to reclaim the room card beforehand... Aside from active removal, here are the situations leading to automatic checkout..."

"Guest death... excessive complaints from the guest... failed audit causing manager demotion..."

Chen Xuan quickly skimmed through it, finding that indeed nothing in the rules stated "guest removal would lead to checkout."

So that means, if someone becomes a guest and opens a room on the second floor, even if later removed from the guest list, they still belong as a tenant?

Is this a sort of glitch?

After all, the only way for a guest to be removed from the transaction record is death. Even though he’s the manager, he can’t actively revoke guest status. And once the guest dies, the shop automatically checks them out, so no conflict between the two exists.

What does that mean now? Lin Qing disappeared, but disappearing doesn’t equal death?

"Master, is the room set? She needs to rest in bed," Xu Xuanling shouted.

"Oh... almost done." Chen Xuan selected Honglian, assigned her to room 206, and the printer promptly printed out the rental contract, "Give this to her, have her sign... A handprint will also do."

Being comatose doesn’t significantly impact the rental; once obtaining a signed contract, Chen Xuan scanned it into the APP, and the blank room card then recorded the corresponding information.

Ding!

Just as he pulled out the room card, a familiar sound rang out, and a new email notification popped up on the screen’s lower-left corner.

Sending emails close to one in the morning?

Chen Xuan clicked it open almost instinctively.

"Congratulations, you have become an honorable Level 6 Store Manager!"

— "The ??? Store Manager" LV6, Colorful.

— "Reaching an unprecedented pinnacle, witnessing unseen vistas, we look forward to continuing alongside you."

"Control room unlocked: Now you can operate the Ability Store more freely."

"Ability Transaction Restriction Removed: Performance Points will no longer serve as promotion criteria for Level 7 and above store managers."

"Base Salary Increased."

"Ability Synchronization Limit Increased to LV6."

"Non-transferable, Non-negotiable. Store Manager Current Status: Still Alive."