The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 106 The Ghost Cathedral (Part Two)
"There's something going on here."

The students, suspended in mid-air, immediately stopped their descent. Wasp said, "Eagle Bone, deploy bio-reaction detectors in the passage, perform simultaneous 3D scanning, deploy stun grenades, activate signal jammers, and leave only our communication domain."

"Received." Eagle Bone hadn't yet slid down, and as the last member of the team, he went down with the necessary equipment.

One of the logistics personnel slid into the passageway with him, unfolded the equipment box, and deployed it according to orders.

The rest of the group continued their rappelling.

Song Hu specially adjusted his posture and landed on the ground with Lian Xinyi, which shows that he took great care of him.

This detail drew the attention of all the trainees.

When did Song Hu and Lian Xinyi become so close?

However, even Xin Yi's bad luck was unbelievable. Before the battle even started, he was already bruised on the face, with a fresh abrasion running across the outside of his brow bone.

Fortunately, his special ability was taking effect, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving only a trace of blood in the blink of an eye, proving his "good start".

"Captain, Professor Yun, there are indicator lights for the suspended driveway behind the waterfall. There are relatively fresh scratch marks on the rock wall, proving that someone used it recently," Eagle Bone reported.

"As expected of 'Malice Lian,' this kid's passive skill has been triggered again." Yun Fei smiled.

"Moldy Lian?" Su Ninglong asked in confusion.

"The nickname people gave him behind his back probably meant 'bad luck'."

"If you ask me, Lian Qiuqiu is better. He's not unlucky, he's lucky. If you give him that nickname, some people will actually believe he's always unlucky. Negative labels can easily create psychological suggestion and could very well change someone's luck."

"Okay, from now on, don't say it. Just call him Lian Qiujiu. If he asks, you'll say it's the name you gave him."

"When it comes to being utterly immoral, you're the one." Su Ninglong looked around, feeling a bit bored, and finally asked, "What's the secret spirit behind the parasite? Now you can tell me, right?"

Yun Fei readily replied, "The Throat of Gathering, the Three-Star Mystic Spirit."

Su Ninglong had seen this while reading; it was mentioned in a book that Xingyuan Wenyu's assistant had borrowed.

“I know, my cousin from the Fear of the Cold Abyss.”

Yun Fei looked bewildered, unable to connect the dots: "Cousin?"

"Yeah, they're both parasites, and they even have four-character names. This guy's better at pulling off tricks than Fear of the Cold Abyss. Isn't he just a cousin?"

The Fear of the Cold Abyss lurks in the extreme cold or deep space. Believers may summon it for ten years, yet may not receive even a single glance in return, just like its aloof nature.

But the Throat of Aggregation is different. It's like a shark that smells blood. Wherever there are many believers, there is a chance to find it. It likes to hide in places of faith and quickly gather its parasites together.

However, the knowledge recorded in books only goes this far. To learn more, we need teachers to popularize the knowledge.

"Teacher Funi, could you tell me in more detail?" Yun Fei preferred to speak concisely, and Su Ninglong was afraid that he would just summarize it in one sentence.

Funi adjusted her thick glasses, which had slipped off her nose.

She deliberately lowered her high-pitched voice, sounding like a witch telling a scary story, her voice possessing a magical quality that drew Su Ninglong to listen carefully.

"The Throat of Convergence is a complete fraudster because its followers always receive wonderful feedback from it. As the number of followers gradually increases and they gather together, it will be summoned."

"All believers will witness its sacred arrival; it shines, sings beautiful songs, and then splits into countless tiny tentacles, infusing the beloved believers with power."

"Ignorant believers will voluntarily offer themselves up to become its hosts, and then in a short time, they will all become parasites. The large number of parasites are like giant taro, emitting a 'sweet' scent that the mystic spirits smell, attracting the weaker mystic spirits in the vicinity."

"The Mystic Spirit will devour the parasite, and the 'seeds' hidden within the parasite will take the opportunity to bloom and absorb the power of the Mystic Spirit."

“Day after day, all the parasites will become the last supper of the Mystic Spirit, until they are all wiped out. The high and mighty fraudster will disappear again and go to a new place of faith.”

Su Ninglong suddenly couldn't quite grasp the situation.

To sort out the information, in other words, there is absolutely no benefit to being a follower of the throat of aggregation.

The parasite acts as a poisonous, rotten piece of meat to lure flies, and then the "god" devours the flies and leaves.

I feel nauseous!
Su Ninglong: "Why do the Mystic Spirits fight and devour each other? Is it possible to use this to deal with the Mystic Spirits?"

Neither Yunfei nor Funi could answer the question. The Mystic Spirit could not conduct close-up research, so many experiments could only remain at the superficial stage.

Even with the hunters providing a wealth of data, many mysteries remain unsolved.

Simulators can only simulate a portion of their known characteristics, and then give them a small degree of freedom; ultimately, they cannot arrive at objective conclusions.

Only someone with exceptional talent like Yang Zhu could be competent for research work, but even he couldn't collect data 24 hours a day, and he could only study low-star mystic spirits.

Yun Fei said ambiguously, "Just like humans fight and attack each other, the Mystic Spirits may also have factions."

Su Ninglong nodded, indicating her agreement.

……

As soon as the students from the inner academy arrived on the ground, they quickly set up two lines of defense under the command of the Wasp.

The back door of the Ghost Cathedral is a heavy metal door. It has been closed for a long time and is in a damp and dark environment, so it is covered with mottled metal oxide debris.

With the defensive line in place, Wasp gave a hand signal.

The team members immediately hid on either side of a window, and a student leaned closer to listen and gestured to indicate that it was safe.

The wasp ordered to continue.

The student reached out and touched the window; it's unclear what he did.

The stained glass window opened silently.

Even from that distance, Su Ninglong could sense a strong ominous aura emanating from within.

A sarcoma was hanging in front of the window, swelling and contracting like a heart pumping blood, with countless blood vessel-like veins connecting the top of the sarcoma.

There is a human profile on the side of the tumor.

Lei Qingya, who was lying down with Su Ninglong, couldn't help but lean out a little more to get a better look. She felt that the face was somewhat familiar.

Yun Fei pulled her back, "You haven't had any combat training yet, don't look too much."

Lei Qingya broke out in a cold sweat; he had been caught off guard in such a short time.

I looked through the binoculars again, but the familiar face was gone, leaving only countless tangled blood vessels.

She put down her binoculars. "Will I be able to undergo combat training afterward?"

Yun Fei remained silent, and Lei Qingya understood his meaning: no. She pursed her lips and had no choice but to stand up.

The starlight shone dimly, but the roof tiles of the church still gleamed.

Looking at the tiles, a wave of sadness washed over her, and a series of inhuman murmurs echoed through the air.

Lei Qingya simply turned around, her back to the cathedral, refusing to listen or look; she didn't want to become a prisoner of the Mystic Spirits.

“You’ll get used to it. I also considered becoming a hunter back then. Actually, being a guide allows me to utilize more of my strengths.” Xingyuan comforted him, “It’s normal for someone your age not to like an ordinary life. But you can ask the older generation. They will definitely tell you that stability is the best. We’ve avoided decades of detours compared to them.”

Lei Qingya chuckled, feeling somewhat comforted, but not much.

At this moment, Funi unfolded a three-dimensional map of the Ghost Cathedral and then took out a stone slab with a missing corner, eroded by time.

Su Ninglong glanced at Lei Qingya, who had returned to normal, and asked Funi, "What is this?"

“A sacred artifact.” Phoenix didn’t explain further, pointing her finger at the inscription on the stone slab.

As the finger moved, the words flashed with a silvery light.

An incomplete murmur echoed in Su Ninglong's ear: "Seal... history... dust... ahead..."

"Ahead? What's ahead?" Su Ninglong didn't hesitate to show her curiosity.

“You can hear me too?” Fennie adjusted her glasses.

Is it strange that you can hear it?

Funi smiled. "Not surprising, my two assistants could too. Everyone hears something different. What did you hear?"

Su Ninglong spoke her mind.

"You weren't thinking about anything at the time, were you?"

“Then that’s it, the results of our divinations are all the same.” Funi had heard something similar. “This is a sacred divination artifact, but it’s incomplete. If I want to repair it, I must find the other parts.”

Su Ninglong recalled the directional artifact that Funi had mentioned before. Could this be it?

"Does finding all the other parts require perfect timing, location, and people?"

Funi was amused by Su Ninglong's statement, "That's very likely true."

The team members below had already taken action. They placed a shrine to the heavens and earth below the window, and after a while, there were no signs of the secret spirit escaping or spreading.

One of the students raised his crossbow, and a dark blue arrow pierced precisely into the throbbing tumor.

In an instant, the arrow released an energy field, causing the tumor to tremble.

"What weapon?"

"Crossbows," Yun Fei replied succinctly.

But this answer did not satisfy Su Ninglong's curiosity. "Teacher Funi, could you tell me in detail?"

“Of course,” Funi whispered. “Those are cognitive interference sniper arrows. When the arrow hits the target, it can generate a cognitive interference field, which is specifically used to deal with mystical spirits like the Convergence Throat. Each tumor is part of the Convergence Throat, a tubular neural network that provides it with perception. We disrupt its perception, and it will inevitably send parasites to protect it.”

"Relying entirely on the parasite for protection?"

"You won't think that way later."

The moment the cognitive interference field took effect, within ten seconds, the bizarre-looking parasite appeared in the telescope's field of vision.

Su Ninglong felt her eyes becoming unclean. These monsters were similar to the two monsters she had seen on Xinglaier Street; they were all ugly in an abstract way.

The skin is ulcerated, with a black network of blood vessels emerging on the surface, intertwined with a layer of sarcoma-like mucus tissue, forming a purplish-black vein pattern resembling tree roots spreading outwards.

Its facial features were completely distorted, somewhat resembling a zombie.

Song Hu stood behind the human wall and softly said, "Stop."

The two parasites that had climbed out of the window froze in place. The two students next to them reacted instantly, raising their hands to fire. Their guns were pulse-type weapons. They fired a shot at the parasite, which would then explode upon being hit.

Although the students each have their own personality, they are highly synchronized in cooperating to fight the monster. A silent understanding flows between them, making them very efficient.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out from the valley, and everyone stopped what they were doing.

Yun Fei asked the logistics technicians, "What's going on?"

Technicians retrieved the video footage and, "Through intelligent analysis, the noise was identified as a long-range attack weapon. The most likely cause is that someone in the courtyard ahead launched a firearms attack."

Ten seconds later, the mechanical spider's monitoring screen provided a positive answer.

“Five people in combat suits are entering from the front and hunting parasites in the corridor. Images show a large number of parasites moving toward the corridor.”

Yun Fei told the logistics department, "Immediately request the Star Alliance to investigate this guy surnamed Chu. During the investigation, prohibit him from all functions and powers. Damn it, he dares to tamper with places designated as rotation zones. He's courting death."

After swearing, he said, "Wasp, did you hear me?"

"I heard you." The Wasp immediately ordered everyone to stop the attack, close the windows, and retreat to the defensive line.

"Why did we stop?" Su Ninglong's endless questions came out again, and she asked without hesitation.

To not ask any questions is to be a complete idiot.

Furney quickly explained, "As mentioned earlier, when parasites gather together, they attract the Mystic Spirits. We disrupted the Throat of Aggregation's perception so that it would only send out a small number of parasites to investigate. Repeated interference will gradually kill off a large portion of the parasites, and we will also have time to dispose of their corpses. In the previous indiscriminate fighting, each tumor was a sympathetic organ of the Throat of Aggregation. It would mistakenly believe that our interference was in cahoots with those people, and would also send out a large number of parasites."

"Stay put for half an hour and observe the situation." The Hornets instructed their team members to deploy an optical environment simulator on the defensive line, ready for action.

From above, no one can be seen anymore; they have disappeared.

Su Ninglong sat on a soft cushion, looking up at the optical camouflage screen above her head. "Will the battle last a long time?"

"It depends on the situation. In the past five years, the Star Alliance has eliminated three Convergence Throat. If we include the records from our predecessors, a total of ten have been eliminated in the last two hundred years. The fastest was a two-hour blitzkrieg, which happened a year ago. The slowest took five days, which happened fifty years ago. The former resulted in two serious injuries and three minor injuries. The latter resulted in six deaths and three serious injuries."

Funi used data for comparison to help Suninglong understand better.

The technician's eyes suddenly narrowed, and his voice trembled, "Professor Yun, they...they're trying to lure the parasite out of the cathedral...should we warn them?"

The gunfire grew increasingly intense, and Yun Fei's tone turned cold. "Send a Level 4 disaster notification to the Star Alliance, stating that Chu Lin's improper operation and unauthorized entry into the rotation zone will lead to an expansion of the contaminated area."

Almost as soon as Yun Fei uttered his last word, the technicians contacted the Star Alliance headquarters, and the headquarters immediately revoked Chu Lin's position as branch manager.

In just ten seconds, Chu Lin received a message from the Star Alliance's internal software, indicating that he had violated regulations by deliberately expanding the pollution and needed to be investigated. He was no longer allowed to send or receive messages or command any actions.

Chu Lin was stunned. He looked into the square and saw five hunters leading a group of parasites to the gate.