The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 187 "Operation Snake Slaying"

"Is there anything that technology can't handle these days? I always thought the low production of sacred artifacts was simply due to a shortage of production lines..."

"Who knows!" The old hunter flicked the peanut shell in and shared an even more explosive "insider story," "I have a friend who's incredibly daring. He didn't believe in superstitions and secretly disassembled one after getting his hands on it... Guess what happened? Apparently, if you look at the characters inside too much, your eyes will sting. Of course, he didn't uncover any secrets. The disassembled artifact just 'bang,' and the parts were so shattered they couldn't be put back together."

"The master that Miss Su Ninglong mentioned is the creator of the two sacred artifacts."

"God, the true God."

"So do you understand the value of a custom-made sacred artifact now? Yun Fei's Flawless Staff and Tong Zi's Divine Staff are both works by that master." The old hunter's eyes burned with desire. "A custom-made sacred artifact, let alone owning it alone, is enough for an elite hunter team to live a life of luxury for half their lives just by renting it out."

The explanation of scientific principles stirred the hearts of the newlyweds, while time quietly slipped away.

At 10:27, all participants successfully formed teams. At 10:29, Su Ninglong took a photo, showing a total of ten teams.

At exactly 10:30, the teams scattered like ants whose nest had been disturbed, and quickly sprang into action.

It wasn't until 10:40 that the Star Police officers, yawning and looking slightly tired, arrived at Zou's Bar.

They were already well aware of the bar's "unique features".

Fights are commonplace here, and the proprietress herself is a tough character who can usually resolve trouble quickly.

When the Star Police arrive, they're mostly just there to clean up the last vestiges of the "battlefield" and tidy up the mess.

This time, Xue Wanshan was followed by two young police officers.

His uniform collar was slightly open, clearly indicating that he had rushed over after receiving the news, not even bothering to tidy his appearance.

Xue Wanshan is now a key member of the police force, but he always wants to personally intervene when it comes to matters concerning Zou's Bar.

As soon as the three stepped inside, their eyes were immediately drawn to several thugs outside who were tied up and unable to move, and a hint of confusion crossed their faces.

Their gaze then turned to the inside of the bar, where the patrons were all smiling kindly and raising their glasses in a gesture that seemed to be a silent way of disclaiming any involvement: "This has nothing to do with us."

"Ning Long?" Xue Wanshan's gaze locked onto that familiar figure in the crowd, clearly somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here?"

In his memory, Su Ninglong should be working for the Star Alliance, and her workload would probably be even greater than that of them, the Star Police.

"Ms. Zou is my godmother, isn't it normal for me to come back and visit?" Su Ninglong answered matter-of-factly, then peeked behind Xue Wanshan, "By the way, why didn't I see Uncle Wang with you?"

Xue Wanshan certainly knew that Ms. Zou was Su Ninglong's godmother.

What he really wanted to ask was whether Su Ninglong had encountered something unusual when she suddenly returned.

Xue Wanshan has been Lao Wang's partner for many years. Whenever there is a major accident involving Gemini, the two of them can almost always be seen together.

"Old Wang got promoted and transferred to the General Administration," Xue Wanshan explained briefly.

His keen eyes spotted two unusually conspicuous, large, hairy figures in the corner of the bar.

So, with professional caution, he asked, "You... keep wild animals in your shop?"

"There are no ferocious beasts." Su Ninglong denied with a smile, then called out towards the corner, "Qirui, come out here, let Officer Xue see what you look like now."

As soon as the words were spoken, Qirui and Aoli stood up, their thick, fluffy fur trembling slightly.

They walked out slowly from the shadows of the bar with steady steps.

When the enormous, fiery red feline creature, far exceeding its usual size, was fully revealed before him, Xue Wanshan's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face was instantly filled with disbelief and astonishment.

Xue Wanshan felt as if something was tightly blocking his throat, and he couldn't make a sound for a moment.

The old lady who gave the cat to Su Ninglong has been gone for three years.

When the old lady was still alive, Qi Rui's photos were always passed on through Xue Wanshan, the middleman. Therefore, he had a deep impression of this bright red kitten and practically watched it grow up.

Before his death, Qi Rui's photos were always sent to Xue Wanshan through intermediaries, which is why Xue Wanshan had a deep impression of Qi Rui.

But the Qilin before me... its fur was still fluffy, but even smoother and shinier.

As it stood quietly in the light cascading down from the bar entrance, the evening breeze caused its fiery red fur to sway and undulate like dancing flames, as if silently licking the surrounding air.

Although its facial features were still vaguely discernible, its size had increased more than tenfold.

This is no longer the kitten I remember; it has clearly grown into a large, powerful beast.

Xue Wanshan clearly remembered that when it assisted Su Ninglong in capturing the fugitive Yuan Ming, the little guy could easily pick him up with one hand.

"Do all navigator dogs grow this big?" Xue Wanshan managed to squeeze out this dry question from her throat with great difficulty.

"It's hard to say." Su Ninglong shook her head, her tone uncertain. "After all, there are significant differences between the juvenile and adult forms of navigators. Moreover, different living environments can lead to different mutations." She couldn't give a definite answer.

The two young police officers beside them could no longer contain their curiosity and excitement, and whispered in admiration, "Is this the legendary navigator dog? Can we touch it?" Their eyes were full of eagerness.

“Sure,” Su Ninglong readily agreed. “As long as you’re not trying to kidnap them, they generally won’t refuse friendly contact. However…” She looked at Qirui and reminded him with a smile, “If you want to touch Qirui, you’d better wash your hands first. It’s very particular and likes cleanliness very much.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ollie immediately barked in dissatisfaction, his big eyes staring straight at Su Ninglong.

“Oh, right.” Su Ninglong quickly added, “Our Ollie is the same, cute and clean.”

The two young officers immediately rubbed their hands together excitedly, eager to pet the two magical creatures. Xue Wanshan cleared his throat and interrupted at the right moment: "Ahem! Let's get down to business!"

He reminded her, turning his gaze to the proprietress, Zou Shuyi.
Zou Shuyi then briefly explained what had happened. Finally, she asked, "Think about it, who around here has such a powerful backer and such audacity to dare to run wild on Star Alliance territory?"

“Ms. Zou,” Xue Wanshan said in a businesslike manner, “we are public officials, and we follow evidence and procedures when handling cases.”

“Okay, we understand the rules.” Zou Shuyi didn’t press the matter. Since they were unwilling to talk, she couldn’t blame those guys for stabbing the mastermind in the back themselves. She kindly suggested, “I suggest you send more people to monitor online activity tonight, and it would be best if the bureau also increased the number of officers on duty.”

She knew perfectly well that since the mastermind behind those Star Alliance guys had come to provoke her so openly, it wouldn't be difficult to find any dirt or evidence against him. The key was whether she could respond in time.

Xue Wanshan frowned slightly, asking with a hint of confusion, "Did you receive any specific intelligence information?"

He instinctively felt that Zou Shuyi's reminder was not unfounded.

Zou Shuyi simply smiled and replied flawlessly, "It's just a friendly reminder. The Star Alliance also has its own code of conduct, and information sources cannot be revealed casually."

Xue Wanshan felt that her question had been somewhat rash and overly sensitive, thanks to the nonchalant retort.

He reflected in his heart that since his promotion, he seemed less free to act as before, always worried about whether his position was secure and afraid that someone would find fault with him and bring him down, thus neglecting the most direct concern for the safety of citizens.

However, it is official business time right now, and it is indeed not appropriate to discuss these details in detail.

Xue Wanshan composed herself and said, "We will keep that in mind. Thank you for reminding us, Ms. Zou."

On the other side, the thugs who had just been untied had just broken free from the illusion created by Sally. They were all ashen-faced and trembling like leaves, terrified out of their wits.

Seeing the police officers in uniform was like seeing his savior; he immediately rushed over and hugged their legs tightly, bursting into tears and sobbing incoherently, saying that he had encountered a terrifying monster and would rather go to jail for protection than experience that horror again.

This exaggerated reaction left Zou Shuyi speechless. She couldn't help but whisper to Su Ninglong beside her, "Why do I feel like... the superpower that Sally developed doesn't seem to have much to do with 'slowing down the distortion'?"

It's undeniably effective at intimidation.

“There are prerequisites for mitigating distortion,” Su Ninglong patiently explained. “It requires the scenes it conjures to be able to quickly calm people down and make them feel comforted, rather than scaring them out of their wits like it is now.”

Zou Shuyi still didn't fully understand the connection: "Then what does this have to do with the thugs being so scared that they cried their eyes out?"

Su Ninglong blinked her clear, large eyes, appearing exceptionally sincere and pure. "Back when Sally was researching ways to mitigate the distortion, I kindly offered her a small suggestion, suggesting she delve deeper into the underlying causes of the distortion phenomenon. It was truly out of pure goodwill." Her gaze was spotless, devoid of any impurities.

"You can understand, right?" Su Ninglong asked with an innocent smile.

Who would have thought that a well-intentioned suggestion would be transformed by Sally into such a highly effective attack method?

Zou Shuyi finally understood; this girl was doing it on purpose.

She nodded expressionlessly. "Hmm... the results are quite good."

"Thank you for the compliment, godmother! Mwah!" Su Ninglong replied happily, then sat back down on the bar stool.

Inside the bar, there were still quite a few people who hadn't participated in the "team building" activity.

The intermittent chatter around her drifted into Su Ninglong's ears.

The focus of people's discussions is none other than the recently popular "Star Alliance" and its comparison with the established "Star Alliance".

The words even subtly suggest that the Star Alliance has the potential to take its place.

Hearing these discussions, Su Ninglong understood.

Song Liu's previous concerns were not unfounded. The Star Alliance's online campaign had achieved remarkable results, and public opinion had begun to shift.

She chuckled softly. To be honest, whether it's the Star Alliance or the Star Alliance, whoever is stronger or whoever rises to the top might not have a significant direct impact on her personally.

But Su Ninglong was unhappy with the Star Alliance and was very disgusted by their unscrupulous way of doing things.

Just as Suninglong was focused on the light screen and sketching on the design of the sacred artifact, a "snake-cutting operation" against the local bully quietly unfolded, like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea.

Under the same night sky, in a luxurious private hot spring pool, Wang Jinding, the targeted individual, was comfortably soaking in the hot water, his eyes half-closed in bliss.

He was scheming in his mind how to put further pressure on Zou Shuyi so that he could acquire the valuable Star Alliance building.

Unbeknownst to him, a large number of elite agents, like hunting dogs that have caught the scent of prey, are using all sorts of legal or shady channels to gather evidence of his past misdeeds.

Shen Zhaoming, Song Liu, and Sha Li did not set off immediately. Shen Zhaoming, carrying his professional equipment, went alone to a secluded spot outside the bar, quickly got into the swing of things, and began his "hacking activities."

His slender fingers moved across the invisible virtual keyboard in a blur of motion, moving at an astonishing speed.

In his unique perceptual vision, massive data streams flow around him like a rushing waterfall, rapidly rolling, converging, and separating. Only he himself can "see" all of this wonder.

He started by using the facial information of the gang leader captured by the bar's surveillance cameras as the origin, and instantly connected to the massive city surveillance system, communication base station data, and traffic hub records.

This "intrusion" is not a brutal invasion or theft, but rather a clever "borrowing" of this flowing information by leveraging its inherent data affinity.

Guided by his consciousness, the data stream rapidly correlated and cross-referenced, undergoing real-time tracking and in-depth analysis.

Almost in the blink of an eye, he locked onto the true identity of the gang leader.

Following this lead, he easily "browsed" the target's poorly encrypted communication records by using the characteristics of the target's commonly used communication devices and recent activity patterns.

After a quick screening and correlation process, two key figures quickly emerged: "Wang Jinding," the actual controller of Dingjin Capital, and his secretary "Zhang Qiang."

At this moment, Wang Jinding's location is clearly shown in Villa A07 of Bishuiwan, while Zhang Qiang is in his company's office.

The encryption of their communications was completely ineffective in front of Shen Zhaoming.

Almost simultaneously with locking the number, the encryption was broken, and the conversation flowed clearly into Shen Zhaoming's ears:

Wang Jinding's voice carried a hint of laziness and calculation: "Old Zhang, how's the matter I asked you to handle going? Are you really sure you can secure that piece of land that the Star Alliance is moving into?"

"Boss, it's in progress, don't rush. I heard that building cost six billion star coins to build. After tonight, its market value will definitely plummet!"