The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 194 The Missing Lamb (2)

"Sigh!" Su Ninglong sighed, then turned to Yang Zhu and said, "We can only thank the little lamb for its 'heroic sacrifice.' Or... shall we eat a big, fat sheep today and hold a memorial service for it?"

Yang Zhu was both amused and exasperated by her thought process: "What kind of time is this? You're still thinking about food? Our house is about to be dug up."

“It’s not that they need to dig through,” Su Ninglong shrugged, “but it seems that this sneaky and clumsy method is all they have left. This reminds us that the identification system of Smart Computing No. 1 really needs to be upgraded so that it can identify unfamiliar faces that intrude abnormally as soon as possible.”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of our institute’s researchers.” Shen Zhaoming rubbed his temples. “Although the Star Alliance strictly restricts entry and exit, there are actually quite a few unfamiliar faces coming and going from the school every day. There are politicians from other planets, military representatives, and star police officers who take turns on duty. Many of them are sudden visitors. As long as they don’t step into restricted areas or engage in illegal activities, the artificial intelligence usually won’t issue an alert on its own.”

The implication is that, while ensuring safety, accurately identifying and issuing warnings about all “abnormal” strangers is far more complex than imagined.

"Is the computing power insufficient?" Lian Xinyi interjected curiously. "Shouldn't Smart Computing One be upgraded to a more advanced server?"

“This has nothing to do with server performance,” Shen Zhaoming shook his head. “The key is that it requires too many dimensions of monitoring and analysis. Rather than simply improving the hardware, what we need more is to improve the ‘splitting intelligence’ capability of Smart Computing No. 1, so that it can more intelligently judge priorities and more accurately identify real threat signals, instead of being paranoid.”

At this moment, Officer Xing and Principal Yan, who had received the alarm, rushed to the scene.

Looking at the metal door that had been stripped of its disguise and exposed to everyone, the Star Police Captain asked with some surprise, "Can you tell me how you found this place?"

The school's forest is a strictly protected area, and apart from the maintenance team organized by Mr. Yang Zhu, almost no one ventures into it.

“Didn’t I already say we came to find the little lamb?” Su Ninglong immediately adopted a matter-of-fact attitude and added seriously, “It must be my special physique that’s working again, the favor of the god of fate, guiding us to find it… um, and this unexpected bonus.” She pointed to the hidden entrance.

A hint of a smile flickered in Principal Yan's eyes behind his glasses, then he bowed slightly. "Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. So, lovely lady, favored by the god of fate, would you be interested in joining me and Star Police to explore this mysterious area?"

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, everyone present turned to look at Principal Yan, their faces filled with disbelief.

Right now? Take Su Ninglong into an unknown area where the enemy situation is unclear?

The principal's suggestion was far too risky! Everyone had the same question in their minds. It didn't seem appropriate to let such a young hunter participate in such a dangerous mission.

The leading Star Police Captain frowned slightly, and immediately wanted to politely decline the principal's suggestion.

But Principal Yan was just joking, so he quickly added, "Just kidding, to lighten the mood. If there really are any illegal structures underground that need to be 'cleared' in time, this guy's skills will probably be more 'efficient' than any hunter's."

"puff……"

A chorus of suppressed laughter immediately filled the air.

Considering Su Ninglong's past "glorious achievements," even a professional demolition team would have to admit she's an expert.

Su Ninglong's gaze turned resentful. "Principal, what you're saying... is a bit unethical."

Principal Yan smiled and stroked his beard. "I sincerely apologize. If the truth has hurt your young heart, please forgive me."

"If apologies were enough, what would be the point of having Star Police?" Su Ninglong immediately turned her attention to the fully armed Star Police officers beside her, glancing at them with eyes that clearly showed her "hope," wishing they would take action immediately and drag this "disrespectful old man" principal away.

Star Police: "..." An awkward silence ensued.

Anyone with eyes to see could clearly see the familiar yet slightly sabotaging relationship between Su Ninglong and Principal Yan. In such a situation, anyone who interrupted would be asking for trouble, so naturally no one wanted to be a peacemaker.

The Star Police Captain is rapidly reporting the situation to his superiors via an encrypted channel, requesting reinforcements.

Given the complexity of the underground environment and the possibility of the presence of mysterious spirits, the Star Alliance also needs to send experienced hunters to explore the area.

Yun Fei and Tong Zi, who happened to be free, naturally became the first choice.

Hearing from afar that Principal Yan seemed eager to enter the underground cave, Yun Fei's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Principal, please don't go down yourself, let us go in!"

He and Tong Zi strode over, and Tong Zi chimed in, "That's right, Principal, you can stay here and take command. We contacted Doug as soon as we received the news, and he happened to be nearby and has already agreed to come and provide support."

Principal Yan paused in stroking his beard, his eyebrows immediately furrowing at an exaggerated angle, almost 45 degrees, his face full of displeasure. "You bunch of young people, are you looking down on this old man? I can still do a lot of work!"

“We know you’re still going strong,” Yun Fei said gently, but his tone left no room for argument. “But the situation down there is unclear and fraught with danger, so it’s really not suitable for you to take the risk yourself. Let’s leave the task of scouting to us young people.”

Before he finished speaking, Tong Zi, who was standing nearby, quickly helped and gently helped the old principal to sit down on a thick tree root.

Soon, Doug arrived at the scene, looking travel-worn.

Yun Fei immediately cut to the chase: "Time is of the essence, delay could lead to unforeseen circumstances. Has the Star Police sent down the reconnaissance robots to scout ahead?"

The Star Police Captain shook his head and pointed to the tightly closed metal door: "Not yet. We are conducting final detection scans, analyzing the internal structure and possible traps. We dare not force our way in."

He gestured to the open tactical equipment box next to him, saying, "The equipment is all ready. Each person can only carry a limited amount of ammunition, but we can choose several different types of weapons to deal with emergencies."

He also emphasized, "Please be sure to keep your equipment safe. If it is lost, you will need to submit a very detailed written report explaining the situation."

"Understood." Yun Fei, Tong Zi, and Doug responded in unison and began selecting equipment.

The five Star Police officers tasked with leading the reconnaissance mission are ready to go.

Full-coverage tactical helmets and heavy protective suits completely enveloped them, making it impossible to discern their appearance. Their identities could only be identified by the striking, cold code names on the side of their helmets or shoulder armor: Fox, Flying Squirrel, Salamander, Panda, and Hungry Wolf.

The Star Police officer codenamed "Panda" was crouching in front of the heavy metal door.

He was also a spiritualist, but his abilities were somewhat unique. A faint light gathered at his fingertips as he gently pressed them against the door lock area. An invisible force was acting on the intricate metal components inside the lock, attempting to achieve "seamless unlocking" by causing controlled deformation of specific parts of the metal.

The atmosphere was heavy. Star police and hunters had tightly surrounded the large tree and its entrance area. The bright lights illuminated the entrance in a stark white, highlighting the coldness and ominousness of the abrupt metal door deep inside the tree hollow.

While the armed police officer codenamed Panda was unlocking the door, Fei, Tong Zi, and Doug were also quickly putting on their tactical gear and choosing suitable weapons.

In contrast, Suninglong's equipment appears to be exceptionally "simple".

She was only wearing a close-fitting nano-combat suit, plus a bulletproof vest for her vital areas.

As for firearms, she simply chose a lightweight sidearm, loaded ten bullets into the magazine, and considered herself ready, ready to go into battle unprepared.

"Ning Long, are you really going down?" Even with Principal Yan's approval, Xing Yuan's worries could not be suppressed.

“Principal Yan allowed me in, perhaps he was inspired by some kind of destiny?” Su Ninglong turned her head and gave the principal, who was sitting on the tree root sighing to himself, a sly smile. “Am I right, Principal?”

Principal Yan pursed his lips, a hint of helplessness in his voice: "My old bones can't get down here, what else can I say? I can only remind you to be careful. Don't suffer from 'choice paralysis' over trivial things, just let go of what you should let go of."

Su Ninglong nodded thoughtfully, a gentle breeze ruffling her bangs. "I've always been very clear about what I want, and I never struggle with making choices."

Just then, Shen Zhaoming jogged over and, without saying a word, accurately tossed something to Su Ninglong.

She reached out and caught it, opening her palm to reveal an extremely realistic, goosebump-shaped brooch.

The whites of the eyes appeared a cold, grayish-white color, covered with textures resembling microbial tissue and tiny blood vessels.

The iris occupies two-thirds of the eyeball and is composed of multiple layers of composite metals with different colors and intricate structures. Deep within it, there seems to be a viscous, dark fluid slowly flowing.

The most disturbing feature is the several abnormally large "blood vessels" that extend from the edge of the iris into the white area of ​​the eye.

They are not flat drawings, but slightly raised on the surface, made of a translucent, coagulated blood-like ceramic polymer.

It was warm to the touch, with a strange texture, as if it had just been cut from a living creature.

Even more alarming, one can clearly feel a faint but real pulsation on the fingertips, with an erratic frequency.

"What is this thing?" Driven by curiosity, Lian Xinyi reached out and picked it up. The warm, vibrant touch and the "gaze" that seemed to be "watching" him sent chills down his spine.

As if he had been burned, he abruptly flung the eyeball pin back at Su Ninglong.

“The Silent Eye, my creation,” Shen Zhaoming explained succinctly. “It simulates some characteristics of a biological eye, but its core function is to avoid most interference. Its memory and key circuits are tightly wrapped in multi-layered composite shielding materials. Built-in micro-sensors can detect external electromagnetic interference and pulse attacks in real time and generate precise reverse waveforms for active neutralization. The entire storage and processing unit is highly isolated from other components in its physical structure, transmitting data only through a unidirectional optical link, completely eliminating the possibility of reverse intrusion and conducted interference…”

His barrage of technical jargon left everyone bewildered. Each word was understandable on its own, but when put together, it was like gibberish.

Lei Qingya asked the most crucial question, "So, what's the use of this thing?"

Su Ninglong tossed the eyeball-shaped pin up and caught it with great interest.

This tiny creation perfectly blends the horror of biological forms with Shen Zhaoming's unique technical philosophy, his almost obsessive rigor, and his ultimate pursuit of "control"!

"Of course it's for recording!" Su Ninglong blurted out, teasingly adding, "Those ordinary holographic live streaming devices outside don't have this kind of top-notch anti-interference technology. They must be expensive to make, right?"

She changed the subject, her tone now carrying a touch of technical appreciation, "If my master were to add another layer of anti-pollution rune protection to it... tsk tsk, it could be considered a sacred artifact. Shen Zhaoming, if you were in my master's lineage, she would definitely be happy to take you on as her apprentice."

"Brother, that's awesome!" Upon hearing that it was high-tech recording equipment, Lian Xinyi instantly lost her fear, moved closer to Shen Zhaoming, and asked with shining eyes, "Do you have any left? I'm willing to pay for it! I'll ask Master Su to enhance the protection later, and then we'll bravely venture into the contaminated area to conduct experiments."

"Get lost and go away." Shen Zhaoming replied irritably. He had received a lot of care from her, and this "silent eye" was a carefully prepared return gift.

"You want it? Ten million star coins."

Lian Xinyi curled his lip and snorted coldly. If he had ten million, he wouldn't need to rely on renting Abyss Echoes.

"Thanks, I'll make good use of it." Su Ninglong solemnly fastened the eyeball pin, which had an eerie warmth, to her nanosuit on her chest.

Just then, a dull metallic click was heard, accompanied by a low, resonant sound of hydraulic pressure being released.

The panda finally succeeded in unlocking the complicated door lock.

The heavy hydraulic metal door slid open slowly inward, revealing a dark, bottomless opening that stretched downwards.

A stream of air, mixed with a musty smell and a strange, sweet taste, suddenly gushed out from the cave entrance.

Yang Zhu, who was very close to the cave entrance and hadn't had time to put on his gas mask, was the first to be hit by the strange smell. He covered his nose and backed away, coughing and coughing, "What's that smell? It's both stinky and sweet, and it's disgusting!"

The airflow quickly spread around the cave entrance, transforming into a cloyingly sweet, rotten odor that lingered stubbornly in the air, though barely perceptible.

With their exceptionally keen sense of smell, Ollie and Kiri simultaneously sniffed, revealing expressions of extreme disgust in unison, and making low gurgling sounds in their throats, as if filled with an instinctive aversion to this strange smell.

Star Police Captain "Fox" decisively ordered: "Deploy the Spider Monitors!"

A small mechanical spider slid into the hole and silently crawled forward along the tunnel.