The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 195 The Missing Lamb (3)

The passageway was pitch black, with only the spider's built-in night vision system providing visibility.

The footage showed that the tunnel was clearly recently dug by humans, sloping downwards with extremely rough rock walls and no signs of repair. Only some makeshift wooden frames, awkwardly embedded in the soil, barely supported the tunnel ceiling, like exposed, pale bones, making the entire passage appear even more precarious.

Apart from the high-tech metal door at the entrance, the interior of the tunnel was extremely rudimentary, revealing a sense of haste and instability everywhere.

"No surveillance equipment confirmed, no lighting system." Star Guard, codenamed "Flying Squirrel," quickly relayed the data from the monitors. "The tunnel is narrow, only wide enough for a maximum of three people to walk side by side, and its structure is similar to a simple mine tunnel. The mechanical spider has advanced 500 meters, and the signal is starting to fluctuate unstablely. The current air quality reading is normal, with no risk of suffocation."

"Deploy the armed robots," Fox immediately gave the next order. "We'll follow closely behind. Yun Fei, Tong Zi, and Doug, you'll cover our retreat. How does that sound?"

Tong Zi, Yun Fei, and Doug all said they would follow his orders.

Outside the cave entrance, Qi Rui frantically scratched at the ground, wanting to follow, but was quickly pulled back by Lei Qingya.

Lei Qingya said in a deep voice, "Give them one hour. If they haven't come out after an hour, you and Ollie go in to provide support." She knew the temperament of these two strange beasts well, especially since they couldn't stand seeing Su Ninglong injured. In a moment of desperation, they might forcibly activate their teleportation ability to bring her out, which could interfere with their actions or expose their location.

Inside the tunnel, Yun Fei habitually took a deep breath, trying to capture more subtle information in the air.

His sharp gaze swept across the dark passageway. He slightly opened his mask and took a sniff. The air was unusually cold and damp, and breathing it into his lungs carried a chilling sensation like shards of ice.

He quickly put it back on. "Hmm...it's not just a simple rotten, sweet smell. There's also a very faint but very clear chemical residue...and something else."

He was somewhat confused and wary. "That feeling... was very strange, like something alive, yet also like something dead, all mixed together."

The fox at the head of the group commanded in a calm and clear voice: "Sentinel One, Two, initiate full-band scanning, activate shield system. Thermal imaging and night vision modes activated, keep communication channels open with the highest priority."

He then turned to his human companions behind him and added, “Hunter friends, if you encounter a fork in the road ahead, please be sure to hold the flanks and rear. Our objective is to explore and assess the environment and safely bring back intelligence. Safety is the first priority; if any unknown threat is encountered and is deemed lethal, lethal force is authorized.”

"Command confirmed. Scanning initiated, shield activated." The two cold, metallic constructs emitted a monotonous electronic voice, then took the lead, their heavy steps carrying them resolutely into the thick darkness ahead.

Their metallic feet pounded on the rough, rocky, muddy ground of the passage, producing a soft but clear echo.

Su Ninglong felt the constricting sensation of the gas mask on her face lingering, but she resisted the urge to remove it.

The passage was eerily silent, save for the rustling of the team members' equipment and the amplified metallic clanging of the robots' footsteps echoing between the narrow rock walls. This created an invisible yet suffocating sense of oppression, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Through the eerie green vision of the night-vision goggles, water droplets could be seen slowly seeping from the rock face, meandering down the uneven surface before finally dripping silently.

The team cautiously advanced for several hundred meters, and the initially obvious traces of manual excavation gradually became more regular, with metal support structures appearing between the wooden supports.

The walls were also beginning to be covered with rudimentary pipes and cables, which at first glance looked like clinging blood vessels.

The hungry wolf had been distracted by observing the spider's surveillance footage, which went from having an unstable signal to having no signal at all.

He reported the situation, and the fox said, "Pay attention to your surroundings at all times and try to retrieve as much of the surveillance footage as possible."

"Ok."

After traveling a little further, they discovered the missing mechanical spiders.

They lay silently on the cold wooden frame, as if held down by some invisible force, completely lifeless.

Even as the team closed the distance and tried to re-establish the connection, the communication channel remained completely silent, with no response.

The hungry wolf carefully scraped a little sticky mucus from the rock wall around the mechanical spider with a tool and dripped it into a miniature detector he carried with him.

A few seconds later, the detector screen flickered faintly.

“Trace amounts of unknown biological pheromones and residual neurotoxins have been detected. The air composition here is also becoming more complex,” he looked up, his voice muffled through his mask. “Everyone, make sure your gas masks are worn tightly and do not remove them.”

Su Ninglong subconsciously shook the eyeball-shaped brooch on her collar.

The pin emits an extremely deep blue light, making it almost completely invisible in dim light.

But the faint light unmistakably told her that it was operating silently.

The team cautiously continued forward, and a bend appeared ahead.

After turning the corner, the passage seemed to widen slightly, but the sides were haphazardly piled with a large number of discarded metal pipes and twisted support frames, like the jagged ribs of a monster, creating more dark corners and hiding places.

The fox, being experienced, did not recklessly rush in.

He first pulled out a small tactical observation mirror from the side pocket of his tactical vest, carefully peered out from the bend, and used the mirror's reflection to thoroughly examine the blind spots created by the stacked objects.

No suspicious living creatures were reflected in the mirror.

This unusual cleanliness only heightened the tension among the Star Police officers.

They hadn't forgotten about the optical instruments at the entrance; this seemingly deserted area might harbor even more deadly dangers.

The fox quickly made a concise gesture.

The fire lizard behind understood immediately and handed over a palm-sized lighting device.

The flying squirrel, like a ghost, silently darted past the large panda and nimbly placed a powerful lamp steadily on the ground in the center of the passage.

In an instant, a blinding beam of white light cleaved through the darkness like a sword, illuminating the area behind the bend in a ghastly white light.

Almost at the same millisecond of the burst of light, a sudden change occurred.

Several blinding beams of high-energy particles shot out without warning from the deep shadows of a pile of pipes on the right. These beams were terrifyingly precise, targeting the most vulnerable parts of the two "sentinel" robots leading the charge: the transmission nodes of their leg joints and the connection hubs of their head's precision sensors.

From the shadows on the other side, several specially made bullets whistled through the air.

They seemed to possess life, drawing illogical arcs in the air as they cunningly and ruthlessly shot towards the communication modules hanging on the waists of the Star Police officers, their intention clear: to sever their communication.

The Sentinel robot's reaction time was incredibly fast.

They were already on high alert, their energy shield generators humming and operating at full capacity, forming a solid barrier in front of them at the critical moment, blocking most of the deadly shockwaves and solid projectiles, and exploding into dazzling energy ripples.

Three pale shadows, almost blending into their surroundings, suddenly lunged out like phantoms tearing through the shadows. Their movements were so swift that they exceeded the limits of the naked eye, leaving only blurry afterimages and faint whistling sounds as they tore through the air.

"Optical nanosuits, watch out, they're wearing optical camouflage!" someone in the group shouted a warning.

"Optical camouflage, that's expensive?" Su Ninglong blurted out. This unexpected question caused the sights of the guns raised by the Star Police officers to shift slightly due to their momentary astonishment.

"Be serious! Is this the time for jokes?!" Yun Fei's voice involuntarily became serious.

Su Ninglong's movements appeared unhurried, yet they were exceptionally precise. An invisible telekinetic shield instantly unfolded in front of her, freezing several beams of energy leaking through the gaps in the shield and a few tricky smart bullets in mid-air, just inches away from her body, before they were knocked to the ground with a clang by an invisible force.

“There’s not much room for me to do anything.” Su Ninglong sighed helplessly, glancing at the energy beams that were constantly exploding on the rock wall. “Look at the power of these pulse guns…” Before she could finish speaking, another beam of particles slammed into the cave wall, causing rubble to fall like raindrops.

"If I make another move, this passage will definitely collapse, and we'll all be buried alive here." The ranged weapon she brought couldn't penetrate the robot's shield, and she was afraid of disturbing the unstable spiritual energy in her dantian if she used the thin blade of "Kiss of Death."

She entered this place only to see if there was an opportunity for advancement (the spiritual power released after the death of the secret spirit). In short, she wanted to find a blessed land to form her core.

With Doug at the back, there was even less room for him to maneuver. He couldn't confirm the spatial location and distance, and his superpowers might devour the surrounding "safety measures," increasing the risk of collapse.

Inside the passage, energy beams and physical bullets intertwined and flew about, while explosions and flying debris created chaos in the environment.

With the support of armed robots and Star Police firepower, the enemy relied on optical nanosuits to conceal their movements, and with the support of unknown automated weapons deep within the tunnels, the Star Police squad found it difficult to pinpoint the enemy's exact location and weaknesses amidst the pervasive smoke and fire.

In the midst of this fierce exchange of fire, several high-energy particle beams seemed to be of one mind, precisely converging on the same area of ​​the "Sentinel One" shield.

The high-frequency impact caused the shield generator to overheat and overload, resulting in several blinding sparks.

As a result, the servo motor on the left leg of "Sentinel One" emitted a screeching sound, its movement visibly faltered, and its massive metal body tilted to one side, creating a fatal weak point in the previously tight protective net.

To make matters worse, a Star Police officer's communication module, which was hanging from his waist, was hit directly by a cunning, curved bullet. After a loud "sizzle," it emitted wisps of black smoke and was completely destroyed.

Seeing a breach in her own lines, Su Ninglong decisively crouched down.

An extremely subtle yet exceptionally clear fluctuation of mental energy spread out from her body like an invisible ripple, precisely sweeping across the chaotic area in front of her.

This unique fluctuation was immediately noticed by the perceptive Yun Fei and Doug. A hint of surprise flashed across their eyes at the same time, but they both tacitly chose to remain silent and not make a sound to disturb them.

Su Ninglong steadily raised the gun in her hand. The cold muzzle was not aimed at any visible target, but at the seemingly empty area illuminated by the bright spotlight.

Without the slightest hesitation, she decisively pulled the trigger.

The bullets flew out through the gaps in the shield.

The sound that followed was exceptionally clear – the sound of a bullet piercing flesh.

A burst of dazzling blood suddenly exploded out of thin air, instantly revealing a distorted humanoid silhouette. The camouflage effect of the optical nanosuit was completely rendered ineffective due to the damage.

Almost the instant the enemy was exposed, Sentinel 2, which had been on high alert, reacted with lightning speed.

Its built-in armor-piercing concussion grenade locking system was activated instantly, and a specially designed warhead slammed into the newly revealed enemy with a dull thud.

The immense impact sent the man flying, crashing heavily onto a pile of metal pipes in the distance. His fate was unknown.

The other two "invisible" players were exposed after being targeted by Su Ninglong.

Having lost their stealth advantage, the remaining two enemies were quickly cornered by the intense pulse fire suppression from the Star Police and the advance of two Sentinel robots.

One of the enemies was struck in a vital spot by several pulse energy beams at the same time, and collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.

Another enemy's leg was torn apart by a pulse beam, and blood gushed out. He leaned against the cold, damp rock wall, his eyes filled with nothing but madness and despair.

"Hehehe..." He let out a chilling, eerie laugh, a resolute glint of ferocity flashing in his eyes. His blood-stained hand suddenly reached for an inconspicuous metal protrusion on his chest. "On the journey to the Kingdom of God, I will never be lonely."

With that desperate roar, he slammed his thumb down on the self-destruct button.

At the critical moment, Yun Fei's figure shot out like an arrow.

His ability activated instantly, and the flow of time in the target area seemed to be forcibly stopped by an invisible hand, falling into a state of near stagnation.

The hunters have excellent teamwork.

In the corner of the wall behind the enemy, above the high-powered bomb that the enemy had planted in advance, a deep black hole appeared out of thin air.

It rotated and magnified silently, with a heart-stopping suction, precisely enveloping the newly ignited, eerie blue spark.

Devour, close!
The instant the black hole vanished, thousands of meters above the tunnel, the pitch-black night seemed to be violently torn apart by a giant hand. A blinding white light instantly illuminated the surrounding area for kilometers as if it were daytime.

Immediately afterwards, a deafening "boom" crashed down like a belated thunderbolt, causing the earth to tremble slightly.

Ground personnel who were relatively close to the explosion point felt as if they were violently shoved by an invisible shockwave. Their internal organs were churning, and their eardrums felt as if they had been struck by a heavy hammer, leaving only a sharp roar echoing in their skulls.