The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 197 The Missing Lamb (5)

A heavy silence fell over the group.

Mystic spirits, aberrations, ordinary biological genes... these words, when put together, point to an extremely dark possibility.

Yun Fei broke the silence, getting straight to the point: "You mean, someone forcibly implanted human genes into the Secret Spirit's organization in a laboratory?"

“No, it’s more like the other way around.” Su Ninglong carefully picked up the piece of dried bark-like substance with the tip of the long tube. “It’s more like implanting fragments of the Mystic Spirit’s tissue or some kind of core into the genetic carrier of a human or other organism. Using the organism’s ‘shell’ and genetic characteristics to dilute and ‘tame’ the Mystic Spirit’s overly violent polluting nature, making it more covert and more enduring. Of course, the experiment doesn’t seem to be going very well.”

As she spoke, she scooped the nauseating substance back into the viscous, dark green pool water.

The moment the bark touched the water, the substance instantly absorbed water and swelled, transforming back into a dark, flocculent mass.

Almost simultaneously, a series of fist-sized bubbles suddenly burst from the center of the pool, churning and bubbling! Even more unsettling, a sharp, short metallic scraping sound suddenly rang out from inside a huge, rusted filter tank next to it, as if some heavy, corroded part had suddenly become displaced inside.

"There is a situation!"

"alert!"

Everyone's nerves instantly tightened to the limit! All weapons were raised simultaneously, the cold muzzles of guns and energy cannons locking onto the bubbling water and the filter canister that was making strange noises.

The air inside the passage seemed to freeze, with only the dripping sound of sewage and the pounding of everyone's hearts remaining.

The few seconds were stretched out infinitely in the midst of intense tension.

The bubbles in the pool water disappeared abruptly, just as they had appeared, and the friction sound inside the filter tank stopped abruptly. Everything returned to deathly silence, as if the commotion just now was an illusion.

The fox took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the tremor in its heart, its voice remaining steady: "Sentinel! Reactivate the all-around scan. Confirm whether there are any signs of large life forms in the surrounding area."

"Command confirmed. Initiating deep scan... Scan complete. Confirmed, no large life form signal source. Weak internal water seepage activity detected, presumably caused by disturbance of sediment at the bottom of the pool leading to bubble generation. Slight displacement of localized rusted structures inside the filter tank due to stress changes was detected, resulting in abnormal metal friction noise. Report complete." The armed robot's cold electronic voice provided the explanation.

At this moment, the agile flying squirrel and the burly panda had silently bypassed the huge reservoir and arrived at the closed metal door on the other side of the reservoir.

Panda immediately began to deal with a very well-hidden surveillance camera above the door frame, his movements skillful and precise.

Meanwhile, the flying squirrel took a device resembling a stethoscope but connected to a complex miniature screen from its tactical belt and carefully pressed the sensor probe tightly against the cold crack in the door.

"No sound detected behind the door." The squirrel stared intently at the miniature screen of his stethoscope, his voice low. He quickly added, "Sentinel, try scanning for heat sources behind the door!"

The armed robot's cold electronic voice immediately responded: "Warning: This door panel uses a high-insulation heat-resistant coating to isolate heat exchange between the inside and outside. It is impossible to detect whether there is life behind the door using conventional thermal imaging methods."

As soon as he finished speaking, the flying squirrel felt a pang of anxiety. It seemed to hear a cry for help, a voice that was tender and childlike, like the bleating of a lamb or the baby's voice.

“There seems to be a sound, Panda, listen to it.” The flying squirrel handed the stethoscope to the panda.

The sound was faint, but Panda nodded to confirm that there was something inside. He placed his hands on the door, ready to break it down.

Suddenly, Su Ninglong turned her head, her gaze shooting like lightning towards the tightly closed, heavy metal door.

"Wait! Don't get too close to that door. Once everyone's here, there seems to be something behind the door."

The panda withdrew its superpower as it reached into the door, and the flying squirrel looked at the unopened door with a chill in its heart. "I just heard a child crying for help."

The panda broke out in a cold sweat; for some inexplicable reason, he had decided to break down the door without permission.

Upon hearing this, the Star Police officers exchanged glances, a chill creeping down their spines.

They then realized that ever since entering this strange underground space, a strange sense of anxiety and urgency had been lingering in their hearts. They were only thinking about completing the mission as soon as possible, but they did not realize that something in the dark seemed to be using this mentality to quietly lure them into a trap.

As the team leader, the fox must now make a decision.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and quickly issued orders: "Armed robots, stay outside and wait. Do not enter. When facing the Mystic Spirit, highly intelligent machines are very likely to be corrupted or controlled first, and will instead become an obstacle for us. Flying Squirrel, Panda, you two retreat to the entrance of the passage we came from and wait to ensure that the retreat route is clear."

He glanced at the panda and the flying squirrel, and although he didn't say it explicitly, the meaning was clear: they both had families to care about, and the risks in the core area ahead were unknown, so it was best to let the hunters with stronger mental resistance take on the task.

Tong Zi immediately understood the captain's concerns and offered, "Yun Fei, why don't you stay here too? With Doug and me helping Su Ninglong go in, we should be able to handle any unexpected situations."

She knew that if she left the panda and flying squirrel, who were not hunters, here, they would be lucky to be able to retreat safely, let alone provide support, if they were to encounter severe mental pollution.

The panda seemed determined to persist: "Captain, I'm also a psionicist, I can..."

“I’ll stay,” Yun Fei suddenly said, interrupting the panda.

Su Ninglong's sharp gaze inadvertently swept across Yun Fei's face, and her heart skipped a beat. She saw a bead of sweat quietly sliding down his tense jawline.

This is so abnormal!
With Yun Fei's strength as a four-star hunter, that level of advance and combat just now wasn't even a warm-up.

It's only progressed a tiny bit; for a four-star hunter, it's not even a warm-up.

Tong Zi subtly gave Su Ninglong a wink, the meaning of which was crystal clear: some things are better left unsaid.

Yun Fei is probably injured, but this cannot be revealed.

The fox glanced down at the bracelet and gave the remaining Yun Fei and the others the final instructions in a deep voice: "In forty-five minutes, no matter what, we will return the way we came. If you haven't seen us by then, don't hesitate, leave the tunnel immediately."

"understand!"

The panda used its superpowers again, silently twisting the lock mechanism of the heavy metal door, and the heavy door slowly slid open a crack.

Su Ninglong, Tong Zi, Doug, Hungry Wolf, Fire Lizard, and Fox quickly disappeared into the deeper darkness beyond the door. Panda watched them disappear, then closed the door behind him.

The three quickly turned back and retreated along the route they had come from to the battlefield where they had previously clashed with the three "believers".

The sight before them froze them in place; the ground was completely empty.

The three enemy corpses, along with the scattered fragments of their equipment, vanished without a trace in a very short time!

"This... how is this possible?" Momonga gasped in shock.

He and the panda immediately separated, and like startled birds, they began to grope around the nearby walls and ground, the beam of a powerful flashlight frantically sweeping through every corner, trying to find any possible hidden doors or drag marks.

"Stop looking!" Yun Fei said firmly and urgently, "Leave here immediately, leave now."

“But the captain said forty-five minutes…” Panda subconsciously retorted.

"The situation has changed," Yun Fei interrupted him, his eyes sharp as knives. "We may have already stepped into the contaminated zone of an unknown spirit. You haven't received specialized training to combat mental pollution. Every second you stay here increases the risk of being corrupted exponentially." He knew all too well what would happen to ordinary people in this environment; mental breakdown and complete madness were the least of their worries.

The panda and the flying squirrel instantly realized the seriousness of the situation.

They were not hunters, and their understanding of the Mystic Contamination was limited to written reports and hearsay. They knew that the wisest choice at this time was to follow the orders of professionals.

"Understood." Without further hesitation, the two immediately picked up their weapons and reformed their defensive formation.

The armed robot continued to walk silently at the front, clearing the way, its metal feet making rhythmic sounds as they trod on the rough ground.

In the oppressive silence, the flying squirrel finally couldn't suppress its fear and doubt any longer and asked in a low voice, "Professor Yun... do you know what's going on? What kind of mysterious spirit is controlling all of this?"

“I don’t know. As Su Ninglong said, perhaps it was some kind of experimental subject.” Yun Fei’s answer was unusually concise. He suddenly stopped and pointed ahead, “I think we have no way out.”

Not far ahead, the passage, which was originally supported by rocks, wood and metal, was completely blocked by a strange wooden wall.

This wall exudes an ominous and unsettling aura; it is by no means an ordinary creation of humankind.

Countless thick, twisted giant trees coiled together like dying pythons, forcibly squeezing and fusing in a way that defied the laws of physics, ultimately forming a smooth, scalp-chilling plane that completely blocked the only way out.

"When...when did this wall appear?!" Fei Su felt his breath catch in his throat, and his heart pounded wildly.

"Sentinel!" Panda reacted quickly, immediately ordering the armed robot, "Target the wooden wall directly in front, maximum firepower, destroy it."

"Command confirmed. Execute the annihilation agreement." The armed robot's electronic voice remained completely flat.

The next instant, its weapon system burst forth with blinding light. High-energy particle beams, like scorching swords, and specially designed armor-piercing projectiles tore through the air with a shrill whistle, converging into a destructive torrent that slammed into the eerie wooden wall!
Boom—, Sizzle—!
The deafening explosion, accompanied by the piercing scorching sound of burning energy, echoed wildly within the narrow passage.

The smoke, carrying with it a strong, pungent stench of burnt biological tissue, instantly filled the air.

As the smoke dissipated and the bright light shone through, several charred holes the size of washbasins were blasted into the dark wooden wall.

Even more chilling was that from the edge of the torn opening, a viscous, dark red fluid, reeking of a fish's blood, slowly seeped and dripped out, drop by drop...

It was as if the wall itself was a huge, wounded living organism.

The panda's pupils suddenly contracted to dangerous pinpoints.

Looking through the huge, charred hole blasted open by the armed robot, what lay inside was not the expected passage, but a dense, layered, seemingly endless twisted wooden structure, like a constantly growing living wooden creature.

Even more terrifying, their attack just now seemed to have completely awakened this "living wall"! At the edge of the hole that had been blasted open, the dark wood grain twisted, piled up, and expanded wildly like countless wriggling black maggots.

In the blink of an eye, an enormous, rotten wooden face, resembling an ancient corpse, was forcibly "grown" out from the hole.

This giant face was lifeless, with unfathomable empty eye sockets, and it fixed its gaze on the three people in the passage with a palpable malice.

The enormous maw, made of rotten wood, silently split open, unleashing a terrifying pressure capable of crushing mountains, and crashed down upon Yun Fei, Panda, and Flying Squirrel, who were terrified by the horrifying sight.

"Sentinel, abandon defense and retreat at full speed!" Yun Fei reacted with lightning speed. He grabbed the almost terrified panda and the frozen flying squirrel with one hand each, and with astonishing strength, dragged the two of them and ran for their lives toward the sewage treatment room behind them.

The two armed robots faithfully carried out the highest priority instructions.

They instantly abandoned their cumbersome ground running mode, their foot thrusters bursting with blue flames, and their massive metal bodies suddenly levitated, like two silver arrows flying close to the ground, closely following Yun Fei's figure at an astonishing speed.

The three people and two machines narrowly escaped back to the foul-smelling sewage treatment room.

Even greater despair followed. The heavy metal door, which the panda had forcibly twisted open with its superpowers, could no longer be closed tightly again.

The edges of the door frame were twisted and deformed, leaving a fatal gap.

A "wave of wood" made of giant trees surged in, threatening to completely engulf the entire entrance.

"Ah..." The panda's eyes widened in horror as it let out a wild roar.

His supernatural abilities were instantly squeezed to the limit, and he slammed his hands hard against the deformed door frame.

With a sickening metallic groan, the door frame and door panel were forcibly twisted and corrected again by his all-out effort, and finally closed with a "bang".

"Hold on." Yun Fei swiftly grabbed the heavy metal pipe from the ground and inserted it between the doorknob and the sturdy wall support, forming a simple yet crucial latch!
Almost at the same instant the long pipe jammed, a terrifying impact slammed into the door panel.