The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 221 The Guardian

"Tsk tsk, what a sucker..."

“Not entirely,” Eagle Bone shook his head. “When the Qiankun Shrine was first launched, it was priced the same.”

"What about the Disintegration Pointer? Did they buy it? We bought it for two hundred... Mmm!" Before Lian Xinyi could finish speaking, Song Hu covered her mouth.

Song Hu lowered his voice and reminded him, "The price on the black market outside has already reached 20,000. Don't talk nonsense here."

Xin Yi's eyes darted around, she broke free, and asked in a low voice, "Then tell me, does the Star Alliance itself have equipment with the Disintegration Pointer?"

"Yes." Yun Fei appeared silently behind them, startling them.

"Why are you so sure?"

“Before the competition started, people from the Star Alliance came to us and said that in order to ‘be fair,’ they wanted to buy a batch of Disintegration Pointers from us.”

Fairness? Talking about fairness with the Star Alliance before the competition?
Yun Fei watched their stunned expressions with great interest. "Is it strange? They can even overturn the rules they set themselves, so naturally they can use countless reasons to achieve their goals."

“I’m not curious about that,” Su Ninglong suddenly said, pointing to the busy Star Alliance members in the distance, and asked seriously, “What I’m more curious about is, did they pay the original price?”

"They did offer to buy it at our Star Alliance's special price, using the same excuse: we're all hunters, we should be treated equally," Yun Fei said calmly. "But we have the goods in our hands, and with such a big grudge in front of us, we can't let go of the opportunity to make an extra profit."

"No, why do we have to sell it to them? Isn't this just strengthening our opponents?" Lian Xinyi couldn't understand it at all. If it were him, he would never hand over good equipment to his competitors.

Yun Fei smiled and shook his head: "Why not sell? Although Master Su specially supplies us with the Disintegration Pointers, there is a batch every month that needs to be exported at a high price. Otherwise, how can we keep the company running? Where will the money come from? Selling to anyone is the same as selling to someone else. Moreover, the only people who can buy these in the long run are Spirit Masters. The Star Glory Alliance is the largest customer group. Since they took the initiative to offer to buy them at a price of 10,000 Star Coins each, a total of sixty, Master Su and I naturally have no reason to refuse. This transaction is a win-win situation."

The Cultivation Garden mainly deals with agricultural products, while Suninglong produces customized sacred artifacts, and mass-produced equipment has always been handled by Yunfei.

After all, the Star Alliance has long protected Su Ninglong, and she cannot sever this relationship, or rather, this deal. Continued and stable cooperation is beneficial to both parties in the long run.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to visit the Guardian.” Yun Fei turned around and said, “Now that you’ve already come into contact with the Filthy Feast Spirit, you’ll likely encounter more four-star Mystic Spirits in the future. The one who’s here to guard this place is the most easygoing and approachable of all the Guardians.”

They had long wanted to meet the Keeper of the Order.

“Okay!” Su Ninglong was the first to stand up. She glanced back at the small stools and quickly called to Tong Zi, “Could you help me take the stools back into the tent?”

"What, could this have been stolen?"

Su Ninglong said frankly and without any hesitation: "I'm not afraid of losing valuable things, but it's hard to say what will happen to these cheap little items."

That makes sense.

Once something worthless is "borrowed," it's basically a loan that will never be returned.

If you actually ask for it back, the other party might accuse you of being stingy.

Helpless, Tong Zi had no choice but to summon a robot to fold the small stools neatly and put them back inside the tent.

The Guardians' residential area was located at the rear of both camps, and the accommodations were significantly better. Several temporary huts were neatly arranged, appearing both independent and quiet.

After asking for permission outside the door, Yun Fei led a group of young people into the house.

The small cabin was almost entirely surrounded by various technological devices, with all the screens and cameras pointed directly at the distant slaughterhouse area. Shen Zhaoming was squatting in front of a tripod, intently adjusting the parameters of a certain camera.

In the center of the room sat a long-haired young man wearing a black trench coat.

He had beautiful long, silver-gray hair, without any signs of bleaching or dyeing, smooth as satin, naturally draped down his back, somewhat similar to Su Ninglong's previous hair color.

Even when he sat silently, he naturally exuded a powerful and awe-inspiring aura.

When he turned his head slightly, everyone's eyes were drawn to the eye patch he was wearing, and they all had the same curiosity: Why was he covering his eyes?

His voice was deep and magnetic, "Yun Fei, you brought people?" His movements were slow and deliberate, as if he had expected them to come.

"How could he know it was you even though his view was blocked?" Charlie asked quietly from behind Yun Fei.

"I'm right here in front of you. You can ask me any questions you have," Qi Shen said bluntly.

At this moment, everyone could see that Qi Shen was a straightforward person with excellent hearing.

Charlie was a little shy, but he was also straightforward, so he asked again openly.

"The 'Demon's Decree' is not without its influence on us who keep it; it can be lost due to negligence. To better control it, I have linked it with my vision. Although I have lost my sight, I can still recognize each of you through alternative perception."

“This is just like Ning Long,” Lian Xinyi couldn’t help but mutter, “She can also sense us approaching from a long distance.”

Qi Shen turned his face precisely towards Su Ninglong and asked, "Are you Su Ninglong?"

Su Ninglong was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Qi Shen stood up and walked towards her step by step, finally bending down to get closer, their faces less than ten centimeters apart.

Although his eyes were covered, the rest of his face remained clear and superior, with flawless, snow-white skin, making him look as exquisite as a meticulously sculpted model.

Qi Shen suddenly chuckled and said:
"You are somewhat different from the you in the simulator."

Su Ninglong was slightly taken aback and asked in return, "Have we met in the simulator?"

"I've seen you before, but you probably don't know who I am."

Su Ninglong tilted her head, "That doesn't make sense! This person has an outstanding temperament. Even if you create an ordinary pose, it absolutely cannot hide his unique temperament."

A thought flashed through his mind, and he suddenly realized: "Could it be that you are the golden text that appeared in the system?"

"Smart!" Qi Shen said with approval. "From the beginning, I believed you had the potential to become a Guardian. But now it seems that, like Yun Fei, you are not so willing to take on this role."

Su Ninglong was taken aback upon hearing this. Indeed, Yun Fei had never clearly explained how he resisted the corruption of the "Secret Order".

Could it be that Yun Fei was actually one of the candidates for the Guardian?

"I just feel that my strength hasn't reached that level yet, and the 'Secret Master's Token' still affects me," Yun Fei explained. "And this Token Holder's strength has already surpassed five stars." "Then aren't you quite old?" Su Ninglong blurted out, asking Qi Shen.

Everyone fell silent for a moment: "..."

This little darling's focus is indeed different from others. While others are still wondering how she managed to "surpass five stars" and how strong she really is, she skips all the key points and goes straight to the issue of age.

"If we calculate based on human lifespan, I am indeed no longer young."

"But you look so young. Do you have any secrets to staying young?" Su Ninglong was already thinking about whether she could get some longevity formulas for Zou Shuyi and Xingyuan. "Could it be that you're not actually human?"

This question was a perfect landmine, and Yun Fei wished he could immediately cover her mouth. How dare she be so reckless in front of the Guardian!
“My current state is closer to another life form.” Qi Shen was not angry. Instead, he pointed to Qi Rui beside him, “closer to its form when it can transform into human form.”

Everyone present, except for Su Ninglong and Qi Shen who made the startling statement, stared wide-eyed.

Wait, what did they just hear? Qi Rui, he can actually turn into a human again?

Su Ninglong immediately understood and concluded that Qi Shen was extremely powerful.

"How did you break through to the level of a five-star hunter?" she continued to press. "As far as I know, Principal Yan has been stuck at the five-star level for many years without making any progress. Countless geniuses have spent their entire lives stuck at this step. How did you manage to do it?"

"I don't know." Qi Shen answered readily and frankly, seemingly without any sense of shame. "I really don't know. Perhaps it's just how I was born."

Even mythical beasts aren't born this powerful! Su Ninglong thought to herself, but didn't press the matter further.

Perhaps the other party has some unspeakable difficulties. After all, in the history of interstellar space, there have been hunters who have surpassed the five-star level, but these people's abilities are often somewhat special.

"Can we exchange contact numbers?" Su Ninglong was becoming increasingly interested in Qi Shen. More importantly, she wanted to find an opportunity to "observe" the Executioner's Token in the future, and Qi Shen was obviously a good "stepping stone".

Just as Yun Fei was about to speak to stop Su Ninglong, Qi Shen nodded and said, "Okay." He then quickly pulled out the light screen on his bracelet with a swift and decisive movement.

Yun Fei couldn't help but frown: "Didn't you always say that Guardians shouldn't add other people's contact numbers casually?"

Qi Shen turned his head to look at Yun Fei, whose face was darkening slightly, and smiled calmly: "The so-called 'cannot be added at will' is, of course, because I don't want to add it."

He spoke in a serious tone, yet said the most mischievous thing. Yun Fei was speechless for a moment, and an indescribable sense of frustration welled up in his heart.

"Teacher Yun, you look like a dog that's about to get all puffed up."

At this moment, Yun Fei truly resembled a young man who was being teased but had no way to refute it, feeling both embarrassed and helpless.

Even Xin Yi's playful teasing immediately drew a sharp glare from Yun Fei, who quickly suppressed his laughter and dared not be presumptuous anymore.

After a brief farewell to Qi Shen, the Star Alliance "kids" began to explore the well-equipped cabin with curiosity.

They huddled around Shen Zhaoming and asked him what kind of work he usually did here and how he suddenly became Qi Shen's "assistant".

"He was just a temporary assistant." Shen Zhaoming's eyes flickered slightly, as if he was reluctant to recall the incident.

In fact, he was forced to take on this job. Of the three assistants who usually followed Qi Shen, one was injured while on a mission, and another was on leave and playing on his home planet.

Another person was fired for doing something that offended Qi Shen.

So his superiors had no choice but to temporarily transfer him to fill in for a while.

Initially, the Star Alliance assigned a mentor as an assistant, but that person, apart from being lecturing, could provide almost no real help.

After that, three more people were replaced. One of them was actually quite reliable, but Qi Shen didn't like the way the other person spoke.

The last temporary assistant was even more bluntly called an "idiot" by Qi Shen to his face.

Left with no other choice, the superiors heard that Shen Zhaoming was not only shrewd and capable of taking care of himself, but also just as intelligent as Lingfei, so they temporarily transferred him to serve as an assistant.

After hearing about the experiences of these "exes," Su Ninglong felt that Qi Shen was really picky, or even pretentious.

After leaving Qi Shen's hut, the group of friends secretly talked behind Su Ninglong's back:
"I feel like Su Ninglong and Qi Shen look a bit alike."

"They love to play pranks on people, are extremely picky, and speak in a very old-fashioned way."

"If we hadn't watched Su Ninglong grow up, I would have suspected that she was also an old monster like Qi Shen."

Su Ninglong had actually overheard all of these conversations. Although they were telling her "behind her back," they didn't really intend to hide it from her; they were just incredibly bold.

Su Ninglong snorted coldly, but did not retaliate on the spot.

The night sky on this commercial star is far less beautiful than that of the Star Alliance. Despite the weather forecast indicating clear skies and no rain, the sky is always overcast, with very few stars visible.

Everyone else went to sleep to make sure they had enough energy before the competition. Su Ninglong sat alone on a small stool, holding a skewer of roasted bean curd skin, staring blankly at the sky, feeling a little confused. Shouldn't Commercial Star be a place of dazzling neon lights and a glittering Milky Way? The internet clearly says that this planet is surrounded by a dense concentration of luminous celestial bodies, making the stargazing experience exceptional.

"Aren't you going to sleep yet?" Yun Fei also took a small stool from the tent and sat down next to her naturally, quickly "borrowing" a few large skewers of meat that were being grilled from the stove.

After taking the meat skewers, he didn't forget to say to the owner, "Can I borrow a few skewers of meat to fill my stomach?"

He took a bite, but instantly regretted it; it was so salty it was cloying.

"Ptooey, ptooey, what is this? Did you put a whole jar of salt in this meat?"

"It can't be that bad! I just marinated it with that sauce..." Su Ninglong looked innocent, staring at the sauce as if she had a deep grudge against it. "It must be the problem."

Yun Fei picked up the sauce bottle and examined it closely—it was salted plum juice. He dipped a little into his palm, tasted it, and immediately frowned deeply.

"Didn't you try it before using it?"

“I looked at its ingredient list,” Su Ninglong replied confidently, “and I thought there was no problem.”

Yun Fei was speechless for a moment.

Su Ninglong didn't want to dwell too much on her cooking skills, so she looked up at the sky again and complained softly, "The starry sky here isn't pretty at all."