The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 227 The Slaughterhouse (5)

In the end, Xuanxi was pinned down by several pig-headed men and forced to wear a work badge.

He gritted his teeth and refused to give in, but no one around him stepped forward to help him; there were only cold, indifferent gazes.

Song Hu, who was some distance away, wanted to rush over to help, but was held down by Zhao Piku, who was in the same group: "It'll be fine. He can leave anytime he wants. There's no need to fight back. He didn't run away and even fought back, which proves that he was taking a risk and testing the waters. If Xuanxi mutates, we just need to tear up that talisman and have Qirui send him out."

They have been working here for two hours straight.

Forget about the "Feast Spirit," not even a single decent eerie event occurred. Everyone was just mechanically performing assembly line work, and the most unsettling thing was simply packaging and distributing those "heads."

They are hunters. If they cannot obtain useful information for a long time, how can they obtain enough information to piece together the truth without taking risks?
Anyway, they have a way out.

The pig-headed man released him as soon as the name tag was put on him.

Knowing he still had some SAN value buffer time, Xuanxi immediately walked quickly towards Piku.

Seeing this, Song Hu rushed over to help without hesitation. Zhao Piku stopped restricting him and instead harnessed his power from behind, ready to provide cover should any unexpected situation arise.

Behind him, the team leader angrily reprimanded Song Hu for leaving his post without permission, saying, "Come back immediately, or you'll lose performance points."

Song Hu acted as if he hadn't heard and continued forward.
Halfway through the run, Xuanxi suddenly raised his hand and swung it twice quickly.

That was a stop gesture.

Song Hu suddenly stopped in his tracks, his heart sinking. Had he already been controlled?
Hyun Hee turned around expressionlessly.

On his name tag, two metal hooks were repeatedly trying to pierce his back, but they slipped away in vain time and time again. The hooks were even a little crooked, and they still couldn't get in.

The armor's physical damage resistance is decent; Little Karami can't break through its defense at all.

Song Hu: "..." He looked down at the ring on his hand.

The hook, which can even pierce through nanotech combat suits, is completely ineffective against magic robes. The sacred artifacts crafted by Su Ninglong always seem to have a miraculous effect.

He didn't go forward again, but silently returned to his post.

The team leader's gloomy expression softened considerably. Although Song Hu wasn't wearing his employee badge, he was still willing to obey. With his need for control satisfied, he was in a great mood and waved his hand, saying, "I won't deduct points from your score this time."

The two seemed to have put on a silent show in perfect unison, leaving the hunters from the Star Alliance completely bewildered. They had expected a conflict, but it ended abruptly.

Tong Zi and the others were far away and only learned about the whole process through Zhao Piku's retelling.

It seems that some intelligence is not worth acquiring.

When Su Ninglong arrived at the assembly area, everyone nodded slightly to her, conveying a message through their eyes that it was safe for the time being and there were no changes yet.

The work on the assembly line may not seem strenuous, but repeating the same action for a long time gradually makes the brain numb and sluggish, and time seems to stretch out infinitely.

All the hunters were distracted, preoccupied with how to carry out their mission and how to escape the limitations of their positions.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The deep, continuous chimes rang out from somewhere in the factory, seemingly striking everyone's nerves.

Upon hearing the bell, the quality control team leader immediately tensed up: "It's break time. Come with me to the break room. Remember, once you're inside, don't respond to any sounds you hear. You can only leave the break room when the bell rings again."

Before Su Ninglong could respond, he hurriedly pulled her back into the corridor.

The corridor was now crowded with hurried pig-headed employees, rushing toward the rest area at the other end of the factory, a silent panic filling the air.

The quality control team leader led Su Ninglong into the room marked "19", quickly closed and locked the door, and then breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Phew... thankfully I made it in time. Remember this for the future: a long chime means it's time to go back to the dorm, and a few short chimes mean it's time to go to work."

With a pig's head on his head, he couldn't express many of his emotions.

The quality control team leader understood Su Ninglong's incredulous expression: "Are you surprised?"

Su Ninglong nodded. Aren't pig-headed people all appendages of the Mystic Spirits?
"Why do workers need to rest when they can just keep working?"

How utterly inhumane! How could someone with a mouth that's 37 degrees Celsius utter such cold words?

The quality control team leader gaped, unsure how to respond. He hadn't expected this "newcomer" to be even more ruthless than the unscrupulous capitalists; even donkeys need rest.

An awkward silence ensued, followed by the gradual fading of footsteps outside, replaced by a series of piercing screams:

"Ah...no, no, teacher, where are you? Help me..."

"Ow!"

"Hululu!"

Human voices mingled with pig squeals, each scream piercing the most vulnerable parts of the heart. The quality control team leader trembled involuntarily, and the pig's face was filled with genuine fear.

After a short while, silence returned to the outside.

"What happened outside just now?" Su Ninglong asked in a low voice.

"Shh...it's not completely over yet." The quality control team leader nervously gestured for her to be quiet.

Sure enough, the heavy dragging sound of metal objects soon echoed down the corridor, creaking and scraping, each sound piercing the eardrums, as if some huge metal object was being forcibly pulled.

Su Ninglong gently raised her eyelids, not rashly releasing her spiritual power, but simply sensing the aura outside the door.

A life form far more powerful than the pig-headed man was approaching, moving slowly and heavily, step by step, from afar.

The quality control team leader mouthed something in a hushed, exaggerated way: “Don’t make a sound. Pretend we’re taking a break.” He then held his breath, trying his best to control the intensity of his breathing.

Su Ninglong: "..."

She's not a real pig-headed person; she can't understand your lip-reading at all.

The heavy dragging sound of metal gradually faded away, but the shadow under their door remained motionless; a dark figure stood silently there.

"clatter!"

The door lock was suddenly turned. The quality control team leader sprang to his feet and braced his entire body against the door.

"What should we do?" He turned back, his dark pupils filled with genuine fear and panic, which didn't seem feigned at all; he was truly terrified.

"Room rounds, random room rounds." The voice from outside the door seemed to be right next to the door panel, like a venomous snake crawling into your eardrum.

Immediately afterwards, the door was slammed hard, shaking the entire door as if it were about to be torn apart at any moment.

As the team leader, he was indeed quite capable; the door hadn't been forced open yet. But what was outside clearly wasn't going to give up, and if things continued like this, they probably wouldn't last much longer.

"The room inspection rules are on the table!" The quality inspection team leader leaned against the door with difficulty, gesturing for Su Ninglong to go and take a look.

The presence outside the door exuded an astonishing sense of oppression. Not wanting to get bogged down in a tough battle at the very beginning of the investigation, Su Ninglong picked up the rules on the table as instructed.

1. Employees must dress appropriately, wear their name tags correctly, and be neatly dressed in the break room;
2. Each bed corresponds to a fixed employee number. Please do not occupy someone else's bed outside your designated area.

3. The room checkers are here to correct your clothing and behavior; please cooperate.
Fourth, you cannot prevent room check personnel from entering the room. If you do not want to have your performance bonus deducted, please accept the criticism obediently.

5. Performance will affect your daily wage. A wage below 200 indicates unsatisfactory performance and requires improvement. Please be aware of this.
6. After the work bell rings, you must not stay in the dormitory and must return to your post immediately.

……

There were four beds in room 19, three of which were empty. Su Ninglong quickly turned to check the name marked on the bed, which was a completely unfamiliar name.

Just then, the banging and shouting outside the door suddenly stopped.

The sound of footsteps rang out again, gradually fading into the distance.

The quality control team leader let out a long sigh of relief, almost collapsing from exhaustion. After a moment, he said earnestly to Su Ninglong, "This is the first time I've successfully blocked the room checkers, but I definitely won't be able to next time. Your room is number 50; remember to go there next time you have a break."

Room 1 is the closest rest room to the slaughterhouse, while Room 50 is located at the other end of the factory.

Running that far within a limited rest period is simply impossible for ordinary people; wouldn't that leave no way for anyone to survive?

Su Ninglong's gaze fell on the rules again.

These rules and regulations are numerous, but they don't actually have much of a binding force on these hunters.

She had already personally verified that the first rule was unnecessary to follow. These rules would probably only bind those who obediently followed the rules of the contaminated zone.

More importantly, she noticed a significant loophole in the rules: they never explicitly stated that one "must" stay in their room during breaks.

Su Ninglong pondered for a moment and asked, "What if I don't have time to run back to my room? What if someone is too scared and closes the door first, leaving me outside?"

"Then...then you'd better hide in the pig supervisors' offices," the quality control team leader replied in a low voice. "The inspectors don't dare to go into their offices."

It's not that they can't, but that they dare not.

A sharp glint flashed in Su Ninglong's eyes. She said to the quality control team leader, "How about we set our next target on HR management?"

The quality control team leader looked shocked.

He had only hoped to find a leisurely clerical job, but he never expected her to aim for such a high position.

"I... are you sure it can work? Don't be fooled by the fact that the HR manager usually bullies the weak and fears the strong, and seems easy to deal with. He's actually quite ruthless," the quality control team leader said, his eyes involuntarily revealing greed.

He certainly wanted to replace the personnel manager, but on his own, he would have a hard time even succeeding in a sneak attack.

Su Ninglong calmly asked, "Tell me first, what are his weaknesses?"

"I don't know that, but I do know that he is in charge of managing all the employees, and everyone's contract is in his hands."

If an employee's takeover attempt 'fails,' he can tear up the contract, and that person will die.

Even if an employee dies, at most he'll be punished by the factory manager, but he won't be replaced.

Upon hearing the word "factory manager," Su Ninglong's mood instantly brightened. She had only been here for less than half a day and had already received information about her immediate supervisor; nothing could be more exciting.

She did not remind the quality control team leader that she had never signed a contract.

Will the factory manager punish him personally?

"I've never seen it; I've only heard about it from other pig-headed people."

Having clues is enough. Su Ninglong was already prepared for a protracted battle in this contaminated area.

When the bell rang again, she slowly walked out of the room, letting the quality control team leader go find the location of the personnel manager first, while she waited at the entrance of the assembly area to meet him.

The room doors opened one after another, and pig-headed men dragged their feet out. Each pig face clearly showed exhaustion and lingering fear, as if they had just experienced a silent ordeal.

The corridor was filled with a deathly atmosphere. All the "people" seemed to have been drained of their energy, and they dragged their feet forward in silence.

Su Ninglong noticed a garment with the "su" logo, approached discreetly, and asked in a low voice, "Teacher Tong, do you have your own bed in your room?"

"How did you recognize me?" Tong Zi asked, somewhat surprised. All the ordinary employees' pig heads looked exactly the same, as if they were carved from the same mold.

“There are markings left by my master on your clothes. I can recognize each and every one of you.”

Just as expected. Tong Zi had long guessed that Su Ninglong had a deeper meaning in preparing these clothes.

But thanks to this uniform, the hook on the back of the name tag couldn't be pierced no matter what, even though the hook tip was almost worn out. It's kind of ironic when you think about it.

This was the first time she had so clearly felt that even "Mystic Spirit" could suffer setbacks.

Tong Zi whispered to Su Ninglong, "That's not all. We also encountered the room checkers. The pig-headed guy in our room said that if we can't find our bed during the next room check, we'll be dragged out and 'taught a lesson'."

"Did they say how to resolve this? Did they mention that we could seek refuge in the pig management office?"

“Yes.” Tong Zi spoke faster as she shared the information she had gathered with Su Ninglong. “The employees in the assembly area are all focused on their work, but the team leader is quite unique. She doesn’t do anything but sit there filing her nails. She’s probably someone who cares a lot about her image. My next step is to try to test her a bit.”

Su Ninglong also briefly explained her findings, "Don't be impulsive when dealing with the pig-headed men. Hunters from the Star Alliance have likely suffered losses at their hands before."

Tong Zi understood, of course, and he reminded Su Ninglong, "Every pig-headed person here has a lot of 'personality.' The leader of Xuanxi's group is particularly strict, requiring every pig-headed person to wear their name tag properly, and he'll drag someone to the office to 'fire' them if they disagree with something..."

"By the way, what's up with your team leader?"

"It's a long story, and it's not convenient to keep it short. You can gather some more information."

"Don't worry, I've already had a chat with the regular employees."

After exchanging information, the two parted ways at the back of the assembly area. Su Ninglong quickly met the quality control team leader, who was covered in sweat. "I was terrified! I found where the HR manager was, but I saw him with the foreman. It's not a good day to make a move. Speaking of which, why is he with the foreman? They're all brutes and lunatics..."

"Overseer?"

"Yes!" The quality control team leader didn't specify what the supervisor's position was, only saying that he was an irreplaceable figure.

Su Ninglong was somewhat surprised and wanted to meet with the supervisor.

However, the quality control team leader was unwilling to interact with the supervisors, saying, "Today's work isn't finished yet, and if it's not finished, my performance bonus won't be high enough."