The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 229 The Slaughterhouse (7)

Now that the information was in hand, Qian Rujin quickly gave a coded hand signal, indicating that all team members should retreat immediately.

At this point, the Star Alliance has lost five hunters.

The real danger is far from over.

Inside lounge number 50, Su Ninglong knocked rhythmically on the door.

Tong Zi responded by opening the door a crack and quickly pulled her into the room. The other team members were already gathered there, and the atmosphere was heavy.

Looking around, this lounge was completely different from the ones I had seen before; it was a cramped and old six-person room.

Xuanxi was the only one who was not assigned to the same room as them once again.

"Xuanxi, aren't you going to find your own rest room first?" someone asked in a low voice.

“It’s next door.” Xuanxi’s tone was calm, but he couldn’t hide a trace of fatigue.

He himself couldn't explain what was going on; his luck had simply hit rock bottom.

I was just assigned to work under an extremely strict team leader this morning;

At noon, someone pushed him from behind, locking the door from the inside. He was forced to use his supernatural abilities to force his way in and barely escape the room check.

The afternoon was even more outrageous.

As soon as I stepped outside, I was confronted by a group of long-term employees who were bullying me.

However, we also managed to extract some information from them: cliques are rampant among the employees here, and those who are alone are easily targeted.

“I’ve never worked outside the world,” Hyun Hee asked in a low voice, “Is this situation…common?”

Eagle Bone chuckled, his words tinged with a hint of teasing: "This kid has probably caught the quirks of Charlie and Lian Xinyi." His words implied that he too had picked up their peculiar "silliness."

The other five fell silent for a moment, exchanging glances. It has to be said, Charlie's luck was exactly like Lian Xinyi's—always inexplicably stumbling upon "great fortune." And ever since these two teamed up, that strange luck seemed to have transferred to Xuan Xi.

Xuanxi's face still wore that indifferent expression, yet it vaguely revealed a sense of despair, as if clearly writing, "Why me of all people?"

Tong Zi patted his shoulder, her voice low but firm: "It's okay, those two guys always seem to encounter evil spirits, but they always manage to escape unscathed."

“I plan to explore the depths of the slaughterhouse tonight,” Su Ninglong said in a low voice. “Although I’ve covered most of the visible areas today, the number of pig-headed men doesn’t match up. I suspect there are still hidden areas that haven’t been opened yet.”

"Wouldn't that be too risky? Do we need to provide backup?" Tong Zi knew that Su Ninglong was always thinking about "consecrating" the sacred artifact and would most likely not use it easily. Therefore, her concern stemmed more from her habitual worry about Su Ninglong acting alone.

Su Ninglong had initially considered having someone accompany her, but she quickly dismissed the idea, understanding what Tong Zi was worried about.

"No need. I craft sacred artifacts; I have more than one. Just proceed according to plan. You're just going to gather information; you'll be back soon." She changed the subject, "What did you find over there?"

Song Hu took over, his voice steady: "I used some methods to get some information out of a few ordinary employees. The 'salary' here is essentially a kind of 'energy currency.' People with good performance can accumulate surplus energy, while those with poor performance will gradually lose their health."

"They told me so easily?"

“I used a spell.” Song Hu omitted part of the brutal interrogation process, as he didn’t like to emphasize the sacrifices made. “They seemed to be restrained by something, unable to speak about more sensitive matters. For example, I couldn’t get any information about the factory director.”

“Words of power are really convenient everywhere,” Zhao Piku said with a hint of envy. His ability was of the offensive type, unlike Song Hu’s, which was more flexible and adaptable. He continued, “Song Hu and I are in the same group, and our information is basically the same. However, I have an extra piece of information: halfway through our conversation, a pig-headed person let slip that ‘lower-level employees are often underfed and all want to climb the ranks, so the team leader is the easiest to replace.’” He looked at Su Ninglong, his expression serious, “Combined with what you just said, we’d better be wary of the pig-headed people around us. They may not always be the same one.”

Su Ninglong fell silent for a moment: "..."

She had originally planned to give the quality control team leader a "body swap" tomorrow... Now look what's happened, what if the team leader gets "replaced" before she even starts?

I need to hurry and find that "little brother" team leader and slip him something for self-defense.

"We'll meet up and exchange information if there's anything important," she said quickly, standing up decisively. "I'll go save someone first; I must make sure he survives until tomorrow."

Everyone was speechless for a moment: "..."

The idea of ​​recruiting "underlings" while entering a contaminated area is both abstract and ridiculously powerful.

As the door opened and closed, Su Ninglong's figure quickly disappeared into the dimly lit corridor.

Tong Shu looked at the remaining people and said in a low voice, "Tonight, we will also begin our operation."

“Okay.” Song Hu nodded solemnly.

Only Xuanxi remained rooted to the spot.

As the "chosen one" who passively bears the bad luck of his teammates, he is completely unaware of his mission that night.

“You’re in another dorm, so it’s inconvenient for you to participate. Our plan tonight is to kidnap a lone pig-headed man and find out what they’re afraid of.” Tong Zi succinctly summarized the operation. Xuan Xi immediately understood that the reason they didn’t let him join was because they were afraid that his presence would inexplicably “escalate” the difficulty of the entire operation.

"I really don't know if Xiao Su has any medicine to ward off bad luck. When I get back, I have to ask her for a few packets to soak in." Xuan Xi felt numb inside. At this moment, he suddenly understood where Charlie and Lian Xinyi's lingering "foolish" air came from.

Perhaps only someone a little foolish could have survived this long with such bizarre luck.

On the other side, Su Ninglong went straight to the quality inspection team leader's room as soon as she left the lounge.

She knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response. Strange, he had clearly said he would come back.

The lounge was poorly soundproofed, and she could vaguely hear suppressed sobs coming from inside the door. Without hesitation, she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it sharply; the door wasn't locked.

As soon as the crack was opened, a thick cloud of purple poisonous mist rushed towards them.

The Guixu Umbrella flew out in response, unfolding in a flash to block her way.

Before the poisonous fog had even dissipated, three pig-headed men had already surrounded them. These were the Star Hunters from earlier that day, who had been corrupted by their work badges and completely mutated. The quality control team leader slumped in the corner, his face filled with terror. His pig head had already been cut in half; a few seconds later, he would probably have had his head replaced.

Su Ninglong scoffed inwardly, thinking, "Is this little brother really that useless?"

Waaah... It's all thanks to his newly recognized little brother (purely his hallucination) that he's reliable; he actually sensed he was in trouble and came to his rescue in time!

The quality control team leader was moved for only a few seconds before he was sprayed in the face with a cloud of gray mist, and his vision went black as he fainted.

The several Star Hunters who had undergone complete mutation stared intently at Su Ninglong, their voices low and threatening: "I advise you not to meddle in other people's business."

Su Ninglong quickly scanned the entire scene: one could release poisonous mist, one had metallic features, another had an unknown ability, and the last one was pressing down on the quality inspection team leader, who was completely unable to move, obviously being completely suppressed by some kind of power or ability.

She couldn't use Taixu, and she didn't want the Guixu Umbrella to be stained with the blood of these corrupted colleagues.

She calmly probed, "I can ignore it, but... do you still remember that you are hunters?"

"What hunters? We're mercenaries." Su Ninglong's expression turned strange. "Were they sent by the factory's rival?"

"How did you know?" the three pig-headed men asked in unison, as neatly as triplets.

Su Ninglong: "..."

This spirit's ability is truly bizarre; it can even implant thoughts.

After hesitating for only two seconds, Su Ninglong spoke without changing her expression: "What a coincidence, I'm also from 'the other side.' But this person is someone I've been watching all day. Isn't it a bit unruly for you to suddenly interfere? You should have seen this morning that I followed him the whole way. It's not appropriate to steal his job halfway through, is it?"

The three pig-headed men paused, vaguely recalling something like that. But so what?

“The person is now in our hands,” the pig-headed man in the poisonous mist said hoarsely, one of his hands gradually turning into swirling purple mist. “Go find someone else.”

Su Ninglong did not back down. Instead, she softened her tone, as if she were patiently negotiating: "I've been following him for so long, and I don't want to give up just like that. There are many of you, and it would take me a lot of effort to take action, which is not worth it for him. How about this, you tell me, why do you have to keep an eye on him? Give me a reason that I can accept, and I might be able to help you out."

The three mutated hunters warily watched the slowly rotating Void Returning Umbrella above her head. A sacred artifact capable of autonomously protecting its master was no ordinary artifact. The reason the other side hadn't made a move yet was probably only because they outnumbered them.

“We’ve received word,” one of them finally answered hoarsely, “that by simply swapping your head into the body of a team leader… you can take their place.”

“I know that,” Su Ninglong said calmly, “but that shouldn’t be your reason to try and take my ‘target’.”

The three pig faces fell silent at the same time.

Just then, the break bell rang sharply, and they visibly tensed up. One of them finally couldn't help but lower his voice and say urgently, "Because we didn't get paid today, our performance bonuses were all deducted. Once our performance bonuses reach zero, we'll become 'human animals' and be trapped here forever."

Su Ninglong's eyes flickered slightly. "You really believe this intelligence? Aren't you afraid it's a trap?"

“We have a partner… who can verify the authenticity of the message. He's certain this one is true.”

"Even if the so-called 'wages' might be made from the flesh of your companions, are you still planning to continue 'eating' them?"

"What about the flesh of our companions?" The pig-headed men looked bewildered almost simultaneously. "We just need to earn wages to survive."

Su Ninglong stopped speaking.

She looked at them thoughtfully.

The badge may not be able to completely control the hunter's mind, but may only cause distortion?
So... how exactly does the Filthy Feast Spirit consume food?

After a moment's thought, Su Ninglong had a direction in mind. What the Mystic Spirits crave most is always negative spiritual energy, so what is the true meaning of changing heads?
It's simply to better absorb fear.

But time was of the essence, so she immediately said, "I'll go get your wages, you can release the people first."

"Do you have extra salary?"

"Yes, there's no need for me to lie to you. Now that we've released him, we'll go to lounge number 50. I live there, and you all need to go back to your dorms, right?"

"Why should I trust you?"

"You have no choice. Even if you replace his head now, only one of you three can succeed. What about the other two? Are you just going to wait to die?"

The pig-headed men looked at each other, making muffled gurgling sounds in their throats.

That's right.

They released the quality control team leader.

The team leader, who had narrowly escaped death, looked over with teary eyes, hoping that this "junior" would at least offer a few words of comfort, but all he received was a cold warning:

"Lock the door yourself. I won't come back a second time."

...In the end, it was all in vain.

As soon as the door closed, the quality control team leader scrambled to lock it, then leaned against the wall, panting heavily. After regaining his composure, he suddenly froze:
"Wait, didn't Su Ninglong give all her salary to me and the HR manager? Does she still have any?"

He suddenly remembered: "Oh right, she also has a 'recommender'."

On the other side, Su Ninglong hurried back to the No. 50 lounge, knocked on the door and said succinctly: "I want meat, now."

The moment the meat was divided into four portions and handed out, the eyes of the three pig-headed men gleamed with greed. They practically snatched it, swallowing it whole, finishing it off in just two or three seconds.

After swallowing their "salary," their tense bodies finally relaxed slightly. They breathed a sigh of relief, said nothing more, and turned to push open the door to the adjacent lounge, number fifty-one.

It turns out they were roommates with Hyun Hee.

Su Ninglong stood still and silently clicked her tongue.

Charlie and Lian Xinyi, those two "lucky ones," lived up to their reputation for good fortune, and it all came true for Xuan Xi.

The long ringing of the bell finally stopped, and the corridor fell into dead silence.

After the break bell rings, the slaughterhouse seems to suddenly transform into another world.

Large chunks of plaster peeled off the walls, revealing damp, blackened moss underneath. The overhead incandescent light bulb cast an eerie, blood-red glow, tinging the entire space with an ominous hue.

Everything was rapidly becoming old and dilapidated.

Su Ninglong, holding the Guixu umbrella, walked alone in the empty corridor.

The curtains on both sides moved swiftly without any wind, creating a soft rustling sound, as if countless lips were whispering against them. Many hands of various shapes and sizes reached in from outside the window; they were twisted, charred, or swollen and white, frantically groping inward, trying to squeeze into this space.

A dense array of eyes pressed against the windowpane, turning in unison as Su Ninglong moved, openly spying.

She was already used to it and didn't deliberately look at them; she had a very calm attitude. As long as she didn't actively make eye contact with them, the "welcoming mechanism" wouldn't be triggered.

The things outside the window could only be spied on secretly; they were not on the same level as the things that could truly drive her mad.

Now, besides the slowly spinning Guixu Umbrella in her hand, she also carries a Dingding Mouse-shaped backpack and casually ties her work jacket around her waist, looking like a girl strolling around late at night, creating a jarring yet eerie harmony with this terrifying environment.

"La la la... la la la la..."

The corridor was too quiet, so quiet it was suffocating. So she softly hummed a melody without lyrics, an ethereal yet eerie tune, like a lullaby drifting from another world, adding a chilling touch to the eerie corridor.

The humming echoed softly in the corridor.

Inside the rest room, the hunters who had not yet made a move felt a chill run down their spines.

"Another monster outside...?"