The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 238 The Slaughterhouse (16)

Seeing that everyone was speechless for a moment, but still somewhat indignant, he continued to sternly restrain them: "Don't use the same tactics you use for internal power struggles on Su Ninglong. Don't forget, she's someone even 'Thunderstorm' couldn't kill."

When one's strength reaches a certain level, all schemes and tricks will be exposed.

Actually, there's an exaggeration involved. Being able to survive a lightning strike doesn't mean you can withstand a real thunderstorm; those are two completely different things.

Su Ninglong stopped paying attention to the commotion outside the door and instead looked into the room with a smile.

Xuanxi was being relentlessly questioned by Song Hu and Ying Gu about the details of what happened in the factory manager's office, leaving him with nowhere to retreat.

After explaining everything, Xuanxi was so embarrassed he looked like a steamed bun, practically radiating heat. Everyone couldn't help but chuckle softly, as it was rare to see him like this.

Getting back to the main point, they reconfirmed their action plan for the evening.

First, Tong Zi used her special ability to take Zhao Piku and Su Ninglong to clean the cargo room, so that they could completely avoid that strange corridor.

Following the normal route, one must pass through a corridor regardless of which direction they enter from, and Tong Zi's ability is a godsend for hunters in a place like a slaughterhouse.

“Actually, when I was pierced by the hook in the factory manager’s office, I felt an extremely strong mental invasion,” Xuanxi recalled the experience, his tone becoming serious. “I almost… felt like my consciousness was about to disappear.”

He subconsciously touched his robes. When that foreign spirit tried to invade, he clearly felt the resistance from his clothes, and could even sense that his brain was being protected by another indescribable power, which was probably the effect of Sally's power beforehand.

Without this double protection, he would probably have ended up like those two from Xingyao, a corpse that had to be carried out.

Su Ninglong: "Teacher Tong, based on what we've encountered so far, that factory manager shouldn't be 'human' anymore, but what exactly is he? He seems to still retain his rationality, and even his memories?"

The rarer the phenomenon, the more extensive the experience required to interpret it.

Tong Zi must come from a family with a deep-rooted history, like Song Hu and Xuan Xi, so she knows more.

Xuanxi and Su Ninglong's personal experience also helped Tong Zi to roughly confirm what the factory manager was, "maybe it's a 'marked fallen body'."

“A mark?” Su Ninglong immediately thought of the extremely reclusive female dwarf, Wenbuya, next to the school workshop, who was Funi’s friend and a plant research expert.

During her long time at school, Su Ninglong could count the number of times she met Wen Buya on one hand.

She deliberately avoided people every day, afraid of implicating others, preferring to stay in that small research room all day long.

If it weren't for the "mark" that prevents him from staying in the same place for a long time, Wenbuya would probably want to lock himself inside forever.

As for how to obtain the mark, the process is actually somewhat similar to becoming a parasite, except that some steps are omitted.

After receiving the mark, you can still carry out missions, but you must never step into the contaminated area of ​​a mystic of the same attribute, or you will be walking into a trap.

As a precaution, most of the hunters bearing the mark were reassigned to other positions and no longer directly involved in matters related to the Mystic Spirits.

In life-or-death situations, hunters can establish a connection with high-level spirits through a special sacrificial ritual, branding themselves with the spirit's mark and thus becoming its slaves.

After obtaining the mark, beings of a lower level than that Mystic will unconsciously feel fear and actively stay away.

However, becoming an appendage is tantamount to becoming the private property of the Mystic Spirit.

They could come at any time to take your life, and unless the spirit is completely destroyed, you will live under this threat for the rest of your life.

Seeing Su Ninglong's quick understanding, Tong Zi nodded: "That's right, it's the mark of the Mystic Spirit. Those hunters who 'sold' themselves to the Mystic Spirit all have this mark on them. In the end, almost all of them become a part of the Mystic Spirit."

Her tone turned somber, "Even if you know the rules to avoid them, you can still fall into the trap of the secret spirits due to momentary carelessness. The school's knowledge about sealing marks is for your own good; don't delve into it, and certainly don't try it."

“Even if you are truly driven to the brink of despair and on the verge of death, do not take this path.” She glanced at the young faces before her and lowered her voice, “In the era of the Spirit Masters, many people relied on marks to save their lives, but they ultimately became a threat to other hunters, extremely dangerous. You may encounter such beings when you enter the ruins in the future, so do not be careless.”

The young people all nodded solemnly.

The Star Alliance must have its reasons for choosing to block the mark.

"We don't know how to use it, but... do the Star Alliance know how to use it?"

"It's hard to say. The government hasn't issued any clear legal provisions yet."

Every law takes time to formulate and requires weighing the pros and cons of various parties. The Star Alliance can suppress information and restrain its members, but the government represents the entire interstellar society and must act with greater caution.

Since Su Ninglong won that lawsuit, legal provisions related to "spiritual practitioners" have been gradually improved. She, by taking the lead, has indeed driven change.

As contact between ordinary people and spiritual practitioners becomes more frequent and the boundaries become increasingly blurred, it is inevitable that more policies will be introduced to prevent such situations from arising.

Tong Zi: "Don't worry too much. Finding a high-level spirit imprint is not a simple matter. Just like sacrificing to become a parasite, there is a specific procedure. The Filthy Feast Spirit is already a high-level spirit. If it doesn't want to die, it needs to be imprinted by an even higher-level spirit."

No one dares to form a contract with the Dominator, and five-star Mystic Spirits are extremely rare. They mostly roam the deep space and have their own subordinate Mystic Spirits, which they can live off.

Su Ninglong thought to herself: In order to win, the Star Alliance might risk something and leave their mark. It's best to be careful.

It was almost time, she said, "I'll go and keep watch for you."

"Okay, be careful." Tong Zi watched Su Ninglong's calm departure, feeling slightly relieved, but a trace of worry still arose. Su Ninglong was still too young; placing such a heavy burden on her shoulders always felt like bullying a child.

When we get back, we need to find a way to apply for more resources for her.

Although she may not lack these things, if she wants to retain talent, she can't just leave without making any effort.

Su Ninglong walked through the corridor and down the stairs. The red light in the stairwell flickered, casting intermittent and ominous shadows in the silence.

Suddenly, a loud "snoring!" broke the silence, followed by the sound of metal scraping against the ground.

Su Ninglong did not want to confront the supervisor at this time.

Their recovery speed, while not as fast as the factory manager's, is still extremely fast. Engaging in combat now would only be a waste of resources.

Tonight's operation must proceed strictly according to plan, without any unexpected complications.

She looked down and saw that the middle of the staircase was empty; she could clearly see the overseer dragging heavy weapons up the stairs. There was almost nowhere to hide.

There was no other way but to take the risk. Su Ninglong raised her umbrella, concealed her presence with all her might, and silently pressed herself against the wall.

She silently counted the overseer's footsteps, her heartbeat steady, her breathing extremely light.

As the footsteps drew closer, she lightly stepped onto the stair railing and leaped down.

In the blink of an eye, she had silently descended to the bottom floor, slid forward a few steps, and quickly moved away from the stairwell area.

The supervisor above clearly didn't react in time.

It stopped, looked down in confusion, then raised its head, turned its heavy body around to survey its surroundings, and a brief, almost foolish, look of bewilderment appeared on its fierce pig face.

Did something just flash by?

It shook its enormous head, its two thick ears twitching as it did so, and finally decided not to investigate further, continuing to walk heavily upstairs.

Su Ninglong turned around to make sure the supervisor wasn't chasing after her, and breathed a sigh of relief. She pushed off with her feet and sprinted forward, finally arriving at the freight depot within the allotted time.

At this time, the pig-headed employees in the freight depot are busy moving goods.

Su Ninglong removed the Shadow Binding Silk Chain from her wrist. This sacred artifact had a simple and elegant design, and she often wore it as an ordinary ornament.

It made a great contribution when it entered the underground research institute, so not long ago it was reforged and upgraded in preparation for any eventuality.

Under her control, the bracelet quietly disintegrated, transforming into dozens of "shadow threads" with the properties of spiritual interference. They silently rose into the air, slowly descending like living things, and hovering silently above the heads of each pig-headed man.

The pig-headed man walks around, making it difficult to pinpoint his location.

However, Su Ninglong wanted to create better conditions for Tong Zi and his team's next move, so she could only wait patiently and strive to eliminate all targets quickly in one strike.

"Snort!" A pig-headed man suddenly felt an itch on the back of his neck and raised his hand to scratch it. Su Ninglong immediately stopped the movement of the shadow threads and silently disappeared into the shadows.

After scratching his itch, the pig-headed man continued to move the boxes.

Su Ninglong had already investigated and found that the boxes contained nothing but bones and stones. Day after day, they carried these meaningless goods, creating the illusion that the slaughterhouse was still operating normally, like a group of resentful people forced to work for a fee, numb and pathetic.

Those shadowy figures, almost indistinguishable under the dim red light, had already hovered in their respective positions.

Su Ninglong held her breath, secretly calculating the movement trajectory of each pig-headed man, waiting—now was the time!
The moment the team leader walked directly beneath the two shadow threads, she clenched her fingers tightly and pulled them outwards with a fierce tug.

In an instant, the heads of more than a dozen pig-headed men flew off.

Su Ninglong, who had been lurking in the shadows, darted out like a ghost, her toes lightly touching the roof of the delivery truck before heading straight for the team leader's head.

However, the team leader's neck was surprisingly resilient, like chewed gum.

Although the shadow threads severed the internal bones, the surface skin and flesh remained connected, and even wrapped tightly around her shadow threads in turn!

"Hurray!" The other pig-headed men who weren't dealt with immediately roared deafeningly, the sound almost tearing their eardrums apart. Su Ninglong quickly blocked out part of her hearing to barely withstand the impact.

Without hesitation, she immediately severed the two entangled shadow threads. In any case, as long as she continued to inject spiritual power, the binding shadow threads would regenerate after a while.

Just before the other pig-headed men were about to pounce, two more shadow threads deftly wrapped around the work badge hanging from the team leader's waist. Su Ninglong manipulated the shadow threads and pulled sharply, snapping the work badge in two. She then used it like a sharp blade to slash at the stubborn neck.

The flesh was finally completely cut open. Still not satisfied, she kicked the still-smiling head far away.

New binding threads rose into the air once more, striking the necks of the remaining pig-headed men like venomous snakes.

Faced with the overwhelming attack, Su Ninglong calmly threw out two small Qiankun Shrines.

The flesh and blood that had just overflowed from the corpse seemed to have smelled the most tempting aroma, and rushed madly toward the shrine.

As soon as the group leader's remains appeared, all the pig-headed men seemed to instantly forget about Su Ninglong as their enemy, and rushed forward like madmen, desperately fighting for the group leader's remains!
They threw crude superpowers at each other, tripped each other with their legs, and some, knowing they couldn't win, simply lay on the ground and greedily devoured the leader's corpse.

Every pig's face was etched with primal madness and greed.

The "protagonist" that triggered all of this, the head that was kicked into the corner, was sitting quietly on the ground, its eyes empty, but a strange smile was frozen on its lips, as if it was silently watching the absurd and bloody farce that it had caused.

Su Ninglong's heart tightened, and without further hesitation, all the Shadow Binding Silk threads were unleashed, annihilating them all.

The Qiankun Shrine had reached its limit after holding only two pieces of flesh. Su Ninglong had no choice but to take out the Secret Agent's Token and collect the scattered pieces of flesh one by one.

Fortunately, she had the aid of her divine sense; otherwise, she would have had to watch helplessly as some of the pieces hidden beneath the corpse dissipated.

The corpses, now freed from the control of the flesh, decomposed rapidly, emitting a pungent stench. Su Ninglong covered her mouth and nose, leaped onto a truck, and tried to activate the navigation system to see if she could move the vehicles.

It turned out that these vehicles were almost entirely useless. Perhaps the spirits had replenished their energy, but they couldn't travel very far at all.

The iron gate at the exit of the freight yard remained tightly shut, and various chaotic noises could be faintly heard coming from behind the door. Su Ninglong frowned: What should be done with these trucks? Why weren't they here when I came this morning?
She thought of a possibility: she had previously guessed that the space rotated every five days, but perhaps it was actually rotating every day.

In the constant cycle of change, both people and things will gradually lose their way.

Su Ninglong ignored the continuously rotting chunks of flesh. Soon after, Tong Zi brought Song Hu and Ying Gu to the cargo room. The three of them had barely taken a breath when they were overwhelmed by the almost dizzying stench, their vision blurring.

"Huff—" Eagle Bone gagged, but fortunately, the hunter often ate irregularly in the polluted area, so there was nothing in his stomach to vomit.

Song Hu demurely took out a scented wet tissue and covered her mouth and nose.

Eagle Bone's eyes were also watering from the fumes: "Brother, do you have any more tissues?"

Song Hu thought for a moment, then asked seriously, "Tear it in half for you?" He figured his brother wouldn't accept it.

Eagle Bone looked disgusted, but he was even more disgusted by the smell in front of him, which resembled the scene of a giant explosion. He nodded with a death-defying resolve: "Thanks!"