"Let's start grouping."
In the lobby of Iron Thorn Shield Security Company.
Conte stood in front of a group of security personnel, holding a list in his hand.
Starting today, the security team will inspect the above-ground and underground areas of Sector 7.
They want to ensure that all alchemy devices used to collect universal metal powder are in normal operation.
At this time, Conte was grouping his players into groups.
He announced dozens of names, and then said to the deputy captain:
"Mark, you take the brothers I just named to inspect the above-ground area. You will arrange the specific division of labor. You must be careful. Check whether the alchemy array of the powder collector device is complete and whether it needs repair. If If repairs are needed, record them and report them to the company, do you understand?"
"Yes, head."
Conte named a few more names:
"The people I've named now will go to the underground area with me. Li Lei, you're coming with me. There's Fars, too, and you're going to check the alchemy device underground with me."
"Yes, head."
Li Nuo responded and glanced at Fars beside him. He had a sad face, as if the laboratory had been bombed.
Conte clapped his hands and announced the adjournment of the meeting:
"Everyone, let's go."
He came to Fars and slapped him heavily on the shoulder:
"Cheer up, Fars, we still need you to debug the alchemy formation on site. Isn't it that the deadline for the research task of the Alchemy Academy is coming? What's the point of being sad?"
"You don't understand, Conte, you don't understand." Fars said with a bitter look on his face:
"There are still a lot of unfinished tasks in the research tasks I took on. If I hadn't done some research when I went underground this time, I wouldn't have had the time to come."
Conte shook his head and said:
"You didn't find it yourself. The Alchemy Academy has given out so many research tasks, and others only choose what they can do well. It would be better for you to pick the ones you are interested in, and just accept them without even looking at the cost and difficulty of the research tasks. The research and development task of alchemical constructs was assigned.
"Let me tell you, take advantage of this dusting day to show off and kill more rebellious aberrations. Maybe you can earn the rent for the laboratory in the second half of the year. Don't you think so?"
"Okay, you're right. It's time for me to deal with the aberrations seriously." Fars sighed silently and touched the alchemy stone under his clothes:
"I brought the alchemy structure with me this time, and I should be able to hunt down a lot of aberrations. Then you have to calculate the number of my kills, Counter, and don't miss one."
"Don't worry, I'll keep it in mind."
Conte waved and led the team out. At the same time, he introduced Li Nuo, who was participating in the mission for the first time:
"There are a lot of aberrations in the underground area, Li Lei. The Gold Chamber of Commerce has made a bid. If you kill a small aberration, you will be rewarded with 100 aggregate coins. If you kill a standard aberration, you will be rewarded with 200 yuan. If you can kill the seed, For powerful aberrations like the ones you get, you will be rewarded with at least 2,000 yuan. The money is shared equally between us. Use your extraordinary abilities in a leisurely manner, don’t waste it on ordinary aberrations, it’s better to use it to deal with the Sowers.”
"Okay, head, I've written it down." Li Nuo held the strap, lifted the backpack, and tightened the strap.
In order to earn aggregate coins and soul fragments, he withdrew some firearms and a large amount of ammunition from Iron Thorn Shield's firearms arsenal.
Other security personnel who signed up to join the underground patrol team were also dressed in this way, and their eyes shone with the excitement of making a lot of money.
In theory, there are many pipe entrances connected to underground areas.
Manhole covers on the ground, rainwater pipe openings, sewage pipe openings in buildings, etc., all lead to the underground areas of the city.
However, there is only one pipe opening that allows humans to pass through in each city sector, and it is usually located in the back garden of the security forces in that sector.
Like here in sector 7.
Behind the Iron Thorn Shield Security Company building, there is an underground passage entrance covering an area of more than 100 square meters.
A spacious warehouse covers this underground entrance, blocking views from the outside.
There are security personnel guarding the warehouse inside and outside all year round, and only Iron Thorn Shield security personnel are allowed in and out.
First-level alchemists like Kante are only allowed to lead their teams on the first to third underground floors, which correspond to the city's underground sewer areas.
Further down, starting from the fourth underground floor, is the underground area called the "Crack Corridor".
Only the second-level alchemists in the Iron Thorn Shield, that is, security personnel at the level of company directors, have the strength to break into the "Crack Corridor".
Professional combatants from various large alchemy forces can also enter the "Crack Corridor".
For example, the "Gold Merchant's Sword" of the Gold Chamber of Commerce is a combat department that protects the interests of the Chamber of Commerce. The Sword of Gold Merchant is not only the name of this department, but also the title of every combat member.
They have their own internal passage that leads directly from the upper city to the "Crack Corridor".
The security company went to the underground area to maintain the underground facilities in Xiacheng District.
The situation is different for the full-time combatants in Shangcheng District.
They are more about curbing the expansion of the aberrations, repairing the powder collection devices, and recovering the alchemy sets buried deep in the corridors.
Rumor has it that about 30 years ago, the Alchemy Temple summoned a large number of alchemists and dug out a "crack corridor" that led directly from the ground to the aberration's lair.
Their purpose is to build the underground wall of the Convergence City and install an alchemy device that collects universal metal powder from the feces of aberrations.
Deep underground, near the aberration's lair, the alchemists were violently attacked.
Although they finally succeeded in blocking the expansion of the lair with a wall and installed an alchemical device for collecting powder, the alchemists also suffered heavy losses in the attack of the aberrations.
A large number of third-level alchemists and above were killed deep in the corridor, and countless alchemists below third-level were killed.
Only a small part of their relics were brought back to the surface, and most of them were buried forever in the underground area of 80 floors and below in the "Crack Corridor".
The Alchemy Temple has said that whoever can bring back rare items such as abandoned alchemy materials, alchemy manuscripts, sage particles, etc. from the area 80 underground and below will own these items.
After hearing the news, all forces recruited alchemists into the "Crack Corridor".
This can be seen in the career advancement route from Iron Thorn Shield to Gold Chamber of Commerce.
A first-level alchemist who serves as the captain of the security team and practices on the 1st to 3rd floors underground.
A second-level alchemist who holds the position of director of a security company and practices in the corridor area from the 4th floor to the 20th floor underground.
A third-level alchemist was absorbed into the Gold Merchant's Sword by the Gold Merchant Guild. He practiced in the corridor area on the 21st underground floor and below, or served as the vice president or president of the Iron Thorn Shield.
The higher the strength, the higher the position, and the higher the number of underground areas that can be entered.
These are the common sense that Kante explained to Li Nuo during the preparation stage before entering the underground.
Only then did Li Nuo realize that if he wanted to "spawn monsters" underground for a long time, there were only two ways to go.
The first way is legal.
That is to hang out in the Iron Thorn Shield, sneak into the Gold Chamber of Commerce, become the Sword of Gold Merchants, and have greater autonomy and private time.
The Sword of the Gold Merchant is a mercenary combatant.
The Gold Chamber of Commerce has very weak binding force on it and gives it a lot of room for autonomy.
Accordingly, the gold merchant's sword cannot touch the internal secrets of the gold merchant association.
If Li Nuo became the Sword of Gold Merchant, it wouldn't be a problem to stay underground for ten days and a half, and no one would care about him.
The second way is illegal.
That is to take refuge in the illegal forces entrenched in the "Crack Corridor".
While checking the supplies, Conte talked about old memories:
"Back then, the Alchemy Temple summoned at least 300,000 alchemists to build the underground walls of the Convergence City. What is this concept? Such a large group of people standing together would be as tall as a ten-story building. Among them. There are everyone. Ancient families inherited from the Midas Dynasty, federal nobles who enjoy permanent territory, and various alchemist groups and alchemy forces.
"The Cracked Corridor is not just a corridor. It is actually an underground building of unprecedented scale. It not only has conventional transportation facilities such as downhill passages and rotating corridors, but also entertainment venues, underground camps, underground alchemy workshops, etc. An area established to seal off the aberrant lair.
"After so many years, the underground facilities are still not abandoned. Countless 'rats' have occupied them. If you encounter illegal alchemists from underground, you must stay as far away as possible. Don't worry about what the other party says. No matter how nice it sounds, don't fall for their tricks, otherwise you'll be caught in the "Black City" hidden deep underground! That was the base camp for the resistance against the aberrations, and it was thousands of meters deep from the ground. If you are caught there, don't even think about returning to the ground! The illegal alchemists in the black city will refine you into living alchemical products, such as alchemy slaves.
"Did you hear that clearly?"
"Yes, head!"
Li Nuo responded in unison with everyone.
A young-looking team member asked in confusion:
"Boss, I have a question. Why not destroy the Black City? Wouldn't it be better to empty it out and place your own people from various alchemy forces?"
Conte snorted and said with a smile:
"Ha, if only it were that simple. Where do you think the illegal alchemists in the Black City came from? They are the same alchemists who were sent underground by the alchemy forces and the Alchemy Temple. They control the collection of all-purpose metals. The powdery underground alchemy device uses this as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Alchemy Temple and the major alchemy forces, so it can survive to this day."
After Conte checked all the personnel's supplies and equipment, he stood in front of the team members with his hands on his hips and continued:
"The Gold Chamber of Commerce behind our Iron Thorn Shield is just a businessman, there is nothing crooked about it. It can be said that in the entire federation, there is no alchemy force that cherishes peace more than the Gold Chamber of Commerce.
“But other alchemy forces are different.
"Take sectors 1 to 6 next to us as an example. Those who control it are the "Realm Alchemist Association". As you can tell from the name, the Heavy Forging Association has a huge demand for all-purpose metal powder.
"In the Black City, there is a group of illegal alchemists who defected from the Reforging Association. But if you think that these alchemists are traitors to the Reforging Association, you would be too naive. There are rumors that this is The purpose of the drama directed and performed by the Heavy Forging Association is to legitimately send a group of people to the Black City to control the alchemy device that collects the powder, and to gain more say for the Heavy Forging Association on the ground."
Conte shrugged slightly:
"I don't know if this rumor is true. Anyway, you should remember it carefully. If you encounter an unknown alchemist underground, you must keep away from him and don't talk to him."
"Yes, head!"
"Okay, everything is ready, drink the night vision potion, bring the spare lantern, let's go!"
Conte raised his head and drank the night vision potion in his hand, nodding towards the security guard guarding the entrance.
The security guard guarding the gate stood in the guard box and reached out to pull down the lever.
There was the sound of gears turning under the floor, and the metal gate on the ground opened in half, revealing an underground passage illuminated by alchemy lamps.
"Let's go. We are going to the first to third underground floors. They are relatively close to the ground, but the terrain is diverse and the layout is complex. If you are not careful, you will go the wrong way. You must follow me closely."
Conte took the lead and stepped into the underground passage that extended diagonally downward.
After the entire team entered the passage, the metal gate above their heads slowly closed.
With a bang, the door panel closed, leaving no gaps.
The atmosphere in the underground passage instantly became depressing.
The dark vision effect provided by the night vision potion is limited, and everyone can only see clearly things within a range of about 20 meters.
In order to ensure that possible enemies are not alerted, portable lighting equipment such as lanterns are just backup emergency lighting.
Everyone followed Conte on the steps in silence, groping in the dark.
The walls on both sides of the underground passage are covered with metal pipes of different thicknesses, shaped like the entangled roots of a giant tree, and like the blood vessels in the body of a huge beast.
"Tick tock tock..."
The sound of dripping water came from nowhere, making the underground passage even more silent.
When he arrived in the corridor on the underground floor, Conte looked around and saw that there was nothing unusual around him, so he waved to Fars and said:
"Fars, start detecting energy leaks. Repairing the alchemy array in the underground facility is the most important thing."
"Okay, leave it to me."
Fals grabbed a handful of light balls from the alchemy stone and spread it in the palm of his hand.
The light group shrank inward and condensed into an alchemical instrument the size of a palm.
Li Nuo has read a lot of alchemy knowledge in the past three days.
At this time, he didn't need to throw out the deconstruction spell to know the function of this alchemical instrument.
This instrument is called a "Handheld Energy Detector" and can detect abnormal energy fluctuations within a radius of 30 meters.
The energy commonly used by alchemists includes the four elemental energies of fire, air, earth, and water, as well as soul energy.
Soul energy can be used as any energy and is highly adaptable.
It can be converted into other energy according to a certain proportion.
Alchemists use alchemy stones to transform them into the energy of the four elements.
The wizards of the Death Society use meditation, wands, magic robes or other magic props to convert soul energy into death energy.
In the field of alchemy, soul energy is also called attributeless energy.
In the eyes of wizards, soul energy is one of the original powers of everyone. It goes hand in hand with the muscle power and vitality of the body, and together constitute the three primary forces that humans are born with.
Li Nuo learned this knowledge in the process of reading books.
He confirmed that the "soul energy" mentioned repeatedly in the book refers to the "soul strength" on the system panel information.
The two may have some differences in deep connotation, but in most cases, they can be treated as the same thing.
…
…
Fars held up the energy detector, gestured in the air, and read the energy reading on the instrument panel.
He raised his hand and pointed to the side and said:
"Let's go to that direction first, Kant. The energy of the water element there is obviously high. There should be an energy leak in an alchemy device that treats sewage."
"Follow me. In my impression, the place Fars is referring to should be the settling tank for domestic wastewater."
Conte thought about the general route and led the team into a corridor.
The number of metal pipes on the walls on both sides has decreased, but there is an extra layer of wet water mist.
The quality of the alchemical creations of the Golden Federation is guaranteed.
These metal pipes, which have been soaked in water vapor all year round, show no signs of rust.
On the contrary, the alchemy array is relatively fragile.
It's kind of like a circuit board in microelectronics.
The alchemist dipped the rune rod into the energy liquid that conducts energy, and carved the pattern of the magic array on the flat metal panel.
The magic array pattern is composed of alchemical runes, and the alchemical runes are the logical language for the operation of the magic array.
If the energy flowing into the alchemy array is unstable, the lines of the array will be damaged, causing the energy in it to leak out.
This situation is similar to the circuit board being broken down by high-voltage current.
The energy anomaly detected by Fals originated from the damaged sewage collection device.
He opened the side cover of the device, turned off the switch of the device, and removed the metal panel depicting the alchemical formation.
The alchemical formation composed of alchemical runes appeared in front of you.
It was a complex pattern flowing with the light of the four-color elements, with ragged and uneven folds, circles and arcs of varying thicknesses, so densely packed that it was dazzling to see.
Li Nuo locked his eyes on the alchemy formation, threw out the deconstruction spell, and then nodded secretly.
【system information:】
[You are about to activate the deconstruction technique on the "broken sewage collection array". 】
[You have mastered "Basic Alchemy Theory" and your alchemy rune literature skill is level 3. 】
[The energy consumption required for this deconstruction is reduced to 35 points. 】
【Are you sure to proceed with deconstruction? 】
When he first traveled through time, he used deconstruction to pick out translation errors in the translation.
Now facing this damaged spell formation, he would definitely be able to use deconstruction to locate the damage and get a solution from the system.
This is undoubtedly good news.
It proves that deconstruction is also very promising in depicting and modifying alchemical formations.
"Let me see where the damage is." Fals frowned and checked the spell array, unaware that there was a fool on the scene who could easily come up with the answer.
"You guys go and guard outside. Li Lei, you stay here and guard with me." Conte ordered.
The sewage collection room became quiet. Fars took out the rune stick and repaired the damage while thinking.
The whole team got into working mode.
For more than three hours, the team walked from the first underground floor to the second underground floor, repairing the alchemy array in the sewage collection room, dry and wet separation room, and powder recovery room in sequence.
When they arrived at the entrance to the stairwell from the second underground floor to the third floor, Conte raised his arms and clenched his fists to signal the team to stop.
"There will definitely be enemies in the third underground level, because that is the isolation zone that separates the city's underground sewer area and the crack corridor."
Conte solemnly warned:
"As I said before, guys, don't let your guard down. Not only will there be aberrations in the three underground floors, but there may also be illegal alchemists from the Black City. In the past, when I led the team, if there were casualties, they must have been underground. The reason for encountering an illegal alchemist on the third floor. Now everyone is checking the firearms and alchemy bombs for the last time. We have to walk through the three underground floors to make sure that all the metal gates are closed. This is a long journey and full of dangers. "
Li Nuo pulled out his short-barreled rifle and checked the firing pin and recoil spring. He glanced at Fals, only to see him grab a strange alchemy thing from the alchemy stone.
This alchemical thing looks like a spider, about the size of a washbasin, with eight mechanical legs made of metal and a metal shell. The overall luster is restrained, showing a dull light gray, which is extremely inconspicuous in the underground area.
It is not difficult to find if you look closely:
The spider's torso and spider legs were purely composed of mechanical devices, and under its matte metal shell, Li Nuo could vaguely feel the energy fluctuations.
"What is this?" someone in the team asked curiously.
Fals laughed and responded in a showy way:
"This is the most cutting-edge alchemical product in the Alchemy Temple, guys. Its name is "Alchemical Structure", and it is an alchemical product that can be controlled by an alchemist. This little thing in my hand is an experimental product. I got it from the college, and my research task is related to it. This time I happened to come to the third underground floor to experiment with its actual combat effect. "
"Then how do you control it?" the curious baby in the team asked again.
"Use this." Fars took out a thick leather glove from the alchemy stone:
"This glove contains a complete set of alchemical arrays that recognize hand signals. I can use hand gestures to control the alchemical mechanical spider."
Fars put the gloves on his hands, shook his palms, and moved his fingers. The five fingers floated in the air like waves.
The alchemy mechanical spider got the hand signal, clicked the spider legs in place, and made various movements such as turning, jumping, rolling, etc. It was flexible and vivid, far more agile than a real big spider.
There was chatter in the queue.
“What a clever little guy”
"It seems to have a gun barrel in its mouth. Fars, have you installed a gun on it?"
"Yes. You guessed it right. It has a shotgun in its body, which can switch between buckshot and single-point bullets. There is a "perception link" between it and me. I can directly see what it sees and listen to it. to the sounds it hears. Very suitable for performing dangerous tasks. "
"How many alchemical constructs can an alchemist control?"
"Good question. You may not know that the question you raised is the hottest topic in the alchemy community this year. A first-level alchemist like me can only use my left and right hands to control the alchemy construct, and I can control both hands at the same time. That's my limit. But a third-level alchemist can use the "Supreme Calculation Power" alchemy suit, using the suit's computing power and his own thinking ability to control ten or more alchemical constructs at the same time. "
Li Nuo faced Fals who was talking eloquently, his eyes hidden under his sunglasses flashed slightly.
When he checked the panel information of the book "Supreme Computing Power" before, he already knew the relationship between this alchemy suit and the alchemy structure. He didn't expect to see the real thing now.
He threw a deconstruction spell at the mechanical spider.
In the message fed back by the system, the string of zeros made Li Nuo's head hurt.
This alchemical construct actually requires 10,000 energy points to be 100% deconstructed.
Not only that, the system also reminded him that he must meet the requirements for reading the book "Supreme Computing Power" in order to understand the results of deconstructing the mechanical spider.
Li Nuo now has a clear positioning of himself.
His attainments in the field of alchemy are equivalent to the level of a second-grade elementary school student.
The "Supreme Computing Power" and the alchemical structure correspond to the difficulty of doctoral students' scientific research projects. No matter what, you must first learn advanced mathematics and mathematical modeling before you can understand research reports on cutting-edge technologies.
The same is true for alchemical constructs and "Supreme Calculation Power".
However, just using the alchemical structure shouldn’t require such high requirements...
Li Nuo squinted at the glove on Fars' hand, threw out the deconstruction technique, and then twitched the corner of his mouth.
Does it take 150,000 energy points to deconstruct this glove?
hiss.
How about I take out the revolver now and give the glove a few hits? Even if you can't understand the panel information, it's still good to get these 150,000 energy points.
Faced with the temptation of this "huge sum of money", Li Nuo forcibly suppressed his inner impulse.
One team member said worriedly:
"If this alchemical structure is promoted on a large scale, we security personnel will be unemployed."
Fars laughed enigmatically. Apparently in his mind, it was only a matter of time before the artificial security guards were eliminated by the alchemical construct:
"Well, your worries are reasonable, but there are still many difficulties to be overcome before we can actually use alchemical structures to replace security personnel. Don't look at how flexible this little thing is. It's purely because of my skillful control. Wait. One day, alchemical structures will be able to operate independently without the control of us alchemists, and then you will have to worry about your own employment. Now, it is too early."
Aren't you alchemists afraid of the Omnic Crisis?
Seeing Fals' show off, the corners of Li Nuo's mouth twitched slightly.
Conte coughed slightly and said:
"Okay, stop being such a jerk, Fals. Control your little guy to explore the way for us, and let us see what it can do. I'm also curious whether this little thing is as useful as you said. .”
"Look, Conte, I have been practicing for a long time to show you the cutting-edge products of the times. Open the gate for me, my little baby is about to set off."
Fales's right hand danced a few times.
The mechanical spider came from the floor to the wall, got into the crack of the door opened by Conte, and disappeared into the dark stairwell.
Fars stood there, closed his eyes, rolled his eyeballs under his eyelids, and muttered:
"Oh, it's so dark here. Fortunately, I installed the "Night Vision Rune" on Little Spider in advance. Yeah~ I saw the situation on the third underground floor. The place was in a mess, with dried blood and sewage stains all over the floor and walls. We were lucky, there were no fresh mud footprints near the stairs. This shows that no aberrant body passed by here in a short period of time. "
Conte reminded:
"I heard that the control range of alchemical constructs is limited. Don't let it go too far."
"Okay, don't worry, Conte, I know it well. There is still a control range of one or two hundred meters. If the "perception link" becomes unstable, I will naturally let it come back.
"Eh? That's weird, Conte, when we came here last time, was there a hole in the floor? Why did the floor of this corridor collapse? I can even see the floor of the next floor."
Kante's expression changed and he asked quickly:
"Where is the hole? Give me the general direction."
Fars kept his eyes closed.
He raised his arm and pointed across the floor of the second underground floor to the corridor of the third underground floor:
"Here, there is a hole with a diameter of more than two meters, which just cuts off the corridor. My little spider has to walk on the wall to get around this hole."
Everyone shut their mouths tightly, slowed down their breathing, looked in the direction Fars pointed, and listened carefully to the sounds there.
Due to the high quality of the construction, no one heard any movement, let alone the movement of the little spider.
"I have to be careful, lest my little spider falls into the hole. Good, good, it went around the hole. Ah!"
Fals suddenly screamed, two tubes of blood spurted out of his nose, his eyes suddenly opened, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and his pupils shrank like needle pricks.
He hugged his head, grabbed his hair, squatted on the ground, trembled in pain, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.
"What's wrong, Fars?" Conte asked in a deep voice.
"Someone attacked my little spider! Breaking it into pieces! The "sensory link" between me and it was forcibly interrupted! I suffered serious backlash. No, no, I have to go to the third underground floor quickly and recover the core parts of the little spider's body, otherwise I will be in big trouble! "
Fars struggled to stand up, but he couldn't move because of the needle-like pain in his head. He could only fall to the ground and endure the pain of the forced interruption of his soul link.
Li Nuo raised his eyebrows, seeming to have some realization in his heart.
It turns out that the "sense link" used by the alchemist is similar to the "soul link" he uses to control the dead with dominoes.
The crypt lurker controlled by Li Nuo gave Pim a fatal blow, but soon died at the hands of Murphya.
The pain at the soul level was so torturous that it took Li Nuo a long time to recover.
Now looking at Fals' embarrassed appearance, Li Nuo suddenly felt the same.
"Kant, please, help me find the Alchemy Cube in the little spider's body. It is the core alchemy component." Fals prayed, grabbing his hair.
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Conte arranged two team members for Fals to protect him, then waved and led the rest of the team members into the metal gate.
Li Nuo followed the team, quietly turned on "Tracking the Living", and looked towards the place where the little spider was attacked.
Things are a little tricky.
In the field of view of "Tracking the Living", two figures with bright red outlines were lingering by the hole in the lower floor.
They squatted on the ground and groped around, seemingly looking for something in the pile of parts.
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(End of chapter)
