"Let's start grouping."

In the lobby of the Iron Thorn Shield Security Company.

Conte stood in front of the security guards, a list in his hand.

Starting today, security teams will be inspecting the above- and subterranean areas of Sector 7.

They want to make sure that all the alchemy devices used to collect the multi-purpose metal powder are in good working order.

At this time, Kante was grouping his players.

He gave dozens of names, and then said to the vice-captain:

"Mark, you take the brothers I just named to inspect the above-ground area, and the specific division of labor is arranged by you. Be careful. Check to see if the alchemy array of the powder collector device is complete and needs to be repaired. If it needs to be repaired, record it and report it to the company, understand? ”

"Yes, head."

Kante added a few more names:

"I'm going to name the people now, and I'm going to the underground area. Li Lei, you come with me too. And Fars, too, who joined me underground to inspect the alchemy device. ”

"Yes, head."

Li Nuo responded by glancing at Fars beside him, and the other party's face was full of sadness, as if the laboratory had been bombed.

Kante clapped his hands and adjourned the meeting:

"Let's go, everybody."

He came up to Fars and slapped him on the shoulder:

"Cheer up, Fars, we still need you to debug the alchemy array on the spot. Isn't it just that the research mission deadline of the Alchemy Academy is coming? What is there to be sad about. ”

"You don't understand, Kante, you don't." Fars' bitter melon look on his face:

"There are still a lot of unfinished tasks in the research tasks I have received. If it weren't for the fact that I was able to do a few studies when I went underground this time, I wouldn't have had the time to do it. ”

Kante shook his head and said:

"You didn't find it yourself. The Alchemy Academy has issued so many research tasks, and others only pick what they can do well. It's better for you to pick what you are interested in, and you don't even look at the cost and difficulty of the research task, so you take over the research and development task of the alchemy structure.

"If you want me to say, you can take advantage of this powder spraying day, perform well, kill more chaotic deviants, and maybe you can earn the rent of the laboratory in the second half of the year. You say, don't you? ”

"Well, you're right. It's time for me to get serious about the aberrations. Fars sighed silently and touched the alchemy stone under his clothes:

"I've brought an alchemy construct with me this time, and I should be able to hunt down a lot of aberrations. You'll have to count the number of kills I have taken, Conte, and not one less. ”

"Don't worry, I'll keep it in mind."

Kante waved and led the team out, and at the same time introduced Li Nuo, who participated in the mission for the first time:

"There are a lot of distortions in the underground area, Li Lei. The Gold Chamber of Commerce has made an offer, killing 1 small body type aberration and rewarding 100 aggregate coins. Kill 1 standard size and reward 200 pieces. If you can kill a tough aberrant like the Sower, you will be rewarded with at least 2000 pieces. The money is divided equally among us. Use your extraordinary abilities at your leisure, don't waste them on ordinary aberrations, and use them best against the Sowers. ”

"Okay, head, I'll make a note of it." Li Nuo grabbed the strap, lifted the backpack up, and fastened the strap tightly.

In order to earn Aggregate Coins, and also to collect soul chips, he took some guns and a large amount of ammunition from Ironthorn's arsenal.

The other security guards who signed up for the underground patrol were also dressed in this way, and their eyes flashed with excitement.

Theoretically, there are many pipe entrances that connect to the underground area.

Manhole covers on the ground, stormwater outlets, sewage outlets in buildings, etc., all lead to the underground areas of the city.

But there is only one pipe outlet that allows humans to pass through in every urban sector, and it is generally located in the backyard of the security forces of that sector.

Like sector 7 here.

Behind the Iron Thornshield Security Company building, there is an underground passage entrance covering an area of more than 100 square meters.

A spacious warehouse is shrouded above this underground entrance, blocking the view from the outside.

Inside and outside the warehouse, there are security personnel guarding all year round, and only the security personnel of the Iron Thorn Shield are allowed to enter and exit.

A first-order alchemist like Conte is only allowed to lead a team to move on the first to third basement floors, corresponding to the underground sewer area of the city.

Further down, from the fourth basement level, there is an underground area called the "Rift Corridor".

Only the second-order alchemist in the Iron Thorn Shield, that is, the security personnel at the level of the company's director, have the strength to break through the "Rift Corridor".

The full-time combatants of various large alchemy forces can also step into the "Rift Corridor".

For example, the "Sword of the Gold Merchants" of the Gold Chamber of Commerce, which is a fighting arm that protects the interests of the Chamber of Commerce. The Sword of the Golden Merchant is both the name of this department and the name of each member of the battle.

They have their own internal passage that leads from Uptown to the "Rift Corridor".

The security company went to the underground area to maintain the underground facilities in the lower town.

It's a different story with full-time combatants in Uptown.

They are more about curbing the expansion of the aberrations, repairing powder collection devices, and recovering alchemy suits buried deep in the cloister.

Legend has it that about 30 years ago, the Alchemy Sanctuary gathered a large number of alchemists to dig up the "Rift Corridor" that ran from the ground to the deviant's lair.

Their goal was to construct the underground walls of the Convergence City and install an alchemy device to collect universal metal powder from the dung of the distorted formants.

Deep underground, near the aberrations' lair, alchemists were under fierce attack.

Although they managed to seal off the expansion of the lair with walls and install alchemist devices to collect powder, the alchemists also suffered heavy losses from the attacks of the aberrations.

A large number of alchemists of the third order and above were killed in the depths of the corridor, and there were countless alchemists below the third order.

Only a fraction of their relics were brought back to the surface, and most of them were buried forever in the 80th basement level of the Rift Corridor and below.

The Alchemy Sanctuary said that whoever can bring back the lost alchemy materials, alchemy manuscripts, sage particles and other rare things from the area 80 underground floors and below will belong to whoever owns them.

The forces that heard the news of this wantonly recruited alchemists and threw them into the "Rift Corridor".

This is evident in the career advancement route from the Iron Thorn Shield to the Gold Chamber of Commerce.

A first-order alchemist, serving as the captain of the security team, training on the 1st to 3rd basement floors.

A second-order alchemist, serving as a director of the security company, he trains in the cloister area from the 4th to the 20th basement floors.

A third-order alchemist, who was absorbed by the Gold Chamber of Commerce as the Sword of the Gold Merchant, trained in the corridor area on the 21st basement 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 layers of underground areas that can be entered.

These are the common sense that Kante confessed to Li Nuo in the preparation stage before entering the underground.

Only then did Li Nuo realize that if he wanted to "farm monsters" underground for a long time, there were only two ways to go.

The first path is legitimate.

That is to go wild in the Iron Thorn Shield, all the way to the Golden Chamber of Commerce, to become the sword of the Gold Merchant, and to have greater autonomy and personal time.

The Merchant's Sword is a mercenary combatant.

The Golden Chamber of Commerce has a weak binding force on it and gives a great deal of autonomy.

Correspondingly, the Sword of the Gold Merchant will not be able to touch the internal secrets of the Gold Chamber of Commerce.

If Li Nuo became the sword of the gold merchant, it would not be a problem to soak in the ground for ten days and a half in a row, and no one would care about him.

The second way is illegal.

That is the illegal forces entrenched in the "Corridor of Rifts".

While inspecting the supplies, Kante chatted about the past:

"Back then, the Alchemy Sanctuary gathered at least 300,000 alchemists in order to build the underground walls of the Gathering City. What is this concept? Such a large group of people are as tall as a ten-story building just standing together. There are all of them. Ancient families descended from the Dianjin Dynasty, federal nobles with permanent territories, and various alchemist groups and alchemy forces.

"The Rift Corridor isn't just a cloister, it's an underground structure of unprecedented size. In addition to the usual access facilities such as rappelling passages and revolving corridors, there are also casinos, underground camps, underground alchemy workshops, and other areas set up to cordon off the lairs of the aberrants.

"After all these years, the underground facilities are still not abandoned, and countless 'rats' have taken over them. If you encounter an illegal alchemist from underground, you must give me as far away as you can. Don't care how nice the other party says, and don't fall for them, or you will wait to be caught in the "Black City" hidden deep underground! It was the base camp for resisting the deviants, and it was thousands of meters deep above the ground. If you get caught there, don't even think about going back to earth! The illegal alchemists in the Black City will refine you into living alchemy products, such as alchemy slaves.

"Did you hear me clearly?"

"Yes, head!"

Li Nuo and everyone responded in unison.

A young player asked puzzledly:

"Head, I have a question. Why not destroy the Black City? Wouldn't it be better to empty that place and place your own people in the various alchemy forces? ”

Conte snorted and laughed:

"Ha, if only it were that simple. Guess how the illegal alchemists in the Black City came about? Isn't it the alchemist who was sent underground by the alchemy forces and the Alchemy Sanctuary in the first place? They controlled the underground alchemy device that collected universal metal powder, and used it as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Alchemy Sanctuary and the major alchemy forces, so they could survive to this day. ”

After checking all the personnel supplies and equipment, Conte stood in front of the team with his waist crossed, and continued:

"The Gold Chamber of Commerce behind our Iron Thorn Shield is a businessman, and there is no crooked brain. 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 the other alchemy forces are different.

"Let's take sectors 1 to 6 next to us. Controlling it is the "Heavy Exercise Alchemist Society". As you can tell from the name, the Heavy Forging Association has a huge demand for universal metal powders.

"In the Black City, there is a group of illegal alchemists who have defected from the Heavy Forge Association. But if you think that these alchemists are traitors to the Reforging Association, then you are too naïve. There is a grapevine that this is a self-directed and self-staged drama by the Heavy Forging Association, and the purpose is to justifiably send a group of people to Heicheng to control the alchemy device that collects powder, and to win more say for the Heavy Forging Association on the ground. ”

Kante shrugged slightly:

"I don't know if this rumor is true. In short, you have to remember. If you encounter an unknown alchemist underground, you must stay away and do not talk to the other person. ”

"Yes, head!"

"Okay, everything is ready, drink the night vision potion, bring the spare lantern, let's go!"

Conte threw his head back and drank the night vision potion in his hand, nodding to the security guards guarding the entrance.

The security guard at the gate stood in the sentry box, reaching out and pulling down the lever.

The snapping of gears could be heard beneath the floor, and the metal gates on the ground opened in half, revealing an underground passage illuminated by alchemical lamps.

"Let's go. We are going to the first to third basement floors, which are relatively close to the ground, but the terrain is diverse, the layout is complex, and if you are not careful, you will go the wrong way. You must keep up with me. ”

Conte took the lead, stepping into the underground passage that stretched diagonally downward.

As the team entered the passageway, the metal gate above their heads slowly closed.

With a clatter, the door closed without revealing a gap.

The atmosphere in the underground passage instantly became oppressive.

The dark visual effect provided by the Night Vision Potion is limited, and people can only see within a radius of about 20 meters or so.

In order to ensure that the enemy may not be alarmed, portable lighting equipment such as lanterns is only a backup emergency lamp.

The crowd touched the darkness and silently followed Kante down the steps.

The walls on both sides of the underground passage are covered with metal pipes of different thicknesses, shaped like the roots of giant trees with intertwined roots, and like the blood vessels in the body of a huge beast.

"Tick tock.."

The sound of water droplets dripping from nowhere, made the underground passage even more silent.

When he arrived in the corridor on the basement floor, Conte looked left and right, and when he saw that there was nothing unusual around, he beckoned to Fars and said:

"Fars, you start detecting energy leaks. The alchemy array that repairs the underground facilities is the most important. ”

"Okay, I'll leave it to me."

Fars grabbed a handful of light from the alchemy stone and spread it out in the palm of his hand.

The light cluster contracted inward, condensing into a palm-sized alchemy instrument.

In the past three days, Li Nuo has read a lot of alchemy knowledge.

At this time, he didn't need to throw out the deconstruction technique to know the effect of this alchemy instrument.

This device 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 elemental energy of the four attributes of fire, air, earth, and water, as well as soul energy.

Soul energy can be used as any energy and is extremely adaptable.

It can be converted into other energy in a certain proportion.

With the help of alchemy stones, alchemists convert them into four elemental energies.

The wizards of the Death Society use meditation methods, wands, magic robes, or other magic items to convert soul energy into death energy.

In the realm of alchemy, soul energy is also known as attributeless energy.

In the eyes of wizards, soul energy is one of the original powers of every human being. It goes hand in hand with the muscular power and vitality of the body, and together they constitute the three primordial forces that human beings are born with.

Li Nuo learned this knowledge in the process of reading books.

He confirmed that the "soul energy" repeatedly mentioned in the book refers to the "soul strength" on the system panel information.

There may be some differences in the deeper connotations between the two, but in most cases, they can be treated as the same thing.

…

…

Fars held up the energy detector and gestured in the air to take the energy readings on the dashboard.

He raised his hand and pointed to the side and said:

"Let's go in that direction first, Conte. The energy of the water element there is obviously high, and there should be an energy leak from the alchemy device that treats sewage. ”

"Follow me. I have the impression that the place Fars is referring to should be a sedimentation tank for domestic wastewater. ”

Conte thought of 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 mist.

The alchemy of the Gold Federation is of guaranteed quality.

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 more fragile.

It's kind of like a circuit board in the field of microelectronics.

The alchemist dipped the rune rod into the energy-conducting liquid and carved the pattern of the array on the flat metal panel.

The pattern of the magic array is composed of alchemy runes, which are the logical language of the operation of the magic array.

If the energy entering the alchemy array is unstable, then the pattern of the array will be damaged, causing the energy in it to leak out.

This is similar to the breakdown of a circuit board by a high-voltage current.

The energy anomaly detected by Fars was due to a broken sewage collection unit.

He opened the side cover of the device, turned off the switch of the device, and removed the metal panel from which the alchemical circle was depicted.

The alchemy array composed of alchemy runes was presented in front of you.

It was a complex pattern flowing with the light of the four colored elements, distributed with uneven lines, circles and arcs of varying thickness, densely packed and dazzling to see.

Li Nuo locked on this alchemy array with his gaze, threw out the deconstruction technique, and then nodded secretly.

[System News:]

[You are about to start a deconstruction spell on the "Broken Sewage Harvesting Circle".] 】

[You have mastered the "Basic Alchemy Theory", and the alchemy rune literature skill is level 3. 】

[The energy cost required for this deconstruction has been reduced to 35.] 】

[Do you confirm deconstruction?] 】

When he first crossed over, he used deconstruction to find out the translation errors in the translation.

Now faced with this broken array, he will definitely be able to use deconstruction to locate the broken place and get a solution from the system.

This is undoubtedly good news.

It proves that deconstruction is also very promising in portraying and modifying alchemical arrays.

"Let me see where the damage is." Fars frowned, inspecting the array, unaware that there was a hanger on the scene who could easily come up with an answer.

"You guys go outside and keep watch. Li Lei, you stay here and be on guard with me. Conte ordered.

The sinkroom became silent, and Fars drew his rune stick, pondering as he repaired the damage.

The whole team is in working order.

For more than three hours, the team walked and stopped, from the first basement floor to the second basement floor, and repaired the alchemy array of the sewage collection room, the dry and wet separation room, and the powder recovery room in turn.

Upon reaching the entrance to the stairwell on the second basement floor to the third floor, Conte raised his arms, clenched his fists, and motioned for the team to stop.

"There will definitely be enemies in the third basement level, because it is the separation zone that separates the area of the city's sewers from the rift corridor."

Kante solemnly admonished:

"Again, don't let your guard down, big guys. In the three underground floors, there will not only be distortions, but also illegal alchemists from the Black City. In the past, when I led the team, if there were casualties, it must have been because of an illegal alchemist encountered on the third basement floor. Now let's take one final look at the guns and alchemy bombs. We had to walk around the three basement floors to make sure all the metal gates were closed, which was a long and dangerous journey. ”

Li Nuo pulled out his short-barreled rifle, checked the firing pin and reentry spring, and swept his eyes over Fars, only to see the other party grab a strange alchemy thing from the alchemy.

The alchemical thing resembles 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.

On closer inspection, it is not difficult to find:

The spider's torso and legs were made up of purely mechanical devices, and beneath its matte metal shell, Li Nuo vaguely felt energy fluctuations.

"What is this?" Someone in the team asked curiously.

Fars laughed, and responded with a show of relief:

"This is the most cutting-edge alchemy product in the Alchemy Sanctuary, folks. Its name is the "Alchemy Construct", and it is an alchemical product that can be manipulated by an alchemist. This little thing in my hand is an experimental product. I got it from the Academy, and my research mission is related to it. This time, I happened to come to the third basement floor to experiment with its actual combat effect. ”

"And 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:

"Inside this glove is a whole set of alchemy arrays that recognize gesture signals. I can use gestures to manipulate the Alchemy Mechanical Spider. ”

Fars put the glove on his hand, shook the palm of his hand, and moved his fingers, five fingers floating in the air like waves.

The alchemy mechanical spider got the gesture signal, and moved the spider's legs in place with a click, making various actions such as turning, jumping, and rolling, which were flexible and vivid, far more agile than the real big spider.

Conversations rang out in the ranks.

"What a clever little guy"

"It looks like it has a barrel in its mouth, Fars, did you put a gun on it?"

"Yes. You guessed it right. It has a shotgun inside it that can switch between deer and one-headed bullets. There is a "perceptual connection" between it and me, and I can see directly what it sees and hear what it hears. Ideal for dangerous missions. ”

"How many alchemical constructs can a single alchemist control?"

"Good question. You may not know that the question you are asking is the hottest topic in the alchemy world this year. A first-order alchemist like me can only use his left and right hands to control the alchemy construct, and controlling two at the same time is my limit. However, a third-order alchemist can use the "Supreme Computing Power" alchemy suit, using the suit's computing power and his own thinking ability to control ten or more alchemy constructs at the same time. ”

Li Nuo looked at Fars, who was talking eloquently, and his eyes flickered slightly under his sunglasses.

When he checked the panel information of the book "Supreme Computing Power" before, he knew the relationship between this alchemy suit and the alchemy structure, but he didn't expect to see the real thing at this time.

He throws deconstruction at the mechanical spider.

In the message fed back by the system, the string of bits and pieces made Li Nuo's head hurt.

This alchemy construct actually needs 10,000 energy points to be 100% deconstructed.

Not only that, but the system also reminded him that he must meet the requirements of reading the book "Supreme Computing Power" in order to understand the results of deconstructing the mechanical spider.

Li Nuo's positioning is very clear now.

His attainments in the field of alchemy are equivalent to those of a second-grade elementary school student.

The "Supreme Computing Power" and the alchemy construct correspond to the difficulty of the doctoral student's scientific research topic. No matter how you have to learn advanced mathematics and mathematical modeling, you can understand the research reports of cutting-edge science and technology.

The same is true for the Alchemy Constructs and Supreme Hashrate.

However, just using the alchemy construct shouldn't be such a high demand...

Li Nuo squinted at the glove on Fars' hand, threw out the deconstruction, and then the corners of his mouth twitched.

150,000 energy points to deconstruct this glove?

Hiss.

Why don't I pull out my revolver and give me a few strokes of my gloves. Even if you can't understand the panel information, it's good to get the 150,000 energy points in your hands.

Faced with the temptation of this "huge amount of money", Li Nuo forcibly suppressed his inner impulse.

One of the team members said worriedly:

"If this alchemy construct is to be popularized on a large scale, will our group of security personnel be unemployed?"

Fars laughed incomprehensibly, apparently in his mind, it was only a matter of time before artificial security was eliminated by the alchemy construct:

"Well, there is some truth to your concerns, but there are still many difficulties to overcome before we can truly replace security personnel with alchemical constructs. Don't look at this little thing so nimble, it's purely because of my skillful control. When the day comes, the alchemy construct will be able to operate autonomously without the control of our alchemists, and then you will have to worry about your own employment. Well, it's too early. ”

Aren't you alchemists afraid of a crisis of intelligence?

Looking at Fars's flirtatious appearance, the corners of Li Nuo's mouth twitched slightly.

Kante coughed lightly and said:

"Alright, don't stink, Fars. Take control of your little one and show us what it can do. I'm also curious if this little thing is as good as you say. ”

"Look, Conte, I've been practicing for a long time to show you the cutting-edge products of the times. Help me open the floodgates, my little darling is about to go. ”

Fars' right hand danced a few times.

The mechanical spider descended from the floor to the wall, burrowed through the crack in Conte's open door, and disappeared into the darkened stairwell.

Fars stood still, his eyes closed, his eyeballs rolling under his noses, and the words in his mouth:

"Oh, it's so dark in here. Luckily, I installed the "Night Vision Rune" on the spider in advance. Uh-huh~ I see the condition of the third basement floor. It was a mess, with dried blood and sewage on the floor and walls. We were lucky that there were no fresh mud footprints near the staircase. This means that in a short period of time, no distortions passed by. ”

Kant reminded:

"I've heard that alchemy constructs have a limited range of control. Don't let it go too far. ”

"Alright, don't worry, Canter, I know what to do. There is still a control range of one or two hundred meters, and if the "perceptual link" is unstable, I will naturally let it come back.

"Huh? Strange, Conte, was there a hole in the floor the last time we came? How did the floor of this hallway collapse in one piece, I could see the floor of the next floor. ”

Kante's face changed, and he hurriedly asked:

"Where is the hole? You give me a general direction. ”

Fars kept his eyes closed.

He raised his arm and pointed across the floor of the second basement floor to the corridor of the third basement floor:

"Well, right there, a hole more than two meters in diameter cut off the hallway. My little spider had to walk through the wall to get around the hole. ”

The crowd closed their mouths, slowed their breathing, and looked in the direction Fars was pointing, listening carefully to the sounds.

Due to the excellent quality of the building, no one heard any movement, let alone the sound of the spider moving.

"I've got to be careful lest my little spider fall into the hole. Okay, good, it's around that hole. Yes! ”

Fars 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 contracted like pinpricks.

He hugged his head, grabbed his hair, and crouched on the ground, trembling in pain, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"What's wrong, Fars?" Kante asked in a deep voice.

"Someone attacked my little spider! Smash it to pieces in one fell swoop! The "perceptual link" between me and it has been forcibly broken! I've had a serious backlash. No, no, I have to hurry up to the third basement floor and chase back the core components in the little spider's body, otherwise it will be a big trouble! ”

Fars struggled to his feet, but couldn't move because of the pinprick-like pain in his head. He could only fall to the ground, enduring the pain of the forced interruption of the soul link.

Li Nuo raised his eyebrows, as if he had realized something.

It turns out that the "perceptual link" used by the alchemist is similar to the "soul link" that he uses dominoes to control the dead.

The Crypt Lurker controlled by Leno dealt a fatal blow to Pym, but soon died at the hands of Murphy.

That kind of soul level pain was full of torment, and it took Li Nuo a long time to recover.

Now looking at Fars's embarrassed appearance, Li Nuo suddenly felt the same way.

"Kante, please, help me get back the alchemy cube in the little spider's body, that is the core alchemy component." Fars clutched his hair and prayed.

"Okay, I'll go."

Kante assigned two members of the team to protect Fars, and then waved and led the rest of the team into the metal gate.

Li Nuo followed the team, quietly opened the "Tracking the Living", and looked towards the place where the little spider was attacked.

Things are a little tricky.

In the vision of "Tracking the Living", two bright red silhouettes of figures linger by the hole in the lower floor.

They crouched on the ground and fumbled around, as if looking for something in the pile of parts.

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(End of chapter)