The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 292: Bad Temper

The little puppets are in the shape of children, one male and one female.

The boy resembled Qi Shen by about 70%, but was more lively and active, and had a more human feel to him.

The girl casually pinched her face; she had silver hair and light blue eyes, yet her features were classically elegant and ethereal, quite similar to Su Ninglong's own temperament.

Two little puppets squeezed in front of the camera, calling Qi Shen "uncle," looking incredibly innocent and adorable.

Half a day after the video was sent, Qi Shen paced excitedly, touching the photo like a strange uncle, extremely satisfied with Su Ninglong's aesthetic sense and attentiveness.

Although he knew she wouldn't do anything without a reason, he still enjoyed it and liked her straightforward flattery.

So he replied, "I'll go tomorrow."

In short, he deleted and revised, revised and deleted again, trying to appear less anxious. In the end, only a few words remained.

There was no way around it; the two little puppets were just too cute, meeting his expectations for children—they were beautiful and well-behaved.

Given Su Ninglong's playful personality, the two little puppets would definitely be fun too, perfect for passing the time.

This is Qi Shen's favorite gift to date, bar none.

He curled up in the quantum isolation chair in the guard's quarters; it was hard and his back ached from lying down.

I miss the soft, big bed in Su Ninglong's bedroom.

[Su]: Bring two Mystic Tokens that seal the Mystic Spirits; I need them.

Qi Shen sent a meme of a cat wearing a crown, accusing her of never coming to his place without a reason.

"Make me a sofa so I can lie down and sleep comfortably."

You're addicted to taking advantage of deals, aren't you?

Su Ninglong knew she couldn't continue like this; it was no different from keeping a gigolo but not being able to touch him.

"Three million star coins, I'll give you a discount, two million nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine. You're one star coin cheaper, and only you can enjoy this kind of treatment."

Qi Shen: "You look down on me?"

[Su] Thank you, sir. Three million, not a single star coin less.

[Qi Shen]: Can you really do it? Is it true? You're not lying to me?
[Su]: ? ? ?

Qi Shen quickly got up. He had had enough of the miserable living conditions of the Guardians while they worked, and he didn't mind spending money.

He transferred six million directly, saying, "I want two."

[Su]: Where do you plan to put it?

【Qi Shen】: Guard post.

[Su]: Isn't it going through the official accounts? Large personal items shouldn't be there, right?

Qi Shen found it troublesome, but Su Ninglong was right. He was nominally a government employee, and procurement still had to go through procedures.

"I'll have my assistant process the payment and transfer it to you through the purchasing process."

Su Ninglong: "Your assistant will thank you."

An order for six million Star Coins might not be within our budget all at once.

Qi Shen didn't care. Before he became a Guardian, he made it clear that they had to meet his requirements, including the agreed salary and a large amount of star coins reserved for him to purchase items every year.

He hasn't spoken for several years, so his reserves of Star Coins should still be sufficient. If things aren't prepared properly, he'll cause trouble.

The assistant did need to thank Qi Shen for his sudden burst of enthusiasm; a few million worth of jewelry was understandable.

A sofa worth millions? Is Qi Zuzong making things difficult for him? Could it be that he's been discovered to be too idle?

The assistant reluctantly wrote the report and submitted it. Half a day later, the higher-ups said that the procurement project was non-compliant and would not be approved.

Qi Shen could tell from the assistant's conflicted expression outside the door that, just as Su Ninglong had suspected, their budget was insufficient.

His light blue pupils grew even colder as he said indifferently, "I've been too good to you."

The assistant felt a chill run down his spine, knowing he was in deep trouble. He quickly said, "It's probably unreasonable that a sofa costs three million. I'll apply again and specify that it's a custom-made sacred object."

Qi Shen: "Didn't you just say that?"

The assistant's silence indicated that the people managing this area were not as easy to talk to as before, and always acted in a strictly businesslike manner.

Qi Shen: "Three million for a sacred artifact? What's unreasonable about that? I can wait another half day. If they don't approve it, I'll just have to find a different leader."

Previously, Qi Shen suspected that the current leader had been bribed by certain people to deliberately make things difficult for him.

The assistant remained calm, which was good; Qi Shen was truly annoyed.

He said he would change the leader, but he didn't say he would replace him, which means it has nothing to do with him.

The assistant slowly submitted the application again, with a valid reason: a custom-made sacred artifact. Three million might be expensive, but its rarity would make it valuable.

Even a small dagger, if made by a famous craftsman, can be worth hundreds of thousands.

Besides, a sofa is such a large item.

The leader refused to approve the six million star coins again, and the assistant informed Qi Shen of the news.

Qi Shen sneered, and his assistant smiled and respectfully withdrew, waiting for the show to begin.

The next day, the leader was thrown out like a rag at the entrance of the Cosmic Government Center. His bones were broken, but he was not killed. It was an angry warning.

Several top leaders were extremely troubled after learning about this.

The impact of Su Ninglong, a mere little girl, was already enough for them to ponder for a long time, and now Qi Shen had also come along, making things even more troublesome.

Qi Shen always abides by human rules and rarely hurts others. He usually only loses his temper when others provoke him repeatedly.

It's not a problem that he gets angry, the problem is that he's hard to appease.

Seeing this person's miserable appearance, they all felt it was bad luck.

It's only six million star coins, perfectly within the budget. Just approve it; why get hung up on whether it's compliant or not? Some people are born to be outside the rules.

They have no other requests as long as he himself is willing to step into this circle.

Qi Shen doesn't want to seize power; he just wants to buy some expensive items. Why can't that be enough?

Now look what's happened, Qi Shen has gone mad for a little money.

The injured junior leader thought that his superiors, seeing his miserable state, would seek justice for him.

The senior leaders' intention was: "Take him to the hospital to get better, then dismiss him immediately. Make it clear when you transfer him there that you should try to meet Qi Shen's demands. He's only been comfortable for a few years, and he's become arrogant. How could a spirit master who can directly destroy a military starship be made of clay?"

The junior leader stared wide-eyed, incredulous yet understanding dawning on him.

So what if Qi Shen hurt him? He won't leave any evidence. Without evidence, there's no way to convict him.

……

Xing Qingping was pulled out to save the day, and they hoped he could help manage the affairs of the command post.

Xing Qingping: What gave you the wrong impression that I have time to manage an extra department?
Things were settled just like that, and the command post basically stabilized, requiring little more effort.

But there were also many minor issues. Xing Qingping checked the past accounts, and as the biggest "resource boss" in the entire universe, he immediately saw through the irregularities in the accounts.

With a wave of his hand, he handed the evidence to the anti-corruption department of the Star Police Department.

Anyone with problems was kicked out. Regarding the application form that Qi Shen's assistant brought again, Xing Qingping was even less likely to make things difficult for anyone. Qi Shen's application to buy his granddaughter's custom-made sacred artifact didn't require any formalities, as it wasn't even part of the procurement program; the funds would simply be transferred.

Qi Shen actually wanted to vent for a while longer and give people a headache, but he stopped when he saw that Xing Qingping had taken over.

Today he was comfortably lying in the cabin, chatting with two little puppets.

The two little puppets kept making witty remarks and teasing him like a comedy duo, making him laugh heartily.

Su Ninglong twitched her lips, suspecting that Qi Shen had masochistic tendencies and actually liked puppets that hurt each other.

She held two tokens, which Qi Shen had brought her. One was sealed with the Shadow Crawler, and the other with the Fear of the Frost Abyss.

The Fear of the Cold Abyss is sealed within the Token of the Slayer. The Token of the Slayer has a higher sealing level and is more dangerous than the Token of the Secret Spirit. If it is not controlled properly, it will be devoured along with the Token of the Slayer.

The Executioner's Token gave Su Ninglong a very dangerous feeling, as if countless eyes were watching her from the shadows, ready to strike her deadly.

Su Ninglong tensed up and asked Qi Shen, "Since both the 'Demon Token' and the 'Secret Token' come from the Bronze Gate, how did they come to have different strengths in their seals?"

"Several Secret Tokens combined together become the Executioner Token," Qi Shen said.

Su Ninglong: "..." So this is what déjà vu feels like.

"What about the Key to Prophecy? Could it also be a transformation of the two?"

“It’s an ability that emerged from the sealed gate,” Qi Shen pointed out. “All three are things pried off from the gate. It was only because the super-intelligent beings destroyed the sealed gate that the secret spirits gradually invaded the world. Of course, humanity also gained unimaginable abilities.”

Su Ninglong suddenly remembered another question: "Did humans use spiritual energy to seal the Secret Spirit Realm, or is the Secret Spirit Realm the source of spiritual energy?"

Isn't this similar to the "chicken or the egg" question?

Qi Shen: "If the seal hadn't been broken, I wouldn't have woken up. So, I don't know."

"Did someone break into your bedroom and cause you to wake up?"

Qi Shen picked up Qi Rui, who was trying to rub against Su Ninglong, and deliberately rubbed the cat in the opposite direction, messing up Qi Rui's fur.

The cat gave him a light, unhappy bite. Qi Rui could control its size; it was only the size of a kitten now, making it easy to pet. Qi Shen even wanted to take it back with him.

He stood up, his bare feet stepping onto the snow-white carpet. His insteps, which had never seen the sun for years, were even whiter than the carpet, and the veins on the surface were visible.

Su Ninglong remained silent, waiting for his reply.

"That's part of the reason."

Su Ninglong: "The Gate of Seals was created by people during the darkest hour?"

"I don't know. Based on some indicative historical evidence, it should be that I don't have these memories." Qi Shen knew nothing when asked. He stroked Qi Rui's fur and fell into recollection, but many parts of his memory remained blank.

Su Ninglong gazed at that head of long, silvery-white hair.

There are so few records of the darkest hours that it seems as if someone deliberately erased this part of history to prevent humanity from exploring it.

But if something existed, it leaves a trace.

Okay, that's for historians to study. Su Ninglong should deal with the immediate matter first.

"I'll borrow this token for a while, and give it to you before entering the ruins."

Qi Shen thought it was acceptable to exchange two tokens for two small puppets.

The two little puppets are definitely not cheap, but just watching them run around so lively is a pleasure.

"Don't take them out. They're not as powerful as my puppets, and they'll easily crash and burn."

Qi Shen liked all the gifts Su Ninglong gave him. He nodded and said, "Keep them at home. I often come to see them."

When he returned to the command post, he brought gifts for others for the first time.

The gift wasn't anything expensive; it was mushrooms picked from the Deer Forest, offered as a token of appreciation.

The assistant was flattered; the mushrooms were all very fresh, some even with damp soil still around their roots.

"Mr. Qi, something very pleasant must have happened on your trip."

"Smart," Qi Shen said. "Take the things and divide them up."

"Does Mr. Xing need it too?" the assistant asked.

"I need it, so give it to me!"

……

Su Ninglong, who was carrying the Secret Token back to the weapon-refining room, saw Feng Ying and Lei Qingya there as soon as she entered.

Su Ninglong said with satisfaction, "You guys are very hardworking."

Feng Ying and Lei Qingya turned their heads at the same time, their heavy dark circles under their eyes forming small bulges.

These two ladies are so pitiful.

“You can go and rest.” Su Ninglong said this involuntarily, her tone lowering.

"You shouldn't take on so many weapon-refining tasks!" Lei Qingya's resentment was palpable.

With the spiritual veins of the Deer Cry Forest as their foundation, Su Ninglong assigned each person a crafting task. Feng Ying was responsible for shaping the tools, Lei Qingya was responsible for engraving runes, and Su Ninglong only did the final quality inspection.

The Pure Heart Earrings and the Collapse Pointer are now both made by the two of them. Whether they are sold or given away, their names will be printed on the outer packaging of the sacred artifacts.

In this way, any quality issues can be traced back to their source.

Su Ninglong hoped that the two of them would strive for excellence, rather than just going through the motions.

However, the workload was simply too great, and unlike Su Ninglong, they were not able to subdivide their spiritual energy and refine multiple sacred artifacts at the same time.

"Once it's refined, you'll get 30% of the profit."

"Is it a matter of money?" Lei Qingya is not short of money.

Feng Ying nodded quickly. The job included room and board, and she didn't have much of a shopping desire, so why would she need so much money?
"I was planning to teach you how to make flying swords today, but unfortunately you're already tired of weapon crafting." Su Ninglong pretended to walk towards her weapon crafting furnace with her hands behind her back.

The two immediately put aside their fatigue from the weapon-forging task. They had long coveted flying swords and wanted to know how a weapon without energy could serve as a travel tool for cultivators.

The umbrella leaves of Guixu, as thin as paper, are enough to make one's mouth water.

Her Thousand-Machine Gluttonous Treasure could not transform into the Void Returning to Nothingness, as the Void Returning to Nothingness was too complex and not within the scope of the Thousand-Machine Treasure's transformation capabilities.

Now that they were about to get to the core technology, Lei Qingya assured them, "It's just a small sacred artifact, no problem. We'll definitely get it done before the delivery date. Leave everything to us."

Su Ninglong: "Alright, alright, I was just thinking of helping you finish half of the work, but since you can do it, I won't interfere."

Feng Ying seemed to crack open, "Lei Lei, you should make fewer promises."

"Hahaha." After teasing her friends, Su Ninglong demonstrated the process of making flying swords to them. Common swords have relatively narrow blades and are mainly thin and light, so that it is easy to change moves during battle.

"If you find it difficult at first, you can start with a broadsword or heavy sword, which will make engraving runes easier," Su Ninglong explained in detail.

Feng Ying and Lei Qingya watched intently as Su Ninglong used her hands. With a simple lift of her hand, Su Ninglong formed the sword embryo in the furnace.

Even though Su Ninglong deliberately slowed down, they still felt dazzled.

Su Ninglong's movements were so skillful that the runes were drawn in one go and disappeared into the blade without any obstruction.

Every time I watch Su Ninglong refine weapons, I can feel her joy and enjoyment.

To reach her level of skill must require a long and arduous process of accumulating knowledge!