Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun put away the half-carved wooden doll and put his gas mask back on.

Just as he stepped out of the tent, he heard Mr. Abagon's cursing voice in the distance. Focusing his eyes, he saw the man rubbing his legs as he emerged from the luxurious marching tent, "Damn it, this damn cave is no place for humans, my old cold legs have flared up again..."

Listening to this, the corner of Su Lun's mouth curled up slightly under his mask.

....

This time, the "Thornbird Trading Company" had hired five small Scavenger squads and some individual Scavengers. These five or six dozen fully armed Scavengers were also the main security force for the transport convoy.

Su Lun found a corner and listened quietly.

An emergency meeting usually meant there was a problem.

Before long, everyone had arrived, and Mr. Abagon got straight to the point.

"I've just received the latest news," he began. "Area D24, which we're about to enter in about three days, has been attacked by mutated monsters. Several transport teams were almost completely wiped out. But we must deliver these supplies to the campsite in the Dawn City Ruins on time, so I hope you all will be on guard.

When making camp and standing watch at night, send out extra patrols to ensure the safety of the transport team..."

It was obvious that this steward, who had never been outside the city before, was nervous, and he was spreading his fear to everyone in the transport team.

The more Scavengers headed towards the Dawn City Ruins, the less safe the journey became. Instead, like baiting a fishing spot, the scent of humans attracted more and more mutated monsters.

The caves were never human territory; they were always a paradise for monsters.

At his words, the Scavengers began to discuss among themselves.

"I heard about it last time I was here too. Near D24, there seems to be a highly active group of 'Three-Eyed Poison Lizards'. Several Scavenger squads have already encountered small groups of these creatures and suffered significant losses..."

"Those mutated beasts are troublesome," another added. "They're quick, they move in packs, and a single bite can infect you with a toxin that rots your flesh... Do you have enough antidote potions prepared?"

"Not too many. Hopefully, we won't encounter a large swarm of them, or we'll be in trouble."

"Let's prepare in advance. When we make camp, we should set the sentries further out..."

"Hmm, that's all we can do."

"..."

The leaders of the five Scavenger squads gathered to discuss their strategy.

After all, this was their livelihood; nobody was backing out because of the danger.

....

In an inconspicuous corner, Su Lun silently listened to the battle plans the squad leaders discussed.

The passages in the caverns were complex and winding. There were a number of paths leading to Dawn City.

The route the transport team was taking now was the shortest one recently mapped out by the Scavengers.

But it wasn't the secret man-made tunnel that Su Lun knew from before.

This route took many detours and passed through several areas marked as dangerous on the map.

However, Su Lun, who was traveling with the group, didn't really care.

Even as he listened, he didn't feel much urgency.

He knew about the "Three-Eyed Poison Lizards"; they posed a considerable threat to non-professionals. But for him now, the monsters that could be killed with regular muskets were no threat at all.

Besides, with the "Invisible Living Corpse" as a powerful weapon in his hand, even if a high-level mutated beast attacked, he had the means to fight back.

Even if it really came down to running away, most mutated beasts probably couldn't outrun him with his eight-limbed spider spear.

The meeting ended before long.

Su Lun had thought about going back to rest.

But Captain Benson from the "Drunkard Scavengers" approached him.

"Brother Johnny!"

"What's the matter, Captain Benson?"

"Heh heh, that kid Tommy has been causing you trouble these past few days."

Benson is a big-bearded man with a ruddy, drinker's nose, and a hearty personality.

Though their interaction had been brief, Su Lun had a good impression of him. Due to Su Lun's previous help with Tommy, the bearded man was always very polite to him.

Su Lun chuckled, "It wasn't much trouble."

Benson, with the helpless look of an old father, sighed, "Ah... that little rascal is quite the handful. I saw that he liked to tinker with machinery, and I originally wanted to send him to a repair shop as an apprentice. He wouldn't have been rich, but at least he would have had a worry-free life. But the kid didn't want that, insisting on becoming an adventurer, a true mechanic.

So, unable to persuade him, I decided to take him out to scavenge and see the world. I hadn't anticipated that we would encounter problems on the way. If it weren't for you, brother, the boy would've suffered greatly."

"Tommy actually has quite a talent for mechanics..."

Su Lun smiled, feeling that the big-bearded man had something more to discuss with him.

As expected, after Benson was polite for quite a while, he finally stated his purpose: "By the way... Johnny. The road ahead might be dangerous. If we do run into a large-scale attack by mutated monsters, stay close to our group so we can have each other's backs."

He said it very politely, also taking Su Lun's dignity into account.

Though he said it was mutual backing, in reality, he wanted to look after Su Lun, the lone wolf.

After all, in the eyes of ordinary people, a gunner was a profession that needed the protection of teammates, especially a sniper. Once cornered by monsters, they became weak in close combat.

Su Lun understood; this was an attempt to return the favor for saving Tommy before,

He did not say much, just smiled and nodded, "Yeah, sure, thanks."

....

And so, the transport convoy continued deeper into the catacombs.

Along the way, they encountered a few minor attacks by mutated creatures but managed to repel them without issues, thanks to the convoy's ample manpower and firepower.

As a sniper, Su Lun didn't need to get into close combat, an occasional potshot was enough for him.

Nobody minded having someone in the team who was both shirking duties and unsociable.

Su Lun's daily life was also very regular.

He studied his "Voodoo Doll", tinkered with some small machines, practiced meditation to increase his dark spiritual power, and recorded the detailed changes in his body data after injecting "X Serum"...

Then there was the study of Isaac's Alchemy Manuscript.

During the ambush by the Umbrella Organization at the "White Sail Warehouse", Su Lun was puzzled as to why those men, who could have taken the items quietly, chose to kill instead.

After the battle on Green Street, when Su Lun killed three second-order professionals from the Umbrella Organization and extracted memory fragments from the ice magician who had ambushed their warehouse, he realized that the Umbrella Organization wanted to "clean" because they considered the manuscript a "contaminant" internally.

They believed that the manuscript's curse properties could taint those who touched it, causing great harm.

Their orders were to eliminate anyone who had come into contact with the notes and to retrieve the manuscript.

Furthermore, this order came directly from the Black Tower Duchy!

But this only deepened Su Lun's confusion.

He had evaluated the manuscript and found no such "contaminating properties".

The only curse property mentioned was that touching the manuscript would involve one with its "fate", not knowing whether it would bring fortune or disaster. How could that be considered contamination?

Su Lun suspected this might also be a move by the higher-ups of the Black Tower to monopolize advanced alchemy knowledge.

After all, he also learned from another second-order professional's memory that the Umbrella Organization had been aware of the manuscript. Moreover, they suspected it was one of the legendary Sir Isaac's five manuscripts that recorded "Divine Alchemy".

Unable to make sense of it, Su Lun decided to look for answers in the notes.

He had been deciphering the manuscript these past few days.

Unexpectedly, with his not-so-sophisticated decryption techniques, he still managed to clumsily translate the contents of the manuscript.

The result was...

He discovered that this notebook was just a normal alchemy record, at least from what he had seen so far.

The content recorded above is also a special type of Alchemy armor growth.

Back then, Sir Isaac wanted to use a "Heart Implant" to withstand additional dark spiritual power, and also to endow the human body with a continuous recovery "Blue BUFF." This would allow Alchemy Magicians to never run out of dark spiritual power in battle, enabling them to cast even more powerful spells without worrying about the consumption of their energy...

Moreover, this manuscript is also very user-friendly. It seems that the Alchemical Demigod was afraid that his descendants would not understand his brilliant innovations, so he explained the process step by step from the basics, detailing how to gradually and successfully craft that type of "Heart Implant."

Within the first few pages that Su Lun understood, it documented the crafting diagrams for the "Isaac's Alchemic Heart (Level I)." The main material used was the heart of a first-order mutant monster. Although the runes and crafting formulas were complex, they were introductory knowledge that low-level professionals could slowly learn to master.

What's magical is that he could only see the content that followed once he understood the preceding parts.

In the past two days, after understanding the first few pages, he then deciphered the following pages, which contained diagrams for the "Isaac's Alchemic Heart (Level II)."

From this, it can be inferred that the later pages of this notebook might contain Level III, Level IV, Level V...

It was simply a most ordinary notebook.

This one is a textbook that records only Alchemy knowledge, and then more advanced Alchemy knowledge.

There's absolutely nothing that could be considered "contaminated."

Su Lun felt the only thing special was a sentence that bordered on "blasphemy."

Sir Isaac, with a tone of condescension, wrote on the title page: "So-called divine creatures are nothing but high-level materials in the face of great Alchemy."

Su Lun guessed that perhaps the final pages of this notebook dealt with using the so-called heart of a god to craft an "Isaac's Alchemic Heart?"

....

After several more days moving toward the deeper parts of the cavern, the transport team finally entered a high-risk area, and the atmosphere within the group grew increasingly tense.

That night, as usual, they chose a relatively safe place to camp and increased the number of guards for the night.

Su Lun set up his tent and began his daily research.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, a group of unwelcome guests broke into the camp.

"We're under attack!"

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"..."

The sentries sounded the alarm, and suddenly there was an uproar outside.

Su Lun didn't dare to be careless. He packed up his Invisible Zombie and stepped out of the tent.

To his surprise, although there was a lot of commotion, a fight had not ensued.

Because the intruders were not mutant monsters, but a famed group of Bounty Hunters from Old Lington City.

And although several members of the scavenger teams guarding the camp were fully armed and alert, they didn't dare to actually engage.

This was due to one of the brash intruders being a second-order professional, "Flower Sword" Holle, an old swordsman skilled in courtly fencing, from the "Iron Knight Bounty Hunter Group."

Having signed a protection contract, the scavengers of the transport team were also obligated to safeguard the convoy. They stood armed, facing off against the uninvited guests, preventing them from penetrating the core of the camp.

Even though the opponent had a second-order professional, there were still a hundred or so people in the transport team. If a real fight broke out, it would most certainly be a pyrrhic victory for both sides.

The other side didn't dare to act rashly either.

Then Holle negotiated with Abagon for a moment, apparently saying something that made the trade association manager agree all too easily to allow them to search the camp!

"We are in pursuit of a very dangerous wanted criminal. Please cooperate with us, this is also for your own safety."

"Everyone, please come out of your tents, open your tents and large bags, we need to inspect them!"

"Take off your masks, we need to see your faces..."

"..."

Ten people from the Iron Knight Group came, and in addition to the second-order Holle, there were at least several other formal professionals, judging by their demeanor.

This was already a very strong team configuration.

Su Lun watched as the aggressive group barged into the camp, apparently in search of some "wanted criminal."

Upon hearing this, his brows furrowed as well.

Because he himself was a wanted criminal.

Could it be that the Umbrella Organization's people had followed him here?

That was his first thought.

....

The group kicked everyone out of their tents, then proceeded to check each one.

Su Lun was now in a suit of blue leather, which absolutely couldn't be exposed to light. Once he took off his mask, he would certainly draw attention.

But he was also puzzled... Wasn't the "Iron Knight Squad's" approach a bit too presumptuous?

After all, the people in this transport team were Scavengers with lawful identities. Bounty Hunters weren't a law enforcement department and didn't possess any search authority. This was also the most important reason why Qian Tiao had arranged for him to have this lawful identity—to avoid unnecessary trouble.

And naturally, the brazen actions also displeased a few Scavenger group leaders.

Captain Benson was direct in his address: "Hey hey hey, 'Iron Knights,' don't overdo it. We are Scavenger groups, not some wanted criminals. We have no obligation to cooperate with your search!"

Upon hearing this, the leaders of the other four groups echoed his sentiment, "Exactly! By what right do you search us?"

The Scavengers weren't cowards either, and it seemed like an armed conflict was imminent.

Their search blocked, Holle's face turned iron blue.

After all, ordinary Bounty Hunters wouldn't dare to kill lawful Scavengers.

But it seemed he had some urgent orders to fulfill, not having the time to waste words. He took out a wanted poster and a gold badge, directly revealing his identity, he coldly said: "This is a highest-level wanted notice issued by the Black Tower, I am a special enforcement officer for 'Umbrella' in the outer city.

Just half an hour ago, this extremely vicious wanted criminal stabbed Old Lington Intelligence Agency Chief Officer, Lord Haus. Anyone obstructing the manhunt will be regarded as an accomplice to the wanted criminal, and will be subject to summary execution!"

Seeing the gold badge displayed by Holle, the faces of a few Scavenger group leaders changed dramatically, and immediately, they no longer dared to speak up. Find your next read on empire

It was okay to provoke anyone else, but no one dared to provoke the Umbrella Organization.

....

On the other hand, Su Lun's expression became somewhat strange.

Was it really the Umbrella Organization's covert operation?

So a high-ranking official was just assassinated?

He looked at the wanted poster and also understood that these people weren't here to catch him.

Even from a distance, he clearly saw the face on the wanted poster.

Wasn't that the woman who had bombed the experiment?

The fuss that woman had made before was even bigger than his, and it was inevitable that she couldn't stay in Old Lington City any longer, escaping outside the city was expected.

But having escaped, she still didn't keep a low profile and made a big commotion again?

The so-called "Super Mechanical Soldier," built only for combat—every time he heard news about her, she was either causing trouble or on her way to cause trouble...

The fact that Holle was in such a rush to reveal his identity and search the camp meant they were sure that woman must be nearby.

However, Su Lun was not concerned about the woman's situation, but his own.

Because at that moment, someone from the "Iron Knight Squad" had already reached his tent, and then, holding a gun, commanded: "Hey, you... take off your mask!"

Upon hearing this, the gaze hidden beneath Su Lun's gas mask also turned cold.

A thought flashed through his mind: should he kill them all...

PS. These two chapters are transition chapters, written a bit oddly... I don't know what went wrong.