Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun looked at Leina, who was still stunned, and realizing his unclear reference, felt it necessary to explain, "Quickly take off your clothes, leave nothing on. Clothing, equipment, storage ring... take it all off! The burning smell of this powder can only disrupt the monster's sense of smell for one minute."

Take off clothes?

Leina, who was somewhat astonished just a second ago, quickly grasped the purpose behind Su Lun's action in the next second.

Actually, during their previous escape, teaching assistant Rosa had already guessed this issue; that these black dog creatures probably locate their "prey" by smell.

But as soon as those monsters appeared, they relentlessly pursued them, giving no chance for her to breathe.

Moreover, they had even tried the highest grade "Scent Neutralizing Potion," which had no effect at all, causing them to doubt their own judgment.

Hearing the words "take off your clothes," she could naturally guess, Su Lun was thinking of the same method.

Originally not holding any hope, she was shocked that Su Lun's method actually did interfere with the monster's perceptual abilities!

Calculating the time, those mutated creatures should have already penetrated the rubble, yet now not a single monster had dashed into this smoke to attack her, clearly indicating the smoke truly worked!

....

After Su Lun finished speaking, he didn't intend to stay in place.

He quickly took a bottle of Scent Neutralizing Potion and a piece of his clothing from his storage ring, placed them on the ground, and then turned and ran to hide at the end of the tunnel.

It wasn't that he was being gentlemanly by avoiding watching Leina change her clothes; he was unsure whether the powder would work 100% on those black dogs. He also wasn't certain if the smell that attracted the creatures was from external objects or from Leina's body itself.

So he could only try it out first.

If the attracting scent was from external objects, Su Lun wasn't sure which item it could be and didn't have time to test each one, so he could only ask her to take everything off.

If it was the scent of her body itself, when the burning of the powder ended, that would be Leina's time of death.

He ran a bit farther away to avoid being affected.

Now, it seemed the powder worked better than expected.

Not only was Leina shocked, but even Su Lun was surprised by the fact that the pungent smoke from the burning powder really succeeded in disrupting the black dogs' sense of smell.

This burning fuming powder was the "Monster Repellent" he had traded from that mysterious Pharmacist previously.

Initially, Su Lun thought he was just uninformed, never having heard of such an effective potion.

But now, having harvested the memory fragments of Jack and acquired a vast amount of knowledge on potions, he discovered that even the Black Tower Academy had no record of such a unique potion.

There were only two possibilities: either the memories he obtained happened to be missing this part, or the potion was so high-end that even the Black Tower Academy didn't have it!

Su Lun believed the latter was more likely.

Otherwise, teaching assistant Rosa would have thought of this method before. She definitely carried high-grade potions, and if she had this "Monster Repellent," she wouldn't have been chased so dangerously.

This made Su Lun even more curious about the origins of that mysterious Pharmacist.

....

Su Lun walked away, leaving Leina facing a hard choice.

Strip off all her clothes?

Although she knew this was the only way to save herself, she still had some reservations.

All her life, she had never changed her clothes in a strange environment. What's more, it was under the urging of a strange man.

But time was only a minute, leaving her no room to hesitate.

Leina was very decisive; after hesitating for just a second, she bit her lip and immediately took off her night vision goggles and a gas mask. Then without hesitation, she opened the concealed zipper at the chest of her combat suit, "zipping" it down to just below her belly, exposing a large expanse of her pale skin to the air.

The natural agility of a Catwoman allowed her to swiftly take off the sleeves, and then the one-piece body-shaping pants... like a snake shedding its skin, she quickly stripped off her entire combat suit. Her snow-white, stunning body was thus exposed to the air without any cover.

Then, she took off her close-fitting sports vest, seamless underpants, jewelry, hairpins, storage ring... until she was completely bare.

Leina took off everything she could, then poured the "Scent Neutralizing Potion" over herself, and quickly covered her naked body with the broad piece of clothing.

Finally, she was no longer bare to the air, and the feeling of shame instantly dissipated.

Due to her Catwoman abilities, her night vision was not poor.

Even without making a deliberate effort to look, her peripheral vision could still catch a glimpse of the figure at the end of the tunnel not yet leaving. Her cheeks heated slightly, shyness spreading from her face down her slender neck, turning it pink.

She turned her head, pretending not to see.

....

Su Lun, seeing how decisively Leina changed her clothes, admired in his mind, "Smart choice!"

If this woman had been hesitant, he would have turned around and left without a second thought, letting her fend for herself.

Fools who couldn't grasp the situation didn't deserve his help; that would only endanger himself as well.

Observing Leina decisively stripping, Su Lun did not turn around to leave.

He held his rune musket, staying vigilant at the tunnel entrance, his gaze fixed on the graceful silhouette in the smoke.

It was not that he intentionally watched her changing; he was observing the mutated creatures.

Having removed her combat suit meant Leina nearly had no defense. After all, he intended to rescue her; if she couldn't change in time, he still could shoot to help hinder them for her.

However, with just that one look, his gaze inadvertently captured a glimpse of spring.

"Black hair? That's quite rare..."

Su Lun had sharp eyesight, almost seeing everything clearly.

Previously, with the gas mask and night vision gear obstructing his view, he didn't know what Lena actually looked like, only that she must be quite attractive.

Now, upon seeing her directly, she was even more beautiful than expected, even stunning.

She had beautiful, long, straight black hair, and her black pupils shimmered with a pretty golden light. Her figure was flawless, even without the shaping effect of her liquid leather attire. Her entire being emitted a pure aura unique to young girls...

Her bosom was proudly full and her waist delicate, emphasizing the impressive proportions of her hips and legs...

The porcelain-like skin was delicate and smooth, shimmering faintly in the weak firelight of the Darkness, making her seem more like a gentle jade sculpture. The smoky haze from the burning powder wrapped around her curvaceous body, adding a hazy beauty, a vision of silky smoothness.

Su Lun raised his eyebrows slightly as he watched Lena deliberately twist her body to cover herself, chuckling softly, "Hah, so you noticed me..."

Even when discovered, he didn't avert his gaze, his expression remaining calm throughout.

Because his focus was always on the intricate tunnels around him, not on the girl changing clothes. The seriousness on his face didn't fade but grew as the smoke cleared and his brows furrowed more deeply.

After all, the "Monster Repellant Potion" appeared to have successfully interfered with the black dogs' sense of smell, but that didn't mean they wouldn't return once the burning smoke vanished.

Moreover, the source of the danger had never been just the black dogs...

...

Clearly, Lena had come to realize this too.

She quickly changed into Su Lun's clothes, then left all her belongings behind and fled the area where she had changed.

But she did not immediately approach Su Lun; instead, she stopped at a safe distance at a fork in the path. If the monsters came after her again, she would be ready to run.

However, she probably wouldn't have the chance to run anymore.

Without her combat suit or any equipment, if this attempt failed, she was almost certainly facing a dead end.

....

A minute later, the yellow smoke from the burning powder dissipated completely.

At the end of the tunnel, more than ten ferocious liquid black dogs had gathered. They seemed to have been confused earlier, pacing in circles, their corrosive liquid evaporating, pocking the tunnel.

But as soon as the smoke cleared, they seemed to have detected a scent, excitedly rushing towards the pile of Lena's discarded clothes. The more than ten black dogs wrestled together, eventually merging into a large, dark monstrosity, completely blocking the tunnel.

Fortunately, they had no intention of lunging towards the distant Lena.

Seeing this, Su Lun finally let out a sigh of relief, "Finally, the bet paid off, the scent was external. Didn't waste a high-priced potion from Wan Li Suo."

As for Lena, the girl who was saved, a look of post-disaster joy appeared on her face, visibly relieved.

Only then did she turn her gaze to the man who had saved her life in a critical moment, her expression somewhat complicated.

She felt she should say something appreciative, but something came to mind, and she blushed.

Su Lun looked at Lena and guessed that a young girl, being bare in front of a stranger, might feel uncomfortable.

But he was neither a nanny nor a suitor, with no need to cater to her youthful sensitivities.

He waved his hand, motioning to follow, and said sharply, "Follow me!"

Saying so, Su Lun took the lead towards the deeper, darker stretches of the tunnel, not looking back to wait for her.

His attitude made it clear: follow if she wants.

Seeing Su Lun walking away so coldly, a look of surprise appeared on Lena's pretty face.

But his indifferent demeanor somewhat eased the awkward atmosphere.

The surrounding Darkness engulfed everything like a monster, making the unequipped Lena feel very insecure. Thinking it over, she followed, running barefoot to catch up.

...

As the two of them walked one after the other, Su Lun made no concessions for her, moving quickly.

The wind blew through her thin shirt, making Lena feel chilled and shy for a moment. She wanted to say something but, looking at the cold silhouette ahead, she swallowed her words.

Finally, after walking a long stretch, Lena broke the awkward silence, "Mr. Su Lun, thank you for saving me."

"Hmm."

Su Lun remained cold.

He did not want to get too entangled with her, considering she might be an acquaintance of his original self.

But he was curious about a few things, so he asked, "How do you know my name?"

Lena timidly replied, "Aunt Qian Tiao told me. She said your shooting is excellent, and you handle things calmly. In case of danger, she said I could seek your protection."

She paused, then added, "I didn't think it was necessary before, so I didn't mention it..."

Su Lun listened expressionlessly, not much interested in the details, and asked further, "Is Aunt Qian Tiao your real aunt?"

Lena nodded, "Yes."

"..."

Having satisfied his curiosity, Su Lun didn't speak further.

The rest, he could probably guess.

After the brief conversation, the two again lapsed into silence.

In the dark tunnel, only fragmented footsteps and breathing could be heard, slightly eerie.