Mechanical Alchemist

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"Mr. Su Lun... Do I... do I really have to stay blindfolded? But I can't see anything..."

"Yes, because they have already arrived."

Su Lun didn't explain how he knew someone had come, and Miss Lena didn't ask any further.

Although the two hadn't known each other for long, Miss Lena felt an almost blind trust in this stranger introduced by her aunt.

She knew the assassin was formidable, and she knew the cave was filled with danger, yet from the man's demeanor, she had never detected a hint of panic; he was always calm and composed. This very calmness affected her too, giving her a sense of peace, as if she could face even death head-on.

And at that moment, led by Su Lun, blindfolded by a thick eye mask, she had no idea where they were headed.

Being blindfolded naturally meant completely giving up the notion of fighting.

Not that Miss Lena lacked combat skills—on the contrary, her basics were quite solid. Whether it was hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, or alchemy, she far surpassed the average first-tier professional.

However, in the dire situation at hand, Miss Lena's combat abilities would not be enough, neither against the deformed creatures nor the assassin.

Instead, focusing on being a "bait" would increase her chances of survival.

After being blindfolded, she didn't notice the pairs of scarlet eyes that lit up in the darkness around them, nor did she see the nearly pathological sneer that spread across Su Lun's face.

In the face of danger, Su Lun once again felt that adrenal surging sensation, "he" too enjoyed this tightrope-walking thrill.

Escape?

Tsk tsk...

No... the person I want to kill, the forbidden items I want to take, the monsters... must be killed!

Aren't I lacking high-quality spider leg materials?

There are suitable targets right here, and not just a few.

"The upcoming battle will be very dangerous, but as long as I don't get killed first, you won't die before me... Remember, if you get poisoned, inject the antidote potion, but never remove your blindfold or run around..."

"Got it."

Miss Lena could only feel that Su Lun's voice was becoming increasingly chilling, and just hearing it, she sensed a burgeoning aura of murder.

When Su Lun let go of her hand, Miss Lena felt as if she was falling into an endless abyss, a thick fear enveloping her heart instantly. The world before her eyes was pitch black, no one spoke in her ear, and the trickling sound of sewage was unnervingly clear...

She felt a "person" remaining by her side, but intuition told her that it might no longer be Mr. Su Lun—it was an unfamiliar terror.

....

Soon after, a figure, just as Su Lun had predicted, quietly entered from the tunnel they had come through.

He saw the silhouettes of the two people in the distance, but cautiously stopped.

The gun in his hand was raised slowly, aiming at one of the two.

He didn't fire, but instead shouted to reveal his position, "Miss Lena, where are you..."

Daniel was well aware that even if he hadn't spoken, the small contraption he had triggered at the mouth of the tunnel had also betrayed his presence.

At that time, Miss Lena was startled when she heard Daniel's voice.

Indeed, everything Mr. Su Lun had surmised was correct.

She took a breath, and though she couldn't see, in order not to reveal any flaws, she pretended to be surprised and turned around. From a distance, she shouted towards the direction of the voice, "Assistant Daniel, I'm over here!"

Dannelni probably thought his role as a mole hadn't been exposed yet and was still performing, his tone extremely anxious, "Oh, thank God, I finally found you. You don't know how worried I was when I learned you were being chased by creatures... Miss Lena, did Assistant Rosa save you?"

Su Lun, hidden in a dark corner and hearing the probing, smiled coldly, "Knowing that the opponent is no match and yet being so cautious... no wonder he can play the mole."

He should have already found Rosa's body by now, but he pretended not to know.

All for the sake of saying these few sentences, to close the distance for a fatal blow!

Hearing this, Miss Lena directly said, "No, Assistant Rosa has already died trying to save me. It was the guide, Mr. Su Lun, who saved me."

But before she could finish speaking, she suddenly heard a "bang"—a gunshot. Almost simultaneously, a gust of wind brushed her hair, the sensation of a bullet whizzing past her ear.

Miss Lena was taken aback; Assistant Daniel, indeed, had fired.

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However, the bullet wasn't aimed at her, but at the "Mr. Su Lun" by her side!

....

Once her sight was gone, Miss Lena focused all her attention on her hearing.

Upon hearing the gunshot, she instinctively flinched, realizing that something was amiss.

Although she was shocked that her beloved teacher, Daniel, was indeed the mole in this assassination attempt, what worried her more was the wellbeing of Mr. Su Lun beside her!

But before her anxiety could spread from her heart, she heard a second gunshot in an extremely short time.

"Bang"!

However, this shot wasn't fired by Daniel nor by "Mr. Su Lun" beside her. Judging by the direction of the sound, it came from another direction in the darkness.

Could there be a third person here?

In her surprise, Lena also noticed something odd. That was, after "Mr. Su Lun" beside her got shot, he produced a sound like that of splintering wood.

No, the moment she heard the gunshot and reacted, wood shavings and fragments had already splattered onto her.

A puppet?

Although Lena couldn't see, she guessed what was happening and felt an inexplicable surge of exhilaration and delight!

Had Mr. Su Lun anticipated that the enemy would shoot at him and arranged a puppet decoy in advance?

....

Ever since he saved someone earlier, Su Lun had guessed that the assassin would follow and had never relied on luck.

Even though the highly corrosive shape-shifting worms had completely eroded Lena's belongings, as long as there was someone adept in trace tracking present, the subtle traces the two of them had left in the corridor couldn't be concealed.

And coincidentally, this Daniel was a silver-clad professional "Ranger" especially skilled in trace tracking!

So, after peeling information from the memories of Rosa's corpse, Su Lun knew this guy would definitely come.

He was certain of one thing: if Lena didn't die, his entire role as the mole would be meaningless.

And Su Lun, wishing to outsmart this guy, chose not to leave Lena alone as bait.

After all, if there were traces of two people but only one appeared, it would undoubtedly alert Daniel the "Ranger," making an ambush pointless.

The puppet that stayed beside Lena was naturally meant to attract gunfire.

As for why Su Lun was confident that Daniel would shoot at "himself" first rather than killing Lena, he was eighty percent sure.

Given two targets, would a cautious "gun-expert" choose to kill a student who posed little threat and could easily be killed, or an unknown stranger with unclear origins?

Of course, there was also an element of betting involved.

But what kind of bait is it without risk?

Besides, regardless of who Daniel chose to shoot first, the outcome would be the same.

Whoever fired first would reveal their location and lose the advantage.

....

In a face-off between experts, when skill and experience are nearly equal, victory is often decided by the details.

From Lena's account, Su Lun also knew that Daniel was an authentic "gun-expert," one of the shooting instructors at the Black Tower Academy.

He had never dared underestimate him.

This wasn't some second-rate expert like Jack, but a marksman who might be even stronger than himself.

Against a marksman of the same level, it all came down to who could seize the initiative—victory and defeat often hung in the balance of a moment.

That recent query from Daniel was actually his attempt to lull his opponent into complacency, seeking an opportunity and the right distance to ensure a kill shot.

This cautious approach left Su Lun with no openings to exploit.

But that guy had never expected to shoot a decoy puppet with his bullet.

A shot missed, then... it was Su Lun's opportunity!

As the flash of fire lit up, Su Lun also pulled his gun and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang~"

The flame roared out.

The armor-piercing alchemy bullet burst out from the barrel, not aiming for the head or heart, but for Daniel's right hand that held the gun.

Because Su Lun knew, with the battle armor and gas mask, this shot certainly wouldn't kill the guy.

The Black Tower's battle suits had special reinforcement at vital points, and as long as the energy was sufficient, even an alchemy bullet might not break through. However, these suits also had their weaknesses, and to ensure flexibility, the stability at the joints was relatively weaker. (The intelligence also came from Miss Lena)

And the palm is where the human body has the most joints.

An armor-piercing bullet might not be lethal, but it was enough to break the bones in the hand.

At that gunshot, Daniel's musket immediately flew from his hand, a mist of blood exploded, and the stark white of bone could be seen.

But even after being shot, the fellow didn't let out a whimper, instead, he dodged with a swift movement, hiding behind a pillar.

Because Daniel had already judged from the timing of the gunshot that Su Lun was also a "firearm expert"!

He knew very well that if he didn't move, the second shot would surely follow.

....

"Such a cautious guy!"

Su Lun had fired one shot and broken the enemy's right hand, but the enemy did not give him a chance to land a second shot.

Gunslingers of equal rank were very clear on what the other would do.

To be an assistant at the Black Tower Academy, even at the first rank, one must definitely be the best among their peers. Daniel and Assistant Rosa, almost half-step second rankers, each had very strong combat methods.

Su Lun knew that even with a broken hand, that guy's real combat strength hadn't diminished much.

Because... Daniel's real strength lay in his close combat abilities!

And at this instant, suddenly from the darkness came a sharp "hiss", like the sensation of a high-pressure gas canister bursting, causing a wave of air that rippled throughout the space.

"Here it comes!"

Su Lun's pupils dilated sharply, and suddenly he saw a figure, like a cannonball, hurtling toward him.

With such speed, there was hardly any time to react, the figure smashed directly through a cement column, then collided with Su Lun's body.

The muscles couldn't react in time, but Su Lun was already prepared. With a bend of his fingers, the steel wires in his mechanical gloves pulled his body aside, forcibly shifting him a whole body's length to the side.

With a "thud," an invisible phantom passed by.

The two colliding figures crashed into the distant wall, instantly creating a large spiderweb of cracks.

Such a brutally forceful impact was enough to smash a flesh-class warrior to pieces!

Daniel thought he had succeeded, but he suddenly felt something was off about the "person" in his arms, and upon a closer look, it was actually a life-size puppet.

"This is bad!"

Daniel's face changed dramatically, instantly understanding something: his opponent was intimately familiar with his augmentations and innate abilities!

"That guy is actually a Puppet Master?!"

But by this time, understanding was already too late.

This kind of misjudgment was fatal.

.....

Just a few meters away from the shattered pillar, the musket was once again aimed at Daniel.

Su Lun knew the "Stalker" profession had strong perception abilities, which is why he deliberately made a noise to lure the other party into taking the initiative and charging at him.

This was the advantage of information asymmetry.

Su Lun was almost intimately familiar with Daniel's capabilities, while the enemy knew nothing about him.

If it were a fair fight, Su Lun's chances of winning would not exceed twenty percent!

This guy was a "new school" Magician, his alchemy mechanical augmentation—a fusion of steam machinery and traditional augments—was the black technology product known as the "Grudge Bone Jet".

Once it accumulated steam, a sudden burst could produce very strong thrust like a jet plane. This thrust could propel a person fast as a cannonball, with very strong direct line offensive capabilities, nearly impossible for peers to avoid.

Just this ability alone wasn't too troublesome...

The key was that this augment perfectly matched his talent!

Although his talent wasn't the rare B-class, it was still the mysterious series ability—"Talent C-001-Silencer"—with strong practical combat utility.

A peculiar talent that, upon close proximity, could instantly disrupt the enemy's bodily energy flow with a double-handed touch.

Once touched by his hands, spirit power, physical strength, magic power, and even blood flow... would be instantly obstructed or slowed.

This augment combined with his talent was simply a nightmare in close combat.

With the high-speed collision and close-ranged silencing, even professionals a rank higher could suffer a great loss!

This was also one of the most important reasons why Su Lun's first shot aimed to cripple one of his hands!

.....

Daniel's face was ashen, and he laughed bitterly inside, "He actually used Miss Lena as bait, heh..."

In the last moment of his life, he realized that every move he made was within the enemy's calculations. From entering this space, to firing his gun, to charging... the opponent had predicted every single one of his actions.

The key was, he never imagined someone would dare to use the heiress of the "Reiss family" as live bait!

Even for a rescue, who would dare?

But now, it was too late for regrets.

In a battle between masters, one mistake might still leave room for turnaround, but a string of mistakes was almost certainly a road to death.

The inertia from his charge was yet to dissipate, leaving him no time to dodge, as Su Lun's rune firearm had already spat flames.

A shot hit his intact left palm, rendering his most threatening hands useless. Then several more shots struck his ankle joint, knee joint, shoulder joint, elbow joint...

Bang, bang, bang, bang...

The gunfire was incessant.

If one shot didn't work, then he'd shoot the same place twice.

At such close range, it was impossible for Su Lun to miss.

Even the combat suit couldn't dissipate such terrifyingly concentrated impact energy, and his body became riddled with bloody holes.

Because of two missteps during their confrontations, Daniel had already forfeited his life.

The enemy was already a blood sieved carcass, yet at this moment, Su Lun's face showed no relief, instead, his pupils sharply contracted.

A murderous intent approached stealthily, making one's hair stand on end.

It was as he shot Daniel that from behind him, a jelly-like transparent figure in the darkness somehow stumbled, abruptly making a noise.

Su Lun's eyes narrowed slightly, as if not the least bit surprised, and thought to himself, "As expected, the Stalker..."

In that instant, he relinquished his rune firearm, and his hands sharply curled into claws. The back of his coat ripped open, revealing two peculiar puppets covered in glittering blue runes.

He reached into the void with both hands, and the two puppets floated by his side like guardians. Their wooden lower jaws constantly opened and closed, as if they were laughing heartily.

"Cackle, cackle, cackle..."

In the gloomy sewer, this sound was particularly grating.

At that moment, pairs of strange red eyes began to glow in the darkness around them, the creatures too were lured out of the darkness by a special provocative scent.

At this moment, the clarity in Su Lun's eyes was replaced by fierceness and a sinister smile, "Thinking of assassinating me, keke... I'm a 'Puppeteer', after all!"

PS. The group number is now in the introduction, interested friends can join~