Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun felt that the money was well spent as he rode his scooter to the Bird District in North City, saving himself a good half-hour compared to taking the intercity train.

He parked his bike in a parking lot guarded by a local gang and then went down to Shadow Alley.

The black market in Shadow Alley not only sold various alchemical materials that shunned the light but also served as the intelligence hub of the outer city.

Here one could find information related to many professionals as well as some formidable experts who dared not show their faces.

Having been here many times before, Su Lun knew his way around and went straight to the information shop where employment commissions were posted.

...

As he passed the notice board, Su Lun glanced at it.

The "missing person notice" for the original owner was still up, and the amount had even increased, with the reward for information now at two hundred thousand rixos.

Ever since he learned from Raina that the original owner's "Lei's Land" family was not in the inner city, he always felt something odd when he looked at the wanted poster.

Who exactly was putting out a bounty on the original owner?

Su Lun looked at the method for claiming the reward indicated on the poster, pointing to a little tavern run by a professional news dealer.

While he could probably figure out who was offering the bounty by following this lead, it was unnecessary.

There was no need to think about it; touching this vine meant encountering small fish followed by bigger fish, and after the big fish, sharks, eventually leading to a landmine, uncovering a vast organization (a family) that would alert the bounty poster behind the scenes.

If it were not for being implicated by the warrant, Su Lun had no interest in the past of the original owner.

Now his best course of action was to keep as low a profile as possible and let the person behind the scenes think the original owner was dead, letting the warrant collect dust.

Su Lun didn't look much at his own warrant, but he glanced at the topmost familiar red notice.

It was still the woman with a bounty of a million, but now her bounty had increased to two million.

"She still hasn't been caught; that woman really is something. What exactly did she do..."

Su Lun looked on, his eyes reflecting a slight trace of different color, contemplating something.

After last month's auction, he happened to witness the mysterious woman being hunted and chased by a group of people from the Umbrella Organization.

The fact that she escaped under those circumstances was indeed quite surprising.

After all, the "Umbrella Organization" in the inner city, in the eyes of the people of the outer city, especially the gang members, was a mysterious organization that was fundamentally unstoppable. It was rumored that the organization possessed an intelligence network that spread across all of Old Lington, countless high-ranking professionals, the top technology equipment...

and even possibly that someone near you was their external temporary worker.

Once targeted by them, there was only a dead end.

Su Lun felt that this organization was somewhat like the CIA of his previous life, something like Kerberg.

Better not to meddle with them in the future.

....

Before long, Su Lun walked out of the information shop, his brows slightly furrowed.

Locating a "Master Craftsman" who could handle dark gold materials in the outer city... was not easy. The information merchant also gave a vague reply, saying to wait and see, and they would contact him if there was any news.

After all, such people could easily secure a decent position in the inner city with their skills and wouldn't be short of money. Unless under special circumstances, no master would come to the outer city to make a living.

However, Su Lun couldn't wait.

Mingling with gangs, it was uncertain whether accidents or tomorrow would come first, and he urgently needed to craft the "Octopus Spider Spear" as soon as possible.

"Do I really need to go to the inner city?"

If it had been before, Su Lun had no other option but to wait; as an unregistered citizen, he couldn't enter the inner city. But now it was different, having met Raina and also having a slight acquaintance with Fat Charlie, he might be able to find a master craftsman by pulling some strings.

However, unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to use this method.

Not to mention that the "Octopus Spider Spear" was a very picky profession in itself for the users, and the body tolerance value required for wearing dark gold material implants would definitely be extremely high, how could an ordinary gang member from the outer city possibly equip such?

"Mice have their ways, and gangsters are still best off using the black market channels, although still risky, it's definitely better than being exposed in the sunlight."

As he thought about this, Su Lun returned to "Rosen's Alchemy Shop," where the bespectacled old shopkeeper was tidying up his cramped and crowded little store.

Since he needed some other materials to craft the implant and now had the money, it was a good time to gather these materials as well.

When the old man heard the doorbell ring, he looked up and greeted the entering customer, "Esteemed guest, what do you need?"

Although Su Lun took out the materials list and read it out loud: "I need thirty milliliters of 'Thousand Manran's juice,' three kilograms of 'Water Ghost Copper,' two hundred grams of 'Stone Heart Ghost's Heart Powder,' 'Colorless Solvent'...."

The little old man looked at the list, his gray-white eyebrows lifting slightly, then said in slight surprise, "Oh, these are all very advanced materials. It's not easy to gather them all at once... Let me calculate, these materials would probably cost around three hundred thousand rixos. If you need them urgently, the price might be another twenty thousand more."

He paused, then added, "Fifty thousand as a deposit, and you will have these materials within five days at the latest."

Su Lun: "No problem."

The craftsman wasn't found, and it didn't matter if the materials were delayed for a few days.

Although he had pulled his hat brim low, he felt the old man had definitely recognized him as a regular customer. After all, he had bought materials many times before, and these shrewd shop owners were always accurate in recognizing people.

At that moment, Su Lun thought of something and casually asked, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find a master craftsman?"

The owners in the black market were quite resourceful; they might be able to unearth some useful information.

"You're looking for a master craftsman?"

The old man didn't seem too surprised, glanced at him, and pondered for a moment, "Hmm... in the outskirts, that might be a bit difficult."

Hearing this, Su Lun's expression faltered, sensing something off in the old man's tone of voice.

"A bit difficult" was not impossible!

A fleeting unusual expression crossed Su Lun's face, and he asked again, "If you can provide valuable information, as per the rules, I can pay you accordingly for the answer."

The old man glanced at him and, instead of answering, counter-questioned, "Do you need high-grade implants forged?"

Clearly, it wasn't just about the money.

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun knew there was a chance, showing no sign of unpleasant skepticism.

Upon hearing his affirmation, the old man then said, "There's a regular customer of my shop who is at least proficient in 'expert-level' forging skills. I can ask him for you, but you need to first tell me what you need forged. That way, I can relay it and see if that gentleman is interested in taking the commission."

At least an "expert"?

Then he could very well be a "master"!

The black market shop owners rarely made mistakes, and if he said so, it was definitely reliable.

Hearing this, Su Lun was thrilled inside, not expecting that a casual inquiry could really yield such useful clues.

He didn't directly mention the commission, but cautiously asked, "The 'gentleman' you mentioned... is he reliable?"

The old man affirmed, "Of course. That gentleman has deep connections with the organizers of the black market. If you two agree on the commission deal, I can even vouch for him."

"Good!"

After the old man's words, Su Lun no longer had any worries.

He directly said, "I have a 'Gold Blueprint of the Octo-arm Arachnid Spear' and a set of dark gold-level main materials in my possession, so I need a master craftsman who can guarantee successful forging."

Last time he bid on the blueprint here, the old man recognized him and undoubtedly knew he had it, so there was no need to play coy. Moreover, since the old man dared to vouch, the matter was settled. A fixed black market shopkeeper's guarantee carried much weight.

"Oh... dark gold materials? No wonder you need a master craftsman..."

The little old man showed a touch of surprise on his face upon hearing this.

It seemed it wasn't that he hadn't seen good materials, he was just curious how a semi-professional looking to forge a first-order implant had managed to get such high-level cursed materials.

But he kept to his rules and did not ask further, instead he said, "I'll ask for you. That gentleman comes to the shop to buy materials a few times a month, but I'm not sure when I'll have news."

Su Lun nodded, "Thank you, I'll be coming by frequently these days. If that gentleman is confident about forging this implant, please make sure he sets the terms of the commission. Even if it's somewhat above the market price, it's worth considering."

Finding a master craftsman in the outskirts wasn't easy; he'd even accept being slightly overcharged.

Fortunately, he had money now, which gave him the confidence to speak thus.

The little old man stated, "I can't guarantee that. The gentleman is rather peculiar, he only forges alchemical items that interest him..."

Su Lun tactfully took out a moderate stack of bills and pushed it across the table, "Please take care of it."

Looking at the money, the little old man said nothing more, "I'll do my best."

....

After Su Lun left the black market, it wasn't long before a middle-aged man wearing a trench coat happened to visit 'Gesen's Alchemy Shop'.

The old man recognized the middle-aged man and greeted him warmly, "Mr. Hei, what materials do you need today?"

"All the materials on the list."

The trench-coated man handed over a list and added indifferently, "By the way, have you received any rare cursed materials in the shop recently?"

"I've received some. I'll show them to you now."

Each month, this gentleman came to buy materials, and without any fuss, the old man took out some rare materials he had acquired from Scavengers and colleagues from his Storage Ring. These were high-grade materials, second-order, and even third-order, not the primary-level ones displayed in the shop.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Hei. There is something you might be interested in, a customer needs a dark gold material implant forged and has commissioned me to find a craftsman capable of doing it..."