Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun didn't rest at 88 Ginkgo Street, but randomly picked a hotel to catch some sleep.

In the evening, he received a reply from that mysterious Pharmacist at the "Three Muskets Tavern," agreeing to meet at the same place the next morning at ten.

Then it was another day of the usual patrol, followed by a night soaking in the gambling and dueling at the arena.

It's worth mentioning that the arena was bustling these two days.

It seemed that many Big Shots from the inner city were in the VIP rooms on the second floor, the house's stakes were getting higher, and the duels were growing bloodier. The gamblers were excited, and even Kai and the others thought this boom on Green Street was a good sign, because the livelier it was, the more money they made.

However, Su Lun, quietly watching everything by the ring, always felt there were undercurrents behind this abnormal bustle.

But he didn't worry needlessly.

To him, it was a good sign too.

The more bustling the arena, the more Soul Shards he collected.

....

At dawn, when the deathmatches at the arena ended, it was time for Su Lun to get off work.

He hired a few porters to move the equipment out of the basement at 88 Ginkgo Street.

Since he couldn't find a suitable place to live, Su Lun simply didn't bother looking any further and permanently rented a basement near Green Street's shooting range. Although the new dwelling lacked the thick Spiritual Power of the darkness, it was quiet enough once the door was closed. It could barely suffice as a mechanical workshop and a training ground.

And for shooting practice, he could go right next door to the shooting range.

After moving, there was still time left, so Su Lun fine-tuned two pieces of high-tech training equipment and gave them a try.

When the "Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Device" was connected to his body, an energy like an electric current traveled through his muscles, constantly stimulating the fibers to tear.

Half an hour of training showed an evident effect.

Since Su Lun could track detailed changes in his body's data, he confirmed that this high technology was indeed effective.

Just speaking of muscle stimulation, the training effect while linked to the equipment was roughly three times better than without it.

Then there was the "Steam-Powered Cryotherapy Machine." After intense exercise, the muscles are in a state of high excitement and fatigue and need rest to recover. Variables like muscle power, endurance, and lactic acid thresholds would only improve positively.

Spending two or three minutes in the sub-zero temperatures of the cryotherapy machine, he immediately felt a significant relief in the feeling of fatigue in his muscles. This also greatly increased the efficiency of recovery, shortening the recovery period.

Although the equipment substantially improved his physical training effects, Su Lun was not satisfied.

In this world, besides high technology, the most exaggerated and direct enhancement for the body came from "Alchemical Potions"!

....

At ten o'clock, Su Lun arrived on time at the dilapidated warehouse where they had made their last transaction.

As this wasn't their first deal, the few lads pretending to be gangsters didn't seem so tense anymore.

Su Lun once again saw that mysterious Pharmacist.

For some reason, when he saw the man wrapped up tightly, he suddenly felt the term "Semi-Mutated Human" appearing in his appraisal to be somewhat jarring.

Su Lun's previous understanding of this was insufficient; he didn't grasp what it meant.

But after harvesting memories from several assistant teachers from the Black Tower on his previous journey through the dungeons, he gained some basic understanding of biology.

Only then did he find it inconceivable.

Theoretically, mutation is irreversible.

Once a person mutates, they're destined to become an irrational monster.

Therefore, the situation of "Danny," the mysterious Pharmacist being "semi-mutated" was very unusual.

This reminded Su Lun of some advanced knowledge he read in "The Living Dead Research Journal" the day before.

A thousand years ago, that mad Magician indeed successfully extracted a "mutation suppression sample" from living experiments, making the mutation of the living dead controllable.

Although Su Lun wasn't certain about Danny's situation, he always felt it was very similar.

Su Lun was pondering the issue, slightly distracted.

In the meantime, Pharmacist Danny took the initiative to speak, "Sir, what kind of Potion do you plan to purchase this time?"

Su Lun replied, "The [Mutant Monster Repellent Potion] you gave me last time saved my life, so I plan to stock up a bit more."

Although it was Leena he had saved, in a sense, it indeed also saved the identity of "Su Lun."

Keeping some on hand, he might need it one day in the future.

Hearing this, Danny seemed a bit troubled and said, "The main ingredient for that Potion is hard to come by in the outer city, and I don't have much of it left."

Su Lun: "What material do you need? Next time I go to the black market, perhaps I can keep an eye out for you."

Danny replied, "I need spinal fluid from high-level mutated beasts. The higher the level of the beast the material comes from, the better the effectiveness of the Potion. The batch I sold to you last time was made from the spinal fluid of a second-tier silver grotesque."

Listening, Su Lun asked, "Any grotesque's spinal fluid will do?"

Danny replied, "Basically, yes."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you."

Su Lun nodded and then said, "I also want to buy that [Mutation Tolerance Enhancing Potion] you were looking to sell last time."

The [Mutation Tolerance Enhancing Potion] was for his preparations to fuse with the dark gold spider exosuit.

The deputy head who defected had looked over the materials the day before and told Su Lun one thing, which was that using top-notch materials would result in a very powerful finished exosuit, but the "accommodation value" requirements would also be extremely high.

He estimated that at least before Su Lun's first-tier inauguration, his dark Spiritual Power needed to reach around 1400 to ensure that he wouldn't mutate. But Su Lun was only at about 1200 when he inaugurated.

Originally, the deputy head offered to downgrade, using inferior materials instead.

But Su Lun rejected this proposal.

He thought of how the Pharmacist's "Mutation Tolerance Enhancement Potion" could increase curse attribute tolerance by 10-18%. If he took this Potion, he should be able to merge perfectly with that dark gold prosthetic armament.

....

"Sure, but I only have one left."

Danny had no intention of selling the special Potion he had on hand, and he couldn't sell it to others anyway.

Moreover, they had brought it with them for the transaction.

Su Lun smoothly got his hands on the "Mutation Tolerance Enhancement Potion," and that completed his task.

Then he asked, "Additionally, I need a bodily enhancement Potion without side effects, the higher the grade, the better."

Danny suggested, "I have a 'PTX Berserker Enhancement Potion' and a 'Lester VI Blood Cell Enhancer,' right here... These Potions are laboratory-grade material, not available on the market, you might not recognize them, but I can assure you their effects are absolutely top-notch. Want to give them a try?"

Su Lun didn't even need to see the Potions to agree immediately, "Sure."

Danny thought of something else and added, "I can sell the Potion to you, but I still hope you will only use it yourself and not disclose it to anyone. Otherwise... both you and I will be in a lot of trouble."

"No problem!"

Upon hearing the names of the Potions, Su Lun already knew what kind of trouble it was.

Because these were truly controlled substances!

He remembered the names of these two Potions; they were specialized physical training Potions used internally by the noble students of the Black Tower Academy, greatly enhancing training efficiency and promoting muscle growth.

These were high-grade Potions "exclusively supplied in limited quantities" by the Black Tower laboratory to the academy and the outflow of such through any channel was forbidden. If discovered, it was a serious crime punishable by the gallows!

Moreover, if he wasn't mistaken, the students were currently only using the "fifth-generation Potions," and Danny was offering the "sixth generation"?

Upon hearing the names of these Potions, he could almost confirm that Danny must be a Pharmacist that came from a top-level laboratory in the inner city!

In a flash, both Potions were handed over to him.

"PTX Berserker Enhancement Potion"

Details: After ingestion, it will cause your training to become supercharged, significantly increasing muscle strength during training, accelerating fatigue recovery, providing a continuous source of explosive energy, endurance, and concentration; the effects last for 12-13 weeks;

"Lester VI Blood Cell Enhancer"

Details: Taking the Potion continuously enhances cell vitality, muscle growth +60%, recovery efficiency +144%; the effects last for 16-18 weeks; individual constitution varies, figures may fluctuate by about 5-20%;

Using the All-knowing Eye, Su Lun looked at the astounding effects of the Potions, and he immediately decided to purchase them, "How much?"

The efficacy of these Potions was at least twice or three times stronger than the best body-refining Potions he had seen on the black market before!

Hearing the inquiry about the price, Danny's eyes showed some difficulty as he said, "They're not for sale on the market, so I don't know how much they're worth. But just the material cost of these two Potions is over five hundred thousand. You can have both for one hundred... let's make it eighty thousand."

"No problem."

The price was even below the cost, definitely a fair deal.

Su Lun immediately paid cash and took the two Potions.

He then asked, "I will need more of this type of Potions later on, is that possible?"

Danny showed a troubled expression, "That's... difficult. Without a laboratory-grade Potion room, even with the materials, such Potions can't be produced."

"Oh."

Su Lun felt somewhat disappointed.

However, obtaining such high-grade Potions was already an unexpected surprise.

The effects would last for several months, which was enough time for him to figure something out.

At this moment, Su Lun said, "I know you won't be selling Potions on a large scale, but if you have Potions you need to sell, you can contact me directly. At the very least, I can guarantee that your information will absolutely not be leaked, and the price will be satisfactory for you."

Ever since he learned about the mysterious Pharmacist's situation, he knew this fellow must be in great need of money.

After all, being a Pharmacist is also a very costly profession, and despite the high value of the finished Potions, the materials wasted during the refining process were also staggering. Merely relying on the petty thefts of the small fry around him wouldn't support his daily research.

After two transactions, they had established a basic trust. Hearing this, Danny nodded, "Hmm."

Reaching this point in the conversation, Su Lun suddenly remembered something and casually asked, "By the way, last time I was hunting in the caverns, I encountered a lot of mutated mutation monsters that I'd never seen before, and they were much stronger than the normal ones. Do you know what's going on with that?"

"This..."

Upon hearing this, Danny was clearly troubled, seemingly aware of the reason but hesitant to speak openly about it.

But having sold so many special Potions, he guessed Su Lun must have deduced some of his background.

After a moment, he brought up, "I heard there was a serious accident in an inner-city laboratory a few years ago that caused a leak of special substances into the city's sewer network, leading to biological mutations... I'm not clear on the details, but you'd better stay out of the sewers when you go hunting."

So it was a laboratory leak?

Hearing this, Su Lun nodded, "Hmm."

....

Two days passed, and Su Lun made a trip to the black market.

He got his hands on the "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear" alchemical prosthetic armament, just as he had hoped.

The finished product was even more perfect than anticipated!