Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun and Kai, following the planned route, rode their motorcycle for a while and then switched to a different bike and continued on.

The fact that they had not been chased up to this point also meant that they had handled the cleanup work very cleanly.

The first phase of the robbery seemed to go off without any slip-ups.

However, as they rode, Kai felt that the motorcycle's steering was somewhat unstable and muttered, "Hmm... Su Lun, why do I feel like the motorcycle is a bit wobbly today? Could it be that the load is too heavy, and it's damaged..."

Su Lun had in fact noticed the abnormality earlier, and his expression changed instantly as Kai was still speaking, "Get off the bike quick!"

He didn't explain any further and immediately pulled out a foldable bulletproof panel, and the two of them used it for cover.

The next moment, a mushroom cloud thousands of meters tall rose from the direction of the desolate park, several kilometers behind them!

It was as if something underground was trying to break through, violently churning and making it hard to stand.

Seconds later, it was as if thunder exploded next to their ears, deafening them.

Boom~

The shockwave came crashing down like an avalanche, the air pressure making it momentarily hard to breathe. A tremendous force pounded against the bulletproof panel, almost blowing them away.

Luckily, because they were a sufficient distance away, although they were a bit dusty and dirtied, they were not injured after the shockwave passed.

Dusting himself off, Kai looked towards the direction of the explosion, his expression incredulous, and he complained, "It couldn't be the incendiary bombs we threw that detonated some underground methane deposit, could it?"
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Apart from that, there seemed to be no better explanation.

"Probably not. The distance is too far off..."

Su Lun stared at the rising mushroom cloud and responded.

Suddenly, he realized something.

The convoy they had just hit was headed to a secret laboratory...

And the explosion was exactly in that direction...

Could it be...

that the secret lab had exploded?

....

The explosion was very sudden.

The outskirts of the city were vast, but it was usually only around buildings that people gathered.

This "desolate park" in the west of the city seemed to be a park from ancient times, desolate and rarely visited.

Now thinking about it, wasn't this the perfect site for a secret laboratory?

Although it was unclear whether the explosion was intentional or an accident, Su Lun's first reaction was, "Could it have been bombed?"

Moreover, due to the explosion, a series of clues in his mind instantly connected, and an aloof face emerged before him—the S-rank female fugitive with a three-million bounty!

"Could it really be that woman?"

The thought flashed through Su Lun's mind, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed to be her.

Previously, when he went to Knight Street to rescue Danny's three friends, he had encountered that woman.

At the time, Su Lun had not understood why she would brazenly cause trouble by going after a human trafficker.

Now, having intercepted this shipment, he knew that the Steam Faction was sending supplies to a laboratory studying the "X Serum," located somewhere in the west of the city.

He immediately deduced the reason the Steam Faction's guys were capturing the homeless and orphans.

Because he had once heard from Danny that the higher-ups at Black Tower had conducted many live experiments due to the "X Serum Project."

The research was still ongoing, so it made sense that they needed a large number of people for experiments.

Such a live experiment lab could not possibly be set up within the inner city, so the outskirts, where human life was as cheap as dirt, were more than appropriate.

And that woman going after the human trafficker was most likely trying to use the lead on human traffic to pinpoint the lab's location!

So, was it really her who caused the explosion?

....

"That woman stole some important items for extracting the 'X Potion.' If it's really her who blew up the lab in the outskirts now, the top brass at Black Tower would probably be furious..."

Suddenly, Su Lun took more interest in that woman.

People with convictions, it really would be a pity if they died.

While Su Lun guessed the reason behind the explosion, he had no interest in staying around, since it wasn't his house that had blown up.

He signaled to Kai, "Let's go, there will probably be a lot of people coming to gawk soon."

A relaxed smile also appeared on Kai's face, "Heh, this explosion really did us a big favor, the traces of the robbery at the scene are probably mostly destroyed now."

"Indeed."

Su Lun also raised an eyebrow, feeling they were quite lucky.

The two of them righted the motorcycle that had been blown over and began heading out again.

Since the explosion was man-made and it coincided exactly with the day of their robbery, it likely wasn't a coincidence.

That kind of secret lab, in the interest of secrecy, couldn't possibly have people coming and going like a marketplace; it was very likely that today was some sort of centralized supply day.

It was possible that not only the shipment Su Lun and his team intercepted was involved, but other supply convoys might have been targeted too, including those for experimental subjects.

That woman probably infiltrated by some other means.

However, all of it had nothing to do with them.

They were just ordinary petty thieves.

....

Su Lun and his companion did not bring the goods back to their residence on Green Street; instead, they found some dilapidated buildings and secluded spots in the sewers to hide the items in batches.

After setting up some warning mechanisms, the two burned their crime-related clothes and disposed of all possible traces that could be traced back to them, before finally returning to Green Street.

The news of the explosion in the western district quickly spread throughout the outer city, and even the high-ranking members of the cross society sent people to find out what had happened.

But the common gang members heard it was a methane explosion, it seemed that the Steam Faction had also deliberately controlled the information, with no word about "laboratory" leaking out.

As for the "robbery" Su Lun and his companion were involved in, it was unknown whether the Steam Faction was planning to investigate secretly or just chalk it up to the explosion. At least for the time being, there were no reports of anyone looking for the goods or the robbers.

But the calmer it was, the bigger the matter seemed.

Because Su Lun discovered... in the black market, the bounty for that S-tier fugitive had increased again.

This time there was no price listed, the notice read: those who provide valid information may, depending on the value of the information, obtain lifelong residency in the inner city, hereditary nobility, and any hex materials currently recorded by the Alchemy Guild...

Clearly, the bounty issuer was "desperate."

The unprecedented reward was enough to tempt almost anyone.

Lifelong residency in the inner city is a benefit countless people in the outer city would vie for desperately;

Hereditary nobility, even the grand families of the inner city probably couldn't resist; and

The reward of any hex material would tempt even second and third-tier professionals indifferent to fame and fortune.

And this was merely the reward for providing information!

Moreover, this Bounty Order not only posted her original photo but also various disguised ones, along with detailed data on height, bone structure, dimensions...

The pink-haired bunny girl outfit Su Lun had once seen was also distinctly included.

In other words, even if she covered her head, any determined person could recognize her by her figure!

Su Lun felt that, with such a reward, the "walking vault" would find it hard not to be caught.

Thinking of the next high-tier professional meeting in the black market, he planned to inquire about the goods and see if Mr. Hei might be interested.

Meanwhile, Su Lun had another important task at hand.

That was to decode the "Necromancy Research Diary"!

....

Previously, Su Lun hadn't paid much attention to the "Necromancy Research Diary" because he thought the research was pointless.

At least for the time being, it was of no use.

Translating the ancient ciphers would waste a lot of his time and energy, and the content was too advanced to be of immediate use.

Most importantly, without the "X Serum," a key component, it was impossible to successfully research zombies.

But now, things were different; Su Lun had the finished X Serum in his possession.

If he could successfully translate the journal and discover the medication that suppressed mutations,

He could not only attempt to create "zombies," but it seemed that using the serum on himself might be a great idea as well.

Since the robbery, Su Lun hadn't been running around; instead, he stayed in the basement, starting his study of the ciphers in the "Necromancy Diary."

The majority of the texts left by ancient Alchemists were encrypted.

The higher the content's level, the higher the degree of encryption.

Solo deciphering an ancient cipher one had never seen before was almost impossible.

However, modern studies in cryptography also have a shortcut—that is, "Cryptology" is now an established discipline in the black tower academy.

A myriad of cryptology experts and archaeologists study daily, deciphering the patterns in a vast number of ancient ciphers, compiling various cryptological methodologies into textbooks.

This has consequently made it easier for modern people to decode ancient Alchemy scrolls.

To the majority of ordinary people, who are dazzled by the cryptic methods, there are available formulas that can be applied directly.

Knowing the type of encryption and the key, many ciphers can be almost idiot-proof to decipher.

And Su Lun had the most complete set of "Complete Collection of Ancient Cipher Decoding" textbooks in Old Lington at his disposal.

The textbooks recorded almost all the cipher encryption and decryption methods available on the market.

This greatly reduced the time and difficulty in deciphering.

Moreover, Su Lun had a shortcut within a shortcut, namely the "All-knowing Eye."

Before he had read the "Complete Collection of Ancient Cipher Decoding," upon encountering ciphers with specific patterns, the All-knowing Eye might suggest "This is a text with a 'three-grid horizontal-vertical shift encryption pattern'...";

After reading it, it now directly identifies it as "a cipher compiled by the R'lyeh encryption method..."

This was a pattern he gradually noticed after using the "All-knowing Eye" for so long: the information identified by the eye would appear in the most understandable form in accordance with his level of knowledge.

The more Su Lun knew, the easier the content identified would be to understand.

Now, using it for deciphering, when Su Lun read the content of the diary, it would directly indicate the specific name of the encryption method.

Then he only needed to look up the relevant content of the cipher in the textbook, directly apply the formula, and he could decipher it.

This saved him a lot of time.