Mechanical Alchemist

By employing this crafty method, Su Lun spent several days holed up in the basement, burying himself in decrypting the diary's contents.

The diary contained much encrypted information, so he selectively studied the part about researching the aberration-suppressing potion.

Oh, it wasn't just ciphers, but also language.

It was fortunate that he had mastered the ancient written language of Gunnthra, commonly used by magicians during his previous soul-stripping, otherwise mastering this ancient language alone would have probably taken years.

However, even so, the decryption was still quite challenging.

The diary included many obscure medical terms from ancient times.

The worst part was that some ancient terms fundamentally meant something different in modern times.

Relying on "The Complete Book of Codes" and the convenience of the All-knowing Eye, Su Lun stumbled through several days of translation and actually managed to decode most of it!

He had now confirmed that part contained the complete method for concocting the "aberration-suppressing potion."

But the remaining twenty to thirty percent either couldn't be translated or the translations were inaccurate.

He handed the part requiring profound professional medical knowledge to Danny, who lived half a block away.

For the parts that truly could not be translated, he planned to seek consultation from Mr. Hei, the knowledgeable scholar.

Just then, the newly delivered edition of the Lyndon Daily News mentioned a gathering of the underground market circle.

.....

That day.

After being cooped up for several days, Su Lun finally emerged from the basement.

There were no unfamiliar eyes on the streets paying him any attention, which was a good sign.

It meant their robbery two days ago had been clean; so far, no one had traced it back to Green Street.

He rode his motorcycle to the black market in Shadow Alley.

Dressed in a cloak, he arrived five minutes before the agreed time in a secret space at the lower level of the black market.

The attendees were quite punctual; in the few minutes after his arrival, over a dozen people showed up.

There were more people than last time, and by the time Mr. Hei arrived last, over twenty individuals were standing beside the stone table.

The familiar process then began, starting with the intelligence exchange segment.

As expected, someone immediately asked about the explosion in the western city's deserted park. Read the latest on empire

"Does anyone know what exactly happened with the explosion at the western city's wasteland park two days ago? I heard even the supervisors from the Steam Party aren't allowed near the explosion site, and many mysterious people from the inner city arrived, seeming to be from the Umbrella Organization," someone said.

"I received some intelligence that there was a secret laboratory there. For some unknown reason, it suddenly exploded," another added.

"Heh, a lab in the outer city, wouldn't that suggest they were involved in some highly hazardous research?" another chimed in.

"..."

Everyone capable of reaching the second tier wasn't a fool, especially in the outer city; these cloaked individuals were all big shots with wide-reaching intelligence networks.

Upon hearing it was a laboratory that had exploded, they instantly deduced a lot of information.

Listening silently, Su Lun heard these tycoons exchanging words, and their conjectures almost completely matched his own.

"I had received news quite some time ago about those guys from the Steam Party secretly capturing wandering populations. Yet there's been no talk of anyone in the inner or outer city getting their hands on these people. It looks like the disappeared population and that exploded lab are highly related..."

"Living experiments? Those damned people at Black Tower really don't regard our outer city lives at all," another said.

"I'm not very clear on other details, but I am sure the one who triggered the explosion is the individual currently on top of the wanted list. Incidentally, I'd like to ask if any of you have any clues about her—ah, that bounty is quite tempting," another stated.

"I do have some intelligence, but it got traded for the bounty already. Someone saw her recently at the Black Baron Club in the western city. She killed the people trafficker, Dam, in the Knight district, then set the club on fire. Now that I think about it, she was probably trying to track down the whereabouts of the people..."

"Yo? I wondered why the Black Baron Club suddenly caught fire, it was her doing! Hahaha, why do I feel a bit thrilled about hearing about that explosion now..."

"I happen to have the latest intelligence; there was a major battle last night in the northern city. The individuals from the Umbrella Organization somehow found her and after a fierce fight, they gravely injured her," another contributed.

"So, she was captured?"

"No."

"She managed to escape?"

"..."

As the topic progressed to this, the informant seemed to hesitate for a moment before adding, "I heard that a third-party force got involved and broke through the Umbrella Organization's encirclement, then she took advantage of the chaos to escape."

"..."

Listening to this, Su Lun realized he had inadvertently shared the blame for the rescue.

However, when the informer mentioned the "third-party force," everyone present was taken aback.

Su Lun also thought, who else in Old Lington would dare to oppose the "Umbrella Organization"?

Then it dawned on him, wasn't he one of them?

Su Lun noticed that when the topic reached this point, no one continued further, as if everyone were cautious.

Mr. Hei was his usual composed self and didn't speak.

The subsequent exchange of information wasn't particularly noteworthy. Su Lun contributed some of his guesses to the information as well, participating in the process.

Then came the item trading segment.

The most discussed topic in this segment was still the information on the "Dawn City" relics.

Recently, many ancient relics had been excavated one after another and sent back to Old Lington. In the black market, these big shots had acquired many high-grade cursed objects and materials for trading.

After a lively round of exchanges,

Su Lun also saw many rare and strange items.

During this time, he found opportunities to inquire again about the "Secret Technique of Spiritual Power" and "the Wailing Witch's Cursed Hair." No one responded.

It was as expected.

However, toward the end of the session, a cloaked figure raised a buying request that caught his attention.

"I need a set of 'Frost Giant Battle Armor,' and it must be a complete set available immediately. I'm leaving the city in three days, and I'm willing to pay twenty million for it, or an equivalent cursed material..."

Upon hearing these words, Su Lun kept silent.

He and Kai did indeed have five sets of completed armor from the batch they had intercepted earlier.

But such items were special; once sold, their origins could only be traced to a few places.

He felt that this person was likely fishing for information.

Moreover, the buyer had made a clever request,

asking urgently, offering above market rate, and setting a time limit.

Anyone with channels who wanted to sell would definitely try to make a deal, as opportunities do not wait. Moreover, such goods were sensitive, and it was not easy to find a buyer daring enough to make the purchase.

Su Lun remained silent, and the scene grew quiet for a moment.

At this point, someone else spoke up, "I can get it, but I'm not sure about the timing. And... it might not be a complete set."

From the tone of voice, it sounded like the person from last time who had the channels to obtain the armor.

Hearing this, the buyer wrote a note, replying, "This is my contact information. But I will only wait three days. If you can get it in time, the price can be negotiated."

....

The trading session ended, and the small gathering was nearing its conclusion.

Su Lun sought out Mr. Hei, who was about to leave, and stated his business, "Mr. Hei, I've encountered some difficulties with ancient knowledge and need to consult you."

He didn't know if Mr. Hei could see through the concealed cloak, but clearly, he recognized him.

Mr. Hei seemed quite interested in ancient knowledge, "Oh? Let's hear it."

Su Lun took out the notes he had copied from the diary with sentences he didn't understand

With that question, this Scholar indeed knew.

He translated a few sentences offhand.

"This sentence is an ancient metaphor often used by Magicians, 'wheat falls to the ground and dies' refers to mercury dying in nitrate and sulphuric acid. The flowing 'living mercury' turns solid and dies, a play on words. It's usually used in the context of some material refinement process..."

"'The belly of the fire dragon stores mithril, take four parts from the fire dragon and nine parts from the magnet' is a highly sophisticated Alchemy process, the corresponding materials are..."

"Hmm... this sentence is quite difficult. It's a piece of specialized terminology from ancient medicine, using a dual encryption method... I might need some time to refer to some materials to ensure it's correct."

"..."

Su Lun listened as he translated those enigmatic codes he had been unable to decipher, his expression unchanged, yet he felt a continuous sense of amazement.

Mr. Hei truly was profoundly knowledgeable, seemingly aware of everything.

Thinking of his talents, Su Lun felt that, scholarship plus mind-reading, what a perfect match.

It seemed as if, without making a move, those wise eyes could see through everything about an adversary.

As it involved many ancient medical terms, Mr. Hei couldn't translate some content accurately on the spot, but he didn't refuse the small favor, "Give me the note, and I should be able to decipher it by tomorrow at the latest. I'll leave the note in the usual place..."

Su Lun nodded as he listened, asking, "Mr. Hei, what would I need to give in return?"

Mr. Hei, unconcerned, said, "These precious pieces of ancient knowledge are the best payment you have already made."

Pausing, he smiled and said, "Translating ancient scrolls is one of my favorite tasks. If you have more similar knowledge in the future, feel free to come to me, I would be glad to help."

Always the gentleman.

Even though he had guessed that Su Lun certainly had more ancient scrolls, he hinted it in the least offensive way possible.

"Thank you for your generosity..."

Su Lun sincerely expressed his gratitude.

He was not in a hurry to unload the goods he had on hand, planning to wait until this brief period of attention passed before asking.