Mechanical Alchemist

Soon, Su Lun and Kai arrived at Norton Street on their motorcycle.

Everything looked completely different from their last visit. Brothels, gambling stalls, taverns, and unique bathhouses... a variety of dazzling neon lights illuminated the entire street block.

Yet, to Su Lun and Kai, the scene felt incredibly familiar.

"Crimson Fortress," "Elephant Tavern," "Emperor's Bathhouse," "Musketeer Inn"... one after another, the familiar signs were almost indistinguishable from the once bustling Green Street.

Kai's mouth puckered as he became nostalgic upon seeing the scenery, deeply moved as the former boss of Green Street.

Su Lun, however, seemed indifferent. Even if he had to start patrolling every evening at seven, it wouldn't take much of his time. At worst, he'd just move back here. Plus, with the Gladiator arena opening, he could harvest a wave of souls every night, which was a good thing anyway.

.....

Today was the street opening ceremony, and Norton Street was bustling with activity.

The president of the Cross Society, "Arbiter" Chak, along with a host of other executives, were also present.

Dressed in suits and looking very formal, they would pass off as successful businessmen if not for the occasional murderous intent that flashed across their brows, barely concealing the fact that they were ruthless gang leaders.

Most of the major stakeholders in the entertainment industry were the wealthy of the inner city. Today's opening drew many big shots from the inner city to cut the ribbon, and a variety of luxury cars lined the street from end to end. Portly old gentlemen and gorgeously dressed ladies, along with graceful socialites...

strutted the red carpet, providing Su Lun and other folks from the outer city a glimpse of what the rich of the inner city looked like.

People like Su Lun and Kai, who were idle and listless, naturally didn't have the qualifications to show their faces upfront.

The good-looking ones went to preside over the inner venue, while those dressed in leather jackets, with tattoos, having odd and ferocious looks, stood on the periphery responsible for security, lest they scare the noble ladies and lords.

With his tanned skin and bald head, Su Lun naturally stayed outside.

He was happy to keep to the sidelines.

Kai and the team captains of the Cross Society squatted on the side, chatting and shooting the breeze, when suddenly, a white stretch limo decorated with angel wings arrived in front of the red carpet.

Someone shouted, "Look, there's... a beautiful woman!"

The old birds, energized by the word "beautiful woman," all craned their necks to look toward the red carpet.

Then, they saw a stunning woman in a pure black dress flowing like quicksand step out of the car.

Su Lun glanced over and immediately recognized her as Lady Philo, the financial backer of the Cross Society.

Most of the Cross Society captains weren't high-ranking enough to know who was behind the gang's finances. Even those who'd heard the name hadn't seen her.

Kai took one glance and his gaze instantly locked on. Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he feigned nonchalance as he warned, "Don't cause such a fuss. If you disturb Lady Philo, the president will surely kick your asses."

Someone expressed their surprise, "Is that the legendary Lady Philo? Kai, have you seen her before?"

Kai replied, "In the past, indeed, I had the honor of being personally received by that lady. But let's not dwell on it..."

His teasing tone, coupled with a boastful expression, made him look utterly punchable.

"Tsk~"

The team captains all hissed together, though it did not dampen their enthusiasm for gazing at the beautiful woman.

"Goodness me, she's unbelievably gorgeous..."

"Hey... another one's getting out of the car. Kai, who's that young beauty beside Lady Philo?"

"Don't know her, but she's probably the daughter of some big family," Kai guessed.

"Could it be Lady Philo's daughter?"

"Nonsense! How could that lady have such an adult daughter?"

"..."

The old birds began speculating wildly with various gossips.

Allegations of affairs among the inner-city bigwigs were prime gossip material after dinner in the outer city.

Su Lun listened silently on the side because he had already recognized the person following Lady Philo.

Even with a black veil covering her face, Su Lun instantly recognized her by the long, beautiful straight black hair. Wasn't that the young girl, Lena?

```

Why would a young lady from a top-tier family come to a place like this?

However, seeing Lady Philo and Lena were able to leave the city for the ribbon-cutting ceremony made him think that the Reyes family's internal strife must have almost settled down.

He did not dwell on it much.

....

All the protagonists had arrived, and then it was the boring process of the ribbon-cutting.

A bunch of inner city bosses joined together for the ribbon-cutting and made their speeches.

But Lady Philo was quite low-profile - apart from showing her face when she got out of the car, she wasn't seen again afterward.

Su Lun appeared somewhat bored, leaning against a lamppost and fiddling with his coin-flipping trick, from palm to back, and then from back to palm...

Suddenly, he felt someone's gaze sizing him up from behind, and the coin in his hand paused slightly.

But on recognizing the familiar footsteps, he didn't pay it any more mind.

The next second, Su Lun felt his arm wrapped in softness, a warm body boldly hugging his shoulder. Before he even saw the person, he heard the familiar Big Sister's tone, "Hey, Su Lun, kid, where've you been these days? I haven't seen you at the casinos, and here I was, thinking of asking you to be my gambling buddy, but you're nowhere to be seen."

When Su Lun heard the footsteps, he knew it was Qian Tiao and greeted her with a smile, "Sister Qian Tiao."

Turning to look, probably because of the ribbon-cutting ceremony today, Qian Tiao was dressed quite formally. She wore a fitted, light blue kimono with her hair tied up high, not even showing her tattoos, looking quite gentile.

Qian Tiao asked again, "Where's the kid, Kai?"

Su Lun shrugged, "Don't know, he seems to have gone to see the excitement with the captains."

Qian Tiao patted Su Lun on the shoulder and said, "I've already told the president; from now on, you and Kai will come to Norton Street. You're my man now!"

Su Lun didn't really care, "Oh..."

Not finding Kai in the crowd, Qian Tiao beckoned Su Lun and led him away, saying, "Come on, let's go for a bath and while I'm at it, I'll introduce you to some people."

"Ah? It's the ribbon-cutting today, aren't you supposed to be watching the scene, Sister Qian Tiao?"

Su Lun thought it sounded unreliable.

The boss of Norton Street is supposed to be doing the grand opening, and you're going for a bath?

Qian Tiao made a face as if it was too much of a hassle, "There were too many small tasks at the site today; I left them to the captains."

"..."

Su Lun thought this hands-off boss was quite something.

It was precisely because there were so many tasks for the grand opening that they needed you, the boss, to hold down the fort.

Meanwhile, Kai suddenly popped up from somewhere, calling out from a distance, "Sister Qian Tiao!"

"I was just looking for you."

Qian Tiao called out to Kai, "Come on, to Akun's Bathhouse! Big Sister's treating you to a bath!"

Kai's eyes lit up at the prospect, "Sure!"

With Qian Tiao treating them, it was an offer they couldn't refuse. Even though Su Lun wanted to go back and study the living dead, he had to follow them.

....

After the bath, they felt refreshed and invigorated.

Late at night, Su Lun accompanied Qian Tiao to the newly opened gladiator arena.

The new arena was celebrating its inauguration, and the gambling-addicted young matron was eager to try her luck.

Because it was the opening day, some very skilled professional gladiators were there, and the matches were thrilling - Su Lun also gained a wave of valuable experience.

He stayed on Norton Street for the night, planning to head back early the next morning.

But just as he came out of the gambling den in the early morning, Kai caught up with him, saying that the executives had assigned them to escort a batch of goods to the inner city.

```

Later, I heard that it was the opening of a new venue, and the captains of the Cross Society were very busy.

It seemed that only the two of them on Green Street had nothing to do, so the officers, seeing them idle, assigned them to escort duty.

It wasn't any special task, just following the convoy and delivering a batch of valuable goods to the inner city.

The Cross Society had its own ruin-hunting groups, so the gang's warehouse would accumulate a lot of high-grade cursed materials and relics from outside the city.

Keeping these items in the outer city was of little use, as they couldn't be sold at good prices. Thus, every so often a batch would be sent to the inner city, handed over to the principal's company to handle.

With the principal's pass, there was no need to check identities when entering the city, which was a rare opportunity for gang members to access the inner city.

The old hands of the Cross Society were very fond of this mission.

It was a rare opportunity to gain experience and knowledge.

Kai seemed very excited too.

.....

In the afternoon, Su Lun and Kai arrived at the warehouse of the Cross Society headquarters in the Hessen Building.

Kai checked the goods loaded onto the truck, signed off on the inventory list, and was ready to depart.

A standard escort team consisted of three vehicles.

One captain with nine men, plus two truck drivers.

It was exactly like the convoy of the Steam Party they had ambushed several days ago.

Because they had just recently studied in detail how to rob a transport team, Su Lun and Kai always felt a bit strange, so they didn't sit in either the lead or tail vehicle.

Kai sent the driver to the car, then drove the truck himself, with Su Lun, they took the middle of the transport team.

They were afraid that the Cross Society might have some secret dealings with the inner city, which could attract some inexplicable attacks. Before boarding, Su Lun also purposely observed that the truck for this time's loading was not a special explosion-proof vehicle, and the cargo was normal goods.

After getting on the truck, the two of them exchanged a smile.

But they thought they were probably worrying too much, after all, with the escort missions taking place several times a year, it was not so coincidental that they would encounter an ambush.

....

They set out from the south of the city and after half an hour, they were approaching the inner city wall, which was several times more magnificent than the outer city wall.

From some stripped memories, Su Lun had a vague impression of the structure of the inner city.

Seeing the towering city wall in the distance, some of the images from his memories started to overlap.

The general layout of the inner city was like a cake, divided into eight parts, numbered 1 to 8. And at the center of the inner city stood a black tower so tall, its top couldn't be seen, like a candle planted on the cake.

At the base of the wall, hundred-meter-tall super chimneys were constantly emitting white smoke, which came from the super-steam boilers that powered the entire city.

The inner city wall was about two hundred meters tall, but the buildings inside were even taller.

As the convoy drew closer to the inner city, the wall in their view became more and more tangible.

On the wall facing them were white spray-paint markings, with a giant number "5" on them.

Below the wall was the fifth gate, corresponding to the inner city's fifth district.

Kai looked excited; he pointed at the super-tall buildings that rose above the city walls and commented in awe, "Hey, brother, take a look, that's the famous 'Sky Gardens' of the inner city! See that colorful ribbon in the sky there? Hehe... that's the legendary rainbow, an amazing sight you can't see anywhere else."

"Hmm."

Su Lun had very good eyesight and had actually seen it a while ago.

The lights of the inner city were as bright as daylight, giving a very luminous feeling.

It was like adding a layer of bright filter to those buildings, clean and transparent.

Even from a great distance, you could see a sea of green on the upper levels of the inner city's architecture, and white waterfalls cascading down from the tops of those buildings, with rainbows hanging between them...

On the rooftop garden draped with yellow-orange fruit, you could see a lady in white leaning against the railing, admiring the view as the wind lifted her skirts...

The high-altitude swimming pool, lush rooftop greenery, and the blue expanse of the buildings' glass... On the glass skyway, one could discern the blurry silhouettes of people walking about, laughing and chatting in pairs and groups...

The architecture of the inner city was beautiful and infused with technological sophistication; the outer city was like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, filled with greyness and filth.

Separated by just a wall, it was as though they were two different worlds.

After his excitement, Kai's tone turned somewhat melancholic, "Hey, brother. I won't lie to you, I've never been to the inner city in my life..."

Su Lun smiled, "I haven't been there either."

"Haha, this time we can go and broaden our horizons."

As he spoke, Kai's clear eyes reflect the shadow of that massive city and revealed a longing for something better.

Just getting a chance to see the inner city was a dream forever out of reach for many people from the outer city.

Kai suddenly felt a touch of sadness, "I'm an orphan from the tenements, no father, no mother. Apart from fighting and killing, I know nothing. I've heard that kids in the inner city learn to play instruments from a young age, learn business, go to colleges to gain knowledge... They grow up to become lawyers, dentists, teachers..."

At this point, Kai laughed self-mockingly, "Heh..."

After a pause, he continued pensively, "Brother, you know... I used to fantasize that I could fight for the best life for myself, which would be to advance by luck to the second tier and then work as a bodyguard for some inner city big shot... Haha, sounds pretty unambitious, right?"

Su Lun looked at him.

The eyes of the gang leader, who could still be called a youth, suddenly sparkled with light.

"Everyone in the gang says I'm brave and that I'm bound to achieve great things..."

Kai wore a smile on his face, but as he continued, he couldn't smile anymore, "Actually, you might laugh, but sometimes I'm very scared. Countless nights, I wake up from nightmares of fighting and killing, covered in cold sweat. Feeling my still-beating heart, it takes me a long while to realize that I'm still alive..."

Su Lun quietly listened, acting as a silent audience for once.

His gaze turned gradually profound as he looked at that city.

....

The journey was uneventful.

Su Lun and his companion both breathed a sigh of relief.

The truck approached the base of the city wall, seeming like a mouse under the feet of an elephant.

Because they had a special pass, they didn't undergo inspection and smoothly drove through the massive steel city gate.

By then, there was no trace of melancholy on Kai's face, replaced once again by his carefree smile.

As they neared their destination, Kai suddenly thought of something and said to Su Lun, "Let me tell you a secret, but you mustn't tell anyone."

Su Lun raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

Kai spoke mysteriously, "Before we set off, Boss Smoker told me he would introduce me to a big shot from the inner city, and I might have the chance to enter the inner city ahead of time."

"Boss Smoker?"

At the mention, Su Lun flashed on some thought and frowned suddenly.

"Yeah! Boss Smoker said that as soon as I enter the city, someone from that big shot will contact me."

Kai nodded, beaming, "I'm telling you, if I strike it rich, I'll take care of you! Hahaha...."

Su Lun's expression faltered slightly, feeling that something was off, and asked, "You mean... Boss Smoker asked you to keep it a secret?"

"Yes."

Kai said, "He originally told me not to tell anyone, but I feel like we're brothers, and you would definitely keep a secret for me."

Why did it need to be kept secret?

An introduction to a patron wasn't something to hide.

Feeling instinctively wary, Su Lun asked, "How will this person contact you?"

Kai, still oblivious to any issues, answered, "I don't know. But Boss Smoker said that the person will find a way to get in touch with me..."