Mechanical Alchemist

"Who are you?"

Facing the inquiry, Su Lun offered the explanation he had prepared, saying, "I am a Scavenger. Earlier, my team encountered a group of 'lightning lizards,' and I got separated from them. Now I'm short on food and water, and if you're willing, I would like to buy some, or perhaps trade for some..."

Lacking knowledge of this world, he tried to speak ambiguously.

The statement was half true, half false, not entirely fabricated; he had indeed run into a group of giant lizards earlier.

But unexpectedly, it seemed that these people were specifically out to hunt those speedy lizards that were as fast as cheetahs.

As soon as he mentioned this, Su Lun clearly caught a flash of excitement on the faces of several people opposite him.

As expected, someone directly asked, "You encountered a group of 'lightning lizards'?"

"Yes."

Su Lun turned and pointed down the corridor, saying, "To the left of this passage, in the direction of Zone B11, there's quite a large group. I guess that's one of their nests."

Hearing an accurate answer, the delight on the faces of the people opposite him grew stronger.

The captain with the mechanical prosthetic limb glanced at the sidearm at Su Lun's waist and then asked, "Are you alone? Which Scavenger group are you with?"

Without thinking, Su Lun blurted out, "I'm from the 'Straw Hat Scavenger Group'."

"Oh?"

The captain narrowed his eyes slightly, pondering something. His gaze then fell on the black storage ring in Su Lun's hand and asked, "Are you with the Crow Gang?"

At this, the expressions and gazes of the eight people turned subtly hostile.

"..."

Su Lun keenly sensed the change in their expressions, and an alert rose in his heart.

He did not understand the exact meaning of the term "Crow Gang," but he vaguely felt that the other party was very certain, as if they had seen something on him.

Clearly, there was a problem.

He felt the problem might be with the sidearm at his waist.

Without a comparison, he had not known previously, but now he realized that the rune-marked firearm he had found inside Bald Storage Ring seemed much more advanced than the weapons of these people.

But obviously, admitting to being a member of something called the "Crow Gang" might result in him dying on the spot.

Su Lun knew that continuing the conversation might lead to trouble, so he had to be deliberately vague, responding, "As you can see, I am a freelance adventurer. Sorry, I just wanted to buy some food and water, but if you don't have any to spare, then let's forget it."

"A freelance adventurer?"

The captain, upon hearing that Su Lun had no affiliation, shifted his gaze and suddenly became more amused.

However, he clearly saw that Su Lun had reservations, and his face suddenly showed a friendly smile. He gestured for his subordinates to lower their guns and said, "No, what I mean is...if you don't have a gang, you could choose us. As you can see, we are from the 'Steam Brotherhood.' You can call me Dick."

No sooner had he spoken than someone at his side added in introduction, "This is our captain, the famous 'Silver Mechanic Hand' Dick from the east side of Langge Street."

Su Lun glanced at Dick's silver mechanical arm with his peripheral vision and politely said, "Of course, I've heard of Captain Dick's renown."

Flattery will get you everywhere. Whether he recognized him or not, a compliment never hurt.

From their tone, he guessed that this "Steam Brotherhood" must be a sizable organization, and listening to the people nearby, this Dick must be quite powerful...

'Silver Mechanic Hand' Dick suddenly changed his demeanor and called out, "Brother, want to come into the camp to rest a bit? We can sell you some food and water."

"That would be greatly appreciated."

Though he was no longer being pointed at with guns, Su Lun felt he lacked the right to refuse.

He entered the camp, where a bonfire was burning.

Su Lun did not intend to stay long or dare to speak much. But clearly, they were always probing for his background.

"Brother, what do they call you?"

"I'm Su Lun."

"Brother, aren't you an official professional yet?"

"Hmm, not yet."

"Oh, then you should really consider our 'Steam Union.' Once you join the gang, there will be plenty of 'employment materials' and 'alchemy prosthetic blueprints' for you to choose from in the club.

As you know, in the outer city, no one can offer more resources than us except for the 'Cross Society' and the 'Crow Gang.' And if you want to modify mechanical prosthetics, only our 'Steam Union' is top-notch..."

"I'll think about it..."

Su Lun captured a lot of useful information from these people's conversation.

It seemed that within that city, there was a distinction between 'inner city' and 'outer city.'

And the outer city had three major factions...

Seeing that Su Lun hadn't agreed, Captain Dick then talked about the purpose of their trip.

He tentatively said, "We're out here to prepare cursed materials needed for alchemy prosthetics for our vice captain, Rauen. Our targets are the 'Lightning Lizard's leg tendons' or the 'Cave Hound's skin.' If you brother happen to have these materials, you could sell them to us..."

"Sorry, I don't have them. Our team encountered danger not long after setting out and got scattered, without much gain."

"..."

The atmosphere of the conversation seemed fairly harmonious.

The other party prepared three days' worth of drinking water and food for Su Lun.

Su Lun hadn't planned on thinking so poorly of human nature, but with their next move, he knew it was time to act.

They handed over their own water bottle, and upon identification with the All-knowing Eye, a few words were displayed: "Water with nerve paralyzing poison."

Their intent was now clear as day.

The reason they hadn't acted earlier was probably because they saw he was alone and were unsure if he had any trump cards or secrets. Now that they had probed enough, it was time to move.

Poisoning the water was the best choice.

If he drank, it would all be over.

Even if he didn't drink, with so many of them, it wouldn't be too late to act.

Now aware of their malicious intent, Su Lun's gaze towards those men also turned subtly hostile.

They seemed to be sitting around the fire chatting, but it was more like they were surrounding him.

Moreover, their fleeting glances were always on the flintlock at his waist, probably ready to preempt any move he might make.

Pretending to be oblivious, Su Lun unscrewed the water bottle; he had no intention of reaching for his gun.

He was well aware that even if he drew his gun swiftly, at best he could fire one or two shots.

And there were eight of them.

Not to mention the highly threatening professional—'Silver Mechanical Hand' Dick.

But the good news was, aside from two lookouts, the other six were all within ten meters of Su Lun.

And this distance was precisely the influence range of the "Curse Artifact: Rune Poppet."

....

With a sincere smile on his face, Su Lun pretended to be about to drink the water.

But just as the water bottle reached his lips, he paused as if suddenly remembering something, and said with a smile, "Captain Dick, thank you for your warm hospitality. Although I encountered some dangers on this trip, I did manage some gains..."

As he spoke, Su Lun calmly reached down to the cloth bag hanging at his waist, revealing the wooden box inside.

"Brother Su Lun, you're too polite..."

Although Dick appeared all smiles, a hint of wariness flashed in his eyes.

He was confident that even if what his opponent pulled out at this moment was a hand grenade, he would be able to avoid it immediately.

"This is something I found in the ruins of an estate before, and I haven't figured out its use yet, so I'm giving it to Captain Dick..."

Su Lun also pretended to be foolishly unaware, with a relaxed smile on his lips, as he opened the box and took out the rune puppet.

If this world contains such spirit control curses, there must also be things that resist mind control.

In his heart, he was actually calculating that, in case the effect didn't meet his expectations, he would have an excuse.

Clearly, the others were deceived by Su Lun's "kind" smile. Seeing that he did not make any dangerous moves that could cause a misunderstanding, the group of people let down their guard.

Naturally, no one expected him to bring out such an "ominous thing"!

....

It was the moment that puppet was exposed to the air—an eerie scene unfolded!

An invisible wave of spiritual power instantly radiated out.

Obviously, the puppet was more powerful than expected.

Even Captain Dick, upon seeing the puppet, his eyes instantly stiffened. The other five people by the campfire seemed to have their souls sucked away at that moment, their gazes dull and fixed.

This was the moment he was waiting for!

Seeing this, Su Lun's expression flashed with a hint of harshness!

Without any hesitation, he drew the pistol from his waist and pulled the trigger at Captain Dick's eye socket.

Earlier, Su Lun had been vigilant. As the only "professional" in the squad, this guy, like Bald Ivan, possessed many miraculous superhuman abilities.

So, even though he was under control, Su Lun felt this guy had to be killed first!

A "bang" sounded.

The head burst open like a smashed watermelon.

'Gained memory fragments*2 from "Dick Nelson"'

'You have mastered some "Intermediate Mechanical Knowledge"'

'Gained a memory fragment: "The number of aberrant incidents in the city is increasing, it feels..."'

'Steam Mechanic Combat Experience +4'

'Spiritual Power +0.13'

A "grey mist" appeared over the body, and with a sweep of his hand, Su Lun absorbed the mist into his soul.

He didn't even have time to digest the information he had received and immediately raised his hand to fire another shot at the sniper on the distant watchtower.

A shot hit the abdomen, and a figure fell down.

The two snipers were not within the puppet's control range, but they did not expect Su Lun to suddenly attack.

They also did not expect that, faced with their team of six, Su Lun could instantly "control" and kill their captain.

Su Lun fired two shots in quick succession because he knew he wouldn't have the chance to fire a third; the other snipers were not fools.

Then he decisively leaped back, taking cover behind a mud wall.

As expected, the next second, a "snap" sounded, and a bullet exploded a large chunk in the mud wall.

The bullet pierced right through the wall, narrowly missing Su Lun.

Then, "tat-tat-tat" of continuous gunfire shattered the nearly one-meter-thick mud wall in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, the only real threat left was the sniper hiding in the watchtower.

Su Lun knew that in terms of marksmanship and terrain, he was not in a favorable position. In a shootout, his pistol stood no chance against a sniper rifle.

Without caring about conserving ammunition, he directly pulled out his pistol loaded with special alchemy bullets and fired several shots towards the position of the lookout.

[Alchemy Bullets (Incendiary)]*2, [Alchemy Bullets (High-Explosive)]*2, [Alchemy Bullets (Concussive)]*2.

Although the large revolver was only loaded with six bullets, it completely overpowered the opposing sniper with its firepower.

At the moment, Su Lun didn't realize that this round of shooting had consumed what many gunmen would use in a year's worth of ammunition expenses.

The three types of special bullets were astonishingly powerful, and after being fired, the entire watchtower was directly blasted away.

The explosion a hundred meters away was quite loud, especially the last two "concussion rounds", which made even Su Lun, who was some distance away, feel his head buzzing.

He didn't delay at all; right after shooting, he charged out.

Because of his enhanced vision, he saw the struggling sniper attempting to get up in the thick dust, and then he fired two more shots.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

The body fell to the ground.

'Acquired 2 *Soul Shard of Xinos Carter.'

'You have gained some basic Alchemy knowledge.'

'Firearms experience +6'

'Spiritual power +0.07'

.....

Su Lun didn't dare to be careless, finding another sniper who had been shot in the abdomen and firing another shot.

Then, he returned to the campfire, looking at the five bodies weirdly twisted like marionettes, he unceremoniously fired four shots, killing four of them.

He left the deputy squad leader, Laun.

From the start of the attack to the end of the battle, the whole process didn't exceed one minute. A fully organized Scavenger squad was entirely wiped out under Su Lun's decisive action.

However, there was a slight problem.

"Stripping too many memories at once, my head can't really take it..."

After consecutively stripping the memories from three bodies, Su Lun found his own head feeling dizzy.

It was like having stayed up all night, with his thoughts muddled.

But he also noticed that if he didn't strip the memories promptly, the "fog" on the bodies would fade. The longer the interval, the lower the quality of the stripped memories. After about five minutes or so, the fog on the bodies would completely dissipate.

This made Su Lun somewhat understand the limitations of the [Reaper of Death] ability.

He rested for a moment, waiting for the Soul Shards in his mind to be fully digested before he finally opened his eyes.

Su Lun took a deep breath, looking reinvigorated, "With this [Reaper] talent, I feel like I can grow unstoppable in this world..."

The Soul Shards from the seven bodies brought him many benefits, suddenly filling his mind with all sorts of strange knowledge and a better understanding of this world.

He felt he had visibly grown stronger.

Just a few minutes of digestion, and he felt he had grasped the knowledge and skills that would typically take a year or two to learn!

....

Su Lun put the [Rune Puppet] back into the wooden box.

He looked at Laun, whom he had tightly bound, and muttered, "I didn't plan to communicate with you all this way..."

Unfortunately, you insisted on harboring malicious intentions.

After putting away the puppet, Laun woke from his mental confusion.

Waking up as if from a dream, he didn't seem to understand what had happened. But once he saw the corpses littering the campsite, and then looked at Su Lun, his eyes instantly filled with terror: "You..."

Su Lun didn't let him ramble another word, stabbing his knife into Laun's right leg and said coldly, "Now, I'll ask a question, and you'll answer one..."

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