Mechanical Alchemist

"Haha, I knew it," laughed one of the betters, "the 'Red side' was bound to win. After all, that guy's height and reach were just too much of an advantage..."

Before long, amid the cheers of the gamblers, another gladiator was killed, and the match ended.

The gamblers cheered for the victor, while the loser's body was dragged out of the octagonal cage like a dead dog, leaving behind a glaring streak of blood on the ground.

Unmoved, Su Lun watched the scene unfold before him.

As the body passed by him, no one noticed the wisp of "grey mist" that he absorbed.

'Acquired "Watt Smith's Memory Shard *2"'

'You have gained the information: "I really don't want to be enslaved and fight in these damned underground boxing matches..."'

'You have mastered the skill [Ground Technique: Cross Hold], +2 combat experience'

'Spiritual power +0.05'

As Su Lun digested the newly acquired Memory Shard, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he felt a bit surprised, "Did I just directly comprehend a combat skill?"

This was the first time [Reaper] had spliced out a complete skill.

Did that mean there was also a chance he could directly splice out complete alchemy or spell skills?

In that moment, Suli suddenly felt the surprise was somewhat unexpected.

Although not every soul he stripped yielded useful skills, the abundance of bodies was a boon!

With seven or eight such deathmatches a night, that was over two hundred bodies a month.

Moreover, gladiators were combat experts with hands-on fighting skills, making it highly likely to strip fighting abilities from them!

Compared to fighting for his life to kill a few enemies, this way of "collecting" Memory Shards was just too easy.

All he had to do was stay by the ring, watch the fights, with almost no risk involved.

Really, if he could survive a few months, Su Lun felt his combat prowess would absolutely leap exponentially!

Of course, that was assuming he could live long enough in a gang with a high mortality rate.

On his first day on the job, Su Lun was beginning to like his identity in the gang...

....

After one fight, there wasn't much of a break before the next one began.

Su Lun's attention was all on the bodies, not expecting the bet placing hostess in hot pants to come over again, smiling sweetly.

She handed over the tray and said flirtatiously, "Hey, sir, congratulations on your win. Do you need my help to place a bet on the next one? The final match of the evening is between real 'professionals'..."

"Professionals participate in these deathmatches?"

Su Lun's gaze slightly faltered; he was not overly joyous about winning money—he had won just over a thousand in total.

What truly surprised him was that professionals actually participated in these deathmatches?

In his mind, those with supernatural powers would be better off doing something else; why earn money risking their lives?

Seeing Su Lun's interest, the hostess asked again, "Sir, which one do you fancy? Shall I place the bet for you?"

As she spoke, she pressed her body against Su Lun's, rubbing against him like a kitten.

Su Lun understood this wasn't a romantic advance, but a subtle hint for a tip.

He wasn't stingy, and he pulled out two hundred lira bills, stuffing them into the hostess's cleavage.

That was behavior befitting a normal gambler.

"Giggle... Thank you, boss."

The hostess felt a ticklish sensation in her chest, but far from feeling taken advantage of, she smiled even more seductively.

Su Lun's hand didn't linger; he pulled out several more wads of cash and said, "For the next few fights, I'm betting on the Red side, a thousand each bet."

"The boss sure has an eye for it, I also think the Red side has a higher win rate tonight~"

After filling out the betting slip, the hostess sent a charming kiss and sashayed away.

....

The life-and-death battles in the octagonal cage continued unabated, and Su Lun was seriously observing each fight.

Besides stripping Soul Shards, he was also seriously learning the combat techniques of this world.

While these gladiators weren't "professionals," their physical qualities far surpassed those of Earth humans, and their styles and techniques were vastly different from what Su Lun was accustomed to.

To disguise his true purpose and actions of "collecting," he played the role of a normal gambler, cheering for the side he bet on, ecstatic when he won money, and lamenting when he lost.

Having such an easy-going environment on his first day in the gang, intuition told him that it seemed like someone was watching him from time to time.

There was something questionable about his predecessor's identity, and he didn't want to draw too much attention.

And in fact, that was exactly the case.

While Su Lun and the other rookies were spending time in various entertainment venues, Captain Kai, who was playing cards with some veterans, also received reports from his subordinates.

"What are the rookies up to now?"

"That Su Lun has been gambling at the gladiator arena all this time. The other three, Kig went to the bar, Sapa, and Andrew went to the 'Emperor's Bathhouse'..."

"Oh, got it."

Kai responded expressionlessly to the reports, and the conversation dropped off there.

Sam, who had been with Kai for a long time, had no reservations in speaking his mind and asked curiously, "Captain, why have the brothers keep an eye on the new guys?"

"The old boss Smokey used to say that normal people have to indulge in one of five things: eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, or smoking; it's a natural human need. Those who don't show desires either have ulterior motives, are highly disciplined, or are simply monsters... and none of them can be made friends with."

Kai continued to fiddle with the cards in his hand and explained indifferently, "I certainly don't want someone with hidden agendas to infiltrate our team..."

....

Su Lun found that his luck seemed pretty good. He won more than he lost in the few matches he bet on and even managed to make a small profit of a few thousand Lisu.

Finally, the last and highlight battle of the evening began.

Before the match started, the rumble of elevators could be heard beneath the arena. The octagonal cage was dismantled and lowered underground, and a large transparent glass cover rose up.

Instead of being surprised, the crowd of gamblers erupted in waves of excitement at this unusual commotion.

"Whoa~ There's a good show tonight!"

"..."

Su Lun looked at the thick glass walls on the stage and found them oddly familiar. Weren't these like the bulletproof glass of bank counters from his past life? Only, they seemed thicker.

The portly gambler beside him, who appeared to be a regular here, muttered, "Tsk tsk... it's been a long time since I've seen the 'blast shield' raised. Looks like tonight's 'professionals' are very strong in combat."

At that moment, the first competitor made his entrance.

He was a man being escorted to the stage by several robotic arms, looking like a prisoner.

Su Lun raised an eyebrow at the scene: "A dangerous character has arrived..."

No sooner had the man appeared than the crowd exploded with energy.

"How is that possible, how can it be him!"

Some among the crowd recognized the man's identity and cried out, "A-class wanted criminal 'Scorpio' Abek, a bona fide second-order professional. Are we really seeing him in this fight match tonight?"

Others also began to whisper among themselves, clearly no one expected tonight's match to be of such a high caliber!

"I heard that guy caused trouble in the inner city and got caught by the 'Umbrella Organization', but I didn't think it was true."

"This match just got interesting. That guy has countless murders under his belt and has evaded capture for years; he's certainly no slouch..."

"To have 'Scorpio' Abek in the match, who could his opponent be? Another second-order professional? Heh, that's rare. Second-order professionals are top fighters anywhere, and now they've been brought to the gladiator arena?"

"..."

Second-order?

Su Lun, hearing the gamblers' conversations, also felt it was hard to believe.

The "Steel Cross Society" was one of the three major gangs in Old Lington and already a powerful large-scale supernatural organization. But even they had few second-order professionals.

Captain Kai, who controlled three street blocks, was only a novice first-order professional. Su Lun hadn't expected that tonight's deathmatch would immediately bring two second-orders, one of whom was guaranteed to die.

"Just how strong is a second-order professional?"

Su Lun's curiosity was piqued; he didn't have any concept of a second-order professional's fighting power.

Both 'Iron Head' Ivan and 'Silver Arm' Dick, whom he had previously killed, were first-order professionals. But to him, they were already monstrously strong. If not for a stroke of luck, a hundred Su Luns might not have been able to defeat them.

And now two second-orders had arrived?

"Which means... in a short while, I'll be able to strip a second-order professional of their soul?"

Su Lun's surprise turned into anticipation, he found himself looking forward to what he might obtain from the body even before the match had started.

....

After the cheering, the second competitor entered the stage.

He was a burly man in a suit with a cold face and a scarred left eye, looking like a chunk of cold stone.

His attire was meticulous, with hair slicked back with gel, exuding an air of superiority. He almost looked like the bodyguard of some big shot from the inner city.

The host introduced this man's name as: 'Red Demon' Goron!

A guy who seemed to have no reputation in the outer city.

But the experienced gamblers always seemed to catch some insider news.

On hearing this man's name, it seemed someone knew of his background.

"Eh... could it be that one?"

"You know him?"

"Recently, I heard that a big shot's personal bodyguard in the inner city secretly had an affair with the boss's beautiful wife, and the scandal was quite widespread... Could this 'Red Demon' be the very guy?"

"It might well be. Otherwise who would be willing to let a second-order professional fight to the death? He's probably been sold to the betting ring, or perhaps he was personally delivered by the cuckolded big shot..."

"Tsk, tsk, to be the bodyguard of a big shot in the inner city, the combat strength has to be extremely strong. I've heard those big shots have high requirements for talent when choosing bodyguards, at least a 'C-grade', or even a potential awakening of a rare 'B-grade talent'..."

"..."

Su Lun listened to the rumors around him, thoughtfully.

But it seemed that 'Scorpio' Abek was a bit stronger?

....

"Ding Dang!"

The bell sounded, and the match began.

However, right from the start, Su Lun, the transmigrator, had his eyes wide open to a whole new world!

PS. Brothers, let's get a wave of support, those new book votes are super important~