Mechanical Alchemist

The captive was assassinated, and the people of Green Street returned to their district in disarray.

In an underground room not far from the Hessen Building headquarters, a young man was carefully cleaning his beloved sniper rifle.

It was with this rifle, just minutes ago, that he had assassinated a very important captive of the gang.

Then, due to his identity, he easily slipped away from the encircling gang members' suspicions and returned to this underground room.

But he didn't flee, as if he was waiting for something else.

Soon, a man wearing a cloak walked in silently.

The young man seemed to have been expecting this and didn't turn around, continuing to focus on cleaning his sniper rifle.

The cloaked man asked, "Is it done?"

"Mhm."

The young man nodded his head.

Then, as if he thought of something, his expression darkened, "Old Captain, this is the last thing I promised you I'd do. I won't do it again after this."

"Mhm."

The cloaked man didn't seem to care, as he was there to kill and silence the young man anyway.

At that moment, the young man seemed to guess what was coming, a complex bitter smile hanging on his lips.

He put down the cleaning cloth, his eyes shimmering, and took one last look at the cloaked man before saying, "Old Captain, my debt to you is repaid."

Hearing these words, the cloaked man's gaze hardened slightly, and he fell silent for a moment, "You're not going to try to run away?"

The young man smiled and shook his head, "My life was once saved by you, Old Captain. When I agreed to do this for you, I was prepared for this outcome. If you don't kill me, I wouldn't have the face to stay in the gang anymore."

"Any last words?"

"None. I don't have a family; my death will concern no one. It won't bring you any trouble, Captain."

"..."

Upon hearing the young man's last sentence, something stirred in the cloaked man's heart, but he still did not hesitate to carry out the assassination.

He looked at the body, and finally, a slight tremor appeared in his cold eyes.

The captured man had to die.

But he also knew this was the Chairman's test; whoever committed the murder was definitely an insider.

Therefore, an unsuspected intermediary was needed.

If it hadn't been for this desperate situation, he wouldn't have wanted to kill his own protege... the old team member.

....

Before long, Su Lun and Kai's group returned to Green Street.

Back in their home territory, the subdued mood of the gang members quickly dispersed. With a huge prize of ten thousand in their hands, it would be a time of celebration for them.

The convoy reunited in the same alley where they had gathered before, stashing away ammunition, tallying the damage, sending the broken bikes to the repair shop, and contacting the mechanical clinic for seriously injured members...

Gang fights were a common occurrence, and everyone was well versed in these routines.

Soon, all the miscellaneous tasks were taken care of.

Captain Kai was still somewhat downcast and said to the others, "Alright, everyone go do your own thing..."

Sam and the other old-timers were eager to leave, winking and nudging one another, "Captain, shall we go then?"

Kai nodded, "Sure, but don't get too carried away. Remember to assemble on time for patrol tomorrow."

"Got it!"

The old-timers dispersed excitedly.

Su Lun was also planning to leave with the crowd, but Kai stopped him.

"You performed very well in this operation."

Kai praised Su Lun's performance and got straight to the point, "You have a good shot. If you're considering an advanced profession, you should practice well on a regular basis. If you meet the qualifications, I'll mention it to the officers, and there'll be certain resources allocated to you by the gang."

"Mhm, thank you, Captain."

Su Lun nodded.

However, he wasn't planning to place his hopes on the gang, nor did he wish to be any "rising star" within it.

He already had the "Puppeteer" initiation materials and, after selling the loot from killing Baldy, he figured he'd have enough money for now. He was planning to develop discretely and didn't intend to show his face until he had the power to protect himself.

Kai was probably still preoccupied with the captive's murder and wanted to chat more but didn't have the interest.

"If you ever have any questions about a superhuman career, or if you run into any problems, just let me know."

He paused, squeezing a smile onto his face, "This task was tough on everyone. If there's nothing else, Su Lun, you should go relax a bit..."

"Yeah."

Su Lun didn't say much.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, Captain. I have a question for you."

Kai raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

Su Lun pretended to hesitate before asking, "I saw that 'Angel boss's' alchemical wings were pretty impressive earlier, and I was wondering... If I ever have the chance to advance in my career, is there any possibility that I could get those wing enhancement gear blueprints?"

That was a question he had wanted to ask previously—the wing enhancement gear was his favorite among those he had seen so far, offering both flight and combat capabilities. He felt that, compared to something like the "Indestructible Scales" or the "Gold Arm Bones" which were more for defensive tanks, these wings matched his career goals better.

"Haha, you think that gear is cool too, huh?"

At these words, Kai's eyes suddenly lit up.

He laughed, "Back then... I really wanted the 'Angel boss's' [Thousand Killing Wings] enhancement gear also. It felt like being able to fly in the sky; the wings could even be used as throwing knives, super cool..."

It seemed like everyone had a naive dream in their childhood, but as they grew up, it became unattainable.

Kai looked at Su Lun, seemingly finding common ground.

But suddenly, he changed the subject, "But later, when I qualified to become a professional, I realized that it simply wasn't possible."

Su Lun frowned, confused, "Impossible?"

Kai seemed to realize Su Lun had misunderstood and explained, "In the guild, as long as you make a certain contribution, you can buy any enhancement gear blueprint that the guild has in stock for less than the market price. Even the blueprints for the gear of the executives and the guild leader are available!"

Su Lun listened without rushing to speak.

That was something he had understood already. As long as one joined a guild and made some contributions, you could buy enhancement gear blueprints with money.

That was one of the benefits of joining a guild.

Which was why he had asked that question in the first place and was puzzled why Kai said "impossible."

Smiling, Kai further explained, "You should know that assimilating alchemical enhancement gear isn't without conditions. It requires a certain 'absorption value.' The 'Angel boss's' gear has a strong curse property, needing a high absorption value from one's body."

"Absorption value?"

The term was new to Su Lun, and he was unaware of it.

That's when he learned that absorption value ≈ spiritual power value + rank.

Kai continued, "For ordinary people, reaching the spillover of spiritual power through meditation practices amounts to around seven or eight hundred points. Those with advanced breathing methods might reach a higher limit."

He paused, his face showing a wry smile, then added, "However, the 'Angel boss's' [Thousand Killing Wings] is 'silver-tier' gear, requiring very high standards. To fully contain it in the body, you need a value of nine hundred to a thousand at least, to ensure that you won't be distorted by the gear's curse property!"

"Oh?"

Su Lun was beginning to understand.

That means the concept of "black iron," "silver" and such quality levels for enhancement gear differentiated by this feature. The higher the grade of the gear, the stronger the body's resilience had to be to ensure it wouldn't be distorted.

But as soon as he heard that the silver-tier [Thousand Killing Wings] required a spiritual power value of a thousand to ensure no distortion, Su Lun's thoughts went a bit wild.

He glanced at his data panel, where his own upper limit of spiritual power had grown to "1157," and his eyebrows twitched slightly as he lamented internally, "This [Haigem Breathing Method] the original host learned seems to be of a bit high level..."

An ordinary person's rank one spiritual power spillover being seven or eight hundred was impressive, and very talented executives reached a thousand, while his was approaching twelve hundred.

And it seemed like just barely spilling over, not yet at the limit.

This was enough to suggest that either the breathing method was significantly superior, or the original host had exceptional talent.

Before Su Lun could think further, Kai continued, "So, you should understand why I said 'impossible' now, right? It's not that you can't get the blueprint, but even if you did, you wouldn't be able to use it. The 'Angel boss' had such a high spiritual power value because he used to hunt in the outskirts of the city, where he spent a lot of time in a highly distorted environment..."

Indeed, spending a long time in a high-distortion environment could increase the body's tolerance to spiritual power. However, that method is more likely to cause "distortion" rather than improving strength.

"Oh."

Su Lun nodded thoughtfully, but his mind was wandering to something else.

That is, with his body's condition, he might be able to choose even better gear than silver-tier?

At that moment, Kai remembered how he once expressed his desire for [Thousand Killing Wings] and was reprimanded by the old smoker boss until he was down in the dumps.

He chuckled bitterly, echoing that same rhetoric, "The best enhancement gear should firstly match one's natural abilities, and secondly, the profession... Actually, the [Thousand Killing Wings] are not really suitable for gunmen but are more suited for assassins and rangers.

I think you should look for blueprints that enhance vision and dexterity, like the very strong [Titanium Eyes] for gunmen in the market, or [Agile Hand Bones]..."

"Ordinary enhancement gear blueprints cost just twenty or thirty thousand dollars, and now that you've received a bonus, you can start looking. Those kinds of blueprints are rare and should be snapped up when suitable ones are found."

"If you're not satisfied with the blueprints within the guild, you might also check out the 'Shadow Alley' in the north of the city. The black market occasionally has unexpected treasures..."

"Oh, you haven't tested your spiritual power value yet? Whenever you think it's necessary, I can take you to the headquarters. They have the equipment for testing, allowing you to accurately grasp your situation..."

Hearing Kai's grandmotherly advice, Su Lun smiled, "Okay."