Mechanical Alchemist

"Heh, twenty people? Only Kai seems to be a bit of a professional nuisance; the other newbies are not worth fearing,"

"However, we need to pay more attention to that kid who was previously quite close to the 'Four-Armed Rakshasa.' Take him out first if we get the chance, to prevent any unexpected incidents."

"Yes, Captain Kun."

"..."

As soon as Kai organized his gang members to deal with the anomaly event, the "Steam Brotherhood" got wind of it and quietly set up an ambush near the tube houses.

The fact that Captain Kun, or Red Hair, had fled from the Elephant Pub in disarray had become the subject of mockery within the gangster circles, making him too ashamed to show his face among his peers recently.

Now that Sen isn't on Green Street anymore, they're ready to make their move again.

....

Although the city was much safer than outside, anomalies still occurred from time to time.

Old Lington City was built upon an ancient relic and despite many years of clearing and excavation, cursed objects with residual curse characteristics were still occasionally found underground. These items were treasures for professionals but a nightmare akin to a radiation source for ordinary people, easily triggering anomalies.

Then there was the air in the city, which, although its spiritual power was thinner than outside, could still induce anomalies with slight probability;

Consuming contaminated food and water, Scavengers returning from highly anomalous environments, and numerous other reasons... In short, a few anomaly events would occur in various districts almost every month.

And the frequency seemed to be quietly rising over the past few months.

Of course, the most troublesome were the professionals who lost control.

The essence of "anomaly" is that the dark spiritual power within a person goes out of control, destroying their will, and then transforms their body into a monstrous shape, similar to those seen by the giants, or other special forms.

After the transformation, the dark spiritual power in the body becomes unrestricted and soars rapidly. As a result, the monstrous professionals become several times stronger than they were in life, making them very troublesome to deal with.

And outside the city, where there's no city guard or security office, the gangs are the ones handling anomaly events.

Therefore, this was also the daily work of Green Street's Cross Society gang members.

Not long after the assembly order was issued, Su Lun had already arrived at the dilapidated building.

In recent times, more than ten new members had joined, filling in for those lost in the previous battle supporting headquarters.

The assembly was efficient; in no time, there were nearly twenty people in front of the dilapidated building.

Su Lun, who could be considered somewhat of a veteran, was slightly surprised to see that almost all of those who had gathered were "newbies."

After waiting a while, Kai checked the headcount and promptly as usual, said, "Alright, everyone is here, get ready to move out."

Dealing with anomaly events was excellent real combat training. Su Lun only learned from listening to old birds like Sam that this time, Captain Kai was planning to take the newbies out for hands-on experience.

The group got on motorcycles, and Kai explained the mission, "There have been a lot of homeless disappearing around the tube houses these days. Partially eaten corpses and sightings of anomalies... It might be that a seal in a nearby sewer has been broken and monsters have come out, or there could be a 'cursed object' appearing.

Anyway, our task this time is to clear out the basement near the site of the incident in the tube houses. If we're lucky, we may find some ancient buried cursed relics; at the very least we'll get some cursed materials. There will be a bonus for everyone if we do..."

After finishing, he waved his hand grandly, "Let's go, move out."

The crowd nodded in agreement: "Yes, Captain!"

Su Lun remained inconspicuous as always, not saying a word.

Although "anomaly events" were a daily emergency for the gangs, it wasn't without casualties, especially for inexperienced newbies.

Su Lun was not the least bit negligent.

He observed the personnel in the team and checked his equipment for errors before silently mounting the motorcycle carrying a few of the veterans.

....

Apart from the three bustling entertainment districts in Green Street, there was a cluster of tube houses in the north, known as the slums within the civilian area.

This area comprised of ancient architectural ruins, a millennium old, because it retained some decrepit tube houses still suitable for habitation, attracting a large number of homeless, beggars, and thieves. But even the gang members usually didn't want to set foot in that place, as it was synonymous with epidemics, stench, filth, and anomalies...

The crowd from Green Street marched all the way to the tenement building, where someone was already waiting for them.

"Captain Kai, you've arrived!"

The speaker was a little old man dressed in coarse clothes, "Cyclops" Bravo. This guy was also the leader of the Green Street area's thieves, constantly having a few dozen young lads under him, specifically taught thievery to earn money.

Those with talent would also be sent to the gang to be nurtured into professionals.

He was essentially part of the pipeline supplying personnel to the Cross Society.

Kai nodded, familiar with the old man, he dispensed with formalities, "Old man, where did the incident occur?"

Bravo said, "Follow me."

The little old man led a band of people through a wasteland.

A heavy stench of sewage suffused the air.

Su Lun's gaze swept over the surroundings from time to time, spotting the gaunt faces peering out from the shabby shanties, looking at them with curiosity and timidity.

These were the residents of the tenement building.

There were also children around age ten or eight, dressed in tatters, barefoot on the ruins. They followed far behind the people from Green Street, their eyes filled with envy and longing.

In the outer city, there were many such poor people, the exact number unknown, but certainly vast.

Their lives were as cheap as rye, a human life sold for just a hundred lisos. In such harsh living conditions, only sewer rats could survive, yet they stubbornly clung to life.

These slums were also one of the main reasons the inner city had given up governing these districts.

The Cross Society occasionally sent food over.

A lot of gang members came from here.

At least, Captain Kai did.

The old man sighed as he walked, "Ah... don't know what's been going on lately, the monsters in the sewer seem pretty active. A couple of days ago, someone said they saw some gorgeous limitless woman in Snail Alley, hehe... I reckon, it's probably some mutant monster luring people to eat... Sure enough, a few days later, all the homeless in that area had vanished clean."

Su Lun listened from the back, his eyes showing contemplation.

Beautiful women could be found in the pleasure houses of Green Street, but they would definitely not appear here.

But... what kind of mutant monster would turn into a beautiful woman?

This was once again an area beyond Su Lun's knowledge.

....

Before long, the old man led the people from Green Street to the northernmost part of the tenement.

The smell of sewage here was even stronger, as if they were getting closer to some pipe outlets.

The old man pointed to a black tenement a few hundred meters away and said, "Earlier, someone saw mutant monsters appearing in that rotten building. They become even more active when the night fog rolls in. But you guys be careful too, beneath that rotten building there's a cavern that seems to connect to the underground pipe network, not knowing what other monsters are hidden.

Don't venture too deep."

After hearing this, Kai waved his hand and said, "Alright, leave the rest to us."

Now it was the combatants' turn to take action.

He cocked his gun, then turned to Su Lun and the others behind him, "Brothers, it's go time!"

The old man didn't babble on, staying put.

Everyone donned their gas masks and night vision goggles and strode toward the dilapidated building.

Su Lun held the shotgun distributed by the gang and racked the slide.

Compared to a pistol, this scatter-firing firearm was more suitable for dealing with mutant monsters. Even without alchemical bullets, a few more shots could reduce a monster to a pulp.