Mechanical Alchemist

After the ambush incident at the tube apartment building, the turf wars on Green Street had also temporarily subsided.

Not only had the Steam Party acknowledged their fault and signed a ceasefire agreement, but more importantly, "Red Demon" Goron had become an officer of the Cross Society, overseeing several squads near Green Street. With such a formidable second-class professional existing, the cost for the opposing party to take any underhanded actions had increased significantly.

As for that "scythe," the information left by the monster's memory fragments differed from that of human memory; it was vague and simplistic, containing only the concept of moving through forks and turns without a sense of spatial direction like up, down, left, or right. Thus, while Su Lun knew how to find it by entering from the dungeon's entrance, he did not know its exact location.

It meant that if he wanted to find it, he would have to go down to the tube apartment building's dungeon once more.

Before he regained the power to protect himself, Su Lun was not foolish enough to go down there again.

Therefore, his goal was to find suitable alchemy enhancements for himself as soon as possible.

He planned to try his luck at the black market to see if he could purchase some higher-level blueprints.

Unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to exchange for the silver blueprints of "Thousand Killing Wings" from the gang's headquarters.

After all, if he did, it would reveal the fact that his body had a high capacity for containment, which might draw the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Everyone knew that the higher the containment value, the higher the rank of the breathing method one possessed, barring special circumstances.

Most of the high-ranking breathing methods were held by the top financial magnates in the inner city or even by some large families as their exclusive cultivation techniques.

Su Lun was increasingly aware that the "Haigem Breathing Method" previously learned by his body's original owner was of extremely high rank and definitely could not be exposed.

For the time being, he still planned to remain inconspicuous.

....

Shadow Alley's black market held an auction each month at an irregular time.

During the auction, Scavengers, mercenaries, and professional thieves would come together to sell their goods, and black market shop owners would also bring out the fine objects and collectibles they had acquired through various channels for the auction, so many desirable items would appear.

One day, Su Lun received the latest issue of the Old Lingdun Times at the hotel.

In an inconspicuous corner of the advertising section, he spotted a message.

[Recruitment information: Graham Printing Factory is hiring 12 workers, monthly salary of 2180 Lison, rotating day and night shifts...]

Decoded, it meant Sunday, midnight at 12 o'clock. 2180 was half of an invitation code; regular black market visitors held another code, which when combined, formed the full invitation code.

It's said that each power received their invitation codes through different sources, not just from the same message in a newspaper. Should any issues arise, the organizers behind the black market could trace back using this code to find where the problem originated.

It's worth mentioning that "Cryptography" is a basic skill for alchemists.

The coded message in the newspaper was the simplest application of it.

In the last dazzling age of alchemy (a thousand years ago), in order not to have their research results stolen by others and to conceal the secrets of some astonishing research, alchemists would fragment their knowledge and disperse it in many places.

The content of nearly all ancient alchemy scrolls passed down to the present all has hidden codes, requiring deciphering to know the content, with the intention that only those who truly deserve it will have access.

Therefore, the phrase often mentioned by Sir Isaac, revered as "Alchemical Demigod," in his notes—"one book opens another"—has also become the motto of alchemists in later generations.

...

Su Lun asked for a day off from Kai, saying he wanted to visit the black market.

Due to their shared ordeal at the tube apartment building, his relationship with Kai was quite special, and getting leave was smooth sailing.

He planned to try his luck at the auction to see if he could find suitable equipment blueprints and also take the opportunity to switch for another rune firearm.

After all, the "Three-Headed Ghost" was too recognizable; anyone in the gang world would know it as the signature gun of the assassin "Iron Head" Ivan.

Taking the tram to the intersection of the Bird district in the north city, Su Lun arrived two hours early.

After observing the surroundings and seeing no suspicious activity, he headed towards "Shadow Alley."

There's an auction tonight, so there's a security gate installed.

Behind the iron door, a small window was opened where a muscular man with tattooed arms acted as the toll collector.

Each person entering had to provide an invitation code and pay an entrance fee of five thousand lyso.

Having spent five thousand before even buying anything made Su Lun feel a bit of a pinch. But it also served to weed out most of the folks who were there just for the spectacle.

This wasn't Su Lun's first time at the black market; he knew his way around.

However, there were indeed more people than usual today, mostly clad in long overcoats and duckbill caps to hide their faces, or hooded masks, all dressed in mysteriously secretive attire.

Blending into the crowd with his deerstalker hat on, Su Lun didn't draw any attention to himself.

There wasn't a specific grand hall for the black market auction; it was more like a farmers' market "gathering" from a previous life, where people found their own spots to wait for the auction to begin.

It was still early, and Su Lun browsed the narrow streets lined with steel frames. He noticed that the "missing person notice" of his original person was still hanging on the bulletin board.

But today, in the most conspicuous spot, there was an additional red missing person notice.

"Information leading to a reward of a million lyso?"

Seeing that long list of bounties piqued Su Lun's interest, so he stopped to take a closer look.

The black and white photograph featured a woman with delicate features and a competent aura, looking very much like a corporate office worker's professional photo. From the picture alone, you could tell her demeanor was markedly different from that of the outer city's common folk; she must be from the inner city.

"This is a reward amount comparable to that for an S-ranked wanted criminal... What on earth did this woman in the picture do?"

Su Lun was curious but didn't linger for long.

While a million lyso reward was tempting, a high bounty also meant high risk.

As for a person with a bounty comparable to that of an S-ranked wanted criminal, he had no intention of becoming a bounty hunter, even if he did come across the person in question.

Su Lun moved away from the bulletin board, and at that moment, he happened to brush past two individuals in black overcoats.

From their build, they appeared to be a man and a woman.

Just as Su Lun passed by, the man glanced sideways and murmured to his companion, "Huh... That guy just now seemed vaguely familiar. Even though his face was covered, I'm sure I've seen him before..."

The woman in the overcoat replied indifferently, "Half the people here are wanted criminals or have a record with the organization. It's normal for you to feel like you've seen him before. But this isn't our turf, so it's best not to meddle."

The man withdrew his gaze and decided not to dwell on it further, "Hmm!"

....

Meanwhile, Su Lun, pretending to be unaware of everything, continued walking, his expression turning solemn as he murmured to himself, "I've been noticed, have I..."

When he brushed past those two people just now, he too felt a formless pressure. It was the kind of hierarchical pressure one only feels when facing high-ranking professionals, like those in management positions.

His now exceptionally high spiritual power made his perception very sharp and allowed him to sense subtle things, such as someone else's gaze.

He was certain that when they brushed past each other, that man had glanced at him with his peripheral vision.

"That guy must have some special recognition ability to have spotted something, or maybe it was just curiosity..."

Su Lun didn't think his current bald and eyebrow-less appearance bore much resemblance to his original self, but in this world with supernatural abilities, recognizing someone definitely wouldn't rely solely on sight.

Just as he became alert, the sensation of being watched disappeared a moment later, and Su Lun let out a sigh of relief.

Apparently, it really was just a casual glance.

Not wanting to linger too long on the street, he glanced at the sign for "Rosen's Alchemy Shop" and dived right in.