Mechanical Alchemist

The auction began shortly.

The black market auction was quite intriguing, reminiscent of an outdoor drive-in movie from Su Lun's previous life.

Because the black market in "Shadow Alley" was built over a pipe on a rock wall, there was another dark rock wall opposite it.

It was this rock wall that the black market organizers had somehow turned into a projection screen. The auction items were displayed on the rock wall as "slides," allowing everyone on every level of the black market to see them clearly.

There was no auctioneer, just item descriptions and constantly changing prices displayed above.

Famed guns, famed swords, ancient relics, cursed items, and alchemy manuscripts... none was anything less than extraordinary.

Su Lun salivated over the items in the shop but felt somewhat helpless.

The desire to buy was there, but the items, each costing at least a hundred thousand or several hundred thousand, would deplete his savings with just one purchase.

It wasn't just the inner city that housed the wealthy; the top professionals from the outer city were also remarkably affluent.

....

"Forget it... I'll just wait and look at the blueprints,"

Su Lun consoled himself, restraining himself from bidding on the very impressive famed gun.

At that moment, an item appeared that immediately skyrocketed in price.

It was something like a page of notes, thin and with its image blurred, making the text unclear.

However, the accompanying item description stated, "An original page from Sir Isaac's Alchemy Manuscript."

You should know, a typical black iron rig might sell for just over a hundred thousand risos.

This single page, upon its introduction, instantly jumped to over two million, causing Su Lun's eyelids to twitch as he thought, "There sure isn't a shortage of rich people in the outer city..."

Eventually, the manuscript sold for over three million to a mysterious buyer.

That was still considered a "bargain" price, for in the inner city auction, it would likely command between four and five million.

Just as this item appeared, in an inconspicuous shop, the two individuals in black coats Su Lun had encountered earlier were seated.

The man in the coat looked at the manuscript and seemed to recognize something, whispering softly, "Boss, isn't that the manuscript that was stolen from the Duncan family's ancestral vault?"

The woman in the coat, with a face that showed she was used to such things, casually replied, "Probably."

The man's expression turned ghastly. It was a case that had been causing their organization a great deal of headache, and they had yet to catch the suspect. He muttered, "Damn it, that audacious thief actually brought the stolen goods here."

The woman, unfazed, gazed profoundly at the projection ahead and said calmly, "What else? If not illicit goods with unknown origins, what do you think they sell here? Just watch quietly, and don't get so agitated. Remember, our purpose here isn't to catch some thief but to find that guy who escaped from the lab..."

"Oh."

The young man, upon hearing this, unenthusiastically shrugged his shoulders.

He looked at the manuscript again and suddenly thought of something, then asked, "Boss, is it true that Chak from the 'Cross Society' found an edition of Isaac's Alchemy Manuscript outside the city last time? The one rumored to be one of those five books that record the divine alchemy?"

The woman replied, "It's probably true. Otherwise, the Oliver conglomerate wouldn't have gone to such lengths to sneakily try to steal it. Heh, they didn't succeed in getting their item, but ended up losing a very powerful 'Sealed Object' instead..."

The young man then asked, "Boss, do you think... the manuscript could have ended up back in Chak's hands?"

The woman in the trench coat shook her head and replied, "That should be impossible. Since the news has leaked, Chak knows he can't keep that notebook. That guy is clever, he definitely wouldn't keep such a big problem close to himself. The information should be accurate, the manuscript must have really been lost…"

"Oh."

"Wow... that's the latest model of military mechanical prosthetics from the inner city defense forces! Damn it, who is letting this kind of controlled machinery flow into the market!"

"Sss... the effect of that 'cursed object' is so strong, you could get a better price just by finding any buyer in the inner city. Oh, it's probably stolen goods again!"

"Oh, my God, the batch of 'premium recovery potions' stolen from the Nathan Commerce Guild..."

"..."

The young man seemed to be attending a black market auction for the first time, and he was shocked repeatedly by the premium items.

The woman in the trench coat, however, appeared indifferent, used to the sight.

Just then, an item described as "materials from a mutated aberration monster" appeared at the auction, and the young man seemed to remember something and spoke up again.

"Boss, there have been several serious 'sewer monster incidents' recently reported by the security division of the outer city. Looking at the bodies of those monsters, it seems they are a variant type never seen before. Could this be a precursor to some bad events?"

"Sewer mutant monsters? Hahaha... it's probably a laboratory leak, and some residuals have flowed into the sewer. Those guys in the Black Tower always like to conduct crazy experiments; it's not the first or second time such accidents have happened. You haven't been in the organization long enough, but over time, with sufficient clearance, you'll understand these things..."

"Ah... then do you think that the person we've been ordered to find might be connected to some secret experiments in the tower?"

"Forgot the confidentiality agreement?"

"..."

The two mysterious figures in trench coats whispered to each other in the shop.

The auction continued.

....

Su Lun watched the projection in front of him, letting out a long sigh every now and then.

Just now, a silver-quality prosthetic product and a schematic had been auctioned, but they were both for close combat, which was incompatible with his profession.

Of course, the incompatibility was one thing, another was the price.

After the last tower block incident, Su Lun had received over two hundred thousand in compensation, and together with his own savings, he had almost four hundred thousand in cash.

He had initially thought that buying a prosthetic schematic would be enough, but now, seeing the prices of the auction items increasing as they progressed, he was losing hope.

A silver schematic had already appeared, so the items that followed would only be better and more expensive.

Could there even be the legendary "gold schematic"?

Su Lun had thought he would leave empty-handed, but surprisingly, an extremely rare schematic appeared.

Just then, a prosthetic schematic without descriptive details appeared in the projection; its pattern was eight spider legs, and the name labeled was [Eight-armed Spider God Spear (Gold)].

The origin of the item was an "ancient schematic" found by a scavenger group in the ruins outside the city, truly a unique item.

Starting price: three hundred thousand Riso.

The moment it appeared, it immediately drew a gasp from the entire black market.

"Gold blueprints?"

"That's rare. Even the inner city auction house might not see gold blueprints even once a year..."

"Hehe, too bad, despite the high quality, there probably won't be many bidders."

"..."

Blueprints exhibited by the black market are always verified, and nobody doubts their authenticity.

However, after reading the description of the blueprints, almost everyone was pessimistic about the blueprints fetching a good price.

....

Meanwhile, in a small shop in the corner, two agents from the "Umbrella Organization" also noticed the auction item.

The man in the coat looked at the projection in surprise, exclaiming, "It's actually 'Gold Blueprints'? Can such fine items still be found in the outside city?"

The aloof woman took another look but shook her head, commenting, "Although the tier of this blueprint is high, its practicality is limited. The spider-form alchemical prosthesis is too complex to operate, requiring high skills and divided attention. This would be difficult for most professionals to utilize."

Pausing, she added mercilessly, "Moreover, the more complex the prosthesis, the stricter the material requirements and the higher the alchemy needed. A slight mistake can easily lead to flaws, resulting in a high failure rate, which is not worth it. Similar items have appeared at the inner city auction before, but they are fine as collectibles, not valuable for practical use."

Upon hearing this, the man in the coat felt it was a pity, but hesitated, "But... this is an artifact from ancient ruins, shouldn't it be extraordinary?"

"A gold-tier prosthesis is, of course, not simple. Once finished, its power would definitely far exceed similar tier prostheses. However..."

The woman in the coat agreed with this view.

Changing her tone, she continued, "Perhaps some rare professionals from ancient times could fully utilize this type of prosthesis. But now... finding a first-tier professional in Old Lington who can manage eight arms is probably impossible."

Hearing this, the man in the coat realized, losing his interest, "No wonder... such a useless blueprint. The auctioneer must know it wouldn't fetch a good price in the inner city, so they brought it here to the black market to try their luck."

....

Most people in the black market were also pessimistic about the gold blueprint and showed little interest. However, in Gesen's alchemy shop, someone couldn't take his eyes off it.

"Requires high skill, advanced control ability... high teleportation speed, climbing ability, poison needle mechanisms..."

Su Lun squinted his eyes, looking at the image on the projection, muttering to himself.

He wasn't aware that others saw the alchemy blueprint as worthless, but the moment he saw the blueprint, he immediately realized it was the perfect alchemical prosthesis for his "Puppeteer" profession.

After reading some of the effects described in the blueprint, Su Lun felt that this was definitely tailor-made for him.

Controlling eight spider limbs was indeed difficult for others, but for Su Lun, who had awakened the "Divided Attention" Puppeteer ability, with diligent practice, managing eight tasks simultaneously was not impossible!

Su Lun calculated, "With these eight limbs, it means I'd have ten arms, allowing me to control more puppets than just with my hands..."

Looking at the blueprint, he could already foresee himself controlling ten or even more puppets in battle.

With this prosthesis, combined with his Puppeteer profession, he alone would be an army!

Moreover, the blueprint mentioned that this prosthesis possessed high teleportation and climbing abilities, capable of fighting and escaping, making it the ideal combination.

Eight limbs to climb, this was also why it required high skills.

For Su Lun, this prosthesis was a perfect fit!

However, as satisfied as he was, the auction price made Su Lun's eyelid twitch, "The starting bid is 300,000..."

He had never witnessed a gold blueprint auction before, but he estimated that the final hammer price would be at least one million or more.

Living through this period, Su Lun felt poor for the first time.

Consider that a regular finished black iron alchemical prosthesis would cost about one hundred thousand. The blueprint alone started at three hundred thousand, not to mention the material costs. To actually forge this "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear" prosthesis, the numbers could be intimidating.

However, blueprints are rare and not to be missed, especially those that suit oneself.

If he missed this chance, who knows when he might have another opportunity.

When the item was listed, no one bid for a long time.

Su Lun gathered his wandering thoughts and lifted the sign for the first time, "300,000!"

....

Prosthetic blueprints are strategic assets and are favorites among major forces and conglomerates for hoarding.

Logically, the appearance of such a "unique" blueprint at the auction would have caused a frenzy.

But this gold blueprint wasn't even as popular as a previous silver blueprint.

Su Lun quickly understood why.

This prosthesis requires too high a physical attribute; most professions aren't suitable, and it's useless for ordinary people!

Impractical, becoming merely a dust-collecting collectible once obtained.

While someone in the inner city might spend hundreds of thousands on a collectible trinket, such luxury would definitely not be found in the outer city.

Seeing that the price did not soar too quickly, Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief.

But then... the auction price quickly surpassed 400,000.

This was the total amount of cash Su Lun had.

Then, 450,000, 500,000...

Su Lun looked at the blueprint, propped his chin, and frowned, looking very serious.

Then, he turned his gaze to the little old man with glasses deeply engrossed in a book at Rosen's alchemy shop, asking, "Boss, do you buy cursed materials and finished prosthetic items here?"

"Yes."

The old man glanced at Su Lun and nodded.

....

Finally, after several rounds of bidding, Su Lun gritted his teeth and called out "800,000" as the high bid, ultimately securing the blueprint.

The cost was that he sold off all the spoils from having killed "Ironhead" Ivan, "Silver Mechanic" Dick, and nearly everything from the cylindrical building.

A blueprint for an alchemical prosthesis, costing his entire fortune.

PS. Brothers, next week's recommendation is crucial, deciding the life and death of this book. Please don't just stockpile; vote. If possible, consider making a small donation~ Thanks, everyone.