Mechanical Alchemist

"These guys really think I'm a sitting duck, huh..."

Feeling the barely perceptible probing stares at his back, Su Lun found it quite unamusing.

He had been to the black market many times and had always been very careful.

This was the only time at night, and the first time he had been targeted.

But on second thought, if he were those wanderers, he definitely wouldn't pass up the opportunity tonight.

After all, just the entrance fee to the auction today was five thousand, grabbing a few people at random wouldn't leave anyone empty-handed.

And those real heavy-hitters all had their own motorcycles; someone like Su Lun, who was alone, was the perfect "sitting duck".

....

The black market in the northern district of Bird Street was a "no man's land".

Although there were no influential gangs here, the crime rate was persistently high, higher than any other district in the outskirts.

Robberies, extortions, murders, violations... Atrocious crimes occurred frequently in this district. In some gloomy alleys, dead bodies of outsiders, unclear of cause, were often found at dawn.

Those wanderers were different from gangs; they had no fixed territory, no considerations, and paid no respect to anyone. Whether it's the three big gangs or the security department, anyone with money is a sitting duck, and it's just your bad luck if you encounter them.

Just like the three shifty-looking fellows following Su Lun right now.

The auction had ended around four in the morning, and although Old Lington's intercity steam trains operated twenty-four hours, the platforms were barely populated except during the factory workers' shift hours.

Su Lun wrapped himself in a trench coat, tucking his neck under the collar, with the low brim of his hat concealing his deep-set eyes.

He surveyed his surroundings.

Because it was night, the main lights of the lighthouse had gone out, and the gas street lamps weren't very strong, illuminating just a small area underneath them.

Aside from him, there were two other people on the platform.

A drunkard snoozing on a bench, and an old lady, for some reason, strolling around in the middle of the night.

At that moment, across the street in the shadow of the lights, Su Lun's keen vision spotted several people moving quickly, apparently coming from the direction of the black market as well.

....

The hostility pricking at his back grew stronger, and the three wanderers had already made their way onto the platform.

Su Lun's face remained unchanged, as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

Perhaps the other party hadn't expected someone waiting at the bus stop to be a "gun expert".

The three wanderers approached with sneering smirks, forming a triangle as they advanced.

Two drew black gun barrels from beneath their coats, cutting off Su Lun's room to dodge. The leader pointed his gun to Su Lun's head and cut to the chase, "Bro, lend me some cash to spend..."

The standard opening line for a robbery.

But before the word "spend" had finished, a gun barrel was shoved lightning-fast into the guy's mouth, silencing whatever he was about to say.

Without any fuss, with a "bang," the head exploded into a clump of crimson right in front of Su Lun.

Su Lun emotionlessly squeezed the trigger, murmuring to himself, "If I were you, I would have started shooting from ten meters away. Even though it wouldn't hit, at least you'd have a chance to fire..."

A gunman's movements are actually quite predictable, especially for non-professionals.

The action of drawing a gun, the interval of aiming, and the timing of pulling the trigger... There was plenty of time for anyone to react.

To "gun expert" Su Lun, these three men's actions were as juvenile as children playing around, riddled with flaws.

Just a moment ago, even though one of them had his gun trained on his head, Su Lun felt no imminent sense of death.

His neural response speed was now fast enough to clearly catch the premonition of muscle contraction the other was about to pull the trigger and to dodge comfortably before the trigger was pulled. To then find the leeway to return fire with a shot.

Just like the headshot that had just transpired.

....

However, while a shot aimed at the head had resolved one issue, the angles of the two guns pointing at Su Lun's body couldn't be completely avoided.

Seeing their partner killed in front of them, the other two thugs were stunned for a moment, but they instinctively pulled their triggers.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Two flintlock pistols spewed flames, Su Lun dodged one bullet by moving to the side, the other bullet brushed past him.

And in the instant right after the enemy fired, his hands had already fired back two shots, killing the two astonished robbers.

A whiff of smoke rose from the grazed area on Su Lun's abdomen, but no blood flowed out. He glanced at it and disregarded it, "Good thing I wore a bulletproof vest..."

This was also one of the reasons he was nonchalant in the face of three gun barrels.

In the span of a second, three thugs were shot dead, the platform's drunkard woke up in fright, and the old lady dropped her paper bag in shock.

Su Lun didn't intend to pay attention to these two bystanders and planned to find another place to catch a ride.

A few blind thieves, easily dealt with in passing.

It was a minor incident in itself.

In the chaotic Bird District, shootings were all too common, and no sheriffs or patrol officers would come looking for trouble...

But unexpectedly, before he had a chance to put away his gun, a bizarre battle suddenly erupted across the street!

....

Su Lun had not anticipated that his few shots would actually draw out a "big fish".

He had noticed those people across the street earlier, originally thinking they were just wanderers and easy marks, but unexpectedly, the sound of gunfire seemed to ignite a fuse on a keg of gunpowder, and those people started to run frantically like startled rabbits.

Then the cloaked person being chased fired a shot back without looking.

And then...

In Su Lun's field of view, a building that had been hit was missing a huge chunk!

"Alchemy bullets?"

Su Lun's pupils suddenly constricted. He hadn't had time to put his firearm back in its holster; without any hesitation, he instinctively sprawled on the ground, then quickly rolled to find a sufficiently thick stone wall to use as cover, avoiding getting accidentally shot.

Seeing the alchemy bullet, he guessed that those on the other side were all professionals!

"Could it be a case of murder for loot?"

Su Lun speculated in his mind.

But what came next was even more outrageous.

The pursuers, amidst their pursuit, saw one of them suddenly burst into raging flames from both hands, throwing a punch that created a monstrous fire dragon that swept dozens of meters down the street. Yet, as extravagant as that punch was, the flame shockwave was somehow absorbed by the person in front of him raising his hand as if a black hole appeared and sucked in all the flames!

The other pursuers also drew various firearms and went rat-tat-tat towards the person in front.

"A Magician specializing in magic!"

Seeing the power of this punch and the alchemy bullets exploding all over the street, Su Lun's face darkened.

At this moment, he realized he had accidentally entered a battle between high-level professionals.

Without another thought, he immediately decided to turn around and leave.

In a battle of this level, getting involved meant he could die without knowing how it happened.

Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished.

.....

The person in the cloak who was being chased had wanted to flee further along the street, but had not expected that there would be people blocking the way ahead.

Su Lun even saw the blockading party before the cloaked person did and cursed inwardly, "Don't come this way..."

But obviously, with both fronts blocked, the cloaked person could only flee towards the opposite side of the street.

And the opposite side of the street was precisely the platform where Su Lun was hiding!

With nowhere to go, the cloaked person charged in Su Lun's direction.

Any person being chased by so many would naturally be no easy target. But then, the person suddenly spread their arms, and two steel cables shot out "whoosh," latching onto the iron columns of the platform. With a reel of the cables, the person took flight.

Su Lun stared with his mouth agape as the silhouette flew overhead like Big Bird.

It was during that glimpse that he noticed the face under the cloak, and his eyes narrowed, "Eh... isn't that the woman with the million-dollar bounty?"

No wonder she was worth so much; she turned out to be a high-level professional!

As the person flew overhead, Su Lun dared not to move. If he broke into a run now, he might be mistaken by the people behind him as the woman's accomplice and be shot dead on the spot.

In that instant, more silhouettes "whooshed" over Su Lun's head.

The sound of gunfire continued.

Su Lun ducked, playing the ostrich and looking for a chance to slip away.

Just then, there was a "thump" like the sound of something heavy falling.

Upon closer inspection, there was a body with a shattered skull lying next to him.

"..."

Su Lun felt utterly bewildered throughout the experience.

Glancing around, he noticed that no one paid any attention to him, an insignificant passerby. All the black-clad figures were chasing the woman into the depths of the alley, and the gunfire was getting further away.

The grey mist from the body, being close enough, got instantly absorbed.

'Gained 3 memory fragments of Ferry Valentine'

'You have received a piece of information: "Damn woman, if we can't catch her, we're all going to die..."'

'You have gained some advanced mechanical knowledge...'

'You have comprehended Earth-based Alchemy [Triple Spikes]...'

'Casting experience +19'

'Spiritual power +0.29'

"People from the Umbrella Organization?"

From the stripped information, Su Lun quickly learned about the origin of the body.

Looking around, he didn't hesitate and picked up the firearm and storage ring from the body, then headed straight for the direction of the black market.

The backstage boss of the "Shadow Alley" black market was rumored to be a top-tier power that even the Inner City couldn't trouble.

The safest place Su Lun could think of at this moment was to get back to the black market!

....

It went smoothly, avoiding the direction of gunfire, Su Lun had an unobstructed path back to the black market.

Umbrella Organization's goods were not easy to handle, so he didn't dare keep the spoils on him and sold them all to the black market merchants.

It had to be said, this elite organization of the Inner City really was rich. Even though there wasn't much else on the body, just the rune firearm and a bunch of alchemy bullets sold for a pretty penny...

It seemed that alchemy bullets were standard issue among Umbrella Organization members, supplied in dozens.

Su Lun speculated it might have something to with the level of their missions, but... that was none of his concern.

In the end, everything from the storage ring sold for over a million!

Meanwhile, the commotion outside grew louder, drawing out the hidden professionals from within the black market.

Su Lun blended into the crowd and sneaked out.

He didn't go to watch the excitement, but instead went around several blocks and carefully made his way back to Green Street.

Coming to his senses, he realized the latter half of the night's thrilling events felt like an illusion.

An hour ago, he was so poor he had only his living expenses left.

Then, because of a bizarre chase and gunfight, and a corpse falling from the sky, he inexplicably... had money?