Mechanical Alchemist

```

Suddenly, such a "bizarre-grade" mutant monster appeared, catching the four teams off guard.

But seeing that the two assistants watching from above had no intention of coming down to help, Su Lun was happy to stand by and watch the show.

The students had seen specimens of zombie-like oddities at the academy and had also learned and practiced tactics for dealing with them, but this was their first time seeing a live one.

Although somewhat panicked, it had to be said that these students had a solid theoretical knowledge and responded quite appropriately.

The four teams coordinated with each other, the heavily armored mechanical students held off the monster's charge, and the others quickly found cover to concentrate their fire on the BOSS.

However, it wasn't just that particular monster; as soon as it appeared, the other mutant creatures hidden in the shadows madly rushed out.

In an instant, the students were submerged in a tide of monsters.

...

Fortunately, the defensive capabilities of the academy's battle suits were good; otherwise, the impact of this initial encounter alone might have resulted in injuries among these young students.

Meanwhile, when everyone else was engaged in intense battle, Su Lun noticed a shifty gaze darting his way through the crowd.

On a closer look, he saw a chubby fellow casting him an innocent glance from afar. It was as if those eyes could speak: "Bro, remember to look out for me!"

Although Su Lun found this both amusing and frustrating, he understood the look and nodded in the guy's direction.

After all, as members of the elite class, the students weren't that feeble.

After a brief moment of chaos, the leaders of the four teams finally snapped to their senses and began to arrange their formations according to the tactics practiced on regular days.

"Form defensive formation, triangle formation!"

"Don't panic, prepare the heavy firearms!"

"Mage class, set up the alchemy formation, covering range of attack..."

As soon as the giant mechanical shields were taken out, there was a "click" of snapping sounds, and they unfolded into steel planks with clasps. These clasps interconnected and instantly formed four iron triangles, tightly protecting the students inside.

It had to be said, this was the advantage of superior equipment.

Then came the various large-caliber, high-powered guns, roaring as they fired randomly.

Super-pressure steam cannon, Six-wheel Fire God Gun, anti-armor blasters...

Su Lun watched the firearms emitting weird blue and black flames, his eyelids twitching violently.

Such high-end heavy military firearms could not even be seen in the firearms shops of the outer city.

But almost every student had one in their hands.

As envious as he was, Su Lun couldn't help but think: "What a lavish strategy... The ammunition meant for the BOSS is all spent on the minions, these guys are really extravagant."

But as much as he lamented this approach, the effect was immediate and striking.

A volley of fire turned the monsters within the range into a bloody mess, with limbs and body parts flying everywhere.

Moreover, it wasn't just the mechanical equipment.

After the defense formation was in place, the alchemy formations beneath the feet of the mage alchemists also lit up.

One by one, the mage students began to draw sorcerer's seals with serious expressions, starting to condense elements...

In terms of destructive power, alchemy spells were in no way inferior to firearms.

The power of an alchemy magic corresponds directly to the energy involved. The more energy that is channeled within the caster's physical limits, the more exaggerated the elemental magic that's converted...

Then, Su Lun watched these rich kids, using the most basic first-tier "Fire Snake Wrap Technique" with excess energy, turn the two-finger-thick fire snakes into massive fire pythons as thick as water tanks, incinerating the mutant monsters to ashes.

For a time, the entire cavern was filled with lightning and thunder, with various elemental spells showcasing the astounding destructive power of classic sorcery.

Armed with extensive knowledge of magic, the students turned the space into a veritable classroom demonstration of spells, an eye-opening experience for Su Lun, the old rural sorcerer.

At the same time, Su Lun couldn't stop thinking to himself: Thousands, tens of thousands... that's a few more ten thousands of Lexos gone...

Alchemist mages really deserve their reputation as money burners, especially the mage class.

Su Lun felt a little pained, knowing that the monsters that could have been taken down with a few shots to the head, dealt with by ordinary bullets, were instead obliterated at a cost a thousand times, even ten thousand times greater... showing him what the tycoon-exclusive extraordinary ability really meant—financial power!

....

The BOSS was indeed very formidable.

As a "bizarre-grade" it had significant intelligence, not only knowing to find cover from the attack but also using tools to throw heavy objects from a distance. Additionally, its body tissue was extraordinarily tough; even high-explosive alchemy rounds that could blast open concrete could only make fist-sized holes in it.

But in the end, "financial power" quickly quelled the unexpected event.

The flood of mutant creatures was suppressed by a more terrifying tide of firepower.

Knowing it was outclassed, the monster gave up its lair and fled, dragging its severely wounded body deep into the tunnel.

Su Lun casually killed off a few stray mutants that had wandered close to him, muttering, "These guys are so wasteful with their ammo, aren't they afraid of running into bigger dangers later on..."

While he knew that these noble students had large Space Rings, their ammunition supply was definitely limited. Plus, firearms and such also needed cooling time; the more powerful the gun, the longer it would need to cool down after continuous firing...

If this wave had been repelled, what about the next one?

However, Su Lun also felt pretty good about it, since it wasn't his money being wasted.

He was also fortunate to have such a group to clear out the monsters, otherwise who knows how long it would have taken Su Lun to find that scythe on his own.

As the injured BOSS fled, the students dared not pursue, but Assistant Daniel seemed to have an idea, smiling as he whispered to the female assistant beside him, "I'll pursue that oddity!"

Rosa seemed to understand what he was about to do, nodding with an easy smile, "Mhm."

Without a bit of crisis pressure for these young students, the trial would be meaningless.

....

Thanks to the battle suits, the students looked a mess but, aside from a few minor injuries, there were no major losses.

Having just been through a major battle, these young students went from tense to suddenly relaxed, smiles returning to their faces.

"Phew... it's finally over."

```

"Seems like mutated monsters aren't that scary after all..."

"Oh my God, we actually beat back a 'zombie-type creature,' we were so close to killing it!"

"Exactly, I haven't even unleashed my armor, and these monsters were already driven back, so unexciting..."

"..."

There they go, showing off again.

This is typical inexperience.

An experienced Scavenger would definitely choose to clean up the battlefield and then leave quickly.

But these students probably think that the fire barrage had cleared out all the creatures in the nest, assuming there was no danger, each collapsed to sit and started chatting and resting.

They didn't consider whether the noise would attract monsters from deeper within the cave.

....

At this moment, watching from a distance, Su Lun's gaze became more solemn, and he murmured under his breath, "As expected, it attracted them..."

He looked up at the ceiling. From a dark and honeycombed hole above, a rustling friction sound suddenly emerged as if some creature was about to crawl out.

Su Lun peered closely, and his sharp eyesight let him see something squirming out of that hole—a piece of something that seemed like a big, white and chubby worm?

Like slugs enlarged countless times, these two to three-meter-long worms secreted a gooey fluid and slowly slid down from the hole overhead.

[Mutated Acidic Worms]

Details: These are large, carrion-eating worms, their bodies filled with a large amount of acidic liquid; these mutated creatures are timid by nature and move slowly, generally not aggressive; they do not leave their nests unless fatally threatened. However, their mature forms are highly aggressive.

Another unknown kind of mutated creature.

Seeing the identified information, Su Lun immediately became suspicious, "Not aggressive, why are they coming out on their own? And what exactly is this creature's mature form?"

He had an uneasy feeling that something was off.

Initially thinking the noise had drawn the creatures, he hadn't expected them to be worms.

At this point, as a sticky liquid dripped down from above, the students belatedly realized something was amiss.

"Eh... What's falling on my head?"

"Ah! That's so disgusting, what the heck is this stuff."

"Be careful, this slime is highly corrosive!"

"..."

The students were still complaining, oblivious to the impending crisis.

They had yet again lost the optimal chance to evade.

Just then, with a "thump," a fat worm fell from above and crashed heavily onto the ground. With a "splat," it burst into a puddle of green acid, emitting corrosive fumes.

After the first one dropped, it was like opening a floodgate; white worms fell from the sky like rain, pelting down ceaselessly.

Hundreds, maybe thousands of worms, turned the space into a pool of acid in an instant.

At a safe distance, Su Lun could still feel, even through his gas mask, the acrid fumes scorching his respiratory tract. One could only imagine how much the students immersed in the acid were suffering.

Oh, their gas masks are higher grade, so maybe they wouldn't smell it.

But the disgust was undeniable.

"Damn it, this acid is corroding my combat suit!"

"We've got to get out of here quickly, oh my Lord, it's so corrosive, I can feel my skin burning."

"..."

There is no eternal substance in the world, even the best combat suits will wear out. Especially when immersed in such a highly corrosive environment, the runes were quickly eroded.

The students didn't even have time to collect their mechanical shields as they clumsily ran out of the acidic area.

By this time, Assistant Rosa had a serious expression for the first time, taking the initiative to speak, "There's an emergency, Assistant Daniel is not here, I can't ensure everyone's safety. Everyone needs to stay sharp!"

Listening to this, Su Lun guessed what that male assistant's departure had been about.

Lacking a "bodyguard," the students felt a surge of nervousness, while Su Lun didn't think much of it. He knew there was at least one second-tier professional mentor still hidden in the shadows.

With this thought, his gaze involuntarily drifted towards a particular opening in the tunnel.

There was a hint of suspicion in Su Lun's eyes, could this also be a part of the trial?

Did the academy's instructor force these worms out?

....

In the darkness, two figures also seemed to have realized that Su Lun was aware of their presence.

"Hey, that guide is pretty alert, huh? He seems to have noticed us."

"That's normal. Professionals struggling to survive at the bottom all have an animal-like vigilance—they claw their way out of piles of corpses, so their combat ability is never weak. It's our students who lack this kind of experience..."

"..."

The two in the shadows were none other than Daniel and the instructor, August.

As they chatted, Daniel suddenly bent over and spat out a mouthful of dark blood.

August instinctively supported him, asking with concern, "Hey, Daniel, are you injured?"

Daniel leaned on his arm, a subtle trace of malice passing over his face as he said, "Yeah, I took a punch while chasing down that creature earlier."

August was about to say something in response when suddenly he sensed something and sharply glared at the empty air a few meters away, "Hey, something's not right, a professional is approaching, a Stalker!"

But before he could react, in the next instant, he felt a tremendous force on his arm and a sense of impending death enveloped him, "You... Daniel, what are you doing!"

PS. Begging for a wave of monthly votes at the beginning of the month, and recommendations, please~