Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun had originally thought it was just a simple trial guide task, but as things developed, he couldn't help but notice that there was something fishy about this trial.

After briefly recalling, Su Lun had already pieced together the limited clues in his mind.

Even without knowing the ins and outs of the situation, he could guess that it probably involved a feud between noble families, an internal struggle among the financial conglomerates.

This was a premeditated "accident".

The tutors and assistants who had disappeared without a trace were almost certainly involved in some mishap.

After all, if these young masters and misses from the wealthy families met with accidents, the tutors would also be hard-pressed to escape blame.

Of course, Su Lun, as the guide, would also be implicated.

It seemed that the target of the puppet master behind the scenes was not Su Lun, but probably these students; but for him, this was a greater hidden danger than facing a crisis himself.

If second-tier professionals were being sent to the combat arena, one could imagine that the financial conglomerates were definitely tough nuts to crack. If something were to happen to these noble students, Su Lun, a member of an outer city gang with no strong backing, would most certainly be the first to be buried with them.

By then, even the president of the Cross Society might not be able to save him.

"I thought it would be a cushy job that would make easy money, but I didn't expect to get involved in a financial clan's infighting; this is going to be a bit troublesome," he said.

With thoughts racing through his mind, Su Lun was already considering an escape plan for himself: "Could it be that after this ordeal, I'll have to assume a new identity and blend into the 'Steam Party' or maybe the 'Crow Gang'?"

Only by joining a gang did he understand how much influence the three major gangs wielded in the outer city.

If he were to defect from the Cross Society and be hunted by a gang, it would be very troublesome, and he would have nowhere to hide in the entire outer city.

Unless absolutely necessary, Su Lun did not plan to give up his current identity.

And in just this short moment, the students behind him had already run far away.

Su Lun also heaved a sigh of relief.

At least now, he had saved his own people and made a sacrificial rear guard; he had done his duty. If there were any casualties, he would have something to say in his own defense, and the gang leaders would have an explanation for the financiers in the inner city. It would not be in vain that Lady Philo had recommended him in front of them.

After all, before coming here, everyone had considered this guiding task as a big "opportunity".

If played right, it really could be a chance for them, the bottom-rung gang members, to turn their lives around.

.....

If he could incidentally help that female assistant, Su Lun didn't mind firing a few extra rounds of bullets.

But clearly, that number of strange moths was not something that could be dealt with by a few muskets.

If Rosa hadn't been drawing their fire, those strange moths would certainly have pursued any living creature in this tunnel. Su Lun didn't have the combat suits those noble students had; his simple leather armor probably wouldn't withstand many hits.

He also figured that an assistant from the Black Tower Academy would definitely have more means of self-preservation than he expected, so he kept a safe distance.

As he had anticipated.

At that moment, the female assistant, seeing Su Lun intervene and relieve the dangerous situation, also breathed a sigh of relief. Without any hesitation, she pulled out something like a hand grenade, twisted it violently, and then threw it towards the tunnel entrance.

"A bomb?"

Su Lun watched the woman throw something towards him and guessed that she might be trying to collapse the tunnel to completely block the chasing path of the strange moths.

But if it were a bomb, it would probably kill him too, and might even cause a large-scale collapse.

Instinctively, Su Lun thought to shoot the object out of the air, but seeing the female assistant running towards him at high speed, he realized it might not be as simple as a bomb.

"Move, quick!"

Rosa shouted urgently as she sprinted.

Su Lun's reaction was equally swift; he turned and ran deeper into the tunnel.

And at that moment, he heard the "grenade" hit the ground, followed by a "hissing" sound like a gas leakage.

Upon looking again, he saw streams of white foam spewing out from the grenade, expanding a thousand-fold in just a few seconds, and it looked set to completely seal the tunnel entrance.

The rapidly expanding foam chased them like a tsunami, and after running two or three hundred meters, it no longer expanded and they finally stopped.

Su Lun looked back at the foam blocking the passage, somewhat surprised; this thing was much more reliable than a bomb and wouldn't cause a large-scale collapse. In his memory, although similar expanding materials existed in the chemical industry of his past life, none could achieve such a massive increase in volume.

Perhaps because of the previous exertion, the female assistant was panting, her chest heaving violently.

Seeing Su Lun's interest in the foam, she took the initiative to explain: "That was a 'Super Expanding Foam Bomb,' an alchemical product. It's still in the laboratory stage and not available on the market."

Su Lun revealed an enlightened look: "Oh."

No wonder he hadn't heard of it; it was a laboratory-level product.

The Black Tower Academy certainly had plenty of black technology.

At this time, the female assistant glanced at Su Lun, as if recalling something, and said, "Thank you for saving the students just now."

She probably also had not expected that the local guide arranged by the academy would turn out to be a "firearms expert" with hidden depths.

If it hadn't been for him just now, she really wouldn't have been able to handle it on her own.

Su Lun nodded in response, equally polite: "It's what I should do."

After a moment's thought, he still asked: "If it's convenient, I'd like to ask, has something gone wrong with this trial?"

Strictly speaking, as a guide, he had no right to inquire about any matters regarding the trial.

But now, clearly, something was not right.

The female assistant thought for a moment, then did not avoid the question, saying solemnly, "There seems to be some trouble with Assistant Daniel and Tutor August. We must now find the students and immediately end this trial!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun knew for certain that an accident had occurred.

But to him, ending the trial now was also good news.

At least no students had died yet.

He, as their guide, hadn't completely neglected his duty.

But now, it seemed that the trial wouldn't end just because they wanted it to.

....

The two of them didn't say much and followed the path they had come by.

However, not long after they began walking, when they reached an intersection, Su Lun noticed something unexpected.

The traces at the scene showed that the group of students hadn't returned the way they had come; instead, they chose another path at this junction, running towards the depths of the underground.

Clearly, something was wrong.

Su Lun exchanged a glance with the female assistant, and both naturally guessed what might be happening.

"Be careful, there could be monsters."

"Mm-hmm."

The students not choosing to return the way they originally came could only mean one thing - something forced them to avoid that route!

Moreover, some strange signs of battle were left at this junction.

Some dark, petroleum-like mucus was scattered throughout the tunnel.

Using the All-knowing Eye, Su Lun identified it; the screen revealed that these were traces left by a mutated creature.

[Mutated Amoeba Fragment]

Detailed Explanation: This is part of the body of a myxomycete amoeba; its body is capable of splitting, transforming, merging, and contains strong corrosive toxins. It has an extremely tenacious vitality; it almost lacks any sensory system, but is highly sensitive to specific scents;

"We actually encountered a monster?"

Su Lun frowned as he looked at the dark mucus.

Encountering another unheard-of monster didn't surprise him much, but... why hadn't they encountered it on the way there, and yet the students had encountered it on the way back?

Moreover, even if it was something "strange," the group of students should have been able to handle it with their ability.

From the traces at the scene, it seemed like the students had no power to resist and were just chased deeper underground?

That was puzzling to Su Lun.

Looking at the part about 'highly sensitive to specific scents,' his eyes narrowed slightly, sensing that something was off.

....

The female assistant couldn't identify the origin of the dark mucus but also guessed the situation was critical. She called out urgently to Su Lun, "The students must have encountered danger, let's go check it out quickly!"

Su Lun nodded and followed her.

As they proceeded deeper, the map fragments in Su Lun's mind grew more obscure. He vaguely remembered that this area had exceeded the territory of the zombie-like mutated creatures they'd encountered earlier.

The mutated creatures in the caverns were not just one or two types; they also had a complete ecosystem.

Su Lun was unsure about the type of monsters deeper underground, but from the memories of the ones he had harvested earlier, it seemed as though a particularly terrifying group of mutated creatures lurked there.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before they finally found the group of students hiding in a cave.

"Oh my God, Assistant Rosa, you finally came!"

The students saw Su Lun and the assistant and, like seeing life-saving straws, gathered around hurriedly.

Before Assistant Rosa could ask, the students all began talking at once, recounting their recent experiences.

"Assistant Rosa, it was horrible! We ran into some black dogs that we just couldn't kill..."

"Yes, those black dogs chased us like crazy. No matter how we attacked, it was no use; even if we smashed their bodies, the dark mucus would just reassemble and they would come back to life. Even when we used fire, they just shrank a bit but couldn't be killed..."

"And those smaller black dogs would merge with each other and transform into bigger creatures..."

"..."

Listening to the students, Su Lun understood that the petroleum-like traces he'd seen were the body fragments of those "black dogs."

Su Lun closely examined the students; apart from some corrosive scars, there didn't seem to be any fatal injuries.

Huh... Weren't there twenty students? Why is one missing?

Assistant Rosa obviously noticed the discrepancy as well; among the four teams of five, one person was missing. She asked, "Where's Kom?"

"He... he's gone."

"Gone?"

Rosa's face showed shock - how could someone so large just disappear?

That's when a student named Brown spoke up, "Just now... Kom told me he saw a beautiful woman in the tunnel. I didn't take it seriously. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone."

Rosa, thinking there might be an enemy, asked seriously, "What woman?"

"A... a naked woman!"

"..."

As soon as these words were uttered, the atmosphere suddenly turned eerie.

There were plenty of monsters in these caverns, but where would a beautiful, naked woman suddenly come from?

Su Lun, on the side, felt as if he'd heard something familiar when he heard this description.

A beautiful woman?

Suddenly, he thought of something.