Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun had always been careful about his tracks; even Kai didn't know the location of the basement he rented.

Moreover, after he had acquired the skill "Malicious Perception," the possibility of being followed was almost zero. Unless it was a high-ranking professional with special means to deceive his perception, one shouldn't be able to find his residence.

Yet, unexpectedly, someone had found him.

Looking at the cloaked figure lingering near the basement, glancing around the street from time to time, he knew this person must be here for him.

....

Su Lun looked around, noticed no one was paying attention to him, and walked over, asking in a deep voice, "Are you waiting for me?"

This sneaky individual was none other than the mysterious pharmacist.

Upon hearing Su Lun's icy tone, the cloaked person repeatedly apologized, "Sorry, sir. I indeed have a very important matter to trouble you with, so I took the liberty to come looking for you."

The voice was full of sincerity and unease, seemingly in real urgency.

Anyone who was sought out so unexpectedly would not look happy.

However, what intrigued Su Lun even more was how this person knew where he lived.

He didn't ask Danny what he came for, but instead asked, "How did you know I live here?"

Danny, in his eagerness to quickly clarify some misunderstandings, spoke extremely rapidly, "My profession is an 'Arguing Pharmacist,' and my awakened talent is 'D-031-enhanced sense of smell.' It's not much for combat, but it makes me highly sensitive to the scent of potions..."

Taking a breath, he hurriedly explained, "Sorry, sir, I had no intention of tracking you! But because you took those potions I gave you, the scent on you is just too distinct for me. Since it wasn't too far, I followed the scent here... I knocked but you weren't in, so I took the initiative to wait for you here... I really am sorry, sir."

Probably out of guilt, his words were somewhat incoherent.

But Su Lun understood; this fellow had found him by the scent of the potions on him?

Could a normal "enhanced sense of smell" talent be this powerful?

The pharmacist's residence and Green Street were separated by two or three kilometers. If he could really smell scents from that far away, this talent would be a top-tier tracking ability, not merely a D-class one.

Su Lun felt he was lying, or hiding something, and questioned coldly, "Your enhanced sense of smell led you to the scent of the potions on me?"

Seeing Su Lun's displeasure, Danny knew he had been misunderstood and quickly explained, "No, others can't smell this scent! It's just that I, because I am..."

He hesitated here, finding it difficult to reveal something.

After weighing his options for a moment, it seemed he made a decision, he then said, "Because of some mutations in my body, my sense of smell talent had a second awakening, which is why it's a bit special."

"..."

Second awakening of a talent?

Su Lun frowned upon hearing that.

He instantly thought of the words "Half-Mutated Human" he had identified, and it seemed this person was not lying.

At the same time, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

If just anyone could have such a strong tracking ability, that would truly be terrifying.

And at that moment, as if fearing that Su Lun still didn't believe him, Danny bit his lip and for the first time unveiled the cape that covered his entire face, revealing a deformed visage that resembled the pockmarked skin of a toad.

"Sorry, sir, if I frightened you. I just wanted to prove that I'm telling the truth."

As he uncovered his cape, Danny's eyes darted around, as if he could already anticipate the surprised expression of the gentleman opposite him upon seeing his monstrous appearance.

However, to his surprise, Su Lun remained completely calm throughout, showing no sign of shock.

"Come with me. This is not a place to talk."

Seeing this, Su Lun spoke indifferently and walked towards the alley behind the basement.

Danny's appearance indeed held no surprises for him; it was consistent with being "half-deformed."

.....

Su Lun walked deep into the alley and, looking at the already standing Danny, delved into the heart of the matter, asking, "Alright, what do you want with me?"

Danny spoke anxiously, "My friends were just taken—Beta, Brown, and Nancy—so I want to hire you to help me get them out."

He paused, then feeling he hadn't been clear enough, he added, "They're the same people who were with me when we dealt with you before. They are good people. Half an hour ago, some men got out of a black truck from another district and took them. I heard it was done by the gang on Green Street that's been hunting down the homeless and orphans lately..."

"..."

Su Lun listened but didn't respond.

His first thought was that someone from the inner city had come looking for trouble with this Danny and had followed them here.

After all, being able to produce so many high-grade potions, his background must be far from simple.

Danny also seemed to realize this point and went straight on to say, "Sir, I can assure you, their capture has nothing to do with my identity! After all, in their eyes, I'm already dead from that lab accident... no one will come looking for me anymore. I'm sorry, sir, but you're the only one I can think of now, please help me..."

Su Lun listened and had a rough idea of the cause of the incident.

After thinking for a moment, he then said, "I think you should start by telling me your background, and then I will consider whether to help you out."

If it involved Danny's mysterious background and the inner city's people were involved, then he would definitely not choose to get involved in the trouble.

However, if it was just some human traffickers, Su Lun felt the matter would be simple.

After all, this was nothing unusual among gangs, and wouldn't take much effort to resolve.

Listening to Danny speak, he reckoned it was probably because Green Street had become a neutral zone recently, without the constraints of the Cross Society, and some guys doing illegal human trafficking from other districts had crossed the border to snatch people.

Danny knew that to gain trust, he had to disclose some information, so he did not hide anything and said, "My name is 'Danny Banks,' and I'm a researcher at 'Institute No. 7' in the inner city. That's a secret research facility directly under the Black Tower, which I'm guessing you haven't heard of."

Su Lun listened without giving any indication. He had already inferred this news; it wasn't important.

The key information, Danny hadn't revealed any of it.

He directly asked, "I think if you really want someone's help, it's better to be more forthright. For example, you could elaborate on the laboratory leak you mentioned before; and also, about your own physical condition, why you came to the outer city..."

"This..."

Danny was clearly hesitant.

He knew that once his identity was exposed, he would undoubtedly be in big trouble, but now he had no other choice.

Eventually, he still chose to trust the person with whom he had traded potions twice.

He said, "Sir, you might have guessed that the place where the 'leak accident' happened was actually at 'Research Institute No. 7', where I worked. The sewer monsters' mutation was also due to a special potion that we were researching, which leaked three years ago due to a laboratory explosion, leading to the mutations..."

"As for myself... because the leaders of that project were my parents, who died in the accident. And unfortunately, I was also infected, and then used a half-finished mutation suppressant, which is why I ended up looking like this."

Danny looked like the kind of bookworm with little social experience, not very good at skirting around details in a story.

Indeed, he had not lied, only concealed some critical things.

Su Lun, listening, had already run out of patience, "If that's all you have to say, I'm sorry, I can't help you."

With that, he turned to leave.

The story seemed too simple to be true; a laboratory accident causing so many sewer monsters to mutate couldn't be glossed over so lightly.

He had no interest in helping a guy who wasn't being honest.

....

"Sir, wait please!"

Seeing Su Lun about to leave, Danny panicked.

He also guessed that his concealment was rapid, and said, "I... I still have more to say."

Su Lun glanced at him.

Danny, knowing he wasn't good at lying, blurted out everything in his anxiety.

He said, "That experimental project was called the 'X-Serum Plan', a top-tier medical research project decoded from ancient texts found in some ruins by the higher-ups of Black Tower, aimed at exploring the ultimate mystery of life..."

"X-Serum has a very potent activity, extending human lifespan, and offering significant enhancement to one's physical abilities. However, the serum also has very strong side effects, which is a 100% chance of causing biological mutation. And 'Research Institute No. 7', where I worked, was responsible for developing the mutation suppressant potion..."

"This secret project had been underway for many years, and had already achieved some research results. But then my parents discovered that the upper echelons of Black Tower, due to some unspeakable secrets, secretly conducted a large number of living experiments.

At least tens of thousands of people have died because of this project, and if the research continued, even more innocent people would die.... My parents felt this violated the original intention of medical research, so they chose to explode the laboratory, destroying all the research results..."

"And I was infected in the laboratory at the time, so I injected that dose of half-finished mutation suppressant. I survived, but I became like this."

Danny told the story all in one breath, sighing deeply, as if relieved of a heavy burden.

Su Lun listened with his brows slightly furrowed, feeling increasingly strange.

He had guessed that Danny came from a family of medical professionals.

But the story felt oddly familiar from the beginning. As he listened to the "X-Serum" whose name hadn't even changed, he immediately realized that it was the research recorded in the "Zombie Research Diary" from before.

And when he thought about it, the current "development" of the entire Old Lington City was actually an archaeological endeavor, which was not surprising at all.

Now, having listened to Danny's story, to confirm his suspicions, he asked again, "Where did the 'X-Serum' come from?"

Danny, "I don't know. It's a very large project, with a very high level of secrecy. Our research institute only handled a part of it, that is, researching the mutation suppressant potion..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun asked again, "How did you escape?"

Danny said, "The laboratory explosion blew open the pipeline that handled the experiment's wastewater, linking it with the city's sewage network. I was affected by the explosion and fell into the pipeline, which is how I narrowly survived. Then, I followed the pipeline to the outskirts of the city, where Aunt Susan and my friends took me in, and that's how I didn't starve to death..."

As he spoke, he glanced at Su Lun, "Sir, I didn't mean to hide this intentionally; I just didn't want to cause you any trouble. I don't have long to live now anyway, and if you think turning me in to the inner city would get you a reward, I won't resist. I beg you to help rescue my friends."

Su Lun wasn't expecting there to be a bounty on the guy, and even if there was, he had had no plans to do such a thing. He asked, taken aback, "You're dying?"

Danny nodded, "Although I survived that accident, the 'mutation suppressant' was only half-finished and it has some serious side effects—one of which is that it significantly shortens lifespan. I estimate I have at most two more years to live..."

"..."

Listening, Su Lun wondered if that superhuman sense of smell came at the cost of squeezing life out of him?

However, he remembered that in the "Zombie Research Journal," the solution for mutation didn't have any side effects.

....

After listening to the story, Su Lun felt most of his concerns had been dispelled.

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Is there anyone else besides you who knows where I live?"

Danny replied, "You can rest assured, rest assured, no one besides me knows about your residence. I've never sold potions before, so no one would notice I'm still alive. As compensation, you can take me in for the bounty, or I can help you concoct potions for free; I'm a 'Potion Expert'..."

As he said this, he added somewhat sheepishly, "But... I'm broke, you'd have to provide the materials."

"We'll talk about that later," Su Lun responded indifferently.

He had actually been very interested in that "X Serum Project" all this time, which could significantly enhance physical abilities and even create "zombies"... The effects of the serum were truly exceptional.

But since he had no leads, he hadn't given it much attention for the time being.

Yet, unexpectedly, in the reality of Old Lington, someone had restarted that research. This meant that the conditions to replicate the research were already available in the real world!

Although Danny mentioned the Black Tower's laboratory had failed...

The "Zombie Research Diary" recorded every successful aspect of the research process carried out by that mad Magician who studied zombies!

Even though the part concerning the technical content had not been decoded yet, the diary was in his possession, and sooner or later, he would decipher it.

Su Lun's medical knowledge wasn't yet up to the level of "conducting research," but Danny could certainly manage. In the future, this fellow might even be a huge help in his efforts to decode the diary.

If he really could create the "X Serum"...

Su Lun felt it could bring him tremendous benefits!

....

But now wasn't the time to think about that; Su Lun asked, "I can try to help rescue your friends, but I can't guarantee success. Can you use your sense of smell to locate them?"

He planned to give it a shot; if it wasn't too much trouble, lending a hand wouldn't be an issue.

Upon hearing this, Danny was overjoyed, "Yes! For at least an hour, I can smell Nancy and the others. I can clearly differentiate that the vehicle carrying them went to the west side of the city..."