Mechanical Alchemist

Kaketro Port was immense, with freight and passenger services housed in separate harbors, half an hour's drive apart.

Every day, the freight harbor swallowed vast quantities of bulk goods from various territories of Emperor Luying, some of which couldn't be transferred in time, giving rise to an extensive warehouse district nearby.

The Lei Cat Trading Company rented several large warehouses within the harbor.

On the steam vehicle, Su Lun and Miss Lena continued their pleasant conversation. They reminisced and discussed some of the wonders and oddities of Lingdun, making the time fly by unnoticed.

Just then, the locomotive's speed suddenly slowed.

Glancing ahead, Lena explained, "Up ahead is the harbor's warehouse management area, quite expansive indeed. So large that even if you were to drive around it, it would take half an hour."

"Oh."

Su Lun peered through a corner of the window curtain he had lifted and saw a line at the entrance to the warehouse management area.

There were about two or three vehicles ahead.

The routine inspection was quite normal, requiring documentation for entry into the warehouse district and trading company materials.

But Su Lun glanced at the guards by the gate, his gaze suddenly sharpening, and then he let the curtain fall back into place.

Seeing the change in his expression, Lena asked, "What's wrong?"

Su Lun shook his head, signaling her to remain silent.

Butler Anthony, who was driving, had the necessary documents prepared and quickly passed through smoothly, entering the warehouse district.

As the steam vehicle moved away from the checkpoint, Su Lun finally spoke up, gravely saying, "We're being watched."

Lena looked at him, her expression turning stern but with a hint of confusion, "Being watched?"

"Yes."

Su Lun thought for a moment and said, "They're coming for us. It's likely that the cargo has been targeted. Most probably by Duke Raphael's people."

Lena listened, somewhat puzzled but also guessing at what he meant, "Ah... you mean those guards just now?"

"Yes."

Su Lun nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly, "The way those guards at the gate looked at us was off. Moreover, one of them is a tier-three professional."

That person was well-concealed, clearly a professional intelligence agent.

But he couldn't fool Soul Perception.

With that said, Lena immediately understood.

A tier-three professional was a notable figure wherever they went, certainly not someone who would serve as a gate guard!

"But... it should have been..."

She wanted to argue that the channel was problem-free, and they had paid off handsomely. How could there be an issue?

But at this point, it was clear that there was no point in discussing such matters. Lena's expression became even more serious as she said, "This is bad. The goods are in the warehouse, and it's too late to transfer them now. They probably know that the buyer has arrived, and those people might be after you, Mr. Su Lun."

As she spoke, a flicker of worry crossed her face, but she soon thought of a countermeasure, suggesting, "I'll immediately arrange for someone to act as a buyer and handle the situation here first! Later, we will figure out how to get the cargo out."

Su Lun glanced at Lena, noticing how the once naïve and sweet girl had indeed matured, displaying good judgment and strategy.

However, hearing her suggestion, he still shook his head, simply asking, "Which warehouse has the goods?"

Lena replied, "Warehouse K322."

Su Lun nodded and said, "Proceed normally. Just drive a little slower."

"Proceed normally?"

Lena was unsure of what Su Lun had up his sleeve, pausing briefly at his proposal.

But looking at Su Lun's composed demeanor was like reliving their days in the murky underworld of Old Lington, where he always resolved every trouble with absolute calm.

Lena nodded earnestly, "Okay!"

As Su Lun spoke, he took out a necklace engraved with space runes, saying, "A little gift for you. With it, I can always know where you are."

He had casually picked it from a pile of treasures found in the sunken ruins because it looked pretty and could carry space runes, so he used it as a gift for their meeting.

Lena accepted the necklace with the beautiful sapphire pendant, her thoughts completely overtaken by surprise and delight, "This is a gift from Mr. Su Lun to me?"

"Yes."

Su Lun smiled faintly but offered no further explanation.

He pinched the sorcerer's seals with both hands, and an imperceptible wave of space energy stirred.

The next moment, his entire being had vanished from the seat.

Lena snapped out of her reverie, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she murmured, "He's become so powerful..."

She looked at the gemstone necklace in her hand, clearly prepared well in advance.

And with the trading company's operations in jewelry, she could tell at a glance that the necklace was an exceptionally rare treasure.

Receiving such a gift made her incredibly happy!

...

Su Lun was well aware that most of the cargo he needed was controlled metals.

Such materials were almost exclusively used for military purposes, such as in the construction of mechanical armors, warships, and high-precision components for mechanical octopuses.

Due to the Luying military's own industrial machinery being outdated, such metals don't sell well on the market. Although they are controlled contraband, their circulation isn't actually prohibited. It's only their distribution abroad that's forbidden, for fear that they might be purchased by the people of the Mafa Empire.

As long as there isn't a large-scale export year-round, a small circulation on the black market is something the Luying military turns a blind eye to.

Su Lun's required quantity might seem significant, but compared to the military procurement needs of the Mafa forces, it's insignificantly small.

Normally, this amount wouldn't attract anyone's attention.

That is the most important reason why Miss Lena and her team could acquire so much material from the black market.

However, things changed when Duke Raphael became the "Sixth Great Councilor."

Now that it's been confirmed that neuro-mechanical technology has been leaked, finding no one to blame, tracing back through the raw materials is the next best step.

The batch Su Lun requested contained many types of specialized metals needed exclusively for neuro-mechanical technology, such as "Armand Alloy," "Sensitive Mithril," and so on.

The largest rare metal exchange market in Luying, where various mine owners gather, is located in Lingdun; you can't find such a variety of stock elsewhere.

Su Lun felt that if he were in their position, he wouldn't overlook such a crucial investigative lead either.

...

Su Lun's judgement was indeed correct. As soon as they entered the warehouse area, a group of people had already secretly set their sights on them.

"Confirm target vehicle entry!"

"Keep close watch on that vehicle, don't let anyone get away!"

"Yes!"

It wasn't just the customs enforcement officers who arrived; there were also some professional intelligence personnel.

...

Luckily, the freight dock's warehouses were vast, and only after a considerable time did Butler Anthony drive up to Warehouse K322.

Some warehouse staff from the Cat's Lightning Commerce Association had long been waiting there.

As soon as the car came to a stop, everyone greeted the driving Butler Anthony, "Steward sir!"

Miss Lena hadn't even had the chance to get out of the car when suddenly a group of people, whose hiding spot was unknown, burst forth.

Some wore black trench coats, others in customs enforcement uniforms, a smattering of two or three hundred people.

All armed, they surrounded the warehouse tightly.

The Cat's Lightning Commerce Association members were frightened by these people's actions, looking at each other, not knowing what had happened.

The goatee-sporting, thin leading man was the head of the docks customs enforcement, and he bellowed, "Nobody moves!"

Seeing their arrangement, Butler Anthony immediately stepped forward to negotiate, his face bewildered as he asked, "Chief Lawrence, what's going on here?"

Lawrence responded coldly, "We received a public complaint, alleging that your Cat's Lightning Commerce Association is smuggling controlled contraband!"

Upon hearing this, Butler Anthony's brow furrowed slightly.

He deftly took out some documents, among them a check from Lingdun Bank, saying, "We are lawful merchants, our operations are all documented. Could there be some mistake?"

This was the standard negotiation procedure.

Usually, if customs enforcement came knocking, it only meant that not enough money had been given, not that there was actual contraband.

Enough money makes any problem go away.

But Lawrence this time didn't even glance at the offerings, snorting coldly, "Please do not interfere with our law enforcement!"

As he said this, he put on a show of righteous law enforcement, pointing to the sealed warehouse doors and demanded, "What's inside the warehouse?"

Butler Anthony struggled to respond, "Just ordinary goods, nothing illegal."

Seeing his demeanor, Lawrence shouted, "Open it!"

As a local authority, how could he not know what was in this warehouse area?

He was absolutely sure there was smuggled goods inside this warehouse!

Normally, he would've turned a blind eye after taking the money, but this time, the councilor had requested a batch of materials and suspects.

The chance to earn merits had come, hadn't it?

That was the "Sixth Councilor," a real power player at the imperial level. If he managed to make good, it would be worth far more than any bribe.

Previously, he had confirmed that controlled metals had been transported to this warehouse, waiting for so long just for the buyer to show up!

At this claim, the guns of everyone present were raised, ready to fire upon the slightest movement from anyone at the Cat's Lightning Commerce Association.

At that moment, a man in a trench coat also spoke up, "And get the people in the vehicle to come out as well!"

Hearing this, Butler Anthony, though reluctant, walked over to the steam car and opened the door, softly saying, "Chairman, it seems we need to ask you to come out."

"Oh." Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

With a single response,

Miss Lena, her face expressionless, stepped out of the car.

It wasn't her first visit to the dock warehouses, but it was her first encounter with these customs enforcement folks.

Lawrence's eyes were glued to the striking Miss Lena as he asked, "You're the head of the Cat's Lightning Commerce Association?"

Though the Thunderbird Commerce Association was a newcomer, it was still a high-society circle of wealth.

Having this fall into my own hands, doesn't that mean...?

Lawrence's heart had already calculated the scene of the commerce guild's people coming to him begging for mercy, and a vile smile involuntarily emerged at the corners of his mouth.

Miss Lena stood there elegantly and composed, already exuding the aura of a commerce guild president.

She glanced at the group coldly, without the slightest intention of acknowledging them, and simply said, "Gentlemen, our Thundercat Commerce Guild is a legal enterprise, with paperwork personally signed by Minister Oliver. Your actions are disturbing our normal operations."

Who in Lingdun wouldn't know a few officials?

Upon hearing the name of the commerce minister, Lawrence was originally going to be somewhat apprehensive, but now he scoffed continuously, "Please cooperate with our work!"

This time, it was a special case entrusted by a councilor himself; no one's influence would work!

And the man in the trench coat by his side was much more professional. Aware that there were still people in the car, he shouted angrily, "Who else is in the car, get down!"

Hearing the prompting, Su Lun finally took his hat and stepped down, standing beside Miss Lena.

In his heart, he also marveled that the Emperor Luying's land indeed had many experts; a random anti-smuggling captain turned out to be a fifth-order professional.

However, killing them all wouldn't be a big problem.

But he couldn't do that.

This lowly anti-smuggling section chief before him was a small fry that Su Lun would have killed with a flick of his wrist anywhere else.

But behind this man's uniform was an empire.

Attacking governmental officials was equivalent to opposing the entire Ruin system.

Su Lun himself was already wanted in many places; nowhere really mattered to him.

But it would be a pity to ruin the commerce guild that had just finally established itself in Lingdun.

Moreover, there were many innocent employees in the commerce guild, and it wouldn't be good for them to be implicated.

He still felt being a pirate, doing as one pleased and fighting whoever disagreed, was more carefree. Why bother with all these complications?

...

As soon as Su Lun got down, it was clear that everyone's guns were aimed at him.

This time they were here to capture the "buyer" of that batch of goods; naturally, they couldn't let him escape.

At that moment, Lawrence looked at Su Lun and clamored, "Who are you?"

Su Lun sneered, not concealing his ridicule, "A mere anti-smuggling section chief, do you think you're qualified to ask my identity? Even if your immediate superior were here, he'd have to bow down to speak to me!"

As he spoke, he deliberately displayed the gemstone ring on his right index finger, engraved with the family crest of the Fike Regadi family!

The ring was fake.

But the identity of "Fike Regadi" was real.

Even if this matter reached the Queen of Ruin herself, it wouldn't be a big problem.

But unless absolutely necessary, Su Lun didn't want to use this identity too soon.

With those words, all the anti-smuggling officers looked at each other, and the muzzles of their guns were instantly lowered.

Pretending to be nobility was a crime even more serious than smuggling, especially with that intricate pattern on the ring that at a glance was clearly a high noble's crest.

If it were fake, not even ten heads would be enough to pay the price.

As for the president of the Thundercat Commerce Guild belonging to the upper-class wealthy echelon, with Miss Lena accompanying him, these people assumed Su Lun to be a genuine high noble.

The situation seemed to have exceeded expectations.

They could handle any big merchant in the anti-smuggling department.

But in front of true nobility, they had no authority whatsoever.

Lawrence covertly glanced at the trench-coated man beside him.

But the trench-coated man evidently had much more composure, and without hesitation, insisted, "Search! If there is indeed contraband, regardless of who it is, they will be severely punished by law!"

That statement bolstered Lawrence's confidence.

But before he could speak, Miss Lena addressed the commerce guild workers, "Since they want to search the warehouse, open it up and let them. If they find no contraband, I expect someone to give me an explanation!"

At these words, Lawrence felt his face twitch, and a cold sweat had already formed on his forehead without him realizing it.

At this moment, he even doubted whether the intelligence was wrong; could the contraband not be in this warehouse?

This was completely different from the script he had imagined.

Logically, if they were guilty, wouldn't they resist desperately or wail and beg for mercy?

The confidence in allowing a search; what was the situation?

Just when the anti-smuggling team was hesitating, the warehouse's giant iron door slowly opened.

A giant warehouse of thousands of square meters, filled with goods, came into view.

...

After all, it was contraband, and Miss Lena was not foolish enough to let everyone know what was in the warehouse.

Even if it was brought in, it would be by containers, or packaged in bundles. Special materials even had secret compartments.

Ordinary workers could only guess it was heavy metal cargo without being sure of what it was.

Moreover, the cargo came intermittently, and besides Miss Lena, the union president, not even a second person was clear about everything that was stored in the warehouse.

An investigation would have to start from the source.

But this cargo came from the black market.

If sellers on the black market were so easy to locate, it wouldn't be called the black market.

Butler Anthony urged, "Inspector Lawrence, please."

Looking at the wide-open cargo hold, Lawrence truly faltered. Their main objective had been to catch the "buyer," and the search was simply a means to an end.

What if they didn't find any contraband?

With things having come this far, there was no choice but to proceed. Lawrence steeled his face and gave the order, "Search!"

Dozens of customs enforcement officers immediately swarmed in, rummaging through crates and containers in the warehouse.

When the tarps were lifted, and the containers opened, coils of steel, steel beams, grain, crystals, furs... all came into view. These were the spoils of war from Su Lun's mini void realm, neatly packaged and ready for sale.

In just a few crates, however, there was a small amount of a special metal.

But that quantity, for a legitimate business like theirs, it wasn't nearly enough to be considered illegal!

As container after container was opened, the faces of Lawrence and the customs team grew paler and paler.

In the end, they did not find any substantial contraband.

Seeing this, the men in trench coats also looked puzzled and turned their gazes toward Lawrence, the head of customs enforcement.

Sweat beaded on Lawrence's forehead, large as soybeans, as it fell.

Could it be that the intelligence was indeed mistaken, or had it been transported away already?

But without contraband, there was no longer any reason to arrest anyone.

Moreover, the "buyer" was suspected to be of high nobility.

Those associated with the respected councilor could simply walk away, but what about him?

If things blew up, the scapegoat would certainly be these small fries.

Thinking this, Lawrence didn't dare show an ounce of defiance and flung himself to the ground with a thud, "Ah, my apologies! I'm only acting on a tip..."

...

In the end, the search ended in a farce.

Even those suspected of being part of a "shield organization" didn't catch a break.

Smuggling of regulated metals on the market has always been a thing, selling to Magicians for huge profits. Even if being caught meant the gallows, there were still numerous speculators doing this business. Besides, some Big Shots from Ruin's upper tiers were behind this venture.

Contraband was rife in the storage warehouses of Kaketro Port, and no one cared before. Who would deliberately check how much stock was in which warehouse?

This kind of intelligence, the customs enforcement team had not one hundred, then at least eighty entries on it.

Now, it seemed like they had made a colossal mistake.

Without evidence, the matter could only be dropped.

Although there were suspicions this time, the customs team did not dare to investigate further.

Before, it was just a business association. Offending it was just that.

But now it involved a person of high nobility, and truly angering that individual would spell real trouble.

This was also why Su Lun had hinted at his noble status before, which would save the Lightning Cat Union from many troubles in the future.

Although this retrieval had some minor incidents, fortunately, there were no serious dangers.

With this cargo in hand, Su Lun wouldn't lack materials for a while, and the Lightning Cat Union wouldn't risk buying those materials again.

Even if they had to buy, with the lessons from this time, there was no way they'd be caught out again next time.

Before long.

The steam locomotive left the warehouse district.

Sitting in the car, Miss Lena shed her previous domineering president's aura, reverting to that gentle and understanding girl, "Mr. Su Lun is really impressive. If it wasn't for your way of solving the problem, this could have turned into a big issue..."

Su Lun shook his head and laughed, "No, I am the one who caused you trouble. I didn't inform you about some issues beforehand."

This really couldn't be blamed on Lena.

After all, she wasn't fully aware of how much commotion the Dawn Group had caused in the North Sea before,

nor did she know about the mechanical octopus affair.

Smuggling controlled metals in the Ruin's black market couldn't have been more hidden, and no one expected it to be targeted.

Although he said this, Lena still looked self-reproachful, murmuring, "It's still my fault for not being careful enough."

Su Lun smiled and shook his head, not dwelling on the topic any longer, but instead he asked, "Miss Lena, may I have the honor of inviting you to dinner? Perhaps you could also show me the night view of Lingdun City?"

Lena happily accepted, "Sure!"

It was said that Lingdun only truly came alive after nightfall.

Su Lun also wanted to witness this legendary "Sleepless City" for himself. He also intended to investigate the source of the parasite-laced "hallucinogens."

After all, the gangs only became active at night.