Mechanical Alchemist

Jike's explosive solution had perfectly handled the security restrictions of the Royal Library, and Su Lun found the situation had suddenly become much simpler.

He contacted Kite through the communicator.

The guy was still deep in meditation, pondering how to find loopholes to bypass the security patrols.

After all, this was the ultimate challenge for a thief, and he was extremely interested.

But despite having designed several plans, none ensured a safe retreat, and he was waiting for Su Lun to send more detailed intelligence to see if there were any breakthroughs.

Now, hearing Su Lun's description of the explosion plan, Kite agreed immediately.

As long as they could directly blow their way into the treasury, the manuscript would be within easy reach.

Though there were several other advanced restrictions, for Kite, that wasn't a big problem. This guy was already proficient in various lock-picking skills and breaking restrictions; accordingly, the title of "Lyndon's Number One Phantom Thief" wasn't for nothing.

The rest was just waiting for Jike's finished explosives to be ready, then finding the right moment to act.

After that, Su Lun didn't need to worry.

...

Soon, Su Lun and Sabina left the Royal Academy.

They had originally planned to invite Lorena for dinner with the three of them. However, Sabina said she suddenly had a moment of insight about advancing to the fourth rank, a rare opportunity. She found a safe place and proceeded with merging materials to advance.

Su Lun was very supportive of this.

Having toured the Royal Library, he had gained a profound understanding of the heritage of the Lydon royal family and those old noble families.

Lingdun was a place full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and with the undercurrents stirring in present-day Lingdun City, having a stronger Sabina provided additional security.

In the evening, Su Lun and Lorena had dinner together. After that, they rode a motorcycle to the Vaughn Brothers' turf, hung out at a bar and enjoyed the nightlife.

Since Su Lun had eliminated the gang leader and a bunch of core members, the Vaughn Brothers gang had almost collapsed. The Rollerstone Bar and those nightlife spots they used to run had changed hands to another gang.

After inquiring around, there had been people in the underworld looking for those who caused trouble that day. But since Su Lun and his crew had been thorough, leaving no incriminating evidence behind, there was no threat.

Su Lun always felt that the mysterious "Curator" spreading the Crimson Potion had other motives, so he and Lorena wandered through various nightspots.

Bars, underground boxing, casinos... they even visited brothels.

Lorena, the once well-behaved girl, broadened her horizons immensely, getting an eye-opening view of the underworld lifestyle. Yet Su Lun couldn't find any useful leads; those who dealt potions secretly seemed to have gone into hiding.

It even seemed that the number of Red Death patients had decreased.

Clearly, they had alarmed the snake by hitting the grass.

After hopping through several nightspots and clubbing until two in the morning without significant findings, Su Lun and Lorena returned to their apartment.

Another night of tender dreams ensued.

...

Two days passed like this, and Su Lun smoothly got his hands on the long-coveted Mafa imported equipment.
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As per Su Lun's request, the kingpin of Lingdun's underworld had people load the equipment onto a ship and sent it to the sea coordinates agreed on, then had every crew member leave the ship.

Since Su Lun didn't find any hidden traps or ambushes, he teleported directly to the ship and stashed all the equipment into his minor void realm.

Then he let the empty ship sail towards the distant sea.

With this batch of equipment, Su Lun's war workshop's productivity surged by several tens of times.

The minor void realm had now essentially become a large-scale mechanical war factory. Once the new equipment was installed and calibrated, combined with the precision instruments on the submarine, the mechanical war armor assembly line was directly formed!

As long as materials were sufficient, tens of soldier-class mechanical war armors could be produced each day. Even the elite officer-class armors reached a production capacity of nearly one a day.

One could imagine, given time, Su Lun's mechanical Puppet Master army would reach a true legion scale.

And there was always a sufficient supply, repair, and maintenance logistic support ready.

Moreover, through this period of development, the assembly line for the rune contraptions had also been established. There was also significant progress in the collaborative research on the Tyrant Mechanical Octopus improved by Dr. Banks and those Mafa mechanical engineers, and a new batch of mechanical octopuses was put into production.

Su Lun's Puppet Master army was quietly growing stronger.

But then a new problem arose.

After securing the equipment, there was a shortage of materials.

The war workshop had been equipped almost entirely due to two fortunate events: the robbery of a Mafa submarine and the recent Moon Dance Gala, acquiring a state-of-the-art mechanical factory almost for free.

But materials were really burning through money.

The regulated materials that Lei Cat Trading Company had managed to acquire were all thrown in, but they wouldn't last long.

Furthermore, many components needed for high-ranking officer armors were top-tier rare materials, not available for purchase even with money.

However, fortunately, there was now another safe channel.

With the equipment smoothly acquired, Su Lun secretly marveled at the "Marquis of Shadows'" formidable capabilities. Thinking since he had already exposed his need for mechanical equipment, next time he attended the Moon Dance Gala, he would directly seek to purchase a batch of mechanical materials.

...

Su Lun had been staying in Lena's apartment, seldom going out.

However, he learned about the recent events in Lyndon from the newspapers he subscribed to.

Lately, the "Lyndon Daily News" and the "Queen City News" were fiercely competing against each other.

The cause was that a large quantity of counterfeit "Crimson Potion" appeared on the market just before the new drug release event of the Banks Biopharmaceutical Corporation.

This potion was sold at a low price and was somewhat effective in suppressing the symptoms of the Red Death disease. However, the counterfeit drugs also had some mild side effects, such as vomiting and diarrhea.

Therefore, this also brought trouble to the Banks Biopharmaceutical Company from the Health Department of Lyndon, directly disrupting their new drug launch plans.

Su Lun knew that these were the counterfeit drugs thrown into the market by Yekaterina as a emergency plan to deal with the spread of the "Crimson Potion."

But because the original "Crimson Potion" could not be faulted.

This action could only delay the release of the potion, and couldn't effectively solve the problem.

Once the Red Death disease broke out on a large scale, this potion would eventually be distributed, and even the officials of Lyndon would support it.

After all, behind this pharmaceutical company was a conglomerate led by the Rodriguez family and other Lyndon elites. Those nobles were also waiting to profit massively from this cure, and they definitely would not allow anyone to cut off their revenue stream.

Even resistance from several other Senior Councilors would not suffice!

Su Lun, observing the situation from the newspapers, could not think of a better solution.

Unless the root cause was found and those divine followers were eradicated, this issue was irreparable by anyone.

Aside from the accidentally exposed "Rodrica Queen Cruise Incident," the outer gods had not caused much of an uproar.

Yet, his instincts told him that beneath the calm surface of the sea, dangerous undercurrents were lurking.

Those followers of the outer gods were also infiltrating and growing in Lyndon due to the "Faith Freedom Act," and when that outer god eventually unleashed their tactics, the problems would likely be severe.

With a follower hidden within the Bonaparte royal family manipulating things covertly, policies could not prevent the development of these divine followers.

Nobody could do anything about it.

...

Over the following days, Su Lun stayed in Lena's apartment, only going out at night to gather clues.

It was not until five days later that he left.

Su Lun was heading to the Puppet Master Guild for he had intended to attend the "Lyndon Puppet Master Contest" finals today.

Karma and Abac were both participants in the competition.

As their teacher, Su Lun planned to be at the venue to watch his two disciples perform.

The occupation of Puppet Master had been a niche in Lyndon, but due to Su Lun's earlier battle in the Maloros City-State, it had sparked a wave of interest in puppetry, making it one of the hottest vocational choices among apprentices.

Even for this Puppet Master competition, the organizers had offered generous prizes.

Lyndon might lack other resources, but it had plenty of ancient artifacts.

Su Lun saw the competition's flyer in the newspaper, and it even listed a few professional Puppet Master items that he himself coveted.

The bad news was, the competition was restricted to entry-level Puppet Masters of the third tier and below; otherwise, Su Lun would have been tempted to shamelessly join in.

And the good news was that among these third-tier and lower Puppet Masters, the two Karma siblings were powerful enough to be among the top contenders.

Soon, Su Lun rode his motorcycle to 19 Gunpowder Street in the Franklin District, where the building that resembled a church was the Puppet Master Guild.

A large logo hung at the entrance of the building, depicting a hand with five fingers pulling threads.

When Su Lun arrived, the place was packed, more resembling a concert crowd.

There were people everywhere wearing cloaks, with crows on their shoulders, and carrying various bizarre large scythes.

These individuals looked less like Puppet Masters and more like Grim Reapers at a costume party.

Su Lun could not help but chuckle a bit as he looked at these imitators of his image.

However, scattered throughout the crowd were also some serious Puppet Masters, showcasing their skills while some in the crowd were not even alive.

Su Lun watched without underestimating his fellow craftsmen.

There were several major branches of Puppet Masters, and Lyndon had a few great Grandmasters whose skills were indeed high.

Puppet Masters might start weak, but those who surpassed the second tier usually had strong combat abilities relative to their level.

He had just seen a scarecrow puppet spreading waves of dark energy, a brass geared puppet from the mechanical tradition, someone leading a zombie deer from the bestiol tradition, and another carrying several large swords from the weapon tradition...

Su Lun found it quite interesting.

This Puppet Master competition was also a grand gathering for interaction among empire's Puppet Masters.

Because there were a lot of contestants for the finals, an additional temporary alchemy market had sprouted on the street outside the venue. There were vendors selling materials, crows, and various Puppet Masters from all over selling their professional gear.

Threads, wood, fittings, professional materials...

There were also many good items that usually gathered dust in stores or failed to sell at auctions, now displayed on the market stalls.

Su Lun, having secured an infield ticket in advance, wasn't in a hurry to enter.

He strolled around the market district, leisurely passing through.

The best-selling items were Puppet Master's finished products. Ludun wasn't short of wealthy individuals, and many who came to watch were clad in royal academy uniforms, inflating the shop prices to double.

Su Lun found the prices of lower-tier puppets exorbitantly high.

Fortunately, he had no need for puppets of such caliber anymore, being a top master in the field. It was challenging to find craftsmanship superior to his own. Even if there were any, they were mostly ancient relics not sold in the market.

After wandering around, Su Lun purchased several scrolls of puppetry from other schools and unexpectedly stumbled upon an ancient puppet scroll. He spent only a few thousand risos, acquiring a technique worth at least several hundred thousand: a fragment of "Silk Control: Airflow Needle Rain."

Items like knowledge had a threshold for assimilation; they were useless to beginners who couldn't comprehend them even if they bought them.

Besides, the nobles were never lacking in knowledge. With a lifetime's worth of various scriptures in the royal academy, they hardly cared.

This was the difference between nobles and civilian professionals.

While civilian professionals were pleased with scooping up minor resources, nobles had been immersed in the city's professional resources for many years.

...

Soon, with the competition about to start, Su Lun entered the guild's arena.

It was a circular small theater, originally accommodating a thousand people, but it was crammed with several thousand due to the event.

Su Lun's ticket placed him in the last row of the infield, discreet yet offering a complete view of the arena.

Today was the contest for the top ten rankings. Su Lun sat back, the cacophony of crow caws and crowd noise blended behind him.

A rough estimate suggested there were at least a hundred crows in the arena!

Even before the competition began, Su Lun listened to the intense discussions behind him about the match.

"Wow, the prizes for this competition are really generous this time. The Alchemy Guild really invested a lot to build their reputation. The first prize is even a rare fifth-grade 'Iron Sand Puppet.' Tsk tsk, that thing is good both in offense and defense. If one gets ahold of it, you wouldn't just match a fifth-grade professional but could stand a chance against third or fourth-grade ones. So envious... "

"I've heard about this puppet too. It's always been a treasured item of the Puppeteer Guild, but I never thought they'd actually give it away as a prize. Not just the first place, the second place is a very rare grade of gold quality filament gear, and third place is a draft of the Four-Element Core Structure... the top ten prizes are all treasures!"

"Last time I heard that the 'Four-Element Heart' treasure of puppets appeared in Roman territory, and the Guild even sent an adventure team to find it, but they failed. I wonder who ended up with it..."

"Heard it's with 'The Reaper.' He has an indestructible gargoyle puppet, very powerful. I bet it's the strongest puppet nowadays, even stronger than Master Aubrey's 'Seven Dwarfs' elemental puppets."

"'The Reaper's' strength is acknowledged. One against two hundred thousand, we in Ludun who play with puppets, no one dares claim they can do it... "

"True. That battle in Moros City-State indeed demonstrated the prestige of our puppeteer professionals with real strength."

"..."

Su Lun, listening in, found himself amused at the various self-aggrandizing versions he heard.

Those old-timers from the front rows of the Puppeteer Guild seemed slightly uncomfortable listening to this.

The strongest puppet traditions were all in the Lyndon Puppeteers Guild. Now, some unknown outsider Puppet Master had pushed down their renown, making it awkward for these masters.

Yet, the spectators were mostly young people who spoke without restraint, continuing their discussions.

"Who do you think will take the first place this time?"

"Of course, it has to be Master Aubrey's direct disciple, Elsa Bach. That young lady from the Marquis's house awakened 'C-019-Twin Hearts,' an exceptional talent for a Puppet Master. With her inheritance and the quality of puppets, she's unmatched in her class, and there are records of her defeating third-grade professionals before..."

"I'm not so sure. Haven't you heard about the heir from the Boyle Mechanized Puppet line coming to the capital? Following the Rodrica Queen Liner incident, two puppet masters were reported to be very strong. They seem to have made it into the top ten too."

"Exactly. Royal records are one thing, but when it comes to real-life combat, there's a lot of fluff. Heard that those Boyle folks had their entire family slain by pirates. Real battle-hardened..."

"You dare underestimate our Royal Academy's top puppet master? Too naive. Just watch when a real battle ensues, then you'll see the difference between nobles and commoners..."

"..."

Su Lun pondered over their analyses, considering who might claim the top spot.

He believed Aubrey had the highest chance of winning.

Despite only being a first-grade professional, if Aubrey truly fought with all his might, revealing 'The Exquisite Heart,' not a few Kamas would suffice.

Against a group of puppet masters at most second-grade, it was more than enough.

...

Big Shots always appeared last.

Su Lun checked his pocket watch; the competition was set for ten o'clock, and it was still one minute away.

Just then, the venue fell suddenly silent, and an elderly man with a white beard, leading a few people, walked in.

From his briefing, Su Lun recognized this white-bearded man as Aubrey Hernandez, the chairman of the Puppeteers Guild and one of the acknowledged Great Grandmasters of his era, heir to the elemental puppet lineage.

Among those accompanying him were two youths, one Su Lun recognized from an encounter on a cruiser where he almost got killed—the young master of the Roberts family, Alex Roberts.

The other was a young man with a complexion so pale he resembled a vampire.

No need to guess, they were likely sons of top-tier nobility, or otherwise the chairman of the Puppeteers Guild wouldn't personally accompany them.

While Su Lun generally disregarded nobility, the ring on the young man's hand caught his eye, causing his pupils to abruptly constrict: "That ring, in his possession?!"

[Lilith's Vampire Ring]

Quality: Legendary

Description: With this ring on, you become a high-ranking vampire;

Curse Characteristics: The ring can be used to draw the target's blood essence, allowing for high-efficiency recovery of one's own injuries and stamina; prolonged use of the ring can extend the wearer's life and solidify their appearance; however, using the ring to draw blood essence also draws in foreign spiritual power, causing mental turmoil; the blood of a pure virgin of equivalent extreme energy is needed to weaken the curse's backlash, the purer the blood, the better the weakening effect;

Detailed Explanation: Hailing from the Dawn of Civilization, a Demon Hunter crafted this dark curse item using the finger bones of the vampire progenitor, thereby inheriting some of the progenitor vampire's blood-drinking abilities, achieving an almost immortal existence; it serves as a material for professional advancement, significantly strengthening the flesh when fused and granting abilities like 'Blood Devour,' which enhances the body through consumption of the target's flesh. If the fusion conditions are met, Fallen Angel blood suppresses the ring's abyssal lineage, with a deformation probability less than 16%;

"Is this guy a member of the Rodriguez family?"

When Su Lun was on the ship, he had already asked Mr. Jing, the seven-hundred-year-old vampire, if there were any suitable professional materials in Lyndon for him.

The old vampire had mentioned this ring.

Su Lun only knew that the ring was in the hands of the Rodriguez family.

He thought it would belong to some old fellow, but unexpectedly, it was being worn by a young man?

Su Lun watched, his pupils narrowing slightly, thinking to himself, "This really is a powerful cursed item. With it, one almost attains the immortal life of a vampire..."

Upon seeing the information from the appraisal, Su Lun was certain this cursed item was exactly what he needed, greatly enhancing his physical body and even granting him 'Blood Devour' abilities!

The most crucial factor was that he completely met the fusion conditions!

After being transformed, Su Lun's Fallen Angel bloodline was higher in order than the abyssal vampire lineage, allowing him a high success rate!

Though a 16% deformation probability was not low, obtaining another deformation tolerance Potion from Dr. Banks could definitely suppress it to within 8%!

Upon realizing this, Su Lun was immediately tempted.

...

"However, why does his soul feel so strange... Could it be because of the ring?"

Su Lun sensed again that this pale young man's strength should be very strong.

But his soul fluctuated very strangely, even colder than actual vampires.

Su Lun immediately became suspicious, his thoughts quickly shifting.

After these individuals entered, they directly sat in the front row.

Su Lun also overheard people nearby recognizing their identities.

"Hey, those two noble young masters, what's their background? Actually bringing Master Aubrey to accompany them?"

"You don't know? Both are major heirs of top noble families. The one in white is called Alex Roberts."

"Roberts family, one of the six Senior Councilors?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Wow, no wonder. How about the other one?"

"The other one is even more impressive. That's Senior Councilor Duke Rodriguez's second young master, Augustus, the solver of [B-010-Glutton]. He was already a Level Six professional when he graduated from the Royal Academy three years ago, a true once-in-a-century genius hailed as one of the 'Top Ten Strongest Geniuses' by the Royal Academy in a hundred years."

"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember too. The Royal Academy was really full of geniuses back then. That William from the Reagatti family was also one of the 'Top Ten Geniuses.' I heard that he advanced to Level Six as soon as he graduated. There's also the Miss Yekaterina from the Lance family. I've heard she's very strong as well..."

"Oh, and everytime you mention Miss Yekaterina, it infuriates me! How can such a beautiful angel be getting married? Oh, God, if she really must marry, I think William from the Reagatti family would be quite suitable. But she's actually marrying a younger son from Reagatti, heard he's useless, a lover's son..."

"That's because you don't understand the subtleties. The royal family wouldn't allow the primary heirs of two major families to intermarry. Various powers wouldn't tolerate such a powerful union either. Only marrying a younger son, preferably a useless one, would not face opposition..."

"..."

As Su Lun overheard the group gossiping behind him about the wearer of the Vampire Ring, named Augustus Rodriguez, and the various auras around this young master...

He hadn't even had time to think more deeply when, in the midst of the conversation, he unexpectedly stumbled upon his own drama.

"The 'useless' from the Reagatti family?"

Su Lun listened while his eyes twitched fiercely.

They seemed to be talking about him?

He listened to their explanations and suddenly remembered the sight of the purple-haired Yekaterina, thinking then of Katyusha.

A fairly complex feeling.

But those people were probably mistaken; Yekaterina's choice of "Fik" wasn't just because he was the younger son of the Reagatti family.

More importantly, he was Su Lun!

However, it was all just a transaction, and Su Lun didn't care about the gossip.

He thought of something else and mumbled to himself, "Tsk, tsk... Young genius? Hardly just a young man, more like an old immortal wrapped in a young man's skin."

While there are many geniuses in the world, they are not that easy to come by.

At least the problem with this young master Augustus was substantial.

Su Lun thought of something, his eyes narrowing slightly, he thought: "The fluctuations in his soul are likely due to the long-term use of the Vampire Ring, giving it a tangled and cold quality. Solidifying appearances, what exactly does this old fellow intend to do..."