Mechanical Alchemist

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Half a day later, outside the city.

Su Lun, covered in filth, scrambled out of a sewer in the northern part of the city, looking very disheveled.

As soon as he emerged, he collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Even though the air quality in the northern industrial zone was so poor that one could inhale half a mouthful of dust with each breath, it was still much better than the toxic gases in the sewers!

After catching his breath briefly, his protective gear dissipated. He didn't dare delay any further and quickly took out a "strong antidote potion" and injected it into his neck.

The next second, the poisoning's black hue on his face stopped spreading.

After administering the antidote, Su Lun finally let out a long breath of relief.

"How many terrifying monsters did the 'X Serum' leak end up creating... The sewers are almost clogged with them!"

Looking at the dark sewer entrance, he still felt shaken.

The danger in the underground caverns was no less than being hunted in the inner city.

Had it not been for his quick sprint on eight legs just now, the thousand-leg centipede that could spit fire and poison almost claimed his life on the spot.

If Danny had attempted his escape under such conditions three years ago, his 100-plus-pound body wouldn't have been enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of those horrifying mutated monsters.

However, he was ultimately lucky to have survived.

....

Su Lun looked back at the towering walls of the inner city, his expression complex.

His original plan was to follow the escort squad to gain some insight, but he hadn't expected this inner city day trip to turn into a day trip at the gates of hell.

Being constantly pursued and trapped made him feel as if he was repeatedly dodging at the gates of hell.

However, he nearly lost his life but also gained two things in return.

Not far behind him, something invisible seemed to be tied to a steel wire he was dragging.

That thing was naturally the sealed object that saved his life—[Oz's Corpse Shroud].

Just using it for half a day in the city had cost him a year or two of his lifespan.

He had survived, and the price was worth it, but he didn't dare keep it nearby.

Indeed, it was a good treasure for saving one's life, but it couldn't be placed in a storage ring, nor could it be tied to his body at all times; it could only be dragged along from a distance.

Even though the lifespan wasn't visible on his data panel, whenever this object approached within a meter, he noticed certain body values changing subtly.

So he also deduced that the influence range of this sealed object was around one meter.

Su Lun thought that if he wanted to carry it with him in the future, he would only have to tie it to a "living corpse."

A living corpse did not have a lifespan to speak of, so it should ignore this curse feature.

He even thought of a very suitable puppet tactic, where a "visible living corpse" would become the perfect assassin. If the scythe could also be bound to "invisibility," it would be an excellent weapon for unexpected assassinations, and even top professionals might get taken out unexpectedly by him.

...

For now, the corpse shroud would be dragged along like this.

Whilst taking a breather, Su Lun took out the booklet of [Isaac's Alchemy Manuscript] that he had tucked away.

The cover previously known as "Precious New Pearl" had already disintegrated in the sewer, revealing the true nature of the manuscript.

The cover, rough to the touch like crocodile skin, featured a very complex octagram alchemy circle engraved in it, identified as an "Unrecognized High-Level Sealing Technique."

Just looking at the cover, a profound sense of mystery emerged.

Flipping it open, the pages were even more eerie; they didn't feel dry like parchment but rather like "the skin of a living person."

When touched, the pages even trembled lightly as if they were the sensitive skin of a young girl.>

Had Su Lun not been familiar with this item, its odd nature might have made him consider hiding it somewhere first.

But upon identification with his True Vision, not only was the manuscript not evil, it was actually of great use.

However, its curse features were somewhat unique.

[Isaac's Alchemy Manuscript III]

Description: A set of alchemy notes written on the skin of an unidentified creature;

Curse feature: Fate is an endless chain of cause and effect, and the development of the world itself follows this principle and causal relationship. This is a set of notes tainted by fate, pulling those who come into contact with it into its chain of cause and effect... Whether it is a blessing or a curse, who knows?

Detailed explanation: Carrying it grants the aura 'Sir Isaac's Blessing,' which makes learning alchemy twice as effective; one will often have 'epiphanies,' unexpectedly comprehending some profound alchemy knowledge;

The curse feature is that obtaining the manuscript involves one in its cause and effect.

Su Lun didn't think this was a big deal.

Cause and effect is the rule that everything follows.

Worried about trouble?

Being chosen for the escort team had already inadvertently brought trouble his way.

Even if he disposed of the manuscript now, he couldn't shake it off.

So, to Su Lun, this curse feature hardly seemed to impact him at all.

Moreover, it's noted that whether it is a blessing or a curse, who knows?

On the contrary, its beneficial effect, 'Isaac's Blessing,' made Su Lun think the manuscript was quite useful.

The more he engaged with alchemy knowledge, the more advanced and profound it became. Many deep levels of alchemy require not just time to learn but also intuition and understanding.

This manuscript would multiply his learning efficiency several times over, and the benefits would be incalculable.

Moreover, seeing that the manuscript was numbered "III," it implied that there were at least two more of its kind. If nothing else, one copy was likely in the hands of the person who had left text on his retina.

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As for the content, there was encryption involved as well, now was not the time to decode it.

After catching his breath for a moment, Su Lun put away the notes.

Now, he had another critical task, that was, to flee.

Escaping the inner city was just the first step, the crisis was far from over.

.....

Although Su Lun had been a wanted criminal before, he kept a low profile, so it didn't affect his life in the gangs much.

Now, being hunted by the Umbrella Organization, the situation was completely different.

Moreover, now that he knew Smokey Sangbu was an internal spy, there must be many more secret lines within the Cross Society.

Naturally, he could not go back to the Cross Society, and even the identity of "Su Lun" could no longer be used in the outer city for the time being.

He could only leave the city and hide for a while.

After all, even the most potent tracking had its geographical and time limitations.

As long as he ran far enough, all tracking methods would be futile.

Conveniently, Dawn City had built a large hunting camp on the outskirts, ensuring long-term survival outside the city.

Su Lun had originally planned to check it out, and now was the perfect opportunity.

What he needed to do right now was to head back to Green Street, grab his belongings, and escape.

After all, if he was going to leave the city, he had to take life-saving items like his sickle and the living dead.

Su Lun had long planned his escape and sprinted all the way.

.....

Before long, Su Lun picked a motorcycle lock on the roads of North City and sped towards South City.

Having anticipated the possibility of one day having to flee, he had made preparations and knew several secret channels for sneaking out of the city.

Besides, the outer city was not like the inner city; he was a local snake with well-known routes. There were not as many professionals in the outer city, and the pursuers did not have such good mechanical equipment. Even if he were cornered, the danger level would not be high.

That is unless he encountered a second-order professional.

But in the vast and sparsely populated outer city, the chances of encountering a second-order were a thousand times lower than in the inner city.

It wasn't long before the motorcycle was speeding into the territory of the Cross Society in South City.

That also meant that the number of enemies would suddenly decrease.

But Su Lun was not careless.

He was fully aware that those from the Umbrella Organization, not having captured him, must have guessed he had already reached the outer city.

Su Lun did not know what methods they had, but such a large organization would certainly not let matters rest.

He remained vigilant all the way, always on guard for anyone catching up. Stay tuned for updates on empire

The motorcycle was very fast; at this speed, not only would ordinary people not be able to keep up, but any pursuers would also be spotted instantly.

But no matter how careful he was, he was still pursued.

He guarded against people, but other things got through.

As he was riding, Su Lun suddenly noticed a red-eyed crow following his motorcycle in flight.

After making a turn, the crow was still on his tail.

With a casual shot, the crow fell to the ground with a caw.

However, after that shot, Su Lun had a very bad premonition.

In Old Lington, crows only liked to flock in the East City. Only those old-school Magicians from the Crow Gang would feed these scavenger birds, harbingers of ill-omen. Crows were both their faith and their power.

Sure enough, the premonition became reality.

After Su Lun shot the first crow, he gradually noticed more and more crows following him.

They were like surveillance cameras, with red eyes that made one's skin crawl.

As the number of crows increased, Su Lun sprayed bullets, and the crows exploded into clouds of green blood mist.

Instantly, he recognized the user of this ability and was greatly surprised, "Crow Gang's 'Plague Doctor' Sergey! Why would this guy be working for the Umbrella Organization?!"

....

Sergey was the younger brother of Gwynplaine, the 'Crow Godfather' and head of one of the three major gangs in the outer city, a notorious, seasoned second-order professional.

These "old school" Alchemists all possessed an array of quirky abilities, eerie and very troublesome.

This Sergey, a professional, was a [Plague Doctor], skilled in various curses, tracking, killing imperceptibly.

He was even disliked by the executives of the Cross Society, one of the least desirable individuals to encounter.

It was rumored Sergey had a secret technique for tracking; as long as his crows ingesting the target's blood, nails, or hair, they would help locate the target.

Seeing the flock of crows, Su Lun had no more doubts; he had been discovered.

At that moment, as he rode the motorcycle and was about to fire his gun, he felt an itch in his throat as though something was blocking it, provoking a bout of retching.

The next second, with a sound of "retch," he suddenly spat out a feathery black crow from his mouth, which flew away cawing.

Seeing this, Su Lun's heart chilled, "Curse Magic!"