Mechanical Alchemist

The cave was nothing like Old Lington City. If it came to a fight, there would be no reservations.

Su Lun could kill them, and then retreat at his ease.

With the complex terrain, even if Old Lington sent ten times the number of troops, they might not catch him.

However, doing so would ruin his plan to travel to Dawn City incognito, and he would have to abandon his "Johnny" identity.

But at this moment, it seemed like he had no other choice but to fight.

...

"Hey... you there, yes, you, take off your mask!"

The guy from the "Iron Cavalry Group" opposite Su Lun was still urging him to take off his mask.

After all, it was time to rest and set up camp. Most people in the transport team did not have their gas masks on. A brief glance was all it took for the man to spot Su Lun's anomaly.

Seeing that Su Lun did not respond promptly, the man's gun barrel lifted a bit, as if he would open fire immediately upon sensing something amiss.

There was no way he could remove the mask; problems would inevitably arise if he did.

Hearing the urging, Su Lun did not care much for the man before him. He could tell from the way the man handled his gun that he was no professional, posing a limited threat.

Su Lun's attention remained on the distant "Flower Sword" Holle.

If a fight were to break out, he would have to eliminate this man first to ensure nothing unforeseen occurred during the battle.

However, just as Su Lun was about to exert a slight force on his finger, preparing to command the "invisible undead" behind him to slit the throat of that second-order professional first—

Suddenly!

Several other members of the "Knight Order" searching the campsite found something and shouted, "Captain, I found this!"

This urgent cry drew the attention of everyone in the camp.

Su Lun also looked over to see that the man was holding a broken mechanical arm.

It was not an ordinary mechanical arm; it looked just like a living person's severed limb. However, underneath the tattered synthetic skin, a metallic luster reflected, and there was no blood flowing from the severed end, only some complex, damaged, and high-precision mechanical components.

While others looked on in confusion, Su Lun was very familiar. He thought to himself in surprise, "PX-911 mechanical limb?"

He was familiar because the Storage Ring he wore contained parts dismantled from this type of mechanical limb on some of the strange dolls he possessed.

Seeing this severed arm, Su Lun also realized that the woman had used a broken limb to attract some of the enemy's tracking abilities?

Clearly, "Flower Sword" Holle realized this too, and his expression turned ugly.

Finding the mechanical arm also meant that they had been "misdirected" by the fugitive, and continuing to stay in the camp was likely a waste of time!

Even the man opposite Su Lun had no more desire to pursue the matter of removing the mask.

He, too, was no longer in a hurry to act.

With his superior assassinated and under immense pressure, Holle turned his head towards the man in the camp wearing a black silk top hat, asking, "Hawkins, how long before you can use your divination ability again?"

Hearing this, the man named Hawkins showed a troubled expression. "At least two more hours."

Holle shook his head, "And now?"

Hawkins initially wanted to say it was impossible, but seeing the iron-blue face of his captain, he knew he couldn't refuse. "I'll try."

As he spoke, the man stuck his silver-handled staff into the ground, and then his hands began forming sorcerer's seals. Soon after, a silver hexagram formation appeared at his feet.

Nearby, just as Su Lun was wondering what these guys were up to, he suddenly noticed the starry signs appearing above the high-hatted man's hexagram and realized something, "Divination?"

Although he had not encountered a professional with such a rare mystical talent in reality, he had read about it in the textbooks at the Black Tower Academy.

Diviners are indeed extremely rare professionals.

Only those with certain "mediumistic talents" could take on this profession.

In all of Old Lington, there might not even be a few qualified diviners.

However, in the eyes of an alchemist, all abilities have their price.

Abilities like foreseeing the future and divining good and bad luck, while amazing, come at a great cost and are truly high-risk professions.

For a diviner, targets within their ability range are manageable—such as finding a lost wallet might only cost a bit of vitality.

But if the divination target exceeds one's own strength or touches certain taboos, losing a bit of lifespan is the least of one's worries, the cost could greatly increase without limit.

For example, when divining an item, if one accidentally glimpses an indescribable existence, they would instantly drop dead.

As these thoughts flashed through Su Lun's mind, the Hexagram Array under the feet of the man in the tall hat had completely lit up.

And what was magical was that the silver-handled cane he had placed in the center of the Formation, as if pulled by an invisible force, began to sway slowly in a certain direction, as if it were guiding something.

The cane continued to swing in one direction but never settled.

It was as if something was still missing.

However, having done all this, the Diviner Hawkins seemed to be struggling greatly. He was chanting incantations, and his body trembled.

Seeing that the divination bore no fruit, he gritted his teeth and took out a crystal necklace.

Upon the crystal necklace's appearance, a faint blue light instantly amplified the power of the alchemy formation.

With a "clang," the cane suddenly fell, pointing towards a cave in the southwest direction.

And the necklace also floated up, the triangular crystal pointing like an arrow in the same direction.

But at the same time, Diviner Hawkins, as if his soul had been smashed by an invisible sledgehammer, spurted out blood violently, his complexion turning deathly pale. With that spurt of blood, he seemed to age by ten years, his complexion clearly fading significantly.

Holle watched his subordinate spew blood, seemingly having anticipated it, his expression not looking good, "You've worked hard."

"Chase!"

But without further ado, he signaled to his men and chased in the direction indicated by the floating Crystal Necklace.

In the blink of an eye, the "Iron Cavalry Squad" of more than ten people hurriedly left the camp.

....

Watching the people leave, Abagon, the manager, called out to everyone, "Alright, everyone go rest, continue the night watch, and do not relax your vigilance!"

The transport team all looked displeased after such a disturbance.

But after all, the other party was from the Umbrella Organization, and even if they were fuming inside, they had to hold it in, with the Scavengers cursing and grumbling a few words before they returned to sleep or continued the night watch.

Not far away, Su Lun watched as those departing figures disappeared, his grip on the steel wire loosening, his gaze growing more profound.

He had originally planned to make a move, but didn't expect that they would ignore him and just leave.

However, far from feeling relieved at being discovered, he felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.

"This divination ability is dangerous..."

Su Lun narrowed his eyes, a tempting thought crossing his mind.

Could this be the kind of special tracking ability that Qian Biao mentioned before?

With such people in the Umbrella Organization, it's a huge threat to any wanted criminal.

Now that woman is an SS-class wanted criminal, and Su Lun felt that he was at least S-class. If mysterious diviners were to come after them like this, a confrontation would be inevitable sooner or later.

Besides, now that both his ability and the scythe had been exposed, the next time he faced an encirclement, the people that came might not be so easy to kill.

Thinking of this, Su Lun pondered, "Diviners, such an extremely rare profession, it's uncertain if the Umbrella Organization has even a handful... they should all be in Old Lington City. Right now, there might only be one or two in these caverns."

Kill one, and there's one less?

Su Lun's eyebrows lifted, a dangerous playfulness flashing in his eyes.

If danger was brewing, then it was best to nip that danger in the bud...

With that thought, his idea immediately turned into action.

He controlled the undead body, discreetly making his way behind the tent, then avoiding the gaze of others. With a flick of his sorcerer's seals, he deactivated the spider lance mechanism and nimbly climbed up the cave wall to the top of the cavern, then chased after the "Iron Cavalry Squad" in the direction they had left.

....

Though he had only seen her once, Su Lun had a deep impression of that woman—calm, rational, decisive.

In her, he could always find thoughts that resonated, that understood each other.

Since that woman chose to hide her severed arm in a transport team she encountered, she must also know that the enemy possessed divination tracking methods.

Su Lun felt that if he were in that woman's position right now, he definitely wouldn't just run away; instead, he'd set a trap somewhere to ambush those "Iron Cavalry Squad" people.

After all, without killing that Diviner, one could hardly expect peace.

So... Su Lun chose to catch up, and killing was just the backup plan.

The preferred plan was to wait for what he believed was an inevitable "ambush drama" and swoop in like a sly bird.

Su Lun's Octo-spear sped across the ceiling very quickly, soon catching up with the "Iron Knight Squadron." He purposefully kept some distance, fearing discovery. Although he couldn't see the people, he could hear the sound of their running footsteps.

"The pendulum shows it's the second passage on the left!"

"Not far now, hurry up!"

"..."

But suddenly, an accident occurred.

As they were chasing, they suddenly triggered an explosion device.

With a huge "boom," shockwaves and flames surged forth, and the whole cave wall vibrated violently, with rocks falling down like rain.

Immediately after, intensive combat sounds erupted.

"They've started fighting?!"

Su Lun was almost blown off the cave wall by the blast, but far from being shocked, his face showed an expression of expected joy.

He didn't delay, quickly accelerating toward the direction of the noise.

In the pitch-black corridor, there was only a faint glimmer of light.

But occasionally, there were sparks from metal clashing as swords met, and the sharp "clang" of steel rang out incessantly.

Su Lun's night vision allowed him to spot the two figures in fierce combat. The man wielding a sword was naturally the "Flower Sword" Holle, whom he had seen before. Holle was brandishing his swift sword, forming an impenetrable defense.

His courtly rapier style carried an air of elegance, and he moved with the lightness of a dance, dodging with ease while hiding lethal intent at the tip of his blade...

The other was a silver-haired woman with one arm, wielding a long katana, swinging and slashing broadly. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just an arm that the woman had lost. Her cybernetic skin was damaged in many places, as if she had already been through a fierce battle.

Despite missing an arm and looking in poor condition, she was still fighting Holle evenly, and at times even seemed to have the upper hand.

The two were engaged in a very intense battle.

"Second-tier close combat professionals really do have an absurd level of reaction speed..."

Su Lun hung from the top of the cave wall, watching from afar while also observing Holle's combat habits.

These second-tier close combat professionals' neurological reaction speeds had reached the level where they could "split bullets with a blade." If they were prepared in advance, Su Lun might not be able to harm them with his Black Scythe, despite his quick reaction times.

He wasn't in a hurry to act, just hanging nearby at the top of the cave.

Because he knew, if that silver-haired woman dared to set up an ambush, she must have been confident in taking action.

A situation where both parties were injured was exactly what he wanted to see.

...

The explosion had caught the "Iron Knight Squadron" off guard, and now only six out of the dozen or so were still alive. Squad leader Holle was holding off the silver-haired woman, while the others were either casting spells or taking potshots from the side.

Su Lun even took a special look to confirm that the diviner Hawkins was indeed still alive.

Such a rare professional must be a key protector, and clearly, the Iron Knight Squadron also anticipated that the woman would target him for elimination. The few survivors protected the diviner at the center.

Su Lun originally wanted to find an opportunity to take action, kill Holle, and end the fight.

But suddenly, he noticed something strange.

"Are these people deliberately stalling for time?"

Su Lun could see that Holle seemed to know that he couldn't kill the wanted "Number Nineteen." Holle's offensive movements became less aggressive, shifting to a drawn-out and lingering style meant entirely for entanglement.

Not aiming to injure the foe, just stalling for time.

"Strange..."

Su Lun noticed this and a hint of deep thought crossed his mind.

Why stall for time?

To send signals, waiting for reinforcements?

.....

The battle continued.

How fierce was "Number Nineteen"?

How could she have escaped from numerous ambushes by the Umbrella Organization only to get held up by a second-tier professional?

Her plan to ambush was clear, it was to assassinate that "Diviner"!

Number 19 saw through Holle's delaying tactic and ignored him, suddenly ejecting a boost of propulsion from her feet, charging straight at the Diviner.

In a flash, she was past them.

With her katana slash, a visible wave of blade energy howled past, and with a flash of cold light, two heads were already flying, while bodies spurted like fountains.

The few people protecting the Diviner turned pale with fright and hastily fired their guns, trying to stop her continued slaughter.

However, even with alchemy bullets hitting her, they only produced a "clang" of sparks on Number 19, and even explosive rounds only forced her back a small half step...

Su Lun's thoughts were racing; seeing those people raising their guns, he felt not a ripple in his heart, "The [PX-911 Mechanical Limbs] have ultra-high resistance against both physical and magical attacks, alchemy bullets won't harm her if they don't hit a vital point. Moreover... perhaps she doesn't have any 'vital points' in the conventional sense at all!"

He had previously analyzed the mechanical limbs in great detail, and although there was much he didn't understand, he speculated that this "Number 19" might have only her brain and nerves intact, with the rest being mechanical or alchemy replacements.

So, normal human vulnerabilities like nostrils, ear canals, eye sockets, and various skeletal joints would have likely been designed out from the start.

This was a super mechanical soldier created purely for combat and killing!

But then he wondered, "If she is so strong, who was it that managed to break her arm before? A third-tier professional?"

And being chased by a second-tier squad, without fighting back, forcing her to flee?

Su Lun figured she must have guessed that there were stronger reinforcements on the way, which is why she didn't waste time killing these people.

Thinking this, Su Lun narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Reinforcements on the way? Looks like the battle plan needs adjustment..."

....

Number 19 stormed into the crowd with a flurry of slashes, cutting down several people, darkening the expression of "Flower Sword" Holle.

This second-tier swordsman found his opportunity and stabbed into Number 19's damaged limb with a sword, sparks flying everywhere.

But ultimately, she was mechanical, and without hitting some critical components, it didn't mean much.

In just this brief encounter, Number 19 had already slain the Diviner and the other six people.

By then, she was ignoring Holle, who was trying to hold her back, her feet propelling her with a burst of propulsion, turning her head to sprint into the depths of the cavern.

Watching this, Su Lun felt that things were probably coming to an end here.

If it were him, after killing the Diviner, he wouldn't bother with a second-tier professional whom he couldn't kill in a short time either.

Unexpectedly, Holle chased after her for a few steps without catching up, cursing loudly, "Damn it!"

Then he gritted his teeth fiercely and did something utterly bewildering.

Su Lun watched as the man ran while taking out a green potion and stabbed it into his neck without hesitation.

This overwhelming sense of déjà vu made him feel strangely familiar.

Wasn't this exactly what he had done in his battle with the Smoke Ghost? Could it be that this guy also realized he couldn't win and decided to inject 'X Serum' in a desperate move?

It seemed he had received some kind of do-or-die order; without seizing the person, Holle probably wouldn't survive going back either.

But...

Su Lun dared to inject the serum because he had the "Mutation Inhibiting Potion"; what was this guy relying on?

The next moment, watching Holle's body swell up like the Green Giant transforming, Su Lun understood and was greatly surprised, "He's willing to die just to hold her back?"

In the blink of an eye, the man had become an [Abomination Warrior]!

Turns out, it wasn't just some "X Serum," but an abomination potion.

Holle had never intended to inhibit mutation; he was simply trading his life to hold back Number 19.

Su Lun watched, his eyelid twitching. How terrifying must the control of the people in the Black Tower be for a second-tier professional to self-destruct on command?

However, what he cared about more was something else.

Abomination Warrior?

That seemed like very good material for a living corpse...