Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun walked towards the campsite at Dawn City.

Being alone was too conspicuous, so he blended into a caravan.

With the frontier development booming, more and more caravans and Scavengers from Old Lington City arrived at the ruins.

A few months ago, the small path through the cave had turned into a cement road, bustling with unending traffic.

It might have been an illusion, but Su Lun felt that the quality of these groups had significantly improved compared to a month ago. Many, evident from their clothes and equipment, were professionals who clearly weren't short of money and were also mingling in the crowd.

Mixing in with the group and eavesdropping, Su Lun found out that these people were indeed bodyguards and security teams from major families and financial conglomerates, apparently sent to scout ahead.

Reiss family, Leonard family, Rockefeller, Dupont, Morgan...

People in the group mentioned that apparently all these top financial tycoons from the inner city had sent representatives here.

"So the inner city is also getting involved in Scavenging on a large scale…"

Scavenging had always been an opportunity for the poor in the outer city to earn their living, risking their lives; people from the inner city, at least their direct heirs, would almost never participate in such high-casualty endeavors.

But now, things had changed.

Su Lun remembered Mr. Hei mentioning that there would be a Scavenging craze soon. It was said that the upper echelons of the Black Tower planned to fully develop the central and core districts of Dawn City, mandating that all major families from the inner city send their best people over.

After listening for a while, he picked up some disjointed pieces of information.

Su Lun also had some thoughts.

....

From a distance, Su Lun saw several wanted posters stuck at the city gate.

The top two, naturally, were for Number Nineteen and his own true identity.

As he had expected, due to his frequent "major actions," he had finally become one of the only two "SS class wanted criminals" in Old Lington at present.

The official bounty had reached five million and a bunch of other stuff, with an additional massive reward added by the wealthy Oliver family below...

However, he looked over and figured the situation wasn't too bad.

The wanted poster still displayed his former Bald Punk look.

But since it was an "SS wanted notice," the details were very thorough.

Major features were all described in detail, such as being skilled with dual guns, a Puppet Master, accompanied by a blue-skinned giant, possessing two prohibited items: "Xiupunos's Night Scythe" and "Oz's Mummy Wrappings"...

Those bounty experts had even analyzed the models of his dual guns, right down to the renowned "Blue Demon" and "Lightning Snake."

Not only his height, shoulder width, weight, shoe size... but also his abhorrence for the undead.

It could be said, everything about Su Lun that had been exposed before, had been meticulously recorded in the wanted poster.

If he still had his Bald appearance, no matter how he disguised himself, entering the city would make him a target for the Bounty Hunters, not to mention the burden of carrying along such conspicuous items like the undead and the Black Scythe.

For normal criminals, such a level of the wanted poster truly left no place to hide.

But one thing slightly puzzled Su Lun.

He noticed that his current long-haired appearance hadn't appeared on the wanted poster.

But Su Lun wasn't harboring any illusions.

Although he wore a mask that night, Sabina, that woman, had only seen half his face.

But he always felt that, with her methods, she wouldn't let go of such valuable intelligence.

...

Various large and small caravans lined up at the camp gate for inspection to enter the city.

Due to the large crowd, there was a longstanding queue at the city gate.

Su Lun felt that it was probably because of the last time he and Number 19 had infiltrated the city and caused a commotion that the city defense and guards had significantly strengthened.

The number of checkpoint personnel had doubled, and there were armed inspection teams wearing white helmets, seemingly designed to prevent the guards from being bribed or showing favoritism...

Everyone had to remove their hats and masks for inspection, and the large goods of each merchant troop had to be opened.

There were also some "undercover" agents mingling in the queue, their gazes flitting suspiciously over the crowd.

Su Lun had already scoped out these checkpoints and knew that following the merchants was his best chance to get close to the city walls.

Entering the city required a long wait, which couldn't stop people from needing to relieve themselves urgently.

A few simple sheds had been constructed outside the city walls to serve as temporary toilets.

Feigning an urgent need, Su Lun went to a corner behind the toilets, avoiding the eyes of the crowd.

He had previously observed that this was the shelter closest to the city wall.

The city wall was about ten meters thick, and he would have to teleport roughly ten meters to avoid being detected by the guards.

Su Lun was still unable to master long-distance teleportation, but the distance here was just right.

He was already adept at the technique of spatial teleportation and chose a direction before pinching the sorcerer's seal, and a black portal appeared instantly.

Stepping through, he looked around and found himself already inside the city.

....

"A slight miscalculation, not bad..."

Checking his landing spot, Su Lun revealed a slight smile.

He straightened his suit and lowered the brim of his bowler hat before heading towards the city streets.

The Black Baron Pub was the territory of the Steam Party, and Sabina, as the Gang Lady, was naturally a frequent visitor there.

This time, Su Lun didn't dare go directly to the Black Baron for fear of encountering an accident and being recognized prematurely.

So, he chose a small pub a few shops away, where he could find a window seat with a view of the Black Baron.

He ordered a drink and listened to the Scavengers in the pub boast and blather, which also gave him a good idea of what had recently happened.

Apart from the scavenger information, he frequently heard the name "S wanted criminal Su Lun," but mostly in a tone of admiration.

Hearing it made him, the person in question, occasionally smile.

At the table next to him, there was a Big Beard boasting about his encounter with "Su Lun."

"Hey, let me tell you, I was also at [1911 Restaurant] last time, and I indeed met that 'S wanted Su Lun' himself. That battle was spectacular, hundreds of people tried to kill him, along with several major Scavenger group leaders, but they failed to capture him and even got one of their own killed ..."

"I also heard that Su Lun is actually a third-tier professional. Those guys at the Bounty Hunters' Guild just deliberately play it down because they're scared no one will dare to provide information..."

"Exactly! Even with that banned item, which first-tier professional could travel from Old Lington to Dawn City? Do they really think everyone in the inner city is useless?"

"That guy is truly incredible. I heard he came from the slums and then made it through fighting in the gang, which led to his present status..."

"Eh, I heard he used to be a bodyguard in the inner city..."

"..."

All kinds of messy information came out of the mouths of the patrons, making Su Lun, the person in question, doubt if the "protagonist" in the story was actually him.

For the ordinary Scavengers struggling to survive at the bottom, the bounty on a criminal was too distant, merely a tale to pass the time over tea and meals.

The tough life always needed some amusement. Suddenly, there was someone who could make the big tycoons grimace, and they enjoyed hearing about it.

To them, Su Lun was a "legendary figure."

....

Su Lun waited in the pub for almost three hours.

Finally, as midnight approached, he saw the person he had been waiting for.

At the entrance of the Black Baron tavern, a woman in fox fur finally appeared.

Even from afar, you could see a stunning woman basking in the spotlight on stage, surrounded by men, all smiles and spirited conversation—it was none other than the enchanting Gang Lady.

She seemed to have settled matters with a group of inner city big shots and left the tavern.

The slightly tipsy old gentlemen, escorted by the scantily clad tavern girls, laughed and bid her farewell as they headed to a fancy hotel next door.

Sabina led a group that included Steam Party executives and underlings towards another inn.

It looked like they were preparing to rest.

Tommy was also in the group. Over the past month, it seemed he had also been tamed by the methods of the Gang Lady, his mouth unconstrained yet unspoken, his face stern.

As a spiritual profession practitioner, Su Lun had extremely sharp perceptions. He dared not stare directly and observed everything with a diffused gaze.

He watched the group enter the three-story building and didn't rush out himself.

After waiting a moment, seeing the light suddenly come on in a room on the third floor, he then exited the tavern.

Su Lun just stepped onto the street, passing by the entrance of an inn called "Starlight Inn," without any pause. He listened briefly and had roughly discerned the distribution of people inside. All of the Steam Party underlings were in the ground floor hall, playing cards and boasting.

Su Lun avoided the eyes of others and turned into a narrow alley behind the inn.

The defenses looked lax enough that he could simply climb the wall to get upstairs.

But as Su Lun examined the unassuming alarm devices on the wall, a knowing smirk crossed his face, "Hah, as expected of someone into espionage, cautious enough..."

Ever since he had mastered spatial ability, his perception system had incorporated the concept of space, allowing him to distinguish the architectural layout within a certain range, even with his eyes closed.

For instance, he could clearly identify the partition wall, bed, and cupboard in the room with the light on, three floors up.

This way, he wouldn't teleport and end up inside a wall.

....

Since he had decided to make a move, Su Lun didn't hesitate.

With a pinch of the sorcerer's seals, the Octo-Arms Spider Lance was revealed, and a void black hole appeared out of nowhere; he stepped into it.

The next step he took, he was already inside that room on the third floor.

The room was spacious, with ambient warm lighting casting luxurious shadows, and the air was tinged with a hint of moisture.

No one was seen on the bed, a white fox fur and a silk dress hung on the coat rack, white lace intimates were scattered on the bed, and high heels by the door...

Seeing these items, Su Lun immediately confirmed his judgment was correct.

This was indeed Sabina's room!

Hearing the sound of water from the bathroom, he didn't hesitate and charged straight towards it.

The person in the bathroom also reacted quickly, seemingly hearing the faint noise of someone entering, and suddenly there was a "splash" sound like that of water.

Unfortunately for her, Su Lun, who was prepared, was quicker!

With his agility-enhanced Octo-Arms Spider Lance, the distance was nothing; it shot up the wall, and he was instantly within the bathroom.

Su Lun gave the enemy no chance to react; as soon as he entered the bathroom, he delivered a punch to her stomach, interrupting her attempt to reach for a golden bracelet on the washstand.

At this moment, Sabina had already transformed into a seductive demon form, her eyes emitting a sinister red glow.

With that cold-flame punch, the dark spiritual power within her stalled.

Being a high-level professional, although caught off guard, she wasn't totally defenseless.

Yet Sabina chose not to linger in combat and decisively opted to escape—having an opponent who could enter the room silently was a severe threat!

Following that punch, her body suddenly burst into a cloud of pink mist, clearly attempting to utilize the demonic charm's innate ability to escape just like the other day.

Unfortunately for her, Su Lun was already prepared.

Right as his fist dispersed her tender body with a punch, his eyes hardened, his hands clapped rapidly, and the sorcerer's seals were instantly formed. The space around seemed to freeze.

As soon as the pink gauze dissipated, she had not escaped far when her figure was revealed just a meter away.

It was like flashing into a wall, her head buzzing in confusion.

Sabina looked at herself still in the bathroom, her pretty face also showing a trace of shock.

But this time, she was not given a chance to escape as a hand, strong as iron tongs, was already lurking around her neck.

In that instant, Sabina's face drastically changed, and she cried out in her heart, "Spatial lockdown!"

She found herself choked by that hand, her whole body like sinking into a quagmire, not only making casting difficult but even her struggles were restricted.

The opponent clearly knew of her abilities and had come prepared, countering her means of escape.

Spatial control is a very rare ability.

In her mind, she was immediately searching for what kind of enemy would possess such a power.

But she did not need to think further; looking at the eight-armed spider spear before her, Sabina already knew who the visitor was.

....

Su Lun gave Sabina no chance to resist. The moment he controlled her, the "Deadly Poison Spikes" of two spider spears, glowing with dark luminescence, were already a mere centimeter in front of the woman's eyes. Any sudden movement, and the spears would pierce through her eye sockets and into her skull.

And that was not all!

To restrain her from any movement, several other spider spears drew out countless silver threads, enclosing her entirely like in a giant net. The threads cut into her flesh, preventing her not only from forming seals but even from moving her fingers.

Spatial restriction + silk threads + spider spears...

Naked, Sabina was held in a highly embarrassing pose against the bathroom wall by Su Lun.

The entire process was completed in one go; Su Lun did not utter a single word, he pulled out a sharp dagger and immediately slashed a bloodstained gash on her arm.

This dagger, dismantled from a "PZ911 Mechanical Limb," had a strong anti-magic effect.

With this single slash, it penetrated the jelly-like protective barrier on Sabina's skin, drawing blood.

Su Lun, watching the bleeding, then took out a prepared sheepskin scroll, intricately inscribed with a complex contract seal, and dropped the blood onto it.

The sheepskin scroll absorbed the blood, and spiritual light spilled out.

Seeing this strange action, Sabina's expression finally changed significantly.

She realized that things were seriously amiss.

However, being a Major General of Intelligence within the Umbrella Organization, whether in mentality or strength she was top-notch, and the shock soon disappeared.

Suddenly, she stopped struggling. She did not feel embarrassed about her naked state; instead, she stretched her body openly, as if wanting the man before her to see everything clearly.

A pair of red pupils spilled out a strange, bewitching light, a wave of spiritual power subtly emanating.

The air filled with a scent that sent hormones spiraling...

Unfortunately, with the two spider spears pointed at her eyeballs, most of her vision was blocked, preventing her from daring to move.

Those bits of peripheral vision she could catch sight of also revealed a pair of almost numb eyes, faintly reddening, seemingly unaffected by lust.

That look, Sabina was all too familiar with it.

It was a sign that the man before her was about to unleash the monster within his heart.

Back then, she had almost suffered a great loss at the hands of this red-eyed monster.

Watching Su Lun holding a potion syringe to her neck, ready to inject it at any moment, Sabina inwardly cursed.

A high-grade calming potion?

In that moment, she realized that her opponent thoroughly understood the succubus's capabilities, with every step calculated.

PS. I dare not correct the typos in the next two chapters as it would trigger a review, please bear with it.