Mechanical Alchemist

The Dawn Relic on the outskirts of the southern city had a section known as the "White Broken Wall," which was an essential route for Scavengers heading to hunt in the southern city and served as a landmark.

The area offered a wide view, wasn't too far from the camp, and the relic lay just beyond.

Suited for both fighting and walking, it was an ideal location for a transaction.

Su Lun concluded that the Olli family would be afraid of startling the prey and, thus, would not dare to set an ambush in advance.

Nevertheless, he arrived half a day early and observed from a distance.

Everything was progressing according to his script.

....

The agreed-upon time for the transaction was two in the afternoon.

Su Lun didn't show up early, but waited for the counterpart of the transaction to appear before he walked out from the relic.

The other party brought three people.

"Iron Cripple" Magitan was probably afraid of death and didn't come personally, but sent a manager and two bodyguards instead.

It appeared they were not informed.

The two parties met.

The goatee-bearded manager went straight to business, asking, "Did you bring the money?"

Su Lun pulled out the pre-prepared money bag and simultaneously said, "I want to see the goods."

The two parties exchanged items.

Upon inspection with the All-knowing Eye, the object was genuine, detailed explanations of the "Puppet Theater" Spell.

Su Lun felt a slight joy upon receiving the scroll, but it was expected.

If the item had been fake, he wouldn't have been able to stall for time.

The Olli family had probably figured that even if they provided the real thing, nobody could live to take it away.

....

The manager was still counting the money in the bag, a seemingly normal procedure.

But Su Lun noticed that their counting speed was slightly slow.

They likely had received some command to stall for time.

He pretended to be oblivious and patiently waited.

Because he was also waiting for the enemy's encirclement to form.

Was all this setup just for a scroll?

No, he was waiting for those high-rank professionals who were coming to execute him!

Meanwhile, the managing man, unaware of whom he was facing, thought to delay a bit by sparking a casual conversation.

Looking at the crow beak mask on Su Lun's face, which seemed familiar, he smiled and commented, "Yo... That gas mask of yours is quite unique. Looks like a high-grade alchemy item, eh?"

Su Lun responded directly, "Of course, it's the ancient cursed item of Sergei of the Crow Crowders' 'Plague Doctors'."

Earlier, he needed a disguise, so he remodeled it into a parrot mask.

Now, well, more debt doesn't weigh one down.

Already being an SS-wanted criminal, he wasn't concerned about having Crow Crowders on his tail.

Upon hearing this, the manager hadn't yet realized the gravity of the situation and raised his eyebrows with a smile, saying, "A replica? Tsk tsk... No wonder it looked so familiar. But speaking of which, the craftsmanship is really undeniable. Even a replica is of master-level. Must've cost a fair bit, huh?"

Upon hearing that, Su Lun's mouth curled into a smile that was not quite a smile, "No, not a replica. I killed Sergei, and this is the spoils of war."

"..."

At these words, the manager froze for a moment.

His gaze involuntarily focused more closely on the details of the crow beak mask, increasingly suspecting something was amiss.

Recalling his boss's instructions to drag out the time, a cold sweat broke out on the manager's forehead.

He quickly realized something was terribly wrong but merely offered a forced laugh, "Heh... hehe. You're quite the joker, aren't you..."

"Do you think I'm joking?"

Su Lun asked calmly.

Seeing that the time was about right and the encirclement had likely closed in, he no longer paid attention to the three individuals in front of him.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a shiver between his brows, realizing he had just been locked on by a killing intent.

"Heh, hiding this long before exposing yourself, you must have known about my ability to sense hostility..."

Su Lun raised his eyebrows at a relaxed pace.

He also deduced that the one targeting him was a firearms master.

Such swift targeting and firing were beyond the ability of a regular sniper.

Even in that brief glimpse, he clearly saw the guy who had shot through his arm thousands of meters away on a small slope — "Gun King" Geiger.

However, this time, Su Lun wasn't panicking in the slightest.

[B-098-Sixth Sense]Guaranteed hit?

For ordinary professionals, and even most second-tier professionals, it indeed was "guaranteed".

But here, there was also a cause and effect relationship that wasn't clarified.

Gaige sniped his target by using his ability to anticipate the target's anticipation and then pulling the trigger.

Anticipation came first, followed by firing the gun.

However, if the target dodged after he fired, they could likewise evade this "sixth sense."

No one did this because the speed at which a sniper rifle bullet leaves the barrel is very fast; ordinary professionals simply couldn't wait for the bullet to exit the barrel before dodging, as that would be akin to "waiting for death."

Previously, Su Lun couldn't either.
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But now he could.

Feeling the sensation of being locked in a killing intent, he didn't make any preemptive dodging movements.

His enhanced All-knowing Eye clearly captured the other person pulling the trigger.

Then, as flames burst from the muzzle, a bullet engraved with runes, an alchemy bullet, was also propelled out.

At that moment, Su Lun's eyes sharpened, and everything seemed to slow down a hundredfold.

The gunpowder smoke burning at the muzzle froze, forming a fluffy cotton-blossom; the light also formed a slowly dimming diamond-shaped beam...

He could even clearly see the bullet leaving the muzzle, creating ripples of air waves. The recoil also made Gaige's figure tremble.

The bullet, too fast for the naked eye to capture, gradually exited the barrel and pierced through the air towards him...

Su Lun accurately judged that the bullet was aimed at his forehead, then slightly tilted his head.

At such a distance, his super-high neural reaction speed was enough to let him easily dodge.

The bullet whizzed past his ear, bringing with it a gust of wind.

"Bang!"

It was only after the bullet passed that a thunderous gunshot sound belatedly reached him.

This slow-motion action felt like it took a long time, but in reality, it was instant.

No one saw what happened.

It seemed like Su Lun just casually tilted his head and dodged a fatal headshot.

Not far away, the shooter Gaige,

seeing this,

his face drastically changed.

....

This sniper shot was like the command gun that initiated a roundup.

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

A series of flares exploded in the sky.

Upon closer inspection, the flares burned and released layers of silver powder.

Like snow, they quickly blanketed the ground.

"Revealing powder, huh..."

Su Lun narrowed his eyes at the silvery powder filling the sky, his mouth corners under the mask slightly lifted.

The Oliver family indeed prepared thoroughly to deal with him.

With all this revealing powder, it was impossible for Su Lun to hide any invisible objects nearby.

This way, even if there were zombies driven by hatred, once they materialized, their slashing movements could be captured, and they wouldn't mysteriously appear through spatial rifts like before.

For those second-tier professionals, seeing the movement was enough to anticipate it.

This "revealing powder" directly reduced the threat of the Dark Scythe by a significant margin.

Nonetheless,

Su Lun wasn't surprised by this tactic at all.

Because, thanks to Sabina's information channels, he knew all about these people's roundup plans.

"So next is everyone charging fiercely?"

Su Lun's eyes sharpened, and with lightning-speed, he fired three shots, outright killing three people in front of him.

His neural reaction speed was now extremely fast; and even if the opponents grabbed their guns first, they posed no threat.

Then, with a clap of his hands performing sorcerer's seals, eight fierce spider spears coalesced behind him.

Pulling out a sealing scroll, he unfurled it in the air, revealing ten six-pointed star space sealing patterns drawn on it.

Before the scroll hit the ground, Su Lun quickly brought his hands together and lightly shouted, "Sealing - Release!"

The scroll exploded on cue, and more than ten puppets had already appeared around him, creaking eerily with the sound of wooden joints rubbing.

The sealing skill of the space scroll was certainly faster than taking them out one by one from the space ring!

Having completed all this, Su Lun ran towards the direction of the relic.

It looked like he was fleeing, but in reality, he wanted to break the enemy's encirclement to kill them one by one!

"Ten second-tier professionals, tsk tsk, the Oliver family really went all out this time..."

As he retreated, Su Lun's gaze captured the entire battlefield.

However, to his surprise, that Geiger didn't continue to shoot.

Turning his head for a closer look, Su Lun saw that a fight had broken out at the sniper point.

A cloaked figure with ghostly movements was entangled in combat with Geiger.

Su Lun guessed who the cloaked person was and frowned.

However, there was no time to take any extra actions at that moment.

....

The opposition had already devised a detailed encirclement plan and guessed that Su Lun would definitely flee towards the relic.

The moment the signal flare exploded in the sky, a second-tier earth mage had already cast a widespread "Quicksand Technique," covering the essential route to the relic.

When Su Lun stepped forward, the solid ground beneath his feet had already turned into soft mud.

In another breath or two, this mud would turn into quicksand.

By then, even the Eight-Armed Spider Spear would be deeply submerged in the sand.

This was clearly another tactic aimed at his escape.

Unfortunately...

Those guys underestimated Su Lun's current speed.

His agility was enough to let him accurately step on the hard broken stones, and he dashed out of the hundred-meter-wide quicksand pit before the ground fully transformed into sand.

The enemies worked in pairs, coordinating and covering each other.

Directly in front of Su Lun, besides that earth mage, there was also a female sorceress enveloped in roaring flames.

Second-tier professionals, none of them unknown.

The earth mage was Horace, the leader of Olli's family's large Scavenger group, known as "Sand Demon".

The female sorceress was none other than Virginia Eddie, the former spell instructor at the Black Tower Academy, now specially employed by the Olli family at a high salary, known as "Flame Maiden".

A master of fire spells, hot as the sun.

They were not surprised to see Su Lun burst out, and their deadly moves followed one after another.

Virginia's eyes were like torches, she pinched a sorcerer's seal in her hand, the six-pointed star beneath her feet shone brightly, her body turned from red to golden flames, and she softly chanted, "Elemental Mystery - Golden Scaled Fire Python!"

With a formation of the sorcerer's seals, she pointed forward with both hands, and a golden fire python shot out from her fingertips like lightning.

It was only as thick as a forearm when it appeared, but it rapidly grew in the wind, turning into a menacing giant python about ten meters long and as thick as a barrel. The fire python, covered in golden scales that shone brightly as if made not of elemental body but of pure gold, seemed unstoppable.

The ground turned scorched wherever the fire python passed.

Even though Su Lun was a hundred meters away from the fire python, he could still feel the burning heat searing his organs.

The overwhelming power of the fire element surged like a tsunami, seeming to burn everything in its path.

As expected from a former spell instructor of the Black Tower Academy, her move was an impeccable second-tier mystery spell.

This spell, with its fast speed and wide range, would force any second-tier professional to dodge its edge.

Moreover, the flames she condensed were not ordinary flames.

Virginia had integrated a special alchemical device that allowed her elemental nature to mutate — the "Elemental Core of the Golden Flame Raven".

It was this mutated golden flame that possessed extraordinary elemental penetration, capable of rapidly melting steel with its high temperature!

...

Area-effect spells also had a very tricky aspect.

They were almost impossible to block with physical means.

Even if one could block some of it with a shield, the omnipresent fire element could still burn the target from all angles!

Su Lun looked at the approaching fire python, with the firelight reflected in his eyes.

Far from dodging, he raised his hand and pulled out an alchemical golem.

The alchemical golem stood in front of him, and at the click of a mechanism, its arms suddenly split open into a trumpet shape.

Just as the fire python was a few meters away, a blue-purple compound seven-pointed star formation on the golem's arms suddenly lit up.

The power of wind and thunder mixed, creating a massive vortex of wind in an instant, turning into a black hole that devoured everything.

The ten-meter-long golden python had just charged forward, not even having time to show its ferocity, when it plunged headfirst into the vortex. The collision was extremely fast, and the golden light flashed by, suddenly dimming the surrounding light.

This was the latest version of the "Black Hole Puppet" made with the help of Mr. Hei!

....

Watching her spell, which she thought was certain to hit, being swallowed by a puppet, Virginia's face changed dramatically.

Seeing Su Lun charging over, she immediately sensed the crisis. Her body's flames surged and spilled out several meters, enveloping her completely in a thick layer of fire shield light.

Almost at the same time as the absorption, the alchemical golem that had absorbed the fire python suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a jet of golden flame.

Upon closer inspection, it was a downsized flame giant python!

However, this giant python was not aimed at the female sorceress but at the earth mage "Sand Demon" Horace!

At such a close distance, there was no possibility of evasion.

Horace had already sensed the crisis; by the time he saw the fire python, the alchemy was already complete. The color of his skin instantly lost its blood color, turning into a rock-like earthy yellow.

As the fire python surged over, the figure was completely engulfed in the sea of fire...

However, once the flames extinguished in an instant, what appeared was someone clad in what seemed like diamond armor, slowly opening his eyes.

This move had absolutely no effect on that "Sand Demon" Horus.

Su Lun looked with a calm gaze and muttered in his heart, "Silver Cultivation Armor[Scorpio Armor], its defensive power is indeed very strong…"

He was not surprised at all.

Because before coming here, he had already acquired detailed information about these ten people.

Their cultivation armor, abilities they excel in, their talents…

He knew them all very clearly!

Su Lun's speed did not decrease, he covered the hundred meters distance in the blink of an eye.

He did not give the enemy a chance to cast another spell, with a raise of his hand, several puppets had already flown towards the two people in front of him.

The female sorceress had a fire-based protective shield, normally any puppet approaching would be burnt to ashes, but... Su Lun had a [PZ-911 mechanical limb]in his hand!

Previously hard to control, now it posed no problem at all.

The dagger made of [Armand Metal] on the mechanical limb was specialized in breaking all kinds of elemental shields!

The mechanical puppet, unafraid of the flames, pounced forward.

It did not use any special technique, just like a scoundrel fighting in the streets, holding a dagger and stabbing her abdomen dozens of times...

Among the flames, two figures entangled awkwardly.

For a physically weak fire mage to be approached so closely, one could imagine.

Virginia Eddie's professional advancement was towards elemental mutation; she almost gave up on defense to maximize damage output.

Originally, in combination with the "Sand Demon" Horus's strong defense, it was no problem at all to protect oneself, not to mention killing anyone.

But why would Su Lun give Horus a chance to rescue?

Su Lun had not just two hands, but eight spider spears that could move and jump, and control puppets too!

While Virginia and the mechanical puppet engaged in close combat, several other puppets had already firmly clasped Horus's legs.

This earth mage had already concentrated thick earth elements under his feet for battle.

Now that those puppets had attached themselves to him, they immediately started sucking the earth elements voraciously, instantly becoming as heavy as a thousand pounds.

This was clearly the [Lead-sink Doll]!

With these thousand-pound dolls clinging to him, Horus was dragged down, unable to move, unable to escape.

Su Lun naturally did not expect that the two control-type dolls could injure this fellow protected by rock armor.

He raised his hand and drew [Thunder Snake], the moment he lifted the muzzle, he had already fired four shots.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Four beams of lightning surged out of the barrel, forming a straight line.

Horus, unable to teleport and having already prepared his defense, was very confident that even peers of the same rank could not break his elemental armor in a short time.

What more a firegun?

But hearing these almost continuous four shots, the disdain in his eyes hadn't even surfaced when he already sensed something terrible.

Firearms mystery, multi-layered firing?

But how could there be four bursts of firelight?!

In an instant, Horus's face drastically changed, disbelief evident in his eyes.

He had heard of this firearms mystery, a famous gun skill of the firearms master "Blind Detective" Bill, easily breaking armor.

However, this mystery placed an extreme burden on the shooter's body, and even that firearms master could only perform it three times.

That was already considered the pinnacle level of gunmanship.

Yet he thought, even if it was a triple firing, maybe it could shatter his elemental armor but would not be fatal...

But what about this "four-layered firing"!

....

Reality did not give Horus time to ponder, as four armor-piercing bullets successively hit right between his eyebrows.

The first bullet shattered a thin layer of skin, but the condensed earth element rippled slightly like water.

The second impact caused minute cracks in the elemental armor, and the ripples grew more intense.

The third strike broke through the elemental armor, but after penetrating the armor, the force was exhausted.

The fourth, the bullet directly shot through the brain, bursting it in one strike.

Blood exploded before his eyes, "grey mist" immediately emerged from the body.

The "Sand Demon" Horus was killed instantly.

Nearby, Virginia Eddie, who had been fighting the mechanical puppet in close quarters and stabbed dozens of times, saw her fire elemental shield flicker and vanish as her life dissipated.

In one encounter, Su Lun had already killed two second-tier professionals.