Mechanical Alchemist

Qian led Lei Na away from the "Musket Inn."

Having gotten rid of such a hot potato, Su Lun also felt relieved.

He hadn't expected such an ordinary trial guide task to cause so many accidents, several fierce battles, and more than a dozen wounds big and small; he felt very exhausted.

Considering that Qian and the guild's executives were handling everything, he thought there was nothing left for him to do, so he decided to stay at the inn and rest for the night.

However, he didn't stay in room 304 but opened a new one next door.

In case of trouble, he wanted to have room to react if someone traced him here.

....

The next day, his biological clock woke him up from meditation on time.

He checked the time, and it was time to gather for the street patrol. With nothing to pack, he checked the bullets in his musket and walked out the door.

The neighboring room 304 showed no signs of a break-in, so he thought the matter had probably been settled satisfactorily.

At seven sharp, at the derelict building site.

The members in charge of Green Street from the Cross Society had already gathered.

Su Lun greeted a few old birds then squatted down on the curb to listen to their chat and banter.

"Hey, did you guys hear? I heard that a big incident happened at the tube blocks yesterday with lots of professionals from the inner city arriving. It was quite a scene," one of them said.

"I heard too, heard that dozens of troop carriers came, looked like they were gearing up for a war," another added.

"Hey, why do you think that was? Could it be that something fierce appeared from the catacombs?"

"Not sure. I heard that matter is classified; several guild executives went there..."

"..."

Su Lun listened silently and did not join the conversation.

Not many knew about Su Lun's role as a guide for the Black Tower Academy trial team, and with such a major incident occurring, information was being kept under wraps.

Nobody knew that one of the people involved, Su Lun, was squatting right beside them.

Soon, Captain Kai also rushed over on his motorcycle.

This was the first time Su Lun remembered him being late. He explained that he had just come from headquarters.

Without further ado, everyone started the routine street patrol.

The gang members, as carefree as always, flirted with the street women, then continued past the bar street, the casino street...

Kai found an opportunity to walk next to Su Lun, saying apologetically, "Sorry, brother, I had no idea things would turn into such a mess."

"It's all right."

Su Lun smiled.

Kai indeed had good intentions; if nothing had gone wrong, this mission would have been a lucrative opportunity.

Kai, apparently not aware of the full details himself and thinking Su Lun was just an incidental "bystander," pursed his lips and added, "Those wealthy blokes in the inner city get tougher the richer they are.

I heard this was all because of an internal family struggle, sending an assassin to kill a trainee, which then startled the trial team's young masters and ladies, causing all this spectacle... Lucky nothing worse happened. If something had happened on Green Street, we would have been implicated too..."

"Hmm."

Su Lun nodded in agreement, offering no further explanation.

Perhaps because the top consortiums did not want scandals leaking, even Kai didn't know that it was the Miss Lei of the Reiys family that had almost been assassinated. Moreover, two students and three accompanying instructors had died, and the news hadn't gotten out.

Feeling it was a dull subject, Kai said, "Let's drop it. The upper levels of the guild don't like us talking much about this kind of thing."

After a pause, he looked at Su Lun and asked, "So, brother, are you still headed to the Crimson Fortress?"

Su Lun smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I got word that tonight's Gladiator event at the Crimson Fortress will be booming; definitely have to see it..."

Kai pursed his lips, his expression turning listless. "I guess I can't go. The executives said that because of yesterday's incident there might be some major upheavals, asked me to patrol the area more..."

Su Lun and Kai were quite familiar with each other and spoke freely, with Su Lun even cheekily commenting, "Oh, then you go patrol; I'll go watch the gladiator fight, okay?"

Kai rolled his eyes: "..."

That's the trouble with being captain; too many miscellaneous tasks.

This was also why Kai had once suggested promoting him to vice captain for an easier path to becoming captain, which Su Lun had declined.

....

Su Lun was already a regular at the gladiator arena. He went through familiar routes to the casino, greeted some of the regular gamblers he knew, and took up his usual spot by the octagonal cage.

Hearing pre-match leaks from a betting lady, he learned that tonight there would be professional gladiator fights, and consecutively three of them at that. The gladiators were said to be from the inner city.

Others might not know the reason and were just there for the excitement.

However, Su Lun guessed it was probably because the assassination attempt on Lei Na had failed and the Reiys family's top executives had begun a purge. Moreover, this kind of excitement was likely to continue for quite some time.

Then it was just repeating his daily "work": betting, shouting, reaping.

Su Lun didn't know why, but today he wasn't too keen on watching the fights.

It dawned on him later that it was probably because the "harvest" he had reaped from the bodies had rendered him less interested.

In the catacombs, he had harvested two Black Tower Academy assistant instructors, one second-order professional, and one elite student's Soul Shards...receiving a wealth of knowledge.

Compared to those high-quality shards, the ordinary bodies from the gladiator arena, not even professionals, offered him little benefit.

It was like winning the jackpot several times, then winning a small prize of a few hundred; it was hard to get excited.Qian tiao didn't hold back, and with a casual arm around Su Lun's shoulder, asked, "Su Lun, kid, which side do you fancy for the next match?"

Su Lun didn't feel out of place, saying, "I'm betting on the red side."

Upon hearing that, Qian tiao called over the betting lady and shouted, "Red side, ten thousand."

Su Lun was used to it by now; the gambling addict probably wanted to try out her so-called "mystical betting technique" again.

While the gladiatorial match hadn't started yet, Qian tiao took out a sleek, silver mechanical case and handed it to Su Lun, "Here, take this."

"???"

Su Lun cast a puzzled look but took the case anyway.

It was heavy, seeming to contain something valuable.

Qian tiao explained, "It's a thank-you gift from that girl Rena, for looking after her in the cavern."

"Oh."

Su Lun revealed an enlightened smile, also curious about what kind of thank-you gift a heiress from a top-tier conglomerate family would send. Just as he was about to open it, Qian tiao pressed down on it.

She leaned in close and whispered a warning, "If you open this here and let people know what you have, you'll probably be dead in the streets by tomorrow."

Was the consequence that severe?

On hearing this, Su Lun grew even more curious about the contents of the case.

He didn't know what it was, but it was definitely valuable.

But obviously, beating around the bush wasn't Qian tiao's style. She outright revealed what the gift inside the case was and said, "That girl doesn't know how to pick gifts. Those two famous guns could cause countless murders if they got out in the outer city."

"Famous guns?"

Su Lun's eyes lit up, and he murmured to himself, "Yo, that girl is quite sensible."

If it had been anything else, he really would have found it pointless. But "famous guns" had an inexplicable allure to a gunman.

Besides, they were firearms that even a gambling addict like her valued highly, so they must be extraordinary.

At that moment, Qian tiao took out another case.

This time she didn't hide anything but directly opened a corner of the case, revealing stacks of green bills, "This is half a million in cash. It's also a thank-you gift."

She paused, then added, "The young master of the 'Renard Family', Charlie, also sent a message, asking if you're interested in being his personal bodyguard in the inner city."

Looking at the case of money, Su Lun instantly thought of the fat student who resembled "Michelin Man."

That cunning fellow never ceases to disappoint.

Su Lun gladly accepted the case of money and said, "I'll take the stuff. But forget about being a bodyguard."

Qian tiao raised her eyebrow, "I knew you wouldn't be interested, so I declined on your behalf. Being a bodyguard in the inner city, you might as well stick with your sister here."

"..."

Su Lun just smiled and said nothing.

He had thought Qian tiao was just a gang member, but now knowing she was Rena's aunt, he realized this boss wasn't simple.

Yet he didn't pry further. You could guess what it was without asking, probably tied to some unpleasant past of Qian tiao's.

...

At that moment, the fight in the arena had ended.

The blue side won, unlike what Su Lun had guessed.

Qian tiao lost ten thousand, pursed her lips, and turned to Su Lun again, "What are you betting on next?"

Su Lun knew he couldn't dissuade her and straightforwardly said, "Still the red side."

On hearing that, Qian tiao's eyebrows shot up, and she waved at the betting lady, doubling down in the opposite direction, "Blue side, twenty thousand!"

Su Lun watched, amused and helpless; this gambling addict seemed intent on betting contrary to the unlucky one.

As the match was about to start, Qian tiao spoke again, "Things have been roughly sorted. There's nothing more for you here. That girl Rena took all the responsibility onto herself and even had people clean up the traces in the cavern. Though, there was a bit of trouble during the cleanup; a powerful mutant creature emerged from the ground, causing some casualties.

The entrance to the cavern in the apartment building has been sealed, no one will go near it again..."

"Hmm."

Su Lun breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Jack's murder had not been exposed, and no one from the inner city had come to question him, which was the ideal outcome.

From now on, he was still just a minor gang member under Captain Kai in the Cross Society on Green Street.

As Qian tiao was describing this, she threw a slightly mocking glance at Su Lun and said, "It's said that during this incident in the cavern, an old second-tier instructor from the Black Tower Academy, as well as two potential second-tier assistants, died. So, it's speculated that the assassins had at least a second-tier professional among them. But they still couldn't kill Rena..."

Su Lun looked as usual, acting as if it had nothing to do with him.

It was only natural for outsiders to deduce that. Those assassins, unless fools, surely had confidence before making their move, so there had to be a second-tier professional involved.

But the fact that the assassins were so well-prepared and still couldn't kill Rena made the situation quite "bizarre."

Qian tiao restrained her probing look, seemingly indifferent to the real truth, and smiled slightly, "Now, with high-level mutant creatures found in the cavern, everyone simply concluded that the trouble must have stemmed from those creatures."

"Oh..."

Su Lun also put on an enlightened face.

Thinking about it, probably no one would believe that an ordinary gang member from the outer city could handle an assassin group with at least one second-tier professional, even if he was a "firearms expert."

Better this way, let the creatures take the blame, plugging the logical holes in the story.