Mechanical Alchemist

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In the days that followed, Su Lun's life became fulfilling.

After successfully integrating the eight-armed spider spear prosthetic, he needed a lot of time to practice multitasking control over puppets, as well as climbing, teleportation, and combat...

Moreover, in order not to waste the two expensive body-strengthening potions he had bought, he also had to spend several hours every day on physical training.

Fortunately, the gang's daily routine was very relaxed. He only had to participate in the street patrols at seven o'clock every evening, and unless there were emergencies, he could arrange the rest of his time freely.

Lately, Su Lun had found that harvesting ordinary corpses was yielding less and less experience. As a result, he no longer wasted his time in the casino during the early nights. He only went to watch the last few fights when there were professionals dueling in the later hours.

Time flew by quickly, and before he knew it, more than a month of stable and enriching days had passed.

.....

On this day, Su Lun was tinkering with mechanical modifications in the basement.

The shabby basement had changed drastically from a month ago when he had just moved in. During this time, like an ant moving house, Su Lun had gradually moved a large amount of mechanical equipment and parts inside, even a small steam-powered lathe.

The walls were hung with various mechanical tools, purchased from different shops, as well as high-quality goods salvaged from the black market inner city.

He had transformed this place into his own mechanical workshop.

At this moment, Su Lun, wearing work clothes stained with oil and protective goggles and with two "PT3 Type Single-Cylinder Steam-Powered Arms" attached to his hands, was engrossed in his work.

The steam boiler provided tremendous power to the mechanical arms, allowing him to bend the steel material in his hands into the desired shapes without the use of a lathe.

He was crafting a bullet belt and ammunition box for his companion firearm "Green Demon."

This famous gun had an extremely high rate of fire and could withstand high temperatures without jamming. If used merely as a pistol, its firepower advantage could not be fully realized.

Even if he fired in bursts, even with an extended magazine, it would empty within seconds.

Therefore, he thought of the kind of bullet belt and external high-capacity ammo box used with heavy machine guns. In times of needing firepower suppression, he could simply hang the ammo box on his body, connect it with the belt, and the handgun would instantly turn into a rattle of heavy machine gun fire.

While his hands were busy, the eight spider limbs behind him were not idle either.

Because of the mechanical arms for work, it wasn't convenient for him to hold other things, so when he felt thirsty, a spider limb would bring him a cup of tea from several meters away on the table for a sip of water.

The eight spider limbs saved him a lot of time, completing simple yet time-consuming tasks.

For example: loading bullets into a chain.

Without needing to control very precisely, a few spider limbs working together could easily pour the bullets from a box into a specially-made bullet pressing device. Then, with a press of the handle and accompanied by a rhythmic metallic "click" "click" "click," bullets would be neatly loaded onto the chain.

Before long, the last two ammo boxes salvaged from the black market were modified, and Su Lun sighed in relief.

Looking at his work, he seemed quite satisfied and muttered, "Finally done, ten ammo boxes should be enough."

The ammo boxes were not only suitable for Su Lun's "Green Demon" but also for another thing in the room: a mechanical suit of armor.

Su Lun picked up an ammo box and walked over to a mecha hanging on the wall, trying it in a slot – it fitted perfectly.

This mecha was just a rough prototype assembled by Su Lun, quite crude, but basically shaped.

Su Lun named this iron lump "Iron Man Mark I."

It didn't have anything superfluous on it, not even a shell.

The spotty old frame of its body was adapted from the "Scavenger VIII Generation Exoskeleton"; at its core was a "PT9 Type Four-Cylinder Steam Boiler" scavenged from the old goods market, providing the power for this iron lump; the arms were simply two crude six-chambered guns, connected to bullet belts and armored plates.

Various other parts like hydraulic transmission devices and high-pressure valves were scavenged from old equipment...

Although lacking in technological sophistication, this creation was Su Lun's attempt.

He tried to control this type of mecha with steel wires like a puppet.

But because the technology was far from sufficient and the machinery too cumbersome, he hadn't even solved the issue of it easily falling over when trying to run.

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Now, its only use was to serve as a semi-fixed artillery piece. Su Lun remotely controlled it to fire, making some simple teleportations and aimings.

It was also a small step forward in his own vision of becoming a mechanical puppet master.

....

It was midnight, and Su Lun still had several hours to freely arrange his time in his workshop.

After completing his mechanical manufacturing tasks for the day and in order to maintain enough reserved spiritual power, he put away the enhancement gear.

He took out an uncarved puppet, thinking he could practice making a "runed puppet," but before he could carve a few strokes, his communicator suddenly transmitted Kai's urgent flag-waving signal: "Everyone, grab your gear, assemble at the Big Elephant Tavern, speed!"

Upon hearing this, Su Lun's brows furrowed.

The communicator was a tool used by the Cross Society gang members to summon people in the event of a very important emergency. For minor fights and skirmishes, shouting a few times on Green Street would gather twenty or thirty people; there was no need for a communicator.

In all the time he'd joined, it had only been used once on the first day when the Cross Society headquarters was attacked, and now he was hearing it again?

By the sound of Kai's voice, it seemed the situation was far from minor.

"Could it be those Steam Party guys stirring up trouble?"

Su Lun speculated, as Green Street and the Steam Party's territory often clashed, and if there was a significant uproar, it was likely those guys were behind it.

He didn't dawdle and changed out of his work clothes.

Since his battle gear was always stored in the storage ring, there was nothing much to pack. Su Lun left the basement and started his motorcycle, speeding all the way, arriving at the front of the Big Elephant Tavern in less than two minutes.

....

When Su Lun arrived, two groups were already facing off outside the tavern on the street.

The regular tavern-goers were gone, and the two gangs, totaling two to three hundred people armed with long guns and short cannons, were clearly divided at the entrance of the tavern. Their numbers were still increasing.

Su Lun glanced over and saw that on the Cross Society's side, there were not only the few dozen people from Green Street, but captains and gang members from other districts had also arrived.

It seemed like they were gearing up for a big showdown tonight.

The attrition rate among the lower ranks of gang members was high, and Su Lun was now considered an old-timer on Green Street. Due to his close relationship with Kai, although not officially appointed, the gang members also treated him as the "vice captain." Especially the newcomers, who nodded in acknowledgment upon seeing his motorcycle arrive.

An acquaintance among the newcomers came over and greeted Su Lun: "Vice-captain, you're here..."

Su Lun didn't see Kai and, noticing that tonight's setup was a bit exaggerated, asked, "What happened?"

The man whispered, "The Steam Party guys suddenly rallied their people to Green Street for some reason. The executives are negotiating inside the tavern..."

"Negotiating?"

Su Lun frowned at the news.

Looking at the arrogant Steam Party bikers nearby, he realized something was off.

This kind of large-scale invasion would usually mean outright war on any other day.

And yet they were sitting down for negotiations?

But given the current situation, he knew that a fight couldn't break out for now.

As there were executives negotiating, no matter how much the people outside jeered and provoked, they couldn't start a fight until there was noise coming from inside the tavern.

...

After roughly understanding the reason for the assembly, Su Lun decided not to mingle in the crowd and walked to the corner of the street, crouching near an alley entrance.

If a real fight broke out, places where people clustered were definitely the prime targets for hand grenades.

He crouched for only a short while before he saw Kai emerge from the tavern.

Kai also spotted Su Lun, signaling him to a secluded corner, probably having something to talk about.

The two met at the corner wall of the tavern.

Su Lun had never seen such an ugly expression on Kai's face, so he asked, "What's happened?"

Kai gestured for him to look inside the tavern.

Through the window, Su Lun glanced and saw that the tavern was devoid of customers, filled instead with burly men in black leather jackets brandishing guns.

Two officers from the Cross Society had arrived, "Red Demon" Goron and "Smoke Ghost" Sambu.

And across the negotiation table, Su Lun recognized the man with a scarred face from the Steam Faction, the second-tier officer "Mad Dog" Hogue Weisnat, whose gift was the beastial "C-003-Werewolf", formidable in battle and an old-time powerhouse of the Steam Faction.

Only then did Kai speak, "There's been a major issue in the inner city, we might be in trouble..."

Listenting to his tone, Su Lun's face remained unchanged.

If there's an issue, so be it, after all, the problems of the inner city wouldn't affect their ability to eat and sleep as low-ranking gang members...

Kai was concise, adding, "Just got the news, the top financial conglomerate of the inner city, 'Reyes Family,' has split into seven. The properties on Green Street now fall into the hands of the third branch. Young Master Martin Reyes of the third branch is here today, he's upstairs."

"Reyes Family?"

Upon hearing this, Su Lun started to feel as though the good news suddenly had something to do with him.

Wasn't that Rich Lady Lena's family?

Their Cross Society's patron, Lady Phino, also had very close dealings with the Reyes family...

What on earth had happened in this one month?

Could it be that Lena hadn't managed to hold power when she returned home, and her uncles and aunts had split the family?

Kai continued, "I'm not clear on the specifics. But word has it that the Black Tower's higher-ups pressured them, and the other large families of the inner city didn't want to see the Reyes family dominating alone. That's why the Reyes Family Head was forced to agree to the division of the conglomerate."

"..."

Upon hearing this familiar pattern, Su Lun instantly had a moment of realization.

The "Reyes Conglomerate" had nearly monopolized Old Lington's domestic water and mining industries, they were the textbook plutocracy.

But the end of a "plutocracy" is usually predetermined.

Either they are so powerful that they control the government,

and if they can't reach such heights, the eventual outcome is always a beating.

This was nothing new in his former life as well, like the Russian oligarchs, once so glorious at their peak but ultimately hammered down...

Old Lington was a privately-owned fiefdom; theoretically, everything in the city belonged to the "Duke Raphael", the private property of the lord. As long as the Black Tower, the supreme authority over the inner city, exists, even the largest "plutocracies" have to lie low.

However...

What did the breakdown of the Reyes family have to do with them on Green Street?

Looking at the Steam Faction, who were on the other side of the negotiation, Su Lun seemed to guess something.

It was then when Kai finally disclosed his concerns, "Most of Green Street's entertainment properties belonged to the Reyes family. Now that the Reyes family has split, the taverns and gambling dens have mostly fallen into the hands of the third branch. And somehow, those guys from the Steam Faction hooked up with Young Master Martin.

Now, they imply that they want our Cross Society to pull out of Green Street, leaving it for the Steam Faction to take over..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately understood.

....

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This kind of negotiation, Su Lun felt, was eighty percent likely to break down.

Just as expected, after just a few exchanges, the pub erupted with the slamming of tables and raised voices.

The noise was loud enough to carry out onto the street.

Mad Dog Hogue was unbending and aggressive, "Within three days, your Cross Society must pull out of Green Street, or else..."

While indeed the gangs rely on financial backers, that isn't the whole story.

Lands won with lives are not so easily ceded; the Cross Society wasn't that cowardly.

"Impossible!"

Smoke Ghost Sangbu slammed the table and interrupted the conversation.

He had a dark expression, his words slow but piercing as nails, "Green Street has always belonged to our Cross Society, Hogue. Stop with the bullshit. If your Steam Party wants territory, have the guts to take it by force!"

Lady Fino is the Cross Society's benefactor, and unless she speaks up, no one else's words carry weight.

With that, it meant the negotiation had completely broken down.

No sooner had the words "come and take it" faded, the nerves of everyone from both sides were struck raw, and looking across the pub, all raised their guns and aimed at each other in unison.

Su Lun and Kai were quick to react, drawing and aiming their guns at the Steam Party members inside the building at once.

This gun-drawing set off a chain reaction, as the members from both sides outside instantly tensed up at the "click-click" sounds of bullets being chambered.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense as a powder keg with a lit fuse, ready to explode at the slightest disturbance.

For a moment, the vast Elephant Pub fell deathly silent.

No one dared to fire that first shot.

If they were to really start fighting now, it would surely spark a full-scale war between the two gangs!

....

Gang negotiations are often about showing strength, and flipping tables is a frequent occurrence, but an actual fight at the negotiation table is less likely.

Usually, in such a scenario, a third party would step in to mediate, to cool things down and get both sides back at the negotiation table...

But unexpectedly, something no one anticipated happened.

Just then, a bottle of booze came flying out of nowhere, smashing onto the negotiation table.

With a "crash" it shattered, splashing liquor all over everyone.

Everyone was stunned. Such an act showed complete disregard for the gang members, a blatant provocation worthy of death.

The crowd turned their furious glares towards the second floor of the pub, but upon seeing who it was, their anger was forcibly swallowed back down.

A young man in a silver suit leaned against the railing, looking down at everyone with a sneer, "Hmph! A bunch of fools who don't know what's good for them. I give you a little sweetness, and you really start thinking you're something, huh?"

As soon as the words were out, the faces of the Cross Society members turned extremely ugly.

The remark was clearly directed at them.

Su Lun did not recognize the young man, but from his luxurious suit fabric, he guessed that he must be a Big Shot from the inner city.

Clearly, he was the main character of today, the third son of the Reyes family, Martin Reyes.

PS. Tickets requested for Monday~

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