Mechanical Alchemist

Enemies could emerge from any direction, Su Lun didn't dare to let his guard down.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, hearing some noise.

Like lightning, he swiftly swung around and fired several shots toward the window.

But those shots struck metallic armor, sparking a few brief flashes with a "clang, clang, clang."

In that instant of firing, he saw a figure's "arm" shoot out suddenly, and then grab hold of a roof beam, pulling the figure up to land steadily on the fourth floor.

"An extendable claw? 'Anchor Man' Parker from Knight District?"

Seeing the signature steam-powered extendable claw, Su Lun instantly guessed the identity of the newcomer.

But seeing this person, he was not shocked; instead, he let out a sigh of relief.

He didn't hold back, firing a series of probing shots at the figure. However, over ten bullets later, wherever he hit, sparks flew.

Noticing this, Su Lun murmured to himself, "Tsk tsk... just like the legends say, it's very hard to hurt this guy with a musket."

....

After all, being a leader, that Parker had extremely fast reactions to the muzzle flashes.

He immediately pinpointed Su Lun's position within the smoke, and with a "click," he shot forth an iron claw.

Su Lun was well prepared, having anticipated the angle of attack beforehand and easily dodged it.

Although mechanical limbs were strong in defense, their lack of flexibility was a clear disadvantage.

The mechanical hook's deployment made a noticeable sound of steam charging and releasing, a short span that non-professionals would struggle to notice and evade. But for Su Lun, with extraordinary hearing and reflexes, it posed no threat whatsoever.

This was why, facing a peer in the same profession, he didn't even consider unsealing his armor.

This Parker posed no threat to him!

...

With a "clang," the mechanical claw failed to grab its target but tore off a large chunk of concrete from a load-bearing column.

Su Lun was secretly amazed at the strength of the machinery, thinking that if such a device caught someone, it could crush bones to dust.

And just then, because of Parker's diversion, nearly twenty Steam Party gang members surged up the staircase.

These guys somehow managed to bring in an incredibly powerful fan, blowing wildly at the smoke in the fourth floor. Thanks to the dilapidated building being open on all sides, the smoke quickly dispersed after the chaotic blowing.

"Heh..."

Su Lun's eyebrows raised slightly, finding these mechanics quite interesting, to actually carry a fan with them.

And indeed, just a moment of blowing, and Parker had revealed Su Lun's approximate position, shouting, "Seven o'clock direction, focus fire!"

Hearing this, Su Lun had time to react.

He pulled out a bulletproof vest and calmly hid behind a stone column, enduring a barrage of bullets.

Seeing the stone column about to be shot to pieces, he remained cool and started a countdown in his mind, "3, 2, 1..."

The enemies had all come up and reached the predetermined spot. Suddenly, three sneaky dolls on the floor above dropped down, landing right in the middle of the crowd.

With their grating, ghoulish laughter, it was as if a pause button had been pressed on the gunfire inside the building.

In an instant, the large floor space was filled with only that eerie laughter echoing around.

Mechanical armor could block bullets, but it couldn't block the psychic screams; the "Wailing Doll" almost always hit its target when used against amateurs.

Moreover, this was now an advanced version of the creepy doll, with a wider range of effect.

Su Lun, with a gun in each hand, acted once again.

Although the members of the Steam Party had mechanical parts on their bodies, bulletproof helmets, bulletproof vests, and the like, reducing the chances of getting shot and injured, Su Lun saw little difference unless they were fully covered in armor like "Anchor Man" Parker.

Wherever eyes were exposed, he aimed for the eyes; necks, for the necks; knees, for the knees... As long as there was exposed skin, it was inevitably right on target.

Su Lun's eyes were cold and indifferent as his guns spat out flames, cold-bloodedly reaping the lives of this group of gunslingers.

Blood blossomed like fireworks, bursting open before his eyes.

Taking advantage of the intervals between shots, he also managed to dodge the iron claws of "Anchor Man" Parker's stealthy attacks.

In just a few moments, nearly twenty men had all fallen into pools of blood.

Even if a shot didn't kill instantly, Su Lun would fire again as they fell. Bullets would pour into gaps in the bulletproof vests and the seams of helmets...

Precision follow-up shots ensured death.

....

"Anchor Man" Parker, watching from a distance, was completely dumbfounded by the scene before him.

As his men died one after another, he could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything about it.

He realized that the man with the dual guns didn't seem to care about him at all, completely ignoring the iron claws, coldly harvesting lives like the Grim Reaper.

Parker was dumbstruck.

He had anticipated that there was a "firearm expert" in this broken building, but this man...

One against their entire fully formed squad, yet he didn't flee but dared to ambush them?

His every move was measured and calm; he never showed any sign of panic from beginning to end. Amidst the chaos, his shots were precisely aimed at vital points, his coolness near inhuman.

And what in the world was that doll emitting a terrifying cackle?!

Reality didn't give Parker much time to think. Just the shock of that moment, he suddenly saw that dual-gun-wielding monster kill all his subordinates, then turn his gaze toward him.

Parker had a sinking feeling in his heart and tried to control the mechanical arm to grab the man.

But in the instant when the miniature steam boiler was still building pressure, he saw the man across from him raise his gun, aiming at his head, and pull the trigger.

A Musket?

Even alchemical bullets couldn't break through his face shield.

But at that moment, looking at that extremely calm face, Parker suddenly felt less sure of himself.

It should... not break through, right?

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

It sounded like two shots, but he saw only a flash of light before his eyes.

Two armor-piercing bullets hit successively, almost simultaneously striking the same spot.

In the last moment of his life, Parker saw a crack form on his face shield, then the bullets poured into his eye sockets, plunging his consciousness into eternal Darkness.

....

Su Lun muttered to himself as he looked at the fallen professional with mechanical prosthetics before him, "My 'Mystery·Stacking Shot' isn't quite proficient enough to reliably hit nimble professionals. But as for targets as clumsy as these... it really couldn't be more perfect."

Other first-order professionals might indeed struggle against the bulletproof Parker.

Unfortunately... they met Su Lun.

Having shot down a peer, Su Lun's face remained devoid of emotion.

He didn't delay, walked over, and devoured the grey mist floating above the corpse.

'Obtained memory fragments*4 of Parker Cecil'

'You have acquired some information: "The day for next Friday's delivery is coming again. Damn it, all the orphans and hobos in the block have been caught. That was just enough for this time, but where will I find so many people for the next one..."'

'You have acquired some "intermediate mechanical knowledge"…'

'You have comprehended some "mechanical prosthetics modification techniques," mechanical manufacturing proficiency +77'

'You have mastered the blueprint [Parker's Mechanical Elastic Extending Arm blueprint]…'

'Spiritual power +0.11'

"Huh... A complete mechanical blueprint was actually stripped out directly?"

Su Lun had expected the corpse to yield mechanical experience, but this was the first time he had stripped a mechanical blueprint from a body.

However, he had also heard that Parker was a minor celebrity within the Steam faction, proficient in the design and modification of mechanical limbs.

His steam claw was a prosthetic he had designed himself, so it made sense that the blueprint was in his memories.

As for the stripped piece of information, it was vague, and Su Lun didn't pay much attention to it.

Having wiped out the squad, he didn't linger, and began to harvest the souls en masse, plucking the spoils from the bodies.

....

Meanwhile.

Besieged by a group entering the decrepit building, and with the sniper's fire suppression gone, Kai and his people from Green Street immediately fell into a desperate situation downstairs.

The moment Parker led his people into the rundown building, enemies from the opposite alley also started their charge.

Kai and his team were beaten back losing ground, from four or five dozen only about seven or eight were left in good shape.

The enemies grew more numerous, with gunshots coming from all directions.

Kai knew that holding out any longer was pointless and shouted, "Brothers, retreat! Hold on a little longer, our backup should be arriving soon!"

"Captain, what about you?"

"You go first!"

Kai glanced at the rundown building not far away, hesitation flashed in his eyes, and he made up his mind in an instant.

The best option for him now was to dash into the alley and avoid the enemy's main force. With his speed, unless professional enemies came, it would be hard for them to catch up.

But hearing the gunfire from the building, he knew that Su Lun was in trouble.

The continuation of gunfire meant that they were still alive.

With a grit of his teeth, he charged back into the fray.

....

Judging by the intensity of the gunfire inside the building, Kai knew there had to be at least twenty or thirty enemies.

He charged in ready to face almost certain death to rescue someone, but before he could even reach the second floor, the gunfire above suddenly ceased.

Kai felt a chill in his heart, fearing that Su Lun was most likely in dire straits.

But he didn't retreat. Instead, with a fierce glint in his eyes and thoughts of assassinating a few enemies, he continued to sneak up.

Then, on the stairs from the third to the fourth floor, he found several bodies.

Taking a few more steps, he felt something was seriously wrong.

Because there was no sound of people...

The fourth floor was eerily quiet.

Huh... How come there is no one here?

Kai quietly poked his head out, intending to observe the situation on the fourth floor, when suddenly he saw a gun barrel pointed at his head.

Just as he was about to dodge, he froze, and asked in astonishment, "Su Lun brother?"

How could Kai have expected that the one to survive was the lone Su Lun!

....

Su Lun had heard the footsteps early on.

He thought it was the enemy, but to his surprise, it was Kai.

Seeing the astonished look on Kai's face, he put away his firearm and continued scavenging his spoils, casually asking, "Captain, what brought you here?"

"I... I came to..."

At that moment, Kai didn't know why but he found it difficult to articulate his words.

He made his way up to the fourth floor, and seeing the bodies strewn everywhere, the words "to save you" stuck in his throat and he couldn't speak them.

Instead, his gaze went blank.

What... What am I looking at?

Kai was stunned for a full two seconds before he regained his senses, struggling to believe what his eyes were seeing.

There were thirty-four bodies between the third-floor staircase and the fourth floor.

All these people are dead?

Upon closer inspection, there were no superfluous wounds on the bodies; nearly all had died from a single shot.

Clearly, this was the work of a highly skilled marksman.

And looking at the body by the window with the iron hook mechanical arm, wasn't that the Knight District's captain 'Anchor Man' Parker?

Seeing this, Kai then looked towards the man who was earnestly busy cleaning up the battlefield and became utterly confused.

He... He took down an entire squad of the Steam faction by himself?

Including a veteran professional from the Steam faction?

Before Kai could continue with his wild thoughts, Su Lun looked up at him and said, "Captain, why are you spacing out? Hurry up and help clean up the battlefield. Otherwise, we're gonna have the executives on our backs soon..."