Mechanical Alchemist

Qian Tiao was taking a shower.

Su Lun, having nothing to do on the bed, simply took out some alchemy books to read.

Now, he spent nearly all his free time digesting knowledge.

This was a habit he had developed before his transmigration; reading helped stabilize his emotions.

Soon, the sound of water from the bathroom ceased suddenly.

Qian Tiao walked out in a loose bathrobe, naturally wearing nothing underneath, and upon looking up, one could see the deep V at her chest. It must be said, close-combat professionals indeed had impressive physiques.

"Whew~"

She approached the dressing mirror and let out a long, pleased sigh, "I finally feel relaxed..."

Her smooth, aqua hair was unbound, making her appear less fierce.

Qian Tiao grabbed a towel from the rack, cocking her head as she dried her wet hair. With every lift of her hand, either the large sleeve or the neckline gaped, revealing much.

However, the two in the room remained calm.

Su Lun was reading his book and merely glanced up before refocusing his gaze.

There had been the sound of running water during the shower, so they hadn't delved into details; now that there was time, Qian Tiao continued with the earlier topic, "Su Lun boy, I heard you have a puppet that is immune to 'Xiupunos's Night Scythe'? Mr. Hei's plan is, it would be best to take that puppet with us."

"Hmm, it's a type of living corpse."

This information was on the wanted notice, so there was nothing that couldn't be lent.

Moreover, Su Lun had used that 'abomination' many times, and a scholar like Mr. Hei had probably guessed its origin long ago.

Speaking of which, he thought of something and said, "But controlling that corpse is somewhat tricky, and if one is not a Puppet Master, it would be very difficult. Moreover, a lot of practice is needed to precisely control the scythe's slashes..."

Although Su Lun thought that Mr. Hei and his people were strong, they might not be able to immediately handle a type of lockdown material they weren't familiar with.

Even if they were borrowing the living corpse.

Hearing this, Qian Tiao glanced from the mirror.

She just met Su Lun's gaze and added, "Mr. Hei said, you'd probably be interested in checking it out. So... actually, I came to borrow you."

....

"Borrow me???"

Upon hearing this, a voice instinctively responded for him.

No, I'm not interested!

Although he didn't know why Mr. Hei and the others wanted to ambush that little princess from the Duke's household, that battle was bound to be extremely perilous. Even the leader of the Umbrella Organization secretly came to prepare the ground, implying that the little princess must have numerous top-level experts around her.

Moreover, Black Tower is a very special place.

The top financial families in the Inner City, no matter how strong, also have their limits.

But now that Su Lun knew Black Tower was a gateway to the upper world, he understood the Duke's household had a depth he couldn't fathom.

Otherwise, with just Mr. Hei and his group's strength, which large family in the Inner City couldn't they overpower?

Now they still hide and take precautions, certainly wary of Black Tower.

This battle would definitely be a fierce clash among top professionals.

Su Lun was very self-aware.

As a newcomer to the second rank, although he had a few tricks, he wasn't fit to flaunt them in such a setting.

The clashes among top professionals, even the aftershocks were enough for him.

Lending the scythe is possible...

Lending a person...

Wait, Mr. Hei mentioned it?

Su Lun instantly thought of something and didn't hurry to respond;

He looked at Qian Tiao, puzzled, "Mr. Hei mentioned it?"

"Hmm. Although I also think you wouldn't want to go. But Mr. Hei said, after telling you our plan, you might be interested..."

Qian Tiao gave him a look.

She paused, then dropped a bombshell that would astound anyone, "After all, this time we are going to intercept a real higher-tier combatant. According to ancient terms, that person should be... a fifth-tier professional!"

...

"Fifth-tier?!"

Su Lun was startled at first, then he realized what she implied.

This was indeed beyond his expectations.

In Old Lington, the known strongest masters were only third-tier, like the heads of the three major gangs in the outer city, the presidents and vice presidents of major guilds, and the top experts in the inner city... all were third-tier.

This sudden emergence of a "fifth-tier," what was going on?

According to the ancient books unearthed from the ruins, it was clear that Magicians of old did not stop at the third-tier.

After all, the owner of the Dawn Relic, Sir Isaac from a thousand years ago, was hailed as a "Demigod."

Having absorbed the astonishing information in her words, Su Lun was momentarily amazed, but his first instinctual thought was: how many Alchemy Shards could a fifth-tier professional reap?

At this thought, he immediately became interested!

The Soul Shards of a higher-tier expert consisted not just of a volume of knowledge but also of an understanding at the level of laws.

It also meant... perspective!

"Linear equations with one unknown" might already be difficult for elementary students, but aren't they just introductory problems for junior and senior high school students?

This rule applies in the realm of Alchemy as well.

Without crossing certain tier thresholds, many higher-tier knowledge cannot be comprehended.

Once crossed, it becomes effortless!

Su Lun was now acutely aware of this.

When he was at the first tier, learning second-tier rune knowledge was extremely difficult, hard to understand, and hard to grasp. But after advancing, many of the previous challenging pieces of knowledge almost became understandable at a glance, reducing the learning difficulty by at least several times!

One can imagine, if he peeled off a fifth-tier professional's Soul, and actually grasped the knowledge related to laws, what would Su Lun's learning progress be like?

Not to mention whether he could harvest completed knowledge Shards, Su Lun felt that just by gaining "perspective," the understanding of other second and third-tier Alchemy knowledge would be like seeing it once and knowing it, wouldn't it?

Higher-tier knowledge was already monopolized by the Black Tower, which was not something that could be obtained by harvesting many third-tier professionals!

If it were a group of third-tier enemies, he really wouldn't want to go.

After all, the little princess must have a dozen or so third-tier protectors surrounding her.

If Mr. Hei couldn't care for them and he had to face one, Su Lun was not confident that he could survive against a third-tier professional.

But now, hearing this,

apparently,

they were not going to assassinate the little princess but to kill a fifth-tier guardian?

...

"How strong must Mr. Hei and his people be..."

Su Lun, hearing her lay out their plan, instantly felt that he had underestimated the strength of the "Mirror Organization."

But regret aside, he was indeed very interested in this plan!

If Mr. Hei and his people dared to make a move, they certainly felt confident about it!

"It looks like you've decided to go."

Chientiao caught the change in Su Lun's expression and commented faintly.

Su Lun nodded, "Yes."

"Good that you've decided."

Upon hearing this, Chientiao didn't say much more.

At this moment, she had finished drying her hair and glanced at Su Lun sprawled across the bed, the words babbled in complaint, "Eh, eh, eh~ Su Lun kid, can you scoot over a bit? There's only one bed and you're spread out like this, can you leave some space for me?"

Originally, Su Lun's thoughts were already drifting, his mind filled with the gains from peeling off the shards of a fifth-tier strongman.

Upon hearing this, he then glanced at the disheveled Chientiao.

This big shot, it really seems like she's planning to squeeze in with him.

The gambling lady didn't mind, so naturally, he didn't have any objections either.

"Oh."

Su Lun responded and shifted a bit to make room on half of the bed. Just as he moved, he suddenly felt a chilling blade whizz close by.

A slight sound, quiet like a swift knife cutting through the air.

Looking again, a large bed was split into two from the middle.

Because the knife was so fast, even the sheets and blankets on the bed didn't deform, the cut smooth and cleanly divided into two, with a palm-wide gap in the middle.

"..."

Su Lun looked at it, a wry smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He had clearly seen the quick draw of the blade but hadn't dodged. Obviously, this big shot was just trying to scare him, probably as retaliation for the teasing during the bath earlier.

Fortunately, the mattress was supported by numerous individual springs, so it didn't collapse even when cut in half.

"Alright, let's sleep."

Senjo looked at Su Lun, not scared at all, and felt bored with a slight pout.

She also didn't consider herself an outsider and happily lay on the other half of the bed.

With her legs crossed, her fair thighs were revealed.

....

Since they were going to battle, Su Lun naturally had to ask for more information. Continue reading stories on empire

He turned his head to look at the other half of the bed and asked, "Senjo, when are we likely to leave?"

"Don't know, waiting for the notice."

Senjo didn't even open her eyes, lazily responding, "Mr. Hei and the others are handling the plan; I'm only responsible for the fighting."

She seemed totally unconcerned about the details of the plan, letting professionals like Mr. Hei handle the scheming and plotting.

Sharing the same room, there was no awkwardness in the air.

Thinking about their mission to ambush a fifth-tier professional, Su Lun was indeed very curious about their strength.

As Senjo didn't treat herself as an outsider, Su Lun didn't either. He directly asked, "Senjo, what exactly is your tier of strength now?"

After a moment's thought, Senjo slowly said three words, "Hard to say."

Su Lun: "Hard to say?"

Suddenly, Senjo opened her eyes, stared at the ceiling, and thought for a moment, not intending to conceal it from Su Lun, "I broke through the third tier half a year ago. But because of my talent's second awakening and some special inheritance, my combat power is much stronger than a regular third tier. If I have to say... barely qualifies as fourth tier."

"Oh."

Listening, Su Lun's expression slightly changed.

The conversation that night indeed refreshed his understanding of many aspects of this world.

Su Lun was still pondering what exactly the fourth tier entails when Senjo took the initiative to speak again, "Aren't you curious why we are ambushing that fifth-tier guard leader?"

Su Lun initially thought it might involve some secrets and hadn't intended to probe.

But since she brought it up, he asked, "Why?"

Senjo said, "Advancing to the fourth tier requires a special item—Sun God Stone. The underground world with no sunlight doesn't produce that special energy crystal. However, those super-tier professionals coming from outside the tower might carry it, and their corpses can also accumulate it. If we want to break through the blockades of the Black Tower, we must have enough power. Right now, we are far from it."

Her tone was very calm.

But Su Lun could sense a heaviness in it.

Maybe because he planned to participate in the battle, he felt that Senjo's attitude towards him was clearly different now.

Probably as allies?

In the past, they might have just laughed off things, but now she chose to reveal some top secrets known only to a few to Su Lun.

She then asked, "Want to hear some trouble-invoking secrets?"

Hearing her serious tone, Su Lun thought for a moment before responding, "Yes."

Senjo looked at the ceiling, her gaze drifting as she started to speak.

"When you left Old Lington, didn't I tell you to get stronger?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Actually, I just didn't want you to deal with that kind of pressure too early... just like when I first came across the truth, it was really desperate."

"..."

"When you discover that the world you live in is a giant prison, everything you pursued becomes meaningless. The Black Tower has such a despair-inducing power, so no matter how hard you try, you can only ever barely survive in the dark dungeon. What's the meaning of life then? Until I encountered 'the Mirror'..."

At this point, the gambling-addicted woman suddenly turned around.

She leaned her head on her hand and smiled at Su Lun, "You've been doing quite well, I've been hearing news about you, and know that you've been growing stronger."

"..."

Su Lun listened quietly.

He had never seen Qiān Tiáo so serious before.

Even though she was smiling.

Qiān Tiáo continued to speak.

"Do you know how Old Lington came to be?"

She asked and answered herself.

"About over a hundred years ago, someone found the Black Tower using an ancient map. That person was Raphael I. The current Duke Raphael's grandfather. Back then, Old Lington was just ruins, void of any humans. Then, they filled it with a huge number of war slaves and prisoners from the outside world... The slaves had their memories of the outside world erased, and then they started to pave and propagate in the underground world, establishing a new order..."

"Actually, whether it's the tycoons in the inner city or the commoners in the outer city, there isn't really any difference. Ultimately, everyone is just 'miners' under Duke Raphael, generation after generation mining treasures from this ancient relic from a thousand years ago."

"Those inner city tycoons think the wealth is in their hands? Haha... they are just meat stewing in the pot."

"..."

This message, indeed, felt very heavy.

But Su Lun was a transmigrator, so it wasn't too hard for him to accept.

Ever since he found out his previous identity was sent from outside the Black Tower, he had guessed about the existence of the surface world.

Hearing this, he asked, "Can't the truth be revealed?"

With so many people in Old Lington, a revolutionary uprising would also be a formidable force.

Hearing this, Qiān Tiáo shook her head.

"There was an uprising fifty years ago. That time, the rebels had broken into the Black Tower. Then, the despair began. Unexpectedly, a group of high-class fighters came down from the upper floors, effortlessly slaughtered the leading top professionals... The rebel forces had no power to resist and were rapidly eliminated. Ultimately, the turmoil killed hundreds of thousands of people. Everyone connected to the uprising were annihilated under the charge of 'treason'."

It seems it was already tried...

Hearing this, Su Lun could already imagine the scene at that time.

A group of level 20-30 players storming the tower, then a bunch of level 50-60 bosses appearing.

Swish swish, the knives fall, and the group is wiped out instantly.

This issue seemed to touch some unhappy memories for Qiān Tiáo, her brow slightly furrowed as she continued, "Maybe some old people in Old Lington City still remember, but no one dares to bring it up. Once people from the umbrella organization even catch a hint of this topic, it's an immediate risk of family extermination."

"If all the people of Old Lington truly knew the truth, the only consequence would be, the Black Tower would send top fighters to cleanse the entire 'prison.' Then they would send another batch of people over... To them, miners' lives are simply worthless."

"So, you understand why we had to do it this way, right?"

...

After hearing Qiān Tiáo's story, Su Lun also showed deep contemplation.

If this were for ordinary people, it really would be despairing.

Advancing to the fourth tier requires the [Sun God Stone] which can only be found on the surface, meaning people in the caverns can only ever reach up to the third tier.

If there are fifth tiers outside, there might even be sixth, seventh, or eighth tiers.

Su Lun had completely no concept of such level professionals.

Thinking about it, was it like the difference between ants and elephants?

Many ants might manage to kill an elephant.

But in the world above the Black Tower, there are countless elephants, and perhaps even dinosaurs?

No wonder Mr. Hei and his group this time plan to intercept the fifth tier leader.

The lessons from the uprising fifty years ago had taught them that numbers were useless, and top fighters were the key to deciding the outcome.

If Qiān Tiáo and her group could advance to the fourth tier, perhaps they would have a chance to break through the shackles.