Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun had tried before, and even with the ability to multitask, his success rate in completely drawing fourth-order spiritual rune carvings would not exceed 20%.

This was already the normal success rate for those regular rune masters.

Of course, if he were willing to spend several months carefully carving, the success rate would be much higher.

But now he did not have that time.

His distorted spiritual power might explode at any time, turning him into a complete madman.

The mask needed to be made as soon as possible.

Su Lun could only try to use the eight-armed spider spear to simultaneously carve the runes he needed in a short time.

He had prepared himself mentally for multiple failures, but this moment turned out to be unexpectedly smooth.

....

The essence of "multitasking" was still Su Lun alone, controlling various tools for carving. But no matter what, it was still distracting; it was impossible to focus all his attention on one point.

However, now, after advancing to the third tier, Su Lun had mastered a new ability—multimind multitasking.

He had noticed during battle that this ability allowed him to control puppets very smoothly.

But it was also expected.

This was the most important reason he chose this line of advancement.

It was an ability with a very high compatibility with Puppet Masters.

Su Lun had thought it only amplified his combat abilities, but now, he was experiencing other benefits it brought!

Each spider spear's control over the carving knife had reached an extremely intricate delicacy; the eight spider spears, plus his hands, were like ten Su Luns focusing intently on carving, making every line precise and smooth.

The advanced engraving techniques that Su Lun had previously found difficult to control were now effortlessly executed.

It was as if his brain had suddenly mastered those not-so-familiar techniques.

Having realized this, and guessing something, Su Lun was delighted, "Does 'multimind multitasking' utilize the super high development of the brain domain?"

He had seen introductions about such extraordinary abilities before; the ordinary "multimind multitasking" ability just plainly increased the "number" of thoughts that could be utilized.

But not like now, where it directly improved comprehension and learning abilities, enhancing the "quality."

Su Lun knew his condition differed from what the books described.

The only explanation was that he had now reached a super high brain domain development of 16%!

To put it in perspective, Su Lun's previous brain development was like an AE86 equipped with a racing engine. Although it was somewhat faster, the car could not fully utilize the engine's effectiveness. But now, the multitasking ability was like swapping a broken car's four wheels for racing tires, upgrading the brakes, suspension, and dashboard as well. Its effectiveness was instantly realized!

The final effect was not additive or doubled, but it increased exponentially.

This advancement indeed brought him a huge surprise.

Even as thoughts whirled in Su Lun's mind, it did not affect his rune carving at all.

Even because he had understood this, he had fewer reservations; the spider spears carved even faster.

The "sizzle, sizzle" sound of metal being finely cut drew near his ears as large portions of rune grooves were engraved on the metal mask. After embedding rune crystals, applying rune paint, throwing it into the alchemy array for annealing, and coating...

In less than half an hour, a fourth-tier alchemy product appeared before his eyes.

Upon inspection, it even reached the "rough silver-grade" quality.

.....

"Is it done?"

Looking at the finished product in his hands, Su Lun also found it hard to believe.

He tried it on his face; a cool sensation instantly surged to his forehead. In that moment, those restless spiritual powers, as if appeased, also got absorbed into the mask.

"It really worked..."

The effect was better than expected. Su Lun then dared to believe that he had actually crafted a fourth-tier alchemy equipment in such a short time.

"This advancement really has brought me unexpected joy."

Su Lun's eyes sparkled.

But he felt something was missing in the silver-white runic metal mask, so he took it off again.

He thought of something, adjusted the colored enchantment paint, painted a white base on the mask, added diamond-shaped black eyeshadow, comical tadpole red eyebrows... and that crimson, split-open smile!

This was a "clown mask."

As if feeling a slight resonance with the mask, a deranged smirk inadvertently flitted across Su Lun's eyes, "This is more like it..."

Wearing the mask, his gaze became clear again.

He felt that, with this mask, he could probably last a very long time.

But he still needed to find a way to completely solve the problem.

To solve the problem, he first had to get back the communication ring from the Mirror Organization.

Thinking of this, Su Lun muttered to himself, "The leader of the 'Red Shark Pirate Gang,' Boen, is an old fourth-tier professional. Getting something back from that guy doesn't seem so easy..."

....

The fourth rank is a watershed for professionals, and this level belongs to high-ranking professionals in the ground world.

To advance to the fourth rank, one must comprehend the element barrier, which means that defense power will greatly increase; techniques below the third rank would find it hard to be lethal. Moreover, the body's tolerance to implanted alchemy enhancements will surge, usually indicating possession of a powerful alchemy implant.
Enjoy new adventures from empire

Su Lun carefully pondered the information he had just harvested. Boen Fritz, with a bounty of 72 million rixos and known as "Poison Frog," had strong offensive and defensive measures and several trump cards, which made him quite problematic.

Moreover, Su Lun had just annihilated his pirate crew; negotiations were likely doomed to fail.

In the end, it would all come down to fists.

He had just advanced to the third rank, and while he was somewhat confident in his defenses, his offensive capabilities were somewhat lacking. Whether it was puppetry or spells, many techniques had not yet caught up.

Thinking about it, the only sure means to kill that man were the Black Sickle and... a mechanical warrior?

....

"Huh..."

Suddenly, Su Lun thought of something. Pinching his sorcerer's seals, his storage space manifested, and a high battle mecha heavily landed on the deck.

This was naturally the [Colonel-Class Ship-Cutter IX Mech].

Looking at this tightly integrated heavy-armored mecha, Su Lun's gaze sharpened, his eyes revealing deep thought.

He had already thoroughly studied the overall structure of the mecha; with the information from a stripped soul, he also had some ideas about disassembly.

But at this moment, as he looked at this battle suit again, he felt completely different.

Like facing a challenging problem, he suddenly had a "solution approach."

Su Lun slowly closed his eyes. In his mind, it was as if each part of the battle suit in front of him automatically started to break down, with mechanical sounds of "click," "click" echoing beside him.

Then "boom," "boom," "boom"...

Time and again, the suit self-destructed due to an incorrect disassembly method.

Reassemble...

Disassemble...

Explode...

Reassemble again...

At this moment, Su Lun's thoughts raced at high speed.

If one approach didn't work, he would switch to another.

This miraculous scene played out in Su Lun's mind.

He knew this unprecedented mental capability was also a new ability brought on by his advancement to the third rank.

A flurry of complex thoughts flashed by.

After countless attempts,

finally,

Su Lun found a feasible possibility.

He suddenly opened his eyes, realizing, "Right, I must remove three parts of the armor simultaneously to avoid triggering the self-destruction mechanism!"

Su Lun suddenly understood.

The disassembly method of this mech was somewhat like the "Kongming lock" from his previous life; finding specific components or forcefully disassembling multiple components simultaneously required skill and finesse.

Having deduced the correct way to disassemble the mech, Su Lun immediately set to work.

His spider spear controlled the two armored shoulder pads of the mech; then, he forcefully twisted a small component on the mechanical spine. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a metallic mechanism with a "click."

Joy appeared on Su Lun's face.

Not triggering self-destruction meant he had succeeded!

He actually managed to easily remove the shoulder armor, revealing various precise mechanical parts inside.

Once the first component was disassembled, the rest became much easier.

The corpse had already decayed and was directly thrown into the sea.

Before long, thousands of small and large components were disassembled.

They were suspended in the air by silk threads, completely exposed to Su Lun's eyes.

"The mechanical armor technology of the Maphar Empire is truly exceptional…"

Su Lun squinted at the components before him, sizing up a peerless beauty without a single modest garment, all its secrets laid bare before him.

It was his first time seeing such intricate mechanical armor; every crucial component bore a model identifier.

[MF11 Individual Steam Boiler], [Hager II Type Explosion-Proof Air Hammer], [Magic Energy High-Frequency Oscillator], [Beo S-11 Energy Core], [T-Alloy Power Shaft], [Dragon Hunter V Mini Missile Launcher]...

These were all top-tier military technologies that, aside from the Maphar military, were unseen anywhere else.

Each component captivated Su Lun's gaze.

They were the core technologies of the Maphar Empire.

True priceless treasures.

After looking for a while, he averted his gaze.

Without a blueprint, it was nearly impossible to manufacture such a sophisticated and complex mechanical battle armor.

Even Su Lun did not foolishly believe he could replicate this battle armor in a short amount of time.

These technologies would require a great deal of his time to decode in the future.

The current priority was to transform the battle armor into combat capability.

His mind worked furiously, and he tried again, quickly deducing how to use those mechanical devices.

He manipulated with threads, ignited the power boiler, and the machine started moving.

Su Lun was delighted, "Perfectly intact..."

....

The reason Su Lun was fixated on mechanical puppets was not only that he was a transmigrator who had witnessed the power of machinery.

Another reason was that mechanical puppets could compensate for many shortcomings of traditional puppets.

For example, strength, defense, kinetic energy...

Assume if Su Lun had a puppet swinging a blade with a force of 100, then after the steam boiler was charged, it could reach 10,000.

The two were not on the same level at all.

To achieve a force of 10,000 with a traditional puppet, the requirements for runes and materials would be very high, and the cost would be countless times that of the steam machinery.

This was a qualitative gap!

Moreover, this also involved a subsequent development path.

A brand new advancement path for a "Mechanical Puppet Master"!

The reason Su Lun planned to integrate "Spiritual Tentacles" into his third-tier armor was precisely because of the controllability of mechanical puppets!

The Mafa officer's battle armor before him was controlled by a person.

But if Su Lun inserted a corpse, he could achieve the same effect.

Because this Mecha operated on a purely physical system, he now needed countless threads to control the mechanical puppet.

It was arduous and complicated, and even with multitasking, he could not control many puppets at once.

The entire process would be: Su Lun's brain sends signals →body exerts force →threads convey force →control the corpse's limbs →control the mechanical switches.

While "Spiritual Tentacles" only needed one thread to control the corpse by transmitting neurological signals, completing complex control commands.

The process would be simplified to: Su Lun's brain →control machinery.

This would massively increase the control efficiency and the number of controllable units.

...

No!

Once the technology matured, it might not even require a complete corpse!

If there were "Super Mechanical Warriors" with such nerve-mechanical technology, just installing a nervous system could control these mechanical battle armors!

Su Lun thought of something, and his thoughts became more active.

He had some knowledge of nerve mechanics in his mind, but it was incomplete.

Even!

Not limited to humans, but anything with a nervous system.

Such as the "Mechanical Spider" that can control eight arms;

The "Mechanical Millipede" that can control thousands of legs;

Or mechanical dragons, mechanical octopuses, mechanical reptiles, mechanical jellyfish, mechanical dogs...

Any biological entity with a nervous system theoretically could be an option for the mechanical puppet's nervous system.

They could meet various functional demands, working in coordination during combat.

If such a mechanical puppet army were created, it would definitely be an invincible force.

This was the path of the Mechanical Puppet Master that Su Lun envisioned for his future in this magical world after understanding it.

Moreover, he was well aware that there was an endless potential in mechanical technology.

Although the current mechanical technology was far behind the top tier of Alchemy, in the future, it might not be impossible to develop battle armors of higher order, or even divine-level mechanical forces!

....

"Since Duke Raphael has mastered the nerve-mechanical technology, could it be that he has already created such a mechanical monster army?"

With countless thoughts in his mind, Su Lun suddenly had this idea.

He thought of the super dreadnought previously.

Since Raphael could secretly develop such a warship, other black technologies might also be possible.

Su Lun was not worried at all; he was even somewhat looking forward to Duke Raphael having such capabilities.

A grand lord like him, who could mobilize enormous societal resources, was truly the driving force behind the development of social sciences.

Su Lun's research capabilities might not be said to be very strong, but… his harvesting ability was still quite formidable.

If there really was advanced technology, it might have saved him a lot of time for his "plans."

However, plans are just plans, and right now, Su Lun had many problems to solve.

First and foremost, was to make sure he didn't die.

Su Lun now possessed an exaggerated learning ability, which allowed him to control the Mecha skillfully after only a short attempt.

The Mecha, grasping the high-frequency vibrating Ship-Cutter, swung it fiercely.

Under absolute power, any "elemental barriers" were like paper.

Besides, the Ship-Cutter had high-frequency vibration black technology.

If it could cut through steel ships, couldn't it cut through people?

"What a pity, these specially made micro missiles, alchemy bullets and the like are consumables, used up in an instant. If only he could get his hands on some high-precision mechanical forging equipment and instruments, then he could manufacture some substitutes of the same caliber..."

Su Lun looked towards the horizon's coastline, with no intention of staying at sea a moment longer.

He maneuvered the sail and began heading towards that port.

.....

"Blizzard City" was initially a gathering point for adventurers from the Emperor Luying empire on the Far North Ice Field.

As more people came and went, it gradually developed into a colossal city.

It's covered with ice and snow all year round, with harsh climate conditions, and few ordinary residents. Those who come and go are adventurers, merchants, fugitives, exiles, pirates, and bounty hunters.

It is a city where adventurers converge, and although the town lord was granted the title of "Governor" by the Emperor Luying empire, it was actually not under the jurisdiction of the empire's laws and was a neutral territory.

It is also one of the few cities that pirates don't plunder.

Pirates need supplies, smugglers need channels, and the trade in human ransom requires intermediaries...

This unregulated city was the perfect choice.

Thus, the city was a mix of dragons and snakes.

Approaching evening, the harbor of Blizzard City.

The workers at the dock spotted a sea ship rushing towards the harbor. It was moving fast, showing no signs of lowering its sails for a dock.

Everyone started exclaiming.

"Hey, look, there's a pirate ship docking!"

"Don't they know the rules? Coming to Blizzard City, don't they know you can't show the pirate flag?"

"Heh, probably some newbie group just set sail dreaming about becoming the Pirate King every day."

"That flag looks familiar... damn, isn't that the 'Red Shark Pirates' ship?"

"..."

The sea ship barged into the harbor, damaging several ships before it came to a stop.

This commotion caught everyone's attention.

The harbor master stormed over, intending to scold these pirates who had broken the dock's rules.

But upon closer inspection, they shockingly discovered that there was no one on the ship?

Some bold workers jumped aboard, entering the cabin to investigate.

In no time, they ran out frightened, rolling and crawling.

"Ah... so... so many dead bodies! The cabin is full of dead bodies!"

"My God, the Red Shark crew has been wiped out! Someone killed them all!"

"It's terrifying, none of the bodies are intact..."

"..."

People then realized the reason why the ship hadn't slowed down was that there was simply no one on it.

To be precise, there was not a single living person!

But then, how did a ship that required a dozen people to operate manage to sail to the port?

Could it be haunted?

There were plenty of stories of ghost ships at sea, and many people thought of various mysterious events.

A creepy atmosphere spread across the dock, and the news quickly spread into the city.

But no one noticed that, as the ship entered the harbor, a person wearing a clown mask, taking advantage of the chaos, had already teleported to a corner of the dock.

Su Lun was in no rush to go into the city to find someone; instead, he patiently waited on the dock.

He was certain that Boen, the leader of the Red Shark crew, would come to investigate after hearing the news.

Sure enough.

It wasn't long before he saw a burly man with a grizzled beard leading a few people to the dock.

Having previously extracted information about the pirates, Su Lun immediately recognized those few, disguised as merchants. Seeing the main characters, a murderous, chilling smile spilled from his eyes hidden beneath the clown mask...