Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun didn't pay attention to Number 19, who was paralyzed on the ground with both arms broken, he quickly walked to the corpse of the abomination, then reattached the abomination's pumpkin-sized head back onto the headless body, and started stitching it up quickly with surgical sutures.

Once connected, the wounds on the corpse's neck began to heal.

There was no need for fine stitching skills, as the body's strong healing ability would automatically and correctly reconnect the severed nerves, blood vessels, and other tissues.

Seeing this, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

The "Zombie Research Journal" contained detailed experimental records; post-transformation with "X serum," human bodies possessed extremely high cellular activity, typically maintaining vitality in body cells and nerves for a long period even after death. Only when biological energy was exhausted, with no circulation to supply energy, would they completely die.

In layman's terms, the body wasn't entirely dead yet. Your journey continues on empire

But if you waited until the body was cold before taking it back, even if stitched well, it couldn't be used anymore.

Creating zombies required a complete corpse, not two stitched pieces.

Watching the body heal automatically, Su Lun didn't interfere further.

He began gathering his spoils of war.

Because "Flower Sword" Holle became an abomination, his soul had dispersed, yielding only a little bit of experience.

But this man in a military uniform, on the other hand, was quite a windfall.

"Obtained 'Moore Costa's' memory shards*5"

"You have gained some information: 'Glory is my life, I am the Duke's most loyal subordinate...'"

"You have comprehended the combat skill [Becklo Military One-Hit-Kill Technique]..."

"You have gained a vast amount of experience using combat weapons..."

"You have mastered numerous combat techniques, combat experience +751"

"Spiritual power +0.1"

As mechanical warriors barely have any spiritual power to speak of, the increment was similar to that of an ordinary person.

However, the addition to combat experience was extraordinarily exaggerated.

These killing machines, secretly manufactured by the Black Tower for combat, had their brains almost crammed with various combat knowledge.

Harvesting more than seven hundred points of experience directly skyrocketed Su Lun's combat experience by a large margin, nearly reaching the level of a "combat expert."

Apart from combat skills, what filled this guy's mind was fanatic "loyalty."

Su Lun thought of another accurate description for brainwashing—"thought imprinting."

Considering that the Black Tower probably wanted absolute loyalty from these combat machines it created, their souls had already been imprinted with loyalty before they were "dispatched."

If there were ways to erase memories, certainly adding some suggestions of loyalty in the subconscious could be done as well.

But then again, what about Number 19, who had defected?

....

Having killed the mechanical warrior, Su Lun naturally took all the spoils.

And just as he was about to stuff the military-uniformed man's corpse into the storage ring, Number 19, who had been silently watching him clean up the battlefield, spoke up.

She said calmly, "If you're willing, I would like to pay a price to buy that mechanical body. Of course, I will also pay you for helping me out of a tight spot."

Su Lun looked up at her, didn't beat around the bush, and directly said, "I want to hear about your background first, to decide if we have the foundational trust necessary to make a deal."

He didn't have a bad impression of Number 19.

But neither a good one.

To him, thinking someone is quite alright was already high praise.

Last time at the "Black Baron's" unexpected encounter, she hadn't made a move, and now Su Lun hadn't either.

Although Su Lun didn't tremble when killing, he didn't take pleasure in it either.

But without absolute confidence, he would definitely not let himself get into an uncontrollable situation.

It would be better for everyone to just pass by each other like last time.

Number 19 seemed to genuinely have something to say, and Su Lun also felt that she had recognized him even with his gas mask on, "I think, we can talk somewhere else."

Su Lun nodded and asked, "Can you walk?"

"I can."

Number 19 responded expressionlessly.

Struggling a bit with the support of the wall due to her broken arms and wounded legs, she managed to stand up.

She looked very weak.

Watching Su Lun clean up the abomination's corpse, she asked, "Are you planning to take the abomination's corpse? The storage ring on my severed arm is an ancient alchemical product with a storage space of nearly seven or eight cubic meters. If you need it, I can give it to you."

Seven or eight cubic meters?

Su Lun didn't say much, picked up the severed arm, took down the storage ring and wore it on his own hand, then stuffed the broken wall into the storage ring, righteously harvesting his spoils.

However, he didn't put the corpse in it.

Because... the body had already started to show weak breathing and irregular heartbeat.

This was a "zombie revival" phenomenon, but for Su Lun, it was a good sign.

In a sense, it was already a half-finished "living corpse."

The body showed signs of revival, and Su Lun's guess was half confirmed.

Now, he needed to immediately inscribe runes on it to see if he could start the abominable corpse's circulatory system and keep the vital signs going. Otherwise, it would truly die completely.

The battlefield was no place to linger, and there was no time to delay, so he directly manipulated the body with a steel wire and controlled it to walk deeper into the cavern.

....

The two walked through the dark cavern for a while, and Su Lun set up some early warning devices along the way before stopping in a secluded corner.

He didn't avoid the presence of Number Nineteen, and took out the materials to inscribe runes on the abominable corpse.

Number Nineteen was very quiet throughout the process, like a mechanical device without a battery, staggering along the way. Now that he had stopped, he leaned against the corner.

As Su Lun inscribed the runes, he asked, "What should I call you?"

The ability to multitask allowed him to easily converse while inscribing runes.

Number Nineteen's face was expressionless, "Number Nineteen."

Su Lun asked, "Does that name have a history?"

Number Nineteen spoke concisely, "That was my code in the laboratory."

Su Lun thought of the laboratory and casually asked, "Do you know Ivor Banks?"

Upon hearing this, Number Nineteen finally showed a flicker of emotion, confused and confirming, "Dr. Banks? You know him?"

"No, that's not important."

Su Lun didn't dwell on this issue any further and instead asked, "I wanted to ask, does your escaping from the laboratory have anything to do with the Banks couple?"

Number Nineteen clearly guessed why Su Lun was asking this and glanced at him before revealing a shocking secret, "You guessed right, I was following their orders. When the 'Number Seven Institute' exploded, it was not only to destroy the suppressant research project but also to cover up some of their arrangements. It gave me the opportunity to completely destroy that project."

"Oh."

Su Lun's expression hardly changed, as he had already guessed most of it.

Now that he heard Number Nineteen admit it, everything was clear.

Danny's parents knew that just blowing up the laboratory would not completely destroy the upper echelons of the Black Tower's desire to continue researching the "X Serum." Therefore, they left a backdoor for Number Nineteen to directly undermine it, stealing the source of the manufacturing of the "X Serum."

But Su Lun didn't bother to ask what exactly she had stolen.

Whatever it was that Number Nineteen had risked desertion to steal, it definitely couldn't be handed over to anyone else, even if she died.

This topic ended there.

As a casual warm-up question.

...

Having gotten an answer, Su Lun also filled in some of his doubts.

He didn't waste any more words and directly continued to the main topic, "Let's talk about the deal, how can I trust you? And what price are you willing to pay for that mechanical limb?"

Number Nineteen's eyes held a calmness that regarded life and death indifferently, merely explaining, "The 'X Serum Project' still has some things that must be destroyed... so, I can't die yet."

Su Lun listened without saying a word.

Clearly, he felt this wasn't enough to affect him.

Number Nineteen directly revealed her bargaining chip, "I have a batch of spoils from hunting the members of the umbrella organization, worth several billion. If you're not interested in those, I have a lot of top-secret information about the Black Tower..."

"Hm..."

Su Lun listened without agreeing or refusing.

Just speaking of value, these items were almost enough.

The technology of those mechanical limbs was too sophisticated; they weren't very useful in Su Lun's hands and couldn't be introduced to the market. It would be better to exchange them for something useful.

Moreover, he already had a set in his possession.

However, he was more curious about another issue.

Why Number Nineteen knew the original owner.

Reaching this point in the conversation, Su Lun also understood that Number Nineteen had recognized him, guessing that mechanical warriors likely had some capability of voice recognition.

He asked, "I know you must have recognized me, after all, we met once at the Black Baron's club. But I've lost some of my memories, so I want to know, did we know each other before that?"

Hearing this question, Number Nineteen didn't seem surprised.

She casually said, "We did. Because I was the one who personally sent you out of the Black Tower."

Su Lun curiously asked, "What was my identity in the inner city before?"

At that moment, Number Nineteen calmly said, "No! You are not from Old Lington."

She paused, then dropped a few unexpected words, "You are from outside the tower."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun's gaze stalled.

He had never expected to hear these few words.

Outside the tower?