Mechanical Alchemist

"The concentration of Dark Spiritual Power is at least ten times what it was before..."

Su Lun looked at the attribute panel with a complex expression, not quite feeling good about it, nor feeling bad.

No wonder those pursuers didn't dare to follow.

After the fog intensified, the Dark Spiritual Power surged out like a fountain, spreading everywhere. This wasn't something ordinary people could withstand, nor could it be filtered by a gas mask due to its high distortion concentration.

Normal concentrations of Dark Spiritual Power were like the cold winds of winter, with each breath feeling like a cool breeze entering the body, slightly chilly; but now, at this concentration, it was more like blades of ice, making breathing feel like slitting one's throat.

But...

Su Lun knew this level was "dangerous," yet his body truthfully felt a thread-like comfort.

He had been paying attention to the changes in the Dark Spiritual Power since the fog had enveloped the area and had been carefully monitoring his body's data to avoid any accidents.

However, he realized there were no signs of any distortions in him.

Even with the Dark Spiritual Power reaching this terrifying level, he still didn't feel uncomfortable.

Instead... With each breath, his own Dark Spiritual Power values were soaring.

His body was frantically absorbing the special energy in the air, and this energy was also transforming his body.

Since there were no examples to refer to, Su Lun could only judge based on his own feelings: the data kept rising without any distortions, which should be a good thing.

He knew that this abnormal situation with his body was definitely related to the enhanced Dark Spiritual Power tolerance from the "X Serum."

....

Not to mention that the fog outside was now so dense that normal vision and walking were impaired.

Since there were no signs of distortions, Su Lun wasn't in a hurry to leave the bunker,

And... it seemed he couldn't get out anyway.

Although he couldn't see, Su Lun could hear from all directions many sounds that made his skin crawl after the fog had engulfed the area.

Sounds like the heavy footsteps of a very large monster, thud, thud, thud...

Sounds like the chewing of flesh and bone, crack, crack, crack...

Sounds like the screams of some distorted creatures being bitten to death...

Hearing more and more of these terrifying noises, Su Lun simply sealed off all the ventilation ducts and didn't dare to let out a single breath.

He knew he had encountered a phenomenon similar to a "beast tide" of large-scale distorted creature activity...

However, Su Lun's mindset was fairly good.

Since he couldn't leave, he calmly set about healing himself here.

The Storage Ring was stocked with plenty of food and water, and the bunker was strong enough to temporarily not worry about safety.

The fog in the ruins was moving, suggesting that this unusual activity was temporary.

Even if small creatures discovered him and burst into the bunker, he thought the Wretched Zombies and Black Reapers could still ensure his safety.

At least, the current situation was much better than just a while ago when he had been surrounded and chased by the Oliver family.

Su Lun prepared some food for himself and then sat down cross-legged to meditate.

This meditation lasted all night.

Although there was no distinction between day and night in the ruins, the "nighttime" was noticeably when the creatures were most active.

Dawn arrived, and there was no sign of the fog dissipating.

But Su Lun felt quite good.

Overnight, his body's strong healing ability had largely recovered his injuries; pressing his chest still caused a slight sharp pain, but the recovery rate was already very satisfying.

And after meditating all night, Su Lun also felt mentally refreshed.

On the data panel, the upper limit of his Dark Spiritual Power had visibly soared.

After advancing in his career, a night of meditation in Old Lington would typically increase the upper limit of his Dark Spiritual Power by about 7~8 units. In these Dawn City Ruins, just over last night, Su Lun had soared by over 100 units!

And, there was not a single sign of distortion due to the rapid absorption of Dark Spiritual Power, or any other negative condition.

Although Su Lun had known that the "X Serum" would enhance his body's tolerance to dark spiritual power, seeing the results still took him by surprise.

Last night, he meditated cautiously, but if he had absorbed without restraint, the numbers might have multiplied several times over.

Following this pace of cultivation, in about a little over a month, his dark spiritual power level would reach the upper limits his body could withstand. That would be a number several times higher than what is required for a professional to advance to the second tier.

From this perspective, this "mist tide" was not only harmless to him but actually an excellent aid in his cultivation.

Su Lun also speculated that the "unrecognized creature" from which the serum was extracted might be some sort of superior being that lived in a highly concentrated dark spiritual power environment, whose bloodline was especially suited for survival in such conditions. Su Lun's injection of the serum altered his body, now giving him some peculiar characteristics of this extraordinary bloodline...

Moreover, because of the significant increase in his dark spiritual power, Su Lun noticed another positive phenomenon; the blue tone of his skin was fading faster.

With the All-knowing Eye, he could accurately distinguish the data changes in his skin color.

Although the change was nearly imperceptible to the naked eye in just one night.

But the data indicated that the fading speed was several times that of yesterday.

The violent influx of dark spiritual power catalyzed the absorption of the serum, greatly shortening the time needed for the absorption process.

Originally, it was estimated that it would still take four to six months to digest the serum, but now it seemed that was no longer necessary.

....

The second day, third day, fourth day...

The fog showed no sign of dissipating,

and the creatures outside became increasingly animated.

And so, Su Lun passively stayed inside the cramped bunker and did not go out.

During this period, he encountered several mutant creatures passing by, including groups of small mutants and several times, terrifyingly large mutants.

Luckily, the small mutants couldn't damage the solid bunker and left after several attempts;

while the giant creatures, although they detected him, ignored him completely. It was probably like how humans view mice in the roadside holes, uninteresting even for filling gaps between teeth.

Occasionally, one or two large creatures, curious and attracted by the smell, would scratch with their claws, but since the bunker was sturdy enough, he passed these instances without any real danger.

Just like that, a month passed unknowingly.

Drastic changes were occurring in Su Lun's body.

....

One day, inside the bunker.

Su Lun was sitting in meditation.

Since the gas mask was useless, he no longer wore it.

However, his face no longer resembled the blue-skinned bald freak from a month ago. His skin tone had returned to normal, a full head of thick hair had grown on top, and even eyebrows had emerged.

Without the dark punk style of smoky makeup, his now sharply featured face suddenly became strikingly handsome.

This was not an illusion of Su Lun's but a direct data representation on his attribute panel.

"My charm has increased to 12?"

Su Lun was surprised when he first noticed the permanent value of charm changing.

Then, over the month, as he completely digested the "X Serum," his charm increased from 9 to its current 12.

Based on his observations, this data point rarely changed with increased strength. Unless one encountered someone with a charm talent like the Steampunk Party's Sabina, the charm value of a normal person wouldn't exceed 10.

The only explanation was that the serum not only made the body stronger but also had a special ability to enhance human appearance.

He guessed that perhaps the creature from whom the "X Serum" was extracted was naturally good-looking?

Su Lun didn't mind much, as it wasn't a bad thing.

Furthermore, the change in appearance was exactly what he wanted.

At least now, he didn't have to continue shaving his head and maintaining the dark punk style.

The previous disguise was to conceal his appearance to avoid recognition by bounty hunters.

Now that the bald image on the wanted posters was everywhere, maintaining the bald punk appearance was inappropriate.

Now that his hair had grown, it was perfect.

Moreover, his current appearance hardly needed to worry about the original owner's wanted order. Because Su Lun felt that absolutely no one would associate his current appearance with the original owner, "Fike Regadi."

Not to mention the transformation in demeanor, the addition of 3 charm points has completely changed his face.

Moreover, even physical measurements such as shoulder width, waist, and hips... had drastically changed from a month ago.

Having fully metabolized the "X Serum," Su Lun's strength had soared, his bones had become tougher, and all these increases were exaggerated, two to three times what they had been. Yet, his muscle dimensions hadn't turned him into a burly strongman; instead, he had become even more slender and proportionate.

But he also felt it was just right.

Whether as a Puppet Master or a gunman, overly large muscles could actually hinder agility.

Moreover, the most exaggerated was Su Lun's current dark spiritual power value!

It had gone from a maximum of 2214 a month ago to 23332 now, a more than tenfold increase.

This was already an extremely exaggerated number.

A normal professional advancing to the second tier needs a minimum of about 7000 dark spiritual power points to successfully integrate black iron materials for advancement; even some higher-requirement silver materials only need about 10000 points. (Tier advancement conditions: Material compatibility + current tier dark spiritual power value must reach a certain level)

But now, Su Lun had reached an astonishing more than double that.

Even when he practiced meditation with the "Haigem Breathing Method," he felt there was still a slight room for increase.

Although Su Lun was still unclear about what was so special about such a large dark spiritual power value, he guessed it was directly related to subsequent high-tier advancements. The more solid the dark spiritual power at a lower tier, the easier it was to advance to higher tiers, and the higher the limit.

Another immediate benefit was that he was hardly lacking in mana anymore.

Merely controlling the first-tier Arachnoid Spear, he could now maintain its external solution state for a very long period.

Using the "Flames of Non-Serverance" from before, which used to spill out an inch, now blazed out a full foot...

And controlling puppets with witch hair, his control range had become even further...

....

A month had passed, the fog around was gradually dissipating.

He estimated that in a few more days, this wave of "fog tide" would probably also be over.

The food and freshwater prepared in the Storage Ring were almost depleted,

and the "X Serum" was fully absorbed,

Su Lun felt it was time to leave the ruins.

After all, this ruins was not a benevolent place.

Su Lun thought, even if the Oliver family's battalions that were pursuing him were tenacious, they probably wouldn't stay in the ruins for a month.

Moreover, even if he appeared in front of those Bounty Hunters, eighty percent wouldn't recognize his now handsome and imposing face as the smoky-headed, "S-rank wanted criminal Su Lun."

...

This day.

The fog had almost returned to normal levels, and no more sounds of large aberrations were heard around the bunker.

Su Lun opened the ventilation shaft and took a careful look. He could see in the distance through the fog, some leisurely feeding bipedal creatures with sheep's heads and horns— "Fallen Satyr."

Grazing?

No, they were gnawing on the bones of their prey.

"Crack"...

"Crack"...

It was spine-chilling to hear.

Su Lun had been observing them for nearly two days now.

This group of upright goat-headed creatures numbered about fifty-six, seemed docile but were actually ferociously vicious. Fast, with a jumping ability, their sharp teeth and biting force could easily crush stones.

Especially the goat-headed leader, which was as big as a bull and possessed strength not inferior to a second-tier melee professional. The group could easily kill large prey when hunting together, and should not be underestimated.

Su Lun, with the Black Scythe in hand and his strengthened abilities, wasn't afraid of these creatures.

But he didn't want to start a fight as soon as he left the bunker.

After all, this was the inner circle of Dawn City, and the aberrations nearby were not limited to just these creatures.

After observing for a moment, the group of monsters showed no intention of leaving.

Su Lun thought he might have to wait another day.

Once they consumed the prey they captured yesterday, they would probably leave.

....

After observing for a moment,

Su Lun closed the vent and then made himself something to eat.

He broke the black bread into pieces, added some of his homemade "instant noodle seasoning packet," and chewed it down.

However, this was just an occasional act to taste something mild and fill the stomach.

The most important source of nutrition still came directly from injecting nutrient solution.

This month, digesting the "X serum" to enhance his physique required lots of energy, surviving solely on these nutrient solutions.

Su Lun quickly had his meal.

Then he took out the Puppet Scripture and started reading.

During this time, he thoroughly went through the puppet scriptures among the spoils, catching up on some puppet controlling techniques.

Only then did he realize that puppet controlling had so many tricks and shortcuts...

Playing with puppets and being a professional Puppet Master were completely different things.

As he read, his gaze shifted to the set of golden armor blueprints, Thousand Threads - Lion's Mane Ballad, in the pile of scriptures.

He had been coveting this item for a month.

Not only did he have the blueprints, but he even had the main material, the Wailing Witch's skull, and even the crafting auxiliaries found among the previous spoils.

But Su Lun, looking at these blueprints he studied meticulously more than ten times, still felt helpless.

He faced the same dilemma he encountered when he obtained the Eight-Armed Spider Spear blueprints: The blueprints and materials were too advanced.

Although he had been continuously learning and improving, and his level of crafting enchanted armors was not low,

without a master's level, he dared not touch the second tier golden blueprints + dark golden materials.

He really didn't feel confident and didn't dare to start carelessly and waste the materials.

So, he thought of "Mr. Hei."

Unfortunately... that mysterious character was probably still in the black market of Old Lington.

Su Lun didn't ponder over the blueprints much, thinking he would deal with it when the time was right, and continued to focus on reading the scriptures.

But as he was reading, his ears suddenly perked up, and he quietly exclaimed, "The mist has cleared, how could the 'big fellow' appear again?"

Then, like an earthquake, the ground began to tremble.

He was already used to such situations; every time a large monster passed by, it caused this kind of disturbance. The bunker felt like a horn lying on the ground, making everything exceptionally clear.

However... this time it sounded a bit different.

"Is a large monster fighting?"

Su Lun immediately noticed the rapid 'thump,' 'thump,' sounds, which did not seem like a monster walking, but fighting instead?

And it was not just the noise of hunting, but the sounds of a fierce battle between equals!

Fights between large monsters were incredibly dangerous. These monsters could unleash wind, spit fire, and pour water... The ancient architecture in the city was so damaged directly because of these large beasts.

Considering this, Su Lun didn't take any chances and opened the vent to look outside.

A huge deformed monster came into view.

But what amazed Su Lun even more was the "opponent" fighting with the monster!

Initially, he thought it was two monsters fighting, but on a closer look...

The one making the monster constantly wail in pain was actually a few humans?!

On closer observation, Su Lun's eyes became fixated, filled with disbelief, "Can someone actually dare to target such an overclassed monster?"