Mechanical Alchemist

The Oliver family suffered heavy losses this time, and Young Master Danze was furious.

The five major financial camps in the camp joined forces, determined to capture the rampant "SS most-wanted criminal Su Lun," with the search operations growing larger and louder by the day.

In the following period, Su Lun would switch hotels every two to three days to make himself look more like an ordinary Scavenger and avoid being targeted by the sharp-eyed intelligence personnel due to staying too long in one place.

Even so, he had encountered several room checks.

But no issues arose.

In the vast expanse of memories harvested by Su Lun, there existed numerous identities that could withstand scrutiny and questioning.

He even forged various identity documents to match his false identity, and the inspectors never spotted any flaws.

Although he frequently moved residences, Su Lun actually spent most of his time indoors at the hotels and hardly ever went out.

He didn't visit the Scavenger's Guild, nor the marketplaces, nor the taverns...

The battle from last time had harvested too much knowledge, and he needed a lot of time to digest what he had gained.

Finally, after causing a stir for half a month, various other criminals were caught in abundance, but he was not.

The commotion eventually died down.

....

On this day, room 301 at the Rose Hotel.

The small room was filled with various books and tools.

Since he almost completely replaced sleep with meditation, Su Lun simply used the bed as a shelf, stacking it with various scrolls and research materials.

Mr. Hei had previously given him a set of beginner's books from Black Tower Academy, which he had been progressing through slowly. Without guidance, those arcane pieces of knowledge required a lot of time to comprehend and understand.

But after the battle last time, having harvested the fragments of over a hundred elite inner city residents, those basic information almost completely filled the gaps in Su Lun's knowledge base in the lower alchemy domain.

But memories tend to fade on their own, especially those harvested ones that were not very profound.

Su Lun didn't want to waste these precious knowledge pieces, so during this half-month, he frequently referred to the books to cross-reference and deepen impressions, truly imprinting the knowledge in his mind.

Not just various pieces of knowledge.

After harvesting the memories of the Puppet Master Laoye, Su Lun's own level in crafting tricky dolls had also greatly increased.

Looking back, except for the "Black Hole Doll" that Mr. Hei helped make, all the tricky dolls he had crafted himself seemed too crude.

The last battle also gave him a lot of inspiration,

Now, Su Lun planned to create a batch of new, combat-appropriate advanced tricky dolls.

...

In the not so spacious room, a large blue luminous cross covered the entire room in the sky.

From the cross, several strands of silver wires hung down, holding seven or eight feet-off-the-ground flesh-colored puppets. The room was also strewn with some unfinished hands, feet, and floating carving tools, creating a very eerie scene.

Su Lun came back and carefully compared the scroll, also discovering the missing parts of "Puppet Theater" in his memories.

He would then spend some time every day practicing to improve his proficiency in this Puppet Master secret technique.

Even though it was a one-person room, often there appeared to be a group of people "dancing."

....

At this moment, Su Lun was intently installing the third head on a tricky doll.

At the same time, he was using his spider-like multi-arms to control the carving tools, shaping, and engraving runes into four or five of those yet-to-be-formed wooden figures...

He alone was simultaneously working on the crafting of seven or eight dolls.

Busy,

Meticulously organized.

Su Lun was dressed in coarse work clothes, and his face was already dyed rainbow-colored by various paints.

Just then,

there was a crisp "click."

Su Lun furrowed his brows slightly.

Having just tried using silk thread, the moment the magical pattern activated, the head of the newly made three-headed doll suddenly dropped off and rolled across the floor to a considerable distance.

Su Lun didn't even glance at the rolling wooden head; the silk thread hanging from the crucifix above had already entangled it and brought it back to the workbench.

It was as if all the silk threads in the room were his "hands."

"Failed again huh..."

Holding the broken part of the puppet, Su Lun furrowed his brow and mused, "It seems three heads are already the limit; more heads would impact the structural stability, and cause the runes and enchantments to interfere with each other..."

He analyzed the cause and detailed it in a notebook beside him.

Probably feeling a bit tired after this failure, Su Lun did not continue his puppet research.

Once the spell was withdrawn, the crucifix on the ceiling disappeared, and all the silk threads in the room vanished without a trace.

The eight-armed Spider Spear also put down its work, busily gathering up various materials and semi-finished products.

"Phew..."

Su Lun slowly exhaled a deep breath and stood up to stretch his joints.

He looked at the seven or eight complete trickster dolls lined up against the wall and revealed a satisfied smile, saying to himself, "The commonly used second-tier runes are almost mastered, and the success rate of the trickster dolls is steadily increasing. All the 'Nightmare Dolls' are engraved with second-tier runes; they will even strongly affect high-ranking professionals in the future..."

Suddenly, a light smirk appeared in his eyes, "Tsk tsk, if these advanced dolls were used to perform 'Hundred Guile Nightwalk,' I doubt many second-tier professionals could handle it..."

The current trickster dolls, both in strength and effect, were no longer comparable to those from half a month ago.

If the Hundred Guile were to emerge all at once, Su Lun felt he even had the power to confront the pursuers he faced back then head-on. Your next read awaits at empire

This was truly a puppet army that posed a threat to high-ranking professionals.

However, there was still one issue unresolved.

Thinking of something, he furrowed his brows again and muttered, "The limit of multitasking has been reached; this is a big problem..."

....

Su Lun now had no shortage of trickster dolls or control methods; witch's hair could perfectly solve the problem of silk thread entanglement.

Even after mastering the 'Puppet Theater,' the quantity and efficiency of puppet control had greatly increased.

But that problem remained unsolved.

He found not only him, but all Puppet Masters faced this dilemma, even Lloyd who was known as the "Puppet Master" was no exception.

That is the issue of the "actual" number of puppets that can be controlled.

Su Lun was now very proficient in the technique of multitasking, having nearly reached the limit of his ability to divide his attention.

He could control seven or eight puppets simultaneously, making them as flexible and versatile as real people, achieving 100% control;

But if the number of puppets increased to over ten, the completion rate of actions would probably reach about 70%;

Exceeding twenty, the completion rate of actions would only be below 40%;

And when simultaneously controlling one hundred, he could almost only perform simple actions, such as changing direction, spewing fire...

The previous 'Hundred Guile Nightwalk,' strictly speaking, wasn't a finished spell,

more accurately, it was Su Lun's future career plan direction.

Now when he took it out, it still seemed like a gimmick that relied on quantity to intimidate.

Even when using the "Puppet Theater," it seemed he could precisely control countless puppets. But in reality, the number he could control precisely was still bound by this "distraction limit."

Su Lun knew where the problem lay.

Because he had a data panel, he had observed a pattern long ago. That was, as spiritual power increased, this "distraction limit" also gradually increased.

But it wasn't entirely proportional.

Su Lun theorized that the amount of spiritual power and its efficiency both affected this "distraction limit."

To solve this problem, he felt an urgent need for a secret technique of spiritual power cultivation.

Moreover, reaping over a hundred people last time was exhilarating, but he also clearly felt that if he continued absorbing without control, he was probably not far from losing control mentally.

....

Su Lun didn't continue to stay in his hotel room. Instead, he tidied up and planned to go out to gather some information.

In over half a month's time, the commotion he had caused last time had mostly calmed down.

Recently in the camp, there was a new topic of conversation.

That was the "Scavenger Frenzy" had arrived!

It was news from a month ago, but it had only reached underground in the past few days.

It was said that Mr. Hei from the black tower had issued an order, requiring the major families in the inner city to dispatch elite teams to Scavenge.

And not just elite teams.

To prevent those big families from disobeying in secret, the Duke issued a direct order, requiring those prominent families to send their primary heirs to the Dawn Relic.

This move had a very clear effect.

To protect the safety of their precious young masters and misses, those lords and ladies had to send their strongest security teams over.

This one order mobilized a large number of high-level professionals to Scavenge, including second and even third tiers!

Not following?

The next day, the family would be gone.

In the lordship system of Old Lington, the Duke's Mansion held undeniable authority.

Thus, during this time, the population at Dawn Relic Camp surged massively.

Those luxuriously dressed young masters and misses, with their lavish trusted aide teams, arrived one after another. There were also maids, butlers, servants, a massive force of tens of thousands, which completely overwhelmed the entire Scavenger camp.

....

With the camp so lively, Su Lun couldn't stay put anymore and naturally planned to take a look.

As soon as he stepped out of his room, he saw a freckle-faced noble miss scolding her butler in the corridor.

On the side, there was a group of over ten heavily armed bodyguards.

"This damned place, with such poor accommodation, can't even rent a suite with a bathtub? Without a bathtub, how am I supposed to bathe every day? Butler Albert, don't worry about money, can you find me a decent suite?"

"Oh~ Miss Sofia, it's not a matter of money. The conditions here in the camp are just like this. Even Miss Kunna of the Edward family, who arrived a day earlier than us, just found a single room half the size of yours. If it weren't for the fact that the owner of this Rose Hotel is a friend of the master, we wouldn't even have this room …"

"Kunna's room is even smaller than this?"

"Absolutely! Also, the young master from the Campbell family who came the day before missed the arranged room at 'Ironsmith Inn' and has been camping out for two nights already. Now wanting to go back, that room is already overflowing. Oh, you probably wouldn't like the living conditions of the 'Ironsmith Inn,' because it's truly terrible, ten times worse than here... at least ten times! Miss, why don't you settle here for now, and I'll look again to see if I can find something better..."

"Hmph..."

The haughty freckle-faced miss, hearing that her equal peers had even worse living conditions, slightly eased her resistance.

At that moment, she happened to see Su Lun, dressed for Scavenging, leaving his room.

The arrogant neck, which resembled that of a rooster, immediately rose up, displaying a look of disdain, "I actually have to share a lodge with filthy Scavengers! Oh, dear, just kill me..."

After her complaint, she dived into her room.

Then, with a "bang," the door was forcefully slammed shut.

Clearly, the young lady was not pleased.

The butler also spotted Su Lun and suddenly lit up as if he had found a treasure; he hurried over and said, "Sir, if I may be so bold to ask, could you let us have your room? As you can see, there are too many people from our company, and accommodation is quite inconvenient... Of course, as a generous compensation, I am willing to pay ten times the room rate..."

His tone was still polite, but Su Lun also patiently listened until he had finished.

No wonder, despite having a "Do Not Disturb" sign, the staff still knocked on the door to announce a temporary price increase, almost ten times what it was half a month ago.

So, this was how the room prices were being driven up.

But he had no intention of transferring his room and replied, "Sorry, there are also quite a few people in my room."

Saying this, he paid no more attention to these people and directly left downstairs.

....

Having not gone out for two days, the campsite's streets were bustling with people.

When Su Lun came out, the streets were filled with various young masters and misses, each accompanied by a standard entourage of butlers, servants, and a group of guards.

Young masters and misses from top families like the Rhaeyce family had already received some news and had arranged for personnel to come over and secure accommodations in advance; they had no issues with housing.

The slightly lesser families' young masters faced bigger problems.

Luxury hotels were already fully booked, and they had to settle for the cheaper lodges previously used by Scavengers. Rooms like the ones Su Lun had stayed in, with private bathrooms, were particularly hard to come by.

This surely made those delicate young masters and misses suffer terribly; one could see various butler-like figures inquiring at lodges and then coming out looking dejected.

As Su Lun walked, he encountered yet another group.

Glancing over, the plump young master in the group looked somewhat familiar, so he took a closer look.

"Young Master Charlie, oh, you are so lucky... I managed to book a luxury suite for you! That was Mrs. Melinda from the Ackermann family who helped you get it..."

"Hey, hey, hey, I say, Old Franz. Accommodation is a minor issue. Have you contacted the Scavenger groups I wanted? The ones with real pioneering experience! You wouldn't really think that the Duke sent us to the relic just to tour and stay, would you?"

"Young Master Charlie... this... I went to the Scavengers Guild before, and all the major Scavenger groups on record have already been hired. I only managed to hire two mid-sized Scavenger groups..."

"Oh dear, Mr. Franz, then what are you still doing here? Hurry, go camp out at the city gate. Watch for any Scavenger groups returning, and immediately sign an employment contract with them! No matter the cost, within five days, I want to hear that you have hired at least three Scavenger groups led by second-tier professionals!"

"Yes, young master..."

The old butler, scolded into meekness, handed over the key and then went off dejectedly toward the city gate.

The plump young master looked at the key in his hand, his face full of worry, and he sighed as he entered the lodge.

Su Lun looked at the big plump man, initially only feeling a sense of familiarity, but now, hearing this way of doing things, he immediately confirmed it.

Wasn't this the same chubby Charlie who had bribed him back in the cave?

"Heh heh..."

Seeing this guy's strong desire to survive, Su Lun smiled.

But, his worries weren't unreasonable.

At least Su Lun agreed with his point.

The Duke's mansion definitely didn't send them here for a vacation.

Seeing this familiar face, Su Lun raised an eyebrow, and suddenly a black-haired girl popped into his mind.

If every major family's first heir had to come, then... was little Rena also coming?

Without lingering, Su Lun decided to first visit the Scavengers Guild.