Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun looked at Sabina, who pouted and sat contently in his arms as if no one else was around, feeling quite helpless.

Although she was his contracted maid, except for being attentive in the beginning when they first met, she became increasingly "presumptuous" as they grew more familiar.

She truly understood the temperament of her master and always teased him just right.

And Su Lun didn't find anything wrong with it.

After all, his succubus maid was indeed a peerless beauty that was impossible to fault.

It's just... this coffee shop seems to be a public place!

While their spot was in a corner, the coffee house still had other people in it.

Sabina saw the way Su Lun glanced around and understood immediately. With a slight wave of her hand, a waiter promptly brought out a privacy screen to shield the corner. The screen was engraved with soundproofing charms, and in an instant, the corner was as if isolated into a small room.

She explained with a gleaming smile, "Master, I'm also one of the shareholders of this coffee shop, you know."

Su Lun wasn't surprised when he heard this.

As a professional intelligence agent, choosing this place to meet was surely primarily for security.

After speaking, Sabina hugged Su Lun's neck and nuzzled affectionately. Despite her mature and glamorous red-lipped look, she coquettishly put on the guise of a young girl, "Master, have you missed your most gentle and considerate maid~"

One should never doubt Sabina's taste in clothing; today, she wore a dark silver pencil skirt that perfectly accentuated her sexy and fiery figure.

The high-quality black stockings on her legs felt exquisite to the touch. These vintage garter belts with leather clasps were very popular among the ladies of high society in Lingdun. Along with her slightly plump figure, the mature allure was partially concealed yet partially revealed, tantalizingly so.

With a sidelong glance, she looked like a ripe peach, her juiciness seemingly about to spill out.

Since there was no one else around, she didn't care in the slightest if her sitting posture would cause any wardrobe malfunctions. Whether intentional or not, her pencil skirt rode up, perfectly exposing the lines of her buttocks, with the just-right glimpse of lace trim teasingly peeking out from the hem.

A bit more revealed would be too vulgar,

But a bit less would lack much allure.

She truly knew how to tease just enough.

The relationship between Su Lun and Sabina was anything but estranged. His fingertips grazed the fabric, shamelessly enjoying the delicate sensation, taking it as a response to her earlier question.

"I just knew Master had missed me," Sabina responded with heartfelt affection, her complexion flush and her face full of joy and a dreamy expression.

Having not seen each other for a while, she had so much to say, almost whispering into Su Lun's ear, "Oh, Master has become even more handsome~ When I read about the battle at Moross Federation in the newspaper, oh my, you have no idea how excited I was! I nearly wore out that paper, I guarantee I could recite every passage about you, Master..."

It seemed more like sweet nothings than catching up on old times.

Su Lun just felt his ear tickled by warm breaths.

But hearing those exaggerated descriptions in the newspapers, a wry smile yet again appeared on his lips.

For he had already heard it all in great detail from Lena's mouth before.

And he had heard quite a lot from Mr. Hei as well.

Knowing that there was serious business to attend to that night, Su Lun didn't dwell on the topic and directly asked, "Shall we get ready to go to the dance now?"

Upon hearing this, Sabina was not in the least bit hurried, "No rush. We still have an hour. This humble maid rushed over here just to see Master first."

Su Lun lifted his eyebrows as he listened, "Oh."

Sabina asked again, "Did Master bring me any gift~"

As she spoke, a sly glint passed through her coquettish beautiful eyes, and she said with a feigned sense of grievance, "Reina said she got hers. When I asked her just now, she even mentioned that Master left the apartment early this morning..."

Listening to this clearly suggestively teasing talk, Su Lun shook his head, not trying to hide anything. He took out an emerald gemstone ring that glittered brilliantly under the light.

It was also one selected from the spoils of war from the Sea Ruins, and it was very beautiful.

Su Lun had planned to give each person by his side a gift so that in the future he could find their locations anytime with directed displacement.

He said, "This is for you. It has space inscriptions on it, and if you wear it, I'll be able to sense where you are at any time."

"Oh, this is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen!"

Sabina gazed at the ring with genuine joy in her eyes.

Not to mention the emerald was a rare treasure in itself, but the meaning behind her master's gift made her extremely happy.

Su Lun wasn't intentionally going for something so grand, but after trying, he concluded that a gemstone of at least this size was necessary to engrave the complete spatial coordinates inscriptions.

Sabina certainly didn't mind.

Even if Su Lun had given her a rock, it would still be a priceless treasure in her eyes, and she would be very, very happy.

But at this moment, she didn't take the ring. Instead, she extended her fair and delicate hand with fingers spread and said in a soft, coquettish voice, "Sir, could you help me put it on?"

Su Lun looked at Sabina's expectant face and shook his head helplessly. Yet he didn't mind and slipped the ring onto the middle finger of her right hand, adding, "Alright, I've given the gift. Now let's discuss the important matters."

Some things weren't convenient to talk about over the communicator and naturally had to be said in person.

Su Lun knew very well that if he let her continue to fool around, they would certainly start playing with fire.

Once the ring was on, Sabina kept turning her hand over and over, her eyes filled with enchanting allure, growing more and more pleased with what she saw.

What made her happy was that she held a high place in her master's heart.

This was the happiness of feeling valued.

She didn't forget to discuss the important matters, saying, "My current identity is 'Countess Demacula,' a minor lord who lives as a widow in the White Stone Castle in the southern part of Anrogos County. Oh, my master, your identity is my personal physician. Obviously, our relationship is a very intimate one..."

"Oh."

Su Lun listened to the suggestive hint and smiled faintly.

Sabina continued to elaborate, "This identity needs attention to a few things..."

After her explanation, Su Lun also understood the entire process.

The tickets to the "Full Moon Ball" were difficult to obtain and required introductions from three veteran members.

This introduction system also eliminated almost all those with nefarious intentions, or those without family connections.

Usually, only the upper-class people from the Luying Empire with fixed property, traceable lineage for several generations, and a clear trail could join.

If a member got into any trouble, it would affect his introducers and their families as well.

This is why the Full Moon Ball has been running for so long without trouble and has grown even stronger.

Sabina, even with her great talent for intelligence, was on her own too weak to possibly get a ticket.

Fortunately, Mr. Jing's bloodline had been running an intelligence network for a few hundred years.

As soon as Sabina joined, she immediately had a plan.

The best identity was not a disguise, but a replacement.

The identity of "Countess Demacula" was a persona that Mr. Jing's bloodline had cultivated for many years, and now it had found its use.

It was solid and traceable.

Because of this identity, Sabina quickly integrated into Luying's high society and obtained a great deal of useful intelligence.

Su Lun was also very clear that Sabina was taking a great risk by taking him to the ball.

Should anything go wrong, she and the entire intelligence network behind her would suffer catastrophic repercussions.

Therefore, Su Lun also felt he should be more careful and cautious, trying not to give themselves away.

Oh, by the way, the intelligence organization to which Mr. Jing's bloodline and Sabina belonged was now using the name from the Old Lington era—Jing Organization.

...

Having nearly grasped all the necessary intelligence for the operation, Su Lun had no pressing matters to discuss.

He looked at Sabina and asked some idle questions, "Have you encountered any danger since you came to Lingdun? Or had some special experiences?"

"Yes."

Sabina thought for a moment and said calmly, "When I first arrived, my foundations were unstable, and I had several covert clashes with the people from Luying's military intelligence department. Those established intelligence organizations have a lot of resources and many experts; there were several times I almost got exposed..."

Su Lun's expression grew slightly stern as he listened.

Sabina always had an easy smile on her face, but the content of her words was anything but relaxed.

Intelligence work is always fraught with crisis—a single exposure could mean a life-threatening situation.

With a few understated sentences, Su Lun actually knew she had put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.

Sabina caught a glimpse of Su Lun's brief change in expression and knew that her master truly cared about her. Suddenly feeling that everything was worth it, she smiled and said, "But after Mr. Su Lun agreed, the leader took special care of me. Moreover, I found an alchemical outfit called 'Ancient Succubus Tail' in the castle of 'Blood Duke' Wazzhawaz. After merging with it, I even awakened my second-tier talent by luck. So, you don't have to worry too much, the chances of me getting exposed now are very, very low..."

Hearing her say this, Su Lun felt unexplainably relieved.

Out of curiosity, he asked, "What is the second-tier succubus ability?"

"It's..."

Sabina almost let it slip, then suddenly remembered something and with a sly sparkle in her eyes, she said, "I can't tell you for now. It's a surprise I've prepared for you, Master. I'll tell you after tonight's dance~"

"..."

Su Lun didn't think much of it after listening.

Looking at her demeanor, he could roughly guess that the second stage of succubus might have unlocked some very special abilities.

While talking, Sabina probably felt that sitting sideways on her master's lap was inconvenient, so she changed to a more intimate posture. Without a shred of shyness, she straddled and turned to face Su Lun squarely, kneeling on the couch.

At that moment, thinking of something, she complained, "I thought I had tried hard to become stronger. But compared to Master, I'm still too weak."

This posture was indeed much more convenient for Su Lun; his hands found a place to rest.

He sincerely complimented her, "You're already doing well."

"Not at all."

Sabina looked very serious and blinked, saying, "I need to become even stronger to keep up with Master's pace. So, Master also needs to whip me to work hard in cultivation~"

Su Lun smiled faintly and said nothing more.

He knew there was no need to worry about this issue; Sabina was very aware of her role.

In the future, he would grow stronger and stronger.

He would have no need for useless ornaments by his side.

Only strength would provide value to accompany him.

Moreover... there were shortcuts for a succubus to grow stronger.

Seeing Sabina's suggestive smile, how could Su Lun not understand?

Sabina had once said that succubus talents had a shortcut to improving strength: legend had it that ancient succubi were abyssal creatures by nature, usually choosing to serve powerful demon kings loyally for life, and they also had secret methods to enhance their prowess. The stronger the demon king, the stronger the servants would become as a benefit.

Her advancement to the third rank had once depended on Su Lun, her master.

Although Su Lun felt like he hadn't seen her in a long while and was quite interested in exchanging affections with his maid...

But... priorities first.

He couldn't help but say with a laugh and a cry, "Stop fooling around, there's serious business soon."

Sabina responded nonchalantly, "But... there's still an hour left."

Su Lun looked around the environment again and said, "This is a café."

Yet Sabina raised an eyebrow seductively, her eyes sultry as she teased, "Do you mind? Giggle..."

That chuckle, as though seeing through everything.

In the end, Su Lun could only helplessly shake his head and drop the subject.

...

Fifty minutes after the meeting.

Su Lun and Sabina appeared on the streets of Lingdun at night. They strolled along the walkway beside the Lokwarren River, admiring the riverside scenery as they walked.

The alluring night, the surging river flowing in the darkness, and occasionally a lighted boat passing over the water's surface.

The orange light from the gas lamps elongated their shadows, then shortened them, then elongated them again...

As night fell, many pedestrians also lingered by the lakeside, enjoying the cool breeze.

Both dressed in black coats, Su Lun and Sabina did not stand out among the crowd clad in dark attire.

The coat concealed Sabina's exquisite figure, hiding her myriad charms from the bystanders. She held Su Lun's arm affectionately, unable to resist teasing, "Sir, you've really become very powerful."

"Heh."

Hearing the double entendre, Su Lun's eyes narrowed, and he laughed without a word.

He had previously gone all out in several great battles in the Northern Sea, stripping away the law comprehension of several sixth-order professionals—Space Law, Strength Law, Water Elemental Law, and so on.

It could be said that his current level of law comprehension was no less than that of the vast majority of sixth-order professionals, and he had a variety of law comprehensions as well. He had almost everything one could need.

The secret cultivation method of a succubus like Sabina would also draw upon a portion of her master's insights and transform them into her own understanding. After this series of operations, it was probably like a hundred-year expert bestowing comprehension, which saved her a lot of detours.

But obviously, Sabina was referring to more than just that.

At this moment, her face still held a tempting flush of red as if intoxicated, and she said, "I had been stuck at the threshold of the fourth order for a long time. Now I suddenly feel like I understand the insights I was lacking, and I should be able to advance very soon. No, not just to the fourth order, fifth order, or even sixth order... I feel like I have touched upon some of them."

This was the demonic talent of a succubus; her own cultivation was not fast, but with a powerful Great Demon King as a master, she could immediately soar.

Besides, she had also been very diligent, and her foundation was solid.

Su Lun also said, "Having insights is good. If possible, try to comprehend your own 'dominance'. Now that you have awakened your two-stage talent, there is a high probability of advancing to the sixth order. Dominance will be an essential ability for you to become a top professional..."

He shared some of the professional advancement requirements Mr. Jing had once told him about.

He also shared some of his own experiences of comprehending dominance.

"Oh."

Sabina listened attentively.

After listening, she looked at Su Lun with spring in her eyes and added, "Master, you will be staying in Lingdun for the coming period, right? Then would it be fine for your servant to attend to your daily needs at your side? After all, my cultivation still depends on your guidance..."

Su Lun chuckled as he listened.

Sabina's charm technique was becoming more refined, a constant provocation that made one's heart race.

He did not linger on this topic but changed the subject, "I have prepared a Void Potion for you and a set of void-growing equipment suitable for you. After the fourth-order fusion, your teleportation ability will be significantly enhanced."

The talent of a succubus innately possessed some void abilities. After advancing with void materials this time, he didn't dare say how much her combat power would increase, but at least her survival ability would be very strong.

Hearing that there was a gift, Sabina clung to Su Lun's arm and cooed, "Thank you, Master~"

Su Lun found her intimate gesture a bit overwhelming and controlled his hormone secretion.

Reminding himself that important matters were at hand, he turned to her and said, "Are we just going to wait on the street like this?"

"Mhm."

Sabina nodded and said, "The request to attend the event has been sent. Someone will come to get us shortly."

"Oh."

Su Lun nodded, his mind also pondering the information about the Moon Dance soiree.

The two strolled by the riverside.

From the moment Sabina first saw Su Lun, the bright smile on her face had never faded.

She looked at Su Lun with a somewhat dazed look in her eyes, suddenly bringing up the topic again, "Sir, I told you the café was nice, didn't I?"

"?"

Su Lun was slightly startled, reflected for a moment, and then realized her question was clearly not about the taste of the café's coffee.

But something else.

He felt that he actually didn't have any particular fetishes.

But having just tried it out... it seemed... rather nice?

Having no issue admitting it, Su Lun raised an eyebrow and said, "Yeah. Pretty good."

Sabina, pleased with the response, glanced at the dark river path and said in a playful whisper, "Actually... this place is quite nice too."

With that, Su Lun couldn't help but sweep a glance over the area; the riverside had secluded thickets, just right for some very romantic activities under the dim moonlight.

Oh, my.

Was he actually seriously considering her suggestion, which seemed... a bit... absurd?

Su Lun suddenly felt that he might be led down a path of no return to "outdoor XX" by his succubus maid.

He cleared his throat and said firmly, "Important matters first!"

Sabina covered her mouth and giggled coyly, "Oh~"

Her eyes twinkled with a mischievous and alluring smile, "How about next time?"

It was a pity there wasn't enough time.

"..."

Su Lun intended to refuse uprightly.

But the words choked in his throat...

and then there was no more.

In certain respects, Sabina knew him better than he knew himself.

....

As night fell, the streets and alleys of Lingdun gradually fogged over.

While Su Lun and his companion walked by the riverside, right at the appointed time, the haze of the street mist revealed the glow of car lights.

A shiny black steam sedan pulled up to the curb.

Sabina, clinging to Su Lun's arm, said, "Sir, the car has arrived."

Su Lun nodded without any change of expression, scrutinizing the car.

As the car stopped, a driver in a black suit with white gloves stepped out and opened the door.

The two approached and got into the car.

There was no conversation between them throughout the entire process.

Once they were seated inside the carriage, Su Lun noticed that it was specially made, blocking almost all external senses. There was no sound and no reference points could be seen. The windows, cloaked in mist, were completely opaque, leaving no way to discern what lay outside. This meant that most professionals would be completely disoriented once they got inside the car.

Su Lun scanned the area with his All-knowing Eye but didn't notice anything unusual.

Although the sensory perception was limited, it had no effect on spatial perception.

Su Lun's comprehension of Space Law was already very high, which allowed him to clearly know they were heading south along the riverside street...

Oh, no.

They had now turned onto Baker Street.

Sabina, holding Su Lun's hand, explained, "The location of the ball changes each time. None of the guests know where it will be."

"Hmm."

Su Lun didn't say much in response.

If he were the organizer, such secrecy would indeed be necessary.

After all, the rulers of Old Lington would definitely not wish for such a powerful underground influence to exist.

The steam car drove very smoothly, as if it wasn't moving at all.

Su Lun himself was proficient in mechanical technology. He noticed that although the car appeared similar to an ordinary steam car, it actually contained many black technologies not available on the market.

To prevent the passengers from discerning their direction, first and foremost, the steering of the car must be extremely smooth.

At a minimum, the passengers inside the compartment should not feel any significant jolting.

This was nearly impossible for a regular steam car with ordinary rigid suspension given the less-than-perfect road conditions in Old Lington.

From this detail, Su Lun guessed that "Lord Ying," the alter ego, seemed to have mastered some secret military mechanical techniques, or perhaps some kind of ancient technology.

However, this did not prevent him from determining the route of the steam car.

The car drove around the city streets and alleys, through some special tunnels, and then directly out of the city.

...

It was over an hour before the car finally stopped.

"West outskirts of Lingdun City?"

Sensing his precise location, Su Lun murmured to himself.

At this moment, Su Lun and Sabina both put on masks provided by the organizers of the ball.

Listening to the "click" as the car door handle was opened from outside, a woman dressed in a sexy bunny girl outfit stood respectfully at the car door and said, "Welcome to the Full Moon Ball."

Su Lun glanced at the woman and suddenly felt she looked familiar.

She wasn't wearing a mask, had blond hair and blue eyes, an excellent figure, and a sexy beauty mark under one eye.

A moment later, Su Lun immediately recognized her as Susanna McPherson, the popular singer of Lingdun City, who fans affectionately called "Sweetie" – a pure and innocent singer.

He had seen her advertisements on billboards when he and Lena went to the Rolling Stone Bar, which is why he had some impression of her.

Could the rumors be true?

This billion-worth female superstar was high society in Emperor Luying too, yet she was only a greeter at this ball?

"Tsk tsk... the noble circle sure knows how to play."
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Su Lun silently marveled and looked no further.

He was more interested in where he was.

Looking around, it seemed that the car had stopped in a sealed underground garage.

At that moment, the bunny girl gestured toward the nearby staircase and said most respectfully, "Distinguished guests, please follow me this way."

Sabina elegantly hooked her arm through Su Lun's, signaling to follow the woman.

The three of them ascended the staircase, and the decorations suddenly became much more luxurious.

Before them was a corridor carpeted with a high-end carpet that cost tens of thousands per square meter, glittering with gold and luxury materials.

Every few meters on the wall hung a painting that at a glance was obviously the work of a master; upon appraisal, they were all originals!

These were high-end artworks that would fetch millions of Riso each at the Lingdun Auction House. That is to say, the decorations in this corridor alone were worth hundreds of millions!

After a few steps, the bunny girl led Su Lun and his companion into a small, equally luxurious room along the corridor, saying, "Our distinguished guests, please wait here for a moment. The ball will begin in half an hour. If you have any needs or requests, please let me know. I am your assigned attendant for this evening."

Having led the two inside, she also stayed in the room, then gently closed the door.

Sabina had been here before. Seeing Su Lun looking at the female attendant again, she introduced, "If Mr. Nicolas is interested in her, you can have her serve you here. You can even try any of the attendants you see at the ball later. This is a privilege that the organizers provide to their members..."

This was said in front of the bunny girl who, upon hearing it, didn't show any change of expression, but instead, smiled professionally, "It would be my honor to serve you."

Su Lun wasn't surprised by this, but he wasn't interested either.

What he cared more about was how to obtain the information he wanted from this ball.

Otherwise, the next one would be half a month away.

With the outbreak of "Red Death" and that parasite potion, who knows what could happen if he waited half a month...

...

Su Lun and Sabina chatted idly, and before they knew it, half an hour had passed.

Although the room isolated their perception, their Soul Perception and Space Perception were not restricted in the slightest.

Su Lun was aware that during their waiting time, several more groups of guests had arrived in the neighboring rooms, one after another.

Each group was skillfully spaced to avoid any unwanted encounters, waiting in their respective rooms.

Just then, the room trembled slightly for a moment.

It was akin to an earthquake.

Sabina obviously didn't know what was happening, a hint of confusion flickering in her eyes.

But Su Lun had already guessed that it was the noise of the airship taking off.

Because they were on a gigantic floating airship!

"Tsk tsk, 'Lord Ying' really has an extravagant reach. Wealth, power, technology, connections... just who is this illustrious person?"

While Su Lun maintained an impassive face, his mind was bustling with thoughts.

He had been sensing the space around him the whole time. The scale of this airship exceeded any steam-powered floating airship he had ever seen.

Su Lun was certain that no civilian airship would be of such an exaggerated volume.

And the only piece of information that matched the description of such an airship was the legendary secret weapon of the Emperor Luying military—the Gusmao airship!

A "Sky Mechanical Castle" said to fly by magnetic force, lighter than air itself!