Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 502 501: Illegal Modification Gathering

Inside the crane cabin, the two of them chatted idly while drinking beer.

"So, what you're saying is that there's been a high bounty posted in the black market, the adventure guild, and the bounty guild recently for that 'Urobolos Fragment'?"

"Yes! Just like you described to me, a special pattern of a tail-eating snake. The bounty is very high, currently over a million crowns just for providing effective clues. Whoever is behind this bounty doesn't seem to care about being noticed; they're very conspicuous."

"Tsk tsk... this is obviously fishing for something."

"..."

As soon as Su Lun heard that someone had once again posted a bounty for the 'Urobolos Fragment,' he knew it was definitely a death trap.

He had considered such a direct method of posting a bounty before.

But then he dismissed the idea.

Because this could place him in great danger!

The fundamental reason was that the fragment's grade was extremely high, and only top-notch powerhouses could make use of it.

Even the 'War Angel Wings' Su Lun had given to Number 19 recently, he could more or less discern some mechanics of it and knew it was a fragment of a Divine Artifact.

But as for the piece of the ring, Su Lun was completely baffled.

The transcendent rules remaining on it were beyond even someone as skilled as Mr. Jing.

However, the All-Seeing Eye had detected a hint of "primordial substance's aura," which suggested that this fragment was not an ordinary Divine Artifact piece.

It's normal for the Alchemy plane to have left behind many ancient treasures.

Whoever finds them earns themselves a great fortune.

But now, there was a huge problem.

Only two kinds of people would post a direct bounty.

The first kind, like Su Lun, who has a piece and wants to find the other pieces;

The second kind knows the function of this piece;

Regardless of the motive, as soon as someone finds the person behind the bounty, they could immediately gain one of the above results.

Thus Su Lun didn't dare post a bounty, afraid that others would trace it back to him.

And the current situation was even more dangerous.

If it were just a Big Shot from the Mafa Empire looking, it would be one thing, but what they were afraid of were those "true connoisseurs."

For example, the angelic planes!

From the intelligence gathered so far, the main purpose of those invading the plane now was to search for treasures.

Moreover, they had received high-level directives to look for certain specific "super-grade treasures."

If, as Su Lun guessed, this 'Urobolos Fragment' was not a common Divine Artifact,

then it's possible it had caught the attention of a certain deity.

Tsk tsk, being the focus of a deity's attention is no laughing matter.

Even with the slightest possibility, Su Lun didn't want to get involved with such karma.

...

Hearing Su Lun's explanation, Number 19 also realized the peril, murmuring, "No wonder you said not to get involved. So it was like this. Then it seems no one will take that bounty."

Su Lun added, "Not necessarily. After all, the fragment came from Mafa, and it's likely from some ancient ruins. Some adventurers might accidentally know some intelligence about it, but they are not aware of the significance of the fragment. However, if someone really gets lured by the bounty, I'm afraid they're in for bad luck..."

As he spoke, his mind became more active.

With three-quarters of the fragment in his hands, Su Lun was also curious about the whereabouts of the remaining part.

Initially, he was wary of being targeted, so he didn't dare to search too conspicuously.

However, now that someone else had done what he didn't dare to do, the situation was different.

Almost all the top echelons of the two great empires knew about the interdimensional invasion; to offer a bounty so brazenly now could only lead to one conclusion.

That is, the person behind the bounty is almost certainly an invader from the heavenly planes!

And coincidentally, Su Lun had sufficiently accurate intelligence on those invaders.

From the information extracted before, there is at least half a year left before the spatial channel could withstand the arrival of eighth-rank professionals.

This means that the invaders in the plane are no higher than seventh rank for now.

Provided he doesn't encounter Saint Heir Frank or someone favored by the gods, the situation should not be a big problem for Su Lun's current strength.

With thoughts racing through his mind, Su Lun immediately thought of a plan, continuing, "I plan to find an opportunity to get in touch with the person who posted the bounty..."

Number 19, listening, nodded as well, "Then shall we go to a gathering tonight?"

Su Lun nodded, "Alright."

.....

To the east of Kabtron lies the endless Monster Mountains.

Goldview Outpost is the last human town before entering the Monster Mountains.

It is a paradise for adventurers and speculative merchants, bustling all year round.

Right as Su Lun arrived in the Mafa Empire, an adventure group named "Old Blacksmith's Adventure Group" also returned fully laden.

Buck Ferguson, the young proprietor of the Blacksmith Group, and the old butler Claude had just completed a task for the Bounty Guild and came out.

Walking on the road and seeing no one else around, Book excitedly shared his recent discovery, saying, "Oh, Claude, did you see the most popular reward on the bounty list? Goodness, someone is offering a million kroner for information? That pattern, isn't it exactly like the 'Ouroboros Totem' we saw in the mountain dwarf tribe of Giant God Mountain?"

The old butler advised with a hint of earnestness, "Young Master Book, I think we'd best steer clear of that bounty. The leader has always reminded us that we must never divulge any information about the dwarf tribe. Otherwise, it would bring trouble to the mountain dwarves and also affect our future trade routes."

Ordinary adventurers enter the mountains to hunt monsters, completing bounty guild tasks to collect some rare materials.

But what others don't know is that the old blacksmith group had another way to make a fortune.

Because the leader "Blacksmith" Yale Ferguson once saved an injured dwarf in the Monster Mountains by chance, he gained the friendship of the mountain dwarves.

Since then, whenever their wild hunt group went to the territory of the mountain dwarf tribe, they were always able to exchange some daily necessities for the dwarves' precious ores and some excellently forged armor and weapons. The profits were very substantial.

Because Ferguson was sufficiently low-key and not greedy, this money-making channel has never been cut off.

Over the last ten years, the Ferguson group also made a good deal of money, which is why we now have the moderately famous "Old Blacksmith Adventure Group."

Book didn't take any of this to heart, his young face full of ambition, he lifted his chin and said, "My father is just too cowardly! A few dozen barrels of beer worth no more than ten thousand kroner can be exchanged for a stash of ore worth hundreds of thousands. If it were me, I would bring more things to those stupid dwarves and exchange for all the good stuff hidden in their caves. It won't be long before our blacksmith group makes a fortune. Instead of remaining a small adventure group for so many years!"

The old butler shook his head and said, "The dwarf tribe does not like to interact with humans, precisely because they think humans are too greedy. Young Master, I don't think it's good for you to have such thoughts. The master says the dwarves' simplicity is not stupidity. They do not like dealing with humans who are too cunning. Anyone with ill intentions will lose the friendship of the dwarf tribe..."

"..."

Book obviously did not take the old butler's words to heart.

At this moment, the million kroner bounty was the only thing on his mind.

Just a message worth a million, and they're not even being asked to risk anything, so why not earn this money?

...

In the evening, as night fell.

The skies of Capitron could show a very beautiful sunset.

But for the people living in the lower layers of the city, evening meant night had arrived.

Because the lower layers were completely blocked from sunlight, lit only by brilliant red and blue lights.

"Vroom vroom..."

"Vroom vroom..."

The steam engines of the motorcycles roared, and the headlights were turned on.

Su Lun made himself comfortable in the back seat without hesitation, the motorcycle modified by Number 19 had performance far superior to anything he'd ever worked on.

He wasn't familiar with the path either, so he simply settled down as a passenger.

Laying back, the motorcycle sped through the alleyways into the distance.

The location of tonight's "Illegal Modification Gathering" was in the suburban wilderness, they still needed an hour to get there.

Su Lun held onto Number 19's delicate waist all the way, admiring the street scenery leisurely. The key thing was he could free up his thoughts to deal with work in the little void realm.

He had previously extorted six hundred tons of "Activated Silver" from the Moses family, and now he was always busy.

If he wanted to convert these materials into combat strength quickly, he would need to rush and turn the materials into stone gargoyles.

Just one night had passed, and the war workshop already had the prototypes for thirty stone gargoyles.

This was the benefit of having a war factory.

The mechanics saved Su Lun a great deal of time.

In the past, the stone gargoyles were purely hand-crafted by him, consuming a great deal time and effort.

But now, with the mechanized assembly line and precise carving molds in place, thirty stone gargoyles could be formed almost flawlessly and quickly. And most of the basic rune engraving, plating, and magic part installations could be done by machines.

However, the most important high-level rune inscriptions still had to be done by Su Lun himself as those compound rank six and seven runes were beyond what the machinery could accomplish.

This was a time-consuming and laborious process.

Before long, the motorcycle had already left the urban district.

Outside was pitch darkness.

There were no roads left beyond the city, just a muddy wilderness.

It's not that Mafa didn't have the wealth to build roads, but rather because the motor vehicle modifications in the capital were too advanced. No road could withstand the beating from those steel beasts.

They were paved, they deteriorated, and so they just stayed deteriorated.

Instead, these rough roads were even more to the taste of those motor vehicle modification enthusiasts.

Because it was time to compete in motor vehicle performance.

Not long after leaving the city, more and more lights could be seen on the wilderness. They were from mechanics coming from all over the city to attend the gathering.

Racing was a tradition.

A group of people shouted excitedly, speeding wildly across the wilderness, so fast they practically took flight.

Su Lun had previously heard that it was an hour's drive to the meeting site and thought it was only a few dozen kilometers.

Now he realized he was wrong.

With this speed, one hour's drive was at least two to three hundred kilometers!

Number 19's driving skills were excellent, and the motorcycle was superbly modified; Su Lun almost felt no bumps on the road.

However, there wasn't much jolting, but there were quite a few takeoffs.

Dozens of meters of cliff, they just charged off it, and then the steam boiler jet cushioned them, landing smoothly.

Su Lun thus witnessed the craze of Mafa's people for vehicle modification.

Although this speed posed no danger to him, it was brutal for those ordinary mechanics of the first and second ranks.

What concept is a motorcycle collision at a speed of three hundred kilometers per hour?

Even with a mechanical body, it would still be a mix of steel, blood, and flesh minced together.

Fortunately, as long as they didn't die on the spot, it wasn't a big problem for this group of passionate mechanics.

This was also one of the most important reasons why mechanical prosthetic modifications were so popular in Mafa.

After racing for half an hour,

the lights around gradually increased.

Various motorcycle gangs, armored vehicle parties, and streams of traffic converged.

Wheel-type, caterpillar-type, insectoid multi-legged types, twin-legged mechanical giants... all sorts of strange and unusual vehicles appeared.

Su Lun truly witnessed the level of civilian mechanical engineering in Mafa.

Yet, the real shock was still to come.

In the distance, on a dark wasteland, it was as if someone had ignited a "bonfire."

But as Su Lun drew closer on his motorcycle, he realized that what he saw was the gathering spot.

Dozens of large steam castles emitting plumes of white smoke had assembled together, forming a huge mechanical town.

A moving market comprised entirely of mechanical castles!

The town was ablaze with light, teeming with shadows, a bustling and prosperous sight.

...

Arriving at the destination, Number Nineteen parked the motorcycle in a designated parking area.

This place was already filled with several hundred various motorcycles.

Su Lun looked up at those towering mechanical castles, as high as city walls, easily thirty to fifty stories tall, his eyes shining with awe.

Rust-streaked steel plates were joined together with large rivets, their giant turrets like the ferocious fangs of these steel beasts, dense boiler pipes belching thick smoke nonstop, and the roaring sounds of the colossal steam boilers were ceaselessly manic. These mechanical castles still retained the triangular spires of traditional Mafa Empire architecture.

Names painted sporadically with oil like "Nathan's Mobile Castle," "Wanderer's Shelter," "Black Water Adventure Group GT-003," "Thomson Commerce's Mechanical Modification Shop" covered each mechanical castle...

Seeing these names, Su Lun understood the uses of these mechanical castles.

He thought of his own "Sky Battle Fortress."

If possible, he too wanted to recruit a group of top mechanics for his war workshop.

Seeing Su Lun interested in the mechanical castles, Number Nineteen explained, "These mechanical castles belong to various adventure groups, civilian organizations, and trade guilds. Because they often include wanted criminals, wanderers, exiles, and such, they prefer to cluster at these kinds of gatherings rather than enter cities."

Pausing, she continued, "Don't underestimate these civilian mechanics; among them, there are many masters, including some of the Empire's top mechanics."

"Oh?"

Surprised by this, Su Lun spoke.

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Such civilian gatherings seemed lively but appeared rather low-end at first glance. Why would top mechanics come here?

Reading his puzzled expression, Number Nineteen explained, "These gatherings often feature valuable items from ancient ruins brought by adventurers. Moreover, not everybody likes war. The Mechanic Alchemy Guild houses a group of top free mechanics, who even the Magic Emperor of Mafa wouldn't dare disregard. The guild often criticizes some of the royal family's decisions as 'stupid' in the newspapers..."

Although Su Lun knew some intelligence, he was surprised, "That powerful?"

In Ruying, who would dare offend the royal family?

That was a capital offense punishable by the gallows.

"Yeah. The Mechanic Guild holds a very high status in Mafa," she explained.

Number Nineteen then smiled and began to describe the historical background of this phenomenon, "Initially, the old Mafa Empire was overthrown under the leadership of two great grandmaster mechanics. One of them, Quinton J. Harris, was the founding emperor of the Mafa Mechanical Empire; the other was Lucien Pepys Grandmaster, who established the 'Mechanic Alchemy Guild.' As close as brothers, after the establishment of the empire, one went to govern the country, while the other devoted himself to pure academic research. As a result, the Alchemy Guild has a very special status in the empire, with great influence."

Listening, Su Lun finally understood.

Beforehand, he had mostly been in touch with military news from Mafa, but now he realized that civilian life was also full of interesting aspects.

Number Nineteen added, "Let's go, we'll take a look inside. If you want to trade some special intelligence, this is a better place than the black market in the city... and with a bit of luck and a good eye, you might even find some real treasures."

Su Lun nodded.

...

Although it was an illegal gathering, in reality, it was an officially tacitly endorsed event for civilian mechanics to exchange information.

Not because of anything else but because some mechanics were simply too dangerous.

With the presence of the Mechanic Alchemy Guild, civilian mechanical technology did not necessarily fall short of the military's, it was just that their research directions differed.

Put simply, "civilian masters" were quite common.

Some crazed scientists would outfit their mechanical bodies with extremely dangerous features and enjoyed conducting risky experiments that could blow up several streets. Conflicts over transactions could also erupt into brawls, causing commotion akin to large-scale warfare.

There had been several such accidents in the Imperial City resulting in heavy casualties.

Hence, the officials classified these gatherings as illegal and drove those dangerous individuals to the outskirts.

And so these kinds of assemblies gradually formed.

Number Nineteen led Su Lun up a mechanical hoist and into the interior of the mechanical town.

Aside from the streets being a bit narrower, it was just like a bustling town.

In the city, one might occasionally see one or two out of ten normal people, but here, almost one hundred percent were fitted with mechanical prosthetic modifications.

Moreover, these individuals had a strong punk fashion style, with flamboyant cockscombs, lip and nose rings, smoky makeup, studded leather jackets, mechanical limbs...

Many women were wearing incredibly daring outfits, with those fully transparent raincoats being considered clothing as well.

He sensed that the gathering had attracted at least tens of thousands of people.

In Mechanical City, setting up a stall was not prohibited, so various small vendors could simply spread a cloth on the ground to display their goods.

They sold everything—mechanical limbs, blueprints, treasure maps, ores, fuel, monster materials, firearms...

After the discovery of the Goblin mechanical alchemy civilization that changed the fate of the Mafa Country a hundred years ago, numerous ancient mechanical ruins were found one after another.

As Su Lun walked past, he did indeed find many interesting items.

[TL-767 Six-Cylinder Steam Boiler][Fire God IV-Type Ejection Mechanical Arm][Max Fourth Generation Laser Cutting Artificial Eye]...

Even some second-hand military surplus used to crush the high technology of Lu Ying.

And these were the most popular goods at the market.

Because of their high and stable military quality, they were more suitable for modification.

Also, Mafa's traditional professions had already declined, so many treasures needed for traditional alchemy were neglected here.

As Su Lun walked along, he scooped up many good deals at beautiful prices.

The assembly town made of piecemeal Mechanical Castles was not large in area, but with more than ten stories up and down, there were many stalls.

In the center of the town, inside a steel net cage, two boxers with modified mechanical arms were sparring, attracting shouts from the surrounding crowd.

Amidst the noise, Agent Nineteen and Su Lun walked through the crowd and visited an intelligence dealer.

Indeed, they saw that million-bounty reward.

And the pattern on that bounty was the complete design of the [Urobolos Fragment]!

...

After browsing around the intelligence dealer's place, the two of them headed down.

Walking on the iron staircase, a playful look appeared in Su Lun's eyes as he pondered, "So that's what the full fragment looks like..."

Seeing that million-bounty, he was even more certain that the mastermind behind it was from beyond the Angel realm.

Because if he hadn't seen the bounty pattern, he himself wouldn't have known what his own fragment looked like when complete.

Su Lun did not intend to expose himself voluntarily, so he and Nineteen casually roamed the market, buying things.

He was in no hurry.

Because he speculated that since the people from the Angel realm had put up a bounty, there would definitely be someone nearby waiting for news.

After all, a "million-bounty" was a big deal, and many meddlers would try their luck, real news or not.

Those people from the Angel realm would surely come to handle it.

As expected!

It wasn't long before two very unique spiritual fluctuations suddenly appeared in his perception and headed straight for the intelligence dealer.

As Su Lun rummaged through a small stand, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he thought to himself, "They've come!"

Mechanical fighters were generally of lower ranks; their soul fluctuations were typically that of first or second-level practitioners. But Mages require training in spiritual power, so the soul fluctuation of a seventh-level Mage immediately stood out in this mechanical marketplace, easily distinguishable from the rest.

Agent Nineteen caught the fleeting anomaly in Su Lun and guessed that she had waited for some useful news.

Without saying much, the two continued to roam around.

After half an hour, Su Lun sensed those two individuals leaving the market.

He thought about it and said to Nineteen beside him, "They're gone. I'm going to take a trip."

This was a good opportunity.

Su Lun also wanted to know what information those from the Angel clan held and why they were looking for the [Urobolos Fragment].

Hearing his tone, Nineteen sensed that he wanted to go alone and frowned, asking, "Are they strong?"

Su Lun said, "Two seventh-level Mages."

"Seventh-level?"

Nineteen's brows furrowed even more; they were formidable enemies.

At least, she felt she didn't stand much of a chance against them, let alone two.

This made her even more puzzled. She asked cautiously, "Are you confident?"

Looking at her, Su Lun spoke calmly, "If the enemy doesn't have some special ability, it shouldn't be a big problem."

"..."

Nineteen looked at Su Lun, her expression growing more bizarre.

Even though she had seen in the newspapers that her comrades had all become very strong, Su Lun's casual "it shouldn't be a big problem" seemed off to her.

The enemies were two "seventh-level" Mages!

She asked, "What rank are you now?"

Su Lun replied offhandedly, "Sixth-level."

"..."

Nineteen gave him a side glance, her look becoming even stranger.