Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun captured three mechanical octopuses, to everyone in the Dawn team, it was almost as surprising as if they had caught several "alien creatures."

The members who had not heard of neural mechanical technology had a hard time understanding how there could be steel monsters in the sea, not to mention how they could survive.

But looking at their silver-plated, luminescent skins, which could change color to hide, Su Lun truly felt like he'd stumbled upon a treasure.

It wasn't bad luck that he encountered them, it was incredibly good fortune!

Now that he thought about it, Archduke Raphael was reaching out quite long indeed.

This Duke, who seemed to be excluded from the core power circle of the Luying Empire, actually harbored great ambition and had already acquired the strength to directly confront King Oleg of the North Sea.

No, even the Luying royal family.

In the past, pirates pillaged unscrupulously, thinking that the steel naval vessels couldn't catch up to the fast-sailing pirate ships, nor reach Pirate City.

Now it seemed that the navy simply disdained to shoot at mosquitoes, awaiting the high-tech submarines of the Magic Empire.

Insurmountable barriers?

Nonexistent.

Even the chaotic wind belts and whirlpool regions surrounding Pirate City couldn't stop these mechanical octopuses that could swim in the deep sea.

Qian Tiao watched as Su Lun stored the three octopuses into his storage space and also saw some tricks, exclaiming in admiration, "These things seem quite remarkable."

"They are more than just remarkable,"

Su Lun explained excitedly, "In the sea, even fourth or fifth-tier professionals without countermeasures would hardly be a match for them. And they are perfect for destroying ships, with a clustering combat power that is very terrifying. This is top-notch technology that could change the course of future wars."

Qian Tiao listened, not quite understanding but still nodding in agreement.

If their methods hadn't precisely countered these mechanical octopuses and had the steel monsters reached the ships, even submarines could be sliced through, so what chance would wooden sailboats stand?

A powerful individual like Qian Tiao could kill them, but what if there were hundreds?

The entire sea area would be a boiling mass of mechanical tentacles, a terrifying image to even think about.

And besides, these were "small" ten-meter-long mechanical octopuses.

What about the hundred-meter or kilometer-long super beasts?

The design philosophy of this era was that bigger is better. The larger the mechanical monsters' size, the more substantial the defensive armor they could carry. As they grow, they become virtually invincible!

Su Lun would not be naïve to think that Duke Raphael hadn't thought of this.

He even suspected that Duke Raphael, apart from Old Lington, might have one or several "secret bases" dedicated to researching mechanical monsters and steel behemoths.

Su Lun had a premonition that now Duke Raphael had joined forces with the Raga family of the south, the conservative old guard at the top of the Luying Empire might suffer a great loss.

A storm was coming.

And this previously barren land of the four northern countries was really heating up lately.

Fortunately,

The critical "neural mechanical technology" wasn't unique to Raphael's household,

Su Lun understood it too!

Now with a sample of mechanical monsters, future research directions became clear, and he could avoid many mistakes.

...

Before long, the distant sounds of gunfire also suddenly ceased.

The battle ended quickly, far from what one would expect from a fight involving "Commodore-level" mechanical power suits comparable to fifth-tier professionals.

But Su Lun wasn't the least bit surprised.

For most Magic Empire mechanical suits, these soft-bodied mechanical octopuses were a perfect counter.

Once stuck, a mechanical suit could hardly utilize even twenty percent of its combat capabilities.

Moreover, since Duke Raphael's men chose to ambush, they must have been confident of success.

Su Lun, originally intending to check out the battlefield for a chance to scavenge, reconsidered.

If Duke Raphael had already extended his reach, then not only near the Rock Caiman Strait but also along the way to Pirate City, there would likely be mechanical monster troops.

This could even already be an "encirclement."

Su Lun's priority was to return to Pirate City to find Dr. Banks for treatment of the mutation, and he couldn't afford to be sidetracked. Otherwise, if encircled and "Dawn" was sunk, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Also, those who ambushed the Magic Empire submarines seemed very cautious.

After achieving their goal, the sea quickly returned to calm.

Presumably deeming the three disconnected mechanical octopuses had "self-destructed," no one followed up to investigate the situation.

The Dawn team sailed away without incident.

...

For caution's sake, the Dawn team didn't follow the original plan through the Rock Caiman Strait but took a great risk by making a large detour, opting for an alternate route. Although they encountered some extreme weather and actual sea monster attacks, fortunately, they came through unscathed.

In the following days, Su Lun was dedicated to figuring out how to control the mechanical octopuses.

The huge glass jar was filled with seawater, and he would occasionally feed the octopus, replenishing the necessary nutrients.

He carefully analyzed every detail of the mechanical octopus, removed the positioning tracker, and gradually became adept at controlling it.

The octopus itself was intelligent, with a highly developed and substantial nervous system, nearly as many neurons as mammals, and an intellect that wasn't inferior to many terrestrial and aquatic mammals.

This was also why Su Lun had previously thought that it was one of the most suitable templates for creating mechanical monsters.

The mechanical octopus was obviously trained and would have many conditioned reflexes like combat reactions when facing different situations.

He guessed that among those who hunted submarines, there must have been professionals akin to "Beast Tamers." They controlled mechanical octopuses by "technique," which required specific secret techniques and a long time to become familiar with.

But Su Lun didn't need anything so complicated at the moment.

He directly controlled the octopus' limbs with "Mental Tentacles." As long as he understood the octopus's nervous system well enough, he could control them as perfectly as if they were zombies.

Finally, they safely returned to Pirate City Hastur.

...

After the King of the North Sea was crowned, Pirate City became several times more bustling than before, thriving like a large territory.

Countless new pirates, harboring dreams of striking it rich, converged here from various seas, a jumble of good and bad.

The most direct manifestation of this was that the number of pirate ships at the docks of Golden City had multiplied several times over.

The docks were crammed with pirate ships of various specifications and ostentatious pirate flags adorned with skulls... What used to be almost free ship berthing now even had a charge.

The Dawn Group was not yet famous, so they could only squeeze in with a bunch of "subpar" pirate gangs on the periphery.

They didn't mind, having just captured three mechanical octopuses from the Magic Empire, and stowing their flags away, it was quite good to keep a low profile.

"Sister Qian, I'm going to find Dr. Banks first to deal with the anomaly. Be careful, there must be spies from Duke Raphael in this Pirate City."

"Mhm."

After the ship docked, it needed resupplying, and the crew wanted to spend some time relaxing. Qian was unable to contain her gambling urge that she hadn't indulged in for many days, her mind set on heading to the gambling dens to spend some money.

Su Lun didn't join them, as his anomalous state was getting worse.

After parting with everyone, he walked alone on the city's streets.

There were many more people in Golden City, and the streets were everywhere filled with people of various attire. Whereas before it was almost all slovenly pirates and sailors, now Su Lun saw some well-dressed, respectable people in the crowd?

Merchants, nobles, guards, Magic Empire navy, and so on...

Although not many, these sorts of people would not normally appear in Pirate City.

Moreover, surprisingly, the city was festooned with lanterns everywhere as if some big shot was getting married.

It was customary in Pirate City to hang red lanterns for festive occasions, and the lanterns were all over the city. Apart from Oleg, no one dared to put on such a grand display.

"Could it be Oleg, or perhaps, one of his children has just had a wedding?"

Su Lun looked at the grandeur that was obviously not just a small affair, and there were many displays that were clearly only for high-ranking nobles.

For instance, high-ranking nobles would throw coins to the common people in the streets during a wedding, there would be professional musicians performing on the streets for several days and the celebration would last for a long time...

"Is it possible that the King of the North Sea has made a marriage alliance with a significant noble from the Magic Empire?"

Su Lun speculated in his heart.

Marriage alliances were the most common method of political alliance.

In the current situation, there could be no one coming to form an alliance from the Emperor Luying's nobility, only from the Magic Empire.

However, he didn't bother to inquire further, as his priority was to find Dr. Banks.

Su Lun went to the middle area of the city and found an inconspicuous inn with a "Shark Hotel" sign.

With his senses, he detected some familiar faces from the "Steam Party" inside the inn.

He went upstairs, to room 206.

Knock, knock, knock!

Su Lun knocked on the door.

The door opened, and a person who looked like an aberrant monster stood there.

Su Lun greeted politely, "Dr. Banks, long time no see."

The monster smiled and said, "Indeed, long time no see, young friend Su Lun."

After a pause, he gestured, "Please come in."

....

There was clearly a barrier in the room; as soon as Su Lun entered, he smelled a pungent, strange odor.

This was a temporary laboratory, filled with various bottles, jars, and active equipment, and the shelves were crammed with manuscripts, books, bones of oddly-shaped creatures, and specimens of plants and animals.

But he was used to it because Su Lun himself often conducted similar experiments.

Dr. Banks had called him directly to meet in the laboratory, not treating Su Lun as an outsider, and he spoke with a tone full of apologies, "Sorry, I couldn't leave because of an experiment, so I asked you to come to the lab. It's a bit messy in here..." Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire

After a moment, he realized Su Lun's expression was off, he slapped his forehead and said, "Young friend Su Lun, you might need to wear a gas mask. Heating the rootstock of 'Gold Cloak Grass' releases trace toxins, which, while not affecting me, can cause anosmia in ordinary humans."

"No need."

Su Lun smiled and shook his head, "I feel okay."

This poison, aside from being pungent, actually didn't have much of an effect.

Dr. Banks seemed to recall something, then suddenly said, "Oh, I almost forgot, bodies modified by 'X Serum' can completely metabolize poisons of this level normally."

Su Lun just smiled noncommittally.

He was interested in Banks's experiments, and as he looked around the room, his eyes grew somewhat greedy. Several of the pieces of equipment were ones he needed but had not found a way to acquire, so he couldn't help but remark, "Dr. Banks has a lot of top-tier equipment here..."

Banks also appeared rather wistful, "Yes, it took quite some time to collect them all. After Old Lington was raided, many instruments ended up in Pirate City. Luckily, those pirates didn't know the value of what they had, and I managed to acquire these top-of-the-line research devices for a very small price. Otherwise, with those people from Mafa here now, all the good stuff would have been snatched away..."

Listening, Su Lun also raised his eyebrows, as his own equipment had come to him in the same manner.

Thinking of something, he casually asked, "By the way, who's getting married in the city, to make such a grand affair?"

Banks replied, "The Magic Emperor's Thirteenth Princess, 'Frost Moon Princess' Scatty Harris, and King Oleg of the North Sea's youngest son, 'Frost Troll' Gaal Popov, formed a marriage alliance. A grand wedding was held in the city the day before yesterday."

"Gaal?"

Su Lun's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

He had met Gaal before. That guy was a hybrid of troll and Viking giant, towering and limited in intelligence. He was utterly unsuitable for a normal human female. The real sense of "Beauty and the Beast."

Who would have thought the Mafa Empire would be willing to pay such a price, essentially marrying off a princess to a pirate?

No wonder he had seen so many non-pirates in the city before.

The two made small talk on a few insignificant topics, and then Banks asked, "Young friend Su Lun, when you contacted me before, you mentioned something urgent?"

Su Lun nodded and said bluntly, "Yes. My body has undergone a mutation, and I wanted to see if you might have a way to deal with it."

"Mutation?"

Confused, Banks murmured, "X Serum should stabilize after a successful transformation. How could it mutate?"

Su Lun seemed to find it bothersome to explain and simply said, "It's not 'X Serum,' it's a special kind of dark energy. Hmm... Have you heard of the legend of the Mountain Hermit's monster?"

Banks furrowed his brow upon hearing this, seemingly understanding something, and then thought for a moment, "Can I take a look first?"

"Sure, I'd appreciate it."

Su Lun released the suppressed demonic energy and gray-black patterns immediately appeared across his skin.

"This is serious..."

Banks had only taken a cursory look and his brow was already deeply furrowed, "If it weren't for the elevated tolerance of X Serum, with this level of mutation, you would probably be dead already."

After a pause, he added, "I need to conduct a thorough examination to give a precise assessment of your body's condition."

Su Lun nodded.

...

With various diagnostic devices connected to his body, Dr. Banks collected some biological samples for analysis.

Indeed, specialized matters should be left to the professionals.

It seemed to Su Lun that there might be a solution, as Banks indicated he needed more detailed data for an evaluation.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Su Lun thought that having found the top biological expert, the rest would be up to luck.

Soon, the results of the examination came out.

After carefully analyzing the data, Banks looked very grave, "This is troublesome. Your body shows signs of multiple mutations, and they continue to evolve in an uncontrollable direction. Luckily, you have strong physical health, which has allowed you to hold on this long... Under normal circumstances, within a month, it would threaten your life."

His words were precise, giving Su Lun a clearer understanding of his condition.

He asked directly, "Is there a solution?"

"There is."

Banks didn't beat around the bush and said, "I've done some research on suppressing mutations before. With some time, I can prepare a potion that can suppress your mutation, but it will only work for a while."

"Hmm."

Su Lun listened patiently, nodding occasionally.

This was something he had also considered and was the most important reason he had sought out Banks.

Banks continued, "To address the root of the problem, I've thought of three methods. The first is to inject the [Eternal Cell Serum] I'm currently using. The 'X serum' genetic sequence has the strongest compatibility I've seen. So, with that foundation, your chances of successful integration will be much higher than my previous attempts. But it probably won't exceed 10%. However, after integration, your appearance will also change like mine did. I think this method is something you're unlikely to consider."

As he spoke, he handed over a pitch-black potion.

Su Lun examined it briefly, knitting his brows in discomfort.

It was somewhat similar to "X Serum," a gene-modifying potion. It could suppress his current mutation and significantly enhance his attributes, but the success rate was only 7.3%.

Furthermore, side effects were guaranteed, and as Dr. Banks had said, it would transform its user into a creature with compound eyes and serrated limbs like his.

Indeed, unless absolutely necessary, this certainly wasn't an option to consider.

He asked with a wry smile, "What about the other methods?"

Dr. Banks said, "The second method is for you to advance as quickly as possible, integrating the corresponding biological enhancements to raise the limit of your body's tolerance for mutation. As we've discussed before, what we call mutation occurs when an organism's body can't handle certain foreign elements and changes occur. Mice and elephants operate on completely different energy levels. Ultimately, it's because the human constitution is too weak to withstand it..."

He then added seriously, "But I estimate that to enhance the body with this method, the biological enhancements required will have to be of high quality to ensure they can handle this overflow of mutant energy. For example: dragon, ancient giants, abyssal behemoths... or perhaps organs refined from other massive creatures. The quality of the enhancements must be at least 'legendary' or higher... But this method might lead to other issues. If you really want to try it, we'll have to see how things go."

"..."

Su Lun listened and fell into deep thought as well.

It was a very reasonable plan.

Biological mutations are actually bidirectional.

Those who can't endure it become monsters, but those who can, receive enhancements.

The human body is like a tree, the stronger it is, the more likely it can "graft" other branches onto itself.

If he had a body as colossal as a dragon's, such negative effects from mutations would probably be nothing more than a "minor cold."

However, now that there was a plan, the first thing that came to Su Lun's mind was to search for it.

A thought reflexively popped into his head, "Giant prosthetics?"

Because he had come across them before.

Inside the Royal Library of Emperor Luying, there was a volume of "Isaac's Alchemy Manuscript," which contained records of a type of giant graft called "Isaac's Giant Strength."

Previously, many from the "Sacred Judgment Legion" had advanced by integrating this official graft.

And in Su Lun's possession was a piece of giant material he had found in the Cursed Valley — the "Arm of the Hundred-Armed Giant King."

Without any surprises, such a combination would definitely yield a prosthetic of "legendary quality."

What he lacked was that very manuscript.

Banks glanced at him and continued, "The third option is to look for some special mythical items. As you know, there are many treasures from the mythological era in legends, possessing some incredible effects. Like the 'Fountain of Youth' from overseas, the Elves' 'Moonwell', the Holy Grail forged by Dwarves..."

After listening, Su Lun understood that none of the three plans were easy.

He could prepare for them simultaneously, but he prioritized the second option.

He had planned, if given the chance, to collect the other volumes of "Isaac's Alchemy Manuscripts."

Now he had yet another compelling reason to do so.@@novelbin@@

Fortunately, Mr. Hei and Sabina were currently in Emperor Luying's capital, so Su Lun communicated with them to keep an extra lookout.

But such royal treasures were definitely not easy to obtain.

Su Lun felt that he might have to go there in person someday.

While communicating, he also asked about the situation of Danny, who was in Emperor Luying's capital. Danny had already received the mutation suppression potion. After taking it, his health was improving.

Banks, as a father, visibly relaxed a lot upon hearing this.

....

Having temporarily solved the urgent matter at hand, Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief.

Developing a targeted "mutation suppressant" would take a long time, and he did not leave the lab, instead starting a casual conversation with Banks.

"Mr. Banks, has there been any major change in Pirate City recently? The city seems to have changed quite a bit..."

"One of Oleg's men, a capable person who has arrived, is said to have been a politician from Emperor Luying previously, named 'Zolas D. Andres.' That man has the talent for governance, and in a short time, almost without lifting a sword, he has integrated Pirate City and several nations of the north. However, it seems that there has been a bit of a situation in Mountain Hermit, but it's not a big deal... If this trend continues, within three to five years, the North Sea will undoubtedly be unified by Oleg. By then, King Oleg of the North Sea will truly have transformed from a pirate into a king."

"Has there been any recent change in the war between the two empires? Why else would Magic Emperor send a princess to seek an alliance through marriage all of a sudden?"

"The war is still at a stalemate. I suspect... the urgent alliance between Magic Emperor and Oleg is very likely targeting the 'Void Relics.'

"Void Relics?"

"Yes. The news that the North Sea Fleet has a large amount of void materials has spread, and now everyone is inquiring for intelligence. Emperor Luying's, Magic Emperor's, various arms dealers, great nobles, intelligence agencies, Bounty Hunters, adventurers... the city is now a mix of dragons and snakes, attracting many strong individuals. And from the fleet, I've received some concrete information that says Oleg has discovered an alchemy academy ruin from the Dawn Era ten thousand years ago, which once was a place for researching void creatures..."

"..."

While "Mechanical Butcher" Banner is officially known as the chief of the North Sea Fleet, in reality, it is Dr. Banks who is the man behind the curtain.

He also had a lot of first-hand intelligence in his hands.

Listening to those pieces of intelligence, Su Lun began to understand the current situation.

It seems ... very lively indeed.

He even felt that Archduke Raphael exposing his mechanical monster army this time was probably not just to intercept Magic Emperor's submarine, but also aimed at that "Void Relic." After all, void materials were too special, and if Oleg managed to create a Void Army, the threat would be immeasurable.

That relic was definitely something Su Lun would look for an opportunity to explore.

Unfortunately, information was still scarce at the moment, and he needed to take the time to gather intelligence, which was not something to be rushed.

The two discussed the current situation for a while, then shifted the conversation to academic issues.

"Neuro-mechanical technology," "Hand of Silver," "Mechanical Octopus"... and so on.

Su Lun posed all the academic difficulties he had recently encountered.

He was not skilled in theoretical research, but was better at applying mature technologies in practice. On the other hand, Banks was a top theoretical expert in the field of biology, which made this a rare learning opportunity.

Dr. Banks also did not stint on his words, patiently analyzing and explaining those issues to Su Lun, coming up with solutions one by one.

When discussing academic issues, time always flies.

Su Lun felt he never had enough time; he always thought that it would be even better if they could spend time together regularly.

Unexpectedly, Banks took the initiative to bring up the matter from last time.

While the two were researching the Mechanical Octopus, suddenly, he said, "By the way, young friend Su Lun, I've been thinking about the 'Dawn Plan' you mentioned to me last time... I've decided to join you."