Mechanical Alchemist

"The Eternal Night Emperor" had drifted in the sea ruins for over two hundred years, its cabin dark, wooden boards damp, cobwebs abundant, and broken oil lamps everywhere, with mushrooms growing in corners. Everything appeared ancient and had accumulated too much death energy, which felt depressingly lifeless.

But Su Lun had gained the approval of the "Ghost Ship," and the dark energy that had accumulated in the cabin for more than two hundred years suddenly vanished.

The fresh sea breeze also poured into the cabin, instantly making everyone feel a sense of brightness rising in their hearts. The originally sinister and terrifying environment suddenly became warm and no longer cold and strange.

Amidst the crew's enthusiastic cheers, this legendary warship also welcomed its fresh start.

It was yet another new legendary adventure setting sail.

...

The haunting issues were solved, and Tanni was no longer afraid. He leaned on the ship's wheel, exclaiming excitedly, "Wow... I love this ship so much!"

No navigator could refuse the charm of an ocean emperor-grade warship.

As the chief navigator of the Dawn Group, Tanni felt he must establish a good relationship with the ship first.

Moreover, this was a magical sea ship with a "Ghost Ship."

He mimicked Su Lun, speaking to the ship's wheel as well: "Mr. Ghost Ship, can we be friends? My name is Tanni. It's so nice to meet you~"

But, there was no response after a long time.

Tanni turned around awkwardly, "Huh... Mr. Su Lun, why isn't it responding to me?"

Lolota retorted, "Idiot Tanni, Mr. Su Lun didn't just talk; he communicated using spiritual power. You're way off the mark with your level."

"Oh."

Tanni couldn't argue back, only showing a sullen and disappointed expression.

Watching the bickering pair, Su Lun also smiled, "Just talk to it properly, sense it carefully with your consciousness, be sincere, and you'll be able to 'hear' its response."

Tanni's eyes immediately brightened, nodding seriously, "Okay!"

...

Staying on Devil's Island would occasionally bring disturbances from undead creatures, so Su Lun informed everyone to set sail. Soon after, the Eternal Night set sail, slowly moving out of the harbor.

The ocean emperor-grade warship had an extraordinary steadiness, almost like being on land, with very slight swaying.

Sailing on such a giant ship, even without a desire for conquest, inspired a sense of ambition to overlook the world. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

After all, in this world, there wouldn't be any better sail warship than it.

This was a vessel belonging to the powerful.

Though "The Eternal Night" was well-preserved, there were still many areas in the cabin that needed maintenance, and the members of the Dawn Group were all busy.

Barrett commanded the crew to split into teams; some cleaned the cabin interior, while others cleared the ship's hull of shellfish and other sea creatures clinging to the bottom.

With a vast difference in tactical arrangements compared to the smaller ships before, Barrett rearranged duty posts and battle plans. He called on engineers to make minor modern warfare modifications to the ship body and discarded the several hundred heavy but mostly useless cannons.

Everyone was bustling with activity.

Even the usually lazy Qiantiao rolled up her sleeves and led everyone to clean the deck.

Su Lun also kept busy, following the "Ghost Ship's" directions, leading a group of mechanic sailors to help repair the damaged hull.

The eight-armed spider spear made climbing convenient, and he quickly conducted a full inspection of the Eternal Night.

Mast, sails, cabin, anchor chain, pipes... he found over a thousand spots in need of repairs. Most were minor issues but could become bigger if not addressed. Cracks in the defense barriers, worn coating layers, and some damaged runes missing special materials were beyond what the Eternal Night could repair itself.

With a new master to help mend its body, the "Ghost Ship" also seemed happy. Like a joyful child, it sailed happily on the sea, facing the wind, chasing the waves.

...

The ship's maintenance was meticulous and would likely take many days.

The crew didn't rush to finish everything in a short time.

At night, they held a simple banquet on the ship to celebrate the Dawn Group's successful treasure hunt and the arrival of a special new member.

However, since the previous three warships had been destroyed, resources were somewhat scarce, so everything was kept simple.

The members of the Dawn Group had their first team dinner in the ship's dining hall.

Despite all the chairs in the dining hall being rotted, the atmosphere was still very lively.

After eating their fill, everyone returned to their cabins to rest.

Su Lun and Qiantiao also returned to the captain's quarters.

With Karma and Lolota as his disciples, the captain's quarters had been cleaned thoroughly.

A hundred square meters of spacious captain's quarters were an extravagant hope on the previous lower-grade warships.

However, the room still lacked any furniture.

Aside from the hanging magic crystal lamp, it was completely bare.

As soon as Qiantiao entered the room, she clamored, "Su Lun, quickly bring out the bathtub I bought last time and install it. I've been fighting with undead creatures these past days, and I reek of them."

Listening, Su Lun couldn't help but chuckle, "I must say, Qiantiao... My 'Little Void Realm' is for combat abilities, could you next time not make me always carry such odd things?"

Though he said this, there wasn't a hint of complaint in his tone.

Ever since Qiantiao knew he had the "Little Void Realm," she stuffed lots of things for him to carry, like a complete shower boiler setup and a large bathtub.

In Qiantiao's words, being able to soak in a hot bath anywhere was the most wonderful thing in the world.

This made the last bit of imperfection in seafaring nonexistent, leaving only enjoyment.

"Tsk~"

Listening, Qiantiao rolled her eyes and unhooked the knife hanging from her waist.

Looking around and seeing not even a coat rack, she suddenly remembered something else, "Oh, we need to set up a bed too. I don't mind continuing to sleep in a tent, but with such a big room it'd be a waste without a proper bed."

Saying this, she glanced at Su Lun, adding, "You should have one in your space, right?"

"There's a way."

Though his tone was somewhat resigned, Su Lun also looked at the room's layout.

Time had completely eroded the partitions, which was perfect for rearranging according to his own ideas.

Without much thought, he formed sorcerer's seals with both hands, and a black vortex slowly materialized in his palm.

Upon closer inspection, there was a dull thud, and a mahogany bed appeared in the room.

Next came a "Fántélín handmade mattress," pristine "Hèimúnàté workshop replica" sheets and duvet, and top-quality goose feather pillows from Xīsītè County...

These were all real aristocratic luxuries, previously purchased in Pirate City, which he had found to be excellent.

In Hāsītélín, as long as you have money, there is never a shortage of good things.

Though Su Lun was not one to indulge in material comforts, the magical world was full of dangers. He couldn't guarantee tomorrow would come, so he wouldn't shortchange himself materially.

Within the limits of what he could afford, he would buy the more expensive items if they offered comfort.

Additionally, for a high-level alchemist like him, these items were worth quite a bit of money.

After arranging the bed, he then tossed out a few cabinets, a coat rack, a desk lamp, a small table...

Even so, the room still looked very spacious.

Su Lun planned to turn half of the room into his laboratory.

Now that he had the Eternal Night, he probably wouldn't have to worry about his ship being sunk all the time, and he could consider creating some long-term objects in his lab.

Qiān Tiáo had very low requirements for household goods; she placed her knife on the table, helped Su Lun arrange the furniture roughly, and then started clamoring, "Alright, stop messing with these useless things, hurry up and get the bathroom ready, I want to take a bath."

Their relationship was already at a point where they didn't need to stand on ceremony, and Su Lun didn't mind being treated like a handyman at all, merely replying softly, "Got it."

Saying this, he checked the position of the water outlet, and instantly planned out the location of the bathroom in his mind.

Then, with a snap of his sorcerer's seals , there was a thud, and a large bathtub appeared out of nowhere.

Next came a steam boiler, along with several simple brass pipes. This was a complete setup; burning hot water steam would drive the boiler's power system, generating water pressure, automatically drawing in cold water, and hot water would flow out of the faucet.

Of course, a large water tank was essential.

All these were ordered by Qiān Tiáo herself, standard bathhouse equipment.

On the seas, hoping to use so much fresh water for a bath was simply a luxury.

It was also fortunate that Su Lun's storage space was large, allowing these to fit inside.

He busied himself, using all hands (and feet) to nail the pipes to the wall, made drainage and water flow modifications to the floor, and then tested the pipe connections...

Then he threw a pile of coal into the boiler, soon producing white steam.

Hot water began bubbling into the large bathtub.

As Su Lun tinkered, the two of them also chatted away.

Qian Barret talked about her issue with fifth-level Equipment Integration, saying, "The 'Void God Hand of Chronos' that we had seized earlier was indeed excellent and greatly boosted my level. However, when I tried to integrate it, it seemed impossible. Dr. Banks assessed that my affinity for space is not high, and even with my domineering presence and triple resolution talents suppressed, the probability of distortion in integrating that material exceeded eighty percent..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun also felt it was a pity and said, "What about downgrading to integrate that dark gold level item?"

Distortion is a major issue in Equipment Integration; if it cannot be resolved, then it truly cannot be resolved.

"That could be possible."

Qian Barret responded, her tone somewhat regretful, "But having finally encountered the best, why would I settle for a lesser one? I plan to check out the 'Void Relics' to see if I can find some opportunities. Dr. Banks, based on the information you provided, analyzed that the 'Tokster Void Royal Alchemy Academy' was very likely a research institute studying void creatures. The research into life by the ancient Great Alchemists was not inferior to today's, and there might still be some potion formulas to increase void resistance..."

"Oh,"

Su Lun listening, felt it was a pity as well.

This Equipment was to increase a swordsman's physical and magical penetration; if it was sixth level again integrating similar abilities, it would waste another valuable opportunity.

With Qian Barret having such thoughts, he naturally supported her.

The two occasionally shared some insights on occupational advancement.

As they talked, Qian Barret then said, "My 'Rakshasa Golden Body' seems to have hit a bottleneck, and I don't know what the problem is..."

Su Lun was adjusting the boiler's water temperature and casually mentioned, "Could it be that your rank is limiting the expression of your talent? After all, you are only at the fifth level now."

After all, no one in the world had heard of anyone who could comprehend the triple resolution talents, nor was there anyone else to ask. Even Mr. Jing knew very little.

Qian Barret replied, "I don't know either..."

While boasting here, Su Lun had already adjusted the boiler. He put away his eight-armed spider spear and said, "Done!"

"Wow... it's ready?"

Qian Barret, who had been eager, exclaimed with a little excitement, "Haha, finally I can take a hot bath."

Seeing that Su Lun had finished setting up the equipment and there was no one else in the room, she directly took off her combat kimono and hung it aside. Then, without any hesitation, she began to unwrap the bandages wrapped around her chest. The bandages fell in circles onto the floor, and soon, the light from the crystal lamp in the room illuminated a body exuding strength and beauty, completely unshielded.

Su Lun had finished the boiler and was installing a simple curtain in the bathroom when he suddenly heard faint footsteps like those of a cat behind him.

Glancing sideward, he caught a glimpse of the bare Qian Barret walking past him, leaving him a graceful and poised figure.

Su Lun also took a glance.

Despite the fierce-looking full-back tattoo that was somewhat daunting to behold, Qian Barret's figure was indeed eye-catching.

Her chest was proudly voluptuous, her waist slim and symmetrical, and her legs long. But as a power-based professional, she had strong muscles in her buttocks and thighs, making the separation of her buttock lines very clear, giving her rear a nearly plump and rounded shape.

Qian Barret did not wrap herself in a bathrobe, and walked boldly into the bathroom, her chest trembling slightly with mild vibrations; her proud buttocks rising and falling, a sight full of attractive springtime charm.

She had not only nearly perfect body curves but also an aura unique to a female swordsman, bare-backed, with a presence that was heroic yet alluring, firm yet soft, creating an absolutely stunning view.

Qian Barret reached the shower faucet, twisted the hot water valve, and water cascaded down her head with a "whoosh."

Water fell from the shower like dancing water sprites landing on Qian Barret's skin, gliding over her delicate shoulder armor down to her impressive curves, then dripping off.

Su Lun, still working on the shower curtain, did not avert his gaze, watching with great interest.

As she rinsed her body, Qian Barret also let out a pleased sigh, "Ahh... refreshing."

At that moment, she naturally noticed Su Lun's unabashed gaze and gave him a disdainful look, saying irritably, "You've seen it so many times already, what's there left to see?"

As soon as she said this, she knew it was futile.

This shameless fellow, where would he show any courtesy now?

Indeed, Su Lun showed no intention of restraining himself and even responded, "It looks good."

Qian Tiao had no choice but to swiftly pull the newly fixed shower curtain, feigning anger, "Don't disturb my bath."

But just then, a sigh laden with emotions came from beyond the shower curtain, "Ah... Sister Qian Tiao, you've changed."

Confused, Qian Tiao responded, "Hmm??"

At that moment, Su Lun's provoking reply came from outside the shower curtain, "Even a gentleman needs to prevent?"

Taken aback by the beauty of the moment, Qian Tiao swiftly regained her composure and threw a punch toward that detestable fellow, spitting out contemptuously, "Pah!"

With a strange yell, Su Lun had already dodged it, bursting into even more annoying laughter, "Hahahaha..."

...

Following that, for several days, the members of the Dawn Group spent their days cleaning and maintaining the sea ship.

Perhaps because the "Eternal Night Emperor" held a dominant position among the ghost ships in the marine ruins, after the Dawn Group set sail, they almost never encountered any undead monster harassment.

They traveled westward and met many treasure-hunting adventure groups along the way.

One after another, behind them, besides the "Black Panther Group's" sea ship, dozens of other adventure groups' sea ships followed.

Knowing the dangers of these marine ruins, those treasure hunters naturally clung to a "big thigh" to see if they could make it out.

And with a "Sea Emperor-class battleship" like the Dawn Group, theirs was naturally the sturdiest leg to cling to.

...

Without any battles, Su Lun's days were also very leisurely.

He stayed in the laboratory every day, tinkering with various experiments, hardly ever leaving.

Because the Eternal Night was so large and had countless more ideal empty cabins, Su Lun ultimately did not set up his laboratory in the captain's cabin.

He designated an area in the center of the cabin solely for the laboratory, part of which he gave to Dr. Banks, and the other part was his own puppet laboratory.

The spacious laboratory had enough room to hold various instruments. It was divided into three parts: one part was a mechanical workshop, which had various mechanical tools, as well as assorted disassembled mechanical parts and design blueprints; one part was a biological laboratory, separated by glass into an independent space, where the most numerous items soaking in jars were octopuses and "Siren's choral throat"; the last part was a puppet workshop, a web-like space hanging with various rune-filled puppets in various stages of completion.

Su Lun was also thankful that he finally had a relatively stable space to place the instruments he needed, which were all laid out in the same room for easy access.

On this day, inside the laboratory.

Su Lun was engrossed at his workbench, studying the "Four-Colored Elemental Heart", with a gargoyle beside him that had a large hole in its chest.

This ancient goblin civilization's treasure was indeed the top-tier energy core, he had tried installing it in the gargoyle before, and its combat power had surged tremendously.

The current gargoyle could engrave various rune systems, solidify various spell patterns, allowing Su Lun to engrave all the alchemy he knew onto it.

He selected some puppet-appropriate techniques, like the spatial "Teleportation," "Void Penetration," the fire-based "Flame Breath," and the ice-based "Ring of Frost"...

Offense, defense, control, movement—these techniques encompassed all elements.

Simply put, it was akin to a fifth or sixth tier all-elemental magical alchemy magician, highly resistant to damage.

The "Four-Color Elemental Heart" was enough to support its use of various techniques, which was the powerful aspect of the ultimate rune puppet, "Alchemy Golem."

Among its peers, it was nearly invincible.

Even Su Lun himself felt that if he encountered such an all-elemental opponent, he would almost have no way to defeat it.

Luckily, this was his own puppet.

However, as formidable as it was, this core was the only one.

Su Lun then sought to decrypt the lost part of the technology on this Elemental Heart and create more elemental cores.

He had not realized how exceedingly advanced the ancient goblin civilization was in the realm of energy cores until he started researching.

A portion of the elemental core knowledge had been passed down to Puppet Masters, and some were available on the market; but even with his vast and solid knowledge, Su Lun could not comprehend more than 20% of it.

The difficulty in analyzing this "Four-Color Elemental Heart" was immense.

Despite the many years of development in alchemy, resulting in various different schools of thought, just the energy core field alone had countless classic texts and variations.@@novelbin@@

However, this was essentially complicating what was simple, extending some pieces of knowledge.

But once simplified, the basic theoretical knowledge remained just that—basic.

This elemental core utilized the four fundamental cosmic elements of Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, almost pushing these basic laws to their limits.

The more Su Lun delved into his studies, the more he realized how far the great alchemists of ancient civilizations had progressed.

He did not hope to completely analyze this ancient core; creating elemental cores with 50%, or even 30% efficacy, would be a significant advancement in the energy core sector for this era. It would sufficiently meet the needs of ordinary puppets.

At this moment, Su Lun was using a high-powered magnifying glass to observe the details on the elemental core, while behind him, the spider lance slowly transcribed those complex ancient runes onto the paper.

Not aiming to understand, but to trace and gradually determine their functions.

This was an extremely demanding task; he would likely need to spend several years on it in the future.

Su Lun was busy, and not far from his workbench, there was a smaller workbench.

As his disciple, Karma was also practicing the teaching task assigned by her teacher, crafting her own puppet.

The young girl truly cherished every opportunity with her teacher, always earnest and focused.

Su Lun found it very reassuring to occasionally guide her.

The master and disciple would often fall into hours of silence in the laboratory, no one speaking, each absorbed in their own tasks.

Karma carefully held a carving knife, etching a puppet.

Just then, she suddenly saw a blue light illuminate the equipment nearby, and she exclaimed, "Teacher, look quick! The Heart of the Puppet has been successfully energized!"

Su Lun also looked over, his gaze sharpening.

This charging machine was set up a few days ago specifically to repair the "Boyle's Puppet Heart".

However, the core was a nearly depleted eighth-tier green dragon's Dragon Crystal.

Charging this thing wasn't easy.

Such legendary devices had not been seen in this era.

Su Lun found a few possible methods in the ancient texts and tried several. Recently, he used an isotope decomposition charging method, unexpectedly, it actually worked!

Kama looked on with anticipation and said, "Abek, how do you feel?"

Meanwhile, a spiritual message emanated from the puppet, "Teacher, sister, I feel great! The 'life force' is stronger."

Kama was delighted and turned her face toward Su Lun.

The green dragon was a dragon of plants and life, and Abek also survived until now with a bit of "life force" from the Dragon Crystal.

Su Lun checked the alchemy array he had set up and also organized some thoughts.

He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then said, "The method should be correct, I will increase the energy supply, start with 15 units, then increase step by step. Abek, if you feel anything wrong, give immediate feedback."

"Okay, Teacher," replied Abek, also seeming a bit excited.

It had been five years, and this was the first time he saw a glimmer of hope.

Su Lun then set up the alchemy array on the instrument and embedded several precious sixth-tier wood attribute energy Crystal Cores.

Once activated, the green light inside the instrument grew increasingly intense.

Kama, looking nervous, almost wrung water out of her garment as she clutched it tightly.

Su Lun, however, remained calm, as the energy fluctuations displayed on the instrument were all within expected parameters.

"Teacher, I feel pretty good, we can continue to increase the input," said Abek.

"Hmm, it feels a bit hot…"

"It's normal again, oh, I think I see a gate of light…"

"…"

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the laboratory.

It was a bare-bottomed, blonde six-year-old boy.

When the Boyle Manor incident occurred five years ago, Abek had been six. Now, after spending five years in that core, time hadn't touched him; he still looked the same as back then.

Kama, looking at her own position, exclaimed, "Abek?!"

"Sister?"

The blonde boy looked at the familiar-looking young lady, then at his own body and surroundings, and burst out joyously, "Am I out?"

Then he suddenly realized his lapse in manners, blinked his clear large eyes at Su Lun, and bowed respectfully like a nobleman, "Teacher."

Su Lun nodded, "Hmm."

He pulled out a set of men's clothing from his storage ring and smiled, "First, put on some clothes."

Seeing this, Kama took them, intending to help him get dressed.

Though Abek had the body of a six-year-old, his mind was that of a twelve-year-old, or even more mature.

He too felt embarrassed, "Sister, I can do it myself."

...

Abek, who had been trapped for five years inside the Puppet's Heart, appeared very excited.

Su Lun was more curious about what Abek had gained inside that "Puppet Core". His senior brother, the ancestor of the Boyle family, definitely wouldn't create such a thing just to trap his own descendants.

Although they had been in spiritual communication before, many things were still unclear.

Upon his release, Su Lun quickly noticed that Abek's focus and speed in shifting his attention were very fast.

Su Lun had a hunch.

Since he was like that himself, it was the "multitask multi-use" ability that enabled him to quickly catch and process sensory inputs.

Su Lun guessed that it might be due to the"B-060-Exquisite Heart", yet it didn't seem that straightforward.

He asked, "Abek, do you feel anything unusual?"

The joy on Abek's face intensified as he replied, "Not really... Instead, I feel that my body seems more capable."

Su Lun pondered for a moment, then took out two alchemy books, flipped through one, and asked, "What did you just see?"

"Teacher, I saw..."

Abek paused thoughtfully and said, "On the left-hand side is the 'Book of Secrets·Razzi', page one hundred and seventy-two, it reads: 'By combining the two with the burning Fire God, it takes on the appearance of mineral water with debris floating on top, remove from the cold mold, choose a good mold core, clean the impurities of the core with fire and salt three times, add Saturn and shine itself in the mirror of activity, it becomes effortless...'"

Su Lun listened patiently without interrupting.

After Abek repeated the page, he paused again, and continued, "Your right-hand book is the 'Book of Minerals', that page described the characteristics of 'Red Crystal Mineral': combustible, highly toxic..."

At this, Kama covered her small mouth in surprise, her eyes filled with amazement.

Even Su Lun was taken aback.

Just a glance, and he had memorized the text verbatim.

This was certainly not an ordinary "Exquisite Heart" talent.

Su Lun finally understood, thinking, "A second-stage 'Exquisite Heart'? It's like a combination of 'eidetic memory' and 'multitask multi-use' abilities..."

Abek's five years trapped in the "Boyle's Puppet Heart" hadn't been wasted; his talent had evolved to a second stage!

This talent, it was simply a natural-born Puppet Master!