Mechanical Alchemist

The calm sea surface slowed down Su Lun and Pandora, having shaken off the Magic Emperor's pursuers.

Having hastened their journey, several high-grade demon cores in Su's hand had been drained into powder, and only then did the pallor on his face begin to ease.

Just now, having stored that submarine in the mini Void World had drained his dark spiritual power, which had now recovered a layer or two, finally reducing his feeling of total exhaustion.

Su Lun took a deep breath and turned to Pandora, who had been with him all the way, and said, "Thank you."

Pandora was habitually reticent, merely nodding and responding, "Hmm."

However, now was not the time for pleasantries.

Initially, it was just about trying his luck to verify the actual existence of that "secret Mechanical Research Academy."

Unexpectedly, his luck was phenomenal, striking the jackpot on the first attempt.

It was only after Su Lun harvested some memories from the mechanical warriors on the submarine that he realized the vessel was "Royal Number Seven." It indeed belonged to the princess of Mafa as part of her dowry and was also a technical support extended to King Oleg of the North Sea. The submarine carried Mafa's most advanced mechanical equipment and mechanical engineers, its value immeasurable.

Now that he had the goods, both the princess of Mafa and the North Sea fleet would definitely go insane trying to search for them.

This Void Sanctuary was not a place one could leave at just any time; departure depended on specific ocean currents and wind directions, too.

Taking advantage of his recently recovered dark spiritual power, Su Lun took out a spatial scroll and shouted softly, "Unravel!"

A small assault boat dropped into the water.

The two boarded, and as the steam boiler started, the small boat sliced through the sea, creating a streak of white waves, speeding off.

After making a round, they picked up Dr. Banks, who had evacuated earlier, and Su Lun steered the small boat toward the northwest.

...

The Void Sanctuary was vast, easily the size of a duchy.

The North Sea fleet, vast as it was, couldn't possibly defend every location.

Moreover, Su Lun knew almost everything about their defensive positions.

Driving the assault boat, Su Lun navigated toward the blind spots in the watchtower's surveillance. A quarter of an hour later, he saw the "Eternal Night Emperor" slowly approaching in the darkness.

This was the meeting coordinate planned in advance.

The battle happened in the southeast; the meeting point, in the northwest, perfectly evaded the pursuers.

Su Lun and his two companions leapt onto the ship, where the members of the Dawn Group greeted them warmly.

The fight they just had in intercepting the pursuers had also been fierce, with evident signs of cannon fire damage on the Eternal Night.

Su Lun looked around, his concern evident as he asked, "Sister Qiantiao, did you encounter any mishaps here?"

There were many bloodstains on Qiantiao's clothes, but she seemed unconcerned as she replied, "No, we sank two ships that were pursuing us, killed some people, no big issue. The Eternal Night is faster than their ships, and we quickly lost them."

After saying this, she asked, "How about you?"

Su Lun replied, "Very smoothly."

Hearing this, Qiantiao raised an eyebrow and said, "Yo. Seems like we really hit the jackpot this time."

"Yes, the haul was substantial."

Su Lun nodded and briefly explained, "Just as Dr. Banks predicted, that submarine housed a 'secret research facility.' It took some effort, but I managed to capture it just now."

At these words, joy appeared on the faces of everyone in the Dawn Group.

They all knew the value of a Mafa mechanical research facility and began to whisper excitedly among themselves.

"Did it really succeed? My gosh, that's incredible."

"Mr. Su Lun is unbelievably strong, to forcibly capture a Mafa submarine? You know, that's guarded by a brigade of colonel-level mechanical warriors, something not even an entire fleet could easily overcome..."

"Well, it's Mr. Su Lun, after all!"

"Hahaha, with such a precious thing stolen, King Oleg and the princess must be nursing some serious headaches now, perhaps even breaking their alliance..."

"Mafa's mechanical technology is decades ahead of Ruyin's. Once Mr. Su Lun decrypts it, the Dawn Group will also have cutting-edge technology... Oh, those cannon fires we endured were really intense; now, we're even."

"..."

The people chatted and laughed joyously.

Clearly, however, this was not the time to celebrate, as the lookout in the watchtower had already spotted the enemy approaching.

Su Lun also spoke up, "The situation now is that the research facility is of great significance to the North Sea fleet, who will definitely send heavy forces to hunt us down. And we can't leave just yet..."

They hadn't planned on leaving now anyway; the Void Academy was just ahead, and they were intent on visiting it no matter what.

Upon hearing this, Qiantiao shrugged and said, "Then we stick to the plan. Looks like we need to 'disappear' for a while."

"Yes."

Su Lun nodded.

Having taken action, they were naturally well-prepared.

He addressed everyone, "All those with spatial abilities, prepare to execute the 'Stealth Plan'."

"Alright!"

Upon receiving the order, everyone began to make their moves.

...

Last time, after ambushing three detachments of the North Sea Void Fleet, they got a large amount of spatial materials and gear. Now, the Dawn Group had over a hundred professionals who had successfully integrated these materials and acquired preliminary spatial abilities.

These people began setting up alchemy formations in the various chambers of the Eternal Night, each person responsible for a small part, but when linked together, they formed a gigantic cohesive alchemy formation.

That was because Su Lun had previously studied the structure of the Eternal Night, planning it ahead of time.

The others didn't need a deep comprehension of the Space Law, just basic knowledge of introductory magic spells, which allowed for dummy-proof operation.

The casting speed of any alchemy spell could be enhanced with external items, such as pre-engraved alchemy formations and using a large amount of energy crystal cores.

Su Lun's "Void Whale Swallow" spell could do the same.

The plan was to engulf the entire Dawn Group and the "Eternal Night" into the small Void World.

This way, his target would be much smaller.

The enemy, even if intent on surrounding them, would almost certainly not be able to find them.

Previously, it took him nearly twenty minutes to engulf the hundred-meter "Royal Number Seven."

Now, to swallow the much larger "Eternal Night Emperor" would take several times longer.

But now, with these hundred-plus people helping, it could be resolved within minutes.

"Deck alchemy formation is set up!"

"Cabin layout completed!"

"Outer hull deployment finished!"

"Everyone, prepare to activate the alchemy formation."

"..."

In just under two minutes, on the vast sea ship, over a hundred people simultaneously formed the sorcerer's seals to activate the alchemy formation.

The arranged energy crystal cores also lit up one by one, channeling energy into the formation.

In an instant, a unique black glow of the Space Law covered the whole battleship.

The entire casting process would probably consume energy crystal cores worth several hundred million resos, but it was not a pity.

No matter what, this time they were going to make a huge profit.

Su Lun stood alone atop the main mast, the black hole in his hands growing larger. Soon, it was as large as a giant black whale with its mouth wide open, gulping down the vast ship in one swallow.

The entire sea surface instantly became calm.

Su Lun looked at the pursuers rushing towards him in the distance, his lips slightly curling up, and he conjured a "replacement doll" as if by magic.

He sliced his finger and drew a line of blood on the puppet, and as soon as a faint light flashed, a phosphorous fire ignited, turning the doll into ashes in the blink of an eye.

With that, the causal connection was severed,

this time,

even mysterious methods wouldn't be able to find him.

Su Lun didn't bother with the pursuers, he headed in a barren direction, disappearing over the deep blue sea shrouded in night.

....

Before long, dozens of ships bearing the flag of the North Sea Fleet sails arrived consecutively near the last known area of the Dawn Group.

Among them, the "Princess Stika" of the Sea King class was particularly conspicuous among the pirate ships.

It was as though hounds had suddenly lost the scent of their prey, losing direction, these pirate ships aimlessly circled the sea, searching for clues.

But no matter what methods they used, they found that not any trace could be found.

"Her Royal Highness Princess, the scent and biological markers end here, completely cut off; the scouting squad lost the target information."

"Your Highness, the mechanical tracking instruments are also showing beyond the sensing range, signal lost..."

"Your Highness, Master Cruz's pendulum divination also didn't yield any results. Those people must have used counter-divination measures."

"..."

One piece of bad news after another, on board the "Princess," Princess Stika, dressed in a water-blue long dress, had a face so grim it could kill.

She exclaimed in disbelief, "How can they just vanish? Such a large ship full of people, how can there be no trace at all?!"

Repeated frustrations, this Princess of Mafa was truly consumed by rage.

Previously left markers, blood traces... bizarrely disappeared without a trace.

Whether tracking signals or mysterious measures, all completely lost their response.

These people seemed to have vanished into thin air from this world.

Aboard dozens of pirate ships, nobody dared to speak at that moment; the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Princess Stika's murder intent erupted like a volcano, unable to maintain her royal composure, she shouted angrily, "What are you standing around for, go chase them down?! Those people can't leave the secret realm, they must be hiding somewhere. Even if you have to turn this sea upside down, you must find them for me!"

"Yes!"

With that, the royal guards and pirates hurriedly dispersed in fear.

Unable to contain her anger, Princess Stika couldn't help but curse, "Hmph, a bunch of trash!"

Until now, she couldn't comprehend why they could be attacked by an external force in this secret realm, reportedly top-secret of the North Sea Kingdom.

How did the opposing side precisely locate the submarine hidden in the sea?

Moreover, the attack had just occurred not long ago; not only was the enemy unidentified, now not even a trace of them could be found?

These bizarre coincidences strung together forced one to suspect a shocking conspiracy was at play.

Could there be a traitor among their own high ranks?

Princess Stika's expression became uglier than ever.

If they truly lost the "Royal No. 7," then her greatest bargaining chip was lost. This would be a disastrous consequence for the Mafa Empire, for the North Sea Kingdom!

No one could bear the responsibility!

The North Sea Fleet had now mobilized all available manpower within the secret realm to commence a carpet-style search.

She only hoped that they could find them before those people could get away.

....

And just then, a detailed battle report also came from the previously ambushed submarine.

Mechanical octopus, Black Scythe, Spatial Ability...

Hearing these clues, Princess Stika's mind instantly went back to those who had attempted to assassinate her at sea half a month ago.

"Those people survived the Sea Ruins?"

"Your Highness, I'm afraid so. The Sea Emperor-class battleship that interfered with our reinforcements before seems to be the 'Eternal Night Emperor,' which is over two hundred years old, belonging to 'Pirate Emperor' Francis Drake, reportedly in the Sea Ruins..."

"Damn it, didn't the priests of the Temple of Aghaparnon say that no one could survive the Sea Ruins? What the hell is going on now?!"

"..."

Princess Stika was in turmoil.

She could not have imagined, those who ambushed the submarine this time, were the same group that had attempted to assassinate her previously.

Royal family of Lu Ying?

Duke Raphael?

Rega'an family?

Or even, the opposing factions within the empire...

Which faction's people were they?!

After analyzing the battle report, the staff team also arrived at a conclusion that was hard to believe.

Although they felt it was impossible for anyone to steal a "Hurricane Submarine" using Spatial Ability,

the fact had already occurred right in front of them.

Moreover, it was now entirely possible to deduce that the sudden disappearance of that Imperial-class battleship was also for the same reason. That person had hidden the entire ship in another dimension.

That's why all sensing signals had been lost.

But how did that person manage that?

Under normal circumstances, even spatial professionals of the seventh or eighth rank absolutely couldn't achieve such a feat.

"The Royal q," even when sealed in a storage space, could be traced through instruments or divination methods.

What about this situation where not a single trace was left?

Unless... it was another dimension.

How is that possible!!!

Princess Stika, after connecting the dots of several incidents, was completely certain that this was a long-planned grand conspiracy.

"Damn it, notify the Imperial Intelligence Service, activate all the dormant spies in Ruying, and find out who is behind this move. Intercept all suspicious persons leaving the North Sea at all costs, especially the movements at Duke Rafael's end! Otherwise, the leakage of those critical technologies would be a disaster for the Empire..."

"Yes!"

....

While the North Sea Fleet was launching a carpet-style search involving hundreds of thousands of people in the secret realm,

dozens of miles away, Su Lun had taken a [Submarine Breathing Potion] and was casually floating in a deserted part of the ocean.

The sea here was like the backyard pool of the Secret Realm Academy; there were no particularly dangerous marine creatures, and even fish were rare. A body bag was always ready, and he didn't believe anyone could drain the sea to find him.

Although it was possible to encounter someone with a special talent like Tanni who could "listen to the beasts of the sea," the chances were extremely low.

At least, the intelligence Su Lun stripped previously indicated that there was no such person in the Magic Emperor's royal guard, and the North Sea Fleet never said they had one either.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Stika must be thinking about troubling Duke Rafael now,"

Su Lun thought to himself.

Only Duke Rafael had the Mechanical Octopuses.

As long as they didn't catch their Dawn Group, it was destined to remain an unsolved case.

Duke Rafael's side claimed they weren't involved, but Magic was definitely not going to believe that, could it eventually lead to various espionage battles?

Su Lun raised an eyebrow and did not think much about it.

He lay back leisurely in the sea waters, his mind also venturing into the "Little Void Realm."

This was his cultivation space, but Su Lun's original body couldn't venture there because he was the "linking point" between two dimensions.

If he went in, that point would cease to exist, trapping him inside forever.

At this moment, a massive black-sailed ship and a mechanical submarine were floating in the void.

Even with these two colossal objects inserted, they only occupied one percent of the space in this dimension.

In the Void Realm, there's no such thing as a "gravity field"; originally, there was nothing here, not even air, which was later added by Su Lun.

So everything here was floating in midair.

Supplies, equipment, puppets, materials... and the treasures previously obtained from the sea ruins, all here.

Other than Pandora and Barrett, none of the Dawn Group had ever visited Su Lun's "Little Void Realm."

As Su Lun's will descended, he watched them floating around curiously, imagining what it felt like to be free from gravity.

"Hahaha... it's magical, I never thought I could fly!"

"Oh, Mr. Su Lun, this space is truly mystical. Had I known it was this fun, I would have come here sooner."

"Wow... Kama, your teacher is so wealthy, there are so many treasures, my eyes are dazzled."

"Ah, sister, no wonder the teacher said that high-ranked puppeteers need financial support. Oh, I feel, to become a successful puppeteer, one must first become a rich man."@@novelbin@@

"..."

Kama, Lolota, Tanni, and Abuk floated around the space, marveling at the treasures in Su Lun's realm.

Even Qian Tiao was seeing Su Lun's wealth for the first time, and couldn't help but be amazed.

The gambling-addicted lady always had empty pockets and no concept of saving money, chatting and laughing slyly with some of the Dawn Group's upper echelons.

Qian Tiao was not about to be polite with Su Lun, boldly grabbing treasures others dared not touch. Not only did she take them, but she also commented, "Heh, Su Lun the kid really is rich. Not to mention the treasures obtained from the sea ruins, but his previous collections make him wealthier than some major nobles."

Barrett also looked very happy, laughing as he said, "That's natural, at least I was never as rich as him before. No, at least many of the centuries-old nobles I've seen are about the same. Tsk tsk... when we get out, we definitely need to slice a big piece off him."

Hearing this, everyone in the Dawn Group agreed in unison, "Hahaha, right, right! Next time we dock, we absolutely must make Mr. Su Lun treat our whole team!"

Even the always serious Dr. Banks laughed and responded, "As it should be."

As soon as Su Lun's will entered, he heard everyone talking about his treasures, and he grumbled in a feigned aggrieved tone, "Hey hey hey... come on everyone, this isn't very nice, is it?"

.....

Suddenly, Su Lun's voice echoed in the void, but no figure was seen, leaving everyone puzzled and looking up at the space.

Everyone was joking, not serious at all.

With that said by Su Lun, everyone burst into laughter again.

Curiously blinking her big eyes, Kama asked, "Eh... teacher, have you come in?"

Su Lun said, "Yes. I can see everything in the space, but my body can't enter."

This feeling, it was as if he were... a deity of this world.

He continued, "The North Sea Fleet has already started a large-scale hunt, so you might have to stay in this space for a few days. There are supplies over there."

"Okay."

Naturally, everyone had no objections to this.

All members of the Dawn Group had absolute trust in Su Lun.

Su Lun did not say much else, his main concern being the "Royal Number Seven" mechanical submarine.

Here, his perception could easily cover everything.

Peering into that submarine, there were still more than eighty living people inside. Except for a few wearing Royal Naval uniforms, the vast majority were researchers in white lab coats.

All of them were top-notch mechanical engineers, the real crème de la crème of the mechanical field.

Having captured some captives, Su Lun couldn't hide his joy.

The value of these people was even comparable to that of the submarine filled with top-notch equipment.

Simply placing them in the Royal Academy of Luying could support a top-level "Mechanical Research Academy"!

They were not just labor and R&D resources, but also teaching resources.

Normally, capturing these captives would cause trouble for anyone.

They were scientists from Mafa, brought by Princess Frost Moon, so naturally they had absolute loyalty.

Su Lun wanted them to work for him, which was absolutely impossible. Or rather, it would take a long time and a great cost to convert them. Forcibly enslaving them would only destroy these valuable scientists. In the end, probably few would survive.

But now, with Pandora as a special ally, everything became simple.

As the "God of Moon Reading," she was best at using spiritual means to influence her followers.

It was a basic ability of the gods.

In just a few days, these people's loyalty would change, and then they would wholeheartedly obey Pandora.

Su Lun didn't care about their faith, as long as they could help him work.

He didn't look at those people anymore.

Instead, he turned his gaze to the precision instruments stuffed inside this hundred-meter-long submarine.

....

"My goodness, I've really struck it rich now!"

Su Lun looked at the rows of precision instruments in front of him, feeling an excitement that he hadn't felt for a long time.

Inside the cabin, there was an entire mechanical armor production line.

The MT667 Stamping Machine, the Hail VI Ultra-Precision Laser Cutter, the Ancient Goblin Rune Carving Machine, the Void Particle Stabilizer, the Miniature Energy Core Manufacturing Boiler, the Dwarf's Gold Armor Machine Tool, the KII Special Steel Alchemy Furnace…

Su Lun had once dreamed of having such a batch of instruments to help him forge mechanical equipment.

But he hadn't expected his dream to come true just like that.

It made him feel like he did when he first received the forbidden item "Xiupunos's Night Scythe," as if he had gained a new world.

These were high-end instruments that couldn't be seen on the market.

Even in Mafa, they could only appear in the military's most advanced labs.

Inside the cabin, there were over ten complete combat Mechas that didn't leave their chambers, one at "Colonel level," four at "Major level," eight third-tier "Soldier level."

In the mechanical safe, there were also basic type mechanical armor forging diagrams, mechanical cannon drawings, special ammunition blueprints, and mechanical equipment blueprints...

It seemed they likely planned to build a production line in the North Sea and then mass-produce those mechanical armors.

Although these blueprints are mostly basic first, second, and third-tier soldier armors, once mass-produced, the increase to the North Sea fleet's combat power would be terrifying.

The impact on the northern parts of Luying would also be very significant.

Now, however, Su Lun had intercepted them.

Seeing these instruments, the first thing Su Lun thought of wasn't mechanical armors, but a mature "assembly line" capable of producing mechanical octopuses!

That Ancient Goblin Rune Carving Machine could actually automatically carve any rune below the seventh level!

(Note: Seventh-level runes and above generally require integration with Space Law understanding, and currently no machinery can replace this)

Although it still couldn't carve some overly complex runes, it was completely sufficient for manufacturing ordinary mechanical octopuses. Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire

This was much more efficient than Su Lun manually drawing the runes.

Then there was the MT667 Stamping Machine - as long as suitable molds were made, it could mass-produce extremely precise mechanical parts.

This was perfect for tasks like forging the thousands of mechanical armor pieces required for mechanical octopuses.

Previously, Su Lun had to forge each piece by hand, but now, just by entering data, the machine could forge tens of thousands of metal pieces overnight!

There were also boilers, cutting machines, laser quality testers...

If they could accommodate the forging of mechanical armor, they could also meet nearly all the mechanical component requirements of mechanical octopuses.

Su Lun just needed to address some minor issues with "biological nerves" to start production.

Su Lun was even breathing heavily.

Although he estimated that the mass-produced mechanical octopuses would be lower in quality than his handmade ones, that didn't matter anymore!

Absolute quantity suppression could compensate for all quality deficiencies.

No,

The current quality might be somewhat lacking, but in the future, it definitely wouldn't be!

The quality would only be higher!

Besides the equipment, Su Lun realized he had also captured this group of Mafa's senior mechanics!

The mechanical skills they mastered were far superior to those of the mechanics under Duke Raphael, definitely capable of rectifying deficiencies in the mechanical parts of mechanical octopuses and creating brand-new mechanical octopuses!

With both talent and equipment,

Theoretically, as long as he could find enough materials, this production line could continuously produce mechanical octopuses.

And, Mafa didn't have neural mechanical technology, nor did Duke Raphael have top mechanical technology.

This also meant that Su Lun's future mechanical octopus army would be unique!

The most advanced!

And, previously, the people of Mafa placed the mechanical production line in a submarine for safety.

But Su Lun had no such concerns.

His small void realm had enough space and was safe enough.

He could even deploy some super-large mechanical tools in the space later, and directly set up a "Mechanic Warfare Workshop" here, which would greatly increase the output!

If a thousand mechanical octopuses weren't enough,

What about ten thousand?

Or even a hundred thousand! (Wishful thinking, I can't control that many yet.)

At that thought, Su Lun could already envision the unstoppable dominion of his mechanical puppet master.

He murmured, "Work is aligned, now the concern is where to get so much material..."