Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 374 - 373: [The Heart of the Puppet Mechanism]

In just ten minutes, Su Lun had obtained two top-tier treasures: the "Bow of Kronos’s Time Curse" and the "Golden God Spear of War God Tyr’s Law of Causality." However, far from feeling fortunate, he sensed that things were taking a very bad turn.

Originally, according to his plan, even if he had saved Barrett, the problem wouldn’t be too big.

Magic markers and such are completely ineffective in the "Minor Ethereal Realm."

Separated by two planes of existence, it wasn’t so easy to be tracked down.

Su Lun had thought to find a place to hide first, and after the commotion died down, it would probably be safe.

After all, this was the kingdom of Roman, and no matter how many undercover agents from the Ruying Intelligence Agency there were, they couldn’t possibly drag him out in the city.

Even if people from the North Sea Fleet wanted to find Barrett to inquire about the missing fleet, using special methods, they would most likely and definitely be more accurately zeroing in on those "Sacred Judgment Legion" folks. They would never suspect Su Lun, the "outsider."

But now, the situation had gotten more troublesome.

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Su Lun didn’t know why a golden spear had fallen from the sky to kill him.

Now that it had been taken into the Minor Ethereal Realm, the situation had become delicate.

He had already identified that this golden spear was the "Treasure of the Clan" cherished in the Temple of Aghaparnon.

This was a matter that involved serious complications and implications.

Su Lun had just happened to hear about the legend of the "Golden God Spear"... it was an object of faith for the Roman people.

If an outsider took possession of it, they were virtually the enemy of all of Roman.

But not taking it would mean being killed by the spear.

Given the situation, Su Lun was considering how to resolve the forthcoming troubles.

As he ran through the city, doubts also sprang up in his mind.

Who had thrown this spear?

Did they want to kill him just to hit Barrett?

Su Lun felt there was a possibility, but it was not likely.

If someone could use divination to track Barrett inside his Minor Ethereal Realm across a plane, it was simply impossible. Would it require seventh, eighth, or even ninth-tier Prophets?

Clearly, a Barrett was not worth such an exorbitant cost.

The most likely possibility was that the Golden Spear was originally aimed at Su Lun himself.

The person capable of using this Golden Spear definitely held no ordinary status.

It was very likely to be a "Big Shot" from the Temple of Aghaparnon.

But Su Lun felt that he had no conflict with the temple, so why would they want to kill him?

...

The Minor Ethereal Realm now contained several big troubles, whether it was Barrett or the two weapons, they were obviously not things that should see the light of day now.

Su Lun ran about the city, hiding here and there as if he were carrying several ticking time bombs, with a heart full of unease.

Fortunately, the death foretelling bird remained very quiet, and no more bizarre incidents occurred.

But suddenly, the vast city-state of Moros was pierced by the deep sound of horns.

"Woom..."

Like an air-raid siren, this sound awakened the entire city.

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

"..."

Then another series of explosions followed, and flares shot up into the sky.

It was the dead of night, yet those flares lit up the sky as bright as day, illuminating the streets and those sneaking around on them.

Meanwhile, the Roman army barracks, the peacekeeping camps, the North Sea Fleet stations, and various official powers sounded the call to arms, and countless warriors, armored and spears in hand, flooded into the streets and alleys.

The earlier fight was just the outsiders from the intelligence outpost causing a ruckus; now, it was the Romans themselves taking action.

Su Lun, watching this commotion, was not alarmed but actually let out an inward sigh of relief.

The flares illuminated his serious face brightly; he looked up at the sky, muttering, "A large-scale manhunt has begun, eh..."

Searching with manpower meant that those fellows from the temple no longer had any mystical means to locate him!

"It seems I’m temporarily safe..."

Su Lun exhaled a long breath of relief, a flicker of sharpness passing through his eyes.

Having witnessed various divination techniques, he now very clearly understood the principles of divination.

The higher the rank of the divination target, the more entangled the causality, and the more complex the environment, the greater the cost of divination required.

He, Su Lun, was no longer the second-tier lousy chicken he had been when he first came out of Old Lington, someone who could be easily divined by anyone.

He had now advanced to the fourth tier, and with so many valuable treasures on him, relying on human divination was almost impossible. He estimated that any diviner below the sixth tier trying to precisely locate his position would probably drop dead on the spot.

Without the Golden Spear, which had the special Law of Causality ability, it was unlikely for them to pinpoint his location.

At this thought, Su Lun felt even more fortunate that he had taken the Golden Spear in.

Such a high-level treasure, the entire kingdom of Roman might not be able to produce a second one.

Caught off guard once meant the opposition had lost the initiative.

"Even if it were the mysterious High Priest of the Temple of Aghaparnon, at most they could only predict that I’m in the city... Now, leaving the city, on the other hand, would draw attention."

After analyzing all the known conditions at lightning speed, Su Lun scrapped his initial decision to risk leaving the city.

...

Su Lun had already considered a comprehensive plan for emergency escape should he encounter any search and seizure.

Inns, post stations, bathhouses, pleasure districts, taverns... these were places where outsiders congregated and were definitely the focus of thorough searches.

Su Lun didn’t dare go to those places; instead, he headed directly for the slums.

There lay the slum areas teeming with a jumble of life, where hundreds of thousands of the lower class were packed.

The situation in the city grew increasingly chaotic. The military, local strongmen, pirates... powers from all sides under the King of the North Sea began to stir.

With the four city gates and various main roads completely sealed off, no one could move openly anymore.

But this was good news for Su Lun.

It wasn’t just him who couldn’t be caught; within the Moros city-state, all sorts of forces were intermingled, especially the multiple factions who wanted to assassinate the "Frost Moon Princess" were also equally averse to sunlight.

Because not everyone knew that the Temple of Aghaparnon was looking for their lost "Golden Spear."

```

When confronted with a search, assassins would certainly think they had been discovered and fighting was inevitable.

The city-wide manhunt was like detonating a bomb in a fish pond, forcing the big fish hiding in the darkness to emerge.

Not long after the lockdown began, outbreaks of combat cropped up all over the city.

....

Clearly, the matter of the [Golden Spear] was of utmost significance, and the Temple of Aghaparnon’s determination to recover their sacred treasure exceeded expectations.

Even those priestesses of the temple, clothed in long robes and veiled in scarves, personally appeared throughout the city.

With their call to action, the entire city’s Roman populace was mobilized.

Romans are born warriors; arming themselves with weapons, the commoners quickly transformed into searching guards.

More and more people joined the hunt, even navigating the complex civilian districts.

Su Lun blended into the civilian slums, but found himself trapped there.

The main roads outside were already filled with Roman soldiers.

Su Lun moved swiftly through the small alleys.

Urgent warnings echoed in his ears from the loudspeakers.

"A thief has stolen the [Golden Spear], desecrating our sacred War God’s temple..."

"Emergency martial law! Citywide curfew! All unrelated persons, return to your residences immediately!"

"The High Priest has decreed, all Romans stay home and cooperate with the search. Should you encounter unfamiliar persons, report them immediately!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the Roman masses became incensed.

Defiling their faith was a grievance graver than any other, many clamored to catch the "thief".

Su Lun’s face twitched as he listened, his previous good impression of the Romans completely vanished.

Theft?

You fail at a sneaky plot, and now you call it stealing?

It seemed that even a seemingly simple belief system was but a tool for those in power.

However, Su Lun also came to some realizations.

Any actions taken by the priests of the Temple of Aghaparnon would unconditionally be obeyed by the Romans, but now they were resorting to deception.

This meant that the affair of someone from the temple throwing the spear couldn’t stand scrutiny.

Otherwise, there would be no need for this secrecy.

...

With the entire city searching, Su Lun’s situation was not looking good.

He hadn’t expected the commotion to escalate to such an extent.

Looking at the circumstances, it wouldn’t end without turning everything upside down.

Clearly, among those were capable people; the military that was dispatched immediately surrounded the slums, dividing the complex shantytown into dozens of sections for door-to-door interrogation.

No Roman refused to cooperate.

The uncooperative were surely the guilty ones.

Su Lun’s original plans also had to be changed.

Even with a human skin mask disguised as a Roman, his solitary status with no family or friends would be a focal point. Origin, neighbors, duration of residence... A few questions could easily expose him.

Worse still, he hadn’t even managed to reach the hiding spots he had scouted beforehand before being cut off by the Roman troops.

Thanks to the shared vision with the black crow and the sensing ability of the Rune Umbrella, he narrowly avoided several groups, but the situation was getting more and more dire.

Just then, as Su Lun hid in a dark alley, his way forward was blocked yet again.

Killing these people would not be difficult, but exposure would lead to major trouble afterward.

Watching the interrogation scene from afar, he felt a heavy weight in his heart, "This is bad... With no ’family’ or ’acquaintances,’ I’m sure to be interrogated. It seems they’re specifically targeting people who entered the city in the past few days."

Su Lun looked up and surveyed his surroundings, noting that the crowd of onlookers was growing, and his chances of remaining undiscovered were diminishing.

While he was calculating which direction offered the best chance of breaking through, he suddenly spotted a head emerge from the second floor of a residential building nearby. She looked towards Su Lun and called out with a questioning tone, "Sir?"

Su Lun looked up, recognizing the person; it was the girl with the long braid from the flea market who had bought a puppet, apparently named Kama.

He hadn’t expected her to live here.

Just that glance was enough for Kama to guess that she had recognized the right person. Hesitation flashed across her face as if deciding something, then she beckoned, "Sir, come over here quickly!"

Su Lun didn’t know how she had recognized him, but after a moment’s thought, he teleported and appeared inside the room of that building.

...

With a citywide curfew in place, anyone still wandering the streets was surely an outsider without a fixed residence.

No sooner had Su Lun entered the apartment than he saw Kama pull out a half-meter long black Rune Puppet from her storage ring.

Upon inspection, it was clearly a treasure.

[Life-Substitute Puppet]

Explanation: This was an antique puppet inherited over a thousand years, inscribed with ’Crafted by Robert Boyle’. After blood is dripped onto it, it could transfer all recent karma and traces from the host to the puppet, avoiding detection by mysterious means;

"..."

Su Lun was taken aback.

He knew how to craft such [Life-Substitute Puppets], but the materials required were extremely rare; he had never seen one until now.

To think he would encounter one here.

And seeing the creator’s name, it was crafted by none other than his "senior brother".

Kama was actually willing to bring out her family heirloom puppet?

Su Lun looked at her in amazement: "For me?"

He immediately understood that she must have guessed that he was the one being hunted in the city!

How did Kama discover this, and how did she recognize him so coincidentally?

While speaking, Su Lun’s eyes also revealed caution; her bringing out the puppet meant she must have suspected something.

"If you feel the need, please don’t be shy," she said.

Kama was obviously intelligent, seeing the subtle expression on Su Lun’s face, she guessed his apprehensions.

Being identified in a citywide manhunt would make anyone wary.

She used a formal address and added an explanation, "Please don’t misunderstand, I just felt you might need it. My innate ability is [B-098-Sixth Sense]. The reason I called out to you earlier was a feeling... that it might be you."

```

```

So that’s the gift.

Su Lun, upon hearing this, also showed a look of realization and accepted the puppet.

"Thank you. This is a very precious treasure," he said.

He expressed his gratitude, then without any delay, he cut a small opening on his finger with the thread and smeared his blood on the puppet.

Normally, he wouldn’t accept such a high-level treasure from a stranger for no reason, but the current situation was pressing, leaving no room for politeness, and he had to use it.

As the fresh blood was smeared, a glint of spiritual light flashed across the puppet.

Kama responded, "You don’t have to be polite. My father always taught me: a treasure is precious because it is used in the right place."

She watched everything and became more certain of something in her heart: Only someone who was a descendant of (her) Puppet Master lineage would know how to use this puppet.

She immediately felt that the treasure had been entrusted to the right person and added, "You can throw it into the fireplace."

"Okay."

Su Lun nodded, threw the blood-stained puppet into the burning fireplace, and heaved a great sigh of relief.

As the puppet burned away, no one would be able to trace back to him through the causality created tonight.

Now, even if he were caught, he wouldn’t be afraid.

...

Knowing the value of a family heirloom, Su Lun had no intention of taking advantage, and he straightforwardly said, "The [Life-Substitute Puppet] just now was very precious. What would you like in exchange?"

Hearing Su Lun say the name of the puppet, Kama shook her head and said, "Sir... Although the puppet is precious, it is not of much use to me. You don’t need to worry."

Su Lun figured that it was probably the few sketches he gave earlier that led to this favor in return.

Kama asked, "Sir, are you a descendant of the Puppeteer lineage?"

Su Lun didn’t hide anything and straightforwardly admitted, "I am."

Hearing this, Kama’s brown clear pupils immediately sparkled, "Really! Then you... which lineage’s descendant are you?"

Being a Puppet Master was already niche, and now that he had encountered someone from the same path, he wasn’t an outsider.

Hearing this, Su Lun hesitated for a moment.

Which lineage?

That was actually hard to say.

If it came to seniority, this girl should address him as her great... great-uncle Master?

Seeing his hesitation, Kama thought she had touched on something private and hurriedly said, "Oh, sir, if it’s inconvenient for you, then don’t..."

She didn’t finish her sentence when Su Lun shook his head and said, "It’s not that it’s inconvenient to say. It’s just complicated to explain. I am... a disciple of Teacher Sereia."

Hearing this, Kama showed a hint of suspicion on her face. Obviously, she was thinking that she had never heard of this lineage before.

Her ancestral notes mentioned there were only a few Puppet Master lineages...

Wait!

Teacher Sereia?

In his mouth... was he referring to the founder of the Puppeteer lineage, "Sereia"?

How could that be!

Su Lun saw Kama’s suddenly doubtful and shocked expression and somewhat helplessly said, "It’s as you’re thinking. It’s just a bit complicated to explain."

"This..."

Kama’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Had she thought he was a brother from one of the lineages, only to find out he was her ancestor’s ancestor’s great-uncle Master?

This... was this gentleman before her someone who had lived for a thousand years?

That preliminary thought popped into Kama’s head, her expression became extremely odd.

Su Lun knew that this claim seemed fantastical, which is why he had hesitated earlier.

He didn’t plan to explain and said, "I’m not that old. But it’s complicated to explain. If there’s a chance later, I’ll tell you more about it."

He also did not hide the fact that he was the person those outside were searching for and said, "You’ve helped me out of a big trouble, even saved me. But my being here might cause you trouble..."

Hearing this, Kama became even more anxious. She seemed to think of something and quickly said, "No! It won’t be any trouble! If you don’t mind, you can stay here. I can help you."

"..."

Su Lun, hearing this, looked a little stern and glanced around.

This place was a puppet workshop and also where she lived. The walls and workbench were covered with tools and blueprints for making puppets, and the room’s decorations were rather girly.

From the arrangement of the house, it was clear that Kama had been staying here for some time.

Now that the possibility of being tracked by mystical means was cut off, staying here would indeed avoid much trouble.

And coincidentally, at that moment, Su Lun could sense that people were surrounding the place.

A group of people had come upstairs, knocking on doors from house to house.

Going out now, the chances of being discovered were very high.

Kama also heard the noise and looked at Su Lun, very seriously nodding, "Leave it to me."

She didn’t know Su Lun’s combat strength, but she was well aware that after the Priest of the temple had spoken, no one would be able to leave the city now.

Su Lun frowned, but did not leave.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

Kama went to open it, and outside stood several Pirates, wearing insignias of the North Sea Fleet.

Upon opening the door, a poorly concealed surge swept through, clearly from someone with sensory abilities.

"How many people are in this house? When did you come to the Morlos City-State?"

"Two...me and my cousin."

"Oh, your cousin? When did he come..."

"A long time ago."

"..."

Obviously, those who came to check the residential houses were Pirates familiar with this area.

Before the questioning could continue, someone outside shouted, "Hey, Laihte, stop asking, that’s Miss Kama’s house, I know it... let’s go to the next one."

"Oh."

Hearing this, the Pirates seemed to want to finish their inquiries quickly, took another look and then turned and left.

```

With a solid foundation, there is naturally no cause for suspicion.

Su Lun listened without speaking from inside the room.

If he remembered correctly, the frivolous young man who pursued this girl was precisely a junior captain of the North Sea Fleet?

As the door closed, Kama breathed a sigh of relief.

Having been interrogated once, the immediate trouble seemed to have been temporarily resolved.

She looked at Su Lun and said, "Sir, when the time comes, you just say you’re my cousin..."

Su Lun listened to the background she concocted and felt it posed no problem, nodding in agreement, "Hmm."

.....

Once the group of pirates left, only two people remained in the room.

It was a young girl’s boudoir, and now that the two of them were alone and the serious conversation had ended, the atmosphere turned slightly awkward.

Glancing at the half-finished puppet on the workbench, Su Lun casually remarked, "You’re studying the ’Giles Equation’? You’ve got the wrong approach. It’s an alchemical matrix used for sealing, typically not applied to offensive puppets. Moreover, it’s rarely used by mid-level Puppet Masters."

The room was filled with numerous puppet parts which, unlike the rune puppets Su Lun usually researched, included many ingeniously designed mechanisms like steel needles, poison gas, strangling cords, and devious spikes...

The Boyle family’s heritage was another branch of Puppeteers—the mechanism puppet.

However, by Su Lun’s current standards, the quality of this work was indeed not much.

Kama flashed a look of humble acceptance of the criticism and nodded occasionally, "Hmm."

As Su Lun spoke, he was also thinking what he should give her to compensate for the recently used "Life-Substitute Puppet."

While he pondered, he took out several fourth-tier puppets he had crafted, "Oh, right, these puppets are for you."

Though they could not compare to the "Life-Substitute Puppet," they were still quite costly to make.

And for Kama, currently at the second tier, these puppets were more practical and could provide her with adequate security.

For Puppet Masters, combat capability entirely depended on their puppets, and good puppets could instantly enhance one’s fighting power.

Furthermore, puppets could serve as heirlooms, passed down through generations.

This was the "hard currency" of Puppet Masters.

"This..."

Watching Su Lun take out several rune puppets, Kama’s eyes immediately lit up.

As a Puppeteer, she could instantly discern that the craftsmanship of these puppets was far beyond her understanding.

It wasn’t just the blueprints, but the carving, enchanting, runes... every aspect reflected master-level craftsmanship. All the details indicated that they were from the original ancient methods passed down through generations by the Boyle family.

It was then she remembered their earlier conversation.

Could this person truly be her great-great-great-great-granduncle?

Only that could explain why he could produce such complete blueprints and these high-tier puppets.

Appearing somewhat overwhelmed by the favor, Kama felt it improper to decline the "gift from a senior of her lineage," and she accepted the puppets, "Thank you... great-uncle."

Su Lun, hearing this title, wore a strange expression. Although the lineage was correct, something felt off, so he said, "I’m called Su Lun. You can just address me by my name."

Kama, hearing that Su Lun did not correct her, looked even more solemn, "Yes, great-uncle. Oh no, Mr. Su... Su Lun."

Su Lun did not dwell further on the issue of address, saying, "My identity is troublesome, and it’s not good for you to be involved with me. I will not stay here long; once the city’s search is over, I will leave. If you have any problems, or need my help, just say so."

As he spoke, his peripheral vision also glanced toward a certain corner of the room.

A millennia-old family legacy was bound to possess some profound foundations.

In that unremarkable corner sat a semi-finished puppet that had a soul fluctuation.

Kama hadn’t brought it up on her own, and he didn’t inquire about someone else’s privacy either.

...

Listening to Su Lun’s words, a look of regret flashed across Kama’s face, as if she felt that she was about to miss the opportunity of meeting a fellow sect elder.

After pondering for a moment, she said, "That… Mr. Su Lun, if possible, I would like to consult you on several puppetry-related issues."

Su Lun replied, "There’s no need to be so polite. Go ahead."

Kama proceeded to take out a puppet and fiddled with its mechanism, then pulled several diagrams hidden inside the puppet’s body and asked, "Could you help me see where the problem lies with these diagrams?"

Su Lun looked closely with a sidelong glance, noting the careful preservation indicating the items were of no ordinary significance.

The diagrams were hand-drawn but exceeded any that could be found on a craftsman’s workbench.

With just a glance, Su Lun frowned and asked, "Were these discovered in some ancient tome?"

Simply by looking at the mystical runes on the diagrams, he knew that it was a highly complex and sophisticated puppet component.

And it was only a part of it.

Newly drawn, like imitating from an object… This was also a crucial clue.

Kama replied truthfully, "This is something handed down through the Boyle family lineage."

"…"

After carefully examining the diagrams once more, Su Lun instantly knew that it wouldn’t be easy to identify the problem right away.

The intricate puppetary had been greatly expanded by "Robert Boyle," and much of it was his original creation.

There was knowledge in the design that even Su Lun had not yet encountered—"top-tier puppetry knowledge."

He too would need to consult many texts before he could find the issue.

Though he could not fully understand it, Su Lun could guess what effect this part of the diagrams was intended to have.

He was beginning to understand the soul on that puppet in the corner.

"This appears to be the making of a top-tier ’puppetry core.’ These marks indicate sorcerous secret techniques and it seems to be capable of harboring a soul…"

Su Lun’s eyes narrowed, unable to hide his astonishment at the diagrams, and he exclaimed in admiration, "This is truly a great and marvelous idea!"

Hearing Su Lun effortlessly articulate the details of the diagrams, Kama knew that his puppetry expertise far surpassed her understanding.

Excited and hopeful, she asked, "Are you able to repair these diagrams?"

Su Lun’s expression turned serious as he said, "It’s difficult. The techniques in the diagram are knowledge that only those in the top-tier realm of puppetry would touch upon. Even if the materials were available, I would not be able to construct it. Moreover, this is only a part of the diagram..."

Hearing this, Kama urgently inquired, "What if… what if I have other diagrams?"

As she spoke, she realized her impropriety, and a hint of hesitation flashed in her bright eyes, as if she had made some decision. Finally, she revealed her family’s biggest inherited secret, "That... It’s not that I mean to hide anything from you. But please, could you help me… and my brother!"

Su Lun’s brows raised slightly, "Your brother?"

So, the soul fluctuation on that puppet was from her brother.

Kama nodded earnestly and said, "Yes! This is the [Mechanical Puppet Heart] diagram passed down from our ancestor in the Boyle family. And my brother, he is trapped within a broken puppet heart."

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