Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 54: Haunted house

When Su'en came out of "Akun's Soup Room," it was already the middle of the night.

On the street, he ran into the refreshed Kay.

This guy disappeared as soon as he entered, probably sneaking off to another bathhouse to enjoy a soak. He caught up with Su'en and started the motorcycle, asking, "How was the soup room here?"

Seeing his teasing expression, Su'en guessed that Kay wasn't genuinely curious about the luxurious service he had enjoyed, but rather wanted to know about the embarrassing situation he had encountered.

After all, the last time Su'en came, he was almost humiliated by a group of capable subordinates. The women's eyes were too sharp, and their words were full of malice... It still left him with psychological trauma.

Su'en guessed what Kay was thinking and smiled without explaining much, "It's not bad."

As he spoke, a fleeting and beautiful image flashed through his mind.

Hmm... that gambling addict's figure is indeed good.

Although Qiantiao didn't have much of an attitude towards familiar subordinates and everyone was eloquent when communicating, besides being addicted to gambling, he hadn't heard of any chaotic private life from this boss.

Su'en felt like she had no interest in men at all.

"Oh~"

Kay thought that Su'en didn't want to talk about his embarrassing situation and showed a knowing smile.

The two rode the motorcycle back to Green Street.

.......

It wasn't too late when Su'en returned, and he caught the last professional gladiatorial match at the gambling stall, conveniently harvesting some soul fragments.

This night was not wasted.

Then he went to the "Three Fire Guns Tavern" and, as expected, received a message from the potion stall owner.

"Tomorrow at noon, the warehouse on the back street of Gingko Street."

The note left the meeting place and time, and Su'en looked at it and had a rough idea, "He paid the deposit this afternoon and made an appointment to meet tomorrow morning. He must be urgently in need of money."

Looking at Gingko Street again, Su'en also guessed that the mysterious stall owner might be active in this area. After all, secret transactions generally wouldn't take place in unfamiliar territory. He had previously chosen to pay the deposit on Gingko Street and now chose to meet there, indicating that the other party was familiar with the environment there.

Su'en didn't think much about it. After all, it was the territory of the Cross Society, and many underground forces had some connections. The mysterious stall owner might indeed have some involvement with the Cross Society.

It was already early morning when Su'en left the tavern. He went to the hotel to meditate and rest, replenishing his energy.

But before noon, he received news from the real estate agent that they had found a suitable property.

Big enough, cheap enough, and quiet enough...

Thinking that it wouldn't affect the noon transaction, Su'en decided not to rest and took the opportunity to go to the real estate agency.

He was tired of the poor accommodation conditions in cheap hotels.

He wanted to find a suitable place to live, preferably spacious enough, with a shooting range where he could practice marksmanship, alchemy, and making puppets.

......

Su'en didn't expect that the meeting place the real estate agent arranged for him was also Gingko Street.

Areas with a high concentration of entertainment venues usually wouldn't be too remote. Gingko Street, which was not far from Green Street, belonged to the "middle-class district" of the outer city.

Here, there were relatively complete social resources, and many people with stable jobs in the outer city lived in this area.

"There used to be a banker from the inner city who planned to choose this place as the address for the bank and even wanted to build a vault underground... But later, because they dug too deep and probably hit the earth's veins, a thick dark spiritual power surged out. It was unbearable for ordinary people, and the bank plan was abandoned, so this house became vacant..."

"I heard that you are about to advance to a professional, looking for a place with a strong dark spiritual power. I think there is no better place than this property of mine. The underground vault is spacious enough, and the sound insulation effect is excellent. You can even use it as a shooting range. Even if you practice marksmanship in the middle of the night, I don't think anyone will complain about disturbing the peace..."

"And, you can rent this two-story house with a basement for only two thousand liang. I dare say there is no cheaper option in Old Lingdun."

"..."

The landlord's name was Gelangtai, a middle-aged man who looked shrewd with a big belly.

He followed Su'en all the way, introducing the house at 88 Gingko Street.

It was a grayish small Western-style building, located in a slightly secluded corner of the back street, inconspicuous. The house had simple furniture, and the basic decoration was almost complete. Gas and water pipes were installed, and it was ready to move in with just a twist...

Su'en didn't expect to be pleasantly surprised during this house viewing. The previous few times, various conditions didn't meet his expectations.

But this property in front of him met all his expectations in every aspect.

Not eye-catching, quiet enough... especially the sturdy and spacious basement, which made him most satisfied.

The house itself was an ancient building, sturdy enough, and the thick cement walls of the basement prevented the sound of gunfire from spreading.

Here, Su'en could already imagine having his own workshop in the future, making runic puppets, modifying machinery, and using it as a shooting range...

Moreover, the reason why this house was so cheap was because of the thick "dark spiritual power" permeating from below.

For ordinary people, this was a deadly "radiation" that could cause distortions.

The dark spiritual power in Old Lingdun City was much weaker than outside the city, and the practice of breathing techniques for professionals would also be much slower, probably only one-fifth to one-tenth of that outside the city.

But it wasn't absolute, and there were also some localized "high distortion areas" in the city where the dark spiritual power was much denser.

Like this small building.

However, ordinary professionals didn't like this kind of place because in a high distortion environment, humans could unknowingly undergo distortions. Environmental factors were one of the most difficult distortion factors to control. The denser the dark spiritual power, the more violent and difficult to control it became.However, Su'en had no such concerns. He possessed the All-Seeing Eye, which allowed him to clearly see the changes in his own data surface. If he detected any abnormal spearheads, he could leave in time.

Moreover, he was in need of such high concentrations of dark spiritual power.

Su'en had now taken up the position of a first-order puppeteer, his rank limit had been lifted, and his body needed to absorb more dark spiritual power to lay the foundation for advancing to the second-order profession in the future.

Although most of the members of the Cross Society had never thought they could advance to the second order in their lifetime, Su'en, as a transmigrator, was not just satisfied with the bottom-level scenery.

Therefore, this small building was very suitable.

He signed the contract, paid the rent, and spent several thousand Lisuo.

Su'en received the keys to the house.

The landlord, Golangtai, seemed very pleased as well. This troublesome property of his had finally been rented out.

......

Su'en was always efficient in handling matters. It took him less than an hour to view the house and sign the contract.

Landlord Golangtai said he would arrange for someone to clean the house in the next two days and agreed to hand over the house in three days.

Su'en had no objections. He needed to prepare for the "Inner City Trial Group" in the next two days.

He left the small building. It was not yet nine o'clock, and the morning crowd was already bustling on Ginkgo Street.

Su'en planned to find something for breakfast and thought of the Bellman Bakery at No. 14 Ginkgo Street where he had previously paid a deposit.

Because many middle-class people lived on this street, the bakery offered not only hard black bread that could be used as a baseball bat, but also a variety of other styles to choose from.

Su'en randomly picked a few, stuffed them into an oil paper bag, and prepared to pay.

At this time, two half-grown boys wearing duckbill caps and overalls followed him in, seemingly making some small moves.

In fact, Su'en had noticed them before he entered the door and knew that these children were the most common thieves in the outer city.

But they were not after Su'en's wallet, but the bread on the counter.

While Su'en was choosing and paying, the two boys had quietly swiped two pieces of black bread, their technique was very skilled.

Su'en pretended not to see, but the bakery owner seemed to be very familiar with these habitual offenders' methods.

As soon as the two boys came in, the clerk's eyes became very alert. At this moment, they had just succeeded and had no chance to slip away, the baker with the golden handlebar mustache came out angrily with a rolling pin, grabbing one of them by the collar.

With this pull, a foot-long piece of bread fell to the ground.

"Hey, you damn brats, you're back again!"

The baker roared angrily, lifting the little thief into the air.

The duckbill cap fell off, revealing a dirty little face. With clear eyebrows and bright eyes, it turned out to be a "tomboy" with short hair.

Su'en originally didn't plan to interfere, such things were too common in the outer city.

Children in the slums mostly lived by begging and stealing. Being beaten and going hungry were part of their growth. Whether they could survive in this cruel world depended on their own fate.

However, when Su'en saw the look of fear and helplessness in the child's eyes, he suddenly saw his own past. He had been helpless like this, as if the whole world had abandoned him.

The little thief was hit with a stick, her eyes full of tears, but she didn't cry out.

Su'en thought for a moment, pointing to the black bread on the ground: "How much for these breads?"

The handlebar mustache baker guessed Su'en's intention and advised: "Oh, honorable customer, these thieves are not worth your sympathy... You don't need to spend money on them."

He paused, looking like he was about to beat the little thief, and said menacingly: "If we don't give these guys a painful lesson, they'll be back tomorrow!"

Su'en didn't argue, he handed over a banknote: "Here's fifty Lisuo, it should be enough to buy these breads."

He showed no expression on his face, paid the money, and turned to leave the bakery.