Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 102: The origin of the mysterious pharmacist

Su'en had always been careful about his whereabouts. Even Kay didn't know the location of the basement he rented.

Moreover, now that he had obtained the skill of "Malicious Perception," the possibility of being tracked was almost zero. Unless it was a high-level professional with special means to deceive perception, he should not be found.

But unexpectedly, someone found his doorstep.

He looked at the cloaked figure wandering near the basement and occasionally glancing at the street, and knew that this guy was probably looking for him.

.......

Su'en looked around and didn't see anyone paying attention to him. He walked over and asked in a deep voice, "Are you waiting for me?"

The sneaky guy was none other than the mysterious alchemist.

Hearing Su'en's cold tone, the cloaked figure apologized repeatedly, "I'm sorry, sir. I do have a very important matter to trouble you with, so I took the liberty to come to your door."

His tone was full of sincerity and uneasiness, and it seemed that he really had an urgent matter.

Anyone would have an unpleasant expression if someone inexplicably found their doorstep.

But what Su'en was more curious about was how this guy knew his place of residence.

He didn't ask what Danny came for, but asked, "How did you know I live here?"

In order to clarify some misunderstandings as soon as possible, Danny quickly explained in a fast pace, "My profession is 'Debate Pharmacist,' and my awakened talent is 'D-031-Enhanced Smell.' Although I don't have much combat power, it makes me very sensitive to the smell of potions..."

Taking a breath, he hurriedly explained again, "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to track you! But because you took the potions I gave you, the smell on you is very special to me. Since we're not far apart, I followed the smell... I knocked on the door but you weren't there, so I took the liberty to wait here... I'm really sorry, sir."

Perhaps due to guilt, his speech became incoherent.

But Su'en understood. This guy found him by smelling the potions on his body?

Is the talent of "Enhanced Smell" really that powerful?

The place where the alchemist lived was two or three kilometers away from Green Street. If he could smell the scent from such a distance, this talent would be the top tracking ability, not just a D-level talent.

Su'en felt that he was lying or hiding something, and coldly questioned, "Did your enhanced smell allow you to smell the scent of the potions on me?"

Seeing Su'en's displeased expression, Danny knew that he had been misunderstood and quickly explained, "No, others can't smell this scent! It's because... it's because..."

When he said this, it seemed that there were some words that were difficult to say.

After weighing it for a moment, he seemed to have made a decision and said, "Because my body has undergone some changes, my smell talent awakened for the second time, which makes it more special."

"..."

Second awakening of talent?

Su'en frowned as he listened.

He instantly thought of the words "Semi-Mutated Human" that were identified. It seemed that this guy wasn't lying.

But at the same time, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

If anyone could have such a strong tracking ability, it would be truly terrifying.

At this moment, Danny seemed afraid that Su'en wouldn't believe him. He gritted his teeth and, for the first time, revealed his face hidden by the cloak, revealing a distorted face full of pustules like toad skin.

"Sorry, sir, I scared you. I just wanted to prove that I'm telling the truth."

Uncovering the cloak, Danny's gaze dodged, as if he could already predict the surprised expression of the gentleman in front of him.

However, to his surprise, Su'en remained calm throughout the process, without any expression of surprise.

"Follow me. This is not the place to talk."

Seeing this, Su'en said calmly and walked towards the alley behind the basement.

Danny's appearance did not surprise him at all. This was consistent with the situation of being a "Semi-Mutated" individual.

........

Su'en walked to the depths of the alley and looked at Danny in front of him. Then he got to the point and asked, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

Danny anxiously said, "My friends were just captured. Beta, Brown, and Nancy. So I want to ask you to help me rescue them."

Pausing for a moment, he seemed to feel that he didn't specify clearly and added, "They are the ones who traded with me and you before. They are good people. Half an hour ago, several people got off a black truck from another block and took them away. I heard that it was done by the gang that has been hunting down homeless people and orphans in Green Street recently..."

"..."

Su'en listened but didn't respond.

His first reaction was that the person who came to trouble Danny in the inner city had arrived at his doorstep.

After all, being able to produce so many advanced potions must mean that the person had a remarkable background.

Danny seemed to realize this as well and said directly, "Sir, I can guarantee that Beta and the others being captured has nothing to do with my identity! After all, in the eyes of those people, I died in that laboratory accident... No one will come looking for me again. I'm sorry, sir, the only solution I can think of right now is you. Please, help me..."

Su'en listened and roughly understood the cause of the matter.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "I think you should first tell me about your background before I consider whether to help you with this favor."

If it involved Danny's mysterious background and the person who took action was from the inner city, then he would definitely not choose to get involved in this trouble.

But if it was just some human traffickers, Su'en thought the matter was simple.

After all, this was not uncommon in the underworld, and it wouldn't take much effort to solve it.

Listening to Danny's words, he thought that Green Street had become a neutral area recently, without the restraint of the Cross Society, and people from other blocks were crossing the line to capture people involved in illegal human trafficking.Danny knew that in order to gain people's trust, he had to disclose some information, so he didn't hide it and said, "My name is Danny Banks, I am a researcher at the 'Number Seven Research Institute' in the inner city. It is a secret research institute directly under the Black Tower. I don't think you have heard of it."

Suren listened without expressing any opinion. He had already guessed these news, which were irrelevant.

The key information, Danny didn't reveal anything.

He asked directly, "I think if you really want someone to help you, it's best to be more honest. For example, talk about the laboratory leak you mentioned before, and also about your own physical condition and why you came to the outer city..."

"This..."

Danny hesitated.

He knew that once his identity was exposed, it would definitely cause big trouble, but now he had no choice.

In the end, he chose to trust this person who had traded potions with him twice.

He said, "Sir, you probably guessed it. The place where the 'leak accident' happened was actually the 'Number Seven Research Institute' where I am. The distorted monsters in the sewer were caused by a special potion we were researching that exploded and leaked three years ago, which led to the mutations..."

"As for myself... because my parents were in charge of that project, they died in the accident. Unfortunately, I was also infected and then used an unfinished distortion suppressant, which is why I look like this."

Danny looked like a bookworm, without much social experience, and he didn't know how to divert attention from the important points when making up stories.

He didn't lie, but he did hide some key things.

Suren had lost patience listening to him. "If that's all you have to say, I'm sorry, I can't help you."

With that, he turned to leave.

This story shouldn't be so simple. How could a laboratory accident that caused so many monsters to mutate in the sewer be described so casually?

He wasn't interested in helping someone who wasn't honest.

.......

"Sir, wait!"

Seeing Suren about to leave, Danny panicked.

He also realized his concealment and quickly said, "I... I have something else to say."

Suren glanced at him.

Danny knew he wasn't good at lying, so in his anxiety, he decided to tell the whole truth.

He said, "The project is called the 'X Serum Plan'. It is a top-level medical research project deciphered from ancient documents found in a certain relic by the high-level members of the Black Tower. Its purpose is to study the ultimate mystery of life..."

"The X Serum has very strong activity, it can prolong a person's life and greatly enhance their physical abilities. However, the serum also has very strong side effects, which is that it will 100% cause biological distortion. The 'Number Seven Research Institute' where I am is responsible for developing the distortion suppressant..."

"This secret project has been going on for many years and has already achieved some research results. But later, my parents discovered that the high-level members of the Black Tower conducted a large number of live experiments for certain undisclosed secrets. At least tens of thousands of people died because of this project, and if the research continues, more innocent people will die... My parents felt that this violated the original intention of medical research, so they chose to detonate the laboratory and destroy all the research results..."

"And at that time, I was also infected in the laboratory and injected with the unfinished distortion suppressant. Although I survived, I ended up like this."

Danny finished telling the story in one breath, heaved a long sigh, and felt relieved.

Suren listened with a slightly furrowed brow, becoming more and more puzzled.

Danny was born into a medical family, and Suren had guessed that.

But at the beginning of the story, he felt strangely familiar, and when he heard the name "X Serum" without any change, he immediately realized that this was the research mentioned in the "Zombie Research Diary" before.

And considering that the current "development" of the entire Old Lingdun City is actually archaeology, it is not surprising.

Now listening to Danny's story, in order to confirm his guess, he asked, "Where did the 'X Serum' come from?"

Danny replied, "I don't know either. This is a very large project with a very high level of confidentiality. Our research institute is only responsible for a part of it, which is the research on the distortion suppressant..."

Upon hearing this, Suren asked again, "How did you escape?"

Danny said, "The laboratory explosion opened the exclusive water pipe for handling experimental wastewater, connecting it to the city's sewer network. I was affected by the explosion and fell into the water pipe, which allowed me to survive by chance. Then I escaped to the outer city through the pipeline, and Aunt Susan and my friends took me in. That's how I didn't starve to death..."

As he spoke, he glanced at Suren. "Sir, I didn't intentionally hide anything before, I just didn't want to trouble you. I don't have much time left to live now. If you think you can get a reward by taking me to the inner city, I won't resist. I beg you to help rescue my friends."

Even if this guy had a bounty, which Suren doubted, he had no intention of doing so. But he said unexpectedly, "You're going to die?"

Danny nodded, "Although I survived the accident, the unfinished 'distortion suppressant' has a great side effect, which is that it greatly shortens lifespan. I estimate that I can live for at most two more years..."

"..."

Suren listened and realized that his superhuman sense of smell was obtained by squeezing out his life force?

But he remembered that the solution to the distortion in the "Zombie Research Diary" had no side effects.

.......

After listening to the story, Suren's concerns were basically dispelled.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Besides you, does anyone else know my place of residence?"

Danny said, "Don't worry, don't worry, no one knows your place of residence except me. I have never sold potions before, so no one would notice that I am still alive. As a reward, you can take me to exchange for a bounty, and I can also help you refine potions for free. I am a 'potion expert'..."

As he spoke, he added somewhat embarrassedly, "But... I don't have money, so you need to provide the materials.""Let's talk about this later."

Su'en responded indifferently.

He had been interested in the "X Serum Project" for a long time. The serum could dramatically enhance physical abilities and even create "living dead"... Its effects were extraordinary.

However, due to a lack of clues, he hadn't given it much thought.

Unexpectedly, someone in the real Old Lingdun had restarted this research. This meant that the conditions for restoring the research already existed in reality!

Although the laboratory in the Black Tower that Danny mentioned had failed...

The "Living Dead Research Diary" recorded the entire research process of the mad alchemist who had successfully studied the living dead back then!

Although the part involving technical content hadn't been decrypted yet, the notebook was in his hands, and he would be able to decipher it sooner or later.

Su'en's current medical knowledge was far from enough for "conducting research", but Danny could. In the future, this guy might even be able to help him greatly in deciphering the diary.

If he could really produce the "X Serum"...

Su'en thought it might bring him tremendous benefits!

.......

But now was not the time to think about this. Su'en asked, "I can try to help you rescue your friends, but I can't guarantee success. Can you use your sense of smell to determine their location?"

He planned to give it a try. If it wasn't too troublesome, he wouldn't mind lending a hand.

Upon hearing this, Danny was overjoyed, "Yes! At least for an hour, I can smell the scent on Nancy and the others. I can clearly distinguish that the car carrying them went to the west of the city..."