Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 36: Monster in the high-rise building

"Hehe, twenty people? Only Kay, the professional, is a bit tricky. The other newcomers are not worth worrying about."

"But that kid who was close to the 'Four-Armed Rakshasa' before needs to be watched more closely. If there's a chance, kill him first to avoid any accidents."

"Yes, Captain Kuntu."

"..."

Kay gathered his men to prepare for the first time to deal with the anomaly event. The members of the "Steam Brotherhood" received the news and quietly ambushed near the tenement building.

The incident of the Elephant Tavern escaping in embarrassment has become a joke for "Red-Haired" Kuntu in the underworld, making him lose face in front of his peers.

Now that Qiantiao is no longer on Green Street, they are ready to take action again.

.......

Although the city is much safer than outside, anomalies still occur from time to time.

Old Lingdun City is an ancient relic, and even after years of cleaning and excavation, some "cursed objects" with residual curse characteristics that have not completely dissipated are still occasionally found underground. These things are good for professionals, but for ordinary people, they are nightmares like radiation sources and easily trigger anomalies.

The air in the city, although the concentration of dark spiritual power is thinner than outside the city, is enough to trigger anomalies with a low probability.

Eating contaminated food and water, returning from hunting in high anomaly environments, and various other reasons... Almost every month, there are several anomaly events in each major district.

And recently, the frequency seems to be quietly increasing.

Of course, the most troublesome are the out-of-control professionals.

The essence of "anomaly" is the uncontrollable dark spiritual power in the body, which destroys a person's will and transforms the body into a giant-like monster or other special forms.

After the anomaly, the dark spiritual power in the body will be unrestricted and rapidly increase. Therefore, professionals who turn into monsters will be several times stronger than their combat power when they were alive, making them very difficult to deal with.

There are no city guards or security forces in the outer city, and the anomalies in the jurisdiction are all handled by the underworld.

So, this is also the daily work of the Ten Cross Society members on Green Street.

Shortly after the assembly order was issued, Su'en had already arrived at the dilapidated building.

In the recent period, more than ten newcomers have joined, making up for the members who were killed in the support headquarters battle.

The efficiency of the assembly was very high, and soon there were nearly twenty people in front of the dilapidated building.

Su'en, who was already considered an old-timer, looked at the almost all "newcomers" gathered in front of the building and was slightly surprised.

After waiting for a while, Kay counted the number of people and said as usual, "Alright, everyone is here, get ready to go."

Dealing with anomaly events is a good practical training. Listening to the old birds like Sam, Su'en learned that this time the captain intends to take the newcomers out for some real combat practice.

Everyone got on motorcycles, and Kay explained the content of this operation, saying, "There have been many homeless people missing near the tenement building these days. Some people have seen bodies that have been gnawed on and monsters with anomalies... Maybe the seal in the nearby sewer has been broken, and monsters have come out, or maybe there are 'cursed objects'. Anyway, our task this time is to clean up the basement near the incident at the tenement building. If we're lucky, we might find ancient cursed artifacts buried underground; at worst, we can get some cursed materials. By then, everyone will receive a bonus..."

After speaking, he waved his big hand and said, "Let's go, set off."

Everyone nodded, "Yes, Captain!"

Su'en remained silent as usual, not saying a word as an insignificant person.

Although "anomaly events" are the daily unexpected events of the underworld, there are still casualties, especially for inexperienced newcomers.

Su'en was not careless at all.

He observed the people in the team and checked his equipment before silently boarding the motorcycle with a few veterans.

.......

In addition to the bustling three entertainment districts, there is a tenement building in the north of Green Street, which is the "slum" in the civilian area.

Because this ancient architectural relic preserved some dilapidated tenement buildings that can still be inhabited, it has gathered a large number of homeless people, beggars, and thieves. But even the members of the underworld rarely set foot in this place. Plague, stench, filth, and anomalies are the synonyms of this area...

The people of Green Street marched in a mighty manner and arrived at the tenement building, where someone was already waiting.

"Captain Kay, you're here!"

The one who spoke was an old man in coarse cloth, Bravo the "One-Eyed". This guy is also the leader of the thieves in the Green Street area, and he has dozens of half-sized kids under his command, specializing in learning theft techniques to make money.

Those with good talent will be sent to the guild to be trained as professionals.

They are considered a subordinate organization of the Ten Cross Society.

Kay nodded, familiar with this old man, and didn't bother with pleasantries. "Old man, where did the incident happen?"

Bravo said, "Follow me."

The old man led the group of people through a ruin.

The air was filled with a strong sewage stench.

Su'en occasionally scanned the surroundings and saw faces of emaciated people peering curiously and timidly from the shabby huts.

These were the residents of the tenement building.

There were also some children, ten or eight years old, wearing tattered clothes and barefoot on the ruins. They followed the people from Green Street from a distance, their eyes filled with envy and longing.

In the outer city, there are many such poor people, and no one knows the exact number, but it is definitely large.

Their lives are as cheap as rye, with a hundred lisu buying a life. In such a harsh living environment, only sewer rats can survive, but they stubbornly survive.

These slum dwellers are also one of the most important reasons why the inner city gave up on governing these areas.

The Ten Cross Society occasionally sends food here.

Because many people in the underworld have come out from here.

At least Captain Kay did.

As they walked, the old man sighed, "Ah... I don't know what's been happening recently. The monsters in the sewer seem to be very active. A few days ago, someone even heard about a beautiful endless woman in the Snail Alley. Hehe... I think it's probably some anomaly monster luring people to eat... Sure enough, a few days later, all the homeless people in that area disappeared."

Su'en listened from behind, his eyes showing contemplation.

Beautiful women would be in the brothels on Green Street, but they would never appear here.

But... what kind of anomaly monster would turn into a beautiful woman?

This touched on Su'en's blind spot of knowledge.

.......

Before long, the old man led the people from Green Street to the northernmost part of the tenement building.

The smell of the sewer here was even stronger, as if they were close to certain pipe outlets.

The old man pointed to a black tenement building several hundred meters away and said, "Someone saw anomaly monsters appearing in that dilapidated building before. They are more active when the mist appears at night. But be careful, there is a basement under that dilapidated building that seems to be connected to the underground network. I don't know what kind of monsters are hidden there, so don't go too deep."

After listening, Kay waved his hand and said, "Alright, leave the rest to us."

Next was the job of the combat personnel.

He pulled the gun bolt and said to Su'en and the others behind him, "Brothers, let's get to work!"

The old man stayed where he was without saying anything.

Everyone put on gas masks and night vision goggles and walked into the dilapidated building.

Su'en held the shotgun distributed by the guild, loaded it with a click.

Compared to pistols, this kind of scatter gun is more suitable for dealing with anomaly monsters. Even without alchemical bullets, a few more shots can blast the monsters to pieces.