Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 38: Hysterical strength

"Hey, isn't that Captain Kay? Long time no see..."

The voice echoed in the tenement building, and everyone could hear the sarcasm in the words.

The members of the "Steam Party" surrounded the people of Green Street who were at the bottom of the tenement building.

The leader was the "Red-Haired" Kun Tu, who had appeared at the Elephant Tavern before. He looked at Kay with a relaxed smile, as if victory was already in his hands.

......

Su'en looked at the enemies and his expression became serious. "Two professionals, this is going to be troublesome..."

Kun Tu's alchemical plant was the "Flame Lizard," with the main material being the oil gland of the Flame Lizard, a curse material that was obscure and somewhat useless. But this plant gave him a high resistance to fire and the ability to manipulate flames. After adding some improved flame-throwing mechanical devices, he became a "pseudo-fire mage."

This combination of machinery and plants was the mainstream "new-style" alchemist.

Although it lacked the flexibility of a pure first-order old-style fire alchemist and the strength of a normal professional, its destructive power was not inferior. The key was that the casting process was more cost-effective.

It was like using a lighter to ignite and using a magnifying glass to focus the fire. The methods were different, but the results were the same (limited to low-level spells).

As "new-style" alchemists, the members of the Steam Party preferred machinery over alchemy.

To them, alchemical plants were just auxiliary tools, and machinery was the focus. Although this clever approach limited the potential of the plants, the mechanical modifications had no limits. Moreover, the curse properties of the plants, although weaker in effect, also had a smaller chance of distortion, making them suitable for people with less talent.

However, facing only Kun Tu, Kay didn't have much advantage.

In a one-on-one fight, the probability of Kay, a high-agility assassin, killing Kun Tu, a pseudo-mage, was obviously higher.

But obviously, the enemy had also thought of this.

In their team, there was another person who had unsealed their alchemical plant.

It was a person wearing a black windbreaker, with an octopus metal mask on his head. The exposed skin on his hands and neck emitted a dark metallic cold light.

When Su'en saw this person, he instantly matched the information in his mind: "The captain of the Thirteenth Block of the West City, 'Steel Gorilla' Sis!"

Since he knew that the Cross Society and the Steam Party would always have clashes, he had done his homework during this time and had some understanding of the abilities of the famous professionals from the opposing factions.

This "Steel Gorilla" Sis awakened the beastification talent, "Talent C-071-Ape," which allowed him to transform into a giant ape like a werewolf, greatly increasing his physical strength, speed, and toughness.

It was a very good melee talent.

And this guy also obtained the obscure alchemical plant, "Salamander Iron Skin," a "metal bio-skin" with super toughness that the Steam Party had developed. This allowed him to have super defense against firearms after unsealing the plant.

Because of this, Sis earned the title of "Steel Gorilla."

"This is a bit tricky..."

Su'en looked at the situation and knew that it was specifically targeted at Kay.

One could fight, and the other could withstand.

Although Kay's "Blade" was sharp and could cut people in half, it was obvious that this "Steel Gorilla" was specifically targeting assassins like him.

At least Kay's Blade would not be able to kill him in a short period of time.

........

"The 'Red-Haired' Kun Tu is not much of a threat. Although his fire control ability is strong, his attack range is limited..."

In Su'en's eyes, Kun Tu, who had joined the organization, was not much of a threat.

His attack methods were single, and there was a lot of room to predict the direction of the attacks from his mechanical flamethrower.

Moreover, Su'en had already advanced to "Advanced Mastery" in marksmanship, which was enough for him to use the "kite-flying" method to turn that guy into a sieve.

But there was still the "Steel Gorilla" Sis.

Su'en squinted his eyes and observed the man in the windbreaker upstairs, thinking to himself, "I wonder if the 'Armor-Piercing Alchemical Bullet' can penetrate his goggles..."

Without actual combat data, it was difficult to determine.

According to legend, this guy had a record of withstanding alchemical bullets...

The only weak point, his eyes, seemed to be hidden behind the goggles with runes, and it didn't seem easy to break through. Moreover, since it was one of the few "weak points" on his body, he would definitely be heavily guarded.

Su'en felt that choosing these two professionals as the first targets of attack was not logical.

Because the most troublesome situation at the moment was not the two professionals, but the number of enemies!

There were nearly fifty enemies, with dozens of guns and rockets aimed at the people of Green Street.

Under concentrated fire, there would definitely be casualties.

Su'en also didn't have the certainty to avoid the concentrated fire in the first moment.

But for him, there was one good news... most of the guns were aimed at Kay.

After all, in the eyes of those people, only Kay, as a professional, was the biggest threat.

Thinking of this, Su'en's gaze began to wander...

.......

Gang fights were a daily occurrence in the underworld.

The veterans were prepared for death at any time in the firefight with rival gangs. But the newcomers seemed a bit at a loss.

Perhaps it was because these newcomers were trembling in the face of death that the members of the Steam Party didn't immediately take action.

It was like a hunter seeing its prey fall into a deep trap. It wouldn't kill it immediately, but would appreciate its masterpiece.

Kun Tu looked down from above and smiled, "Captain Kay, oh, you don't look too good, do you?"

"Hehe... is this all the Steam Party has? You ran away with your tail between your legs at the Elephant Tavern last time, and now you want to play dirty tricks?"

Kay mocked mercilessly.

Then, he whispered to the people beside him, "Most of their attention is on me. I'll attract their firepower, and you find an opportunity to strike. Prepare for a fight, everyone..."

Surrendering was impossible. In gang fights, only one side being completely wiped out by the other would end it.

Everyone was aware of this.

Su'en had a gun pointed at him, and his adrenaline surged.

He had also been mentally prepared to face unexpected events, so there was no surprise on his face.

However, upon closer observation, he noticed something strange.

Su'en's super vision allowed him to clearly see that among the group of gunmen upstairs, two of them were staring at him through their scopes.

In the instant their gazes met, he realized that he was receiving "special treatment."

Su'en also found it strange in his heart: "Huh... why aren't those two aiming at the veterans or Kay? Why are they staring at me?"

The other gunmen were casually aiming at the crowd, but the gazes of those two gunmen were accurately locked onto him.

Su'en's thoughts quickly turned, and he immediately realized: Could it be that I attracted attention because I was too close to Boss Qian before?

He pouted at the thought. It seemed that he should avoid getting involved with important figures in the future, or else he would easily become the focus of the enemy.

.......

Since he noticed that he was being targeted, Su'en didn't make any rash moves. Instead, he slowly relaxed his grip on the shotgun in his hand.

In the eyes of the enemy, this action was not threatening and could make them relax their guard.

But others didn't know that Su'en was analyzing the situation in his mind at a rapid pace: "The exit of the tenement building must have been blocked. After the first round of concentrated fire, the only chance to escape is to go to that 'underground chamber' and use cover and the dark environment to kill the enemy..."

The position of the people from Green Street was awkward. Besides a few load-bearing columns, there were almost no cover on the ground floor.

The enemy had the high ground, and if they engaged in a direct shootout, the people of Green Street would be wiped out instantly.

Therefore, Su'en decided to take the initiative.

The feeling of adrenaline surging made his body excited as well.

He licked his lips, and a strange ferocity appeared in his eyes. "I'm going to kill again..."

.......

Su'en was well aware that he had a "dangerous personality."

This was diagnosed by the therapists at the juvenile detention center when he was twelve years old, after he killed those thugs. But he didn't think of it as another self; it was more accurate to say that "he" was a part of his emotions.

Later, the learning and treatment at the detention center also taught Su'en how to manage this part of his "emotions" precisely.

This allowed him to separate certain negative emotions in his daily life, such as ferocity, fear, killing, desire... or pain. He used to think of it as an "illness."

But later, he realized that it was also a self-defense ability.

In dangerous situations, letting certain specific emotions erupt would stimulate his potential.

It was like the news in his previous life where a young mother lifted a several-ton car to save her child in a moment of desperation.

It was like when he was twelve years old and could deal with those young and strong thugs.

It was a potential called "hysterical strength."

Scientifically speaking, in extreme situations, hormones in the body would rush out of the adrenal glands, flow into the blood, and circulate throughout the body. This would fill the muscles with excess oxygenated blood, allowing them to exert more strength. But this process was also dangerous and had a high chance of causing the breakdown of various tissues in the body and death.

Su'en wasn't sure if his situation was like that.

But once he released "him," his body would become extremely excited, hormones would surge, and his strength and nerve reactions would increase significantly...

Now, with a gun pointed at his head, he felt this sensation again.