Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 161: The painting style has been twisted again

ps. I stayed up late last night to write this, and I feel like there are some problems with the sentences. I will update and revise them later. Please read without words for a better reading experience.

When Su'en came out of room 1021, the restaurant was already in chaos.

A black-gray mist spread down from the stairs on the second floor, as if adding a layer of underworld filter to this brightly lit luxury restaurant, presenting a gray and cold color.

The identification showed that it was a special "corpse gas".

Because the NPCs in the restaurant had already been contaminated during these three days, as soon as they touched this gray mist, they began to distort. Their bodies were like being irradiated, growing disgusting tumors and strange tentacles... They transformed from humans into distorted monsters with fangs and claws.

For a while, the entire restaurant was filled with zombies, and the sounds of roaring and screaming were endless... It was like a purgatory on earth.

Su'en had learned from the previous intelligence that this "ghost mist" was a gas that had a high chance of causing mutations even for hunters.

So this was the reason why the hunters would only come out exactly twenty-four hours later, even though they could have stayed longer.

But Su'en discovered that this "ghost mist" was a purer dark attribute energy than dark spiritual power. It could also increase the upper limit of dark spiritual power through the breathing method.

He tried to take a few breaths and found...

His dark spiritual power, which had already been slowly increasing, continued to rise.

Moreover, his body had a higher affinity for this "ghost mist", and breathing it in was very pleasant. With each breath, the efficiency of consuming dark spiritual power for recovery would increase. The amount of recovery was almost the same as the amount consumed by removing the equipment and using [Wu Shi], and there was no sign of mutation...

It meant that in this environment, Su'en could almost maintain the state of removing the equipment.

This was also good news.

.......

There was intense fighting noise coming from upstairs, indicating that Edward and the other two "magicians" had clashed with the old nun.

But Su'en didn't rush upstairs.

Both sides were currently in a strong state, so the battle upstairs must be extremely dangerous.

If he joined in, he might be accidentally injured.

According to the thousand-year-old storyline, Edward and the others should have been wiped out.

But now... it was hard to say.

Judging from their abilities just now, all three of them were very strong. As long as they didn't transform, they definitely had the power to fight.

The noise from upstairs was also going back and forth, indicating that the battle was intense.

So, he would wait.

When both sides were heavily injured, it would be the best time to intervene.

Su'en walked to the corridor and decided to first check the situation on the first floor.

The situation today was different from when the previous hunting team entered.

When the previous hunting team entered, by midnight, they only had to face the "wild monsters" that were on duty in the hotel, such as the room attendants and security guards. To hunt other monsters, they had to open each room one by one. If they didn't open the door, the monsters wouldn't come out on their own.

But today, because the "ghost mist" erupted early, most of the guests were gathered in the banquet hall on the first floor.

This also led to a concentration of mutated monsters and chaos.

But this wasn't all bad news.

The good news was that because the mutation erupted early, although there were many of these monsters, they weren't strong.

Su'en easily killed a "mutated waiter" in the corridor and found that it was not a "strange" level monster, at most it was an elite monster.

This was quite different from the previous intelligence that said the lowest level on the first floor was the "black iron strange".

And there was another piece of good news for Su'en.

Originally, the higher the floor, the stronger the mutated monsters would be.

But now, most of the guests had gathered on the first floor, so there would be fewer high-level monsters on the second and third floors.

If he had to go up later, it would be much less dangerous for him.

......

The Faceless Corpse left a wet trail of mucus in the corridor.

Su'en followed the trail and happened to see it using its long tentacles to grab a panicked hunter, then the tentacles drilled into the person's mouth and nose, and in an instant, the person was sucked dry.

The hunters also noticed this head-blooming monster, but ordinary bullets couldn't cause much damage to this second-level silver strange. Even cannons, apart from leaving some minor injuries, had little effect.

Because it was wearing a hood, the strange didn't pay any attention to Su'en.

Su'en knew he couldn't kill it, so he didn't waste time trying.

Room 1055 and room 1022 were not far apart.

As Su'en walked down the corridor, he saw a translucent shadow with a long tongue floating over. The identification showed that it was the hanging corpse in room 1055 that had turned into a ghostly creature.

Because Su'en had the Hanging Noose, this ghostly creature selectively ignored him and they passed each other.

Without this second-level strange threat, Su'en felt that there wasn't much deadly danger on the first floor either.

Thinking this, he went straight to the banquet hall.

There, chaos reigned as monsters danced and gunfire filled the air.

The cute maids had turned into "bloody maids", the long-legged dancers had become "lustful female demons", and the ladies and young ladies had all turned into various grotesque zombies...

The hunters were engaged in fierce battles with the monsters.

"What the hell is going on! It's not even midnight yet, why did these ancient people mutate..."

"It's probably that wanted criminal Su'en causing trouble. Damn it, if we had known earlier, we should have killed him!"

"These mutated monsters don't seem to be that powerful..."

"Haha, we're going to make a fortune this time..."

"..."

When Su'en walked over, he saw the hunters divided into two groups, hunting down the monsters.

One group consisted of individuals, and the other group was the members of the "Scorpion Squad".

Most of these monsters were zombies, and the majority of them hadn't reached the level of being strange. Although there were many of them, concentrated gunfire could easily mow them down.

But the good times didn't last long. Four special second-level silver strange entered the scene, and the situation instantly became one-sided.In addition to the previously seen "Faceless Corpse" and "Hanging Corpse," two more have appeared.

The "Big Headed Resentful Infant" has turned into a large-headed zombie, with a basketball-sized terrifying eyeball occupying most of its head. It possesses immense strength and can also burrow underground.

The "Drowned Female Corpse" has turned into a ghost with a blue glow all over its body, floating along and leaving a puddle of water on the ground.

These four second-tier anomalies have made the hunters' counterattack instantly feeble.

Dealing with the two zombie types is manageable. Although they are resistant to gunfire and move slowly, they can still be avoided by utilizing the terrain.

However, the two ghosts are more troublesome. They completely ignore physical damage, can pass through walls, float, and cannot be escaped...

"Ah... those are ghosts!"

"Don't be afraid, there are many of us. The ghosts can't control all of us!"

"Don't fucking run around! The more scared you are, the more they will focus on you!"

"..."

The hunters have experience dealing with ghosts, but in the end, not everyone can control their inner fear.

Being scared by themselves, their mental state becomes disordered, and their sanity drops to a very low value. They will immediately be controlled by the ghosts' mental attacks. The atmosphere of fear will also spread, and the agonizing screams of companions dying will strongly stimulate the nerves of others, infecting one after another...

When Su'en arrived, he saw two ghosts floating among the crowd.

Wherever they went, bodies fell like cut wheat.

For ordinary people who are not proficient in spiritual power, their methods are almost unsolvable.

The target chosen by the "Hanging Corpse" seems to induce a choking illusion of hanging, causing them to instinctively try to remove the noose with their hands. In reality, they are strangling themselves, and the stronger the feeling of suffocation, the more they struggle to strangle themselves to death...

The attack method of the "Drowned Female Corpse" is similar. It induces a feeling of drowning and suffocation, causing people to suffocate themselves to death. But judging from the water stains on the bodies, it should also have the ability to manipulate water elements...

Both ghosts are completely immune to physical attacks, which is why ordinary hunters fear them.

Originally, spellcasters could still fight against them, but there are basically no money-burning professionals in the independent team, so ghosts basically mean "certain death."

.......

Su'en watched from a distance and roughly understood the abilities of the four second-tier anomalies.

Because of the "Four-piece Anomaly Defense Set" on his body, the four special monsters ignored him, and he didn't bother with them either.

But the other distorted monsters were sensitive to the living aura on Su'en and rushed towards him.

Su'en didn't hold back either and unleashed a barrage of bullets from his dual pistols.

Based on his experience playing games in his previous life, it's best to clear out the small monsters before dealing with the boss.

He wanted to quickly clear out the monsters on the first floor to prevent any unexpected situations when going upstairs. For example, as time passed, the monsters would become stronger, or the old nun upstairs had some special means to summon small monsters to go upstairs...

So, he struck first.

If regular bullets don't work, then he'll use alchemical bullets.

After Su'en's strength increased, the people he killed became stronger, and the spoils of war became richer. He had more alchemical bullets than he needed, with a quantity of over a thousand.

For a "firearms expert," ammunition is their confidence.

The distorted monsters rushed towards him like sharks smelling blood, but he found a corner with three walls and stood there. With an ammunition box hanging, he started harvesting without expression...

Knowing that tonight would be a fierce battle, Su'en didn't hesitate to use ammunition.

"Bang", "bang", "bang", "bang"...

The rapid-fire of the submachine gun resounded, occasionally accompanied by the special explosion of alchemical bullets, "bang", "bang".

Although the sound of gunfire was overwhelming, the rhythm was not chaotic.

The suppressive fire of the "Green Ghost," the precise sniping of the "Thunder Snake," allowed Su'en's actions to match the firepower of an entire reorganized team of hunters.

Headshots, joint-breaking shots, piercing through defenses...

Absolute calmness made Su'en's marksmanship precise and deadly.

In fact, because of the gap between marksmanship and alchemical bullets, he killed more monsters alone than the combined total of dozens of independent hunters.

After all, ordinary hunters who risk their lives in the wilderness would never carry alchemical bullets with an average price of 10,000 each.

A single burst would cost hundreds of thousands, which most hunters couldn't afford.

This is the difference in equipment,

and also the crushing difference in skills.

Gradually, the pile of distorted monster corpses in front of Su'en grew higher...

The ordinary hunters in the distance drooled as they watched.

Just Su'en's perfect marksmanship shocked everyone.

Especially those from the "Scorpion Squad," their faces turned pale.

They realized how ignorant they were before, thinking they could kill this "S-rank wanted criminal" and claim the bounty?

If this round of bullets didn't hit the distorted monsters but hit them instead, the result would probably be the same.

Moreover, Su'en's methods were not just marksmanship.

.......

Most of the NPCs in the restaurant are ordinary people from a thousand years ago. They are not considered strong even after being distorted because they have not been completely "corrupted."

The troublesome ones are the original professionals among the guards and guests.

After they became distorted, they were at least Silver-tier anomalies.

In this first-floor lobby, there are at least three to four hundred people combined between the guests and the hotel staff, and there are bound to be some professionals among them.

When the ghost mist erupted, they all emerged.

The fast-climbing Spider Woman, the Skull Crusher Doctor who likes to hit people's heads, the Flesh Mountain Monster that can't be killed even with alchemical bullets, the chameleon-like invisible monster...

These anomalies mixed in with the pile of monsters are the biggest threat to Su'en.

But there are many "people" around Su'en as well.

Various eerie dolls stood in rows beside him.

The "Sinister Smiling Doll," the "Wailing Doll," the "Explosion-proof Doll," the "Lead Sinking Doll," the "Oil Swallowing Doll," the "Phosphorus Fire Doll," the "Voodoo Doll"...

He now had a large amount of witch hair strands, which greatly increased the number and efficiency of his puppet control.

The fine hairs of the Octo-Spider Lance could easily control the threads, even if Su'en was continuously firing with both hands, it would not affect the operation of the puppets at all.

These puppets could also ensure that the occasional fish that slipped through the net under the cover of firepower would be blocked outside the safe range.

Even if there were one or two very tricky second-order anomalies, the invisible zombies behind Su'en would cut the monster's head in half before they could get close.

With long-range and close-range means, it was difficult for the mutated monsters to get close.

.......

His dark energy was sufficient, and he had plenty of bullets...

Originally, at this pace, Su'en thought that in a short while, all the monsters on the first floor, except for those four, could probably be cleaned up.

But while he was fighting, an accident happened.

Just when Su'en was killing smoothly,

The "Big Head Grudge Baby" exploded without warning, turning into pieces of meat all over the floor...

He hadn't understood what had happened when the light and shadow of the "Drowned Female Corpse" also dispersed.

The two anomalies seemed to have suffered some invisible attack and suddenly died.

"Huh..."

Su'en was still firing, but when he saw this scene out of the corner of his eye, he let out a sound of surprise.

He was sure that the sudden death of the two second-order anomalies was not his doing, and those hunters definitely couldn't do it.

They just died inexplicably.

"Could it be Edward and the others upstairs who did it?"

Su'en suddenly realized something, but he couldn't figure out how this method of killing monsters through the air worked.

But he didn't think too much about it.

Because at this time, his gaze fell on the place where the "Drowned Female Corpse" collapsed.

There... a "gray fog" had appeared!

Zombie species rarely produce gray fog fragments, but ghost species, being spiritual entities, have a high probability of producing gray fog.

Because he was too far away, Su'en had no chance to collect the gray fog.

And in this brief moment, the light and shadow fragments and flesh and blood fragments from the two anomaly corpses seemed to be absorbed by the space and disappeared without a trace.

Looking back, a perfectly intact "Drowned Female Corpse" floated out of the door of room 1055 in the distant corridor.

And soon, a big-headed monster, laughing weirdly, hopped into the banquet hall to continue hunting...

They really could resurrect indefinitely.

.......

However...

Seeing this, a bold idea suddenly popped into Su'en's mind.

These four corpses could indeed resurrect indefinitely, but what would happen if their soul fragments were stripped away?

Su'en suddenly realized that he had found a way to restrain these four mutated monsters, no, even possibly kill them!

With this thought, he no longer chose to squat in the corner, but ran to a position near the two ghost species, waiting to try something.

Before long, the "Hanged Corpse" inexplicably died again, dispersing.

The "gray fog" appeared again.

Seizing the opportunity, Su'en rushed up without waiting for the gray fog to disappear, and then swallowed the gray fog.

"Obtained 'Demonic Hanged Corpse' soul fragment*2"

"You have comprehended 'Spiritual Illusion TechniqueSuffocation Technique (Incomplete)'..."

"Spiritual Power +0.6"

When Su'en digested this gray fog, his eyes lit up.

It really worked!