Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 180: Wasteland Hunting Craze

The Oliver family suffered heavy losses this time, and Danze Junior was furious.

The five major financial groups of the camp joined forces, determined to capture the rampant "SS wanted criminal Su'en," with the search efforts growing more intense wave after wave.

For the following period, Su'en would change hotels every two or three days, to make himself look more like an ordinary wasteland hunter and not be targeted by the keen intelligence officers due to staying in one place too long.

Even so, there were several instances of door-knocking room checks.

But no problems arose.

Among the vast memories harvested by Su'en, there were countless identities that could withstand scrutiny and had verifiable backgrounds.

He even forged various identity documents to match his fake identities, and the inspectors never spotted any flaws.

Although he frequently moved residences, Su'en was actually staying inside hotels most of the time without going out much.

He didn't go to the wasteland hunters' guild, the market, or the taverns...

The last battle had yielded too much knowledge, and he needed a lot of time to digest what he had acquired.

Finally, after half a month of commotion, various other wanted criminals were caught, but not him.

The noise eventually died down.

.......

On this day, in room 301 of the Rose Hotel.

The small room was filled with various books and tools.

Since Su'en had mostly replaced sleep with meditation, he used the bed as a bookshelf, piling it with scrolls and research materials.

Mr. Black had once sent him a set of introductory books from the Black Tower Academy, which he had previously made slow progress with. Without guidance, those arcane pieces of knowledge took a lot of time to comprehend and understand.

But after the last battle, having harvested the fragments of over a hundred elite inner city dwellers, those basic pieces of knowledge had almost completely filled the gaps in Su'en's low-level alchemy knowledge.

However, memories tend to fade, especially those harvested ones that weren't very profound.

Not wanting to waste this precious knowledge, Su'en had taken out the books several times over the past half month to cross-reference and read through them, deepening the impression and truly imprinting the knowledge in his mind.

Not just various pieces of knowledge.

After harvesting the memories of the puppet master Lloyd, Su'en's own level of crafting trick puppets had also skyrocketed.

Looking back, aside from the "Black Hole Doll" Mr. Black helped make, all the trick puppets he had crafted himself were too crude.

The last battle also brought him a lot of inspiration.

Now, Su'en planned to create a new batch of advanced trick puppets suitable for combat.

......

In the not-so-spacious room, a blue light cross floated in the sky, covering the entire room.

From the cross, strands of silver thread hung down, suspending seven or eight flesh-colored puppets that dangled without touching the ground. There were also some unfinished hands and feet, carving tools floating around, creating a very eerie scene.

After carefully comparing with the scrolls, Su'en also found the missing parts in his memory of the "Puppet Theater."

That's why he spent some time every day practicing the proficiency of this puppetry secret technique.

Although it was a room for one, there were often a group of "dancers."

.......

At this moment, Su'en was fully focused on installing a third head on a trick puppet.

At the same time, he was using his eight spider arms to control the carving knife, carving shapes and inscribing rune grooves on four or five of those wooden pieces that had not yet taken shape...

He alone was simultaneously working on the production of seven or eight dolls.

Busy,

Yet orderly.

Su'en was wearing a coarse work outfit, his face already stained with various paints like a rainbow.

Just then,

There was a crisp "click" sound.

Su'en's brow furrowed slightly.

He had just tried the thread, and as soon as the magic pattern was activated, the head of the newly made three-headed doll suddenly fell off, rolling far away on the floor.

Su'en didn't look at the rolling wooden head. The thread hanging from the cross had already wrapped around it and brought it back to the workbench.

It was as if all the threads in the room were his "hands."

"Another failure..."

Holding the broken part of the puppet, Su'en frowned and studied it, muttering to himself, "It seems that three heads are already the limit. Any more heads would affect the stability of the structure and cause conflicts between the runes and enchantments..."

He analyzed the cause and recorded it in detail in the notebook beside him.

Perhaps a bit weary, Su'en didn't continue with his puppet research after this failure.

The cross on the ceiling disappeared, and all the threads in the room vanished without a trace.

The eight-armed spider also put down the work in its hands, busy collecting various materials and semi-finished products.

"Phew..."

Su'en slowly exhaled a deep breath and stood up to stretch his limbs.

He looked at the seven or eight finished trick puppets against the wall and smiled with satisfaction, talking to himself, "I've almost mastered the commonly used second-order runes, and the success rate of the trick puppets is steadily improving. All the 'Nightmare Dolls' are inscribed with second-order runes, and in the future, ordinary trick puppets will also have a strong impact on high-ranking professionals..."

Suddenly, he thought of something, and a light smile appeared in his eyes, "Tsk tsk, if I use these advanced dolls to perform 'Hundred Tricks Night Walk,' I'm afraid there aren't many second-order professionals who can handle it..."

The current trick puppets, both in strength and effectiveness, were incomparable to those from half a month ago.

If he were to unleash a hundred puppets at once, Su'en felt that even if he faced the pursuers from before, he would have the power to fight.

This was a puppet army that truly threatened high-ranking professionals.

However, there was also a problem that remained unsolved.

He thought of something and frowned again, murmuring, "The limit of multitasking has been reached. This is a big problem..."

.......

Su'en now had no shortage of trick puppets or means of control, and the witch's hair could perfectly solve the problem of thread entanglement.

Even after mastering "Puppet Theater," the number and efficiency of puppet control had greatly improved.

But that problem still remained unsolved.

He found that not only he, but all puppeteers faced this dilemma, even Lloyd, who was called a "puppet master."

That is the problem of the "actual" number of puppets one can control.

Su'en was now very proficient in the technique of "multitasking," almost reaching his current limit of divided attention.

Now he could control seven or eight puppets as flexibly and variably as real people, achieving 100% control;

But if the number of puppets increased to more than ten, the completion of actions would be about 70%;

Exceeding twenty, the completion of actions would drop below 40%;

And controlling a hundred at the same time, he could only perform simple actions, such as changing direction, spewing fire...

The previous "Hundred Tricks Night Walk" was not strictly a finished technique,

More accurately, it was the direction of Su'en's future career planning.

If he used it now, it would mostly be considered a bluff based on quantity.

Even using "Puppet Theater," which seemed to allow precise control of countless puppets, the actual number that could be precisely controlled was still bound by this "limit of divided attention."

Su'en knew where the root of the problem lay.

Because of the data panel, he had long noticed the pattern. That is, as the value of mental power increased, this "limit of divided attention" also slowly increased.

But it wasn't entirely proportional.

Su'en guessed that both the amount of mental power and its efficiency would affect this "limit of divided attention."

To solve this problem, he felt an urgent need for a secret method of mental power cultivation.

Moreover, harvesting over a hundred people last time was exhilarating, but he also clearly felt that if he continued to absorb without control, he would not be far from mental breakdown.

.......

Su'en didn't continue to stay in his hotel room but tidied up a bit and planned to go out to gather some information.

After more than half a month, the commotion he had caused had mostly subsided.

Recently, there was a new topic in the camp.

That is, the "Wasteland Hunting Craze" had arrived!

A month-old news had only reached the underground in the last few days.

It was said that the Black Tower had issued an order, demanding that the major families of the inner city send elite teams to hunt in the wasteland.

And it wasn't just elite teams.

To prevent those big families from secretly defying the order, the Duke directly issued a command, requiring those prominent families to send their first-in-line heirs to the Dawn Relics in person.

This move had an obvious effect.

To protect the safety of those precious young masters and misses in the families, the old masters and ladies had to send their strongest security teams over.

It was this single order that mobilized a large number of high-ranking professionals from the inner city to come hunting in the wasteland, second-order, even third-order!

Disobey?

The next day, the family would be gone.

In Old Lingdun, where the lordship system prevailed, the Duke's mansion held unquestionable authority.

So during this time, the population of the Dawn Camp exploded.

Those young masters and misses dressed in luxurious clothes, along with their well-equipped personal guards, arrived one after another. There were also maids, butlers, servants, tens of thousands of people, directly overcrowding the entire wasteland hunting camp.

.......

With the camp so lively, Su'en couldn't stay put and naturally planned to go have a look.

As soon as he stepped out of his room, he saw a freckled noble miss scolding her butler in the hallway.

Beside her, there was a group of more than ten heavily armed bodyguards.

"This damned place, the accommodation is so poor, I can't even rent a suite with a bathtub? Without a bathtub, how am I supposed to bathe every day? Albert, the butler, can you spend a little more money and find me a decent suite?"

"Oh, Miss Sophia, it's not a matter of money. The environment in the camp is just like this, even if you can't find a suite with a bathtub. If it weren't for the fact that the owner of this Rose Hotel is a friend of the master, we wouldn't even have this room..."

"Really? Kunna's room from the Edward family is even smaller than this?"

"Absolutely true! And the day before yesterday, the young master of the Leonard family missed the arrangement at the 'Blacksmith Hotel' and has been camping for two nights. Now he wants to go back, but that room is already full. Oh, you probably wouldn't like the environment of the 'Blacksmith Hotel,' because it's really too bad, ten times worse than here... at least ten times! Miss, why don't you settle in first, and I'll go see if I can find something better..."

"Hmph..."

The haughty freckled miss heard that her peers from families of the same status had even worse living conditions than hers, and her resistance faded a bit.

At that moment, she happened to see Su'en, dressed as a wasteland hunter, coming out of his room.

Her arrogant neck immediately raised like a rooster, showing a look of disdain, "I can't believe I have to stay in a cheap hotel with filthy wasteland hunters, oh, God, just kill me..."

After complaining, she plunged into her room, then slammed the door shut with a "bang," showing her dissatisfaction.

The butler also saw Su'en and suddenly lit up as if he had found a treasure, hurriedly approaching and asking, "Sir, may I be so bold as to ask if you could give up your room for us? As you can see, we have too many people in our company, and accommodation... Of course, as compensation for your generosity, I will pay ten times the room rate..."

His tone was polite, but Su'en's brow raised slightly when he heard it.

No wonder he had hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign, yet the staff still knocked on the door to announce a temporary price increase, almost ten times higher than half a month ago.

So this was how the room prices were being driven up.

But he had no intention of transferring the room, replying, "Sorry, I also have quite a few people in my room."

With that, he didn't pay much attention to these people and went straight downstairs.

.......

Having not gone out for two days, the streets of the camp were crowded with people.

When Su'en came out, the streets were full of young masters and misses, each with a butler and a group of guards as standard.

The young masters and misses from top-tier families like the Reiss had received some news early and arranged for people to come and set up camp, so there were no problems with accommodation.

For the young masters from slightly lesser families, the problems were much bigger.Luxury hotels were already fully booked, so they had no choice but to opt for the cheap lodgings once frequented by wilderness hunters. Even rooms with private bathrooms, like the one Su'en had stayed in before, were hard to come by.

This predicament was a real headache for the delicate young masters and misses, who could be seen everywhere with their butler-like attendants inquiring at inns, only to emerge with faces full of disappointment.

As Su'en walked along, he happened upon one such group.

The chubby young master in the group looked somewhat familiar, prompting Su'en to take a closer look.

"Master Charlie, oh, how fortunate... I've managed to book a luxury suite for you! It was Mrs. Melinda of the Ackerman family who made room for you..."

"Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Franz, lodging is the least of our worries. Have you made contact with a wilderness hunting team? We need one with real pioneering experience! You don't seriously think the Duke sent us to the ruins just to find accommodations, do you?"

"Master Charlie... this... I've been to the Wilderness Hunters Guild, and all the major teams on record have already been hired. I've only managed to hire two heavy-duty hunting teams..."

"Good heavens, Franz, what are you still doing here? Go squat at the city gate, and as soon as a hunting team returns, sign an employment contract immediately! No matter the cost, within five days, I want to hear that you've hired at least three teams led by second-tier professionals!"

"Yes, young master..."

The old butler, scolded into submission, handed over the key and slunk off towards the city gate.

The chubby young master looked at the key in his hand, his face full of worry, and sighed as he entered the inn.

Su'en watched the big fellow, initially only feeling a sense of familiarity, but now, recognizing his style of doing things.

Wasn't this the same little chubby Charlie who had tried to bribe him back in the caverns?

"Heh..."

Seeing this guy's strong desire to survive, Su'en chuckled to himself.

However, the guy's concerns weren't unfounded; Su'en agreed that the Duke's estate had sent them here for reasons far beyond a leisurely spring outing.

Seeing this acquaintance, Su'en's eyebrows raised, and suddenly, an image of a girl with black hair popped into his mind.

If every major family's primary heir had to come, then... was Rena also on her way?

Without giving it much thought, Su'en decided to head over to the Wilderness Hunters Guild for a look around.