Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 13: Grotto World

A few days later.

In a complex underground passage, in a dark pit.

Su'en tried to suppress his breathing as much as possible, and his gaze was focused on a few hundred meters away.

There, a humanoid monster was wandering aimlessly in the cave, hunting for food.

It still had some human clothes and equipment on it, but its appearance had completely turned into a swollen monster like a giant tumor.

Su'en looked at the monster, his finger already resting on the trigger of the alchemy bullet-filled gun.

As long as it came closer, he would blow its head off with one shot.

Distorted Humans

Explanation: Humans who cannot withstand the curse's power and have turned into monsters, possessing strong auditory perception. They don't have much intelligence, only the instinct to hunt and kill.

Luckily, not long after, the monster wandered away in another direction, not approaching the place where Su'en was hiding.

Su'en also breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew... How many strange creatures are there in this underground?"

This wasn't the first time he encountered such monsters.

Three days ago, when he walked out of the secret passage, he encountered one.

Because he had no idea about the dangers of this underground, he didn't know that the sound of stepping on stones would attract these creatures with extremely sensitive hearing.

Fortunately, with his enhanced vision, he noticed in time.

The thing came charging at him like a mountain of flesh, almost killing him on the spot.

The distorted monsters couldn't be approached at all. Just a random wound would cause your face to be covered in disgusting rotten flesh and mud.

They had strong corrosiveness and a foul odor.

Normal bullets were almost useless. Shooting at them was like shooting into a pile of mud.

"Boer~" it would bubble, but have no effect.

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Luckily, Su'en was prepared and used several "high-explosive" alchemy bullets.

With precise shots, the monster was blown to pieces like a grenade.

But he didn't have many alchemy bullets left, and there were more than just these monsters in the caves.

If he hadn't awakened the "Eye of Omniscience" and greatly enhanced his night vision, he would have died many times on this journey with just the crude alchemy night vision goggles.

Su'en had previously thought that this underground world was a large mine or a cave.

But the size of the underground space was so unimaginably large, not only with remnants of human cities but also a complete ecosystem with various animals, plants, and monsters hidden in the dark corners.

Have you ever seen a glowing mushroom forest tens of meters high?

Have you seen lizard-like creatures the size of dinosaurs?

Have you seen red-eyed rats that look like locusts passing by?

Have you seen a centipede that is over ten meters long and really has a thousand legs?

And have you seen a giant tentacle monster with eyes covering the entire wall?

Su'en had never seen any of these in his previous life, but in these few days, his mind had gained a lot of strange knowledge. With the identification of the "Eye of Omniscience," he also got to know many strange creatures.

Most of these underground creatures were grotesque and disgusting, like deformed creatures after nuclear radiation...

The living conditions here were extremely harsh for humans!

***

Su'en was afraid that the monster hadn't gone far, so he decided to stay in the pit for a while to replenish food and water.

"According to the map I found in the bald storage ring, I should be heading towards the B-level area with a higher frequency of human activity. Maybe I can encounter other hunting teams and find out the situation..."

Su'en looked at the map with markings, checked the food and water reserves, and estimated that his supplies would not last until he reached the human settlement city marked on the map.

Being alone, he had always been cautious and didn't dare to randomly shoot and kill the underground creatures, fearing that it would attract bigger trouble.

These few days of experience had gradually given him a more accurate understanding of this mysterious world with transcendent powers.

The fact that there was a huge city ruin underground indicated that there were a large number of humans living here thousands of years ago.

Moreover, Ivan and his bald companions were miners, and it seemed that their team was specifically adventuring in the underground to search for supplies as a "hunting team".

Their pale skin was not only due to their bloodline, but also because they hadn't been exposed to sunlight for a long time.

Su'en suspected that even the destination he was heading to was not on the surface, but underground.

But all of this was just speculation.

If he could survive for a few more days and reach the "destination," he would probably have a clearer understanding.

***

After a short while, the feeling of fullness from the food made Su'en feel that his glycogen was replenished, and he could continue on.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered something and took out the Pestoya's Brooch that he had put in the storage ring before.

For the past few days, Su'en had been pondering over the unknown information displayed as "???" on the brooch.

The mystery of Pestoya's death had always puzzled him.

An abandoned mansion that had been deserted for thousands of years, a ghost species, a story with obvious doubts...

It felt like a missing piece of a puzzle.

Having watched over a thousand horror movies and played countless horror games, Su'en had a hunch that there was something wrong with this brooch.

And in this world, there were many strange supernatural powers. It might be a big trouble.

If he didn't know, he would just leave it alone. But since he had doubts, Su'en didn't plan to keep this "potential bomb" with him.

Now that he was far away from the mansion, he no longer worried about triggering anything bad.

Without much hesitation, Su'en dug a hole in the pit and buried the brooch, making a mark.

He thought that if there was no problem, he would dig it out later when his cognition could identify the hidden information on it.

Little did he know that shortly after burying it, a certain will within the brooch awakened and whispered from the abyss: "Huh... Did that kid discover something?"

***

Unbeknownst to Su'en, a group of black-clothed people arrived at the "Storm Manor" a few days after he left.

In the dilapidated mansion, a blond young man in a pink suit was leisurely drinking coffee. It seemed that he was already accustomed to the eerie and terrifying atmosphere, and it had no effect on his mood.

Before long, the subordinates of the blond young man had violently broken open the "cursed space" filled with creepy dolls.

A man in a black suit approached, holding a box, and reported: "Young Master Evan, there was a 'ghost species' in the cursed space of this mansion, and we have killed it."

The man in the suit seemed relaxed, as if he had a lot of experience in dealing with such things.

After a pause, he opened the box to display the spoils and said: "This is the 'cursed object' we found after killing that strange creature. It should be the source supporting this cursed space. Master Nick has already identified it, and the quality of this cursed object is very high, with excellent effects..."

The blond young man glanced at the black butterfly brooch in the box. Since it seemed to be a women's accessory, he wasn't very interested and waved his hand: "Theresa likes to collect these accessories. Send it to her mansion when we return."

The man in the black suit respectfully replied, "Yes, Young Master."

***

It seemed that this group of people also had the same "treasure map" as Su'en. They quickly found the secret passage, then the maze, and finally the shattered altar.

The blond young man was still looking forward to the legendary relic of the most mysterious and powerful alchemy organization of the previous era, the "Twilight Cross Society." He fantasized that if the altar really existed as recorded in the manuscript, he might awaken a legendary super talent.

But unexpectedly, not long after, he heard some "bad news."

The captain of the suit-wearing guards walked over with a slightly unpleasant expression and reported, "Young Master, we have explored the basement and it does indeed match the deciphered contents of the 'Isaac Alchemy Manuscript.' However, the ancient altar in the secret room has already been destroyed, and there is no way to perform the sacrifice ritual. Moreover..."

The blond young man had a premonition that he would hear something bad: "Moreover, what?"

The man in the suit said, "Moreover, after careful investigation, we found traces of recent human activity in the basement. So we conclude that the altar may have already been triggered by someone..."

Hearing this, the blond young man angrily said, "How is that possible! We are the only ones who knew this information!"

After experiencing such a huge disappointment of missing the treasure, he suddenly thought of something and said angrily, "Damn it! It must be that old man from the Rega family who is causing trouble again!"

"What about the ancient city ruins over there?"

"We have sent people to investigate, but no one has come back alive... Preliminary judgment is that the danger level is at least 'red.'"

***

On the other hand, after a few more days, Su'en finally encountered living people.