Capítulo 14: Chapter 14 Mechanical Prostheses
"Lauren, congratulations on landing the job. Your 'Windwalker' profession is compatible with a wide range of alchemy materials. Our main targets this time are the 'Lightning Lizards' and 'Cave Hounds.' There are plenty of these monsters in the shallow layers of the caves. With a bit of luck, we have a high chance of obtaining cursed materials..."
"Yeah. If we encounter a 'Bizarre-level' aberrant monster, we might even be lucky enough to extract 'silver-grade' cursed materials. Then, we can ask the guild's Mechanic for help with the refinement, and you, deputy leader Lauren, could become a professional."
"Boss, brothers, don't tease me. Spending nearly all my savings on the job materials and that alchemy blueprint, if we don't score this time, I'll truly be broke..."
"Haha, don't worry, deputy leader Lauren. Once you're a professional, your combat power will skyrocket. The initial investment will pay off soon, and then we'll be counting on you to look after us..."
"..."
This was a fully-armed wild hunting team, eight people in total.
They chose to set up camp amidst the ruins of a derelict watchtower. And this location just happened to be on the essential path marked on Su Lun's map.
As they chatted, a team member on guard duty suddenly noticed an unusual movement in the depths of the cave and shouted, "Be careful, everyone. Someone's coming from over there!"
...
The speed of progress through the dark caverns was slow, and it was estimated that it would still take four or five days to reach the "city" that the former owner had intended.
But Su Lun was in a bad situation.
His food was nearly exhausted, and if he didn't find supplies, he might be forced to hunt some cave monsters for food.
But water would be a big problem.
Su Lun initially thought that there was an ecosystem underground, and water should not be scarce.
Having wandered through the caves for days, he did find a few puddles and dripping rock crevices. However, the All-knowing Eye identified these as varying degrees of "polluted water sources," which would cause aberrations if consumed.
Su Lun also vaguely understood why the water in Baldy's storage ring was murky but still drinkable.
Compared to aberration, murkiness was acceptable.
Su Lun had hoped to encounter some people to buy drinking water and inquire about the situation. Clearly, however, it was not a good choice to ask anyone met in such remote caverns for directions or water.
But now, he had encountered such a wild hunting team.
Having seen Baldy's ruthlessness, Su Lun didn't think the people of this world were particularly kind.
However, he had to risk making contact with this team.
Because, they had spotted him too.
Clearly, someone among them was a specialist in long-range perception. Moreover, they had their guns aimed at him even before Su Lun had laid eyes on them.
Su Lun had exceptional vision and, upon noticing the sniper on the lookout tower had already set up the sniper rifle aiming at him, he had no intention of resisting. He raised his hands to show he was not reaching for any weapons.
Around his waist hung a wooden box, which would release the puppet inside with a slight touch.
Eight people, two snipers, and the other six in the camp...
Su Lun observed them briefly and had a rough count in his mind.
The effect range of the "Rune Puppet" was only ten meters, the walk there was nerve-racking.
But if he chose to run, the snipers would probably shoot him down as easily as playing a game of whack-a-mole.
As he walked, he shouted, "I mean no harm... I just want to trade for some food and water."
....
"Boss, it's a human, not a freak."
"Hmm, looks like a poor sod who's on his own."
"Hey... that red gun at that kid's waist, isn't that the famous gun 'Three-Headed Ghost'? Wasn't that 'Iron Head' Ivan of the Crow Gang's gun..."
"Hmm, I've noticed that too. 'Ironhead' Ivan is not someone to be trifled with..."
"..."
The squad that camped in the ruins of the watchtower was clearly curious about the encounter with a lone human in this place.
After watching "Baldy" and seeing that he made no dangerous moves, they let him come over.
Yes, that "Baldy" was none other than Su Lun.
Without the option of plastic surgery, how could one quickly change their facial features?
Su Lun's face, with its high recognition factor, worried him that the troubles of his predecessor might burn their way to him.
Returning to the city with that face would definitely not work.
A purposeful disfigurement like slashing one's face would draw even more attention due to its direct intent.
Therefore, he resolutely employed a physical disguise method—shaving off his eyebrows.
If anyone has tried, they would know that to make a face suddenly unrecognizable, the most direct method is to shave off the eyebrows. This was absolutely a disfigurement-level disguise technique, and it worked damn fast.
Plus, Su Lun didn't carry the burden of an idol's image. To be on the safe side, he even shaved off his hair.
Then he applied eyeshadow to himself and painted a smoky makeup look.
He went from a gentlemanly handsome guy to a ruffian-looking punk in an instant.
Considering the clothing and style of Baldy and his company, this dark punk style was not strange in this world and was even a mainstream trend.
Just like the several members of this hunting squad in front of Su Lun, they were dressed in the same fashion.
....
Su Lun walked up to the dilapidated earthen wall, and at least ten guns were already aimed at his head.
Either his knowledge of steam machinery was insufficient, or he felt that though these guys' equipment was not as refined as Baldy's team, it was much more complex, with a stronger sense of technology.
They were equipped with various types of firearms, peculiar mechanical combat knives, mechanical shields, and external full-body metal skeletons for carrying weight, along with backpack-sized steam power boilers...
What was even more surprising was that the guy who looked like the "captain" had both arms made of finely crafted steam-powered mechanical limbs!
These were not the kind of external skeletal mechanical arms like Baldy's but fully replaced flesh and blood "cybernetic limbs."
"Could I have been wrong? Is this not a magical world but a cyberpunk one?"
Seeing this, Su Lun started to doubt his earlier speculation.
Perhaps the technological tree of this world had been skewed to such an extent that even a highly complex field like "limb augmentation" had been developed?
His limited knowledge of machinery made him confused.
How could this world, which seemed to be a combination of steam technology and magic, be connected to the high-tech neuro-driven prosthetics?
It was a strong clash of tech-mixing, like the Steam Era developing Light Sword technology from Star Wars. Theoretically, that technology is from several eras apart.
However, confusion was fleeting.
There was no sign of peculiarity on Su Lun's face.
Just then, the men on the wall also seemed cautious, shouting, "Stop right there!"
Su Lun stood still, very cooperative.
The captain with mechanical arms asked, "Who are you?"
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