Mechanical Alchemist

Tonight's school celebration dinner is a masquerade ball with the theme of the celebration, and students wearing all kinds of fancy costumes can be seen everywhere in the college.

Vampires, pirates, clowns, mummies, dragon slayers, slimes, and all kinds of weird shapes.

Not long after, the three of them came to the banquet hall of the college.

Sabina took out the bronzing invitation.

Masquerade balls are a traditional form of banquet in Luying's upper class. Even the mature and steady aristocratic lords and wives don't like those weird and alternative dresses, so they have to dress up to some extent.

Su Lun also wears Zorro's blindfold mask over his eyes.

On the other hand, Sabina wore a goth wide-brimmed hat decorated with black roses. The black gauze on the brim of the hat covered most of her pretty face, revealing her sexy red lips.

The banquet hall of the Royal Academy is magnificently decorated. This is a very large banquet hall that can accommodate thousands of people.

As soon as he entered the door, Su Lun saw dozens of huge crystal lights illuminating the entire banquet hall. The carved white stone pillars have golden bases above and below, giant oil paintings of high artistic value are hung on the walls, and colorful murals are also painted on the ceiling.

The details are full of royal luxury.

The three of Su Lun walked in, and the venue was already very lively.

There were still ten minutes until the official opening, and the three of them found a rest area and waited.

As soon as Su Lun came in, he released his perception. There were a lot of strong people in the banquet hall. In the soul perception alone, there were more than ten professionals suspected of being seventh-level.

This is not surprising, Lingdun is a holy place for alchemy after all. The Royal Academy of Alchemy already has a lot of strong people. The recruiting standards of the major deans all start at the sixth level, and the dean Winfred P. Crofts is even a top professional at the eighth level.

As a professional intelligence officer, Sabina also observed the surrounding area for the first time.

At this time, she seemed to have discovered something, and suddenly motioned Su Lun to look away, and said jokingly: "Here, sir, your fiancée is also here."

Su Lun looked over and was watching Ekaterina talking and laughing among a group of people.

Even with the shiny diamond mask on, her purple hair is very eye-catching.

As an outstanding alumnus, she was naturally invited by the school.

Su Lun had no psychological fluctuations at all.

What fiancee is not fiancee,

What does "Fick"'s marriage contract have to do with him, Su Lun?

Not only Ekaterina, but also the young master of the Regadi family, William Regadi who killed himself once.

Seeing this, Su Lun's eyes became a little strange.

No matter what the reason is, if an enemy is murderous, he must not stay if he has the opportunity.

What's more, Su Lun felt that his marriage with Ekaterina was not all about gaining benefits, and he had to pay.

For example, to deal with the revenge of some rivals in love.

Sabina is Su Lun's exclusive intelligence officer, so she naturally knows everything. She obviously understood something, and teased: "Oh, sir, you have to be careful if you reveal your identity. According to intelligence, there are not 10,000 or 80,000 young talents in the upper class of Lingdon who are pursuing Miss Ekaterina. Qian, many people have expressed their attitude in the newspapers, and you have many rivals in love who want to fight with 'Fick'."

Su Lun shook his head slightly.

He didn't want to get involved in these troublesome things.

Before the palace went to receive the Queen's blessing half a month later, he had no intention of using the identity of "Fick" at all.

After using it, he planned to throw it away.

As for the top aristocratic status, Su Lun was not interested.

This is just an exchange of benefits for both parties.

Su Lun didn't think about those useless things.

He looked at the Young Master William who seemed to be pestering Ekaterina, but some questions flashed through his mind.

I didn't understand why this guy chased him so far to kill him, but now I understand that one is for the right of inheritance, and the other is for the marriage.

No one would let their beloved girl marry someone else. What's more, this kind of very conceited genius, Mr. William, who is already a sixth-level professional at a young age.

But the motivation doesn't matter anymore.

Anyway, it's been done.

And Su Lun thought of another question, even if the wedding date is fixed, will this guy still want to kill him?

No doubt yes.

But Su Lun is not the second-rank rookie he used to be, even if he wants to do it now, he is not afraid.

But after thinking about it for a while, his intuition told him that this guy would play tricks.

After all, the marriage has been confirmed, neither the Regardi family nor the Lance family will allow William to make such a move that damages the interests of both families.

Before "Fick" was killed, he was killed, but now he can't.

"So, if I were him, where would I start?"

After putting forward this hypothesis, the thoughts in Su Lun's mind suddenly became lively.

Not long after, the celebration banquet began.

During the day, the complicated procedures of the school celebration have been gone through, and at night there are some celebration performances.

The students in the school performed musical instruments, ballet and fencing.

The Royal Academy of Alchemy does not only teach alchemy knowledge, court etiquette, painting, musical instruments, dance, etc., are also compulsory courses for small nobles in the upper class. And the instructors are all top art masters in the empire.

These artistic edifications, which are difficult for the common people to come into contact with and cannot appreciate, are also the entry standard for the upper class.

Su Lun also found it very interesting.

The final program of the banquet performance is the court ballet, because this program will be seamlessly connected with the following ball.

Young female students in ballet costumes came on stage and danced gracefully to the music, which was pleasing to the eye.

Su Lun recognized the beautiful girl who was the lead dancer among the dancers at a glance.

Najik's classmate Phoebe.

Sabina beside her looked at the corner of her mouth with a smile, and teased, "Hey, classmate Phoebe dances very well too."

Jike on the side couldn't take his eyes off, but his expression became slightly nervous.

After a dance, the performance is over.

The soothing music sounded again.

The next step is the formal part of the ball. Everyone in the banquet hall can invite their favorite partners to dance.

In Luying's upper class society, balls are the best way of socializing among the best opposite sexes.

The high-spirited young students will invite their favorite girls to dance together. If the girl doesn't refuse, then they can dance together and get to know each other better. If more than one dance is performed, the courtship is usually not rejected.

The ball is not only for young men and women to enhance their relationship, but also for the aristocratic lords and wives who like it very much.

In the ancient aristocratic system like Lu Ying, the concept of gender is actually very open. Marriage is just an exchange of interests, and there is little love to speak of, so it is normal for the nobles to have some romantic affairs.

People who get married don't necessarily like each other, but lovers must.

Therefore, in addition to socializing, the prom in the upper class also has a hidden function, which is to find a lover.

Ballroom dancing with physical contact is the best platform. If you are invited to a dance, you will know if you are interested.

This is true for both men and women.

At this moment, the music became soothing, and the gentlemen couldn't wait to go to their favorite dance partners and extend invitations.

If you hesitate at this stage, maybe your favorite dance partner belongs to someone else.

Because even if the woman doesn't like it, she will politely agree to someone's invitation after rejecting it many times.

Just now, as soon as the dance performance was over, the group of ballet girls were immediately warmly invited by the male students, and they were matched in a blink of an eye.

Phoebe, the lead dancer, has the best appearance and temperament in the dance troupe, so she naturally received the warmest invitation from the male students.

But she rejected many people, looking around, as if expecting something.

In the rest area in the corner, Su Lun was not interested in the dancing session, and was enjoying the delicious palace snacks on his own.

Sabina looked at Jike who looked nervous, and joked: "Little Jake, don't go now, Phoebe will be invited by other people, but you won't have such a good chance."

Hearing this, Jake was also a little anxious.

He knew that if he missed it this time, he would really have no chance.

But what if you get rejected?

The contradictory mentality made him feel like he couldn't take a step forward, so he could only look at Sabina and asked anxiously: "Ma'am, then...then I will go there now?"

Sabina gave her an encouraging smile and said, "Go ahead, be brave. Even if you fail, at least you have tried, haven't you?"

"Um!"

When Jike heard this, he mustered up courage in his heart.

right!

Even if rejected,

At least I worked hard!

"Phoebe, can I invite you to a dance?"

"Sorry, Galen, I'm a little tired and want to take a break."

"Sister Phoebe, do I have the honor to dance with you?"

"Sorry, Master Jiawen, I seem to have sprained my ankle while dancing just now, and I feel a little uncomfortable."

"."

On the other side, Phoebe had already rejected several groups of male classmates' invitations, and retreated to the rest area with excuses.

She didn't wait for anyone who wanted to wait, so she wasn't in the mood to dance.

Especially Tim kept pestering her, "Phoebe, what's wrong with you? Our two families had dinner together the day before yesterday, and my mother had a very good impression of you. After returning home, she always praised you full of praise. Oh, my father also said that the two of us can have more cooperation in the shipping business in the future, and the two should move around frequently.”

Phoebe rested on the couch, listening distraught.

Tim's faux intimacy made her very uncomfortable.

But the dance party just started, and they couldn't leave early.

This made her feel very embarrassed.

At this moment, she suddenly heard someone ask again: "Phoebe, can I invite you to dance?"

"sorry, I."

Phoebe thought it was some classmate who came again, and instinctively wanted to refuse.

But when she looked up, she swallowed half of what she had said.

Seeing a familiar yet slightly unfamiliar face, she said in surprise, "Student Jike?"

Jake nodded, the corners of his mouth raised slightly.

The courage he mustered allowed him to show confidence that he had never had before.

As he spoke, he repeated it again, bowed and stretched out his hand in a gentlemanly manner, "May I invite you to a dance?"

Suddenly there were stars in Phoebe's crystal eyes, she stood up happily, and readily agreed: "Okay!"

She had glanced at the guests in the banquet hall before, and had a vague impression of seeing this magician pretending to be a person, but she just ignored it.

Because the person she was expecting had a burn scar on his face, he wouldn't stand there so confidently.

Now looking at Jike who has recovered his appearance, Phoebe is also very happy for this friend.

Looking at his intact left hand and his never-before-seen self-confidence, ten thousand doubts arose in her heart: Oh my god, what happened, that Jike would change so much?

But Phoebe's response stunned Tim who was courting him.

Legs don't hurt anymore, and people aren't tired anymore?

this.

Seeing Phoebe stretch out her hand to agree to the invitation of the person in front of him, Tim couldn't sit still, his face darkened, "Hey, who are you?"

He also recognized that the guy who seemed to have changed was Jike.

But it was because I recognized him that I was not polite at all.

The last time he was scared away by a woman, Tim even hired a private detective to investigate Jake's family background.

Facts have proved that the son of this fur merchant's family is just bluffing, and he doesn't have any noble relatives at all!

Originally, I thought about coming again to make things difficult, but I didn't expect to come.

What made him even more jealous was that Phoebe actually agreed to this guy after rejecting his invitation?

But as soon as these obviously provocative words came out, Jike didn't pay any attention to them.

Hearing Phoebe's promise, the only trace of uneasiness in his heart dissipated, and the extremely gentleman kissed the back of Phoebe's hand and said, "It's my honor."

With a calm and confident smile on the corner of his mouth, he completely ignored the provocative Tim.

right,

Just ignore!

In the short period of half a month after meeting his teacher, Jike's vision and state of mind are completely different from before.

The aristocrats who used to think they were unattainable, now realize that the inferiority complex originating from their class is meaningless at all, and it is simply a waste of life.

Jike once thought that the best way out for himself in the future was to work as a technician for an aristocratic ammunition company after graduation. But now that he met his teacher and saw the scenery at a high place, he realized that the end of his road was a "dream".

It is the teacher who gave me the conditions and confidence to pursue my dreams.

Phoebe looked at Jike, who had a completely different temperament, her eyes were full of disbelief, but she was also happy from the bottom of her heart.

The two stepped onto the dance floor with brisk dance steps, clapped hands and circled in the crowd, and embraced and danced to the graceful music.

The two also chatted.

It was the first time such an intimate contact, Jike looked very calm, but felt a little nervous in his heart.

Phoebe also felt that the palms of his holding her were sweating, and chuckled lightly, "Student Jike, you're sweating."

It was this generous chuckle that gave Jike courage and said truthfully: "It's the first time I danced with classmate Phoebe, and I was very nervous."

With a smile on her face, Phoebe responded playfully, "It's also the first time I've received an invitation from classmate Jike."

As she said that, her eyes sparkled, and she said again: "You invited me before, and I would agree. But you never did."

Jike suddenly felt relieved when he heard it, it turned out that she would not refuse.

But when he said this, he didn't know how to respond, "ah, I didn't know at that time either."

Phoebe was guided by Jake to turn around, and looked at the embarrassment on his face, smiling like crescent moons at the corners of his eyes.

But she didn't say much about this topic, and instead asked: "God, Jake, your burns are healed, and your hands are healed, what happened during this time?"

Jake said: "I met my teacher, well, it's a long story. Then... Then I mean, I want to invite you to dinner. Mrs. Demakula said yes. Well, my teacher's good friend, you The last time I saw her she said"

"Huh? Student Jike wants to invite me to dinner?"

Listening to the incoherent words, Phoebe blinked, probably understanding.

She was delighted and surprised, and immediately responded, "Okay!"

A few days ago, the beautiful lady said that she would have dinner together, and she was still a little worried why she hadn't heard the news for so long.

Now that she has received an affirmative invitation, she is naturally extremely happy.

Jake: "Oh, then tomorrow?"

Phoebe: "Yeah!"

Before Jike came, he had prepared a lot of things to say, but he didn't think that Phoebe seemed to understand everything, so he didn't know what to say for a while.

He thought about it and talked about the most important thing, "Phoebe, there is one more thing I want to tell you. Well, I'm leaving, I'm leaving the academy."

"ah?"

When she heard this, it happened to be a cheerful dance step, but Phoebe froze for a moment, she almost stepped on her foot because of her superb dancing skills.

Jike continued: "I plan to go to Marfa to study ammunition engineering. I may leave Luying soon."

"Oh. The Marfa Empire, that's a very, very far place."

Phoebe's expression suddenly darkened.

For some reason, she felt inexplicably depressed, "So, are you here to say goodbye to me?"

Looking at Jike again, Phoebe forced a smile on her pretty face, and sent her blessings: "It's okay to go to Marfa, I know your future will not be ordinary. I will bless you, work hard Yo. I will become a very, very powerful 'ammunitionist' in the future! Just don't forget that Lu Ying still has a friend who cares about you~"

Jake nodded, no matter how dull he was, he could see the trembling light in Phoebe's eyes, and felt inexplicably sad.

At this moment, the music suddenly became lyrical, and the dance steps slowed down.

Looking at the girl whose eyes were full of tears and could not hold back, he quickly said: "I want to say. If you want, my teacher and Mrs. Demakula will go to your house and hand over the greeting card. We will be here later."

When Phoebe heard this, her dim eyes suddenly lit up.

Although she didn't hear the part in the middle, maybe even Jake himself didn't say it clearly, but she seemed to fully understand what he wanted to express.

At this moment, Phoebe felt as if a ray of light had suddenly shone into her heart shrouded in clouds. Her smile was like a sunflower facing the sun, and she said happily: "I am willing!"

Hearing this, Jike nodded very seriously: "Yeah!"

Looking at each other, the two young men and women nodded slightly, as if they had made a lifetime promise.

Suddenly, the dance steps suddenly became brisk.

In the rest area in the corner, Su Lun watched Jike and Phoebe's dance steps suddenly become brisk, and a gratified smile appeared in the corner of his eyes.

He has no interest in dancing, and he doesn't want to flirt with girls. He has a sip of royal wine and court snacks, and he is considered to have participated in the ball.

On the outside, Sabina and Su Lun did not appear too close. She had already gone to gossip and gossip with the high society ladies of Ringdon with her wine glass. This group of women is very talkative, they will talk about whose lover is more handsome, and the men who can talk about their family have a good job, but they usually share some top-secret information in the gossip.

This is a very important intelligence channel for Sabina.

The dance is just starting now, and it's still too early for the scheduled hands-on time. Su Lun observed the nobles in the banquet hall, recognized their faces, and recorded the soul fluctuations of those masters.

But after watching for a long time, he didn't see Augustus wearing the vampire ring, so he became suspicious: "It's strange, Ekaterina and William are both here, as the 'first genius' of that year , Augustus shouldn’t have come.”

Su Lun was a little puzzled. It stands to reason that in the land of Lingdon, there is nothing more important than the celebration of the Royal Academy, right?

But before he could figure it out, at this moment, when the soul perception swept across the crowd, Su Lun's eyes suddenly froze.

Because he found another acquaintance.

"Hey, why is this woman here?"

Su Lun was slightly surprised.

Looking over, the woman was wearing a court dress with a veil covering her face, which was not eye-catching because it was a masquerade.

Although she couldn't see her face clearly, Su Lun still recognized her soul.

Isn't this the short-haired girl from the detective team I met earlier?

Su Lun felt that he remembered correctly, it should be called "Emilia".

After sensing it, I didn't see the old cowboy again.

After recognizing the person, Su Lun had a strange expression on his face. He remembered that he gave you 100,000 yuan to the old cowboy before and entrusted them to investigate the source of the Red Death.

Unexpectedly, the past few days have passed, and there is no news at all.

Su Lun would not suspect that the other party took money and did nothing, but he didn't expect to meet Emilia here.

After observing for a while, Su Lun became more and more sure that this woman was not an invited guest, but came to investigate something.

Although she was well disguised, if you observe carefully, you can still see that her eyes are furtive, as if she is looking for someone.

But this made Su Lun even more confused.

According to the character of the old cowboy's document, this kind of "big case" involving nobles would definitely not be touched. Now this woman got mixed into the school celebration party full of nobles?

"Could it be that you came secretly without telling the old man again?"

Thinking of this, Su Lun's eyes were a little strange.

Although she concealed it well, there are many masters here!

It's not that she found any danger, it's just that if she was exposed, it might affect her investigation.

Thinking about it, Su Lun still walked over.

Emilia is sneaking dessert in the rest area.

It was just a cover-up, but after tasting a few mouthfuls, she also felt that these palace snacks that cannot be bought outside were indeed very appetizing.

She was greedy and ate two yuan. She was observing the dancing crowd, but at this moment, someone behind her suddenly asked, "Miss, can I invite you to dance?"

Emilia replied calmly: "No, I'm waiting for my friend."

But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she saw clearly the person who struck up a conversation.

Although the other party covered his face, as a professional private investigator, she also recognized him from some details.

Isn't that the nasty guy?

Emilia was surprised: "Why are you here?"

Su Lun said in a strange tone: "I still want to ask, why are you here?"

Emilia muttered, "How can I meet you anywhere?"

As she said that, she rolled her eyes, and said truthfully, "Isn't this taking your money, sir, to help you complete the commission?"

There was obviously some resentment in this tone.

Su Lun felt a little surprised.

You are entrusted to investigate the source of the Red Death. If you don’t go to Nancheng District to find it, why come to the ball of the Royal Academy?

But in an instant, he realized that the investigation might have progressed.

Su Lun asked, "Have you found out some information?"

Emilia said unhappily: "Yes."

"Then why didn't I hear your feedback?"

Su Lun said something and immediately realized something.

Since this woman has appeared here, it is obvious that some sensitive things have been investigated, and she said, "Your teacher doesn't want to cause trouble?"

"."

Emilia pursed her lips, and she acquiesced in not speaking.

But looking at her employer here, she only said: "You said that this matter will not cause trouble, now it's investigated. It's a big trouble!"

Hearing this, Su Lun realized where the woman's resentment came from.

Being able to investigate this far, it is obvious that things are more troublesome than expected.

But on the other hand, it also means that this woman came despite knowing that there was trouble, and Su Lun also looked at her more highly.

It was like when she turned back to save people for the second time in the "Music House Club".

Although his personality is a bit reckless, he is still a good person.

Su Lun asked and answered: "Did you come here without telling your teacher?"

Emilia replied feebly, "Yeah."

But she immediately choked and said, "It's not because of your entrustment, sir! The teacher has found out some truths, and after knowing that it will cause big trouble, he won't let me participate."

When Su Lun heard this, it was as expected as he had guessed.

He didn't rush to ask what the investigation found, but instead asked: "Since your teacher said that there is danger, why are you still here? Are you not afraid of danger?"

Seeing this greasy man, Emilia felt an inexplicable anger in her heart for some reason, and she never showed a good face: "I'm here, what do you think?"

After choking, she seemed to be in a much better mood, and then complained: "I knew that your commission would involve such a big deal, and we shouldn't have accepted the deposit in the first place. But since we have taken the money, we still have to have this bit of professional ethics." Yes. The old man doesn’t want to investigate, so I’ll just take a look.”

Although she had only met twice, Su Lun couldn't tell that although this woman had a bad mouth, she was a rare person with a strong sense of justice.

Su Lun didn't say much, and asked, "Can you dance?"

Emilia obviously knew it, but she looked wary and said, "What do you want?"

Su Lun stretched out his hand with a smile, and invited in a gentlemanly way: "Let's go, dance. The two people in the direction of seven o'clock are from the Luying Military Intelligence Department. They have already looked at you many times."

That's why he came here before.

The powers of observation of professional intelligence personnel are not in vain.

Although Emilia disguised well, she got in after all.

People who don't know anyone at the ball and have no acquaintances to say hello, such people are the most exposed.

Emilia didn't look at it, and realized something after being reminded.

She reluctantly extended her hand and accepted Su Lun's invitation.

The two came to the crowd on the dance floor and danced to the beat of the music. This is a classic "minuet" that is popular in the upper class, with a cheerful rhythm.

The male dancers are full of passion, and the female dancers are happy and smiling.

Although Emilia was very reluctant, she still put on a very professional smile, just like she was in the clubhouse that night.

Su Lun knew that the woman's resentment was probably the bad taste of revenge for giving her a "long memory", so she didn't play tricks on her.

The two were dancing and talking in low voices.

Su Lun asked: "As your employer, I think you can tell me what you have investigated. If there is any trouble, I may be able to help."

Emilia gave him a blank look, but also said: "Because of your commission, we searched and investigated for a few days, and then found the slums near Fox Jewel Avenue in Queens, where the earliest cases of the Red Death appeared."

Su Lun was not surprised to hear this.

Because that's where he found the potion spreading in the first place.

Emilia said again: "But after some investigation, we found many clues showing traces of human intervention. Originally, the investigation clues were at a standstill, but a few days ago, the newspaper just reported that 'Bakchi Biopharmaceutical Company' announced that The [Scarlet Potion] new drug was released. Coincidentally, this is a special medicine for the Red Death. My teacher suspected that the spread of the Red Death was man-made due to the coincidence of the drug. So we followed this line to investigate Go down. Then, my teacher used some special investigative methods to find the source."

Speaking of this, her tone suddenly became angry, "You nobles, you didn't even look at what is going on in the civilian area! This time the disease spreads widely, and I am afraid that many people will die! Are you still thinking about it?" Do you know how many people will be killed if you hold the medicine in your hands and make huge profits!"

"Hehe, of course you don't care. You have special medicine, so you are not afraid of this disease. It is also because the lives of civilians are no different from livestock in your eyes, right?! No matter how many deaths, it has nothing to do with you. Even In the end, those low-level people who can't afford what they want should all be damned?!"

"asshole!"

If it wasn't for a misunderstanding, Emilia's words might have snarled.

She suppressed her anger, and after she finished speaking, she still didn't forget to curse: "The nobles are all complete bastards!"

"."

Su Lun also fell silent when she heard this. It's no wonder that she was so resentful, probably because she regarded herself as a nobleman.

After all, most of the people who can participate in this ball are nobles.

Looking at the burning woman in front of her eyes, Su Lun suddenly understood her, and explained lightly: "I'm investigating this to prevent the tragedy from happening."

Emilia snorted coldly. Although her anger was still there, she seemed unable to deny it.

Because the old man said so too.

Otherwise she wouldn't have said it!

Su Lun felt that the old cowboy's investigation was probably close to the truth, which was probably the reason why he met this woman here. He asked calmly again: "Then what? Why did you come here?"

Hearing this question, Emilia hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Because... my teacher has found some clues. The source of the Red Death points to a certain important figure in the Royal Academy!"

Hearing this, Su Lun frowned slightly.

What the professional intelligence personnel failed to investigate, but the old cowboy did, obviously using some special methods.

But that doesn't matter anymore.

Emilia said again: "To be honest, the people involved in this are very tricky, so I don't want to continue to explore."

It was only then that Su Lun understood, no wonder there was no progress in the investigation, but he didn't dare to.

He thought for a moment, and said directly, "Who do you think it could be?"

Emilia's tone also became serious, and she said softly: "I'm not sure yet. But that is a person who knows black magic. The teacher said that he used a necromantic spell to control a corpse-like puppet. All the sources of clues point to this guy spreading the Red Death!"

When Su Lun heard this, his pupils shrank suddenly, and a figure immediately appeared in his heart: "Curator!"

He never expected that the "curator" of the underworld was actually someone from the Royal Academy!