The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be much of a concept of time in this dark and damp "root," but the creatures living here have worked together to create a "clock" powered by sewage.

At the beginning of each month, this clock emits a faint chime that doesn't reach the ground, reminding the creatures at the bottom that... a new month has begun.

At the beginning of the month, it was a rare "resource allocation day" for the three major powers to sit down and talk.

Old Liu got up very early that day, took the glue for sticking on monocles and smeared it on his head, smoothed out his hair, and then applied oil... Finally, he put on a decent old vest and a hat, and hurriedly ran to the pipeline where Yonivo was.

"Brother Yunevo...we...we have a business partner introduction session," the short, stout rat-man said, rubbing his paws together; his attire made him look somewhat comical. "Could you come with me?"

"Are you going to take me to see the other forces of 'Root'?" Yunefu pinched his cheek and asked the sixth brother who was jumping around in place.

"Yes! Yes! The guys from 'Root' all want to see the guy who caused such a stir in Stamock, and besides... with you here, we have more leverage to negotiate," the latter said repeatedly.

The black-robed alchemist nodded, understanding dawning on him.

The six brothers, Nehta and the sixth brother, are almost typical examples of one being intellectual and the other martial. The latter, representing "martial arts," is currently speeding back to his "roots" along the newly opened rat trail.

As for the Heisenberg Pharmacy... a few days ago, Nehta communicated with Junevo and, after obtaining his consent, entrusted the important task of "packing the money in sacks" to Tedes, the genius tide mage, to temporarily manage.

"Alright, let's see how you divide the spoils here... I mean, how you allocate resources," Yunevo coughed lightly, and patted Iseria's shoulder, signaling her to follow.

"When you came last time... the 'hub' wasn't finished yet, it's the center of the main drainage system," Lao Liu said, leading the way while occasionally muttering a few words.

After passing through four or five rusty giant pillars, each over five meters in diameter, Yunevo and Iseria saw the appearance of the "Nexus"—a huge inverted triangular cavity.

After the three of them passed through the "maintenance passage" suspended by twenty or thirty iron chains, they officially entered, while the representatives of the other two parties had been waiting for a long time.

"Coo... Sixth Brother, you're three minutes late, croak," a deep, wet voice, like the croaking of a frog in a rice paddy, rang out from the side.

"Wave, get off the cooling machine we provided first!" Old Six pointed his claw at the gray-blue frogman leader.

Yonivore looked over and saw that the "wave" had a ferocious face, clear eyes, and the webbed fingers were thick and rotten from years of swimming in sewage.

The frogman was also sizing him up, its gaze revealing a surprise that even its specially designed translucent eye membranes couldn't hide. It made several "croaking" sounds from its cheeks before turning to look at Lao Liu.

"Our frogmen have collected quite a few rotten fish during this period. While distributing them according to the usual ratio, I request a reduction in the number of frogmen assigned to pipeline inspections."

"I... Moke, representing the alchemists, give a veto," a middle-aged man wearing a patched alchemist's robe pushed up his cracked crystal glasses. "Although the church has been much quieter lately, I believe it's just the prelude to a storm."

Back then, they were able to survive in this shadow because they were "fast," and gradually gained a foothold because they controlled the only "technology," creating some light sources and purifying some water sources...

The middle-aged man's gaze fell on Yunefu's somewhat pale face, his pupils dilated, he hid his hands under his wide sleeves, cleared his throat, and said calmly, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin."

"There's been a lot of coagulant mixed in the water lately, so I reckon a lot of our 'food' will suffocate soon..." He looked at the frogman leader and continued, "When you go to the deep waters to fish, it's best to go in pairs and leave one frog on the shore to keep track of the time."

Wave looked down, poking at the cooling unit casing below, and said with a hint of complaint, "Where's your filtration system? Now look what's happened, I reckon another hundred or so people are going to starve this month!"

Yune stood to the side with his arms crossed, having finally grasped the division of labor system within "Root".

The ratmen control the secret passages and connections to the outside world, while secretly stuffing supplies into the "roots." The frogmen tinker with food, and the alchemists work as "bricks"... they move things wherever they are needed.

But this "root" is not far from being poisoned...

Without the necessary raw materials and sophisticated equipment, relying solely on their understanding of decomposition, displacement, and synthesis, the wastewater here can at most be treated to the point where "drinking it won't cause immediate death."

Slow-onset poisoning is considered a natural death in the "root" – at least one no longer has to suffer in a dark and gloomy place.

The hub, which had been buzzing with discussion, suddenly fell silent. Then someone posed a weighty question: which group should starve to death first?

Yes, the church didn't even need to spend time and effort clearing out the rats here; with the "rat-catching" plan and with one rainstorm after another...

The "root" will become a stinking can filled with excrement and corpses amidst constant internal strife and hunger.

Clearly, the "guns" that Ionevoy mentioned could not be mass-produced here.

So, amidst the hushed whispers, he spoke up: "Sixth Brother, what parts are left here? It would be best... to give me a list."

"Brother Yunevo... what are you going to do?" The short, stout ratman turned his head, opened his pointed snout, and after a long pause, finally managed to utter the rest of his sentence, "Most of the precision parts have been transferred to Starmock. Oh dear! Let's go get the list and show it to you later!"

The black-robed alchemist nodded, tapping the cracks in the boiler beside him with his fingertips. "Simply subtracting will only accelerate the decay of the 'root'. What we need to do is 'addition'."

He looked at the remaining two groups and continued, "We can start with the most basic element, 'water,' and step by step... let the 'roots' regain their vitality, or even see the light of day again."

Mok looked at Yunevo again, the "rising star" whose legendary deeds had spread throughout the remnants of the alchemists, but said nothing.

On the contrary, the frogman leader, Wave, croaked twice, sounding somewhat hesitant. "Croak? See the light of day again? Or forget it, I'd rather drink some clean water and watch those little guys grow up healthy..."

But in the end, it swallowed its words.

After all, who living here hasn't dreamed of "dawn"?

And this black-robed alchemist, in those stories…

He was clearly a legend who could bring "dawn".

There was no way out, so I'll give it one more try...

It doesn't matter.