The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

Organ Name: Alchemy Turbine Engine

Type: Man-made machinery

Replaceable site: Lung

Active skills:

【Extreme Overload】: During organ activation, you can actively activate a "flow" effect that lasts for 9.8 seconds, and after it ends, a shockwave centered on yourself will be generated that is enough to cause most organisms to lose their balance.

Passive skill:

[Momentum Accumulation]: During organ activation, your next attack will release the accumulated "momentum", dealing additional damage.

Note: This organ does not occupy rejection capacity.

"Another riddle game..." Yunevo muttered to himself. He looked at the blueprint that Mok had mentioned, which had hardly been touched by this generation of alchemists, and asked, "How many times have you tried this thing?"

"Eighteen times," the latter pushed up his glasses, tore off the numerous seals pasted on the shelf next to him, and then took out a thin experimental logbook, unfolding it. "The materials and runes at the core don't match."

"If we continue... we'll probably kill a lot more people, which is why we've suspended our research."

Yunevo walked to the experimental log, pinching his cheek. "This thing can provide a purer energy source for the alchemy device... and also overload for a period of time without side effects at crucial moments?"

Moke's brow twitched, and a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. He quickly pulled a handkerchief from his tattered robe to stop the "drenched sweat" that was about to pour down his face.

As the black-robed alchemist in front of him said, this alchemical turbine engine was a counterattack left behind by the first alchemists who stepped into "Root".

And along with it came some “alchemy creations” that could be called war machines.

"We...they..." Moke stammered, clutching his soaked handkerchief tightly in his hand.

He paused for a while before taking out a flower that was entirely made by machine. "The person who could understand it, the person who could create it... no longer exists in this dark and sunless 'root'."

Yunevo held the mechanical, layered flower in his hand—it looked exactly like the emblem of the Old Alchemists' Guild that he had inadvertently glimpsed when he joined the guild.

"This is 'gradual rounding'," Moke said, "but... I'm afraid it will never bloom again."

Eunice shook his head.

The process of this thing unfolding is actually extremely simple: it follows the laws of nature and the blooming of the flower stamen... By injecting magical energy as a "life guide" into the flower stamen, it will bloom in sequence, just like a real flower.

A series of crisp sounds came from the meshing gears, and the mechanical flower rotated and bloomed from the inside out, first revealing the exquisite "ring" in the stamen, and then the layers of gradient-colored petals unfolded.

The ring represents alchemists' relentless pursuit of perfection—as technology advances, the manufacturing process of this ring, located in the heart of the flower, will become increasingly "perfect," that is, a "perfect circle" without any errors.

Of course, the process of the flower's blooming will also become no different from the "opening" in nature, which is the alchemist's philosophy...

Originating from nature, and returning to nature.

"You..." Moke finally stopped wiping his sweat. The shimmering silver ring in the flower's center made his heart leap. "How did you do that, make this 'Gradually Rounding' flower bloom?"

"The old chairman demonstrated it to me once before he left, but I was too... too..." He didn't finish his sentence, perhaps regretting his own stupidity.

"Mok," Yunevo gently grasped the mechanical flower, allowing the ring to be enveloped by petals once more, before asking a question: "What do you think alchemists are pursuing these days?"

"The Philosopher's Stone, immortality... and fame and fortune, right?" He tucked "Roundness" into his robe. "So they gradually forgot that alchemy can never be above nature; it must follow certain principles of exchange."

Moke was stunned. The black-robed alchemist was indeed right, even pointing out the problems that had existed in the previous experiments on the alchemy engine.

"It will take some time to get it into production; it won't be completed in at least seven days..." Yunevo sighed. "I know an arcane craftsman who might be able to help."

"Arcane Artisan?" Mok's voice rose an octave instinctively, as if incredulous. "You know an Arcane Artisan?"

The black-robed alchemist nodded. "Right here in Starmock, I think... he's quite interested in these new things."

The arcane craftsman that Yunevo mentioned... was none other than Dark, the middle-aged man who had participated in the "Colossus of Justice" project.

"Mok, if possible, I suggest we start gathering manpower in the next few days," he continued, then pulled out a communication crystal that had been flashing for a while from his pocket.

Nehta's voice, lower than usual, came from the other end of the line, "Lin is looking for you... and me too."

"Didn't we just meet that lame ratman not long ago?" Yunevo wondered. He turned to Mok and said, "I'll contact that arcane artisan in the next couple of days."

The latter nodded, watching Yunevo leave the room, before turning his gaze to the alchemical engine, which was not even a half-finished product.

"Will that day ever come..." he murmured.

……

When Ionevo and Nehta arrived at Lin's "castle" again, they felt a strange sense of gloom.

The "emperor" who was touring the territory seemed to be in low spirits today, staying in the "palace" for a long time without coming out.

Nehta knocked on the metal sheet of the topmost pipe—no one answered.

It knocked twice more, waited a while, and then opened the iron gate on its own and crawled inside.

The environment here was much darker than last time. The "luxury magic source chandelier" hanging from the ceiling was off, leaving only a faint natural light shining on the ratman who was huddled in the corner, sitting cross-legged.

The iron crown was set aside, and the scepter was quietly placed on the shelf, while Lin held the tiny glass ball—the one he had placed in the shop a few days ago to pay off a debt.

"Lin?" Nehta called out tentatively.

The lame rat-man raised his head and held the glass ball up to the dim light leaking from the crack in the pipe. "This ball... was given to Lin by a man in a white robe when Lin first started doing intelligence work."

"He said he was a conservative, that Lin's eyes shone with light, and that Lin would become a great king..."

Its claws gently stroked the surface of the glass ball. "Lin said that if that day ever comes... he will definitely be Lin's trusted minister, enjoying the same status as Lin's younger brother, and Lin will even reward him with an endless supply of nuts."

The lame ratman gave a half-smile, then paused in his speech.

"And this is how the first cleaning turned out..."