After returning from the black market, life returned to normal.

With money, Su’en could also tinker with the equipment he needed.

There were several inconspicuous mechanical shops near Green Street, which was the favorite place for the members of the Cross Society to modify motorcycles.

The owner of the “Bearded Mechanical Modification Shop” was called Lait.

He was skilled in craftsmanship and was a certified “Intermediate Mechanic” of the Mechanic Guild. He was good at modifying steam motorcycles and firearms, and had a certain reputation in the mechanical modification circle.

With two hours left before work, Su’en arrived at the mechanical shop and looked at the greasy bearded man. He smiled and greeted, “Hey, Laisen, has the thing I wanted arrived?”

“Su’en, brother, your material requirements are too demanding.”

The bearded Lait looked at Su’en and grumbled.

He put down the steam Harley shock absorber he was tinkering with, picked up a black cloth next to him, wiped his hands, and suddenly raised his eyebrows, “But, this can’t stump me, Lait.”

As he spoke, he took out a coil from the house and introduced it in a boastful tone, “This is the ‘Huirui VII Alloy Wire’ produced by Gerson Arsenal. I dare say, this is the finest and most resilient alloy wire you can find in the outer city. It’s a top-grade material that flows out of the inner city’s military industry channels. It’s just too expensive, three hundred li per foot. I managed to get three hundred feet for you, and they’re all here.”

These shop owners all had their own fixed channels for goods. As long as you could afford the money, those material merchants would always be able to find satisfactory materials for you.

Even prohibited and controlled goods from the inner city.

“Oh, I’m very satisfied with this material!”

Su’en looked at the alloy wire, which was slightly thicker than a hair, and showed a kind smile.

As Lait said, this was already the best material that could meet his requirements in the world.

If he wanted better performance, he could only use some cursed materials.

However, not all wires could be used to manipulate puppets, and Su’en felt that this wire was enough for now. He said, “Thank you so much. Here’s a hundred thousand li. I’ve been doing well at the gambling den recently and won quite a bit.”

Everyone knew that Su’en was a gambler. He would stay at the arena every night until dawn.

His record of winning over two million at once with Qiantiao Yiyue had spread throughout Green Street and became a topic of conversation for people after dinner.

Su’en also felt that it was just right for him to get rich at the gambling den. It was reasonable and could explain the source of his funds.

He generously took out a stack of banknotes, received the coil, and said, “Leta, I also need to use your workshop.”

Lait shrugged as if he was already familiar with this request and said, “Feel free to use it. If you need any help, just ask.”

……

Su’en had been here many times before and walked into the workshop of the shop with familiarity.

There were two operating rooms in the shop. One room was for modifying steam motorcycles. It was filled with various old parts that were dismantled from different channels. The air was always filled with a strong smell of rust.

The other room was for firearm modifications. The walls were like an arsenal, hanging with various firearms of different shapes.

Sprayers, pistols, submachine guns, sniper rifles…

Because of the existence of alchemy in this world, there were many directions in which the performance of materials could be modified, which also led to the variety of firearms in this world. There were all kinds of modified machine guns with exaggerated magazine capacities, steam-powered high-pressure air guns, large-caliber enchanted pistols, and gunpowder war hammers that could be used as melee weapons…

Although there were no “famous guns” in the shop, the modified firearms produced here provided enough firepower support for the members of the Cross Society.

Su’en walked in and took out some tools, starting to tinker with the “Huirui VII Alloy Wire” he had just obtained.

These days, he spent some time designing a pair of half-mechanical leather gloves that resembled “sleeve arrows” for himself, in order to use the steel wire that controlled the puppets more flexibly.

After the battle at the Tubazi Building, he killed many members of the Steam Party and stripped off many pieces of mechanical technology, turning his mechanical knowledge into “Advanced Mechanical Introduction”.

Designing such simple mechanical equipment came naturally to him.

Su’en took out the leather gloves that he had already completed most of, and then put on the goggles.

Although these mechanical gloves looked simple, in order to meet the requirements, there were also densely packed brass paper wheels and springs on them, just like the core of a watch.

The core components of the mechanical gloves were the “H-33 Spring Adapter” and the “B15 Spring Power Modulation System”. They were good things dismantled from the military mechanical arm of the inner city that Su’en bought from the black market. They could make the steel wire shoot out like a slingshot with precision.

These high-precision mechanical parts that small workshops in the outer city couldn’t complete, Su’en’s current mechanical knowledge could only allow him to use them flexibly, rather than create or invent them.Before long, Su’en had adjusted the parts of his mechanical glove, then wound the entire spool of thread into the metal storage compartment on his forearm.

He flexed his fingers. The half-mechanical glove didn’t interfere with his shooting.

He tested the launching device. The alloy thread would smoothly spring out from the launcher on the back of his hand, and his fingers could deftly control the thread, which could be used to manipulate puppets at any time.

He pulled down his sleeve, perfectly covering the mechanical devices, so they weren’t too conspicuous.

Su’en was quite satisfied with his handiwork. After a few more minor adjustments, it would be ready for actual combat.

……

Before long, Su’en left the bearded mechanic’s shop and made a trip to the “Three Muskets Tavern”.

It wasn’t the tavern’s business hours yet, and the bartender was idly wiping glasses at the bar.

Su’en walked over and asked, “Hey, mate, any ‘pigeon’ messages today?”

He had been expecting to hear “no” again, but to his surprise, the bartender glanced at his notebook and gave a different answer: “Yes.”

“Huh?”

Su’en walked over with a smile and received the note made up of newspaper clippings.

It was the third day since their initial meeting in the black market, and he had finally received a message from the mysterious stall owner.

The note read: “At 5 p.m. on the 12th, put ten thousand lira in a leather bag and place it under the mailbox at the entrance of the Berman Bakery on No.14 Ginkgo Street. I’m sorry, sir, I need to see your sincerity in purchasing the potion, so I need you to pay some deposit in advance. If you don’t see this message in time, I will wait until the 13th. But if you don’t pay the deposit as agreed, I will refuse this transaction.”

“Heh, quite cautious.”

Su’en looked at the note in his hand, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

The language in the letter was as polite as he had anticipated. As he had guessed, the stall owner was well-mannered and young.

If it were him, he probably wouldn’t trust someone he met randomly in the black market either. The suggestion to pay a “deposit” was reasonable.

Of course, the most important thing was that Su’en had money now, so paying a deposit in advance was not a problem.

He was also confident that this money wouldn’t go to waste.

His intuition told him that the mysterious stall owner would bring him more surprises.

Checking the time, he had twenty minutes until five o’clock, enough time for him to make a trip to Ginkgo Street five blocks away.

Su’en gave the bartender two hundred lira as a tip for passing on the message.

Then he casually took a leather bag, stuffed a stack of banknotes into it, folded it neatly, put it in the inner pocket of his trench coat, and left the tavern.

……

Green Street was the territory of the Cross Society, and Su’en was very familiar with it.

With a casual wave of his hand, he borrowed a steam motorcycle from the side of the street.

Two minutes later, he arrived at a small alley near Ginkgo Street.

He parked the bike, pulled down his hat to cover his face.

Su’en checked the time, three minutes to five o’clock.

Timing his steps, he left the alley, blended into the crowd, and walked onto Ginkgo Street.

The No.14 shop was the Berman Bakery, with a green mailbox at the entrance.

When Su’en got there, it was exactly five o’clock.

Without looking around, he directly stuffed the oil-paper bag with money into the gap of the mailbox against the wall.

Then he walked away without looking back. In the underworld, this kind of transaction method was very common.

Of course, Su’en was also a bit curious about who would come to collect the money.

Considering that this area was all Cross Society’s territory, he might even know them.

By the time he passed the corner, he had walked far enough. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a young boy deftly take the oil-paper bag from behind the mailbox and quickly disappear into the crowd.

The handover was very professional, like a seasoned thief.

“Huh, looks like one of the kids from the tenement…”

Su’en glanced at him, but didn’t think much of it.

He circled back to find his bike in the alley, then returned to Green Street.

Having paid the deposit, all he had to do now was wait for the next message.

By then, the mysterious person would probably bring the potion for the transaction.