Mechanical Alchemist
Chapter 68: Bait, please adjust your attitude

The two walked in the darkness, going deeper and deeper underground.

Rena looked at the tunnel leading deeper underground, realizing that it was not the way out. Her anxiety and fear grew stronger.

She felt as if she was stepping closer to the abyss...

Finally, unable to bear the eerie atmosphere any longer, Rena cautiously asked, "Mr. Su'en, where are we going? Aren't we going back to the surface?"

Seeing her timid and hesitant look, she probably thought that if something happened in this environment, even if she screamed her lungs out, no one would know.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Su'en turned his head and glanced at her. After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke, "Do you think you're safe now?"

"Huh?"

Rena felt a bit guilty under his gaze, as if she could see the word "stupid" written on her forehead.

Su'en thought for a moment and explained, "Explosions can be heard from far away, enough to attract assassins. The distorted monsters are just a means of murder, but the mastermind behind them... is human. If they find out you're not dead, do you think they won't come looking for you? If you go out now, I guarantee there are assassins waiting for you."

If saving someone was as simple as dealing with a few distorted monsters, he wouldn't have hesitated before.

The mastermind behind it all was what he truly feared.

.......

"Huh? I... I..."

As soon as Rena heard this, her mind seemed to be filled with conflicting information, and her speech became incoherent.

She hadn't had time to think about it while being chased by monsters all the way. And now, in this unfamiliar environment, changing clothes under the gaze of a stranger, her mind was still blank.

Listening to his words, she instantly understood.

Now, she finally realized that the man in front of her was indeed as her aunt had described, always possessing an almost inhuman calmness in any situation. (The original words seemed to be about betting on a gambling table or something, but it doesn't matter.)

Thinking of this, Rena realized that she had asked a really stupid question earlier.

This intelligent gentleman must have guessed her foolish and naive thoughts.

Blushing, she weakly expressed her apologies for her random guesses, "I'm sorry..."

"..."

Su'en didn't pay much attention to her, seemingly indifferent, and continued walking.

To ease the awkward atmosphere, Rena thought for a moment and took the initiative to say, "Mr. Su'en, aren't you curious about why the trial went wrong? And who the mastermind is?" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet

Su'en frowned slightly, feeling that she was being a bit verbose.

Perhaps it was because the enclosed environment made this young lady feel uneasy, and she wanted to talk to seek some comfort. But in this situation, was it the time for idle chatter?

Huh, as expected, women only slow down the speed of drawing guns.

He casually said, "Not curious."

"..."

Rena felt embarrassed for a moment.

Seeing that she still wanted to say something, Su'en felt that he should put an end to this meaningless conversation.

After thinking for a moment, he said in one breath, "If I'm not mistaken, your father is either critically ill or retiring, and you are the first heir of the conglomerate, destined to inherit it. Unfortunately, you also have some greedy uncles and cousins. And... the mastermind behind this attack is most likely a close relative who stands to inherit the conglomerate if you die."

Upon hearing this, the shock in Rena's eyes grew stronger, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah... how... how did you know?"

"..."

Su'en's mouth twitched slightly, feeling a bit bored.

It was probably because the entertainment industry and communication in this world were not developed enough, so the common people couldn't get a taste of the upper class society.

But in Su'en's previous life, these power struggles within wealthy families had been played out countless times in novels and in reality. The gambling king prolonging his life, the concubines fighting for power; the son of a certain chaebol forcing his father to abdicate and seizing power; the wealthy prince hunting down his bodyguard and lover who had cuckolded him...

Reality was more melodramatic than fiction.

The richer they were, the more ruthless they were towards their own family.

There was nothing new about it.

Su'en felt that he had talked enough and didn't say anything more.

However, the advantage of saying such a long speech was that Rena finally understood and obediently followed behind him, poking her fingers together, silently keeping up.

She felt that this man seemed to be able to guess everything.

As calm as a monster.

.......

As the two went deeper and deeper, the foul smell of the sewer became stronger.

Suddenly, Su'en realized something and turned to look at Rena, whose face was flushed from holding her breath. There was a helpless expression in his eyes.

He had been thinking about other things and forgot that this girl was only wearing a thin shirt and didn't even have a gas mask.

But perhaps because she had been repeatedly embarrassed in the conversation just now, Rena didn't feel comfortable asking for anything.

Su'en shook his head slightly and took out clothes, a gun, a dagger, and bullets from his storage ring.

"The bulletproof clothing technology in the outer city is outdated and heavy. Wearing it will greatly affect your agility. It's up to you to choose. If you don't wear bulletproof clothing, there will be no room for error, and you must remain highly vigilant throughout. The underground is very dangerous, and a slight carelessness could be fatal. But if you wear it, you won't be able to escape if you encounter danger..."

Rena took the heavy bulletproof vest, which was dozens of times heavier than the academy's combat uniform. She was about to put it on, but upon hearing Su'en's analysis, she seemed to have thought of something and backed off, answering weakly, "I... I think I won't wear it."

Su'en put away the bulletproof vest, then pointed to the firearm hanging at her waist, reminding her, "Try the feel of the firearm first, but don't fire it. The firearms in the outer city are not as good as those in your academy, the recoil will be quite strong. Be mentally prepared in case of any situation. The other one is a rune firearm, which was given to me by Charlie before, it should be handy. But the alchemical bullets are limited, please don't fire at will unless necessary..."

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Rena felt that she understood everything, but in front of this man, it seemed like she knew nothing.

She was like a puppet being manipulated, whatever Su'en said, she could only say "okay", there was no room for refusal.

Before this man spoke, he had already considered everything.

The clothes were Su'en's men's wear, which was too big for Rena. In the end, she only wore the thin shirt, without even wearing pants, revealing her white thighs. Fortunately, the darkness concealed her embarrassment on her pretty face, and Su'en didn't seem to take an extra glance, which saved her from feeling shy and awkward.

The shoes also didn't fit, so she went barefoot. However, thanks to the catwoman's natural talent of enhanced toughness in the foot muscles, going barefoot wasn't a problem, except that stepping on the damp sewer made her feel a bit nauseous.

After distributing the equipment, Su'en spoke again, announcing, "Alright, from now on, keep a safe distance from me. Don't talk to me, don't make any noise... Stay absolutely quiet."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Rena looked puzzled.

Su'en didn't beat around the bush, he explained directly, "From now on, you are the bait. I will decide whether I can save you again based on the potential strength of the enemy. Don't look at me like that. If you're with me, the enemy will choose to take us both out at once. I'm just an ordinary gangster, only if I survive, can you survive..."

What Su'en didn't say was that if the enemy was too strong, he would not hesitate to abandon the "bait".

After a pause, he added, "Of course, the ideal situation is that the enemies think you were killed by the mutant monster, and no one comes after us."

"..."

Listening to this, Rena was stunned, her pretty face full of awe.

Right, there are assassins.

Listening to him, it seemed like... his words made sense?

But even though they made sense, she always felt something was off about them.

In high society, wouldn't gentlemen protect their female companions' lives first, even in the face of death?

Why would Mr. Su'en want me to be the bait?

Although she had never experienced such a sudden event, Rena still felt that the plot was unfolding in a strange way.

She wanted to ask, but didn't know what to say, as he had already explained everything.

Su'en felt the pitiful glances from behind, but he didn't turn around. He quickly increased the distance between them, saying as he walked, "I'm just an ordinary guide... The reason I risked saving you is because of your aunt, Sister Qian."

Not taking credit for himself would save a lot of trouble.

By the way, it would also curry favor with Boss Qian, which would make things easier later.

Moreover, Su'en's actions were not pretending to be cold, but the most rational choice.

Because he understood human nature.

Facing this tsundere noble lady, if you treat her well, she takes it for granted, because that's how she's treated in her daily life; however, when she realizes that your kindness comes at a price, she will truly value it.

Being bait is more valuable than being a burden.

To be a good bait, one must be prepared to be bait.

In short, a sycophant has nothing, equivalent exchange is the eternal truth.

If you want to be saved, you have to pay the price.

Besides, although his words were ruthless, this was the best way Su'en could think of to save Rena's life.

He was very clear that the assassins who dared to target this young lady were not simple.

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