Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 67 Know When to Stop

Chiba was like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, jumping around in the still-warm pile of scrap iron.

"Boss! This pressure valve is made of copper... and that connecting rod is mithril alloy! My God, this is practically a mobile vault!"

As she gasped, she skillfully used a crowbar to remove the usable parts from the twisted corpse.

Rhodes ignored the worldly possessions and squatted at the epicenter of the core explosion.

The viscous black substance was adhering deep into the wreckage, its surface slowly wriggling, its texture like freshly laid asphalt.

He reached out his hand, a slight stinging sensation coming from his fingertips, his palm hovering above the mass of matter.

[Analysis of Vision] is activated, and the colors in the field of vision instantly fade away, with dark lines forming the skeleton of the world, and only the mass of matter in front of you reveals a faint purple light.

Aside from the core [Living Metal Core - Fragmented (Purple)], which possesses self-repairing properties, Rhodes' gaze was fixed on a blue halo attached to the broken pipe.

[High-energy heat conduction (blue)]: An excellent heat transfer medium that can transfer or focus heat with very low loss.

"nice one."

Rhodes extended his mental energy, cutting into the energy structure.

The blue orb was successfully detached and entered his brow, where it was stored in his consciousness space.

This attribute, which can improve energy utilization, combined with the [energy conversion] property inherent in the [Titan Core], is enough to bring about a qualitative change.

In the future, whether it is to power the armor or to manufacture high-temperature weapons, the efficiency will be multiplied.

"Boss, look over here!" Chiba's voice came from the corner.

She had just dragged two heavy metal crates out from under a pile of collapsed shelves.

The surface of the case is printed with the emblem of the Royal Technical Bureau. The paint is peeling and the outer shell is deformed, but the overall structure remains intact.

"Just a spare parts box! Not a trap, not even locked down!"

Chiba rubbed his oil-stained hands and skillfully pried open the box lid with his dagger.

Inside the box, rows of precision gears, pistons, and bearings were neatly stacked, soaked in viscous anti-rust oil, refracting a cold industrial luster under the dim light.

To those in the know, these industrial artifacts from two hundred years ago are worth far more than their weight in gold.

"I'm rich... I'm really rich this time..." Chiba muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with the light of gold coins.

Rhodes walked over, glanced at it, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Chiba, take everything you can. We should leave."

"Huh? Aren't we going any deeper?" Chiba looked reluctantly into the depths of the passage. "Since we have such good stuff on the outside, what about inside..."

Rod interrupted her delusions: "There's only a dead end inside."

His finger pointed to the fleshy walls that were healing their wounds at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"See those things? They're devouring this pumping station. The 'living pump' mentioned in the log is even deeper inside. Judging from the current situation, it seems to be completely out of control."

Rod patted the spot in his bag where he kept his journal, his expression stern.

"This level of pollution is far beyond the capabilities of the three of us at the Iron level. If we continue to delve deeper, it's like dancing on a powder keg with a burnt-out fuse."

"Once the pollution gets out of control, it will inevitably reach the surface, and the entire Rusty Harbour will become a breeding ground for monsters."

"Only the guild's top combatants, or the clergy of the Holy Light Church, have the ability to purify or stop its further spread."

Rusty Harbor is Rhodes's base of operations and a sanctuary where he accumulates power.

If this place is destroyed, he will find it difficult to find such a chaotic yet opportunity-filled place to settle down again.

Not to mention, traversing the no-man's-land between city-states without absolute power is practically no different from delivering food to monsters.

"Once we get back, we'll hand this log over to the guild, and let the big shots deal with the rest of the trouble," Rhodes decided. "We've taken the benefits, so it's wise to quit while we're ahead."

Although Chiba is greedy for money, his will to survive is even stronger.

She glanced at the writhing veins and couldn't help but shudder. She quickly swept the precision-crafted parts into her backpack.

Avira had already cleared an escape route. With the tower shield on her back and a bag full of spoils in one hand, she stood silently at the exit.

"Let's go, it's time to go home and divide the money."

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As the winch rubs against the steel cable, vibrations are transmitted up the floor of the industrial elevator, and the stuffy, polluted air underground is gradually replaced by the cool breeze above that smells of the sea.

The moment the iron cage broke through the ground, the long-awaited sunlight shone on the three of them.

The sky over Ruskin Harbour remained overcast, but the hazy light seemed particularly pleasing to the eye at that moment.

They did not linger at the scrap yard, quickly blending into the departing crowd.

Chiba carried a heavy bag of parts, but her steps were lighter than when she came, and her fox tail almost reached the sky.

Avira remained on high alert, her gaze sweeping over the scavengers around her with ill intentions. Her sharp eyes deterred several pickpockets who tried to approach.

After passing through several muddy streets and bypassing the bustling black market stalls, the entrance to Tolin's blacksmith shop was almost within reach.

This time, in the fight against those ghouls and monsters, Avira's shield was severely damaged once again.

It's estimated that after two or three more battles of this intensity, this tower shield will be worn out and a new one will need to be replaced.

Rhodes had just begun to calculate how many gold coins and orem he could exchange for this harvest when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Avira stopped almost simultaneously, placing her hand on the hilt of her sword, her entire body tense.

The alleyway ahead was blocked.

The figure leaned against the graffiti-covered brick wall, and was tall.

She was covered in dark red mud and unidentified biological fluids, and her once dazzling crimson hair was now tangled in strands, mixed with withered grass and broken leaves.

If it weren't for that undisguised, furnace-like aura, she would have looked like a savage who had just crawled out of a mud pit.

Olivia was carrying a huge, bloody wild boar hind leg.

She didn't care that it was raw meat. She tore it open with one bite, and her white fangs easily ripped through the thick pigskin. The crisp sound of bones breaking sent chills down one's spine.

Upon seeing Rhodes and the other two, she swallowed the piece of meat in her mouth, and her molten gold vertical pupils instantly locked onto Rhodes.

"Zheng—"

Avira drew her longsword half an inch from its sheath, the blade trembling slightly.

"Don't move."

Rod pressed down on the back of Ivira's hand and shoved the sword back into its sheath.

He took two steps forward to meet those wild eyes, a signature business smile on his face.

"Looks like the hunt by the dry riverbed went well? You look... quite successful."

Olivia casually tossed aside the gnawed, pitted wild boar leg and wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I saw that crater." Her voice was hoarse. "It has a radius of 50 meters, an extremely high concentration of residual magic, and the soil structure is completely crystallized. That's the kind of mark left by a high-level dragon's self-destruction."

She took a step forward, and a wave of intense heat hit her in the face.

"You're not lying. That old beast is indeed dead."

Rod's smile widened.

Now that the other party has confirmed it, the huge weight on my heart has finally been lifted for the time being.

"I told you, I was the victim." Rhodes spread his hands. "Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, can we call it even?"