Chapter 30 Gang Fight

After the main force of the Holy Cross Society arrived, the firefight between the two sides immediately escalated.

In Old Londun, where firearms were cheaper than drinking water, the gang fight kicked up a localized war.

Both sides invested a large number of personnel and equipment, vying for the "Green Street position" in a back-and-forth battle.

Kai wasn't involved in the fighting afterwards due to his injuries, but Solon was still active on the battlefield.

He didn't go to dangerous places, but he was often found where there were many corpses.

But Solon didn't stand out too much on the battlefield, acting just like an ordinary gang member, fighting when he should and running when he should. Because of his super perception, he could always foresee some dangers in advance, and he was safe most of the time.

War is, in fact, a money-burning exercise.

As the conflict between the two major gangs intensified, not only did the backers behind them suffer heavy losses, but more and more major forces were involved. The games between the great families were mostly acquaintances due to their intricate connections. The more involved, the greater the resistance. In the end, it was said that the various families in the inner city came out to jointly mediate, and only then did it stop.

This conflict lasted for three days and three nights, with more than 10,000 casualties, and the entire Green Street was reduced to ruins.

The two major gangs were badly hurt.

Later, Solon also heard about the cause of this inexplicable gang war. It really was that Master Martin being ambushed. And among those who did it, there was a guy who had awakened the [Red Devil] talent.

And coincidentally, the Holy Cross Society's "Red Devil" Garon was also besieged and killed on the battlefield.

Dead men tell no tales.

There was also the Steam Party's "Mad Dog" Hogg, who was the cadre who accompanied Master Martin to the negotiations, and he was killed in full view of everyone.

As for the truth of the matter, ordinary gang members were not qualified to know.

Solon didn't think it was important anymore.

He even felt that sending "Red Devil" Garon to the outer city for a duel might have laid the groundwork for this battle.

But none of that mattered anymore.

What mattered was that Solon had gained a lot of mechanical knowledge in this war, which directly turned him from [Advanced Mechanical Novice] to [Intermediate Mechanical Proficiency].

........

Green Street was reduced to ruins, and according to the mediation agreement, it temporarily became neutral territory.

No one dared to come and spend money, and the financial backers behind the various taverns, gambling dens, and brothels also withdrew. With no profit to be made, neither gang took these few dilapidated streets seriously.

But Kai, as the original "head honcho" of Green Street, seemed a bit lonely.

This captain of his had lost his territory and his men...

In this firefight, apart from him and Solon, everyone on Green Street was wiped out.

It must be said that the elimination rate of the lower-level gangs was really high.

If Solon hadn't thought about advancing to become a professional after joining the Holy Cross Society, but instead spent his salary every day visiting taverns and brothels, he would probably have been cannon fodder in some firefight.

And after this battle, many legends began to circulate in the outer city's underworld.

A group of new talents rose, and a group of old ones were buried.

Among them, there was one that became more and more mysterious. The Steam Party's "Scissorhands" Hawthorne admitted that there was a top marksman of mysterious origin in the Holy Cross Society. He was an old firearms expert who knew the [Mystic Art: Stacked Shot], and he killed at least two full-strength squads, as well as the two captains, "Iron Lungs" Durand and "Anchorhand" Parker.

But after spreading for a long time, even the Holy Cross Society didn't know who it was.

If Kai didn't say it, no one would know who it was.

After all, everyone on Green Street had been wiped out, and very few people in the entire Holy Cross Society knew Solon.

Logically speaking, Solon had killed so many enemies in this firefight, and the war merit rewards would probably be over a million.

But he didn't intend to show off, nor did he go to collect the money.

After all, this conflict had taught him enough of a lesson; it wasn't good to be too famous. Kai had almost died because of his reputation.

But Qian Tiao knew that Solon's marksmanship was excellent, so she secretly asked about the situation and then sent a generous reward over.

Solon's life returned to normal. On the contrary, because Green Street's entertainment venues were gone, even the patrol mission at seven o'clock every night was gone.

All day was free time to arrange as he pleased.

Every day, he stayed in the rented basement, training his physical fitness, tinkering with mechanical equipment, making eerie dolls... Occasionally, he went to the shooting range next door to practice shooting, so as not to lose his touch.

As for the struggles of the Holy Cross Society, he, as a small gang member, didn't care.

The only bad news was probably that there were no nearby arenas where he could extract souls. If he wanted to go to other districts to watch arena fights, he would have to run far. It was said that the financial backer behind the Holy Cross Society was preparing a "New Green Street," but it would take some time.

The knowledge gained from this battle was enough for Solon to digest for a long time, and he wasn't in a hurry to find a new arena.

Half a month passed in a flash, and the situation completely calmed down.

.......

One day, in the basement.

Solon was wearing stained work clothes, buried in tinkering with a new gadget—a "spider bomb."

This was the inspiration he found from his own Eight-Armed Spider Spear implant.

He wanted to design a mechanical bomb that could crawl on its own, equipped with displacement equipment and a timed detonation device.

This bomb could be used in various complex terrains, climbing walls, drilling holes, turning corners... It could crawl to blind spots that some people couldn't reach by throwing bombs.

The mechanical spider on the workbench had already taken shape, and Solon concentrated on installing several seed-sized brass accessories.

This was the most crucial step, requiring him to connect the explosive device and the mechanical timing system.

Solon felt that he was careful enough, but suddenly, the mechanical spider on the workbench began to emit white smoke. He secretly thought it was bad, and then quickly took out a blast shield and covered the workbench.

Looking at his proficiency, it was clear that this wasn't the first time this had happened.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound.

The high-power exhaust device on the workbench roared, sucking out the large amount of smoke generated by the explosion.

Solon opened the blast shield, looked helplessly at his failed work, and muttered, "That's not right... The 'H2 quartz timer' is fine, and the 'T3 explosive prototype' is also fine... Why did it explode? Could it be that my homemade wall-climbing device is conflicting?"

Fortunately, it was just an experimental product, and the amount of ammunition wasn't much. Apart from making him a little embarrassed, it wasn't enough to hurt anyone.

But this explosion made Solon fall into self-reflection and doubt again.

Multiple failures for unknown reasons had gradually made him realize the root of the problem.

Although the [Death Harvester] ability was strong, allowing him to learn the amount of knowledge that others would take years, or even decades, to learn in just a few months.

But there was also a very big problem, which was that the knowledge gained was not systematic.

Without systematic learning, he simply couldn't rule out where his problem was.

Like this explosion, his "experience" told him that there was no problem, but in fact, it exploded, so there must be a problem in his "knowledge blind spot."

All the mechanical knowledge he now possessed was extracted from various corpses, like Lego brick fragments, piece by piece.

But these "knowledge puzzles" were missing a part, like building a high-rise building with holes everywhere, which could collapse at any time.

Don't look at how his knowledge has now reached [Intermediate Mechanical Proficiency], but in terms of some basic knowledge, Solon was even inferior to a beginner apprentice.

"The fact that mechanical knowledge is not systematic is still a big problem..."

Solon looked at the failed spider bomb, frowned, and pondered, "It seems that I have to study mechanical knowledge systematically."

Combat knowledge was still fine, after all, it was a matter of practice makes perfect, and he could master it with more practice.

But theoretical knowledge wouldn't work. If there was a knowledge gap, some things couldn't be linked together.

Having gone through nine years of compulsory education in his previous life, he was well aware of the importance of systematic learning. He urgently needed a thread to connect the fragments in his mind.

As soon as this thought arose in his mind, Solon instantly thought of one person.

That was the defector, the former Vice-Dean of the Black Tower Academy, Nikola J. Emilich!

When it came to systematic knowledge, who would know more than the Vice-Dean of Old Londun's top alchemy academy?

.......

"That gentleman still owes me a favor..."

Thinking of this, Solon lost the mood to continue tinkering with the spider bomb, so he didn't dawdle in the basement. He rode his motorcycle to the Shadow Alley black market.

He wanted to leave a message at "Rosen's Alchemy Shop" and use that favor.

Although he had only met that Mr. Emilich once, Solon trusted his intuition.

That person had no malice towards him.

The key was that a person being hunted by the Umbrella organization was even more reassuring.

If it was just for some systematic elementary alchemy knowledge, Solon didn't think it was necessary to use this favor.

Finding other channel merchants in the black market, although more troublesome, could also get it. For example, the Black Tower Academy's textbooks, or the Alchemist Guild's apprentice manual.

Solon chose to contact that gentleman to maximize the value of this favor.

Because he knew that, apart from being a top professional who was suspected to be stronger than the Holy Cross Society's president, Emilich also had a deep relationship with the organizers of the black market.

The black market's background was very mysterious. It was rumored that the organizer was a real big shot who even the "Umbrella organization" couldn't do anything about.

Although Solon needed more information to understand this world.

This mysterious alchemy world was like a stunning beauty covered in a veil. Mystery and strangeness endowed her with infinite charm, arousing people's desire to explore. He had already lifted a corner of the veil and couldn't wait to see the true face.

The gang's structure was too small, after all.

He had seen it in the previous gang firefight. In front of those inner-city chaebols, no matter how fierce the gang was, it was ultimately a tamed beast trapped in a cage.

Solon had traveled to this fantasy world and wanted to see the scenery at the top.

Another consideration was that he wanted to understand the path for himself to advance to the second-tier professional in the future.