Exit through the back door of the alchemy laboratory, walk through a dark alley and three blocks, and you will reach the East Square, the most bustling area of Alchemy City.
Sid habitually pulled out his indigo-colored wide-brimmed wizard hat and put it on, which made him feel safer.
As night fell, the magic crystal lamps lining both sides of the road slowly lit up, but the master who invented them appeared all alone under the light.
Sid surveyed the buildings and infrastructure of the new city district with a blank expression, but his steps never faltered. His gaze swept across the other end of the street, where workers who hadn't yet finished their shifts were laboriously carrying materials needed for tomorrow's alchemy into the city's workshops.
Sid thought that perhaps once his experiments were completed, he should start thinking about improving some more efficient means of transportation—however, he had very little money left in his account, and it was time to consider moving the laboratory to the nearby countryside.
Although Alchemy City boasts highly skilled workers, a wide variety of raw materials, and the most convenient sales channels, the cost of living here is simply too high; it's as if every breath you take consumes gold coins.
But this will surely cause his uncle Haines a lot of trouble.
Alchemy City is unlike any other city on the continent. It operates under a "merchant republic," where shrewd merchants have formed a "transaction council" to vote on all matters concerning Alchemy City.
With the eldest son of the Liujin family imprisoned for a crime and the second son and his wife murdered, the Liujin family's control over the "Transaction Council" has weakened considerably, and in recent years two extremely powerful factions have emerged:
"The Hand of the God of Magic" and "The Eye of Truth".
The combined number of their seats actually exceeds that of the Liujin family, posing a significant threat to the Liujin family's "Liujin Dawn" faction.
Ultimately, it all comes down to money. In this city-state where money reigns supreme, everything is geared towards making money.
As long as you have enough money and can bring enough benefits, you can gain greater influence.
However, Sid disdained repeatedly making those extremely boring magical items, and what did the lives and deaths of the noble lords have to do with him?
Rather than producing the same old, monotonous defensive items like a donkey going around in circles on a millstone, he preferred to research new inventions.
But this is both a waste of money and a waste of time.
A silver mirror can reflect one's face, a magic crystal lamp can light up a city, and a scanning book can pass on knowledge, but they cannot bring glittering gold. Noble gentlemen will always prefer magical items that can save their lives in crucial moments.
Sid understood that although his uncle Haynes still smiled kindly, his dissatisfaction with him had reached a breaking point.
The other party first cut off his funding, and then poached his apprentices from his laboratory.
His laboratory was like a never-ending money pit.
Even if he is talented and has many ideas, without sufficient resources to support them, those ideas are nothing more than castles in the air.
His ongoing research became so difficult that he had to go to Red Moon to relax.
Meanwhile, his uncle had secretly prepared to sell him to the Grand Duke of Bethlehem in exchange for the greatest possible value.
In that case, Sid thought, perhaps he could take this opportunity to completely sever ties with the Liujin family.
He was eager to break away from the Liujin family and used almost all of his wealth to establish an alchemy laboratory, but he fell right into Haines's trap and had to endure the other party's increasingly demanding threats.
That's why he loves Dongcheng District even more.
Once you leave the old town, which reeks of exploitation, even the air seems to become fresher.
As he walked, lost in thought, the tavern in one corner of the square came into view. Most of the merchants from Red Moon entered Alchemy City through the East Gate, injecting the city with a continuous stream of vitality and wealth, making the East Square the most bustling and lively place.
Pushing open the painted lattice door, Sid entered the tavern.
He walked past the crowd sitting at the wooden tables drinking and went straight to the corner of the bar.
"The usual, a glass of 'Blood of Bethlehem'," he greeted the bartender with practiced ease and ordered in a low voice.
The busy waiter smiled at him and replied, "Alright, sir, please have a seat. It will be ready soon!"
Soon, the dark red wine was poured into a tin cup. The liquid was clear, sweet and fragrant, yet it reflected a warm and beautiful glow under the flickering candlelight.
Sid pondered the shape and material of the cup as he slowly sipped his drink.
This is a new type of wine produced in the Duchy of Bethlehem, and it seems to be made from grapes. Sid fell in love with the drink after his first taste.
The complex taste of sweet, sour, and slightly astringent flavors, combined with the rich aroma of fruit and wood, has a low alcohol content, allowing him to clear his mind briefly without damaging his brain.
"Master Sid!"
Just as he was quietly savoring the taste of loneliness, an untimely greeting rang out beside him. Sid frowned and looked in the direction of the voice.
But the one who greeted them was an unkempt old man with white hair and beard, a large nose, a ruddy complexion, and wearing a dirty apron that reeked of engine oil.
Sid was somewhat stunned; in his memory, he seemed to have never seen this old man before.
He quickly made a gesture of humility to the other person, and seeing that the other person understood, he asked with a puzzled look, "Who are you?"
“Hey, my name is Mark, and I come from the alchemy workshop under ‘Hand of the Gods’. We met briefly two years ago at the alchemy appreciation conference, and you even gave my creation, ‘Magic Powered Water Pump’, a high score.”
Sid tried to recall, and it seemed that there really was such a thing.
But the other person's initial self-introduction aroused his suspicion.
In any case, the Liujin family has left an indelible mark on him, and if he wants to continue his peaceful life, he must not get involved in these complicated factional struggles.
Thinking of this, he politely said, "Not at all, it's your work that's quite practical."
The wording is humble, carrying a sense of indifferent detachment.
The implication was that his relationship with the other party was nothing more than that, and he was simply discussing the matter at hand.
Unfortunately, the drunken old man in front of him didn't seem to understand what he meant. Mark squinted and leaned closer, saying, "Master, I've recently encountered a bottleneck in my mechanical puppet design, and I can't figure it out..."
"I've always heard that you have made great achievements in the construction of magic arrays. Would you be so kind as to visit our workshop and offer some guidance?"
Upon hearing this, Sid picked up the tin cup in front of him, lowered his eyes to look at the bright red wine in the cup, but smiled without saying a word.
Next June will be the Alchemy City's once-every-five-years competition for seats in the "Transaction Council," and the results of the competition will directly affect the percentage of seats held by each faction in the council.
The theme of this competition is machine puppets.
A mechanical puppet is a doll created using mechanical arts, and then endowed with human-like thinking and intelligence through alchemy and magic arrays.
Sid thought from the beginning that this was an impossible proposition—
Can the creations of human civilization replace humanity itself?
Therefore, his alchemy laboratory never conducted any experiments in this area, which was the starting point for the rift between him and the Ryukin family.
The old master craftsman in front of him was still rambling on and on, and Sid felt increasingly annoyed.
He stared at his wine glass, thinking to himself that he would listen for another 180 seconds at most, and then find an excuse to leave.
Yu Guangzhong noticed, however, that new customers had arrived at the tavern.
Logically speaking, it's perfectly normal for new customers to appear in a tavern, but one of them was so tall that he caught his attention.
Beside the tall man, Sid suddenly spotted a familiar face. Even with the man wearing a hood, his unique Eastern features were still strikingly prominent.
It's Claude.
However, Sid wondered why the other party was here.
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