Chapter 1357 - 894: Alchemy Camp

Chapter 1357: Chapter 894: Alchemy Camp

The chattering of the Bone-Eroding Bat swarm and the sharp hum of the Magic Power Weapons gradually subsided.

The air was filled with the mixed scents of sulfur, ozone, and burnt monsters.

Rein shook his slightly numb arm from the recoil of the "Demon Hunter-II" assault rifle, while Lina quickly checked the remaining count on the Energy Magazine.

The massive body of "Rock," Tol rested against a low stone wall, the barrel of the heavy "City Breaker-III" Energy Cannon slightly red, emitting a hissing sound as coolant vaporized.

Carl and Erica scanned the smoke-filled battlefield edges vigilantly, ensuring no lurking Shadow Claw Beasts.

"Regroup! Clear the battlefield, and recover the core components!" a command sounded over the squad communication channel.

The five nodded to each other, maintaining tactical formation, agilely moving through the scorched remains and cratered grounds, retreating towards the safety of the rear — the camp made up of numerous Alchemical tents and temporary fortifications.

"We’ll have to go through questioning again once we return."

"Don’t make it sound like a crime, it’s our duty."

"Yes, yes, I know, but don’t you find it annoying? Those Alchemists always keep asking questions."

"If you find it annoying, just return the weapon in your hand to them and tell them you won’t use it anymore, they definitely won’t bother you then."

"Haha, look, you’re being serious now."

"Fool."

Talking and laughing, they returned to the camp.

The scene at the camp was entirely different from the front line.

Although it, too, was filled with Magic Power fluctuations and the scent of metal processing, it appeared more orderly.

Dozens of Alchemical tents of various styles stood like metal mushrooms rooted in the scorched earth, their tent walls made of composite alloy panels, with Magic circuits flowing between the seams to stabilize the environment.

A large number of Alchemical Devices surrounded the tents.

Multi-legged Mechanical Bodies crawled along the camp’s edge, with the crystal stone compound eyes on their heads flashing constantly.

Hovering arrays of Magic Crystals, like a silent swarm, captured every energy fluctuation and spatial ripple from the battlefield.

Data cables, vine-like, connected instruments to several massive central analysis crystal pillars, where light and shadow fluctuated inside, displaying real-time combat zone magic flow diagrams, space stability coefficients, and energy output curves of various squad weapons.

Alchemists in research robes with different badges moved between them, either burying their heads in records or engaging in heated discussions, completely immersed in extracting data from the "controlled" invasion.

Immediately following the front line research base.

Such peculiar features could only be seen in a place like this.

As the squad stepped into the Purification field at the camp’s entrance, a disheveled middle-aged human Alchemist in a deep blue silver-edged research coat came rushing over with a specialized recording board.

He had heavy dark circles under his eyes, but his gaze was exceptionally bright and sharp.

Seeing this person, everyone in the squad wore a troubled expression.

Here comes the trouble.

"Tol! Rein! Quickly!" the Warlock’s voice carried a researcher’s characteristic urgency.

"The overload cooling time of ’City Breaker-III’? How did the ’Demon Hunter-II’ feel in terms of delay in tracking corrections for high-speed small targets? Lina, was the visual interference severe when the ballistic prediction auxiliary lines overlapped in dense bat swarms?

"Carl, Erica, the continuous fire stability of ’Heart Piercer-IV,’ especially whether there was any lag in the Crossbow String Magic Recovery?"

Oh my, where did he get so many questions?

And asking them all at once — who can keep track?

"Don’t rush, don’t rush, why do you always have to ask everything at once? Can’t you go one question at a time?"

"Time is life, we are racing against life, stay sharp."

"Oh my, alright."

The squad members began to unload their equipment to the maintenance Mechanical Body while babbling about their experiences.

They didn’t entirely understand all that was asked.

They only focused on the questions directed at them by name.

After some time together, they developed this mutual standard of understanding.

Greatly reducing the communication barrier.

Tol rubbed his shoulder.

"That big thing’s power is undeniable, clearing a large area with one shot. But the energy flow had a bit of a ’stutter’ when switching attributes, from ice to light, the cannon body jolted hard, numbing my hand, almost making me lose my grip.

"The recoil is still powerful, after three rapid-fire shots, even I, as ’Rock,’ felt it was hard to handle."

As he spoke, the Alchemist recorded continuously, nodding occasionally without interruption.

Rein flexed his wrist and said. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Tracking worked well, basically hitting wherever it’s pointed. But when the targets are too dense, the locking dots flash erratically, sometimes making it hard to tell which to hit first.

"The rifle hums loudly when firing, and after a while, there’s a persistent ringing in the ears."

That’s just how it goes with testing new weapons; the problems might not be evident in the last test, but new ones appear this time, while the previous problems might not yet be resolved.

It’s hard to say you can achieve perfection, and he understood that.

This time around, overall, he was quite satisfied with the experience.

Lina added: "The visual auxiliary lines do overlap when targets overlap, becoming somewhat dazzling. Also, the Energy Magazine depletes too quickly, nearly didn’t last through the last wave of gargoyles."

"Why not link using your Magic Power?"

He asked for the first time.

"I tried it this time, during high-intensity combat, channeling Magic Power into the Energy Magazine and converting it is slower than before firing.

"Sometimes, that little bit of delay is fatal, I might as well just draw my sword and slash, which might even be faster."