Chapter 62: The Mad Dwarf's Private Collection

Lin Bo did not kill the two modified white wolves immediately; instead, he sat cross-legged in front of the iron mesh.

To keep these vicious beasts filled with hatred and paranoia, preventing them from giving up their will to resist, he placed his hands on top of their heads as if stroking obedient animals.

Humiliated and unwilling to submit, the modified white wolves struggled more violently. Yet the moment their jaws parted to snarl, the contracting iron chains bound them, forcing them shut again.

The bound white wolves writhed within the mesh, their eyes bloodshot, emitting deep, rumbling growls from their throats as they continuously flashed threatening signals of attack.

Lin Bo closed his eyes and plunged into a deep, feigned-death meditation to eavesdrop on their true names.

The speech of the metal prosthetics was sharp and resounding; they recounted the strange structures buried deep within their bodies, explaining how the flesh and blood of the white wolves were forced to accept this foreign power.

Buried deep beneath this harsh, terrifying metallic resonance were the desperate snarls from the depths of the white wolves' throats—endless streams of hateful words, coupled with a lingering, faint trace of nostalgia and memories of their simple, wild lives in the snowfields.

The mind of the True Name Mage chased after the white wolves' words, catching glimpses of them hunting, playing, basking in the sun, and grooming their fur in their distant homeland. He wandered like a phantom deep within the memories of the white wolves.

Gradually, from flesh to soul, a complete True Name rune manifested in Lin Bo's mind.

He now knew the true name of this specific breed of white wolves; it was not universal to all wolf species.

In the mad gnome's alchemy circus, there was no shortage of modified animals, spanning a considerable variety. For Lin Bo, this could be considered a blessed land—discovering a few more animal true names and expanding his knowledge reserve was a good thing.

Waking up from his feigned-death state, Lin Bo did not rush to open his eyes. Keeping his hands pressed against the heads of the twin wolves, he used the surface-touch-internal-peep method to sense their physiques. Their internal structures gradually appeared in his field of vision in the form of white outlines.

Mechanical brass limbs extended branch-like metal wires that pierced through flesh and drilled into the wolves' spines. This was the mad gnome's modification surgery, executed very crudely with violently hammered-out marks on the vertebrae, and the drill holes plugged with solder.

The metal wires transmitted nerve signals to control the limbs while simultaneously releasing intense heat. The surrounding flesh was roasted to carbonized pus, and foul blood flowed from the amputation wounds along the fistulous tracts.

The visceral organs were severely diseased, with tumors as numerous as grapes on a vine, heavily compressing the surrounding nerves. Yet the organ functions remained remarkably healthy, even hyperactive, with the hearts beating faster than the rhythm of a snare drum.

The internal mechanical structures of the four modified metal limbs were indeed exquisitely crafted, but the most peculiar feature was the dense network of metal wires. Resembling nerve bundles and tree roots, they linked every single gear, hinge, and transmission rod. Every movement was the result of these metallic neurons orchestrating thousands of mechanical components to operate in an orderly fashion.

The mad gnome's modification technology broadened Lin Bo's horizons.

This had already departed from ordinary mechanical engineering and entered the realm of arcane science.

Aside from the neuronal metal wires, the two most mysterious components inside the brass prosthetics were the energy-supplying engines.

The energy utilized by the prosthetics was liquid plasma. Embedded within the thigh of each prosthetic limb was a walnut-sized engine room, the surface of which was etched with delicate patterns and runes, internally constraining a surging body of electrical energy as vast as water.

Clearly, this was a magical engine.

Lin Bo muttered silently to himself: I want to learn this so badly.

Chanting the true name of iron, he drew iron pellets from his ammunition pouch and pierced the skulls of the twin wolves, granting them release.

"(Magic Language) May your souls return to your snowy homeland."

[Meta-Network Prompt: You have performed a fatal attack, check passed! Enemy (Alchemical Beast - White Wolf) has fallen.]

[Dungeon clearance conditions met, settling rewards...]

[Your reward for this dungeon is: Mad Gnome's Chaotic Alchemical Concoction (Gray)]

[Teleportation channel opening countdown...]

Without rushing to leave, Lin Bo ventured deeper into the amusement park to search for usable supplies.

In the background world of the Alchemy Circus dungeon, magical manifestations were not uncommon in everyday life, so he hoped to find some magical materials within this amusement park.

Having slain the berserk alchemical beasts, Lin Bo became the sole guest in this amusement park. He hurried through the corpses of the slaughtered citizens, meticulously inspecting every single amusement facility.

The little seagull flew up from his shoulder, and they split up to search.

Lin Bo headed straight for the dungeon's final battle site—the circus tent located at the center of the amusement park. Given its status, it was undoubtedly the carnival's grandest and most popular attraction.

The circus tent covered a spacious area, roughly half the size of a mechanical factory workshop, capable of accommodating two thousand spectators with its tiered seating. The open space in the middle served as the performance arena, its sand-covered floor reminding Lin Bo of the ancient Roman Colosseum.

Dozens of iron cages of varying sizes lay overturned on the ground, their doors wide open, clearly indicating that the alchemical beasts inside had broken out. Heart-pounding traces of destruction were scattered everywhere across the spectator stands. The easy-difficulty dungeon did not feature spectator corpses, but the scene remained bloody nonetheless.

Lin Bo arrived at the circus backstage, which was the activity area for the staff and the ringmaster. His target was the mad gnome's experimental equipment and alchemical materials.

As expected, the largest room backstage served as the mad gnome's alchemy workshop. Here, he formulated potions, designed and manufactured prosthetics, performed vivisection and modification surgeries on animals, and organized his research while catching up on sleep.

It was a multifunctional space that combined a laboratory, mechanical workshop, operating room, living quarters, and study. Though it sounded chaotic, each area was actually well-planned and distinctly separated.

Lin Bo looked at the categorized medicinal herbs neatly arranged in the display cabinets along the wall, thinking that while the mad gnome's methods were abnormal, he was certainly not a crude or lazy man, but rather exceptionally methodical.

Aside from plants, the cabinets also contained animal materials such as dragonflies, butterflies, centipedes, and lizards, along with various extracts in powder and liquid forms.

Although he could not read the labels on the herbs, he left none behind, sweeping them all up. He bundled and packed the various medicinal herbs with cotton cloth, intending to taste their medicinal properties back home, explore their true names, and then feed the biological materials to the mycelial carpet so they could be mass-produced endlessly.

Next, Lin Bo set his sights on the mad gnome's bookshelf.

A quick glance revealed over ninety books, mostly heavy tomes, many of which undoubtedly contained magical knowledge. Without overthinking it, Lin Bo chanted a true name incantation, transmuting the oak bookshelf into a box, neatly packing the books and herbs inside, and taking the entire thing with him.

As for other experimental equipment, surgical tools, and prosthetic raw materials, he picked through them but found nothing useful.

Thus, he continued searching the backstage area, inspecting door after door, until he found the energy room housing the generator sets, which also doubled as the enchanting chamber for crafting the prosthetic plasma engines.

In this room, there was also a desk, chairs, and carving tools, which served as the mad gnome's workspace for engraving magic runes and circuits onto the engines. A stack of paper rolls spread openly across the desk contained the design drafts and enchanting blueprints for this set of engines.

Naturally, Lin Bo scooped these precious documents into his possession.

With that, there were few usable supplies left inside the circus tent. He went out to search the outdoor amusement park, where the little king stood atop a stall and shouted loudly.

This was a witch's ointment stall, where all sorts of bizarre materials could be seen inside the tent: toad skins, turbid rainwater, twisted and yellowed fingernails—even more unhinged than the mad gnome's herb room.

Faced with such wild medicinal ingredients, Lin Bo fell silent for a moment and ultimately dared not take everything, only pocketing the flowers and plants from the stall.

After circling around for a bit, Lin Bo found no further useful items.

After all, this amusement park was not a formal magical research facility, but a place meant to entertain the townspeople. Any members truly possessing spellcasting abilities numbered at most one or two, and they were likely only on par with rural witches.

Magical items were nonexistent, but swindling toys were aplenty; alchemical materials were rare, while counterfeit fake medicines filled the baskets.

Finally, before leaving, Lin Bo did not forget to take the corpses of the two alchemical white wolves. Pushing all his loot out through the teleportation channel, he immediately stepped through and returned to the lighthouse.