My slow journey to infinity

After careful discussion, Edward and Al did not sit still and went to find Colonel Mustang.

It was obvious that Mr. Via had great trust in the colonel and entrusted them to the colonel. It would be difficult to conceal this kind of thing just relying on Edward's identity, so asking the colonel was a reasonable option.

"These are Shutak's crimes. The little girl Nina was rescued by Mr. Via. Although Mr. Via doesn't want to mention it more, Colonel, you can go to him to confirm."

In Colonel Mustang's private reception room, Edward and Al gave the colonel a general description of the incident.

The focus is on Shutak's crime - he turned his wife and daughter into synthetic beasts. As for Mr. Via, Edward said that Mr. Via was only called by him to save the little girl Nina.

Colonel Mustang pondered for a moment and then said:

"Lies, full of loopholes, you dare to ask me to ask Mr. Via to prove that he is really there, but he must not just save the little girl.

This matter is not a big problem. Even if Shutak is the state alchemist, it is a serious crime for him to use living people for experiments. Even if you kill him, it can be explained as self-defense. There is no need to burn the body to ashes. ——And with your two personalities, you kill people in anger? Ah. "

"The blame can be passed on to us. We are just here to ask the colonel to help take care of Nina and at least find her a better family..."

"push?"

Colonel Mustang emphasized the word, "It seems that it was Mr. Via who killed Shutak. Indeed, with his character and his attainments in flame alchemy, it would be very easy to burn Shutak to ashes in a fit of anger. Normal."

"No, no, no! It was us...well, it was Mr. Via, but he saved Nina. Colonel, you are Mr. Via's friend and junior. You should help him kill the national alchemist. I'll take the responsibility!"

"And me," Al added quietly.

"Help Mr. Via?! No, hahaha, I can't help you. This matter needs to be reported truthfully."

"Why! Mr. Via, he..."

“Stop, lower your voice, slow down your speech, and keep a calm mind.

First of all, in the past two years, you have developed a more stable character and don't become rash and reckless again. This is not good for you, me, and everyone.

Secondly, put away your boring worries. Mr. Via does not need your help. Oh, I don’t blame you for being short-sighted. Mr. Via is not a person who likes to show off.

Don't worry, just kill this mere Xiu Tucker. No one will dare to ask Mr. Via about his crime. "

"Mr. Via...does he have such great influence in Central City? He said he is just an ordinary national alchemist and arms dealer..."

Mustang was amused, and he continued what Edward said:

"The difference is not big, but I have to add an attribution. Mr. Via is the strongest national alchemist in Amestorius and the exclusive arms supplier for the entire Amesian army.

His alchemy workshop supplies the entire country's cutting-edge munitions, and his mechanical armor and heavy machinery factories provide more than 90% of the country's mechanical productivity. Mr. Via's [WS Industrial Group] is an important part of this increasingly prosperous country. One of the cornerstones.

In addition, the giant trust renamed [Siwei Grain and Energy Group] has an absolute monopoly in the food and energy fields in many countries, and Mr. Via also sits on its board of directors.

As for other cornerstones, those chaebols who monopolize logistics, mining, light industry, real estate, etc. secretly respect Mr. Via very much, and there are secret interests between them. "

"Isn't that similar to the President!?"

"No, the President is far less wealthy than Mr. Via."

The two brothers were a bit confused. Over the past two years, they had learned some stories about Mr. Via from various sources, but it seemed that no one was willing to talk about him. The most discussed thing was that Mr. Via was quite rich.

As for some trivial matters, others may not know as much as Brother Edward.

But now it seems that they still know very little about this father's student.

"It would be fine if we reported this matter directly. The Central Military did not dare to provoke Mr. Via. During the [Ishval Annihilation War], the front line rushed a batch of arms. Production had been completed at that time, but the logistics was not very smooth. At that time, the Central Military had Want to send troops directly to take over Mr. Via's company and warehouse.

They found a few national alchemists who had just returned from the front and were good at fighting, as well as two lieutenant generals and two major generals to support the scene. When they rushed into Mr. Via's laboratory with a dozen soldiers with live ammunition... "

Colonel Mustang grinned, seemingly trying to show off, but actually he really wanted to laugh.

"Then they apologized to Mr. Via?" Alphonse guessed.

"No, then the next day, at the regular meeting venue of the [Presidential Office] and the [Military Council], everyone received a box of ashes, a surveillance video tape and a cargo list.

Mr. Via took the initiative to compensate for a batch of goods, but the last warning in the list was that no one could break into his laboratory. It was very dangerous and the body would be destroyed if not careful. "

"Does the President have no objection?!"

"The war is so tight that no one dares to have an opinion. But I don't know after the armistice. Maybe Mr. Via convinced the president. He always has logic and bargaining chips that others can't refuse."

The two Edward brothers nodded upon hearing this. Mr. Via indeed always had a way to solve everything, and what he wanted to do could always be accomplished.

Not only because he has money, but his logic and speaking skills are always easy for people to accept and believe.

"So, don't worry about it, I will handle the follow-up matters, but before that, you submit an application to go home to recuperate, and write to go home to visit your [Uncle Sylvia], I'm here specially Approved, if you don’t check it after you leave, the matter will be over.”

"Are we going to borrow Mr. Via's reputation again... Okay, but what about the time? We asked for leave today, but Shutak died yesterday, so there will definitely be suspicions from above."

"No, Shotake is to die tomorrow, and you have gone home with Major Armstrong this afternoon.

Tomorrow, as your elder, [Mirror Alchemist] Mr. Sylvia heard that you were studying at Shutak's place, he went to visit you. While he was in vain, he encountered Shutak's beastly behavior. , executed him in anger, and then gave us a supplementary report. This report will be sent to my desk tomorrow night. "

Listening to Colonel Mustang solemnly arranging "history" that had not yet happened, Edward was surprised, but did not question anything.

Edward is now thinking that if he was as smart, sensible, decisive and aware of the overall situation as Colonel Mustang, Mr. Via would probably not be angry.

Although the matter was complicated and somewhat paradoxical, Edward admitted that the plan was simple and effective, and whispered:

"Al and I will go back, but there's no need for Major Armstrong to waste time with us, right?"

"It's necessary. I don't trust you now, in every sense." Colonel Mustang said bluntly.

In the end, after asking the colonel to take good care of Nina, Edward and Al left with a bit of disappointment. The colonel closed his eyes and thought for a while, and then called aqua regia from a public phone.

Although there is no need to bother with such a trivial matter, the colonel does not want to be the Riddler, and he cannot do such a stupid thing as hiding the information that should be shared from the person involved.

Wang Shui listened carefully to the colonel's plan and expressed his gratitude and approval.

This originally very uncomfortable incident has come to an end.

Now that this has happened, it means that the protagonist and a group of people will soon come into contact with artificial humans, and the plot will also enter a compact stage.

Wang Shui had already done a lot of work. He originally wanted to stay in Central City and watch everything happen quietly, but news suddenly came from the caravan in Xinguo. They found out a lot of important alchemy information.

The person holding the information did not ask for money, but insisted that Wang Shui go there in person. In order to show his sincerity, the other party did not hide it and directly revealed his identity - the current emperor of the new country.

This... is hard to shirk.

In fact, Wang Shui also wanted to go there. He made a simple calculation. Whether he took the desert land route or took a boat to the sea, a round trip plus the time for errands would take at least three months.

In desperation, Wang Shui called back Sylvia, who was expanding her base southward and having a great time being a warlord.

…

…

Edward and Alphonse boarded the return train, along with Major Armstrong.

Although the time was different from the original work and the reasons for returning home were also different, the three of them still met [Tim Marco] in a supply town.

That was Dr. Mark, an old colleague that Wang Shui had met in the field hospital.

Just like in the original work, he participated in the Ishval Annihilation War, and studied the Philosopher's Stone to refine the formation under the threat of artificial humans. He is also one of the very few people who can refine the Philosopher's Stone.

Yes, to refine the Philosopher's Stone, you don't just need to take a look at the public version of the formation formation. You also need to adjust it according to your own body and thinking structure, as well as your knowledge system.

Forming a formation is not a skill, and you cannot copy other people's abilities according to a mold.

Because of his achievements in synthesizing the Philosopher's Stone, during the war Maldo received his national alchemist qualification and title, [Alchemist of Crystallization].

After the war, the androids could not find a large number of ordinary people who disappeared and were left unattended, so their control over Marco was relaxed a lot.

Marco took the opportunity to escape, and after hiding his name, he lived in seclusion in this small town and became a doctor again.

The muscular man Major Armstrong recognized Marco, the former military doctor. After a while of forced greetings, Marco said that he did not want to go back, but only wanted to stay here as a doctor to save lives and heal the wounded, and to repay his sin of killing countless Ishval people.

Major Armstrong is also a deserter. He also fled the battlefield of Ishval, but he also belongs to a large family in Central City, and is also a national alchemist, with the title [Hao Wan].

He returned home and faced the military. Instead of continuing to escape, he chose to help his friend Colonel Mustang. They wanted to climb to the top leadership and lead the country away from war.

Although the choices were different, Armstrong expressed that he understood Marco's hatred of war, so he was not prepared to disclose Marco's whereabouts to the military. The tense atmosphere when they first met has eased a lot.

During the exchange, Dr. Mark revealed to the three that he was particularly afraid of meeting people from the military because he ran away and took away some information on researching the Philosopher's Stone.

Edward became energetic after hearing this. He has been traveling around the country with his brother for the past two years, looking for traces of the Philosopher's Stone.

Edward hoped to use the Philosopher's Stone to restore his and his brother's bodies, so he began to request Marco, a doctor.

Marco immediately refused, but he took out a small reagent bottle and showed Edward the so-called Philosopher's Stone.

"This is just a semi-finished product. It has the same physical properties as the Philosopher's Stone, but it cannot allow people to activate alchemy regardless of all conditions. I am showing it to you just to satisfy your curiosity. Don't try to pursue this kind of thing, it is just It will bring misfortune.”

Marco felt a little emotional. He had a good impression of this straightforward young man, but Edward's expression was different now. He was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"Doctor Malco! Shouldn't the Philosopher's Stone be a stone?"

"Of course not. The Philosopher's Stone is a perfect substance. Whatever form you want it to take, it will take on that form. If you want it to be solid, it can be powder or stone. If you want it to flow, , it’s the liquid.”

As he spoke, Marco opened the reagent bottle and poured out the liquid semi-finished Philosopher's Stone.

The bright red liquid formed a liquid ball due to the great surface tension, but after Marco's simple touch, the semi-finished Philosopher's Stone immediately turned into a smooth pebble.

"That's it! So that's the real Philosopher's Stone!"

Edward loudly expressed that he had figured it out, and then sat down quietly, lost in thought. He remembered the red ink used by Mr. Via when treating Nina.

At that time, he was still wondering, even if he paid for building Tucker, there were still "0.3" people missing. It turned out that Mr. Via had the Philosopher's Stone in his hands!

Oh, by the way, he said that he could save mom, and he could also save Al and I, but the price was too high and he didn't want to use it, if the price was the Philosopher's Stone...

"Have you seen the real Philosopher's Stone!"

Marco interrupted Edward's thinking, but he was only temporarily shocked. He soon thought that he had made a large number of Philosopher's Stones for androids before, and there must have been a lot left after the war. It was normal for Edward to see them.

"Yes, I have seen it. I once dealt with a cult in a town called [Leo]. At that time, the cult leader could not follow the law of [equivalent exchange] and use various alchemy techniques out of thin air. His power Comes from a small red ball.

But soon, the small ball turned into fly ash. I thought it was a fake Philosopher's Stone. Now it seems to have the same properties as what Dr. Marco showed, but why did it break? "

"That's true. It breaks and disappears because the energy is used up."

Marco's tone was a little heavy. He wanted to tell Edward that the Philosopher's Stone was made from human life, but looking at Edward who was quite excited and seemed to have found his goal in life, he somehow didn't want to say it directly.

Doctor Malk pulled a piece of paper from the notebook nearby, wrote down the names of several books and some special symbols, and then handed the note to Edward.

"Central Library, there are a lot of my research materials stored here. I think you need to take a look. Behind the truth, there is a deeper truth. Alas, it doesn't matter how much you can see, don't disturb me anymore."

Marco was in a somewhat lonely state, and he immediately started chasing people away.

Edward took the note very wisely and left immediately.

On the way back to the train station, Edward's hands were shaking a little when he looked at the information on the note. He even didn't listen to Marco's words "the truth behind the truth" at all.

Now all he could think about was:

The Philosopher's Stone is already very close to him!