my slow journey to infinity

Chapter 51
This is not a temporary base, Wang Shui saw many permanent buildings.

After the front advances, this place may become a logistics center or arsenal.

The troops resting here were in good spirits, and the abundant supplies made them feel at ease. Wang Shui even saw a few trucks with familiar trucks, which were food and drug companies under his command that had contact with the military.

Mustang directly took Shui Wang to a thick three-story building. When Shui Wang got off the car and touched the wall of the small building, he was keenly aware that this small building was made of special composite materials and was not only resistant to Fried, and the ingredients are very complex.

Without understanding the composition of the materials, the alchemist could not break down the building.

This is an advanced product from an emerging building materials company. Aqua Regia also spent a lot of time to come up with this formula. Yes, this company also belongs to Aqua Regia.

In the combat conference room on the first floor, Wang Shui met Colonel Marcus. This middle-aged man who looked more like a civil servant with a peaceful look under small round glasses greeted him very enthusiastically.

"Welcome, Mr. Hill Via, welcome to the Second Brigade. The President highly recommended your mechanical armor to me, so I had no choice but to recruit you here."

"It's my job. Since I'm called up urgently, it means time is very urgent. Where are the injured?"

"Don't you need to take a break?"

"It's not too tiring on the road, just let me go to work. By the way, this sergeant is pretty good. Just lend him to me as his deputy."

Wang Shui pointed at Mustang who was a few steps behind.

"Thank you very much. You can let Mustang follow. He also knows alchemy."

Colonel Marcus still maintained a peaceful smile, and Wang Shui also had a smile on his face, looking very talkative.

While Mustang was taking Shui Wang to the field hospital, Shui Wang subconsciously started talking.

"Sergeant, it turns out you know alchemy. Why didn't you break free when I sealed the car door?"

Mustang was silent for a while, and then said calmly: "I don't have time to prepare the corresponding formation."

"You only learn alchemy for research? It's not difficult to carry a few commonly used alchemy formations with you, right?"

Wang Shui very generously took out a large pile of cards and showed them to Mustang. There were various formation formations on them, and some cards even had both front and back sides painted on them.

Mustang looked at the exquisite patterns and words carefully and said nothing.

"A boring young man who doesn't like to communicate and use his brain. He has been a soldier all his life. Colonel Margus, the commander who is learning from you, is obviously many ranks higher than me, but he is still so polite to me. You know that I am powerful but you are distant. Is it just because of that little joke? Can you be more generous?"

"Sorry sir, I didn't alienate you."

"So, I would like to know more about the situation in the war zone from you. This is my request. It will save me from accidentally running into enemy-controlled areas one day."

"……sure."

Wang Shui could still feel Mustang's defense.

"Okay, I just saw the map in the war room. The battle lines on it are not particularly close. The troops of the Central Army are also specifically marked. How many senior officers are sent to Central City? Which brigades are controlled?"

Mustang hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke:
"The [-]th, [-]th, and [-]th brigades belong to the Eastern Military Region. The first five are commanded by officers from Central City, but most of the soldiers are from the Eastern Military Region."

"Is Colonel Marcus from Central City?" Wang Shui suddenly asked.

"……Yes."

"how about you?"

"I'm from the East." Mustang spoke faster, but the information became less.

At this time, the field hospital arrived.

Wang Shui calmed down and entered the hospital. Soon, under the guidance of Mustang and the guards on duty, he saw a large number of wounded people.

Someone who had just been shot or hit by shrapnel would never have been in this house.

In this large ward, which has been isolated into dozens of small areas, there are at least soldiers missing arms and legs. Some of them have even injured their trunks.

The end of the room is filled with sterilization boxes, with the logo of Wang Shui's mechanical armor company on them, but no one is installing the mechanical armor. Many people's wounds have not been treated yet. There are only a few military doctors here who are numbly busy.

Wang Shui changed his clothes, put on a white coat and anti-bacterial protective clothing, disinfected the small suitcase and brought it in together.

The military doctor who was working looked up at him, but did not make any reaction. He was still busy with the suturing work at hand.

When Shui Wang was about to find someone to ask about the situation, a burst of blue light attracted him. He saw a short middle-aged man who looked very familiar.

"Marco? Are you here too?"

This main plot character, who has not yet won the title of national alchemist, is still a doctor who is proficient in alchemy. Wang Shui knows him and has taken the initiative to communicate with him, but Wang Shui remembers that he does not seem to be a specialized surgeon.

"Sylvia! It's great that you can come! Hurry, there are 21 more people, these are the innermost ones! Mere hemostatic tools will only cause more necrosis of limbs, please help treat their wounds!"

Marco usually doesn't talk much and his voice is very gentle, but today he was so excited that all the doctors and nurses present looked at Wang Shui.

"In this case, Colonel Magus actually asked me to take a rest... Everyone, please stop for a moment while I do a check."

Wang Shui's calm tone was a little helpless. As he walked from the entrance, he placed paper cards on the bedside of each wounded person. After reaching the end of the room, Wang Shui turned around and clasped his hands together.

Blue light lit up from the card, and harmless blue lightning formed a huge formation, covering all the wounded.

"This is very bad, what is this?! Why such a serious secondary injury? Marco! What's going on with these new burns and fluid accumulation?!"

"...High-explosive bombs accidentally damaged neutral hospitals...Only a small number of soldiers with good health survived...A large number of civilians and doctors..."

Marco answered hesitantly, and the other doctors didn't speak, and the whole room became cold and solemn.

"Accidental injury? Humph."

Wang Shui snorted noncommittally, figured out the injuries of all the survivors, and immediately launched the Dragon Vein Alchemy Technique. The clear "Qi" began to flow again. Under the bandage soaked in blood, the wounds began to heal, and even the skin at the burn site began to heal. Also recovering.

It took a full 5 minutes for Aqua Regia to remove the refining effect. The military doctors who had been afraid of disturbing him hurriedly checked the wounded and untied some hemostatic equipment and life-support equipment to prevent excessive damage.

Marco breathed a heavy sigh of relief and staggered a little, as did the other military doctors and nurses. Some of them could no longer even stand when their tense energy to save people relaxed.

"The medical staff will rest first. Those who still have the strength will take care of the seriously injured patients. Sergeant Mustang, you can find a few soldiers with flexible hands and feet and smart minds to help take care of the wounded. By the way, we will take the doctors to rest. Now I Come and watch, Marco, do you still have energy? Help me set up the [Neural Connector] and then rest." Marco didn't speak, just sat on the chair and nodded.

While Mustang was looking for someone and the doctors were leaving one after another, Wang Shui dragged Marco to the small room nearby where disinfection and medicines were prepared.

Marco lowered his head as if awaiting trial.

"Did the military do it on purpose?"

silence.

"You tell me, or I figure it out myself, it's just a waste of time." Wang Shui's tone was serious.

"That's... that's the hospital of the Ishvar people. Our people were rescued by them on a humanitarian basis... that's why we were accidentally injured."

Wang Shui was a little surprised by his obvious anger. This was obviously just a fantasy world that had little to do with him. He had even ended the lives of many people... but he still inevitably had some special emotions, some of which were based on the past. An emotion based on anger.

Wang Shui thought that he would use this world without hesitation. He thought that as long as he mastered the knowledge of refining the Philosopher's Stone, he could do the main mission at any time.

"Quiet." Sylvia felt Wang Shui's mood swings,

"Keep calm. This is not sympathy or hypocrisy. It's just that things hurt others. We are all human beings. Their situation will cause your brain to have a similar painful experience, giving you a common feeling of avoiding war and avoiding harm.

Just like many people will feel uncomfortable when they see a wound that is bleeding. When they see a sharp thorn or sharp blade approaching them, they will subconsciously avoid it. It is just an extension of human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

Your anger is the empathy you felt when you were once a weakling. I think you have experienced similar pain in your cultural knowledge system. "

Wang Shui did not speak or nod. He just patted Marco on the shoulder and turned to leave.

"Hill, will people like me never become strong?"

"what kind of person?"

"Not decisive, not cold-blooded, not enough... unscrupulous."

"Maybe. Ha-" Sylvia suddenly chuckled, "If you can become a strong person by lowering your moral bottom line, then being strong is too cheap. I don't know what you think is a strong person. Anyway, I If you think I’m not, if I can live freely, what does it matter if I’m strong or not?”

"You've become more and more lazy in the past two years... I'm still not sure. If you want to achieve your goal efficiently, you will inevitably cause harm to others, but if everything is too slow... I thought I had been prepared long ago. …

Sometimes I really envy the protagonists in fantasy worlds. They can insist on their own principles wantonly, kill if they don't want to, and be pure if they say they are innocent. They still maintain their innocence in the face of the real and cruel world...or They are as clean as idiots, there will always be a plot to wipe their butts in the end, and things will always try to be as reasonable as possible. "

"Stories need rationality, reality does not. You are just a small person in reality. Why are you so entangled? It's just hypocritical."

The topic suddenly stopped and Shui Wang did not continue the discussion. Sylvia had long been accustomed to Shui Wang's character and did not waste any time.

Whether it's personality, emotions, or outlook on life, they are all limited by a person's knowledge and experience. No one has a perfect character. If you pursue perfect self-understanding too much, you will only fall into pain - or extremes.

Wang Shui walked around the entire hospital. Except for the big ward just now, the injuries of others were not too serious, and the resistance of the Ishval people was not particularly strong.

At this time, Mustang brought 8 soldiers. Wang Shui saw some familiar faces, but they were only a little familiar. He could remember the group of people in the main plot, but also benefited from the original author's creations that were full enough and borderline. He doesn't remember some people.

"Mustan, bring two people who work carefully to help Marco record the data of the [Neural Connector]. You try to install some general-purpose prostheses. There are instructions for adjusting the length and weight in the box of the mechanical armor. I need to go find Colonel Magus first."

After Wang Shui handed over his work, he immediately returned to the operations office and found the colonel waiting for him there.

"Why, Colonel."

"Well, before I answer your question, I want to ask you a question first. Mirror Alchemist, Sylvia, what are you pursuing?

He has powerful alchemy and is proficient in mechanical knowledge. After becoming a national alchemist, he just went to the [National Central Library] to study. He didn’t care about salary. He had no friends or family. He has been traveling around the country, but it was obvious that he was not just watching. Landscape, Sylvia, don't you have any desire? "

"Why do I have to have it? You're spying on me!" Wang Shui showed surprise, and then quickly returned to calm.

"Why not? Money, power, enjoyment, people always have their own desires."

Nonsense, I have it all, can you give it to me for free?Wang Shui didn't expect people from the military to be so direct. If he keeps calm now, he may have to take another route.

"To put it this way, knowledge is probably my pursuit. I long for more knowledge, more powerful alchemy, and gain powerful power."

"Oh? Alchemy?"

Yes, yes, stop talking nonsense and recruit me quickly. Can you skip the dialogue?

"Then are you interested in the Philosopher's Stone?"

"It's just a legend. The literature is very superficial. The texts just keep repeating that the Philosopher's Stone does not need to follow the principle of equivalent exchange, but no one has actually obtained and verified it."

He wanted to skip the dialogue, but Wang Shui still patiently said the lines he should say.

Colonel Marcus suddenly turned around, showed a sinister and meaningful smile, and said:
"If you could get the legendary Philosopher's Stone, what would you pay for it?"

Wang Shui gave an extremely vivid performance of what it meant to be shocked and then quickly calmed down. He showed keen intuition and asked:

"Does this have anything to do with your attack on the hospital?"

What answered him was the colonel's gradually proud smile, and then Shui Wang saw his main mission item, the red crystal stone that looked like fresh blood.

Colonel Magus took out a philosopher's stone from his pocket with a calm expression. Without any movement, a red flash of light quickly passed through the entire room.

The wooden floor quickly peeled off and weaved into a cage like vines. The large wooden structure gradually grew into steel, trapping Shui Wang inside.

"I'm just a crappy alchemist at the apprentice level, but now I can easily trap you. How about you, Mirror Alchemist, do you want to consider joining us?"

"You? What are you?" Wang Shui showed a hint of emotion, which was caught by Colonel Magus.

"We are the military."

"Am I not from the military?" Wang Shui asked.

"Of course not, but it looks like you will be soon."

(End of this chapter)