my slow journey to infinity

Chapter 70 Who was saved?
The gears of destiny that built the old world began to rotate normally under Wang Shui's best self-restraint.

Doctor Malk, who told Edward the information about the Philosopher's Stone, has been discovered and captured by the androids.

Edward, who was obedient and went home to rest for a few days, rushed back to Central City. When he went to the Central Library to look for the information left by Dr. Marco, he learned that a fire broke out in the library a few days ago and all the files and documents were burned. .

When the two brothers were disappointed, Lieutenant Ross, Colonel Mustang's subordinate, introduced Edward to a strange person, Siska, a humanoid self-propelled library with the ability to remember photographs.

This former central librarian was fired because he was too obsessed with reading and neglected his work. Now he is worried about making money to treat his mother.

However, when she helped Edward write those handwritten documents, it was not for money. She just had the instinct to help others and was a rare kind person.

Marco left a lot of information, and it took Siskarmo of the Humanoid Library five full days to sort out nearly two thousand pages of documents.

To Lieutenant Ross's expectation, these materials were not research manuscripts, but seemed to be just some recipes.

But Edward understood that this was an encryption method commonly used by alchemists, a special recording method similar to [Caesar Encryption], but with a special conversion and secondary encryption.

As for the key to the secondary decoding, Doctor Mark had already written it on the piece of paper.

The decoding work is very boring, and these materials are leaked from the military and are relatively sensitive.

So the Edward brothers said hello to Colonel Mustang, and they borrowed a small room in the Eastern Army's office building in Central City to start decrypting it.

The super-brained Siska was also hired by Lieutenant Colonel [Mars Hughes] who was in charge of the intelligence work of the military court.

A large amount of case information in the Central Library was burned. Siska was a godsend for Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, who had been working overtime to the point of sudden death recently.

There were not many twists and turns in the cracking work, and when all the information was compiled, everyone was silent.

Colonel Mustang and other eastern officers, plus the Edward brothers, there were a total of eight people in the room. Everyone saw that the information clearly stated:

[According to the final verification of the 1727th set of data, the best ratio for synthesizing the Philosopher's Stone is to transform 10 people at one time. The physical fitness of these 10 people should be close. 】

[Note 3: The minimum number of people required for each refinement is five. If there are less than five people, the Philosopher's Stone will not be formed, and the life of the material will only be consumed in vain. 】

"Forget everything you saw today until I need your help."

As the leader with the highest position and the most authority, Colonel Mustang warned everyone in a commanding tone.

"Everyone, be careful. The water here is very deep. Let's keep the original pace of life and work. As for how to deal with this matter..."

Colonel Mustang knocked on the table, paused and continued:
"I promise everyone this will never end here."

Everyone nodded solemnly. It stands to reason that most people will always be afraid of things and cherish their lives. When encountering this kind of thing, many people will choose to be ostriches.

But, this time is different.

According to the time on the research data and the Third Research Institute where Dr. Mark was working, they all knew that the so-called experimental materials must be the Ishval people and civilians who were captured during the Annihilation War.

All the young officers present here belong to the Eastern Army. They have all participated in this war, and they are all deeply guilty of their evil deeds.

Especially after the war, President Ishwal denounced them for kidnapping nearly 200 million civilians. At that time, all the soldiers refuted it and thought it was an excuse for the mad dog president to get more compensation.

Now it seems that the president did not slander Amestorius. The experiences of those civilians are recorded in these research materials and placed in front of them.

Edward and Al, who had not participated in the war, were also shocked and filled with complicated emotions.

What shocked them was that the Philosopher's Stone required the consumption of materials such as "human beings" to make it. Using the Philosopher's Stone was not a free use of alchemy, but the price was exchanged for human lives.

What was complicated in their hearts was that they both thought of one person at the same time, their beloved, knowledgeable and strict teacher who cared for them even more than their father - Mr. Via.

Mr. Via has the Philosopher's Stone on him, and the red ink when he saved the little girl Nina is obviously it, and he also discussed with Hohenheim about using the Philosopher's Stone to save their mother... He had it a long time ago!
Now, the two brothers finally know why their mother chose to die.

I also understood the meaning of Mr. Via's words - "Use the lives of 10 heinous criminals in exchange for your mother."

Edward thought about it seriously. If he had to exchange other people's lives for his and Al's bodies, he really couldn't do it. His outlook on life was deeply affected by his mother, but he knew that Mr. Via would not hesitate.

So he feels mixed now.

Edward is not unwilling to kill evil people, but he has a reverence for life. He does not want to play with life to achieve his own goals.

Al next to him had similar thoughts.

Soon, after Colonel Mustang's warning and unified message, everyone went home and maintained their normal routine.

Edward and Al also returned to the hotel depressedly. The dim moonlight shone into the room. Edward, who had been lying silently for a long time, finally spoke:
"Al, I will restore your body."

"Ah."

Compared to Edward's solemnity, Al only expressed his agreement gently.

"Don't doubt Mr. Via. He is not the kind of bad guy who plays with human lives. He must have a reason for holding the Philosopher's Stone. Now that we know this information, we can ask him directly the next time we see him. "

"Ah."

"Al, even if there is no such evil thing, I will definitely be able to save you."

"I believe you, brother!"

While the two brothers mustered up the courage to face an even more confusing future, there was another person who also had mixed feelings - Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, who was in charge of the intelligence affairs of the military court.

The work of the department came to an end today, and it was rare for Hughes, who had worked overtime for a long time, to get home from work on time to be with his wife and daughter.

No matter how busy he is at work, he will show off his daughter and boast about his wife to all his friends and colleagues, but today he did not go home immediately, but returned to the court archives.

When helping Edward sort out the Philosopher's Stone information today, the basic version of the Philosopher's Stone Formation Form above looked familiar to him. Perhaps it was due to the acumen and caution of an intelligence worker. He was not sure where this sense of déjà vu came from. Some are worried.

In the archives, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes picked out the recently compiled information, then took out a national map and began to mark the riots and bloodshed that had occurred in various places in recent years.

As the nodes were marked one by one, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes connected them with a serious face. Against the background of the circular country, a standard Philosopher's Stone formation was constructed.

Except for the parts located in Ishval and the North, all the above nodes have experienced serious bloodshed. Combined with the [Blood Seal] conditions mentioned in today's information...

If... if the formation of the Philosopher's Stone is enlarged and launched nationwide, what will happen to the people of the entire country...

Hughes didn't understand, he was not an alchemist, but he knew that this was definitely not a coincidence!
Lieutenant Colonel Hughes quickly reset the file, folded the map, and put it into his briefcase. He calmly packed everything and left quickly.

He was calm and did not panic enough to inform his superiors. The Central Military was obviously behind these bloody incidents, including the Philosopher's Stone, which was also being studied by the military.

The only one he can trust now is the Eastern Army, and the only one he can confide in and must inform is his classmate from the same military academy - Colonel Mustang.

Hughes walked towards the parking lot in the night, not far from where Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye lived. His steps were brisk and calm, not much different from usual.

And when he walked into the quiet parking lot, the dim lights around him brought him a different kind of pressure.

No, this feels wrong!Lieutenant Colonel Hughes held the briefcase in his left hand and put it in the pocket of his military coat with his right hand - he did not bring a gun today. He is a civilian employee. It is difficult to get a gun in Central City. Even if he has a combat mission, he must apply for bullets first. .

In the oppression of the night, a slight sound of breaking wind came from behind. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes jumped to the side, dodged three black spikes, and at the same time threw out the knife he took out of his pocket.

Lieutenant Colonel Hughes also came from the battlefield, and his skills were quite good. The flying knife hit the target with a subtle sound, but when he touched the second flying knife, more black spikes fiercely attacked him and quickly hit him. There were more than a dozen bloody holes that penetrated from front to back.

As the black thorns were removed, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes fell in a pool of blood, and the android Rust (Lust) came out of the shadows with Gratoni (Gluttony).

"A keen guy, both in terms of intelligence and skills, has shown such annoying keenness. Fortunately, he has been sending people to keep an eye on them. That guy Marco really revealed something."

Rust complained as she approached the dying Hughes. She picked out Hughes' briefcase with the black spikes extended from her fingers.

"Gratoni is hungry, can this guy eat?"

Although the artificial human Gluttony has relatively low intelligence, he is very obedient.

"No, his body is still useful. His death can anger those idiots and make them busy on this matter, so that it will not affect father's plan."

"But I'm so hungry..."

"Then, let's go back and eat."

Killing someone was not difficult or burdensome for Rust, and the two androids quickly disappeared into the night.

The pain gradually numbed, the consciousness gradually became lighter, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes was dying.

He saw countless images, his life was replayed, he saw Colonel Mustang, and wanted to remind him that the military was dangerous, but he couldn't make a sound.

Then he saw his wife and daughter, who were waiting for his return at the dinner table.

Lieutenant Colonel Hughes wanted to get closer, but the picture was getting further and further away, becoming blurry.

Just as he lost consciousness, he saw blue lightning all over the sky.

"Fainted? Can you do it~"

At some point, a small truck in the parking lot drove up to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. Sylvia, who had an android body, stretched out her left hand with three rings on it and pointed it at Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, still complaining.

"It's normal to faint. The amount of bleeding was too large, and the remote control wasn't precise enough, so I just healed his penetrating wounds. Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's so lucky that none of the spikes hit his head."

This sentence was also spoken by Sylvia. The voice was hers, but the tone was undoubtedly that of Aqua Regia.

"If the android attacks his head, or is about to eat him, I will stop him. So this is not Hughes' luck, but the luck of the two androids."

The same body turned into Sylvia and complained.

At this time, Wang Shui was at a station not far from the New Country. Through the [Sylvia Network] and the signal amplifier, his spirit descended into Sylvia's artificial human body.

Lightning burst out from Sylvia's fingertips again, but this time it was red lightning.

After confirming that Lieutenant Colonel Hughes survived, the side of the pickup truck opened, and two structural robots removed a dead pig, threw it into a pool of blood, and then stuffed Lieutenant Colonel Hughes into the carriage.

Wang Shui continued to use Sylvia's body to use alchemy, and transformed the pork in the pool of blood into the shape of Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. He carefully modified many places and even confirmed the location of the blood holes before driving away. .

"If it's necessary, go to such extremes. If you want to save people, just save them. As long as I put on a mask and a cloak and stand there, those artificial humans will definitely run faster than rockets."

"We don't want to alert the enemy, but we can't let this part of the plot, which is still going on normally, change too much."

"Then don't save him. A mere lieutenant colonel is going to die, right?"

"Yes, he was dead in the original plot. Tonight Mustang called me and asked me to help contact the Eastern Army. He also told me about their findings. I knew that Hughes was going to die recently. The entire Central Army was made of artificial humans. forces, their every move is under surveillance.

But I want to save him, and I can, so why not?
Like I wanted to eat hotpot mutton tonight and ate it right away.If you have money, you can get material satisfaction. If you have strength, you must also pursue spiritual satisfaction. I saved him just for self-satisfaction. "

"Let me control your body, and I will eat it too." Sylvia ignored the narcissism of Aqua Regia, she was more concerned about the mutton.

"Come on, I'll give you permission to exchange control, and we'll swap bodies."

……

……

Lieutenant Colonel Hughes woke up, weak, hungry, and particularly thirsty. Complex senses bombarded his mind, and it was difficult for him to stand up.

I am not dead...

This was his first thought, followed by a strong longing for his wife and daughter. After all, his last memory was that he was slowly dying and drifting away from his family.

Oh yes... Mustang!Philosopher's Stone formations spread throughout the country!He must be told immediately that this country is dangerous!

Lieutenant Colonel Hughes struggled to sit up. He immediately smelled a light aroma, which was the smell of cake, meat, rice porridge, and milk!

Under the guidance of his gradually normal vision and touch, he quickly touched the food on the small table beside the bed and started eating immediately.

As a large glass of warm milk entered his stomach, his body began to slowly regain strength and his thinking began to become clearer.

Then he saw the newspaper on the table. The picture on the front page showed the funeral scene of high-level government officials at the Heroes Cemetery, and everyone was observing a collective moment of silence.

Hughes saw the president trying his best to hide his anger, his friend Colonel Mustang with tears in his eyes, and his friends and colleagues.

In the center of the picture are his wife and daughter, with his photo on the tombstone.

The newspaper was not fake. As an intelligence officer, Hughes quickly confirmed through the paper material and layout details that the newspaper was not spliced ​​together, and the time on the newspaper was three days after that night. This is very reasonable. It seems that it is true to the outside world. thought he was dead.

So where is this?Who saved me?

Hughes stood up with doubts. He looked around the simple room, trying to get some information.

But the owner here saved him and prepared food and newspapers, indicating that the other party had no ill intentions and he did not want to cause trouble and leave a bad impression on the other party.

"Are you awake? Wait a moment, I'll be right back."

A female voice sounded from the surveillance probe at the top of the corner of the room. The clear and cold voice was so distinctive that Hughes was sure he had never heard it before.

Soon the door opened, and a woman with a black ponytail and a hunting coat walked in. She looked at Hughes and then said:

"Lieutenant Colonel, oh no, you have been promoted to brigadier general. Now there is good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

This kind of bad taste is definitely aqua regia.

(End of this chapter)