After careful discussion, Edward and Al did not sit still, and they went to Colonel Mastan.

It is obvious that Mr. Via has a lot of trust in the Colonel, and he has entrusted them to the Colonel, and this kind of thing must not be easy to hide by Edward's identity alone, and it is reasonable to find the Colonel.

"These are the crimes of Shutak, the little girl Nina was rescued by Mr. Via, although Mr. Via doesn't want to mention more, but Colonel, you can go to him to confirm."

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

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

Colonel Mastan pondered for a moment and then said:

"Lying, full of loopholes, you dare me to ask Mr. Via to explain that he was really there, but he certainly didn't just save the little girl.

This matter is not a big problem, even if Shutak is a national alchemist, his use of living people for experiments is a major crime, even if you kill him, it can be interpreted as self-defense, there is no need to burn the body to ashes - and with the character of the two of you, kill people in anger? Scold. ”

"The blame can be passed on to us, we just came to ask the colonel to help take care of Nina, at least find her a better family......

"Push?"

Colonel Mastan emphasized the word, "It seems that it was Mr. Via who killed Shutak, indeed, with his character and his attainments in the alchemy of flames, it is normal to burn Shutak to ashes in a fit of anger." ”

"No, no, no! It's our ...... Well, it's Mr. Viva, but he saved Nina, Colonel, you are Mr. Viva's friend and junior, you should help him, and I will bear the charge of killing the national alchemist! ”

"And me." Al added in a whisper.

"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 your mind calm.

First of all, in the past two years, you have only cultivated a more stable character, and don't become reckless and jumpy, which is not good for you and me, and for everyone.

Secondly, put away your boring worries, Mr. Via doesn't need your help, heh, no wonder you are short-sighted, Mr. Via is not a person who likes to show off.

Rest assured, just a Shutak, kill it, no one will dare to ask Mr. Via about his guilt. ”

"Mr. Via...... Does it have such a big influence in Central City? He said he was just an ordinary national alchemist and arms dealer......"

Mastan was amused, and he continued Edward's words:

"The difference is not big, but it should be added that Mr. Via is the strongest national alchemist in Amestolis, and the exclusive arms supplier for the entire army of Ames,

His alchemy workshops supplied the entire country with cutting-edge munitions, and his mechanical armor and heavy machinery factories provided more than 90% of the country's mechanical productivity, and Mr. Via's [WS Industries Group] was one of the cornerstones of this growing country.

In addition, the giant trust, which has been renamed [Xiwei Food Energy Group], has an absolute monopoly in the food and energy fields in many countries, and it also has a seat on the board of directors.

As for the other cornerstones, those chaebols who monopolize logistics, mining, light industry, real estate, etc., secretly respect Mr. Via, and they have secret interests with each other. ”

"Isn't that about the same as the president!?"

"No, the president is nowhere near as rich as Mr. Viva."

The two brothers were a bit of a fool, and for the past two years they had learned a little about Mr. Via, but everyone seemed reluctant to talk about him, and the most discussed thing was that Mr. Via was quite rich.

As for some trivial matters, others may not know as much as Edward's brothers.

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

"It's okay to report this matter directly, the central military didn't dare to provoke Mr. Wei, during the [Ishuvar Annihilation War], the front line urged a batch of munitions, which had been produced at that time, but the logistics were not very smooth, and someone in the central army wanted to directly send troops to take over Mr. Wei'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, and when they rushed into Mr. Via's laboratory with a dozen heavily armed soldiers......"

Colonel Mastan grinned, seemingly selling off, but in fact really wanted to laugh.

"And then, they apologized to Mr. Via?" Alphonse guessed.

"No, and then the next day, at the regular meeting venue of the [President's Office] and the [Military Council], everyone received a box of ashes, a surveillance videotape, and a list of goods.

Mr. Via offered to compensate for a shipment, but the list ended with a warning that no one was allowed to break into his lab, which was dangerous and would leave no bones left if not careful. ”

"Doesn't the president have an opinion?!"

"The war is tight, no one dares to have an opinion, but after the truce, I don't know, maybe Mr. Via persuaded the president, he always has the logic and bargaining chips that others can't refuse."

The two Edward brothers nodded, Mr. Via always has a way to solve anything, and he can always do what he wants to do.

Not only because he is rich, but his logic and words are always easy for people to accept and believe.

"So, don't worry about it, I'll deal with the follow-up, but before that, you first submit an application to go home to recuperate, and write [Uncle Hill Via] who will go home to visit you, and I will give special approval, and if you don't have proof after you leave, this matter will be over."

"Do you want to borrow the prestige of Mr. Via again...... Okay, but what to do in terms of time, we take a leave of absence today, but Shutak died yesterday, and there will definitely be some suspicions from above. ”

"No, Shutak will die tomorrow, and you've gone home with Major Armstrong this afternoon.

Tomorrow, your elder, Mr. Hill Via, the Alchemist of the Mirror, hears that you are studying with Shutak, and he goes to visit you, and while he pounces, he encounters Shutak's bestial behavior, and puts him to death in a fit of rage, and then gives us a supplementary report, which will be sent to my desk tomorrow night. ”

Listening to Colonel Mastan's serious arrangement of "history" that had not yet happened, Edward was surprised, but did not question anything.

Edward now thought that if he had been as intelligent, sensible, decisive, and big-picture as Colonel Mastan, Mr. Via probably wouldn't have been angry.

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

"Al and I will go back, but Major Armstrong doesn't need to waste time with us, right?"

"It's necessary, I'm not at ease with you right now, in every sense." Colonel Mastan said bluntly.

Eventually, after instructing the Colonel to take care of Nina, Edward and Al left with some frustration, and the Colonel closed his eyes and thought for a while, but still called Wang Shui from the public phone.

Although there is no need to bother with such a trivial matter, the colonel does not want to be a riddler, and he can't do such a stupid thing without hiding the information that should be shared.

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

This was an already very uncomfortable incident, and this came to an end.

Now that this has happened, it means that the protagonist and a group of people are about to come into contact with androids, and the plot is about to enter a compact stage.

Wang Shui had already done a lot of work, and he wanted to stay in Central City and watch everything happen, but news suddenly came from the caravan in Xinguo, and they had heard a lot of important alchemy information.

The person who held the information didn't want money, but insisted that Wang Shui go in person, in order to show his sincerity, the other party didn't hide it, and directly identified himself - the current emperor of the new country.

This...... It's hard to shirk.

In fact, Wang Shui also wanted to take a trip, he simply calculated, whether it was a desert land route or a boat to the sea, a round trip plus the time to do things, it would take at least three months.

In desperation, Wang Shui called back Sylvia, who was expanding his base to the south and was having a good time as a warlord.

……

……

Edward and Alphonse boarded the return train, accompanied by Major Armstrong.

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

That is, the old colleague that Wang Shui once met in the field hospital - Dr. Marr.

As in the original book, he participated in the battle of Annihilation of Ishvar, and studied the Philosopher's Stone Refining Array under the threat of androids, and he is also one of the very few people who can refine the Philosopher's Stone.

Yes, refining the Sage's Stone is not just a matter of looking at the public version of the Alchemy Array, but also needs to be adjusted according to one's own body and mind structure, as well as the knowledge system.

Refining into a formation is not a skill, and you can't copy other people's abilities according to a mold.

Because of his achievements in the Synthesis of the Philosopher's Stone, Dr. Mar received his national alchemist qualification and title, Crystallized Alchemist, during the war.

After the war, the android side could not get a large number of ordinary people who disappeared and no one cared about them, so the control over Marco was relaxed a lot.

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

Major Armstrong, a muscular man, recognized the former military doctor, Marko, and after a forcible greeting, Marko said that he did not want to go back, but only wanted to stay here as a doctor to save the wounded and pay for his sins in killing countless Ishuvars.

Major Armstrong is also a deserter, he also escaped from the battlefield of Ishvar, but he himself belongs to the large family of Central City, and is also a national alchemist, with the title of "Mighty Person".

When he returned home and faced the military, he did not continue to run away, but chose to help his friend Colonel Mastan, who wanted to climb to the top leadership and lead the country away from the war.

Although the choice was different, Armstrong said that he understood Marko's disgust with the war, so he was not prepared to reveal Marko's whereabouts to the military, and the tense atmosphere when they first met eased a lot.

During the exchange, Dr. Marr revealed to the trio that he was particularly afraid of encountering the military because he had escaped and taken with him some information on the Philosopher's Stone.

Edward was in good spirits when he heard this, and he had been running around the country with his brother for the past two years, tracing the traces of the Philosopher's Stone.

Edward, hoping to use the Philosopher's Stone to restore himself and his brother's bodies, began to ask Marco, who was a doctor.

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

"It's just a half-finished product, with the same physical properties as the Philosopher's Stone, but it can't be used to launch alchemy regardless of all conditions, and it's just to satisfy your curiosity. Don't try to pursue this kind of thing, it will only bring misfortune. ”

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

"Doctor Marl! 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 become, it will manifest whatever form you want, you want it to be solid, it can be powder or stone, you want it to flow, it's liquid."

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

The bright red liquid formed a ball of liquid due to the great surface tension, but after a simple stroke by Marko, the half-finished Philosopher's Stone immediately turned into a smooth pebble.

"I see! It turns out that it is the real Philosopher's Stone! ”

Edward exclaimed that he had figured it out, and then sat down quietly, thinking to himself as he remembered the red ink used by Mr. Via to heal Nina.

At that time, he still wondered, even if Shutak was taken as the price, it was obviously still "0.3" people, it turned out that Mr. Via had the Philosopher's Stone in his hands!

Oh yes, he said he could save Mom, and he could save me and Al, but the price was too great for him to use, if the price was the Philosopher's Stone......

"You've seen the real Philosopher's Stone!"

Marco interrupted Edward's thoughts, but he was only momentarily shocked, and soon remembered 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, and it was normal for Edward to see them.

"Yes, I've seen it, I once dealt with a cult in a small town called [Leo], and at that time, the leader of the cult was able to use all kinds of alchemy out of thin air without following the law of [Equivalent Exchange], and his power came from a small red ball.

But soon, the ball turned to ashes, and what I thought was a fake Philosopher's Stone now appears to be of the same nature as Dr. Mar showed, but why did it break? ”

"That's true, the shattered disappeared because the energy ran out."

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

Dr. Marr tore a note from a nearby notebook, wrote down the names of several books and some special symbols, and handed the note to Edward.

"The Central Library, where a lot of my research materials are stored, I think you need to take a look at the deeper truth behind the truth. Alas, it doesn't matter how much you can see, don't bother me anymore. ”

Marco was a little lonely, and he started to chase people away.

Edward took the note with great interest, and then took his leave.

On the way back to the train station, Edward's hands trembled a little when he looked at the information on the note, and he didn't even listen to Marco's sentence "the truth behind the truth".

Now his mind is full of:

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

(End of chapter)