The most shameless alchemist in history

“The reason we didn’t take action at the train station is because we were worried about implicating Miss Wenli and the others. We don’t care how we fight, but Miss Wenli is of noble status, and we can’t drag her into this. If a few of us go to the police station, it will be better for Miss Wenli to return to the hotel safely. With Bailing and the others by her side, Miss Wenli will be fine.” Du Lei also explained why he had opposed Hu Che taking action earlier. Hu Che thought about it and realized that it made sense.

"Then tell me what's going on? How come these police officers arrived at such a convenient time?" Leopard Tail couldn't figure it out, so he had no choice but to throw the question to Du Lei, hoping that Du Lei could give a straightforward answer instead of keeping him in suspense again.

"I think there's only one explanation." Du Lei had already figured out the whole story and understood the cause and effect.

"What's the reason?" Leopard Tail immediately leaned closer, hoping for an answer.

“We were being watched from the very beginning. Someone had the police monitoring our every move from the start, which is why we were arrested as soon as we boarded the train,” Du Lei gave an affirmative answer.

"What? Someone's watching us? Who would do that? And our decision to go to the train station was a last-minute one, how could someone have called the police beforehand?" Kotetsu still didn't understand. After making their decision at the hotel, they went to the train station to leave by train.

If they were being watched, there wouldn't be enough time to go to the police station and back. Besides, it was nighttime, and the police response time wouldn't be that fast. But when they were at the train station, they clearly saw that the police officers were fully armed, which meant they were well-prepared.

“No.” Du Lei shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Leopard Tail frowned, unable to figure out the crux of the problem.

“These police officers didn’t arrest us for going to the train station, but for what we did. You can tell from how readily they released Miss Wenli that they weren’t after Miss Wenli, but after us,” Du Lei continued.

"What? Targeting us? But what do we have that they would target? I still don't understand." Kotetsu became more and more confused the more he thought about it.

“I think I understand now. You mean even if we didn’t steal the train at the train station, they would still arrest us for some other crime, right?” This time, Leopard Tail slapped his forehead and came to this conclusion in a flash of inspiration.

“What? We haven’t done anything special since we arrived in Storm City, so why are we being targeted like this? I could understand if it was to deal with Miss Winry, but you just said that they weren’t targeting Miss Winry, so this makes no sense.”

Kotetsu felt that this was shrouded in mystery, and he couldn't see through it at all; there were too many things he couldn't understand.

"If I had to say something special..." Du Lei also had some doubts about the other party's motivation for doing this series of things. He carefully recalled whether there was anything discordant about it, which he could also tell from the expressions of Kotetsu, Hyobi, and Ape Arm.

This matter indeed has nothing to do with them. If we use the process of elimination, then the only one left is himself.

"Something special? What is it?" Leopard Tail immediately asked, noticing that Du Lei seemed to have remembered something.

"Could it be... that they're after me?" Du Lei recalled his experience that afternoon. At that time, Kotetsu and Hyobi were queuing up to gather information, while he and that guy named Ellie had circled around Storm City, outmaneuvering a group of bodyguards.

If those bodyguards were retaliating against him, they might have had a motive, but Ellie had instructed them, so there was no reason for them to target him after finding Ellie. This didn't make sense.

499 Golden Castle

As Du Lei sat in the prison cell of the Lan City Police Department, racking his brains about who had orchestrated their imprisonment, he was unaware that on the other side of Lan City, someone was standing atop the high-rise of the Shanlan Hotel, looking down at the police station.

"Has that kid already been put in jail?" On the balcony of a high-rise building, someone was smoking. The one who spoke was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He had shiny blond hair that was incredibly dazzling, and he was tall and thin, at least 1.8 meters tall.

"Don't worry, young master, we've already made arrangements. Originally, we planned to have someone rush over and fabricate a charge to lock him up in jail for ten days or half a month. But we don't know what happened to them. They went to the train station in the middle of the night and caught him without us even having to make up a charge."

Beside the man, someone spoke timidly. He was very short, barely reaching the man's waist, and looked to be only about 1.2 or 1.3 meters tall. This height would indeed seem a bit short for an average human, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that this was not the case.

Because his skin is dark green and covered in scales, and his head is oval-shaped, quite different from the normal egg-shaped or even round head, children will definitely be frightened to tears when they see him, because they will remember the adults in their families often scaring them.

The person reporting the situation was a lizard man, who was saying that if you didn't obey, he would throw you into the swamp and let the lizards eat you.

"The train station? What is he doing at the train station?" The man frowned, surprised by the location.

“I don’t know either. Everyone knows the train station is blocked now. He couldn’t possibly be going to the train station to steal it, could he?” The lizardman thought for a moment, but he couldn’t figure it out either.

"By the way, have you found out where that kid came from?" the man continued to press, showing particular interest in the boy.

“Young master, I have already investigated. There are seven people in their group. They seem to be just passing travelers, nothing special. Their skills are also quite ordinary, and they don’t have any special background, so you don’t need to worry about them.” The lizardman answered truthfully.

"No background? You're telling me he's just an ordinary kid who spent a whole afternoon with Ellie? I haven't even spent that much time alone with her. Are you kidding me?" The blond man roared in anger, grabbing the lizardman's collar.

"This, this, young master, please calm down. Perhaps there are some omissions in the investigation. I will go and supplement them immediately. Please, please calm down!" The lizardman was startled by the blond man's appearance. He knew that this young master was a capricious and extremely difficult person to serve.

"I don't care who that kid is, do you think just taking him to the police station is enough?" the blond man roared angrily.

"Huh? But wasn't it your idea, young master, to take him to the police station?" The lizardman was stunned. He clearly remembered that it was this young master's order that he had specifically instructed the police chief of Lan City to make sure that the kid was taken to prison.

We need to keep him out of the house for at least a few days, so as not to ruin this young master's plans.

"When did I ever say such an idea? So, with your barren brain, is your ability to get things done really that bad?" The blond man raised his voice, furious, his eyes practically spitting fire, and if you looked closely...

You'll definitely see two horns sticking out of his head. A normal person would be terrified if they saw that, because no normal person would have something like bull horns sticking out of their head. Clearly, they're bull horns and lizardmen, so they're not ordinary people!

"Understood, subordinate understands. Subordinate will go and arrange the boy's funeral arrangements right now. Please, young master, give subordinate another chance!" The lizardman knew how terrifying it was for this young master to be angry, so he immediately responded loudly, as if trembling with fear.

"Now that you understand, go ahead." The young man finally nodded in satisfaction, his voice gradually softening, and the horns that had appeared earlier disappeared, making him look no different from a normal person. He then took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the corner of his mouth.

This aristocratic air is sure to captivate many young women; from this perspective, he is undoubtedly a handsome man.

"Anyone who dares to obstruct your wedding with Miss Ellie, young master, will be torn to pieces by my subordinates!" Upon receiving the order, the lizardman immediately retreated. The moonlight poured down from the sky, quiet and peaceful. It would be a real shame not to kill someone on such a night!

Meanwhile, in the prison, at this time all the guards had gone to sleep, leaving only two guards on duty. After all, midnight is when people are most tired, and if it weren't for the extra little bit of pay for being on duty, who would be willing to suffer like this?

"Hey, right now the whole of Lan City is buzzing about that rich man Ababa's daughter's wedding. By the way, have you seen what his daughter looks like? Is she beautiful or ugly?" The prison guard on duty, bored out of his mind, started asking his colleagues about the latest hot topic.

"Don't even mention it. That Ababa's daughter is an ugly monster. She's this tall, this wide, with lips this thick, and nostrils this high..." A prison guard gestured with his hands, his body language was very accurate, and he couldn't even wrap his arms around her.

"No way, that's terrifying! Even a sow wouldn't be that big, right? I was thinking of going to line up and see it since I have a day off tomorrow, but after what you've said, I don't dare to go anymore." The young prison guard was startled, his heart pounding.

"Otherwise, why would they publicly advertise for a wife? If she were a great beauty, those noble young men would have already been lining up at her door to propose. Why would they have to resort to publicly advertising for a wife? So you young people are just spineless. Are you really willing to sell yourselves just because you're after Ababa's wealth?"

The veteran warden scoffed at the young prison guard's reaction, while he himself adopted a righteous and awe-inspiring posture.

“Wait a minute, I’ve heard that Miss Ellie is a great beauty, gentle, and has a lovely voice. She can’t be that bad, can she?” Another prison guard came over. He had never seen Miss Ellie’s face either, so he could only join in the commotion.

"What, you say she's a great beauty? Have you even seen her?" The old prison guard glared at him and said irritably.

"Well... I haven't seen it before." The young prison guard shook his head; he had only heard about it secondhand.

"So that's it, you've never even seen her, how can you say she's a great beauty? You're all too young." The old prison guard began his lecture.

"So what if she's not a beauty? Just look at Ababa's wealth! If I could be his son-in-law, who would want to be this lousy prison guard?" The young prison guard was very dissatisfied with his current job. After all, compared to other positions, being a prison guard meant meager pay and little extra income. He had long wanted to change jobs.

"Do you think being Ababa's son-in-law is so easy? By the way, have you heard a rumor?" the old prison guard said mysteriously.

"What rumors?" The young prison guards became interested and immediately gathered around to ask.

"I heard that Ababa's castle is made of gold, and he's incredibly wealthy," the old prison guard whispered.

"Tch, I thought you were going to say something insightful, but this is all you've got. Even a three-year-old knows this, right?" The young prison guard waved his hand dismissively, his interest waning. This wasn't exactly news.

"But do you know how Ababa got his golden castle?" The old prison guard seemed to have expected this reaction from the young rascals. He wasn't angry and continued to speak slowly and deliberately.

"Huh? Well... of course he built it with the wealth he accumulated from doing business, I think." A young prison guard said, though he hadn't thought about it carefully and didn't have any ideas for the moment.

"That's not right." The old prison guard shook his head mysteriously, denying the young guard's words.

"What's wrong with that? If it wasn't built, did it fly down from the sky? I bet you don't know either, you're just making a fuss over nothing, pretending to know what you don't." The young prison guard, embarrassed by being humiliated, said matter-of-factly.

"I heard a rumor when I was a kid." The old prison guard ignored the young prison guard's doubts and continued talking. After all, there were five or six people gathered around. The young prison guard didn't take it seriously, but the others listened with great interest.

"Hey, stop keeping me in suspense, tell me quickly, what's the rumor?" The others immediately urged the old prison guard to give an answer.

"I've heard that there's a kind of creature in the world that loves gold the most. They live in castles made of gold and possess countless treasures of gold and silver in the world," the old prison guard said slowly in a drawn-out tone.

"The creature that likes gold the most...? Isn't it humans? I think everyone likes gold, right?" someone chimed in.

"No, no, there are people who don't like gold. I've met some people before who like gemstones but not gold." Others actively shared their opinions.

"Get lost. Of course I prefer gems to gold... Wait, the creature that loves gold the most, could it be..." The young prison guard scoffed at such remarks and didn't take them too seriously at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized something was off.

"That's right, it's that legendary creature, the creature that loves gold the most, the creature that lives in a golden castle... These are two different rumors, one about a creature that possesses a golden castle, and the other about Ababa who possesses a golden castle. Haven't you noticed any similarities?"

The old prison guard finally revealed the biggest point of suspicion he had discovered.

500 Punishment and Redemption

If we're talking about the most bustling place in Lan City, it's undoubtedly the Qinglan Building in the city center. This building was recently constructed using the latest building technologies and materials. It's said that during its construction, the workers and materials were transported from the south by train.

Compared to traditional buildings, this skyscraper is nearly forty meters tall and has ten floors. It is several meters taller than the original landmark building of Lanzhi City, namely the clock tower located on the south side of Lanzhi City. It is a building with a strong sense of the times and the construction budget was extremely large.

The completed Qinglan Building was indeed worth its cost and generated considerable profits. To stay in the Qinglan Building for one night, even the most ordinary room, cost twenty silver coins, which was equivalent to half a year's expenses for an average family, making it an astronomical figure.

In other words, when prominent businessmen pass through Lan City, they choose to stay at the Qinglan Building and invite their business partners to the building to discuss business. This is a prestigious thing to do and often makes things much easier. However, these wealthy businessmen have recently been unable to stay at the Qinglan Building.

It wasn't that Qinglan Building had some kind of malfunction and was locked down, but rather that the entire Qinglan Building had been booked out. This infuriated the regular customers of Qinglan Building. They had come to Lanzhicheng to discuss business and had arranged to meet with their friends at Qinglan Building, only to be told that there were no rooms available.

Where would these regular customers put their faces? Wasn't this a loss of face in front of their business partners? But when they angrily went to the building management to demand an explanation, the management simply shut them down with a single sentence.

Mr. Ababa has booked all the rooms so he can have some peace and quiet and get a good night's sleep. We ask for your understanding.

"What? It was booked by Ababa? Oh, no problem, no problem at all. Mr. Ababa's rest is the most important thing. By the way, is Mr. Ababa here? Can I see him? What? He's resting? Then never mind, I won't bother him..."

This is how the businessmen reacted when they learned that the building had been booked by Alibaba. Perhaps these businessmen are influential and prestigious figures, and are considered prominent families in some places. They are also known for their swift and decisive actions, and are particularly ruthless in suppressing their competitors.

On the issue of Ababa, both ruthless industrialists and vicious businessmen are surprisingly consistent in their attitude, because Ababa is famous throughout the continent, and countless people have proven through their unfortunate experiences that angering Ababa is not a wise move.

For example, there was a room in a building that Ababa had booked that had been occupied by a high-ranking general for a long time. But when the general came, he immediately said that he didn't want the room anymore and hoped to see Ababa. However, Ababa needed to rest and could not be disturbed, so the general had to wait patiently.

Even though it was already late at night, the lights coming from the Qinglan Building were still as bright as day. In the suite on the top floor, a round, fat man who looked only about 1.4 meters tall but weighed at least 150 or 160 kilograms was gazing at the city's night view.

"Oh, I didn't expect Lan City to have become like this. It's developed so fast. I remember the last time I came to Lan City, um... back then, that guy Lin Ye was still building railways, and everything was bustling with activity. Here, a few guys even jumped out to oppose the railway construction..."

This middle-aged man, who looked kind and honest, with eyes that squinted like mung beans when he smiled, recalled things from long ago with deep emotion. If an elderly person were present and heard him say this, they would surely be startled, because the city of Lan has a long history.

Even if we're talking about laying railways, that happened decades ago, but how old does this guy look?

"Yes, Lan City has remained almost unchanged for over a thousand years, but in just the last few decades, it has undergone tremendous changes. And it's not just Lan City; the entire continent has experienced earth-shattering changes, something that was unimaginable before."

A young man stood behind the middle-aged man, deeply moved by the tremendous changes; the transformation of the times was truly terrifying.

"This is all thanks to that kid Lin Ye. He stole the power of the gods, allowing humanity to gain the strength to shake the gods in just a few decades. It's truly terrifying." The middle-aged man sighed, expressing his admiration for the young man.

“Even though he did all that, his name is still tarnished in history. If it weren’t for that incident years ago, he might not even have left his name in history and would have become a completely invisible person.” The young man shook his head, his expression somewhat complicated.

"Humans are truly a strange race. They want to erase the person who led them to gain immense power. Speaking of which, you once followed that kid Lin Ye and did something quite exciting for a while, right?" The middle-aged man patted the young man on the shoulder.

The young man was tall and slender, with a good presence. He was nearly 1.8 meters tall. Theoretically, the 1.4-meter-tall middle-aged man couldn't reach the young man's shoulder, so he chose to use a tool. He stood on a stool and finally got to be roughly level with the young man.

"Yes, I followed him in conquering the continent back then. It feels like just yesterday." The young man nodded, his eyes fixed on the front, but the look in his eyes seemed to travel through time to the distant past, to those tumultuous years.

"Speaking of which, where did that kid Lin Ye go? I remember the last time I saw him, he led the fleet to the east, right?" the middle-aged man suddenly asked. He put his hands behind his back and looked into the distance. There were mountains in the distance, but what was at the end of the mountains?

"After he went to the East, he disappeared without a trace. Ten years after his disappearance, the great railway connecting the East and West was opened. This was also arranged before he left. Later, many people went to the East to look for him, but after decades they found nothing. Some people said he was dead, while others said he was still alive."

The young man shook his head slightly. Actually, he wanted to say that he had also gone to the East to look for it, but he didn't say it.

"If you think about it, Lin Ye must be over seventy years old by now, right? He was a handsome young man when I first met him, but now he's probably a decrepit old man. Back then, he would pull my beard and laugh at how long it was. Now if I see him again, I can have a good laugh at his beard."

The middle-aged man chuckled as he recalled what happened many years ago; the man was quite a funny person.

"How old are you? How dare you talk about others like that?" The young man turned around and glared at the middle-aged man.

"Hehe, well... we're different from humans." The middle-aged man chuckled.