The most shameless alchemist in history

“That’s only one reason. The other reason… even if we go back now, we won’t see those assassins,” Dure added.

"Why?" Leopard Tail still didn't understand.

"Don't you understand yet? The matter between Ryan and Rom isn't over yet. In prison, when he's wearing a police uniform, he has to obey Rom. But once he's out of prison, takes off the uniform, and puts on other clothes, what do you think he'll do?" Kotetsu prompted again.

"Hey, really? You mean... Ryan wants our clothes on the ship to go through the main entrance to find those assassins? What does that guy want to do?" Leopard Tail understood what Dure and Kotetsu meant and was stunned. This was really too unbelievable for him.

He hadn't thought highly of Ryan before, but now he suddenly realized he couldn't quite understand the young police officer.

"What he wants to do is what you want to do. Alright, now that someone else is doing it for you, let's go back with peace of mind." Du Lei looked up at the bright moon in the sky. It was a peaceful night, but unfortunately, it was about to be stained with blood again.

505 participated in a matchmaking event.

At the same time that Dure and his group left the prison, someone changed into their clothes and swaggered out of the prison gate. Just as Dure had expected, the assassins who had left earlier had not gone far. They were lying in ambush outside the prison, waiting for their target to come out.

When they saw their target appear, they acted decisively and swarmed forward. They had been tricked in the narrow terrain of the prison, but the open terrain was different. However, when they rushed out, they found that what awaited them was not lambs to the slaughter, but vicious wolves.

In just a few minutes, the assassins were reduced to corpses. Some fled in panic, only to be stabbed through the heart by a throwing knife. The ground was covered in blood. Someone walked up to one of the fleeing assassins and pulled the blood-soaked long knife from his back.

"Captain, shouldn't we leave one of them alive to investigate their background?" someone asked from the side.

"Origin? I already found out." Ryan took a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wiped the blood off the blade.

"Is that so? Should we now follow the trail and take down the mastermind behind it all?" the man asked with a smile.

“There’s no rush. Let’s have someone tidy this up.” Ryan shook his head; he had his own ideas.

“Understood. If Director Rom finds out we did this tomorrow, he’ll be so angry he’ll vomit blood. His furious reaction will be quite a sight.” Ryan’s subordinate smiled, his features obscured by the darkness, shrouded in shadow.

“What’s going on here has nothing to do with us. Let’s go, we have other things to do tonight.” Ryan took off his blood-stained clothes, revealing his uniform underneath. At the same time, he took the hat from his subordinate and put it on properly.

"Captain, if you say it's okay, then it's okay. Anyway, we'll all follow you. Hehehe, this is getting more and more interesting. By the way, when are we leaving Storm City for Rock City? Captain, you said that as long as we get things done, you'll take us to Rock City."

"As long as we do our jobs well, that day won't be too far away. Let's go." Ryan and his men quickly disappeared into the night.

At the same time, Dure and his group of four returned to the hotel. Wenli's room light was still on, clearly showing how worried they were about Dure and his group. They couldn't sleep at all. Once Dure and his group returned safely, Wenli finally felt relieved.

"You're all finally back. If you hadn't come back soon, Miss Wenli would have gone to the city hall of Storm City to complain." When Bee Sting saw Leopard Tail and the others enter the room, she immediately went over to pour them hot water. It was clear that Dure and the others were all travel-worn.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, just a small misunderstanding, it's all taken care of now." Du Lei waved his hand to indicate that it was alright. The room was spacious, and six or seven people could sit inside without feeling crowded at all. There was a clock on the wall, and it was already two o'clock in the morning.

"It's so good that everyone is safe and sound. I didn't know what to do when you were arrested." Wenli personally made black tea for Dure and the others. Although it seemed a little strange that they came back in uniform, she didn't ask any questions.

"I'm back, but a new problem has arisen." Du Lei took a sip of tea, sat down, and frowned.

"What's wrong? Don't scare me like this so late at night, okay? I'm so sleepy I want to go to bed." Leopard Tail yawned. He had almost fallen asleep in the cell, and now he was finally back in the warm hotel.

"Go to sleep if you want, we can continue our discussion even without you." Du Lei didn't seem to care whether Leopard Tail was there or not.

"No, you can't discuss this behind my back. I need to hear it too, so hurry up and tell me what the problem is." Leopard Tail was very concerned about his presence. If he wasn't there, the decision could be made. Wouldn't he just become a complete errand boy?

"The problem is, we can't steal the train to leave now, so we have to think of other ways. Also, there's a group of people who are watching us for some unknown reason. But don't worry, Miss Wenley, they're not after you." Dure originally meant to say that they were after him.

However, firstly, he hadn't figured out who the other party was, and secondly, he wasn't quite sure about the other party's purpose and motivation. So, to be on the safe side, he wouldn't rush to conclusions before figuring out the whole story.

“Is that so? Then Mr. Dure, what do you think we should do next?” Winry nodded and asked for Dure’s opinion.

“I’ve already inquired, and the train at the station won’t depart until after Ababa’s daughter’s wedding. But the matchmaking has been going on for several days now, and there’s still no progress. I have a suggestion.” Dure thought for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Hu Che and Baowei.

"Just tell me your suggestion, why do you only say half of what you mean?" Leopard Tail urged impatiently.

"This suggestion... is to advance the matchmaking process and to more effectively gather firsthand information, so I suggest that the three of you also sign up for the matchmaking." The three people Du Lei was referring to were naturally Kotetsu, Hyobi, and Ape Arm.

"What? You want the three of us to participate in a matchmaking event?" Leopard Tail reacted strongly, pointing at himself with an incredulous look.

Not only him, but also Kotetsu and Ape Arm felt somewhat confused.

“That’s right. Anyway, you guys spent the day queuing up, right? You know the ropes like the back of your hand. And it seems like the official selection process is starting tomorrow, right?” Du Lei wasn’t stupid. He knew what the three of them had been doing during the day.

Aside from Ape Arm, who was working diligently, Kotetsu and Hyoobi both received registration forms, filled them out, and even lined up.

"Tomorrow is indeed the official start of the matchmaking event, the second stage is about to begin... Wait, who are you asking who will line up? I already said it's to gather intelligence, do you understand?" Leopard Tail immediately defended himself.

"Alright, alright, I know, I know it's about gathering intelligence, so please continue gathering intelligence tomorrow. If necessary, you can offer it up." Du Lei said, following Leopard Tail's lead. After all, he was still counting on Leopard Tail to sneak into the matchmaking event.

"What do you mean by 'sacrifice when necessary'? What do you mean by that?" Leopard Tail was wide awake and insisted on arguing with Du Lei.

"Ugh, I'm so sleepy, I need to go back and rest. Everyone else should go back and rest too." Du Lei yawned and was about to leave.

"Stop right there! You better explain yourself! Hey, stop right there!" Leopard Tail chased after him out of the room. He felt that Du Lei's words sounded a bit strange.

506 joined the ranks

Yesterday, when Du Lei and the others went out, they were amazed by how crowded Lan City was. But when they went out again today, they realized that they were too naive. There were twice as many people as yesterday, whether on the main streets and alleys or on the rooftops of buildings.

If someone were to spit out a mouthful of saliva, it would probably land on the faces of four or five people. It would be so conspicuous that it would make one dizzy. There would be no place to put one's feet when walking. Anyone who is slightly thin or weak would not be able to squeeze in at all. Even a burly fat person would feel very uncomfortable being squeezed by the crowd.

"There must be tens of thousands of people here. Has everyone from the entire Lan City gathered here?" Du Lei was not tall to begin with, and now in the crowd, all he could see was a sea of ​​black heads. He was only able to move an inch because Hu Che was protecting him.

"It's not just people from Lan City. I heard that people from several nearby cities are flocking here. Hang in there, the main venue for the matchmaking event is just ahead, we'll be there soon!" Kotetsu, relying on his strong physique, managed to squeeze a path through the crowd.

“You said the same thing half an hour ago, but half an hour has passed and we haven’t even made it across this street. I think we should go back.” Du Lei really didn’t expect there to be so many people. Yesterday it was crowded, but crossing a street wasn’t a difficult task.

But now, the distance he moves forward in half an hour is almost measured in steps; he has never experienced such a crowded situation before.

“Go back? What a joke! The crowd is still pouring in. We can just stand here and let the people coming from behind push us into the venue. But if we go back, don’t even dream about it. We’ll be trampled so badly that even our own parents won’t recognize us.” Leopard Tail retorted to Du Lei with one sentence.

What he said wasn't wrong. Looking around, a steady stream of people rushed in from the street, like a flowing river. The crowd surged forward like waves. If anyone tried to go against the current, they would definitely not have a good outcome. This gave Du Lei a headache.

"There's no other way, I have to use my ultimate move. Listen up, I'll clear the way ahead, you'd better stick close!" Seeing the endless crowd, Hu Che knew that letting things continue like this wasn't going to work. He took a deep breath and signaled Du Lei, Bao Wei, and the others to follow closely behind him.

"Boss, what are you doing? You seem pretty impressive." Leopard Tail was excited to see Kotetsu's eager expression.

"Stay close and don't talk, let's charge!" Kotetsu shouted, charging forward. The originally crowded people were cleared by his charge, and those who couldn't stand still were all knocked off their feet, as if a storm had swept through them.

"Did you see that? Did you see that? Was there a gust of wind just now? It was so strong, I almost lost my balance and fell!"

"It's not the wind, it's a cow! Whose cow is running wild and charging around in the street?"

People got up from the ground and discussed the shadow that had rushed past. Some said it was the wind, others said it was a cow. After all, it had passed by too quickly, and they hadn't seen it clearly. There were all sorts of opinions, and no one could reach a conclusion.

"Done! How about that? Now we don't have to suffer with the crowds anymore." Kotetsu rushed to the main venue, which was the blocked-off square. In the vast Storm City, this place seemed to be the only one that wasn't too crowded, but even so, there were still several hundred people in the square.

"Uncle Kotetsu, since you have this method, why didn't you use it sooner? You wouldn't have made us suffer like this." Du Lei gasped for breath. He had almost fainted from being jostled in the crowd, and even breathing was extremely difficult.

“It’s already been said that it’s a secret technique, so it must be used at a crucial moment, otherwise, can it still be called a secret technique?” Kotetsu had his reasons.

"Alright, now that you've arrived here safely, I'll cheer you on from the sidelines and wish you the best of luck." Knowing he couldn't persuade Kotetsu, Du Lei sighed and walked to the side, ready to be a bystander.

"Wait, come back." Kotetsu grabbed Du Lei by the back of his collar, making it impossible for Du Lei to leave.

"Huh? Is there anything else?" Du Lei didn't understand why Kotetsu had called him over.

"Hey Du Lei, don't you think what you're doing is a bit wrong?" Kotetsu said seriously.

"What's wrong with me?" Du Lei was completely confused, not knowing what Kotetsu was referring to.

"You asked us to participate in the matchmaking event so that we could gather more information and push the matchmaking process forward so that we could leave Storm City by train as soon as possible, right?" Kotetsu said what Dure had said earlier, almost verbatim.

"Yes, that's what I said, is there a problem?" Du Lei admitted that he had said it.

“That’s a big problem. We’re participating in this matchmaking event for Miss Winry, for the greater good. But what about you? What are you doing?” Kotetsu retorted.

"Me? Of course I'm cheering you on from the sidelines," Du Lei said matter-of-factly.

“We don’t need any encouragement. I think you should support us with more practical actions, which would also help Miss Winry,” Kotetsu said seriously.

"Practical action? Isn't my coming here a practical action? What else do you want me to do?" Du Lei was baffled.

“No, no, no, you should show it with more concrete actions. What do you think Brother Du Lei should do next?” Kotetsu turned around and asked for Leopard Tail’s opinion.

"Huh? Boss, you're asking me? Do I even need to explain this? Why should we be here carrying out a mission while you're just watching the show? So this guy definitely has to join in!" Leopard Tail stepped forward and pulled Du Lei back.

"Wait, what do you mean by letting me join in?" Du Lei stared blankly at Kotetsu and Hyobi.

"Hey, you're so smart, why are you pretending now? Joining means you have to join our group too, you have to participate in the matchmaking, otherwise it would be no fun with just the three of us!" Kotetsu laughed.

"Wait, wait, hey, are you guys kidding me? I'm only fourteen years old, and you're making me look for a husband? And the woman in her forties? Do you have any humanity?" Du Lei's eyes widened. This was just too absurd.

"Anyway, we're just sneaking in to gather intelligence, not asking you to actually get married. Alright kid, stop nagging and fill out this registration form properly, or the registration deadline will pass. Hurry up, Leopard Tail, you fill it out for him, then sign it and put your fingerprint on it. Yes, right here, press it. Okay, done." Tiger Che and Leopard Tail conspired and finished the registration form while Du Lei was still confused.

Dure was devastated.

507 Second Round Content

Du Lei finally understood what it felt like to shoot yourself in the foot. He brought Hu Che and the others into the matchmaking process in order to find out the details, because in the current situation, they were being watched, and it was becoming very unrealistic to steal the train and leave Lan Zhi City.

Getting to Rock City by other means of transportation is even more impractical, because the terrain of the Mountain Country is complex, backed by the massive Fiery Sun Mountain Range. Other means of transportation are almost entirely limited to walking, and it would take at least a week to walk there.

Moreover, they would have to cross several mountains on the way. They had already suffered a setback in Nightmare Mountain before. In sparsely populated areas, all sorts of strange things could happen. Add to that the presence of assassins, and it was uncertain whether they could reach Rock City safely.

Therefore, taking the train became the best option, but now that the train had been chartered by Ababa, it was only natural to sneak into the wedding. Dure believed that his idea was generally good, and all that was needed was for Hu Che and the others to carry it out.

But he never expected that his calculations would lead him into this mess. Hu Che and the others dragged him into it, submitting his application form almost right before the deadline. Du Lei had never considered participating in the matchmaking event and hadn't prepared for it at all.

"I'm asking you guys, is this really okay? I wasn't prepared at all, I'm just here to make up the numbers." Du Lei sighed when he saw the malicious looks in the eyes of Hu Che, Bao Wei, and Yuan Bi, knowing that the three of them were there to get revenge on him.

"It's alright, it's all about participation. We're all in the same boat anyway. Okay, now we've finished the first step, the registration step. We're about to start the second step, but I don't know what it is yet," Leopard Tail said with a smile.

Since he met Du Lei, he had never seen the guy suffer a setback. Every time he saw Du Lei spitting as he pointed out strategies and devising one set of tactics after another, he felt very unconvinced. And these strategies were actually quite effective, which made Leopard Tail even more annoyed.

Now that so much time has passed and so many things have happened, Leopard Tail is overjoyed to finally see Du Lei looking so dejected. He can't wait to see this guy suffer a little longer. Du Lei doesn't fight battles he's not sure of winning, but he's really not sure about this battle that he was dragged into.

"I don't understand the second part either, but what does it mean to make us all sit here? And what are they planning to do?" Kotetsu was also confused. After they submitted their registration forms, the staff made them all sit in the square.

The square was filled with a large number of tables and chairs, arranged neatly and densely, with at least several thousand people. Moreover, it was said that this was only one of the sub-venues, and there were several other squares in other places with a large number of tables set up like this.

The once chaotic street gradually became orderly under the coordination of the staff. This makes people admire that Ababa is indeed a very capable person. Even before he appeared, his subordinates alone had extraordinary coordination ability, which is admirable.

"This scene... it looks like an exam is about to start!" As a student, Du Lei was no stranger to exams. He thought about it carefully and realized that this did indeed match his impression of the word "exam," but something didn't quite feel right.

They came here to find a spouse, but who needs to take an exam to find a spouse? That's really strange.

"An exam? No way?" Kotetsu and Hyobi were both dumbfounded; this kind of thing was too far removed from their lives.

At this moment, a staff member went up on stage to speak, and all eyes immediately turned to him.

"Welcome everyone to Miss Ellie's matchmaking event. After the first round of registration, we are now moving on to the second round. As you all know, the advent of the steam engine led to a revolution in the times. We are now at a crossroads of change. Only those who are knowledgeable and can adapt to the times can stand firm in the fierce competition. Therefore, our second round will test the knowledge level of each gentleman."

The staff member spoke at length, but his speech clearly did not attract enough attention from the audience. Many people became impatient and started to jeer and shout loudly. After all, there were just too many people. As the saying goes, there are all kinds of people in a big forest, and the people who came to participate in the matchmaking event were also very diverse.

"Hey, can you stop with the nonsense? We want to hear the important stuff. What exactly is the content of this second round?"