The most shameless alchemist in history

“Yes, it’s me. Is there a problem?” Dure pondered the blond man’s intentions. He could roughly guess that the blond man must be related to Ellie, but he didn’t know why the man had come. Didn’t Ellie go back perfectly fine?

"I just wanted to see who Redu is. Look at the balloon in your hand... Have you joined the matchmaking event?" The blond man glanced at the balloon in Redu's hand, his tone very harsh. His words didn't sound like a friendly greeting; they were full of strong hostility.

"Hey, who are you? Are you here to cause trouble?" Although Leopard Tail had many opinions about Du Lei and disliked him, he still considered it an internal conflict. In his view, Du Lei was one of his own. But now he was being questioned like this by an outsider.

Even Leopard Tail couldn't stand it anymore. He walked over and confronted the blond man head-on, determined to give Dure a strong boost.

"What does this have to do with you?" Du Lei knew that the other party had ill intentions, and showing weakness at this time would not do any good.

“Very good, you have great courage. I hope you can maintain this courage to the end and not give up halfway.” The blond man nodded approvingly.

"What are you talking about? You suddenly said a bunch of nonsensical things, and you think you can just leave? You stop right there, you stop right there..." Leopard Tail walked over, wanting to argue with the other party, but the blond man turned around and left, which left Leopard Tail feeling confused and indignant.

He tried to stop the other person, but Dure waved him off, shaking his head slightly to indicate that he should not chase after them.

"Hey, Dure, what's wrong with you? Someone's come looking for trouble, aren't you going to teach him a lesson? Aren't you just making a fool of yourself? And where did you provoke this guy?" Leopard Tail asked Dure with a frown after the blond man walked away.

At this moment, Kotetsu and Ape Arm walked over. Although they hadn't spoken, their expressions were not good. If the blond man had dared to make a move, Kotetsu would definitely have been the first to rush over and knock him away.

“I’ve never met him, let alone provoked him, but… if I’m not mistaken, he was the one who sent the assassins to attack us last night. His men were also watching us at the train station and reported it to the police, and together with Rom, they tried to take us out,” Dure answered definitively.

"What? It's him? Then we can't let him get away." Leopard Tail wanted to chase after him.

“We don’t know his background yet, so let’s not rush to find him. Let’s think this through more carefully.” Dure shook his head, signaling Leopard Tail not to act rashly. He had already gone through the situation dozens of times in his mind, analyzing the blond man’s motives and purposes from all aspects, but he still had no clue.

“But…” Leopard Tail was getting anxious. He wasn’t the type to remain calm when someone came knocking on his door; an eye for an eye was his nature.

"No buts, let's do as Du Lei says. After we hand over the balloon, it's about time we head back." Kotetsu looked at the distant twilight. After two rounds of commotion, a day had almost passed, and the balloon had already flown high into the sky, gradually disappearing from sight.

Of course, this does not include the balloons in their hands.

"Even you, Boss Kotetsu... Alright, alright, I understand." Although Leopard Tail was still somewhat unwilling, since Kotetsu had spoken, he could only endure it. However, he would remember this debt.

After they came down from the roof, they quickly took the balloons to the staff to register. After all, getting the heart-shaped balloons was the passing requirement for the third round. With Du Lei's help, all four of them successfully passed this round.

"Verification confirmed. Congratulations on passing the third round. That concludes today's activities. The fourth round will begin at 8:00 AM tomorrow. We hope everyone will be on time. Late arrivals will be considered as a forfeit," the staff member reminded Du Lei and the others.

"Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock? So we'll be wasting another day here. Hey, Dure, do you know what they're going to do in the fourth round?" Leopard Tail asked Dure about his predictions for the fourth round on the way back to the hotel from the square, since Dure had predicted it correctly in the third round.

"The fourth round? I'm not too sure either. I don't have any clues or information to speculate on right now." Du Lei shook his head. All his deductions were based on facts, but after observing the area around the square, he didn't find anything conclusive.

"What? I thought you could guess it right away, but it turns out you're not that amazing." Leopard Tail was a little disappointed.

"Since you're so good at this, why don't you guess it yourself? Let's see if you can guess it correctly." Kotetsu glared at Leopard Tail.

"If I could guess correctly, would I still be here? I would have reported to the General Staff Headquarters long ago, instead of running around like this," Leopard Tail replied casually.

"Wait!" Just then, Du Lei suddenly stopped, his expression very serious.

"What? Have you guessed what tomorrow's program will be about?" Leopard Tail was indeed very concerned about this.

“Not this one.” Dure frowned and shook his head.

"Tch, I thought it was something serious, judging by your big reaction." Leopard Tail waved his hand, showing little interest.

"It's Miss Winry, that blondie... could he have done something to Miss Winry?" Du Lei's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he thought of this, and he ran towards the hotel as fast as he could.

m.

514 Hotel Explosion

Although Du Lei didn't know what the blond man's purpose was or why he was targeting him so much, even going so far as to send assassins, one thing was certain: the other party was determined to deal a decisive blow to him. With the four of them present, the blond man couldn't do anything to him.

However, Winry was different. Winry was still staying at the inn. Since the blond man could find out his name "Redu", he could naturally find out that they were staying with Winry. Even if he didn't find out that Winry was the special envoy of the Snow Kingdom, he should know that their relationship was unusual.

With no immediate options to target him, the other party would inevitably turn their attention to Winry. Realizing this, Durei ran for his life, with Leopard Tail, Tiger Tetsu, and Ape Arm close behind. They hadn't considered Durei's situation yet, but Winry's safety was undoubtedly their top priority.

"Damn it, no way, that guy wouldn't really do something to Miss Winry, would he?" Leopard Tail followed behind Dure. By this time, they had arrived outside the inn and could see their room. Dure was about to rush up to check on Winry's condition.

"Boom!" Just then, an explosion was heard. Smoke billowed from the second floor of the hotel, and people rushed out in fright. Flames immediately sprang up. The explosion shattered the tranquility of the sunset, and the pervasive smoke carried a strong, pungent odor that stimulated people's nerves.

"How could this be... That's... Miss Winry's room... Damn it, they actually dared to lay a hand on Miss Winry! I'll kill you! Miss Winry can't be hurt!" Leopard Tail's expression changed drastically after recognizing that the center of the explosion was Winry's room, and he immediately rushed over.

"Hey, guests, there's been a sudden explosion! There's a fire inside! You can't go up there! You can't go up there!" The hotel owner was also shocked by the sudden explosion. After sending the other guests out, he saw people rushing upstairs and immediately came to stop them.

"Get out of my way, get out of my way! Miss Winry is still in the room, get out of my way!" Du Lei didn't care about any of that. He pushed the hotel owner aside and insisted on going upstairs. Flames surged up the stairs, and the fire was spreading and getting out of control.

"Guest, I understand how you feel, but you can't go up in this situation, you absolutely can't go up!" The innkeeper held onto Du Lei tightly. If they rushed into the raging fire like this, they would probably be burned to ashes in an instant.

"Damn it, are we too late?" Kotetsu rushed in and saw waves of fire surging out. He knew that even if he rushed in now, those who hadn't escaped would probably have been swallowed up by the flames. He slammed his fist on the counter next to him, causing it to collapse.

"No matter what, we have to go in and check. Even if there's only a one percent chance, no, even if it's only a one in ten thousand chance, we can't give up!" Du Lei's attitude was very firm. No matter how the hotel owner tried to persuade him, he was determined to rush in and confirm.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Just then, someone walked over and called out to Du Lei and the others.

"Bee Sting? What are you doing here?" Du Lei looked over in the direction of the voice; it was Bee Sting who had called out to him.

"I saw you guys rush in just now, and I called you from outside, but you didn't hear me, so I had no choice but to come in," Bee Sting answered truthfully.

"And what about Miss Winry? How is she now?" When Du Lei saw that Bee Sting was perfectly fine and didn't seem flustered, his tense mood immediately calmed down. If something had happened to Miss Winry, Bee Sting wouldn't have been able to stay calm.

"Come with me, Miss Winry is outside." Bee Sting gestured for Dure and his group to follow her. Dure nodded and quickly left the inn.

"Has everyone finally left? This fire... Who did I offend? Why would someone suddenly start such a fire? My life's work..." The innkeeper was the last to leave the inn. He looked at the raging flames, even though the rescue team had arrived.

The rescue team immediately began to put out the fire, but the once-perfect hotel was now completely burned down, and all his hard work was destroyed.

This was an unlucky day for the innkeeper, but for Dure, seeing Winry again was a stroke of good luck; Winry was waiting for them peacefully at the back door of the inn.

"Miss Winry, are you alright?" Leopard Tail was the first to approach Winry and ask about her condition.

"Don't worry, we're all fine. We weren't in the room when the explosion happened." Bailing stayed by Wenli's side the whole time.

"What exactly is going on? You guys..." Kotetsu frowned; all of this happened so suddenly.

"We had nothing to do this afternoon, so we went out for a stroll and looked around Lanzhi City. That's why we weren't at the hotel. We just got back and saw this scene, so we don't know what happened either," Bailing answered truthfully.

"Luckily you weren't at the hotel. If you had, you probably would have been caught in the fire." Leopard Tail breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s not just a spillover.” Dure frowned, shook his head, and pointed out that the word “leopard tail” was inappropriate.

"What else could it be but an impact?" Leopard Tail stared blankly at Du Lei.

"The explosion started in Miss Winry's room. Luckily, it wasn't in the hotel, otherwise she would have been at the epicenter and blown away." Dure's expression was very cold. He was very indignant about what had happened, and his fists were clenched so tightly that they cracked.

"What did you say? You deliberately murdered Miss Winry? Who was it?" Leopard Tail roared in fury.

"Who else could it be? Have you forgotten what just happened?" Kotetsu's face remained ashen.

"What happened just now... what did you say? Was it that blond guy who did it?" Leopard Tail thought carefully. He remembered that the blond man had come to provoke him earlier, and after the blond man left, Du Lei seemed to have discovered something and ran back like a madman.

He simply couldn't believe that the explosion happened right after he arrived at the hotel; there was no connection between the two.

"Who else could it be but him? Is that guy from Rock City?" The only motive that Kotetsu could think of was that the other party knew Winry's identity and wanted to get rid of Winry. Only some high-ranking officials in Rock City would have this motive.

They had to act before Winry arrived at Rock Castle; once she got there, they wouldn't have another chance.

"No, that's not right. We've only been in Lan City for a couple of days. We didn't make a fuss about it, and we kept our route a secret. Even if it were an assassin targeting Miss Wenli, they wouldn't have waited until now to make their move. Also, that guy contacted us first before attacking. What does that mean?"

Dure shook his head; he still remembered the look in the blond man's eyes as he left.

"Does this mean provocation?" Kotetsu realized what he meant and responded in a deep voice.

m.

515 Under the eyelids

Although Du Lei and his group had kept a low profile since arriving in Lan City, trouble still crept up on them without them noticing. If it were just trouble, it wouldn't be so bad, but the fact that they didn't even know why they had gotten into trouble was particularly dangerous, because it meant they were in the open.

Meanwhile, the blond man remained hidden in the shadows. Coupled with the assassination attempt previously orchestrated in the prison, there had already been two deadly attacks in just two days. The fire at the hotel, in particular, had caused many innocent people to suffer undeserved calamities, which was especially infuriating.

"Hey, Dure, are you sure you're okay with what you're doing? You just said that these are critical times, and we're still separated from Miss Winry. What if something happens to her?" Leopard Tail was a little worried about Dure's decision. They had devised a plan after the hotel explosion.

Wenli, protected by Bailing and Fengshi, went to another hotel to stay, while the four of them stayed at the Qingkong Hotel in a grand manner. This was the second most prestigious accommodation in Lan City after the Qinglan Building. Although it was not as famous as the Qinglan Building, the price of a room there was just as high.

With the Qinglan Building entirely booked by Alibaba, the Qingkong Hotel became the first choice for most wealthy businessmen.

"Don't worry, that person came for us, not for Miss Winry. So Miss Winry is safer by separating from us." After a series of considerations, Dure was certain that this matter had absolutely nothing to do with Winry.

This is quite peculiar, because ever since he joined the guard at Maple Leaf Academy, all the way to Nightmare Mountain, then Spring Breeze Town, then Harrenhal, and now Storm City, most of the attacks he has encountered along the way have been related to Winry, or more specifically, to her identity.

But now Winry has suffered an undeserved misfortune and become the one who is implicated and suffers, which is quite unusual.

"Since you've said that, you'll be responsible for any problems that arise, right? But why did you have to choose this hotel? Don't you think staying here is a bit too ostentatious? Who said we should keep a low profile?" Leopard Tail knew that Du Lei's decision couldn't be changed.

Because whether it was Kotetsu, Ape Arm, or even Winry herself, they all supported Dure's decision. He couldn't change Dure's mind; at most, he could only complain. In his understanding, since they had encountered an attack, they should be even more discreet and cautious.

But now they've actually made such a grand entrance by checking into the Sky Hotel. Isn't that just putting themselves right in front of the other side to shoot at?

“When it’s time to keep a low profile, you should naturally keep a low profile to avoid trouble. But now that trouble has come knocking, what’s the point of keeping a low profile now? Besides, there’s another crucial reason why we’re staying at the Sky Hotel.” Du Lei paused here.

"What reason?" Leopard Tail knew that Du Lei was about to get to the point, so he immediately pressed for an answer.

"Wait a minute, you'll find out soon." Du Lei didn't answer him directly, but gestured for Leopard Tail to wait.

"Here you go again. When are you going to get rid of this habit of keeping me in suspense? What are you waiting for? It's so late!" Leopard Tail glared at Du Lei, annoyed by Du Lei's dawdling and suspenseful behavior, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Kotetsu and Ape Arm hurriedly walked in.

"Has it been found out?" Du Lei ignored Leopard Tail's question and went over to ask the two people who had just entered.

"Mmm mmm mmm." The ape-arm nodded and gestured.

"Hey, Ape Arm, what are you gesturing about here? What have you guys been doing?" Leopard Tail was completely baffled by Ape Arm's meaning.

"Let me explain. We've already found out; that blond guy is staying at the Sky Hotel," Kotetsu explained.

"Golden Hair? Is that the despicable guy we saw earlier? He's actually in this restaurant? I'm going to find him right now and settle the score with him for attacking Miss Winry!" Leopard Tail was furious upon hearing this, and he seemed ready to rush out the door to settle the score with the other party.

"You come back here!" Kotetsu grabbed Leopard Tail by the collar, stopping the latter.

"Hey, Boss Hu Che, are you really going to swallow this? He's right under our noses. If we don't teach him a lesson, we'll be too pathetic, won't we?" Leopard Tail was furious, his mind filled with thoughts of how to teach the other party a lesson.

“This isn’t a matter of being a coward or not. You don’t even know his background. If you rashly go looking for trouble, you might not only fail to cause trouble for him, but also get yourself into trouble.” Du Lei also shook his head to stop Leopard Tail. He was much calmer than Leopard Tail.

"But are we just going to stand by and watch him smugly and pretend we didn't see anything? I can't do that!" Leopard Tail was very resentful. He was always the type to take revenge on the spot, but now his enemy was right under his nose, and he couldn't do anything about it.

This made Leopard Tail feel especially aggrieved; he wished he could tear the blond man to pieces right now to vent his anger.

“Don’t forget why we came here,” Dure reminded Leopard Tail again.

"We came here of course... wait, you know that guy lives here, so you moved in with such fanfare?" Leopard Tail suddenly realized the reason they came here. At first, he couldn't understand why Du Lei, who always did things in a low-key manner, suddenly became so high-profile.

Now that he understood, Du Lei had known this all along, and he looked at him in surprise.