The most shameless alchemist in history

"Tanya, what are you saying? This person is frozen like this, how could he possibly move? He's already dead beyond dead, isn't he?" Rhodes didn't take it seriously, because he knew Tanya was a very curious person who would shout loudly over the slightest noise. He had seen this before and wasn't surprised, so he didn't pay it any mind.

"No, Rhodes, his fingers really moved! Hey, do you think he might still be alive?" Tanya was very excited about this. If other girls had encountered this scene, they probably would have screamed and been terrified. But Tanya was born with a strong curiosity, especially an almost obsessive interest in mysterious things.

"How is this possible? Judging from his appearance, he's been frozen here for who knows how long. How could he still be alive? Tanya, I understand your desire to encounter mysterious events after seeing those horrific things, but we are scientists. We should believe in science and oppose superstition. So put away your excitement. Look, he's not moving." Rhodes came over to check the situation and found that the person frozen into a block of ice was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He had black hair and an Eastern face. In earlier years, this might have caused a sensation, but with the construction of the transcontinental railway, exchanges between East and West have become increasingly close. It is not surprising to see Eastern faces in the Western continent.

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686 Hibernating People

But he really did move just now, I'm not lying to you, Rhodes. If you don't believe me, fine, just go away. Doctor, believe me, he really did move." Tanya didn't bother with Rhodes; in her opinion, as long as Dr. Sarah believed her, that was enough.

"Did it move? Let me see... Hey, what's this young man's clothes..." Dr. Sarah stumbled over and carefully observed the young man with an Eastern face frozen in ice. Suddenly, she said with some surprise.

"Clothes? Doctor, what's wrong with his clothes?" I didn't quite understand what Dr. Sarah meant, so he immediately asked.

"Don't you think his clothes are strange? They're a little too small for his size," Dr. Sarah pointed out the oddity about the Asian man.

“It seems… that’s really the case. Judging from the size of his clothes, they should be worn by a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, but he’s an adult, looking to be in his twenties. He should be wearing clothes that fit him properly. How come his clothes are so small?” Rod frowned. This was indeed very strange.

“Maybe he’s wearing his brother’s clothes? Isn’t it normal for several brothers from poor families to share clothes?” Tanya thought for a moment and offered an explanation.

“Tanya, what you’re saying is indeed a line of thought, but it’s not right.” Dr. Sarah shook her head, denying Tanya’s conjecture.

"Huh? Something's not right, Doctor? What did I do wrong?" Tanya asked curiously.

“Even if brothers are wearing the same clothes, it should be the younger brother wearing the older brother’s clothes, not the other way around. And if you look closely at his clothes, they are all torn to varying degrees. These tears were forced open. So what does that mean?” Dr. Sarah looked at Tanya, then at Rhodes, and asked her two students.

"This means... he left in a hurry, didn't look for clothes carefully, and just put on his brother's clothes and went out?" Tania thought for a moment and said.

"No, it's more likely that he accidentally wore the wrong clothes, and after realizing they were torn, he just wore them anyway?" Rod also offered his speculation.

“Both of you are wrong,” Dr. Sarah shook her head, rejecting the two students’ answers.

"Wait a minute? Doctor, why is that?" Tanya asked curiously.

Rhodes also cast a questioning glance at him; the young man's clothes were really too strange.

"Have you considered this possibility?" Dr. Sarah is a very patient person. After all, at her age and as a scientist, patience is one of the most basic skills.

"What possibility?" Rod asked nervously. He had always been a very proud person, and he considered himself Dr. Sarah's best student, but he couldn't figure out the correct answer in this matter, which made him lose face a little.

"Is it possible that this dress originally fit perfectly, but was later stretched and torn?" Dr. Sarah thought for a moment and said seriously.

"What? It fit perfectly at first, but then it tore? That doesn't make sense. Did he never change it after wearing it? It must be so dirty." Tanya was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook her head, finding it too unbelievable.

“Doctor, I have heard that in some places people only take three baths in their entire lives: once when they are born, once when they get married, and once when they die. But they only wear one set of clothes for their entire lives. I have never heard of such a thing before.” Rhodes frowned. He greatly admired Dr. Sarah’s extensive knowledge, but he still could not agree with this matter.

"What if he fell into the Abyss of Winter after putting on this well-fitting garment, and then his body continued to grow until it burst? Do you think that's possible?" Dr. Sarah wasn't angry that the two students questioned her opinion; on the contrary, she was very pleased. This was because what scientists need most is a spirit of questioning. She needed students who could raise questions to solve problems, not students who were timid and submissive.

"What? Doctor, you mean his body continued to grow after he fell? How is that possible?" Tanya was stunned. This was simply too unbelievable for her; it was beyond her comprehension!

“This kind of thing isn’t without precedent. I remember reading in a book that in some ancient regions, people would process the dead in a certain way and then bury them in a special environment. The body would then continue to grow. To this day, the scientific community has not had a clear explanation for this phenomenon.” Rhodes thought carefully and indeed found a corresponding study in his memory. However, upon closer comparison, he found some differences.

"What if this person didn't die after falling into the Abyss of Winter?" Dr. Sarah offered her new perspective.

“How could he not have died? That’s several years! And how did he survive in such harsh conditions without food or water?” Rhodes found it unbelievable and shook his head.

"Is he hibernating?" Tanya asked, offering her opinion.

“Hibernation only exists among animals, right? He’s clearly a human, how could he hibernate?” Rhodes shook his head, still disagreeing with Tanya’s point of view.

"Doctor, Rhodes, look, his finger moved again!" Tanya exclaimed, pointing to the person frozen in the ice.

"It moved again? How could that be? Tanya, don't scare yourself. Wait, Doctor, I think I've heard of an ancient necromancy that can bring the dead back to life. Could we have run into a necromancer?" While scolding Tanya, a dangerous thought suddenly popped into Rhodes' mind, making him somewhat uneasy.

“Necromantic magic? That is indeed a possibility. I saw a necromancer use necromancy when I was young, but he seemed quite different from this frozen young man.” Dr. Sarah shook her head, unable to reconcile the young man before her with the necromancy she remembered.

"Hey, Doctor, I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should leave. This is really too strange."

Rod was a little nervous, and he started to back out.

"Oh, Doctor, Rhodes, look! The ice is starting to crack!" Tanya exclaimed.

Reading URL:

687 Dissect him

Hearing Tanya say this startled Rhodes. He immediately turned his head and saw that the surface of the ice block that had frozen the young man, who was about twenty years old, had cracked and was widening, making a cracking sound.

"What, what's going on? Is this guy going to come back to life?" Rhodes's face was rather grim. As a scientist, the fact that he was able to follow his teacher, Dr. Sarah, to the Abyss of Winter showed that he was a very courageous person. In fact, he had seen quite a lot of things, including countless dead people, but none of the corpses he had ever seen were as bizarre as this man frozen in ice.

Before his horrified eyes, the cracks in the ice quickly connected into a line, and large chunks of ice shattered, scattering broken pieces on the ground with a cracking sound.

The man who had been frozen in the ice was now freed from its hold and lay peacefully on the ground. His face looked calm, even with a hint of rosiness, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Doctor, look! His heart is beating! You were right, he really isn't dead!" Compared to Rhodes's panic, Tanya was much more excited, and she cheered.

"Oh, is there really such a thing? I never thought we would actually witness such a rare scene! Tanya, quickly help him into the cave. Rhodes, go and start a fire and boil some water." Dr. Sarah pointed to a cave not far away and immediately directed her two students to get busy. The excited expression on her face was exactly the same as Tanya's.

"Doctor, is this really alright? I have a bad feeling about this. It's too weird. Maybe we should leave?" Rhodes swallowed hard and said nervously. In his scientific career so far, he had never encountered such a bizarre scene. A man who had been frozen in the ice for who knows how long suddenly had his heart start beating again. This was beyond incomprehensible; it was clearly bizarre!

"Alright, Rhodes, stop nagging. Are you a coward? How can you be so easily scared? What kind of scientific research are you doing? You might as well go home and cry." Tanya rolled her eyes at Rhodes, making him blush.

"Who are you calling a coward? I was just being cautious. I understand, I understand. It's just about taking him back, right? I don't believe he can come back to life and eat us all." Rhodes and Tanya usually had big disagreements, and now he was being looked down upon by Tanya. How could he stand it? He carried the man who had just been thawed from his frozen state and headed into the cave.

Rhodes had many worries, but that didn't mean he was a coward. In fact, his concerns stemmed more from his worries about the safety of Dr. Sara and Tanya. After all, he could accept it if something happened to them, because he had already been prepared when he decided to come to the Abyss of Winter. He knew that this was one of the most dangerous places, a place beyond the reach of science.

But if anything happened to Dr. Sara and Tanya, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect them. He wasn't good at expressing himself, so even though he had a heart that wanted to protect them, when it came to actually doing it, he would always argue with Tanya.

The cave was where Rhodes, Dr. Sarah, and the other two rested. The cave wasn't spacious, but it was enough to shelter the three of them from the blizzard. Rhodes dug a pit in the ground and put some firewood in it, which he had found nearby. He put a lot of effort into lighting the fire, and then set up a pot on the fire. He shoveled some snow into the pot.

Before long, the snow in the pot had melted, and a pot of water was quickly boiled. Behind Rhodes, Tanya was checking on the condition of the man they had carried back from the wilderness. She could clearly hear the man's breathing and heartbeat, which amazed even someone as knowledgeable as Dr. Sarah.

"This is truly amazing! What incredible resilience! To survive for so many years in the snow and ice of the wilderness is nothing short of a scientific miracle!" Dr. Sarah was extremely excited. Their scientific expedition to the Bridge of Winter had yielded no results after a week, which had left them somewhat disheartened. Just when they were about to return, they suddenly had this unexpected discovery. How could she not be overjoyed?

“Dr. Nassara, shall we perform an autopsy on him before he wakes up?” Tanya suddenly suggested, her face full of excitement.

"What? Dissection? Tanya, are you a devil? You suggested bringing him back just to dissect him?" Rhodes, who was boiling water, almost spat out blood. Tanya's perverse sense of humor really gave him a fright.

"Oh, Rhodes, I was just joking. Why are you so nervous? Or are you afraid I'll dissect you too?" Tanya said with a smile, looking relaxed.

“There’s a limit to joking. How can a girl say such things?” Rhodes glared at him. Tanya’s words had really startled him. Fortunately, after confirming, he found that Tanya was just joking.

"I'm not a girl, I'm a great female scientist who will pioneer a whole new field in the scientific world, understand? Coward Rhodes," Tanya said smugly.

"I've said it a hundred times, I'm not a coward, and I don't know who said they were a lady before," Rhodes muttered under his breath. He never gained the upper hand in any argument with Tanya.

"Can being a lady be eaten? It's definitely cooler to be a great female scientist, right, Doctor?" Tanya ignored Rhodes and asked Dr. Sara beside her.

"To become a great female scientist? Tanya, you really have ambition! Your teacher fully supports you. But this young man... wait, he seems to have moved again. Rhodes, is the water ready? Quickly feed the young man some water." Dr. Sarah said cheerfully. Just then, he noticed that the young man who had just been thawed from his frozen state was reacting again. He instructed Rhodes to quickly force-feed him water.

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688 Eight years later

"But is this really okay? I'm a little worried..." Despite his complaints, Rhodes still helped the frozen young man up and poured hot water into his mouth.

Soon, the latter made a gurgling sound as he drank water, the burning fire crackled and popped, and the red flames illuminated his cheeks. Soon after, a coughing sound came from behind him.

This made Tanya and Dr. Sarah extremely excited, while Rhodes was a little nervous. Even in the cold weather, his palms were covered in cold sweat because the coughing sound came from that guy, who was obviously in the process of waking up.

"Cough cough cough, where is this place? Who are you...?" The young man slowly opened his eyes. He looked around blankly, then at Tanya and Dr. Sara, who were full of expectation, and then at Rhodes, who looked nervous. He was confused and asked in a weak voice.

"Doctor, come quick! This person has really woken up! Look at him, he's alive and well! This is truly amazing! A person who has been frozen for a long time has actually woken up! Can you tell us how you hibernated?" Tanya was very excited and immediately asked the young man.

"Hibernation?" The man, who had just woken up, was still a little weak, and even his syllables were not very clear. He did not understand Tanya's meaning for a moment.

“He can still talk, so he doesn’t seem to be an undead, he’s really a person. Tanya, don’t ask him any more questions, let him rest for a while, we can talk about it later.” Rhodes finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the young man speak. Before this, he had been worried that this man was an undead awakened by necromancy and would bring danger to Dr. Sara and Tanya. He had also prepared a stick with him, ready to give the guy a good whack at any time. But judging from the current situation, this man was indeed alive and not an undead.

Rhodes immediately offered Tanya a word of advice and began adding some vegetables and meat to the pot to start making soup.

“Yes, young man, you should rest first. We can talk later.” As a senior scientist, Dr. Sarah was also very excited to see the person in the ice block attracted, but she remained calm. She gestured for the young man to rest well, as it would be too much of a loss if something went wrong at this crucial moment.

The young man was weak and barely breathing. He leaned against the wall to rest, his eyes fixed on the burning fire in front of him. The warmth emanating from the fire gradually warmed his body, making him feel warmer and no longer cold. Through the blazing firelight, his mind gradually cleared, and scenes from his past experiences surfaced in his mind.

"Alright, eat something now. Do you know your name?" After making the soup, Rod ladled some vegetables and meat into a bowl, handed it to the man, fed him a bite, and asked in a low voice.

"Rhodes, you're so clumsy, let me do it." Tanya excitedly took the bowl and fed the young man several more bites. At first, he had great difficulty swallowing, but he gradually got used to it and soon finished the bowl.

“Young man, you must not have eaten for a long time. Don’t rush, take your time, and don’t overeat.” Dr. Sarah said patiently. In his more than forty years of scientific research, he had seen many strange things, but encountering a person who had been frozen for several years and then woke up again was unprecedented for him.

"Thank you." The young man thanked Dr. Sarah and the others. Soon, Tanya served him another bowl. This time he slowed down and it took him a little longer than the first bowl, but he ate it all up just as quickly.

“Young man, you don’t need to be so polite. Why don’t you rest a little longer? We can talk about it tomorrow.” Dr. Sarah said with a smile. Putting aside the great research value of this young man, Dr. Sarah appreciated his attitude alone.

It is remarkable that a person can maintain basic manners even when they are extremely hungry and weak.

The young man nodded slightly. After eating, he leaned against the wall and sat for a long time, seemingly sorting out his thoughts. What had happened to him made Dr. Sara and Tania curious, while he himself was also completely confused.

The flames continued to crackle and burn, illuminating his profile. Several times his throat moved slightly, but he never made a sound.

“My own appearance…” The young man spread out his hands, looked at his body, and his eyes looked somewhat confused.

"What's wrong with you? Apart from these clothes being a little too small, you look pretty good." Tanya said casually as she added firewood to the fire.

"No, this isn't right, how could it have turned out like this? Am I dreaming?" The young man's brows furrowed, and he kept muttering something under his breath, as if trying to deny a certain fact.

"Wrong? What's wrong? You can tell us what the problem is, and we can discuss and solve it together," Tanya said with a smile. She was a very lively person.

"What year is it now?" the young man suddenly realized and asked abruptly.

"Which year? This year is 1884. What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Tanya asked, tilting her head.

"1884? How could that be? You must be mistaken?" Large beads of cold sweat dripped from the young man's forehead. He looked at Tanya and asked in a trembling voice, his eyes showing a hint of panic and disbelief.

“No, we are scientists, how could we possibly get a basic concept of time wrong? This year is indeed 1884, there’s no mistake.” Tanya said with certainty.

“1884… Did I… sleep for eight years? How is that possible? To have a dream for eight years? There must be some mistake, or am I dreaming right now?” The young man’s lips were a little bluish-purple. He kept shaking his head, trying to deny it all, because this point in time was too bizarre and too unbelievable for him.

"What's wrong? Do you need any help?" Tanya was worried when she saw the young man's condition. After all, she and the young man were the only two people in the cave at this time, as Dr. Sarah and Rhodes had both gone out temporarily.

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689 is half right.

"No, no, how could I have slept for eight years? There must be some mistake. You must be lying to me, right?" The young man seemed to have suffered a great shock. He immediately rushed forward and tackled Tanya to the ground. He grabbed Tanya's neck and said viciously.

"I'm not lying to you, please, please believe me, I really am not lying to you, this year really is 1884. I can understand how you feel right now, but can we calm down and talk carefully?" Tanya was also startled by the young man's sudden reaction. She gasped for breath, her breathing becoming rapid.

"Tanya, we're back... Hey, what are you doing? Let go of Tanya right now, you bastard! We kindly brought you here and gave you food, how could you treat Tanya like this, you bastard!" At this moment, Rhodes walked over from the entrance of the cave, carrying a black knife. He happened to see the young man tackle Tanya to the ground. After a brief moment of shock, he became furious. He immediately swung the black knife in his hand and stabbed at the young man's back. This was his subconscious reaction out of a desire to protect his companion.