The most shameless alchemist in history

"He has already left with Wrench and those two teenagers and their men," the injured train police officer answered truthfully.

076 Kill your comrade

Du Lei and his team acted swiftly and decisively. He was well aware of the urgency of the situation because he had personally witnessed the weak children coughing incessantly in the train carriage, their temperatures dropping lower and lower. If this continued, not only the children, but even strong adults would succumb to the low temperatures and suffer.

In this situation, he had no patience to wait for Buzz and Hank to reach a conclusion. Matthew and the others, who were also young, agreed with this. They walked through the four passenger carriages and continued forward. The next six carriages were empty.

But when they arrived at the last carriage, which was also the carriage containing the pipes that needed to be cleared to their destination, they suddenly saw a shadow moving in front of them. Bai Ye quickly raised his windproof kerosene lamp, trying to see what was in front of him, but the light was too dim.

"Du Lei, could it be that something went wrong while we were transferring the passengers, and someone is still inside the carriage and hasn't had a chance to leave? If that's the case, then it's really bad, we have to go and rescue him." Bai Ye couldn't see very clearly, only the outline of a person swaying in the carriage in front of him.

“No, when transferring passengers, I had the flight attendants check the list one by one. All the passengers should have been transferred. There couldn’t possibly be anyone else. Be careful.” Du Lei shook his head, denying Bai Ye’s guess. He was certain that the swaying figure in front of him could not be a passenger.

“But Du Lei, look, that’s clearly a human shadow. There’s no way we could be mistaken. Maybe there was an oversight on the list. Anyway, we have to go there. We can take this opportunity to save him.” Bai Ye carefully examined the shadow with a kerosene lamp and confirmed that it was indeed a person.

“I have a feeling things aren’t that simple, so it’s best to be cautious. Here’s what we’ll do: Wrench and I will open the partition door between the carriages. Mr. Matthew, please be prepared in the back so we can have backup in case of any emergencies.” After a moment’s thought, Dure made a decisive decision.

"Understood. Open the door. If anything strange tries to attack us, I'll riddle it with bullets. Load all your ammunition and get ready." Matthew waved his hand, and at his command, all six police officers raised their gunpowder guns and aimed forward.

"I already told you I'm a technician, why do I have to do this kind of manual labor? I've found a job that's not worth it at all. I have to do several jobs. Oh well, kid, are you ready? One, two, three, open!" The wrench had a lot of complaints about this job.

In fact, compared to other people's panic, he was more concerned about the content and intensity of the work. But despite his complaints, he was very efficient when it came to getting things done. After counting to three, he and Du Lei worked together to open the tightly closed partition door, and Bai Ye carried the lamp.

The moment the carriage door opened, a howling gust of wind rushed in, startling Du Lei and the others. The cold wind jolted them awake, making them incredibly clear-headed. Almost simultaneously, something lunged at them.

"It really is people, and there are two of them. Hey, are you alright? You must be freezing. Don't be afraid, we're here to help you." By the light of the kerosene lamp, Bai Ye could see that two people were rushing towards him from the other side of the carriage.

Bai Ye assumed they were just cold and stiff from the wind and the freezing weather, so it was understandable that they couldn't walk. He took two steps forward to help them up, but Matthew behind him suddenly changed his expression.

"White Night, get out of the way! They're not passengers. Shoot!" Matthew gave the order decisively and quickly aimed his gun.

“But Matthew,” a young woman behind Matthew hesitated, looking at him with a puzzled expression that hinted at something.

"No buts, fire, or it will be very dangerous." Matthew did not hesitate and immediately pulled the trigger, gunpowder spraying from the muzzle.

With a "bang," six more gunshots rang out in succession. This type of gun can only fire one bullet at a time, and after firing, it needs to be reloaded. Including Matthew, there were a total of seven shots, and the number of train police officers was exactly seven. The seven shots hit the two people who rushed towards Bai Ye.

The impact of the bullets knocked both of them backward to the ground. Bai Ye, still in shock, dropped his kerosene lamp and didn't recover.

"How did you kill them?" Bai Ye stood there, somewhat at a loss. He clearly saw that it was two people rushing towards him, not some kind of monster, but Matthew still decisively fired his gun. This made Bai Ye feel like a murderer for a moment.

"Bai Ye, you're wrong. We didn't kill them. Take a closer look." Du Lei picked up the windproof kerosene lamp that had fallen to the ground. At this moment, he took the lead and walked to the front of the carriage. He pulled back and then pulled Wrench, Matthew, and the others over one by one. The wind was howling.

“Wrong, but they are clearly all dead.” Bai Ye didn’t understand why Du Lei would say that. After he walked over, he saw two cold corpses on the ground and felt very uncomfortable. But he quickly realized that something was wrong, so his voice stopped.

“You see, they weren’t killed, because they were already dead before this. If I’m not mistaken, they weren’t passengers, but the two train police officers who were attacked and killed after the train stopped due to a malfunction. They were your companions.” Dure turned to look at Matthew.

“Yes, the two of them are named Kve and Seger. They are our companions. During the day, we were discussing having a good drink after we arrived at our destination, but we didn’t expect this to happen.” Matthew took off his hat, lowered his head, and his whole body was trembling. He was in great distress.

After all, his companion had already discovered the identities of the two men, but in order to protect Bai Ye's safety, he still raised his gun immediately and ordered it to be fired. This made him feel as if he had killed his companion, and he was suffering from inner torment.

“The dead cannot be brought back to life, please accept my condolences. It’s strange that someone who died in the snow can get up again, just like in the North Mountain. This kind of thing keeps happening.” After comforting Matthew, Du Lei noticed something suspicious and frowned as he pondered.

"Du Lei, what's wrong?" Bai Ye noticed his unusual expression and immediately asked.

"It's nothing, let's finish this mission first. Be careful, we have new friends." Du Lei shook his head. He knew this wasn't the time to dwell on things like the dead rising from the dead. He immediately pointed ahead; snow wolves were pouncing on them.

077 Captain Matthew

Du Lei was the first of the ten people present to react. Before Matthew and the others could even react, he had already pulled Bai Ye, who was standing at the front, back. At the same time, he pulled out a dagger hidden in his boot to parry the snow wolf's attack.

Du Lei was quite skilled at dealing with ordinary wild beasts, but when the target became a magical beast like a snow wolf, even a low-level one, it was beyond his current capabilities. Although he managed to block the snow wolf's bites with his dagger and avoid the first wave of fatal damage.

However, the snow wolf's claws mercilessly slashed across his arm, and blood splattered instantly. The entire process lasted less than two seconds. The snow wolf was too fast and too ferocious. Everyone was still in shock and did not fight back immediately.

"What? Where did this snow wolf come from? Hey buddy, get down! What? No bullets? Damn it, we forgot to reload!" One of the train police officers, nicknamed "Gunstock," yelled. He raised his flintlock pistol at the snow wolf, ready to pull the trigger.

But at this point, he realized that the bullet he had just fired had been used to attack his dead comrade, and he hadn't had time to reload. This caused him to miss his target. Seeing that Dure was in a bad situation and might have his throat torn apart by the Snow Wolf's next attack, someone else struck first.

"Don't think we're helpless without a gun. In military school, we don't just have one class on firearms." Matthew quickly emerged from behind the rifle butt. Although he was not as strong as the rifle butt, he was agile and had already dropped the rifle in his hand.

Because it takes time to reload a gunpowder gun, and Dure didn't have enough time to wait for the slow reloading, he pulled out a military knife. He leaned forward, avoiding the snow wolf's claws, and plunged the knife into the wolf's abdomen.

"Awooo!" The snow wolf suffered a heavy blow and let out a miserable howl. Taking advantage of the moment when it was injured, Matthew pulled Dure back sharply.

With his tug, he pulled Dure back to a safe area. Karen, the only young woman among the train police officers, immediately took out gauze to bandage Dure's arm. Dure's arm was covered in blood from the snow wolf's claws, and the blood gushed out and splattered all over the ground, making for a very bloody scene.

The snow wolf was unwilling to let its prey escape. It endured the pain and went forward again, swinging its sharp claws to pounce on Matthew's back, intending to kill him completely. However, after Matthew pulled and pushed Dure, his body fell to the ground, causing the snow wolf to miss its target once again.

In the instant he fell and lost his balance, he swiftly pulled a dagger from his waist and threw it at the snow wolf, accurately piercing its throat. This caused the already severely injured snow wolf to howl in agony. Realizing that something was wrong, it immediately turned its head and tried to escape.

"Now! We can't let it get away! Fire!" Matthew landed on the ground and shouted at the snow wolf, ordering his companions. In this seven-man squad, he played the role of the leader, even though he was neither the oldest nor the strongest.

However, he remained calm in the face of adversity and was always able to give the right instructions at crucial moments, which earned him the respect and care of Buzz.

"Understood. You didn't have any bullets to run rampant before, but it won't be so easy now. If you're a monster, you should stay in the depths of the snowfield. Since you've come to trespass on human territory, you should be prepared to be killed. Die!" The butt of the gun was reloaded in that short time.

He and the others raised their guns and pulled the triggers at the snow wolf. "Bang!" "Bang!" The gunshots rang out one after another, accompanied by the snow wolf's miserable howl. Soon it collapsed to the ground, powerless, and a smell of blood filled the air. It lay there, dead.

"Captain Matthew, are you alright?" The gun butt slung his gunpowder gun over his back, stepped forward, helped Matthew up, and asked how he was doing.

"It's alright, how could such a low-level magical beast hurt me? You're underestimating me too much. On the contrary, how is Brother Du Lei and Karen?" Matthew shook his head, indicating that he was fine. To prove his point, he even grinned.

He asked Karen, who was playing the role of a medic, about how she was bandaging Dure. As he spoke, he walked over to the snow wolf's corpse and pulled out the dagger he had thrown earlier, as well as the military knife stuck in its abdomen. These items could still be reused.

“It’s nothing serious. Snow wolves’ claws aren’t poisonous. If it were a poisonous one, it would be troublesome. But we’re short on medicine right now, so recovery might be possible,” Karen said expressionlessly. When she bandaged Dure, her technique was anything but gentle, making the latter grimace.

"I have my own medicine and stuff. And this lady, I don't think I have any deep-seated hatred for you. You can't treat me like this just because I looked at you a couple of times. I might have been killed by the snow wolf, but you could have made me suffer to death." Du Lei took out a small bottle from his pocket.

The bottle contained some red powder. He poured a tiny bit onto his wound, and soon a hissing white smoke rose from it. The pain made his forehead covered in cold sweat. Karen was surprised to see this; she could tell that the medicine was starting to work.

"Hahaha, I can still hear you jumping around, which means you're alright. That's great! Karen is just that tomboyish type, so don't mind her. Expecting her to be gentle is like hoping the sun rises in the west." Gunstock chuckled.

He was a very optimistic person. Even when the train was in such a predicament, he always joked with his companions and got along quite well with Dure.

"Du Lei, I'm so sorry. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been injured. Are you really alright?" Bai Ye was still in shock. It wasn't until the Snow Wolf fell to the ground that he realized that if Du Lei hadn't pulled him back in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"This injury is nothing. It's just one snow wolf that made me look so disheveled. There are still dozens of snow wolves outside. This is really bad. I've only been away from Hot Spring Village for two days and I've already been given a vivid lesson." Du Lei looked at his injured arm with some resentment.

The world outside the hot spring village seems to be far more dangerous and turbulent than he imagined.

078 My main job

In less than three minutes, Du Lei and his group were attacked twice in succession, and he himself was injured in one of them. Although there was a reason for this to save Bai Ye, Du Lei was still very annoyed by his carelessness, because he could have avoided it.

Matthew originally wanted Karen to take Durley back to rest, as he had injured his arm and might have difficulty moving around. However, Durley refused Matthew's suggestion, because it was his idea to take a wrench to unclog the pipes in the first place, and it wouldn't make sense for him, the one who made the suggestion, to run away first.

"Since you're alright, Brother Du Lei, let's continue. But it's really strange how the snow wolves managed to infiltrate the carriages. It shouldn't be like this. If they managed to get inside, then aren't the first few carriages no longer safe?"

Gunstock was a decisive man. He didn't insist on sending Dure away and agreed to let Dure stay and continue on his way. But at the same time, he raised a question that everyone was worried about. This question was very important and concerned the safety of hundreds of people on the train.

“Look over there, this must have been caused by those two dead people. They were unaffected by mithril, so they were able to open that access hatch. Then the snow wolves went through the access hatch and caused damage. The access hatch, which was originally only big enough for one person to pass through, can now be used by smaller snow wolves.”

Dure walked at the front, pointing to an inspection port above them. A howling wind rushed in from there, turning their faces blue and purple from the cold. Matthew and the others gathered around to check, and sure enough, they saw that the inspection port had been torn open.

"I see. If they opened the access hatches to let the snow wolves sabotage it, then it's not surprising. Just to be safe, Blue, go back and check if there are any problems on the carriage side, and also check the access hatches of each carriage. We absolutely cannot allow any accidents to happen."

Matthew nodded, agreeing with Dure's statement. At the same time, he ordered one of his team members to turn around and check, because they hadn't noticed the critical problem of the maintenance hatch on their way here, since everyone thought that given the size of the snow wolf, it was impossible for it to come in through the maintenance hatch.

However, they overlooked the fact that once someone opens the access hatch, the snow wolf can tear a hole through sabotage.

"Understood, I'll go right now." The young team member named Bru quickly turned back to the front carriage, understanding the heavy responsibility he bore.

"Wrench, the pipe we need to unclog, could it be above this inspection port?" After Blue left, Dure asked, pointing to the inspection port. They came here to unclog the pipe, and now they had reached the last carriage, with no other way to go.

"If not here, where else could it be? Can you find anywhere else? Now that you've taken care of the snow wolves, let's get back to work. I'm telling you now, you absolutely must protect my safety. I don't want to become food for these snow wolves; it's disgusting."

Wrench nodded. He knew the train's structure like the back of his hand and knew that this was the only way to clear the blocked pipes.

"Understood. Matthew, Gunstock, you two go up first. This access hatch must have been recently damaged. The surrounding snow wolves haven't noticed it yet, so the commotion is still small. If we had arrived any later, there probably wouldn't have been just one snow wolf, but a whole pack."

Dure signaled Matthew and Gunstock to take the first step. They were the two most skilled players in the squad. The inspection port, which originally only allowed one person to pass through, could now be widened to allow two people to pass through after being torn apart by the Snow Wolf. After exchanging glances, Matthew and Gunstock got to work.

“No problem, there are no snow wolves nearby for the time being, it’s safe, you can come up.” After Matthew climbed onto the roof using the access hatch, he gave a “safe” gesture, while the gun butt, already loaded with ammunition, gripped the powder gun tightly behind Matthew, looking somewhat uneasy.

"Understood. Hurry up and get up there. We don't have much time left. We must complete the mission in the shortest possible time. Wrench, and White Night, come up here." After watching his teammates climb up one by one, Du Lei took Matthew's hand and climbed up as well, reaching out to pull them up at the same time.

In the end, only Ban Shou and Bai Ye remained in the carriage. Originally, Du Lei didn't want Bai Ye to go up again because Bai Ye had almost been caught off guard and his vigilance was too poor. However, seeing the self-reproach in Bai Ye's eyes, Du Lei knew that he really wanted to do something to make up for it.

After some deliberation, he decided to bring Bai Ye along. After Bai Ye took his hand and landed steadily on the roof of the carriage, she finally smiled.

"It's so cold, Durei. The night is terrifyingly cold. My God, there are so many snow wolves and snow creatures all around. The whole train is surrounded. It's really scary." Bai Ye was the last to climb onto the roof. By this time, Matthew and the others had already raised their guns and were cautiously guarding their surroundings.

The blizzard continued, with fierce blizzards sweeping down, piling up a thick layer of white snow. At first glance, it truly appeared to be a silver-clad, icy world. However, upon closer inspection, one could see a large number of wolves, seemingly ready to pounce, completely surrounding the enormous train.

"Keep your voice down. They're also taking shelter from the blizzard and resting right now. If we attract their attention, the consequences could be severe. Let's carefully go to the pipe over there, and once the wrench has fixed the pipe, we'll retreat immediately. Don't waste a second."

Du Lei reminded Bai Ye of something, offering his opinion that this was the most efficient and direct approach given the current situation.

“That’s what I think too, Wrench. Come with us. We’ll protect your safety. The lives of hundreds of people on this bus are in your hands.” Matthew nodded, agreeing with Durei’s opinion. He repeatedly reminded Wrench that, in the end, the latter was the key.

"What? It's just pipe repair. Why make it sound so serious and add a whole bunch of nonsense? This is just my job. You all just need to do your jobs. Escort me across. The wind is really strong. You all need to hold on tight, or you'll fall and be in big trouble."

Wrench gestured to Matthew not to overanalyze the operation. In his view, it was no different from his usual maintenance work. Even so, he reminded Matthew and the others that the snowstorm was too strong and they should not fall off the roof of the train, because falling would inevitably wake up the nearby snow wolves.

The consequences of attracting the snow wolves are something they cannot afford to bear.

079 Respect for Technology

To avoid attracting the attention of the snow wolves, Du Lei signaled Bai Ye to turn off the kerosene lamp. The group carefully braved the wind and snow to reach the pipe that needed to be cleared. The pipe was only a few meters away from the hole they had climbed up, as this was the last carriage, and the wind was fierce on the snowfield.

Matthew and the others, holding gunpowder guns, stood guard on either side of the wrench. The latter shivered; such fierce wind and snow would be unbearable for anyone. He squatted down and began to inspect the pipes. Dure and Baiye, being small, stood beside him to help. In the dim light, it was difficult to see clearly.

"Hey, Wrench, are you still not done? I have a bad feeling about the surroundings. I think those snow wolves have spotted us." Gunstock swallowed hard. He was the biggest guy in the group. His eyes scanned the surroundings. Snow wolves were slowly moving around nearby.

"Isn't what you're saying obvious? The noise from that gunshot was so loud that anyone who isn't deaf could hear it. Besides, snow wolves have excellent vision and a keen sense of smell at night. The reason they didn't act was simply because they were looking for the best opportunity to attack," Wrench said without turning his head.

"What? We're being watched? No wonder I have this creepy feeling. How long are you going to keep going? We're doomed if this keeps up." The gun butt lowered his voice, somewhat panicked. It wasn't that he was cowardly, but rather that fear was amplified in the freezing cold.

"Stop rushing me. If you keep rushing me, do it yourself. What technicians hate most is being pressured by laymen. Can't you have any respect for technology?" Wrench retorted directly, showing no awareness of being surrounded by wolves. His slow pace was enough to drive anyone crazy.

“I really want to throw you down here to feed the wolves and see if they respect you.” The gun butt turned around and glanced back. The light was very dim, and even with his excellent eyesight, he could only see the gloved hand of the wrench using a tool to unscrew the screw on the pipe. His movements were precise and unambiguous.

"Alright, buttstock, instead of arguing, you should keep your eyes on the front. This time we're facing a huge pack of snow wolves. Reloading takes at least two seconds. The six of us need to work together seamlessly to avoid their attacks and not give them any openings, understand?"

Matthew felt the bullets in his pocket. He had brought eight bullets with him in total. He had fired a shot earlier, and one bullet was loaded into his rifle. He still had six bullets in his pocket. The others had the same number, for a total of forty-two bullets. However, there were far more than forty-two snow wolves around them.

Moreover, even with a fatal shot, it would take at least four shots to kill one of these snowfield beasts, putting them under immense pressure. At this moment, Matthew noticed that the snowfield wolves were slowly moving closer, forming a semi-circular encirclement that was constantly shrinking.

"I know this even without you telling me, Captain. Don't worry, if these beasts dare to come any closer, I'll send them to hell." Despite his complaints, he was absolutely ruthless when it came to fighting. Although the temperature around him plummeted, his palms were still clenched with cold sweat.