The most shameless alchemist in history

"They're charging at us!" Karen, the only woman in the squad, immediately raised her gun, ready to pull the trigger, but Matthew stopped her.

"Wait a minute, this distance won't work. Let it get closer. It's too far away, it can't hit vitals, and it can't create any deterrent effect. Wait a little longer, be patient, wait a little longer, now's the time. Butt, Karen, fire!" Matthew knew very well why the snow wolf hadn't pounced on them immediately.

The reason is that wolves are cunning creatures, and so are magical beasts. When they hunt, they always kill their prey with minimal cost. Matthew lowered Karen's gun and waited until the snow wolf got close. The wolf then accelerated and began to charge towards the roof of the train.

Just as it leaped high into the air, Matthew released his grip, signaling his two subordinates to pull the trigger. With a series of "bangs," the direwolf was hit directly in the abdomen at close range. The wolf howled and fell to the ground, but on the other side, two more direwolves charged at it.

Matthew quickly adjusted his stance, raised his gun, and fired accurately. As he and the other two team members fired, the buttstock and Karen immediately reloaded. The gunshots were exceptionally piercing in the open snowfield, but even more piercing were the howls of the snow wolves. The battle had begun.

"Do you want to open this section of pipe? I understand. Everyone, pull together! One, two, three!" Bai Ye was acting as an assistant. Although he didn't quite understand the principles of mechanics, he still pulled hard on the handle on the pipe under the guidance of the wrench, trying to open it.

With the combined efforts of the three, they finally managed to open the pipe and see what was inside.

"It turns out that the water vapor in the pipes encountered a sudden drop in temperature and condensed into ice, which completely blocked the pipes. Just as I imagined, once we remove these ice blocks, it will be fine." Wrench squinted at the inside of the pipes and immediately figured out the problem.

"Get rid of these ice blocks! These are huge chunks of ice! How can I get rid of them?" Bai Ye was at a loss.

"I'll have to break it with something sharp, damn it. There's too much ice, and it's too hard. It'll be really difficult to break it." Wrench poked the pipe a few times with a knife, but the attempt didn't work well, while the gunshots and howls of the snow wolves continued all around.

"Hey, Wrench, are you done yet? We're almost out of bullets, and the snow wolves are attacking more and more fiercely. If this keeps up, we're all doomed. Are you even capable of handling this?" The butt of the gun was under a lot of pressure, and he urged Wrench loudly, knowing very well that he couldn't hold on for much longer.

"Do you think you're the only one fighting this battle? We're having a tough fight here too. It's really hard to communicate with someone like you who doesn't understand mechanical art." The wrench tried several more times, but only a few bits of ice fell out of the pipe, far from enough to clear the blockage.

“This won’t do. Right, all we need to do is get rid of the ice, right?” Du Lei asked, knowing how serious the situation was.

“That’s right, the pipes can only be cleared again once all the ice is removed,” Wrench confirmed.

“In that case, we can just let it melt on its own. But doing so might corrode the pipes as well. Is that okay?” Du Lei tapped the pipes to check their material.

"Pipe corrosion? What a joke! If even the pipes are corroded, then they're useless. What's the point of unclogging them? Corrosion takes time. How long will it take for it to corrode to the point of leaking air?" Wrench rolled his eyes at Du Lei, thinking he was just making things worse.

“At normal temperatures, it would last about two days, but in this kind of weather, it would probably last a week,” Du Lei thought for a moment and gave his answer.

"A week? That's a long time. Do whatever you can. I'll replace the pipe when the train arrives." Wrench nodded. At this critical moment, there was no time to worry about anything else.

080 Who farted?

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.

"They're charging at us!" Karen, the only woman in the squad, immediately raised her gun, ready to pull the trigger, but Matthew stopped her.

"Wait a minute, this distance won't work. Let it get closer. It's too far away, it can't hit vitals, and it can't create any deterrent effect. Wait a little longer, be patient, wait a little longer, now's the time. Butt, Karen, fire!" Matthew knew very well why the snow wolf hadn't pounced on them immediately.

The reason is that wolves are cunning creatures, and so are magical beasts. When they hunt, they always kill their prey with minimal cost. Matthew lowered Karen's gun and waited until the snow wolf got close. The wolf then accelerated and began to charge towards the roof of the train.

Just as it leaped high into the air, Matthew released his grip, signaling his two subordinates to pull the trigger. With a series of "bangs," the direwolf was hit directly in the abdomen at close range. The wolf howled and fell to the ground, but on the other side, two more direwolves charged at it.

Matthew quickly adjusted his stance, raised his gun, and fired accurately. As he and the other two team members fired, the buttstock and Karen immediately reloaded. The gunshots were exceptionally piercing in the open snowfield, but even more piercing were the howls of the snow wolves. The battle had begun.

"Do you want to open this section of pipe? I understand. Everyone, pull together! One, two, three!" Bai Ye was acting as an assistant. Although he didn't quite understand the principles of mechanics, he still pulled hard on the handle on the pipe under the guidance of the wrench, trying to open it.

With the combined efforts of the three, they finally managed to open the pipe and see what was inside.

"It turns out that the water vapor in the pipes encountered a sudden drop in temperature and condensed into ice, which completely blocked the pipes. Just as I imagined, once we remove these ice blocks, it will be fine." Wrench squinted at the inside of the pipes and immediately figured out the problem.

"Get rid of these ice blocks! These are huge chunks of ice! How can I get rid of them?" Bai Ye was at a loss.

"I'll have to break it with something sharp, damn it. There's too much ice, and it's too hard. It'll be really difficult to break it." Wrench poked the pipe a few times with a knife, but the attempt didn't work well, while the gunshots and howls of the snow wolves continued all around.

"Hey, Wrench, are you done yet? We're almost out of bullets, and the snow wolves are attacking more and more fiercely. If this keeps up, we're all doomed. Are you even capable of handling this?" The butt of the gun was under a lot of pressure, and he urged Wrench loudly, knowing very well that he couldn't hold on for much longer.

"Do you think you're the only one fighting this battle? We're having a tough fight here too. It's really hard to communicate with someone like you who doesn't understand mechanical art." The wrench tried several more times, but only a few bits of ice fell out of the pipe, far from enough to clear the blockage.

“This won’t do. Right, all we need to do is get rid of the ice, right?” Du Lei asked, knowing how serious the situation was.

“That’s right, the pipes can only be cleared again once all the ice is removed,” Wrench confirmed.

“In that case, we can just let it melt on its own. But doing so might corrode the pipes as well. Is that okay?” Du Lei tapped the pipes to check their material.

"Pipe corrosion? What a joke! If even the pipes are corroded, then they're useless. What's the point of unclogging them? Corrosion takes time. How long will it take for it to corrode to the point of leaking air?" Wrench rolled his eyes at Du Lei, thinking he was just making things worse.

“At normal temperatures, it would last about two days, but in this kind of weather, it would probably last a week,” Du Lei thought for a moment and gave his answer.

"A week? That's a long time. Do whatever you can. I'll replace the pipe when the train arrives." Wrench nodded. At this critical moment, there was no time to worry about anything else.

081 Are you going to cause trouble?

When Dure and his group finally cleared the pipes and returned to the carriage, several people were injured. Even Karen, who was uninjured, was covered in the blood of the snow wolves, which looked shocking and horrifying. Before they entered the carriage, it was already in a state of chaos.

Passengers were already dissatisfied with the train's inaction. Coupled with the increasingly low temperatures, the lack of medicine, water, food, warmth, and even the pitch-black environment with minimal light, many people were extremely depressed and had long reached a breaking point, on the verge of exploding.

"Are you guys treating us like livestock? We're human beings! Didn't you hear the child crying? I don't want to die in despair like this. We have to do something! Where's the train conductor? Get him out here!" Angry passengers began to band together and cause trouble.

"There's a malfunction in the heating system right now, but it will be back to normal soon. We're doing our best to fix it. Please stay calm and be patient. We'll definitely get through this." The young flight attendant reassured the passengers, her voice almost hoarse.

"I think you're deliberately trying to freeze us to death because of the malfunction. You guys are hiding in front, eating and drinking well, while we're left here freezing and starving. Is that fair? We want food, we want heating, we want to see the train conductor. Don't try to stop us!" The passengers were agitated.

Many adult men started pushing and shoving. With most of the train police officers following Matthew to escort the wrench, the few men, along with the flight attendants, were simply unable to control the passengers' emotions. A young female flight attendant was even pushed to the ground, suffering a head injury and bleeding.

"Stop it, all of you!" A furious roar erupted as the passengers were about to storm the carriage and the situation was about to spiral out of control.

"Finally, someone in charge has appeared. Turns out, it's just a little brat. What, are you one of those guys' lackeys too?" The passenger who led the disturbance was a grown man in his thirties. He was strong and muscular, with a slightly overweight build. He spoke with a strong and provocative tone.

"When faced with difficulties, what we should do is work together to overcome them, not cause trouble and create problems for everyone. Do you think that doing this will solve the problem and help everyone get through it?" Du Lei was a whole size younger than the other person.

Despite being at a disadvantage in both height and build, he still strode forward. The congested passengers made way for him, bringing Du Lei and the man to within a meter of each other. The latter looked down at Du Lei and provocatively bumped him with his shoulder.

"Oh ho, a little brat trying to lecture me? Who do you think you are? Do you think you can spout nonsense with just a few words? What's the point? You're really arrogant. Hmm, that smell of blood..." The man scoffed at Du Lei.

Due to the limited light, he couldn't see Dure's appearance clearly at first, until Dure got closer and he smelled the blood on him.

"I've said more than just a few words. While you were causing trouble and making a scene here, I was out there fighting snow wolves and barely escaping death to get back here. I didn't come here to watch an idiot throw a tantrum!" Du Lei pulled out a dagger and stabbed forward fiercely.

"Are you crazy?!" the middle-aged man exclaimed in shock. The tall man collapsed to the ground. Du Lei's knife had pierced the wall behind him, and it was clear that the blade had deviated slightly, leaving a mark on the wall with the sharp tip.

The troublemaker glanced back; if the blade hadn't gone astray, that blow would have pierced his throat, sending a chill down his spine.

"You want to cause trouble? Come on then. Even a brat like me is risking my life for an idiot like you. I'm only warning you this time. If you cause trouble again, I'll kill you like I would a snow wolf." Du Lei revealed his ferocious expression at close range.

This made the man, who had been so imposing just moments before, freeze in place. The passengers, who had been incited by him, fell silent. Several people had tried to step forward to help him, but after seeing Du Lei's eyes, they looked at each other and dared not be the first to step forward.

Bai Ye was startled when she saw Du Lei like this, and for a moment she didn't know what to do.

"Heating will be restored soon, and hot water and food will be delivered soon. Please wait patiently, understand?" Du Lei glanced around the carriage and raised his voice. The passengers dared not meet his gaze and stepped aside, making the surroundings extremely quiet.

"Understood." The man, who was being forced to reveal his identity by Du Lei with a dagger, answered tremblingly. His forehead was covered in sweat. He was already considered a pretty tough guy, but he never expected to encounter someone so young yet even more ruthless than him. He was afraid of provoking this guy and actually chopping him up.

"Good, Wrench, go start the heating system." Du Lei nodded, then put away his dagger. Wrench walked towards the power room ahead, while the others stayed behind to maintain order. Du Lei, Bai Ye, and Matthew entered the power room together.

"Du Lei, what were you doing just now?" Bai Ye asked quietly after they left the carriage. Du Lei had looked too fierce just now, completely different from the Du Lei he remembered. In his mind, Du Lei should be a kind and reasonable person.

“You think my approach just now was a bit too extreme, even a little inhumane, right?” Du Lei said what Bai Ye hadn’t said aloud.

“Actually, if you reason with them, they should listen.” Bai Ye nodded. He was a gentle man and did not advocate violence.

"For us now, time is the most precious thing. Every second that passes brings those innocent children one step closer to death. Reasoning with an angry mob is a waste of time, and it means compromise, which will only embolden them."

Du Lei shook his head. Although he and Bai Ye got along very well, they had a fundamental disagreement on this issue.

"All they want is warmth, safety, and food. It is with this purpose that they are exploited by despicable people. Just give them what they want, and they will naturally be grateful. Reasoning is necessary sometimes, but sometimes it is really superfluous."

082 Entrusted with an important task

Bai Ye did not agree with Du Lei's ideas and practices, but the originally restless crowd did indeed calm down. Everyone's spirits were very tense, and the only faint sound in the quiet carriage was the crying of a child. Time passed by second by second, which was undoubtedly a kind of torment for everyone.

Because they were unsure whether Du Lei could deliver on his promises, the man who had just been threatened by Du Lei, though somewhat resentful, swallowed all his dissatisfaction when he remembered his brush with death. After all, living with hope was much better than dying outright.

"Hey, look over there! There's a warm breeze coming over! The temperature inside the carriage is rising. That kid wasn't lying to us. The heating system is on! It feels like we've come back to life!" One of the passengers suddenly noticed a warm breeze coming over and shouted excitedly. They had been waiting for the heating for far too long.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. The hot water is here, and the food will be here shortly. Please be patient and come one by one." At this moment, a young female flight attendant pushed a cart over with metal buckets filled with hot water. She invited the passengers to come and drink the hot water.

"Finally here! I'm so thirsty! Make way for me, let me have a drink first, hurry up and give me a bowl." The man who had just caused trouble was overjoyed to see the hot water being served. He rushed over, pushed aside the passengers in line, grabbed a bowl, and prepared to get himself a bowl of hot water first.

"Hey, Buta, how can you cut in line? Can't you follow the rules? You're not the only one who needs hot water." Someone nearby couldn't stand it anymore and stood up to criticize the man. Many people around also cast dissatisfied glances at him.

"Hey, follow the rules! Which eye of yours saw me not following the rules? Hey Rune, you're quite the busybody, aren't you?" The man named Buta turned around and menacingly threatened the man who was trying to stop him. Taking advantage of his size, he looked down at the man and didn't take him seriously at all.

"Buta, you used to say you were our brother, and that we should stand up for the women and children. Now that the heating is back on and there's hot water, why don't you give the women and children water first, instead of taking it from them? Isn't that going too far?"

The man named Rune was also in his thirties, about the same age as Buta, but he was very thin and half a head shorter than Buta. His physique was not even half that of Buta. But even so, he argued his case and was not intimidated by Buta's threats.

"Rune, do I need your permission to do what I want? You're so ungrateful!" Buta grabbed Rune by the collar. With his strength, he could easily do this. Grabbing Rune was like grabbing a chick, and the latter quickly lifted his feet off the ground.

"What's going on here? It's so noisy." Just then, Du Lei walked over from the power room, carrying an iron bucket filled with hot water. After the heating equipment was restored, the power room was able to heat water, which was a considerable amount to supply several hundred people.

"Well, this is how it is. This guy is causing trouble here, and I'm trying to stop him. Is that right?" Buta saw Dure approaching. Normally, he wouldn't have taken this brat seriously and would have just grabbed him and given him a good beating.

But he had just suffered a loss at Dure's hands not long ago and knew that this kid was not someone to be trifled with. He immediately let go of Rune's hand and started spouting nonsense. At the same time, he gave Rune and the people around him fierce looks. The meaning of those looks was self-evident, threatening them not to talk nonsense.

"Oh, so you're actually doing good deeds, is that right?" Du Lei put the hot water down and asked again.

"This..." Rune hesitated for a moment when faced with Durei's gaze, and the people around him also avoided Durei's eyes.

“Hey Rune, you have to tell the truth, or people will think I’m bullying you, right?” Buta threatened smugly.

"It was just a small misunderstanding, nothing serious." Rune clenched his fists, looking very unwilling, but still whispered words against his conscience, because he knew very well that even if he told Durebuta what he had done, Buta would take revenge on him as soon as he left.

"You see, it's just a misunderstanding. I was just trying to help maintain order." Buta became even more smug when he saw Rune give in.

"Is it really just a misunderstanding, or are you afraid of retaliation from certain people? And has no one raised any objections?" Du Lei asked again, this time raising his voice. Some people around him looked up at him, but quickly lowered their heads again.

"Retaliation? What are you talking about? Hahaha, you can leave this place to me. I'll make sure it's perfectly managed." Buta was in high spirits. He patted his chest and made his promise, while giving Dure a disdainful look. As long as no one stood up to criticize him, Dure couldn't do anything to him.