The most shameless alchemist in history

"You're so enthusiastic, it seems I really need to entrust you with an important task." Dure nodded in agreement, and Rune's mouth moved as if he wanted to say something.

"Of course, of course, I, Buta, am known for my helpfulness. You can rest assured that this carriage will be handled by me without any problems." Buta was beaming with pride. Although Dure was also a passenger in the carriage, his previous experience with Matthew and the others had given him a certain degree of authority.

"Since you're so enthusiastic, why don't you go to the boiler room? Just ask for directions there. They need manpower there, and you'll definitely be a great help. Thank you for your trouble." Du Lei pointed to the location of the boiler room behind him, indeed entrusting Buta with an "important task."

“What boiler room? But this carriage also needs someone to manage it.” Buta was taken aback. He had originally thought that Dure would let him manage this carriage, which had almost made him overjoyed, but at this moment, the topic changed to the boiler room.

"What, do you have a problem with that?" Du Lei asked back.

"No objection, boiler room it is, I'll go right now." Buta originally wanted to raise objections, but seeing Durei's eyes, he consciously took a step back and quickly waved his hand. Although he was a hundred times unwilling, he could only walk quickly towards the boiler room.

"Your name is Rune, right?" Dure asked as he approached the man who had just been pulled up by Buta.

"Yes, yes," Rune replied softly, bowing his head.

"Since you've chosen to resist, you should resist to the end. Why compromise halfway through?" Du Lei asked.

Rune hesitated, unsure how to answer.

“I know you’re worried that Buta might harm others. I’ll put this carriage in your care. Food and medicine will be delivered soon, with priority given to women and children. I hope you can protect them.” Dure didn’t press further, handing over the rights Buta wanted to Rune.

“I understand. I’m sure I can do it,” Rune nodded emphatically.

083 Alchemy Recipe

Although Dure was just a passenger on the train and no different from the others in terms of status, his outstanding performance in assisting Wrench and Matthew had earned them their trust, which gave him considerable influence on the train.

His attitude in dealing with the passengers' emotions was a bit too harsh and intense. Several times, Karen wanted to step forward to stop him, but Matthew stopped her each time. In fact, after Dure returned to the power control room, the carriage quickly returned to calm, and hot water was continuously delivered to it.

"You did a good job, buddy. I was wondering how to get those guys to behave. I'm not good at dealing with these kinds of problems, but you solved it in no time. Hey, by the way, is your arm alright? You just got scratched by a snow wolf."

When Gunstock saw Dure, he punched him on the shoulder, which was a perfectly normal way for men to greet each other. But Dure bent over and let out a muffled groan. Only then did Gunstock remember that Dure had been injured and had only been given a simple bandage by Karen.

"It's nothing serious. Snow wolves are fierce, but they don't have venom, so it's just a superficial wound that will heal quickly." Du Lei shook his head. When he was still on the snowy mountain, he had fought many wild beasts, so this injury was really nothing to him.

"What did you put on your wound before? It stopped bleeding in such a short time. It's much more effective than the healing medicine in my first-aid kit. Can I take a look?" Karen, who is both a train police officer and a doctor, had been staring at Dure's wound since the beginning.

Although Dureh attributed the rapid healing of the wound to her, she was well aware that she had only done a simple bandage. The real key to the healing was the red medicine that Dureh had applied to the wound. As a doctor, she was very curious about medicine, much like she was about a wrench.

"You mean these? These are powders I scraped off from the blood-clotting stone, mixed with crushed moonflower and soul-stirring flower, and then dried." Dure took out the small bottle he had used before from his pocket again and handed it to Karen, not hiding the potion's formula.

“I know about Moonlight Grass, but I’ve never heard of Blood Clotting Stone or Soul-Sealing Flower. Hey, judging from your appearance, you don’t seem like a medical school graduate.” Karen took the medicine bottle, examined it carefully, then opened the stopper and sniffed it gently. It emitted a pungent odor.

“Bloodstone is a rare blood-red mineral that can heal wounds. As for the Ecstasy Flower, it can numb the nerves to some extent and can also create hallucinations. In the areas surrounding the Ecstasy Flower, there are often cases of people experiencing hallucinations after accidentally ingesting it,” Matthew told Duree.

"Hey Matthew, even Karen, a proper doctor, doesn't know this, so how do you know it?" Blue asked curiously.

“I had a childhood friend who was obsessed with alchemy, so I heard him talk about it. He said that these things belong to the field of alchemy, not medicine, so it’s not surprising that Karen doesn’t know about them,” Matthew explained with a smile.

"Is alchemy the kind of technology that can create all sorts of magical items? I've heard that alchemists who master alchemy are people at the top of the power pyramid. I really envy them." Gunstock was also very interested in this. He had heard many legends about alchemy.

"Tch, it's nothing but pseudoscience. Don't compare such outdated things with modern medicine. Hey, you're using this unreliable stuff to treat your wounds? Aren't you afraid the wounds will fester or cause toxic side effects?" Karen scoffed at alchemy.

“Strictly speaking, modern medicine originated from alchemy. Medicine and modern science are both branches of alchemy. Karen, isn’t it unfair of you to have such a big prejudice against alchemy?” Matthew reminded Karen.

“Times are changing, pseudoscience is pseudoscience, and besides creating one deadly weapon after another, what contribution has alchemy made to our world? To compare it with medicine that saves lives is an insult to medicine,” Karen retorted.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. How did a perfectly good topic turn into this? Speaking of which, using an alchemist's recipe to make healing medicine... Du Lei, you're so young, are you an alchemist?" Bai Ye tried to persuade them to stop arguing.

While trying to persuade him, he looked at Dure with curiosity. Before the train even stopped, he had talked with Dure for a long time, covering a wide range of topics, but none of them included alchemy. Now, Dure's actions made him even more curious.

“I grew up in the snow-capped mountains, and this is the first time I’ve ever left them to travel far from home. Although I’ve heard mercenaries talk about alchemy before, I actually know absolutely nothing about alchemy or alchemists.” Du Lei shook his head slightly, denying this.

“Sigh, you don’t understand. These things are commonly used by alchemists, especially the recipes. Alchemists need to experiment again and again to get them. Dure, you’re not trying to say that you came up with them by chance, are you?” Matthew was surprised by his answer.

"Of course it wasn't by chance, I saw it in a book." Du Lei waved his hand, the image of a man appearing in his mind, and he also remembered the man's instructions: never tell anyone about his existence, it was an agreement between him and that man.

"The healing medicine in the book has such miraculous effects; it must be an extraordinary, high-level formula. Ordinary books wouldn't record these things. Hey, Dure, you just told us something incredible. You just revealed a high-level healing medicine formula to us like that?"

Gunstock had only meant to make a joke to lighten the mood, something about stealing the formula from Dure, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he thought about it carefully and realized it wasn't a joke at all; it was true. Dure had genuinely told them the formula.

“I’ve heard that alchemical recipes are very precious. Many alchemists spend their entire lives researching only a few recipes. The higher the level of the recipe, the more precious it is. Alchemists value it more than their own lives,” Matthew said solemnly, realizing this as well.

"I see. Thank you for reminding me." Dure nodded. He hadn't realized this before, not because he was slow-witted, but because he didn't have a clear understanding of alchemists.

"Du Lei, no matter where you got the formula, you must remember to keep it a secret. Fortunately, everyone here is on our side, and I believe no one will do anything to you because of this. But after this is over, you must never leak the formula, or it will cause trouble."

Matthew continued to remind him, explaining that after their previous experience repairing the pipes together, he now considered Durley a comrade-in-arms, and this was a well-intentioned reminder to his comrade.

084 Optimistic estimate

After receiving hot water and food, the passengers' agitation was finally calmed down, although their crisis was not over yet. A large number of snow wolves still gathered outside the train, howling in the darkness.

The howling of the wolves sent chills down the spines of passengers. The passengers on the train couldn't sleep soundly, and many children cried quietly, their parents comforting them in hushed tones. All they could do was pray that dawn would come soon and that the snow wolves outside would leave as soon as possible.

"Du Lei, when will the reinforcements arrive? What if they didn't see our signal and don't know what's happening here?" Bai Ye was really not sleepy. He got up, drank a cup of hot water, and saw that Du Lei was still sitting and reading a book, so he went over and asked him.

“The closest place to our current location is the Silverfrost Legion’s base. In this kind of heavy snow, they might not be able to see the signal flare.” Dure looked out the window. With the help of the lights in the carriage, he could see that it was snowing heavily outside the train, and occasionally he could see a furry clump wriggling.

Those were snow wolves lying in the snow, waiting for the right moment to attack. Under their continuous destruction, the mithril covering the train was gradually losing its effectiveness, and the hundreds of passengers on the huge train would become their prey.

"Then aren't we just going to wait here to die? You finally managed to solve the heating problem so everyone wouldn't freeze, but waiting like this is no different from slow suicide," Bai Ye said softly, knowing he couldn't let the passengers hear him.

When comforting the passengers, they solemnly assured them that support would arrive soon. If the passengers were to find out that the so-called support was just empty talk to appease them and that real support was still a long way off, it would surely cause a new wave of unrest, which they could not afford at the moment.

"Don't worry, even if the Silverfrost Legion doesn't see the signal flare, the trains always arrive at the station on time. If they don't see the train arrive at the next station for a long time, they will definitely suspect that something has happened along the way and will notify the Silverfrost Legion in the middle of this route."

Du Lei stopped and answered Bai Ye seriously, signaling him to relax. The latter nodded, his tense expression easing considerably.

"It's so good to hear you say that. But speaking of which, Du Lei, you really love reading. You can even concentrate on studying in this situation." Bai Ye knew what books Du Lei was reading, and he could even recite many passages from them, because he had lent these books to Du Lei.

“When I was in the hot spring village, there was no library, so when I was a child, I only had a few books to read over and over again, and then…” Du Lei originally wanted to talk about the notes that the man left him, but he remembered their promise and stopped abruptly.

"What is it?" Bai Ye asked curiously. He was also the type who couldn't put down his book and understood Du Lei's feelings.

"It's nothing. I've missed a lot of study time. To close the gap with others, I have to make full use of my time to read." Du Lei shook his head and didn't continue, glossing over the topic. His hands didn't stop turning the pages, patiently looking at page after page.

"Du Lei, you talk like an adult, even though you're still a child." Bai Ye smiled gently, finding Du Lei an interesting person.

“You’re not young anymore, Bai Ye. Didn’t you also travel alone?” Du Lei disagreed with him and shook his head slightly.

"Hey, what are you two kids talking about? Are you talking about women?" At this moment, the gun butt walked over and asked curiously. He was holding a gunpowder gun and cleaning it. He would occasionally aim at Bai Ye, which startled Bai Ye quite a bit.

"Please don't do such dangerous things. And what did you just say about women?" Bai Ye didn't want to be aimed at by a gunpowder gun.

"Oh, don't be nervous. There are no bullets inside, so there's no danger. At your age, you're at the age when your curiosity is at its peak. Don't you ever think about women or anything like that?" He put away the gunpowder gun and was saying this with a smile when Karen came over and tugged at his ear.

"Gunstock, you idiot, don't taint this pure young man with your filthy soul, okay? You guys absolutely must ignore him, he's a lunatic." Karen forcibly pulled Gunstock aside, and only then did Dure notice Matthew and the others loading bullets nearby.

"Hey, is Mr. Gunstock sick? But he looks perfectly healthy and normal." Bai Ye looked at Gunstock seriously and asked in a low voice.

“His problem is here, you can’t see it.” Karen pointed to the head of the rifle butt, she didn’t have a good look on her face.

"Karen, please don't say things that are easy to misunderstand. I'm perfectly healthy, how could I be mentally ill? Hahahaha." Gunstock scratched his head. Even though Karen was pointing at his head and scolding him, he wasn't angry at all. He had always been a jovial person.

“Sick people never admit they’re sick. I think you’re not only sick, you’re seriously sick,” Karen retorted to the gun butt.

"By the way, it's so late, aren't you guys asleep yet?" Bai Ye changed the subject and asked Karen and Gunstock. Matthew was also nearby.

“How can we sleep on a night like this? There are snow wolves watching outside, ready to pounce at any moment. If we fall asleep, who will deal with them? The passengers have no weapons; facing the snow wolves, they will only be slaughtered on one side.” Matthew shook his head slightly, his expression grave.

"But we don't have mithril," Bai Ye thought of mithril, a powerful weapon against snow wolves.

"The effects of mithril won't last long, at most an hour or two, and the Snow Wolf will break through." Wrench, who had been sleeping in the corner, yawned and woke up. He picked up where Bai Ye left off, looking out the window at the thick layer of snow piled up under the howling wind.

"What? There's only one or two hours left? Why are you in such a hurry?" Bai Ye thought he could at least make it to dawn, but he didn't expect the time to be so short.

"This is the most optimistic estimate; it could be even shorter." As the train's mechanic, Wrench was the most qualified to speak on this matter.

"How short will it be?" Bai Ye asked anxiously.

"Hmm, what's that sound?" Du Lei suddenly became alert, abruptly putting down the book in his hand and jumping up.

"Hey, Du Lei, don't scare me." Bai Ye had a bad feeling.

"Oh no! The noise is coming from the other side of the carriage! The snow wolves have broken in!" Matthew shouted, immediately grabbing his flintlock pistol and rushing over.

085 Not an inch retreated

After a series of turmoil, the passengers in the carriage finally calmed down. It was already late at night, and for quite some time, their nerves were on edge. Even though there were a large number of snow wolves gathered outside the carriage, they did not attack.

This gave the exhausted passengers a much-needed respite. Many relaxed their tense nerves, snuggled together, and fell asleep in the carriage. But just as they drifted off to sleep, a scream suddenly rang out, jolting the light sleepers awake. They looked ahead in astonishment.

"What's going on? What happened?" Rune, the manager appointed by Dure, immediately came forward to check upon hearing the commotion.

"Over there, over there! The carriage door has been smashed open! The snow wolves are about to come in! What are we going to do? Are we doomed?" A passenger who noticed the commotion pointed to the carriage door ahead. A series of "bang bang" sounds came from outside the door, and a cold wind howled in, indicating that the door was broken.

"What? The snow wolves are about to break in? We've held on until now, and it seems we've finally reached our limit?" Passengers woke up one after another.

"Hey, I don't want to die! You gave us hope to live, and now you're going to cruelly plunder us. You might as well have just killed me in the first place and made it quick. Is there nowhere else to escape? Open the door! I don't want to die in this cage. I want to escape!" the passenger shouted.

Under the onslaught of the snow wolf's claws, the carriage door gradually showed signs of collapsing, and fear spread rapidly among the crowd.

"Don't panic, everyone, there's definitely a way, don't panic," Rune stepped forward to try to control the situation, but he was simply too powerless.

"What a joke! We're not mercenaries. We have no chance against snow wolves. How can you expect us to stay calm? Damn it, why aren't you opening the door? Which bastard locked the door? Are you trying to trap us here to die?" The passengers pounded on the doors, trying to escape.

"Let's smash the car window. That way we can escape. If we escape from here, we might survive. It's much better than dying in this cage," someone suggested. The car window was very hard on the outside to defend against the monster's attack, but it wasn't too difficult to break it from the inside.

"You can't do that." Just then, someone came over and stopped the passenger who was about to smash the car window with an iron bar.

"What?" The passenger stared blankly as the boy who had stopped him was only thirteen or fourteen years old.

“Even if you escape through the car window, you can’t outrun the snow wolves. Once you fall into their territory, you’ll die even faster. All of you, retreat to the back of the carriage. Leave this to us. Don’t worry, with us here, they absolutely cannot break through,” the boy pointed behind him.

"Oh dear, that was supposed to be my line, how did you get to say it first? Perfect timing, I was just thinking of avenging Kwe and Seg. All you bastards who aren't afraid of death, come forward! If you want to pass, you'll have to step over my dead body first."

With a roar, he gripped the flintlock pistol in his strong, powerful wrist and aimed at the carriage door. The door, already riddled with holes and letting in a howl of cold air, finally gave way and was smashed open. A pure white snow wolf pounced, letting out a ferocious howl.

"Stop talking nonsense and do more. If you're not decisive, you won't even know how you died. Also, ammunition is limited. Unless you're sure it'll be a one-shot kill, you'd better use it sparingly, otherwise we won't be able to hold out for long, understand?" Karen shouted a reminder to him from behind the gun butt.

He hesitated for a moment before pulling the trigger, then bent over and pressed the muzzle down slightly, remaining unmoved in the face of the snow wolf that pounced on him.

"Of course I know that, hehe, good for you, you came fast enough. If it were bare-handed, I might not be able to beat you, but do you know what my nickname is? It's Gunstock. I have a weapon in my hand. Now, die!" Gunstock chuckled.

When the snow wolf pounced, he could clearly smell the blood emanating from it, feel its breath, and see the hot air coming out of its nostrils. He decisively pulled the trigger with the butt of his gun, and with a "bang," the bullet accurately hit its abdomen.

"Everyone, quickly retreat to the back carriages. Don't panic, don't swarm together. Retreat slowly, just like that. Trust them, they can definitely hold off the snow wolves. Trust the rescue team, they'll arrive soon!" Bai Ye shouted, signaling the passengers to retreat.

"Don't be careless. Make sure all passengers evacuate. Don't back down an inch. Gunstock, watch out over there!" Matthew reminded Gunstock after firing a shot forward. One after another, snow wolves rushed in from outside the carriage, launching a frenzied attack.

"Captain, I know without you saying it. Watch how I take it down! Ugh, the bullet jammed! Oh no!" He raised the muzzle of his gun with full confidence, ready to take down the snow wolf that pounced on him. But when he pulled the trigger, he found that the bullet had jammed and could not be fired.