The most shameless alchemist in history

"A hot spring village? It sounds like a beautiful place. I'd really like to go there if I had the chance," Freya said with a smile.

“Then I look forward to your arrival on behalf of the village,” Du Lei said with a slight nod.

"But Mr. Dure, judging from your appearance, it seems you haven't been back to your hometown for a long time?" Freya asked curiously, seeing Dure's melancholy look.

"I guess so. It's been almost nine years since I've been back." Du Lei recalled the scene when he left the hot spring village. Back then, he was a spirited young man, but now? Time really is a thing that makes people sigh.

"Such a long time? Mr. Dure, you must miss your family very much, right?" Freya couldn't imagine what it meant to be away from home for nine years. Even just being away from home for half a year would make her miss it terribly.

“I don’t have any family in the hot spring village. To be precise, I don’t even know if I have any family left, or where they are,” Du Lei said, shaking his head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up," Freya said apologetically.

“It’s alright. So, Miss Freya, and... Rosell, are you going to study at Ice University?” Dure waved his hand to indicate that it was fine, and at the same time asked the two of them.

“Yes, yes, we all saw the recruitment advertisement for Ice University in the newspaper, so we went to Ice University. Mr. Dure, what brings you to Frost City?” Rosell nodded and asked curiously.

“Actually, I’m also going to Ice University,” Du Lei said with a smile.

"Oh, what a coincidence, is Mr. Dure our classmate?" Russell was somewhat surprised.

You should know that during the entire day and night journey on the train, he and Du Lei didn't talk much, but now he heard that Du Lei was their classmate.

"Well... in a way, that's probably true, right?" Dure gave a somewhat uncertain answer.

"To some extent?" Rosell found it somewhat strange.

"It's nothing, please ignore this issue." Du Lei chose to steer clear of the problem.

"Rossel, really, why did you have to ask Dure... such a private question about senior? It's really going too far," Freya scolded Rosell.

She also started calling Durei "senior" because, in Freya's opinion, since Durei had said that they were all going to Ice University.

And Du Lei is so young, maybe two years older than them, so it's only natural to call Du Lei "senior".

"Sorry, sorry, I was too impulsive," Rosell said, scratching his head sheepishly.

“It’s alright, then…” Du Lei originally wanted to say goodbye again.

Although he, Rosell, and Freya were all headed to the same destination, he had to go to another place before that.

But just then, they arrived at the train exit, where a group of guards came to conduct an inspection.

"You lot, yes, you guys, stop right there!" The leading officer, a man in his thirties, pointed at Russell, who was walking in front of him.

"Eh? Officer, is there a problem?" Russell stopped cooperatively.

"Where are you from?" the officer asked sternly, inquiring about the group's origins.

“We’re from the Southern Free Federation. This is our identification. As for Senior Dure…” Rosell immediately handed over his and Freya’s identification documents, which was a necessary procedure. However, he didn’t know much about Dure’s situation.

"From the Free Federation? It must have been quite a journey to come all this way, right?" The officer took their identification documents, examined them carefully, and didn't return them immediately. He asked slowly.

“Yes, we changed trains three times on the way here and it took us five days to reach Frost City, but I believe it was all worth it, because the Snow Country is full of vitality, and I believe I can realize my dream here!” Rosell said solemnly.

"You certainly have impressive ambitions, but... there seems to be something wrong with your identification documents." The officer casually flipped through the identification documents and held them in his hand.

"Problem? What's wrong?" Rosell was taken aback. His and Freya's identification documents were issued locally when they left, and there shouldn't be any problems.

“Some of the information above is incomplete, so I cannot verify your identities. You also need to know that the Snow Kingdom has just undergone changes and is not stable enough. Recently, there have been several large-scale rebellions. I cannot be sure if you are rebels in disguise,” the officer said, raising his voice.

"What? Rebels? We just came from the Free Federation, what could we possibly have to do with rebels? There must be some mistake." Rosell was stunned for a moment, then quickly explained, this was just too far-fetched!

“If you’re not rebels, then go back to the Free Federation and get a certificate. Come back after you have it, and I won’t stop you.” The officer waved his hand, signaling Rosell and Freya to head back.

“What did you say? You want us to go back? But officer, we went through a lot of trouble and traveled a long way to get to Frost City. Now you want us to go back? This is really…” Roselle originally thought it was just a simple routine check.

But to their surprise, the officer told them to go back directly. Not to mention that it had taken them five whole days to get here, even if they went back again, they would miss the start of the semester at Ice University!

"What, are you dissatisfied with my treatment?" The officer glared at him, and at the same time, he waved his hand, and his men immediately came forward to surround Russell and his group.

822 Issuance of Certificate

“Sir officer, the supporting documents are in your possession, aren’t they? I think the explanation above has already been made very clear. There’s no need to go back and go through all that trouble, is there?” Freya said in a calm tone when she saw how anxious Rosell was.

“Well… you don’t have to go back, but…” the officer said after thinking for a moment.

"But what?" Rosell asked immediately, seeing that it didn't require so much trouble.

"But you'll need to get a certificate from the local authorities proving you're not rebels," the officer said with a smile.

"What? So you can get the certificate locally. I thought I really had to go back to the Free Federation, which would have taken too long and I would have missed the registration deadline." Rosell breathed a sigh of relief. It turns out there's more than one way to solve a problem.

"Then how do I obtain the necessary documentation locally?" Freya asked immediately.

"I can issue this invoice for you."

"Oh? Is that alright? If so, thank you so much!" Russell had initially thought the officer was there to cause trouble, but seeing that he offered to help, he suddenly felt a little guilty, because the officer was clearly trying to help!

"But I can't help you for nothing, right? Just pay me twenty silver coins, and I'll get the certificate done for you. What do you think?" the officer said with a smile.

"What? Twenty silver coins? That much?" Rosell was startled by the number the officer mentioned, because an ordinary person's monthly income was only about fifteen silver coins, and their expenses for traveling from the Free Federation to Frost City, including the fare, were only six silver coins.

But this officer asked for twenty yuan right off the bat, which is not an amount that ordinary people can afford.

“Officer, normally issuing a certificate shouldn’t cost this much, right?” Freya asked, frowning.

This number is beyond their capacity to handle, after all, they are still just students.

"If you think my price is too high, you can go back to the Free Federation to process it. However, I'm not sure if I'll accept your certificates here." The officer said slowly, with a hint of threat in his words.

"Hey, isn't this going too far? Aren't you openly extorting me?" Rosell was very dissatisfied and couldn't help but question him.

“Extortion? Young man, how dare you talk like that? You think I’m extorting you? Do you believe I’ll arrest you?” The officer stepped forward and grabbed Russell by the collar.

"Twenty silver coins? That price is reasonable." Just then, the young man who had remained silent spoke up.

"Oh, so there's someone reasonable here after all. Not bad, you're lucky to have met me for twenty silver coins. If it were anyone else, it would have cost you at least twenty-five silver coins." The officer released his grip on Rosell's collar and looked at the young man with a smile.

"Senior Durei, this..." Freya saw Durei walk forward and, worried about his safety, called out softly.

"It's alright." Du Lei waved his hand gently, indicating that it was fine and that he could handle everything here.

"Then it'll be twenty silver coins each, sixty silver coins for three people. But since you're so reasonable, fifty silver coins will do." The officer did give Du Lei a 50% discount.

"Fifty silver coins? But before that, I have a question I'd like to ask, if I may be so bold as to ask it." Du Lei asked.

"What's the problem? Go ahead and ask." The officer was in a good mood when he saw the young man reaching into his pocket as if he was about to pay.

"Do all outsiders coming to the Snow Country have to pay for a certificate?" Du Lei asked curiously.

"Of course, otherwise why do you think we're working so hard to maintain order at the station? You also need to know that the situation in the Snow Country is not stable right now, with several large-scale rebellions. If there are rebels launching attacks, your safety cannot be guaranteed, right?" the officer asked with a smile.

"What you said makes a lot of sense. So, is this money something that was arranged for you to collect by higher-ups?" Du Lei nodded thoughtfully, then continued to ask.

"Of course. If the higher-ups didn't agree, would we dare take this money? Kid, as long as you cooperate with us honestly, if you encounter any problems in Frost City in the future, just come to us. As long as you're willing to pay, there's nothing we can't handle," the officer said confidently, patting his chest.

“But I remember that a month ago, didn’t the parliament issue an order prohibiting bribery and extortion? Aren’t you violating the parliament’s order?” Dure continued to ask.

"Hey kid, what do you mean by this? Are you going to pay or not? If you don't pay, get out of here and don't even think about setting foot in Frost City's territory!" The officer's face darkened immediately when Dure asked this question, and he threatened.

“I’ll pay, of course I’ll pay. Here are five gold coins.” Dure quickly took out five gold coins from his pocket and handed them to the officer.

According to currency exchange rates, one gold coin is equivalent to ten silver coins.

"Hey kid, you're quite generous, aren't you? You know what's good for you, better than that other kid." The officer took the gold coins from Du Lei's hand, beaming with joy.

“Durey, they’re openly soliciting bribes, don’t give it to them…” Russell said anxiously.

After observing for a while, he figured it out: the officer was clearly there to solicit bribes.

As a progressive young man of the new era, he could not tolerate such a thing happening, and said indignantly.

“It’s alright, Roselle… So, sir, you just said that as long as you have money, there’s nothing that can’t be done in Frost City, right?”

Dure silently waved his hand, signaling Rosell not to make a fuss, and even more so, not to clash with the officers.

“That’s right, that’s the rule of our Frost City,” the officer said matter-of-factly.

“Then I think…” Dure whispered in the officer’s ear.

"What did you say?" The officer paused, his expression visibly stiffening.

"What, is this even possible?" Du Lei asked again.

"Well... I'm afraid you can't afford the price," the officer said after thinking for a moment.

"So, you mean it's possible to do it if the price is high enough, right? But how can I believe you have the ability to do this?" Du Lei asked again.

"With Lord Pope here, there's nothing we can't do!" the officer said arrogantly.

“Lord Pope…is that the former Finance Minister, Lord Pope?” Dure remembered the name and pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Kid, if you really want to do that, this isn't the place to talk. Besides, there are some things I can't make decisions for. As long as you can afford the price, I'll arrange a place for you," the officer said cautiously, looking around.

823 Seriously dealt with

In particular, the officer noticed a group of guards approaching from not far away.

Although he was also a soldier in uniform, their uniforms were still somewhat different.

He was just a member of the patrol team responsible for maintaining order in Frost City, but the group that came over was quite different.

Judging from their uniforms, they are members of the Frost Guard, which is responsible for the security of the Winter Palace.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Frost Guard is the personal guard of the Snow Country.

"Understood. Please wait a moment, I have something to take care of." Dure nodded slightly, and then he walked towards the Frost Guard ahead.

"Hey kid, what do you think you're doing? Come back here, I'm warning you, come back right now!" The officer was stunned. The five gold coins in his hand hadn't even warmed up yet. When he heard what the kid said, he thought he could make another big profit, but at this moment he suddenly realized that something was not right.

Besides, aren't those Frostguard guys always arrogant and condescending?

Although the Frost Guard no longer protects the Winter Palace due to the changes in the Snow Kingdom, they have become the guard responsible for the security of the council.

In the military circles of the Land of Snow, their status remains second to none.

It's quite unbelievable that such a guard would come to the train station.

"What is Senior Dure doing?" Freya saw Dure walk up and whisper something to the Frost Guard.

The young officer leading the Frost Guard kept glancing over in their direction.

This made the patrol team members a little uneasy, but they still felt somewhat confident.