Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Port area.

A massive aircraft carrier belonging to no country was anchored outside, and Isaac's father led a group of people toward Isaac.

"Feifan, what brings you to this place to investigate?"

“That’s a long story,” Isaac said with a laugh.

He wasn't here to investigate; he was here to do business.

"What about those poor children you mentioned?"

"Here."

Isaac led his father to a cabin in the harbor, where dozens of children stood timidly.

They were no longer wearing tattered rags, but new clothes. Looking at the unfamiliar uncle before them, their eyes filled with fear once more.

"Don't be afraid, little ones. I'm not a bad person," Isaac's father tried to make his expression look kind. "I'm his father."

He patted Isaac on the head as he spoke.

"Eh? Big brother's father?"

The children's previously wary eyes relaxed.

With the arrival of Mithril's staff from the perimeter, the children were all put on the ship, and Isaac was also called inside by his father.

In the captain's cabin.

"Feifan, you did a good job on this," the father said with some satisfaction.

I never expected that my son would rescue so many children on his trip. This is a good thing.

"I'll do what I can," Isaac said casually.

"By the way, how's that organization's investigation going?"

"That organization... is still under investigation."

In reality, they didn't investigate anything at all, but they still made a lot of money.

"By the way, Dad," Isaac quickly changed the subject, "did you turn down that job at the hospital this time?"

“Yes, I’m on paid leave now thanks to some connections,” the father laughed. “With such a big thing happening, I’m not in the mood to go to work at the hospital anymore, so I’m back to my old job.”

The Christmas attack made the father aware that an organization was targeting the 'Listeners'. Although he later discovered that his son had not been discovered, it was still best to be prepared.

He returned to the Mithril team to continue his combat command, and also took the opportunity to investigate the mysterious organization.

"Does Feifan have anyone he suspects?"

“I believe it was the KGB in the former Soviet Union.” Isaac threw the blame away without hesitation.

Anyway, there aren't many other candidates right now, so what difference does it make who gets blamed?

"So it was them. Now that I think about it, it's not impossible." After a moment's thought, the father realized that it was indeed a possibility.

"Dad, how long do you plan to stay here?"

“The Romanian government only granted us 24 hours, so I plan to leave immediately after taking my people,” the father said. “Speaking of which, Feifan, when are you planning to come home? Your mother and the two children miss you very much.”

“I’ll go home in a few weeks,” Isaac said, then suddenly asked, “Do you still have the card I gave you?”

"Oh, it's still there."

The father took out the card that Isaac had given him when he left, the card that was covered with small holes.

"It's good that you're here. You won't be able to come back for a while, but you'll still need to rely on this card for important communications."

"Well, I see."

After a brief chat, the two parted ways.

The father was driving the children to headquarters for arrangements, while Isaac had his own business to attend to.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Boss, have all the children left?"

"Ah."

George remarked with emotion, "I hope they can live in a warm place from now on."

“We definitely can,” Isaac laughed. “It’s time for us to get on board.”

Isaac also owned a large cargo ship, but it was leased; he couldn't afford to buy such a large merchant ship himself.

Where to go next?

“Afghanistan, it’s time to give Uncle Sam a piece of our mind.” Isaac’s expression turned sinister. “George, how does it feel to take on your old employer? If you don’t want to, this operation can be canceled.”

"Hahaha, don't joke around. The fact that we're willing to join your team means we've already abandoned our former nationalities," George laughed. "So boss, you can rest assured and go do your own thing."

"Good."

The business trip in Romania didn't make a lot of money, only about 20 million US dollars, not as much as in Colombia, but overall it was still worth the trip.

Isaac reorganized the group and headed towards his cargo ship.

As soon as he boarded the cargo ship, Isaac suddenly felt several streams of energy appear in the cabin.

"Wait a minute," Isaac stopped the group. "It seems the ship has already been boarded by someone else."

"What!?"

Upon hearing this, everyone became alert, raised their guns, cocked them, and looked around warily.

“Come with me.”

Isaac waved and led the soldiers toward the cabin.

The group walked through the corridor to a warehouse, and Isaac felt that the air inside seemed somewhat familiar.

"Um...you guys put the guns away first."

"Oh? Isn't that too dangerous?"

"Never mind that, just put it away."

Although the crowd was puzzled, they had no choice but to do as the boss said.

When everyone had put away their guns, Isaac opened the warehouse door.

Light streamed into the dimly lit warehouse, where two little girls with silver-white hair were hiding. The flickering light in the darkness made them squint.

When Isaac saw that it was them, he sighed, turned around and asked, "Is our boat unattended? People can just come and go as they please?"

“I think it’s because we didn’t tip the local dockworkers,” Wilson said.

The two girls in the warehouse panicked when they realized they had been discovered.

"I...we didn't mean to."

"Yes...yes, we just got lost, so..."

Isaac certainly wouldn't believe that.

He turned to his men and asked, "What do you think we should do?"

Chapter 522: Hansel and Greta

Isaac led the two girls to a lounge in the ship's cabin, where he and his men held an emergency meeting.

"Gentlemen, our team cannot have non-combatants, let alone children." Isaac crossed his arms and rested his nose on his hands. "It's too late to contact my dad now. I don't want my arms dealing to be exposed."

Benson raised his hand and said, "Boss, I think it's not a bad idea for us to keep them here."

"Screw that!" Isaac retorted. "We're dealing in war-related business. Do you think a bunch of kids can grow up healthy on our ship?"

"This one……"

Benson was speechless for a moment.

As Isaac said, the business here is nothing more than selling weapons, dealing with all sorts of criminals or armies from various countries, and putting two children on a ship full of weapons is definitely not a good idea.

George then spoke up: "Boss, you should have noticed by now that those two children can only trust you. Their psychological trauma is so severe that they can't trust your father."

“…This is a serious problem.” Isaac pondered, head bowed. “How about we get them legal status first, and then send them to a welfare agency in the United States?”

“They were victims of abuse in welfare institutions, and sending them back to welfare institutions now will only exacerbate their psychological trauma.”

"Then find a host family."

“Boss…” George narrowed his eyes slightly, “You don’t think it’s too much trouble to take them out, so you’re trying to shift the blame, do you?”

"Yes."

"...So you're just admitting it like that!?"

“My original plan was to have my dad find new places for those kids, that would be better for everyone,” Isaac said, somewhat troubled. “Who knew they would sneak onto the ship?”

"That's also an unavoidable event."

"So this is how we try to find a solution? Do you really think they'll be happy with us?" Isaac said, looking at everyone. "Wake up, everyone sitting here, including me, has blood on your hands. There isn't a single good person among you."

Isaac's meaning was simple: those two girls were just children, and if they hung out with people like them, they would inevitably go astray.

"How about this, boss?" Wilson said. "There are fourteen of us here, including you. Let's vote on whether those two children should stay or go."

“Okay, let’s vote then.” Isaac nodded.

Voting begins.

The first step is to find families willing to adopt the two children.

Only Isaac raised his hand.

Then there are the two children that I adopted.

All thirteen people except Isaac raised their hands.

"You bunch of traitors, you're not planning to sideline me, are you?" Isaac's eyes gradually sharpened.

“Don’t misunderstand, boss. Major decisions are still made by you,” George quickly said. “It’s just that those two kids… to be honest, we’re not entirely comfortable entrusting them to someone else to raise.”

This is also the opinion of most people present.

It wasn't that they didn't trust Isaac's father, but out of compassion for the children's experiences, they wanted to worry about their future lives, while they were certain that there would be no problems with them.