Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

boom!!

Raste's body suddenly exploded, splattering blood and flesh everywhere, and the Philosopher's Stone was also blasted out.

After hearing the explosion, Isaac laughed and said, "There it is."

As he spoke, he walked out of the library and called Violet to join him as they headed towards that place.

When they arrived at the location, many residents had already come out to watch.

"What happened?"

"Did something just explode?"

"Could it be a terrorist attack?"

Isaac walked into the crowd and showed his ID. "Don't panic, everyone. Go home. There's nothing wrong here, just a gas explosion."

After sending everyone home, they looked at the empty streets and searched everywhere but couldn't find Lust.

"Where would someone this big go?"

As Isaac searched around, he found no drain on the ground.

The drain outlet leads directly into the sewer.

The explosion had blasted the Philosopher's Stone into a small drain. Inside the sewer, the Philosopher's Stone began to glow, slowly growing bones and muscles, gradually coalescing into a human figure.

"Damn it, we have to get out of here right now!"

Laster didn't dare to slow down and immediately began to flee down the sewers. All she wanted now was to leave Central City as soon as possible; she never wanted to face that monster again.

For the first time, she experienced the same frantic escape from the sewers as Scar.

Shortly after she left, a crowd began to gather, and then Isaac came over to disperse the crowd.

"Where did she go? I can't even sense her 'qi' anymore," Isaac said, looking around in distress.

I can only sense the 'qi' within a radius of 150 meters, so it seems she has already escaped quite far.

"They're slipping through my fingers one by one, I'm getting more and more relaxed," Isaac said, somewhat annoyed.

"Oh right, what was I originally planning to do at the library...?"

Chapter 135: Investigation

"Hughes, could you look this up for me when you have time?"

The next morning, Isaac went to the CIA, found Hughes, and handed him a note.

"What is this?" Hughes flipped open the note, which contained a drawing of an ouroboros.

Isaac said, "I met a woman at the National Central Library who had this tattoo on her chest, and I found a man in Rior who was posing as a cult leader and also had this tattoo. I suspect that something has infiltrated this country."

"Did you report it to the President?" Hughes asked.

It is generally more appropriate to report such matters directly to senior military officers in the central government.

"I've submitted the report, but those idiots under the boss haven't given me a reply yet. They're clearly just wandering around Central City, so I don't think I can count on them."

As Isaac finished speaking, his expression suddenly darkened, and he immediately snatched the note back from Hughes's hand.

"Forget it, don't worry about it, I'll investigate it myself." With that, he turned to leave.

"Wait a moment!"

Hughes grabbed Isaac's shoulder.

"what happened?"

"There are too many people here, come over here with me."

The intelligence department is constantly surrounded by soldiers, so there are many people and a lot of eyes and ears around.

Hughes led Isaac into a small study, and after confirming that no one was inside, he closed the door.

"Are you worried that these people you mentioned have contact with higher-ups?" Hughes asked seriously.

This is a very big problem. There are unknown enemies wandering around Central City, but the higher-ups can't be completely unaware. So it's very likely that the military leadership is in contact with these people.

“It’s very possible that high-ranking officials from the government are involved in this,” Isaac said. “So Hughes, you shouldn’t get involved.”

Isaac advised Hughes that he did not want his old friend to get involved in this kind of problem.

Hughes glanced at Isaac, sighed, and slowly took off his glasses.

“You were like this back on the Ishvalan battlefield, taking on everything yourself. A fourteen-year-old kid carrying more sins than adults like me and Roy,” Hughes said with a wry smile.

“Let’s not talk about the past.” Isaac waved his hand. “In short, this matter may involve very dark things, and avoiding it is the safest decision.”

"So will you avoid it?" Hughes stared into Isaac's eyes.

"will not."

“Then I won’t either.” Hughes said, snatching the note back from Isaac’s hand.

Isaac looked at Hughes, his face more serious than ever before: "You need to think this through. You have a wife and daughter. Getting involved won't do you any good."

Hughes paused for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "Yes, I love them very much, but there are some things I have to do."

"Since that's the case..."

Isaac stood up and put his hand on Hughes' shoulder.

"I will tell you everything I know."

……

“The Philosopher’s Stone, the Homunculus, Dr. Marco…” Hughes is currently in a state of confusion.

Within an hour, Isaac told Hughes everything he knew, and a great deal of incredible information was assaulting his mind.

"After the Ishvalan War ended, you asked me where I had been. I was actually researching the Philosopher's Stone," Isaac confessed. "The material for that stone is living people."

"What!?"

“Dr. Marco couldn’t bear the pangs of conscience that the experiments brought him, so he chose to run away, and I took over his research,” Isaac explained.

"Who...led the experiment?" Hughes asked, trembling.

"Military headquarters."

"..."

Although he had already guessed this was the answer, Hughes's forehead was covered in sweat when Isaac actually said it. He had suspected that there was something wrong with the country from the beginning, but he never thought that the problem had become this serious.

“You already know everything you need to know. Now, what’s your decision?” Isaac said, shrugging. “It’s not too late to back out.”

“How could I possibly quit!” Hughes roared.

He used almost all his strength to let out that roar.

Gradually, he calmed down.

"Isaac, don't worry, leave this to me."

Seeing that Hughes' eyes were not confused, Isaac sighed: "Alright, then I won't try to persuade you anymore."

He still did not want Hughes to participate in this investigation.

“Isaac, it’s time you relied on us adults a bit more. Don’t try to solve everything by yourself,” Hughes said with a laugh.

Isaac laughed and said, "You're kidding me, I'm an adult."

Not long after, Hughes and Isaac walked out of the intelligence department.

"Hughes, remember this: be careful with your investigation. The androids might attack you if you uncover their secrets."

“I understand,” Hughes said solemnly.

“I’ve handed over all the work to Roy these past few days, and I’ll stay in Central to protect your safety.” Isaac patted Hughes on the shoulder, indicating that he didn’t need to worry.

“Okay,” Hughes said, but then asked, “By the way, Isaac, do you and Violet have a place to stay in the Central?”

"No, we'll go straight to the hotel."

"Would you like to come to my place? I happen to have a spare room," Hughes said with a smile.

“That’s good, it will also better protect your safety.” Isaac agreed immediately.

"Having a brigadier general personally protecting my safety as a lieutenant colonel—not everyone gets that kind of treatment, hahaha..."

------

night.

Isaac and Violet arrived at Hughes' house.

After knocking, a beautiful woman with short hair opened the door: "Brigadier General Isaac and Warrant Officer Eve Garden are here. Please come in."

She was Hughes' wife, Gracia.

"Yes, we might be bothering you for the next few days," Isaac said apologetically as he walked in.

"Excuse me," Violet said.

Gracia chuckled lightly, "Not at all. My husband already told me that Brigadier General Isaac has been a great help to him at work."

While the group was talking, Hughes suddenly came from the room into the living room carrying his daughter.

“Isaac, Violet, you’ve arrived,” Hughes said with a smile. “I’ve already prepared your rooms; this is the one.”

After speaking, he pointed behind him.

It really is one room, there is only one room.

"That Hughes room, is it only one room?" Isaac asked uncertainly.

"Yes, don't you live together?"

“We all live separately; we each have our own dormitories in Dongfang City,” Isaac said helplessly.

"Huh? You two aren't in that kind of relationship?" Hughes asked in surprise.

That kind of relationship is a crime, okay?

Just as Isaac was about to say something, Violet spoke first.

“Brigadier General Isaac, Central City is in great danger right now. As your adjutant, I must stay by your side at all times. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes’s arrangement is very reasonable.”