Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life

Yellow cotton: (ε｀) Within the mouth, written communication and such are the most terrible.

Akahoshi: (；￣ェ￣)

Sherlock: (··?) Putting aside why you guys can send emojis, are you really just going to sit idly by and watch this happen? Without me learning how to repair and fly a spaceship, how are we going to get home? (°□°）┻━┻

Sister Hua: (_) Thank you. You just need to learn how to fix it. I'll go learn how to drive it!

Gandalf & the three Seafood Generals: Agreed! (_)

Watching the group of adults exchanging glances and making faces, Lilith looked at Doro with a head full of questions. Doro, however, jumped down from Sherlock's arms and came to Lilith's side, patting her on the shoulder like an experienced person.

"Don't worry about it. People always have their own encrypted conversations with other adults. Just ignore those adults!"

Clearly, Doro's words of comfort had no effect; instead, they only made Lilith more confused, as did the catgirl Frillie.

Although she didn't know what Sherlock and his group were exchanging with their faces all over the place, out of a sense of responsibility for her work, Meow Meow finally spoke up and interrupted their silent exchange.

"Alright, meow. Although there were a few minor hiccups along the way, meow, it went very smoothly overall. Now let's head to the final stop of this trip, the immigration training and education base, meow!"

There you will undergo a two-week intensive study period, where you will learn about interstellar knowledge, and Xandar will help you master a skill to make a living on Xandar!

Of course, you can also learn from me and become a glorious public servant of Xandar after passing the training and exams!

After a pause, Frillie continued.

"The base is quite far from the customs, so I'll arrange flying cars for everyone, meow. On the way, I'll also explain some famous attractions and things to note in Legion City, the capital city of Xandar, where we are currently located, meow!"

After saying this, Frillie led Sherlock and his group out of the airport. However, compared to her previous energetic and incredibly cute girl appearance, after learning about Sherlock's identity as an alchemist, it was obvious that the catgirl was now a little nervous.

Even when leading the way, she started to stumble and stagger, and occasionally she would do some adorable things like moving her hands and feet in unison.

It wasn't until Sherlock gave Frillie a cat toy to ease her tension that Frillie relaxed considerably. Of course, if Sherlock hadn't used his catnip-specific treasure later, the effect might have been even better.

Chapter 375 Quarantine Zone

Sherlock swore that he had simply pulled a ball of yarn out of his four-dimensional pocket to try and ease Frillie's tension, because he thought she was a little too nervous.

Of course, after getting into this unmanned flying car, the catnip lollipop he pulled out was purely Sherlock's own wicked hobby.

After all, seeing how much fun Frillie could have playing with that little ball of yarn after getting in the car, Sherlock really couldn't resist taking out his catnip!

The facts proved one thing: catnip is indeed extremely effective against felines. The moment Sherlock pulled out the catnip lollipop, Frillie couldn't take her eyes off it.

When Sherlock handed the thing to Frilian, the little creature, just like a real cat, sat on the front row of chairs, licking and rubbing the catnip lollipop, almost indistinguishable from an ordinary kitten.

Although Sherlock satisfied his curiosity and his perverse sense of humor, he received extremely disdainful looks from everyone in the car.

After all, Frilian, who was acting as their guide, was already immersed in the world of catnip. How could she possibly explain the so-called precautions and attractions of Legion City to them?

This is why the flying car is unmanned. If it had a driver, it would probably have made a turn and driven straight into the police station.

Fortunately, although Sherlock and his group were somewhat disappointed that they didn't learn more about this so-called Legion City, they didn't mind, since they were only there to learn some basic knowledge.

However, it must be said that Legion City does look very beautiful, even giving off a sunny version of Night City vibe.

The entire city is predominantly white, and cleanliness, sophistication, and efficiency are its main themes. Rows of flying cars crisscross the sky along their own tracks, and you can even see aliens of different races having dates in the sky gardens.

It's no exaggeration to say that what Legion City presents almost perfectly matches all of humanity's stereotypes about future cities.

However, the beautiful scenery vanished almost instantly after the flying car stopped at the entrance of a gate.

It was a huge iron gate, which connected to a high wall. The high wall was even covered by a semi-transparent protective shield. From its appearance, everything here was very much in line with the so-called 'prison' rather than a closed training camp.

What's most unsettling is that there are even armed soldiers patrolling on those high walls!

Seeing all this, to be honest, Sherlock didn't feel so good. After all, even his senior year of high school before he transmigrated wasn't like this place.

This looks exactly like a prison, doesn't it? No, this is a fucking prison, isn't it?

Although, strictly speaking, the schedule of senior year of high school is even more painful than that of prison, the environment is just too easy to make people think of the wrong things, isn't it?

Fortunately, Frillie also came to her senses at this moment. After quietly stuffing the catnip lollipop into her pocket, Frillie quickly noticed the extremely strange expressions on the faces of everyone in the car and immediately explained to Sherlock and his group.

"Don't be surprised, everyone. Although this place looks like a prison, there's a reason why it's built this way, meow."

As we all know, our planet Xandar is a colony planet, home to many races, some of whom have a history of deep-seated hatred for each other.

We didn't pay much attention to this before, thinking that as long as we joined Xandar, we could let go of our past hatred. But obviously, we were just being wishful.

After some very bad things happened, this so-called quarantine zone came into being, and because many of the newcomers don't understand interstellar civilization, and many even still hold onto the primitive law of the jungle mentality.

Therefore, many measures were developed to prevent bad things from happening within the quarantine zone, and gradually it became what it is today. Although I also feel that this environment is a bit like a prison, please believe me, everything you see is actually built to protect everyone as much as possible!

Well, although Frillie's explanation was reasonable, Sherlock still felt somewhat repulsed by the building in front of him.

However, once the heavy iron gate opened and the flying car carrying them drove into what looked like a prison, Sherlock's opinion of this so-called 'prison' changed somewhat.

Behind the high walls was not the prison Sherlock imagined, but a complex of buildings that looked much like Sherlock's community on Earth.

Neat rows of single-family homes, neither too big nor too luxurious, but perfectly adequate, line both sides of the road. Behind these exquisite homes are some large, factory-like structures.

At the end of this road is a square building, about 60 meters high.

If there's any difference, it's probably that the square building doesn't quite match the white-based skyscrapers outside.

It's as if the world outside these high walls has entered a futuristic science fiction world, but the world inside these high walls is still in modern society.

That being said, the building and the environment inside the high walls somehow complement each other, or at least they don't seem so jarring.

Although it doesn't quite feel like a prison, it still gives off a strange sense of oppression.

After leading Sherlock and his group to a small house within the two communities, Frillie gave them two keys, told them that this was their residence in the quarantine zone, and then hurriedly left.

Of course, it would have been even better if Frilian hadn't covered her pocket containing the catnip lollipop with her hand when she left, and if she had looked impatient on the face.

Sherlock's lips twitched as he looked at the two keys in his and Sister Hua's hands.

It's clear that Xandar still treated him well after learning of his alchemist identity, as evidenced by the housing allocation.

Sherlock and Doro each had their own house, while the others were only given one house each.

Fortunately, Sherlock didn't seem to care too much about these things. After a brief discussion, Flora took Lilith and Sherlock to live together, while the other three Seafood Generals lived with Gandalf, so it didn't feel too crowded.

If there was anything that surprised Sherlock, it was that the decorations inside the house were even inferior to Sherlock's home on Earth, and it had absolutely no sense of interstellar civilization.

Sherlock initially thought that all the so-called 'refugees' who came here would be treated this way, but it wasn't until the second day that Sherlock realized he had been too naive.

Chapter 376 Different Stories

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Sherlock was woken up by the staff. However, when Sherlock groggily opened the door, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he saw the person standing at the front door of his house.

The reason is simple: the so-called "staff" who woke him up was dressed exactly like a prison guard!

???

Looking at the prison guard in front of him, Sherlock had three huge question marks on his head. However, it was obvious that the person standing at the gate, who was supposed to be a prison guard, did not see the doubt in Sherlock's eyes and just smiled and said to Sherlock.

"Respected Alchemist, it's time to go to class. Our leader has already made arrangements. This is our course schedule. You and your companions can choose the courses that interest you."

As he spoke, he handed Sherlock a tablet. Sherlock glanced at it and saw that, apart from basic knowledge, there were quite a few courses, although most of them were technical in nature.

To put it bluntly, these courses are mostly only suitable for low-level physical labor.

The only course that could be considered useful was the spaceship piloting course. After thinking about it, Sherlock decisively chose all the technical courses, since basic technical skills were undoubtedly the most suitable for him at his current level.

After all, Sherlock was very self-aware. He was a complete novice in the universe, and even if he was taught only the most basic skills and knowledge, he could use his alchemy to deduce more knowledge by analogy.

It's like building a house. At best, Sherlock has dug the foundation pit with the help of rockets. As for how well the foundation will be built, that depends entirely on Sherlock himself.

However, just as Sherlock was about to return the tablet to the person who appeared to be a prison guard, Sister Hua intercepted it. After looking at the contents of the tablet, Sister Hua canceled Sherlock's spaceship piloting option without saying a word before speaking to the prison guard.

“We will all learn how to pilot the spaceship, but he is not allowed to learn this subject. The rest is up to him to choose.”

After saying that, Sister Hua waved her sleeve and left without a trace, leaving the prison guard standing at the gate looking conflicted and cautiously glancing in Sherlock's direction.

Sherlock was somewhat speechless. Seriously, all he did was blow up a spaceship because he wasn't familiar with it? Was this some kind of targeting?

Besides, when we escaped from the collector's base, none of you guys knew how to fly a spaceship. I took over and you complained that I didn't fly it well.

Sherlock was cursing inwardly, but he could only keep a smiling face and didn't make things difficult for the prison guard in front of him. He spoke politely to the guard.

"Then we'll follow Sister Hua's chosen arrangement. Thank you for your help."

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, the prison guard breathed a sigh of relief, nodded to Sherlock, and then spoke.

"Understood, sir. I will make the arrangements. A vehicle will be coming to pick you up shortly to take you to the main building for your class. There is also a library in the main building where you can find books that interest you."

This is the schedule within the quarantine area. If you have any questions, please contact me or my colleagues, and we will try our best to coordinate for you.

After saying this, the prison guard handed Sherlock a form and hurriedly left.

Looking at the dates on the form, Sherlock could only purse his lips slightly. Clearly, Xandar had given him extraordinary freedom. The form only contained the dates for three meals a day, plus the library's closing time.

Based on the respectful attitude and implied meaning of the prison guard, Sherlock understood the current situation. It's no exaggeration to say that if Sherlock wanted to, he would be the highest-ranking person in this prison-like area.

Unfortunately, Sherlock didn't have much interest in power. He simply made a copy of the form, handed it to Gandalf and the others, and went back to wash up.

After Sherlock finished getting ready, he got into the car that was waiting outside and went into the building.

Soon, guided by the staff, Sherlock and his companions arrived at a large lecture hall to begin their training on basic knowledge and universal laws.

Sherlock listened very attentively, and even Doro listened quite attentively. You see, for Earthlings, the rules and laws of interstellar civilizations are almost like reading a science fiction book.

Moreover, the teachers on stage were quite professional, explaining the reasons behind such rules while explaining almost every point of knowledge.

Everything seemed normal until lunchtime, when Sherlock chatted with his 'classmate' while holding his lunch.

To Sherlock's surprise, the story he had heard about Xandar was completely different from the story his classmates had heard.

In the students' stories, although Xandar was indeed a colony planet, the refugees could only do the most basic manual labor after arriving on Xandar.

At least under the current rules of Xandar, this is all they, as first-generation Xandar immigrants, can do.

And most importantly, this is not some kind of quarantine zone for mandatory training, but a real prison!

In the student's words, this training class was set up in the prison to prevent refugees from causing chaos on Xandar because they didn't know the rules.

On the one hand, it was to train these refugees, and on the other hand, it was to train the lower-level labor force of the entire planet Xandar.

On the other hand, it also serves as a warning to refugees, letting them know what the conditions inside prisons are really like, so that they can work honestly after they are released.

But that wasn't what surprised Sherlock the most. What surprised him even more was that, apart from his own group, the first thing everyone else did upon entering wasn't to arrange accommodation, but to watch a video of Xandar expelling refugees.

It's a real expulsion. For those who don't behave, Xandar's approach is to expel them directly. Of course, they are only responsible for getting you out of the atmosphere. Whether you can survive in space or how you survive is not their concern!