Getting on the train heading west, Hui Jin and the fire girl were preparing to go to the place where Mustang had longed for and was almost frozen before.

"I hope you know why I asked you to go to the Central Committee..." Mustang, who was standing on the platform to see the two of them off, suddenly said to Ashes in a serious voice.

Hui Jing smiled and said, "I think your control is a bit too broad. After all, this is the path they choose. How to go is their own business."

Mustang raised his eyebrows and said helplessly, "Maybe you are right, but...I still hope I can help them if I can..."

Hui Jing looked at Mustang and blinked, then burst out laughing, "You guys are really... a good person, but so far, isn't I the one who has helped them the most?"

Mustang also laughed, "Are you a good person? Aren't you the same? Well, I'm still very busy, so that's all. Wait for me at the Central Committee. One day, I will go to the Central Committee and become the president!

"

"Hey hey hey, will there ever be such a day? Can a person like you really become a king? It's doubtful. Say goodbye and see you again when we are destined!" The two said goodbye to each other, and with a whistle, the train headed west.

Heading towards the core of the country.

…

In the dim environment, large and small pipes are scattered everywhere, leading to the only place with light in the center. An old man in white robe is sitting casually, flipping through the profound books in his hand.

"Father... we met a strange man in Dongfang City..." At this moment, a female voice came, interrupting the father's thoughts.

Putting up the book in his hand, the father shook his head slightly and said curiously, "What kind of man is he? Could it be Hohenheim?"

"No, he is a national alchemist. He was able to make me and Guradni unable to fight back... and also interrupted our action to kill Scarface..." The person who walked out of the shadows was none other than Lars.

Te and Guladni looked at their father under the light and shadow with respect, and said hesitantly.

"National Alchemist...? There is no need to bother me with this kind of role. Those who are qualified can stay for the time being, and those who are not qualified can be left to Lars to deal with..." The father suddenly lost his temper.

I opened the book in my hand again and ignored the two people below...

"Understood, Father, we are taking our leave." Bowing slightly, Rust left the dark underground with his eating hand Guradni...

…

"So, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, are you free? By the way, when did you return to the Central Center..." Standing outside the door of the single room of the library, Hui Jin looked helplessly at Lieutenant Colonel Hughes who was chatting with the Elric brothers.

sighed...

"How come, I'm very busy. I just heard that Brother Elric is here, so I came over to say hello... Recently, because the first branch library was burned down, my work has come to a standstill... Some criminal case information has disappeared.

, there is absolutely no way..." Hughes sighed helplessly, slumped on the table with a look of helplessness...

Ashes, who was standing behind Hughes, thought that this guy was Hiroshi Nohara from Crayon Shin-chan...

On the contrary, the Elric brothers looked at each other after hearing Hughes's complaint and then looked at a woman wearing glasses and dressed in a fringe style standing next to them.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, this person's name is Siska. She has read many books in the First Branch Library. She should be able to help you!" Edward glanced at the cute Siska and said to Hughes with a smile.

"I have indeed read the criminal case information, and I still remember it...but..." A woman named Xiska adjusted her glasses and said somewhat unconfidently.

The decadent Hughes suddenly had a glint in his eyes and stood up, "Okay! Let's go to work now! Our salary is very high!"

After saying that, he grabbed Siska by the back collar and left the library happily...

"If this guy wasn't wearing a military uniform, some people would believe him if he said he was a kidnapper..." Ashes looked at Hughes leaving and sighed helplessly.

Turning his head to look at Edward and Alphonse, he picked up a handwritten document on the table. Hui Jin laughed, "So... you are learning to cook recently? Are you going to work towards being a family cook?"

Edward looked at Ashes with a mocking look on his face, covered his head and said helplessly, "Are you really an alchemist? These are information written in code words, and they are research information on the Philosopher's Stone!"

"Are you still pursuing this thing... Well, it's up to you. All I can say is, don't hold too much hope. After all, how great the hope is, how great the disappointment is..." Ashes narrowed his eyes, looked at Edward and said with a smile.

.

"You guys, can't you say something nice? Maybe we can recover our bodies soon!" Edward said to Ashes with confidence.

"Then I can only wish you good luck... That's all I can say. I have something to check myself, so I won't disturb your work. Bye!" Ashes smiled, stood up, and turned around with the fire prevention girl.

leave.

"What are you doing here!" Edward said helplessly as he looked at the ashes leaving...

Ashes suddenly stopped, turned to look at Edward and said with a smile, "What are you doing? It's nothing, I just came to read a book, and I stopped by to see how you two are doing."

Looking at the leaving ashes, Edward looked confused. "Look at our state, what does this guy mean..." Edward frowned and asked Alphonse beside him.

Alphonse also tilted his head and said incomprehensibly, "Who knows, Mr. Ashes has always been mysterious. No one knows what he will do next second..."

"Don't worry about him, we still have a lot of things to do! There may be something we need here!" Edward patted the mountain of information on the table and said to Alphonse expectantly.

…

Ashes took the fire prevention girl to a single room, hugged a stack of books and said, "Okay, we should do what we should do. We don't need to worry about the brothers for the time being. We will investigate carefully next."

Does the central library have anything we need..."

A few days passed in a blink of an eye, and Ashes learned more about the so-called alchemy of this world, but even more about this country. It has to be said that this country is beyond Ashes' imagination.

In just one or two hundred years, this country has been built so powerful that it can cause friction with many surrounding countries at the same time, and can easily shut out all these countries, leaving the country almost unaffected...

It is truly beyond imagination. In just one hundred years, the country, which was originally a small country, expanded its territory nearly five times. But the strange thing is that the expansion was always only superficial.

Seize some land from neighboring countries, then deploy border defenses, then turn around and continue to expand in the other direction, ignoring the previously invaded countries...

The purpose is very clear, as if there is some kind of gold and silver in these plundered lands.

But in fact it's not... most of the occupied land is desolate and barren land, just like the Ishvar I knew before, where except for the native Ishvar people, there is almost nothing left, just for the sake of rich land? No,

For more population? Then why annihilate all the Ishval people?

The more I think about Ashes, the more I feel that there is something wrong with this country. Not only the territory, military, politics, scientific research, decision-making, and a series of other behaviors are full of weirdness, it seems that they don’t care whether the country is rich or not, only the territory...

Just when Hui Jin was deep in thought, Edward's angry shouting "Are you kidding me!" suddenly came from the corridor.

Ashes put down the book in his hand and led the fireproof girl towards the room next door where the Elric brothers were...

When he pushed open the closed door, he saw Brother Elric sitting on the ground in frustration, with books and information scattered all over the floor, and two panicked guards beside him...

That's right, the Elric brothers, or Fullmetal Alchemist Edward, were assigned escorts...

But Ashes didn't... Originally Ashes was quite concerned about it, and even went to find Hughes to ask why Little Douding had his own bodyguard, and why he didn't...

The answer I got was that the guards were to protect the country's alchemists from being attacked by Scarface, but Ashes could deal with Scarface on his own, so he simply didn't arrange guards for him. It's that simple...

"What's wrong? Edward, why do you look like this? Can't you decipher the code?" Hui Jin leaned against the door frame and said to Edward inside the door with a smile on his face.

"It's been deciphered. We have deciphered the code," Alphonse said in a low tone.

The guard on the side said happily, "Really, isn't this great?"

Edward pounded the ground angrily and said emotionally, "What's wrong with this kind of thing! Demon research, something that shouldn't be pursued, the blood of the lamb... You already knew that, right... Mr. Ashes!"

After speaking, Edward looked with burning eyes at Hui Ji, who was leaning against the door frame and still smiling.

Ashes smiled slightly, nodded and said, "Yes, I know that the material of the Philosopher's Stone is human beings, or human souls, so I..."

"That's why you said that this thing is not something we can pursue, that's why you said that it is a sinful thing... That's right!" Edward said angrily, his face full of unwillingness and pain!

Hui Jin's face straightened up slightly, and he said earnestly, "Yes, that's why I warn you again and again, but... this is the path you choose. How to take it, and where it can lead is all up to you."

It’s your own business.”

Alphonse, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly remembered something, and said to Edward in shock, "Mr. Malk once studied the Philosopher's Stone for the country, which means... this is the country's research, and the country actually uses people as research materials.

!”
Chapter completed!