Chapter 99 of 100

Chapter 99

14 min read3,518 words

"Hey? It seems that Master can also perform alchemy without an array." Edward suddenly frowned, lost in thought.

Alphonse, however, didn't think much of it: "Master is so powerful, of course he can perform alchemy without an array. By the way, it's been a long time since we last visited Master. Should we go see him?"

Edward, however, was not reassured. He thought to himself: "The reason I can perform alchemy without an array is entirely due to the failure of human transmutation. How did Master achieve it?"

In the aftermath of human transmutation, he lost a leg, and Alphonse lost his entire body. Thinking about Master's frequent episodes of coughing up blood and lying in bed, Edward was suddenly alarmed: "Could Master have also performed human transmutation?"

Hearing Alphonse's suggestion, Edward nodded: "Alright, let's go see him. I have some questions to ask the teacher."

Alphonse had also undergone human transmutation, so why couldn't he perform alchemy without an array? Did the teacher really perform human transmutation? If so, what did he transmute back then?

Thinking about this, Edward turned to look at Su Zhong beside him.

"Kolong, do you want to come with us to see Master?"

Su Zhong thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. With the success of the ice transmutation array, he had nothing to do recently and could use this opportunity to go out.

...

A black military jeep sped down a dirt road in the countryside, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The surroundings were vast farmland, and the sound of the car engine echoed in the distance.

"Colonel, why did you suddenly come to this remote village?" The driver was a capable female officer.

She had short blonde hair, a serious expression, and sharp eyes. Her movements were precise, and she looked very impressive in her military uniform.

In the back seat sat a young man in his late twenties with black hair, also dressed in a blue military uniform, with a faint smile on his face: "Lisa, don't be so serious."

Seeing that the woman was unmoved, the young man shook his head helplessly: "I heard there's a very talented alchemist here. I came to take a look, and if he's suitable, I'll recruit him into the military."

"Will he agree? After all, the reputation of a State Alchemist isn't good," Lisa glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

"There's nothing we can do if he doesn't agree. But given such a big benefit, I think he will agree," Roy Mustang said confidently.

"I hope so..."

...

"Kolong, this is our Master's house," Edward said to Su Zhong behind him.

Edward walked to the door and knocked loudly: "Master, we've come to see you!"

Bang!

The tightly closed door was kicked open from the inside, and a black shadow darted out.

Edward, who had been trained by Su Zhong for many days, reacted quickly. He did a backflip to narrowly avoid the swift and fierce kick.

He placed his hands on the ground and did a backflip to create some distance.

"Master! Stop! It's me!"

Edward and Alphonse struggled to fend off the attacker, but they were young and had not been trained by Su Zhong for long. They were soon knocked to the ground.

"Of course I know it's you. Otherwise, I would have held back," Izumi was a tall woman with a stern face, lacking the usual charm but exuding a sense of authority.

Edward rubbed his bruised face, rolling his eyes. This was called holding back?

Izumi's face was cold, but her eyes smiled. She loved these two talented disciples very much.

But when she saw Edward's automail arm and Alphonse's empty armor, her expression turned cold, then pained.

She looked at the Elric brothers with a complex expression.

"Master..."

"Never mind, come in."

Izumi led the two into the room. Su Zhong followed in.

Upon learning that the Elric brothers had performed human transmutation to bring their mother back to life, Izumi's pain intensified.

But when Edward mentioned that they had transmuted a living person, Izumi's expression changed dramatically.

"Who are you!" Izumi rushed to Su Zhong, her eyes cold, and shouted.

"My name is Kolong," Su Zhong said calmly.

Izumi's expression was fierce, and she didn't listen to Edward's explanation: "Impossible. As far as I know, human transmutation has never been successful. What kind of monster are you?"

Su Zhong's eyebrows furrowed. Was this true? He couldn't possibly explain his origins.

Seeing Su Zhong's silence, Izumi's expression grew even more severe.

She clasped her hands and slammed them to the ground, causing blue light to flash and numerous spikes to shoot out of the earth.

Su Zhong raised an eyebrow and, as the spikes approached, casually slapped them, causing red light to flash and shatter the spikes into pieces.

Izumi's face changed, and she grabbed a fruit knife from a nearby table, throwing it at Su Zhong.

Su Zhong narrowed his eyes, and his right hand shot out, two fingers like steel, firmly clamping the knife that was about to hit his nose.

Having experienced multiple worlds, he had never been hesitant. He bent his fingers and flicked the knife back.

Thud!

Blood splattered as the knife pierced Izumi's hand, pinning her left hand to the wall.

"I advise you not to move rashly. You can't beat me," Su Zhong said coldly, turning to look at the anxious Edward. "It seems your Master has some misunderstandings about me. I'll go back first. You explain to her."

Su Zhong glanced at the dazed Izumi. He suddenly understood that her attack was partly due to her suspicion about his identity, but also a way to vent her pain over her inability to bring her son back to life.

His appearance confirmed the complete failure of the human transmutation array. Previous cases only mentioned the backlash, but at least there was a glimmer of hope. His presence as a homunculus shattered that hope completely.

However, Su Zhong didn't want to get involved. He had come to see Izumi out of curiosity about the character and to learn some alchemy, but it seemed that was no longer possible.

...

The meeting with Izumi ended unhappily. Su Zhong had no desire to wander around anymore and decided to return to continue his alchemy research.

Edward's house was not far from Izumi's residence, and he returned home just after noon.

When he opened the door, he found two soldiers sitting inside, causing his eyebrows to twitch.

Having watched the anime, Su Zhong naturally recognized them as Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. One was a Flame Alchemist, and the other was a firearms expert skilled in sniping.

Roy Mustang's face was grim, and he sat silently, making the atmosphere tense.

Pinako's expression was not good. Roy's sour face made her think of unwelcome guests.

Hearing the door open, the three people inside looked up.

"Kolong, you're back so soon? Has Edward returned? There are people looking for them," Pinako's expression softened slightly upon seeing Su Zhong.

Su Zhong smiled warmly at Pinako: "Not yet. They haven't seen their Master in a long time and said they would stay longer. They might return later. Who are these two?"

Pinako's face darkened, but she didn't introduce them, clearly indicating that the conversation before Su Zhong's return had not been pleasant. The stubborn old lady was not giving them any face.

Roy Mustang didn't react to Pinako's behavior. His eyes were sharp as he carefully examined Su Zhong, his tone cold: "Hello, I'm Roy Mustang. Who are you?"

Su Zhong's eyebrows furrowed, and a smile flashed across his face. He turned to the sour-faced Pinako and said with a smile: "Pinako, I haven't eaten lunch yet." He ignored Roy Mustang's intense gaze.

Pinako's face immediately brightened, and she huffed at Roy, standing up to cook for Su Zhong.

Roy Mustang looked helpless. These two were clearly giving him the cold shoulder, and he couldn't blame them for his own attitude.

"Hello, let me introduce myself again. I'm Roy Mustang. I was rude earlier, please forgive me."

Su Zhong sat across from him and smiled, nodding. That was better; who was he trying to intimidate?

"My name is Kolong. What do you want with Edward?"

Roy Mustang, having composed himself, looked at Su Zhong again: "I originally wanted to recruit him as a State Alchemist, but I saw something troubling at his house and wanted to confirm it. Can you introduce me to Edward?"

Su Zhong understood. He had seen the human transmutation array.

"You saw the human transmutation array."

"Are you an alchemist too? Why didn't you stop them? Don't you know the taboo of alchemy?"

His tone became sharp again, and he leaned forward, his face darkening.

Su Zhong leaned back in his chair, placing his hands on the table to calm the other person.

"Do you even know who Edward is? Please rest assured, he's not a madman obsessed with alchemy, recklessly experimenting. He's just an eleven-year-old child."

Roy Mustang was taken aback, and the anger on his face slowly dissipated: "Eleven years old? You're not joking."

"It seems you didn't do much research before coming."

"I just heard that there was an outstanding alchemist here, so I came to take a look and see if I could recruit him as a State Alchemist."

Roy Mustang quickly composed himself. A child completing human transmutation demonstrated his exceptional alchemy skills.

His young age also ruled out the possibility of him being a mad alchemist. His anger had subsided.

"They just wanted to bring their mother back to life. One lost his body, and the other became disabled."

"Lost his body? Disabled?" Roy Mustang was confused. How could someone live without a body, let alone visit relatives and friends?

"Edward has an automail arm. As for Alphonse, you'll understand when you see him," Su Zhong said no more.

"What is the process for recruiting a State Alchemist? Could you tell me?" Su Zhong suddenly asked.

Roy Mustang looked at Su Zhong curiously: "Why? Do you want to become a State Alchemist? The examination is very strict."

He clearly doubted Su Zhong's abilities. There was already a young alchemy prodigy here; could another one appear? He didn't believe it.

Su Zhong smiled and placed his hands on the table, causing red light to flash.

Instantly, the tea in front of Roy Mustang froze into ice cubes.

"Ice? Such fast casting speed." Roy Mustang was startled and examined Su Zhong's hands closely. He noticed that Su Zhong was wearing black fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back of each hand.

Noticing Roy's gaze, Su Zhong smiled. This was the transmutation array he had prepared recently, but it was actually useless. It was just a decoy!

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