CHAPTER 401: CHAPTER 17: SORROWS AND JOYS

Lisa Hokai held the handgun level in front of her and stepped into the room with a swift movement.

Upon entering, Lisa Hokai found the living room completely dark, but the dining room lights were on. A man sat at her dining table, a steaming bowl of noodles in front of him.

"Who are you."

Because the man was looking down while eating, Lisa Hokai couldn’t see his face clearly.

"Let’s talk, don’t point the gun at me."

Lisa Hokai frowned, feeling slightly angered.

"Stand up, raise your hands above your head, lie on the ground!"

Lisa Hokai was a sniper who had fought on the battlefield, and Su Xiao clearly felt a chilling killing intent.

"I’m just eating a bowl of noodles, are you going to arrest me for that?"

Su Xiao tilted his head, and when Lisa Hokai saw his face, her pupils contracted tightly.

"The demon of the Ishbal massacre, the Flame Alchemist."

Lisa Hokai took a few steps back and then directly released the safety on her gun.

"What are you doing in my house."

"To save your life."

"Huh?"

Lisa Hokai was utterly astonished.

Su Xiao continued eating his noodles, and next to him, Bubu Wang did the same. But Bubu Wang quickly finished his bowl and began eyeing Su Xiao’s.

"My noodles are quite delicious, want to try some?"

Lisa Hokai showed no expression, finding something off about that statement.

"I’ve already had dinner."

Su Xiao, chewing on the noodles, put down his chopsticks and pulled out a few photos from his coat, tossing them onto the table.

"You should thank me, if not for the fallout with the homunculi, you’d be dead by now and justly executed."

In the corner of her eye, Lisa Hokai caught a glimpse of the photos, and upon seeing their content, she quickly walked up to them.

"What’s this?"

Lisa Hokai picked up the photos, her face filled with disbelief.

"Colluding with enemy officers, if I’m not mistaken, that’s punished by hanging."

Su Xiao picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating.

"These photos..."

Lisa Hokai examined them, and after a preliminary analysis, she realized they weren’t spliced or composite images.

"Impossible, I’ve never met the officer in these photos."

"You indeed haven’t, but the photos are right here, which is enough to send you to a military court. But let’s not dwell on that, what progress have you made in your investigation?"

"Investigating what?"

Lisa Hokai became alert once more.

"The secret of this country."

"What are you talking about, I don’t understand."

"Is that so? Let me give you a hint—Fifth Laboratory, Philosopher’s Stone, homunculi, Nationwide Transmutation Circle."

"You..."

Lisa Hokai looked at Su Xiao, stunned.

"Don’t act so shocked, I know everything about them. A mere hour ago, I was one of their accomplices."

"Put down the chopsticks, put this on."

Lisa Hokai took out an old-fashioned pair of handcuffs, her heartbeat quickening. The truth she had been investigating was right in front of her.

Zhi～.

The sound of metal wire retracting came, and Lisa Hokai felt a cold, sharp sensation through her clothing.

"If you want a fight, get Mustang to come here. Your close combat skills are too weak."

Su Xiao finished his dinner, lit a cigarette, and with his bare physique attribute already reaching 33 points, smoking wouldn’t harm him.

Lisa Hokai sensibly lowered her gun slowly.

"What’s your objective."

"It’s a bit complicated to explain, you’ll understand later."

Su Xiao took out a long cloth bag and tossed it in front of Lisa Hokai.

"Get in."

"What?"

Lisa Hokai glanced at the bag, which wasn’t very large; it would be difficult for her to fit in.

"I came here tonight to kill you, so save the questions."

Realizing Su Xiao’s gaze grew icier, Lisa Hokai gritted her teeth and climbed into the bag.

Su Xiao pulled out a bag of blood plasma and poured it into the bag.

"What’s this? Prop blood plasma? No, this is human blood!"

"Prop blood plasma wouldn’t fool them."

Su Xiao zipped up the bag, then kicked it right where Lisa Hokai’s neck was, knocking her unconscious.

Lisa Hokai cooperated because she was bound by the Boundary Line; if she dared to move just now, she would have been sliced to pieces by sharp metal wires.

Su Xiao pulled out an Intermediate Alchemy Bomb and tossed it into the room.

"Woo～."

A low, threatening growl came, and a black and white puppy bit into Su Xiao’s pant leg. Even though it trembled all over, it didn’t retreat a single step. It was Windblast, protecting its owner.

Su Xiao gripped the puppy’s neck, knocking it out as well before tossing it into the bag.

Boom!

The Intermediate Alchemy Bomb exploded, shattering all the room’s glass with the impact, and flames spread across the room.

Carrying the bag, Su Xiao walked downstairs, blood seeping out from the bag and dripping onto the floor.

Shortly after Su Xiao left, Enwei appeared on a distant rooftop.

Seeing the house engulfed in flames and the bloodstained bag in Su Xiao’s hand, a smile appeared on Enwei’s face.

"Will this really work?"

An eye appeared in the shadows behind Enwei.

"Of course it will, later I’ll inform Colonel Mustang. Under Mustang’s pursuit, whether he fights back or hides in the shadows, it’ll be more convenient to use him this way; a chess piece should have the consciousness of being a chess piece."

"Boring plan."

The eye in the shadows closed, seemingly unimpressed with Enwei’s plan.

"What?"

Enwei was quite displeased.

"Stop trying to be clever; humans are much more cunning than you imagine.

"Tsk."

Enwei leapt off the rooftop, as he still had follow-up matters to attend to.

...

That night at 2 a.m., in the wilderness near Central City.

Lisa Hokai was bathing in a small river, her body covered in blood.

Su Xiao sat by the river, but Lisa Hokai didn’t seem to care much.

"Hurry up, time is running out."

"Almost done."

Lisa Hokai climbed ashore naked, not because of any openness, but because she had witnessed too much life and death. During the war, she even lived in co-ed dorms.

Su Xiao tossed over a new set of clothing, feeling some admiration for Lisa Hokai’s lack of fuss.

Lisa Hokai changed behind a tree, grabbed a suitcase, and turned into the forest, climbing a tree over ten meters high.

Not long after, hurried footsteps approached.

"It’s around here, there’s still bloodstains."

"Quick, search carefully. Bring them back alive or dead!"

An icy voice filled with rage rang out, conveying deep hatred just from hearing it.

Several figures rushed towards Su Xiao’s location; it was Colonel Mustang and his few trusted aides.

Seeing Su Xiao leaning against a tree, Mustang’s hands trembled.

This face was all too familiar. During the Ishbal massacre, this man had bombed countless Ishbal People; once a ’comrade’, now a ’mortal enemy’.

"Flame... Alchemist!"

Mustang roared, his eyes bloodshot, raising a hand wearing a white glove inscribed with an alchemy array.

"Lisa Hokai, you can come out now."

Hearing Su Xiao’s words, Mustang paused in surprise.

"Colonel, I’m okay."

From the tree, Lisa Hokai called out, and Mustang felt a surge of joy upon hearing her voice.