In Ian's private laboratory, the cold light of the shadowless lamp shines on the dissecting table.
At this time, the person lying on the stage was not an ordinary experimental subject, but the country's supreme commander--President Kim Bradley, also known as Homunculus "Wrath".
After reading the memory of the great president, Ian discovered that he had made an empirical mistake before.
According to the information in the original work, Wrath is one of the strongest villains faced by the protagonist team. But he is not a master of Alchemy, nor does he have shadow powers like Pride, nor does he even have the "strongest shield" like Greed.
What he relies on is only pure physical function and peak swordsmanship. Even a powerful Alchemy division like Roy Mustang is no match for him in close combat.
Ian once took it for granted that this inhuman physical strength came from the magical blessing of Philosopher's Stone.
But the autopsy showed he was wrong.
"Incredible..."
Ian was wearing Dragonhide Gloves, and his fingertips ran across the tight steel-like texture of Bradley, and the data flow in his eyes refreshed rapidly.
"Your muscle density is five times that of ordinary humans, and your bone hardness is comparable to that of an alloy. Your internal organ structure has undergone some kind of intense adaptive evolution and has amazing shock resistance. What's even more frightening is that your nerve conduction speed is at least ten times that of ordinary people."
Ian raised his head and looked at the anesthetized president, with a hint of respect for biological evolution in his tone:
"And all of this was not achieved by magic, but by Hell-like acquired training. By continuously tearing and reorganizing muscle fibers, the 'Limiter' of carbon-based organisms was forcibly broken."
This is simply a biological miracle.
After completing the atomic-level whole-body scan, Ian did not kill Bradley. He waved away the restraints, then turned and left the laboratory.
He knew very well that with Homunculus's resilience, the president would be able to leave on his own in a few hours.
Back in the courtyard of the mansion, Ian held two long swords for practice and began to try to copy the training method Bradley remembered.
Huh--
The sword edge cuts through the air.
Every time he swings the sword, Ian is trying to precisely control every muscle fiber in the body and adjust the resonance frequency of breathing and force exertion.
As the training progressed, he was keenly aware of something strange.
A weak but warm energy was seeping into his body from the ground beneath his feet as he breathed and moved. This energy flowed through his limbs and bones, nourishing his cells and strengthening his vitality.
"As expected."
Ian stopped moving, felt the surging heat in his body, and had a clear understanding in his heart.
"Xing's Alkahestry theory is correct. There is an energy called 'Dragon Vein' flowing in the ley lines of this world. This is essentially a huge life Source Force."
"Although Amestrians don't know how to use Qi, their bodies have been in this high-concentration life energy environment for a long time, and they have subtly developed extremely high evolutionary potential."
The reason why Bradley was able to reach an inhuman state through training was not only due to his own will, but also because he unconsciously absorbed the "Dragon Vein" energy in the environment through high-intensity exercise and completed the extraordinary transformation of his body.
This discovery made Ian plunge into deeper thinking.
"If the 'planet' is regarded as a huge living body, then 'Dragon Vein' is its blood vessel, and the energy flowing through it is its blood."
This theory coincides with the "Gaia Hypothesis" proposed by a Hawaii wizard in his previous life.
The wizard believed that the earth was alive, and Leyline Nodes was the magic blood vessel of the earth. At that time, many people refuted it, believing that the earth had no "consciousness" and could not be counted as life.
But in the world of steelmaking, "Truth" itself can be regarded as a collection of pan-consciousness of the universe or planet.
Since "Truth" exists, it is logical that the planet has vitality.
"Unfortunately, the earth does not have such an active 'Dragon Vein'. However, this set of 'Qi Guiding into the Body' strengthening methods, with slight improvements, may become a required course for the Arcane Empire Knights."
Ian temporarily stored this topic in Tower Spirit's database, and then turned his attention back to the current situation.
A few days later.
Ian abided by a certain tacit agreement and released all the Homunculus samples in his hands.
Including Arrogance compressed into a ball, as well as the previously captured Lust, Gluttony and Greed.
He is not soft-hearted, but because he had a deal with "Truth" - as the price for outsiders entering this dimension, he promised not to cause killing in this world at will.
Now that the core data has been obtained through analysis and reverse engineering, and even the secrets of how to build Subspace have been extracted from Gluttony, these experimental bodies have lost their value.
On the other side, deep underground.
"Father" looked at the "sons and daughters" who had returned in embarrassment, with a terrifyingly gloomy face.
Especially when he learned that the "Lust" and "Gluttony" he had been talking to in the past few weeks had always been alchemy puppets created by Ian, this being who had lived for hundreds of years couldn't help but feel a chill.
That man is too dangerous.
"Suspend all actions against Ian·Bones." My father issued the highest order. "As long as he does not actively destroy the plan of 'Promised Day', treat him as if he does not exist. He is a variable beyond our control."
Central City, outside a public phone booth somewhere.
The night was miserable, and the cold wind carried fallen leaves swirling on the streets.
Inside the phone booth, blood had stained the ground red.
Lieutenant Colonel Mas Hughes fell in a pool of blood, breathing weakly. Next to his trembling hands, there was a blood-stained photo - that was his beloved wife and daughter.
Just a few seconds ago, he discovered the secret of Nationwide Land Transmutation Circle and was about to report it to Colonel Mustang, but he was attacked.
"You humans are really incomprehensible."
Outside the phone booth, Envy, who transformed into Hughes's wife, looked at the man on the ground with disgust, "I lost my life for such meaningless information."
After saying that, Envy turned around and prepared to leave the scene, leaving Hughes to die of excessive blood loss.
However, the moment he turned around.
Buzz--
There is no fluctuation of magic power in the air, only the unique Crustal Energy resonance when Alchemy is activated.
The ground beneath Hughes, who was seriously injured and on the verge of death, suddenly became as soft as a swamp, instantly swallowing him up and sending him into a safe passage deep underground.
At the same time, a "corpse" that had been prepared and looked exactly like Hughes at this moment was replaced on the ground.
The whole process happened in a flash, without even making a sound.
When Envy noticed something was wrong and turned around suddenly, what he saw was no longer the dying Hughes, but a black-haired man wearing a black windbreaker with cold eyes.
Ian·Alvin·Bones.
He stood under the street lamp, the hem of his windbreaker rustling in the night wind, his blue eyes without any warmth, as if he were looking at a specimen.
"You are...Edward·Bones."
Envy subconsciously took half a step back. The fear originating from the depths of his soul made him instinctively want to escape. How could a monster that even his father was afraid of appear here?
"Correct answer."
Ian clapped his hands gently, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing dinner, "Now, I'll give you two choices: First, follow me obediently and lie down on the dissecting table; second, I'll beat you half to death and then drag you to the dissecting table. You have three seconds to think about it."
"Don't be so arrogant, human!"
Envy was completely angered by this contemptuous attitude. He let out an inhuman roar, and his body instantly expanded Transfiguration.
The original human disguise was torn apart and replaced by a huge green beast. Its body was inlaid with countless painful and wailing human faces, which were the souls of the Xerxes people who were made into Philosopher's Stone.
"I'm going to chew you up!"
Envy, who transformed into a giant beast, waved his huge claws and struck Ian with wind pressure.
"It seems you chose the second path."
Ian stood there, not moving at all. He just raised his right hand and lightly hit the Snap.
Snap.
This crisp the Snap sounds particularly harsh in the silent night.
Boom--!!
A thick blue Law of Thunder appeared out of thin air, like a spear of heavenly punishment, accurately bombarding Envy's huge body.
"Ouch-ouch--!!"
Envy let out a shrill scream. High-voltage current instantly penetrated every inch of his nerves, turning the faces of the innocent souls on his body to black and twisted shapes.
But it's not over yet.
Ian typed the Snap again with an expressionless face.
Snap.
This time, it's fire.
It was not the kind of explosion that Mustang caused by adjusting the oxygen concentration, but a pure high-temperature alchemical flame. The red flame turned into a fire dragon, instantly wrapped around Envy's body, and began to burn mercilessly.
In just two blows, dozens of copies of Soul Energy stored in Philosopher's Stone in Envy's body were consumed to repair the burnt and carbonized flesh.
"Ahhh! Stop! Stop!"
The next thirty seconds became Envy's longest nightmare in his life.
That man was like an elegant conductor, standing on the spot and playing the Snap. Law of Thunder intertwined with the flames to form a cruel symphony, and the scream of Envy was the only accompaniment.
For Envy, who is cruel by nature and likes to watch human beings struggling in despair, at this moment he finally understands the pain of those he killed.
"That's almost it."
Seeing Envy who was dying and unable to maintain the form of a giant beast, Ian stopped attacking.
He waved his wand and cast a Enhanced Sleeping Curse.
As the huge body collapsed, Ian stepped forward and skillfully sealed it into a special containment container.
The night returns to silence.
Ian glanced at the bloody photo next to the phone booth, flicked his finger, and the photo flew into his hand.
"Mas·Hughes, your 'funeral' will be held as scheduled."
Ian whispered to himself, his figure gradually disappearing into the darkness, "But this is only the first half of the play. After that, your 'rebirth' will be written by me."