"Where is this?"
Mas·Hughes slowly opened his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar ceiling with blurred vision, "Wait... I thought I was dead?"
"Luck Yes, you are still alive."
A sudden sound startled Hughes. He subconsciously turned his head to look for the source of the sound, but his high myopia meant that he could only see a blurry shadow.
"Your glasses are on the bedside table." the voice reminded.
Hughes stretched out his hand and groped for a few seconds, and finally touched the familiar frame. After putting on the glasses, the world became clear again.
Standing in front of him was a young man with black hair and blue eyes.
"Did you save me?" Hughes asked.
"That's right."
Ian nodded and said in a calm tone, "You can do some exercise if you want. Your body has fully recovered."
Hughes immediately checked his body and was surprised to find that he was in peak condition. When he opened his shirt, only a few bullet hole-shaped scars remained on his skin, indicating that what happened before was definitely not a nightmare.
As a professional soldier, he quickly recovered his senses after a brief shock.
"Thank you for saving me. When I have time, I will definitely repay this kindness. But now... I have to go."
Hughes rolled over and got out of bed, looking anxious.
"No need to worry." Ian stretched out his hand to stop him.
"You don't understand! This is a matter of life and death!"
"I know very well what you found - the Nationwide Land Transmutation Circle covering the whole country, and the terrible meaning behind it."
Ian looked at Hughes who was frozen in place, and calmly declared, "But even so, this cannot change the fact: you can't leave now."
Hughes's eyes instantly became sharp, and he entered a state of combat alert. He stared at Ian, assessing the opponent's threat level.
Facing Hughes's hostility, Ian just smiled indifferently:
"There's no need to be so wary of me. If I were your enemy, I wouldn't have bothered to save you just now. Now, come here..."
Ian pointed to the room next to him.
"Come and see your funeral."
These absurd words made Hughes stunned. He looked at the young man's back as he turned away, hesitated for a moment, and then followed him.
"Wait, who are you? I don't know your name yet! Also, what does watching my funeral mean?"
Following the young man, Hughes came to the spacious living room.
There are two extremely comfortable-looking sofas placed here, and a huge projection screen is suspended directly in front. A solemn funeral is being broadcast live on the screen.
In the picture, Hughes saw his best friend Roy Mustang, his former subordinates, and even the president.
Of course, more importantly... he saw his beloved wife and daughter.
"What is this?" Hughes's voice was trembling.
"To the outside world, you are already a dead person. So, this is your funeral."
Hughes fell down on the sofa, his eyes locked on the screen.
Then, a scene that broke his heart happened.
The young daughter Elicia held her mother's hand and asked innocently and helplessly, "Mom, why did they bury daddy?"
"Elicia... He's gone." The wife replied with choked sobs.
"But Dad said he still has a lot of work to do! If he is buried in the soil, he won't be able to work! Mom, tell them to stop! Dad still has work to do!"
Listening to his daughter's heart-rending cries, and watching his wife holding her daughter in the rain and crying bitterly, Hughes clenched her fists tightly, and her nails dug deeply into her palms.
The feeling of powerlessness almost swallowed him up.
"Think about it from another angle," Ian's voice sounded at the right time, with a kind of rational indifference, "You are not really dead, you just can't see them for the time being."
Hughes knew that the mysterious young man in front of him would never let him go easily. He gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to rush out. He sat slumped in the chair and stared greedily and painfully at his wife and daughter on the screen.
Ian was sitting on another chair, also staring at the screen, but thinking about another level of problems in his heart.
The reason why Hughes caused his family to suffer this kind of pain is ultimately because he is too weak. Too weak to protect himself in the conspiracy and unable to control his own destiny.
'Although I am stronger than ordinary people now, I am still weak in front of the real dimensional powerhouses.'
Ian warned himself in his heart.
If something unexpected happens to him one day, will his family members in that world have to go through the same funeral?
Absolutely not.
He must become stronger, strong enough to avoid all risks, strong enough not to let his family bear any risk of losing him.
After the funeral, the screen went dark.
Hughes took off his glasses and wiped the corners of his eyes. He turned to look at Ian with complicated eyes. "Why did you save me? And why did you stop me from exposing the conspiracy?"
"Hmm... how to explain this?"
Ian touched his chin and came up with an easy-to-understand metaphor:
"Imagine you are reading a wonderful novel, and there is a character you like very much. However, in order to promote the development of the plot, create emotional conflicts, and increase the tension of the story, the author decided to write this character to death."
"As a reader, you can't do anything about it, because it's not your story. But if a god suddenly gave you a chance to travel into the world of that book and gave you the ability to modify the plot. What would you do?"
"Of course it's to save my favorite character." Hughes answered without hesitation.
"Bingo." Ian hit the Snap, "That's why I saved you."
Hughes was stunned.
"Although I am a little flattered to be your 'favorite character'..." Hughes said with a wry smile, "But this is not a novel. I am not a paper person either. This is real life, with real consequences."
Ian looked directly into his eyes and asked meaningfully, "If you are really a character in a book, how could you know? How can you be sure that your life has not been scripted from birth?"
An inexplicable existential fear instantly enveloped Hughes, but he quickly got rid of this sense of nothingness with his strong psychological quality.
"Okay, no matter what your motive for saving me is. But what about Nationwide Land Transmutation Circle? If Mastermind succeeds, all Amestris citizens will die!"
"Since I am a 'reader', I naturally know the ending. I also know that others will discover this secret and stop it all." Ian responded calmly.
"Since you know the outcome, why don't you just stop it? How many unnecessary sacrifices and struggles can this reduce?" Hughes keenly grasped the logical loophole.
He stared at Ian and said word by word, "Unless... you don't want to interfere, or this 'process' has some benefit to you."
"It seems that you have finally found your acumen as an intelligence officer." Ian nodded appreciatively.
Hughes sighed, knowing that he couldn't ask more questions on this topic.
"By the way, I don't know your name yet."
"Oh, sorry. I'm Ian·Alvin·Bones." Ian stretched out his hand.
"Are you the Alchemy master who saved Nina·Tucker?" Hughes said in surprise.
"It's down there."
"Mustang mentioned you to me. I'm glad you were able to pull that little girl back from her tragic fate." Hughes held Ian's hand and spoke in a more sincere tone.
"Okay, now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, I will give you two choices now."
Ian Hold up two fingers:
"First, stay here. I have cast a powerful spell on this villa. You can't get out, and no one else can get in. Someone will bring you a menu every day. Except that you can't go out, you can enjoy everything."
"Second, follow me. We are going to cross the desert and go to the country in the east - Xing."
Hughes pushed up his glasses and fell into deep thought.
"If I choose the first option, I can't escape, right?"
"Stop being clever. I said it was a 'powerful spell'. You can understand it as a very high-level Alchemy that can seal space."
Hughes sighed. Instead of being locked in this cage as a canary, it is better to follow this mysterious man. Maybe on the way, he can find a chance to do something, or find out more secrets about this "observer".
"I'll go with you."
Ian nodded with satisfaction.