# Chapter 17: Grief and Joy
Riza Hawkeye raised her pistol level in front of her, then swiftly entered the room.
Upon entering, Riza Hawkeye found the living room dim and dark. The light in the dining area not far away was on, and a man was sitting at her dining table, with a steaming bowl of noodles placed before him.
"Who are you?"
Because the man was lowering his head to eat the noodles, Riza Hawkeye couldn't see his face clearly.
"Let's talk. Don't point that gun at me."
Riza Hawkeye frowned deeply, a hint of anger rising in her heart.
"Stand up, put your hands above your head, and get on the ground!"
Riza Hawkeye was a sniper who had been on the battlefield and killed enemies. Su Xiao could clearly sense a chilling killing intent from her.
"I'm just eating a bowl of noodles. Are you going to arrest me for that?"
Su Xiao turned his head. When Riza Hawkeye saw his face, her pupils sharply contracted.
"The demon of the Ishbal Extermination War, the Flame Alchemist."
Riza Hawkeye stepped back a few paces, this time directly releasing the safety catch on her pistol.
"What are you doing at my house?"
"To save your life."
"Huh?"
Riza Hawkeye looked utterly astonished.
Su Xiao lowered his head to eat the noodles. Bubu Wang beside him was doing the same, but Bubu Wang quickly finished his own bowl and started eyeing Su Xiao's portion.
"My cooking is pretty good. Don't you want to try some?"
Riza Hawkeye remained expressionless. She felt there was something off about that statement.
"I've already had dinner."
Su Xiao chewed the noodles in his mouth, set down his chopsticks, and took out a few photos from his pocket, tossing them onto the dining table.
"You should be grateful to me. If I hadn't just fallen out with the Homunculi, you'd already be dead—and executed in a perfectly legitimate manner."
Riza Hawkeye's peripheral vision caught sight of the photos. When she clearly saw their contents, she quickly stepped forward.
"This is?"
Riza Hawkeye picked up the photos, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Conspiring with enemy officers. If I remember correctly, that's punishable by hanging."
Su Xiao picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.
"These photos..."
Riza Hawkeye examined the photos in her hand. After a preliminary assessment, she found they weren't spliced or synthesized.
"Impossible. I've never met the officer in these photos."
"You really haven't. But the photos are here, and that's enough to send you to a military tribunal. Setting that aside for now, how far have you gotten in your investigation?"
"Investigation into what?"
Riza Hawkeye became wary again.
"The secrets of this country."
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"Is that so? Then let me give you some hints: the Fifth Research Lab, the Philosopher's Stone, the Homunculi, the National Transmutation Array."
"You..."
Riza Hawkeye stared at Su Xiao in shock.
"Don't be so surprised. I know everything about them. Up until an hour ago, I was their accomplice."
"Put down your chopsticks and put this on."
Riza Hawkeye pulled out an old-fashioned pair of handcuffs. Her heart was pounding—the truth they had been investigating was right in front of her.
Zzzz~
The sound of metal wire retracting came. Riza Hawkeye felt a cold, sharp sensation inside her clothes.
"If you want to fight, send Mustang over. Your close-combat skills are too weak."
Su Xiao finished his dinner and lit a cigarette. His unarmored physique attribute had already reached 33 points, so smoking wouldn't harm his body.
Riza Hawkeye wisely chose to slowly lower her gun.
"What's your goal?"
"Explaining would be complicated. You'll understand later."
Su Xiao took out a long cloth bag and tossed it in front of Riza Hawkeye.
"Get in."
"What?"
Riza Hawkeye glanced at the bag. It wasn't very big—getting inside would be difficult.
"I came here tonight to kill you, so stop wasting time."
Seeing Su Xiao's gaze grow colder, Riza Hawkeye gritted her teeth and crawled into the bag.
Su Xiao took out a bag of blood and splashed it into the bag.
"What is this? Prop blood? No, this is human blood!"
"Prop blood wouldn't fool those people."
Su Xiao zipped the bag shut and kicked it, landing the blow precisely on Riza Hawkeye's nape. She fell unconscious.
The reason Riza Hawkeye had been so cooperative was that she was bound by Realm Severing Thread. If she had dared to move, she would have been sliced apart by the sharp metal wire.
Su Xiao took out a mid-grade Alchemy Bomb and tossed it into the room.
"Grrr~"
A threatening growl came. A small black-and-white spotted puppy bit down on Su Xiao's pant leg. Though its whole body trembled, it didn't retreat an inch. It was Black Hayate, protecting its owner.
Su Xiao grabbed the puppy by the scruff, knocked it unconscious, and tossed it into the bag as well.
Boom!
The mid-grade Alchemy Bomb exploded. The blast shattered all the windows in the room, and flames spread through the space.
Su Xiao carried the bag downstairs. Blood seeped from the bag, dripping onto the ground.
Not long after Su Xiao left, Envy appeared on a nearby rooftop.
Watching the blazing room and the bloodstained bag in Su Xiao's hand, Envy smiled.
"Will this really work?"
An eye appeared in the shadows behind Envy.
"Of course it will. Later, I'll notify Colonel Mustang. Under Mustang's pursuit, he'll either fight back or go into hiding. That makes him easier to use. A chess piece needs to know its place."
"Boring plan."
The eye in the shadows closed, seemingly unimpressed with Envy's scheme.
"Huh?"
Envy was annoyed.
"Stop playing petty tricks. Humans are more cunning than you think."
"Tch."
Envy jumped down from the rooftop. There were still matters to handle.
...
At two in the morning, in a desolate mountain near Central City.
Riza Hawkeye was bathing in a small stream. Her body was covered in bloodstains.
Su Xiao sat by the riverbank, but Riza Hawkeye didn't seem to mind much.
"Hurry up. Time is running out."
"Almost done."
Riza Hawkeye came ashore naked. It wasn't that she was particularly open-minded, but she had seen too much life and death. During the war, the dormitory she stayed in was even co-ed.
Su Xiao tossed her a new set of clothes. He had some appreciation for this straightforward woman who didn't stand on ceremony.
Riza Hawkeye changed behind a tree, picked up a case, and walked into the forest, climbing a large tree over ten meters tall.
Before long, hurried footsteps approached.
"It's around here. The blood trail is still fresh."
"Hurry, search carefully. Alive or dead, we need to find her!"
A voice cold with fury rang out. Just hearing it conveyed the speaker's hatred.
Several figures rushed to Su Xiao's vicinity. It was Colonel Mustang and his trusted subordinates.
Seeing Su Xiao leaning against a tree trunk, Mustang's hands trembled.
This face was all too familiar. During the Ishbal Extermination War, this man had blown up countless Ishbalans. He had once been a "comrade-in-arms," now a "mortal enemy."
"Flame... Alchemist!"
Mustang roared, bloodshot eyes appearing. He raised one hand, wearing a white glove imprinted with a transmutation array.
"Riza Hawkeye, you can come out now."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Mustang froze.
"Colonel, I'm fine."
Riza Hawkeye called out from the tree. Hearing her voice, Mustang's heart surged with joy.