CH 10

"This coat is good in every way, except that it's a bit big and smells a bit."

The body of the zombie Hagrid burned like a bonfire. Mason took off his backpack and used it as a chair, while he was bandaging the kite man who sat cross-legged beside him.

He was still perfectly acting out his "mute" persona, but the kite man, who was aware that he was now on the same team as Mason, kept complaining non-stop.

Mason gave him some loot, and he was happy.

But when Mason gave him a blood-stained and smelly piece of clothing, he was not pleased.

"Oops."

As Mason tightened the bandage in his hand, the kite man, who was complaining just a moment ago, suddenly convulsed, and the young man's eyes lit up with another prompt indicating a skill increase of X5 in first aid proficiency from his excellent and rapid bandaging technique.

He nodded in satisfaction, tied the bandage into a bow, and signaled the kite man to stretch out his other arm that had a severe abrasion.

This guy was actually quite lucky.

He was asked by Old K to be a cannon fodder, but he was slapped away by the zombie Hagrid. With the sharpness of the zombie's mutated claws, he would have been dead if the claws had cut through his skin.

Although it was unclear whether Old K had the antidote to the zombie virus.

But one thing was certain, that cunning old man would never give the precious antidote to a cannon fodder.

"Let's switch, shall we?"

Although the kite man had no objection to the "new boss's" silence, he had his own thoughts at the moment. Holding the smelly leather jacket, he said to Mason:

"I'll trade this with you. I see you have a gun... um, I mean, that knife is fine too.

Look at how good this material is. It's definitely top-quality fur. I'm not bragging, but after the Joker's gang disbanded, I worked odd jobs at Wayne Mall in Gotham to earn rent money.

I've put in a lot of effort in identifying furs, so I'm definitely a professional.

If I bring this back and repair it, I can sell it for at least a few hundred thousand."

"How about I give you one million, and you give me that coat?"

Old K's voice appeared beside the two of them like a ghost. Mason was not moved, but the kite man's whole body tensed up.

"Don't be nervous. You're my best scout, and you'll be the main force in the next mission."

The cunning old man showed a calm expression and sat between Mason and the kite man, while he was assessing Mason's skilled and precise first aid techniques. He casually said to the kite man:

"Mason is really good to his own people. He gave you such a good magic armor without any hesitation. When I was a rookie, my captain wasn't as good to me.

At that time, I had to risk my life to get even an ordinary magic arrow."

"Magic armor?"

The kite man blinked his eyes and looked at the smelly coat in his hand, and humbly asked:

"Is this thing very powerful?"

"Yes, it's quite powerful. As you saw earlier, this coat can even withstand small-scale explosions at close range, and ordinary bullets can't penetrate its protection."

Old K was knowledgeable.

He reached out and stroked the black mole rat leather coat in the kite man's hand and said:

"Even in the internal trading market of the Star Alliance, this kind of tough and magically effective armor is very popular among D-level personnel.

Of course, higher-level members will not be interested in it.

Don't look at me, Charles.

I'm a C-level member. I have better things and won't snatch your poor loot. I'm not a good person, but I can be generous when necessary."

As he spoke, Old K took out three slender bottles with blood-red liquid from his waistband and handed them to Mason. He looked at Mason and said:

"You give me that knife, and this is your compensation."Mason stopped his actions and looked at Old K in surprise. He hesitated for a moment, clearly thinking, before taking the potion that Old K handed him and rubbing it in his hand.

In the next instant, the character card gave an analysis:

"Detected advanced special alchemy compound, analyzing... This item is the 'Swallow Potion', which immediately restores vitality and heals any injury not exceeding [serious injury] within the next five minutes after consumption.

Alchemy skills and knowledge are too low to fully analyze the formula. The formula for 'Healing Potion·Primary' has been recorded."

Looking at the three advanced potions in front of him, Mason's expression was somewhat moved.

Under Old K's expectant gaze, Mason pulled out the giant-style hunting knife at his waist and caressed its blade with reluctance.

This thing also has a special label:

Hagrid's Skinning Knife

Quality: Fine forging item·Outstanding craftsmanship

Effect: Enchanted sharpness, but poor balance and not good for close combat. The giant hunter-style tool is very suitable for harvesting leather, and the resource collection speed is greatly increased when equipped.

Maker: Friedufa·Hagrid

Item description: When you pick it up, it will make you nostalgic for the gentle force of your giant mother helping you smash the brain of a burst-tooth bear.

Warning: This item is stained with the blood of animal trainer Hagrid. It will be very dangerous to be near Hagrid's trained pets when holding it!

This knife is really good.

This was the third fine item that Mason had acquired, apart from the Penguin Man's armed umbrella and the bat dart.

Although the label stated "not good for close combat," Mason found that its destructive power was not bad when he held it and slashed it in the air. It was very handy to use.

This conflicting phenomenon is actually easy to understand. The so-called "not good at close combat" is aimed at the size of the giant.

This thing is like a dining knife in the hands of a half-giant like Hagrid, and it is definitely not suitable for close combat. But for humans of standard size, this thing is great.

With its sharpness, it was easy to cut off a zombie's head with one slash, just like cutting grass.

Old K is really knowledgeable.

He saw at a glance that this knife was the most valuable spoils of war on the zombie's body, but he did not immediately demand it based on his captain's identity, but exchanged it later.

This action itself represents Old K's goodwill towards Mason.

He has always said that he is choosing his future team members, and it seems that the ordinary Mason has caught his eye. So now the question is, to exchange or not?

Mason caressed the tool in his hand, and the snow-white blade reflected his black hair and yellow skin.

That somewhat naive face was full of hesitation.

But when he saw the prompt in the information label of the knife again, the young man made up his mind.

From the current situation, Hagrid's "pets" might have turned into zombies, and maybe they were wandering in the ruins of Hogwarts now.

Hagrid, the half-giant, called those things "pets."

But Mason, who had seen the movies and novels, knew the true face of those seemingly harmless "pets." Bringing this knife into Hogwarts was a terrible hidden danger.

But it was perfect to use as a "trap."

"Exchange it!"

The young man made a reluctant look, sighed, held the knife with both hands, and handed it to Old K.

This action was seen by the explosion girl and the dizzy count on the other side of the bonfire. The hot-tempered girl immediately spat to the side and cursed:

"Disgusting lackey!"

"Thanks."

Old K was also very satisfied with this result.

He generously put three advanced potions into Mason's hands, stood up, and threw a bottle of special liquid to Kite Man, indicating that he should pour the potion on his new coat.Later, Old K attached Hagrid's hunting knife to the weapon slot on his back. With this, together with his cool golden eagle single-handed sword, he now had two weapons for close combat.

He didn't have to be so humble.

But unfortunately, the last adventure caused heavy damage. As a proud C-class member, he almost lost everything and had to start over.

The hypocritical guy exchanged for the weapons he needed, walked over to Bombshell and Count Vertigo with a smile, sat down next to them and chatted friendly. He also took out the second-class potion and gave it to the two guys who were full of complaints, and explained how to use the potion to them.

After seeing the exhausted Bombshell and Count Vertigo drink the potion with suspicion, Old K's smile became even gentler.

His new team couldn't just have the backbone...

Good cannon fodder was also needed.

"Yay, it doesn't stink anymore! It's just like new."

On Mason's side, Kite Man poured the potion given by Old K onto Hagrid's leather coat, and many bubbles appeared afterwards. After Kite Man laboriously shook the giant coat of the half-giant to dry the foam, the originally stinky coat became as clean as new.

It was as magical as magic.

Unfortunately, the size of this coat was still for the use of half-giants. When Kite Man put it on, it was like a naughty child wearing his father's coat, and his arms and legs couldn't be covered.

Mason blinked his eyes and made a gesture for Kite Man to give him the remaining liquid. He took a look at it in his hand, and the information label quickly popped up:

Stark Armor Cleaning Solution

Quality: Standard alchemy item·Standard craftsmanship

Effect: Quickly cleans all external stains using dry cleaning mode, and there are different fragrances to choose from. It is a must-have for home and travel.

Item Description: For superheroes and playboys alike, a perfect appearance is just as important as a cool and powerful interior.

Status: Blueprint collected.

"Hmm?"

When Mason saw the name of this thing, he was moved.

This "Stark" was probably... um, it seemed that Old K wasn't bragging, and their star-studded group was really powerful.

Thinking of this, Mason touched the three advanced healing potions on his waist belt, and then touched the back of his neck. He didn't know if the effect of this medicine was enough to save himself when he cut open his spine to take out the bomb?

Uh, it takes five minutes for it to take effect.

It probably won't work.

Just to be safe, he still needed to find magical medicine that could instantly heal injuries.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry should have this kind of thing. The study of magical medicine and alchemy in this world is a very ancient tradition.

"Woo woo woo"

More than twenty minutes later, while Mason, disguised as a "mute person," silently finished his gun maintenance, a low steam whistle sounded on this magical platform. He stood up and looked at the perpetual mist outside the platform, and soon saw a steam train-like train slowly approaching through the mist.

The others also got up from their rest, and Old K was rubbing his hands with his fully armed.

But soon, everyone's expression changed.

The train had been attacked!

Although the front of the train was still intact, the subsequent train cars that should have been dragged were reduced to only two short sections.

And the last section was broken in the middle like an internal explosion, while the train was moving forward, the broken wheels kept rubbing against the rails, creating jumping sparks.

This thing was a magical creation, otherwise it would have derailed long ago.

"Don't worry, there is no life activity inside."

Old K said with a pipe in his mouth.He seemed to possess some kind of investigative ability, and had been observing Mason. Just now, Mason noticed that Old K's pupils changed shape.

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ].

As the train slowly came to a stop at the platform, Old K, as the captain, reached out to push the train door but it didn't budge. He frowned and took out some decryption tools to tell the others, "Back off! There are wizard's barrier spells in this carriage. It seems that some of them were using this to take refuge during the disaster. A doomsday shelter... how pitiful."

A few minutes later, the magic barrier was broken and Old K kicked open the door to the carriage. He was the first one to walk in, followed by the others. As soon as they entered the carriage, a terrible smell made everyone frown. The intact carriage was filled with corpses and bloodstains, and those bodies were still wearing the robes of young wizards. Even some formal wizards died tragically in the carriage. But no one could explain what had happened.

"Ugh."

The last one to board the train, Wind Kite, saw this scene and covered his mouth before rushing out. The others also looked very unhappy except for Old K.

The old man grinned and said to the others, "Get used to it quickly. You will see more exciting things in the future. Now, clean up these bodies. There are four cabins in this carriage. I'll go to the front of the train to check the situation. You guys can rest here. According to the scout's information, this train needs at least four hours of travel to reach Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

After speaking, Old K agilely jumped onto the top of the carriage and walked towards the front of the train. The remaining people were very unhappy, but for the next four hours of "travel experience," they still worked together to throw the bodies out.

A few minutes later, the train started again, and the cleaned carriage was divided clearly. Bomb Girl and Count Vertigo went to the left compartment, while Mason stayed in a compartment alone. But when the train left the platform, Wind Kite, holding his new coat and scratching his head, walked in with a displeased and embarrassed expression.

He looked at Mason, who was loading bullets into a magazine, and said, "Those two guys really had the mood to do something in the carriage. I really admire where they found the mood."

Mason listened carefully.

Sure enough, a sound like a cat in heat was coming from the back of the carriage. It seemed that Bomb Girl and Count Vertigo were really under a lot of pressure and needed to vent in this way. Um, maybe they just liked it?

Foreigners, it's understandable.

He glanced at Wind Kite, who was lying on the sofa opposite him, putting on his coat to sleep for a while. The latter noticed Mason's strange gaze and heard Bomb Girl's increasingly bold voice.

He didn't know what he was thinking, but instantly covered his butt, shaking his head frantically and saying, "I'm sorry, but I..."

"Shh!"

Mason raised his finger to make a hush gesture.

He heard a strange noise and pushed open the compartment's sliding door warily. In that instant, a line of text jumped into his eyes: "Entering combat mode..."

"Fuck!"

The young man reacted at the fastest speed in his life and slammed the just-opened cabin door shut. Almost at the same time, with a mournful scream, several claw marks appeared on the glass of the closed train door, leaving white marks like a knife cutting through the glass.

Through the glass, Mason just happened to see the attacker's figure.

A cat.

It was a tiger-striped cat that was one size larger than normal. Its originally dark green eyes had now become a more dangerous bright red, reflecting a touch of ominousness. What was even more deadly was that there were rotten and withered scars on its non-smooth fur.It was now lying on the glass of the carriage, staring at Mason who was holding the short-barreled shotgun with its crimson eyes. Its tail, shedding fur, was waving back and forth in place, just like a little tiger that had found fresh food.

When Mason saw the iconic square glasses stripe on the tabby cat's face, he was greatly surprised.

Professor McGee?

How could this be?

But before Mason could observe carefully, the zombie tiger-striped cat blocked by the glass heard a more "lively" sound.

It disappeared with a whoosh in front of Mason and rushed towards the carriage where the "strange sound" and increasingly intense female screams were coming from.

"That pair of wild mandarin ducks is done for!"

A thought appeared in the young man's mind, and the Kite Man behind him was so scared that he jumped up.

"W-What is that thing?"

"Shut up! Go find Old K! Quickly! We've encountered a hidden boss, and if he comes any later, we'll probably all die here!"

Mason's gaze fell on Hagrid's leather coat in Kite Man's hand. Old K had said that this thing had magically tough protection, so he snatched it and put it on, holding the gun and rushing out of the cabin.

Leaving Kite Man, who was holding the gun, stunned and speechless.

"Oh, so you're not mute after all?"