CH 12

After resolving the trouble caused by Ms. McGee, the rest of the journey was smooth sailing. At dusk, when the sun was dancing with the horizon, the magic train finally arrived at the station.

With the sound of the whistle, led by Old K, the four of them left the train and entered the deserted Hogsmeade station. This station was located in a village, so naturally, this group of people encountered a "warm" welcome from the zombie villagers.

Inside, there were not only humans and wizards, but also some domesticated elves and hobbits, as well as strange species.

Perhaps they had some unique characteristics during their lifetime, but as zombies, they were just as dangerous. However, for the three people who had "weathered the storm" all the way, these ordinary zombies were no longer a threat to them.

Old K didn't even have to take action, and Mason and the others used explosives and bullets to clear the station and the village.

It is worth mentioning that Bombshell performed very well in this process.

She was no longer the careless girl she used to be, and became much quieter. When she got serious, her ability to make anything she touched explode was indeed very suitable for this large-scale clearance battle.

From the edge of the Hogsmeade village to the distant horizon was a large lake under the sunset. According to the description in the movie, the main castle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the center of the lake could already be seen from here.

However, when Mason, carrying a gun, looked in that direction, he saw nothing.

There was no castle, no school.

Under the bleak moonlight, the only thing left on the island in the center of the lake was a black and broken wall, like King's Cross Station, which had been blown open by a bomb. The damage to Hogwarts was obviously more severe.

The entire building was almost completely flattened by an invisible hand.

At this distance, only an endless black Forbidden Forest could be seen spreading beyond the ruins, like a black scar on the earth.

"Is that the destination?"

The Kite Man next to Mason asked nervously.

He was now standing on the hillside, having already launched the kite from his backpack and holding a high-speed camera in his hand. Old K instructed him to conduct aerial reconnaissance on the island where Hogwarts was located and return before it was completely dark.

This was not difficult for Kite Man.

He had previously served as a reconnaissance role in the Joker's gang.

But after seeing so much along the way, Kite Man was now very nervous. He was afraid that he would fly out but not be able to fly back. There were magical creatures in this world!

What if a zombie dragon spitting fire came out of that black forest?

"There are not as many winged things as you think, go ahead."Mason no longer pretended to be mute. He took his eyes off the ruins of Hogwarts and patted Kite Man on the shoulder. Then he took out an engineering gun and handed it to him.

With two modified guns, at least Kite Man could die with dignity.

"My kite was damaged before. I need to fix it when I get back."

The villain in green spandex sneered and stole a glance at the expressionless Mason. He made preparations for takeoff while rubbing his hands and whispered:

"You seem to be familiar with these mechanical creations. Can you help me?"

"Okay."

The young man nodded and said softly:

"Let's talk when you come back alive."

This made Kite Man's face even worse.

A few seconds later, Kite Man leaped up the hill and quickly rose into the air against the wind, then changed direction and floated towards the center of the lake.

Mason took his eyes off and walked towards the gathering point. K was a cautious guy who did not camp in the bloody village but followed the mountain road down to a flat grassland by the lake. When Mason returned, a comfortable and warm bonfire had been set up there.

There was a pot on the bonfire, boiling fragrant stewed potatoes and meat.

K sat by the bonfire sharpening two swords with a whetstone, while Bombshell sat on the other side with her legs crossed, looking at the flickering flames with a melancholy expression.

Mason sat down in front of the bonfire and took off his backpack to use as a table. He skillfully disassembled the engineering bomb at hand.

"Is there enough bullets?"

K asked, and Mason shook his head.

The high-intensity battle left him with only one-fifth of his bullets. The old hunter laughed, and with Mason's gaze, he casually reached out and grabbed a heavy bullet box and slammed it on the ground.

This made the young man raise his eyebrows, and he said:

"Storage pocket?"

"Well, the official name is a travel backpack. It can hold the supplies of a small warehouse, no problem. You will have a chance to get it after you officially join."

K said casually:

"Of course, if you want good things, you have to figure out a way to get them yourself. For newcomers, the internal trading meeting on March 1st is a good choice, provided that you have something that can interest the old birds."

Mason nodded while packing the bullets.

He was actually very interested in these insider news, but he didn't want K to see this emotion in him now.

"What's the disaster all about?"

After the two fell silent, Bombshell, who was hiding something in her heart, finally couldn't help asking K:

"You said the stars will shuttle between worlds. Have you encountered such a zombie crisis before, since you are so skilled in dealing with these troubles?""I've seen a lot, little girl. Not every world is as peaceful as yours."

As Old K served himself a bowl of rice from the pot on the fire, he spoke casually:

"In the multiverse, there are almost infinite parallel worlds. The original intention of the Star Alliance was to explore these worlds and establish a cross-world organization with coexistence and cooperation as its goal.

But unfortunately, the more we explore, the more we discover that destruction and doomsday are the keynote of parallel worlds. This world in front of you is only zombies and nuclear war. From the perspective of doomsday, this is already gentle enough.

I have even seen the deformed Earth disappear in an instant.

But let's talk about these disturbing horror stories later.

After you become an official member of the Star Alliance, there will be a special manual issued. For now, eat something and rest for the night.

We will set foot on the island tomorrow.

We still have three days to explore, and I think we will definitely return with a full load."

This answer obviously did not satisfy Bomb Girl, but seeing that Old K was unwilling to say more, she had no choice but to stop asking. Mason had been listening attentively and taking note of this information.

Thirty minutes later, Kite Man successfully completed his reconnaissance and returned to the camp.

He obediently handed the camera in his hand to Old K, who looked at the photos and nodded in satisfaction. After encouraging Kite Man a few words, he let him go rest.

But this guy still remembered Mason's promise and came running with his flying backpack, asking for help in repairing his beloved kite.

Mason sat by the campfire and opened Kite Man's backpack under the light of the fire. He found that this seemingly simple flying device was actually quite interesting.

After including the blueprint for the flying backpack, the character card quickly provided a preliminary revised blueprint.

The young man dismantled the kite man's eating utensils in a way that made him both distressed and worried, and then reassembled them in a way that made him frown.

As Mason skillfully screwed in screws, he asked, "Is this thing really sophisticated? Did you design it yourself?"

"Yes! Am I awesome?"

Kite Man ate his potato stew noisily, and answered with a hint of pride, "I used to be an aerodynamics expert in Wayne Industries' research and development department, but compared to those cool flying machines, I prefer these simple and magical little things.

Maybe it's because I was obsessed with kites when I was a kid.

But after my divorce, I..."

At this point, Kite Man suddenly fell silent.

He shook his head as if trying to shake those bad memories out of his mind. When he noticed Mason looking at him, he forced a smile and said, "Anyway, this flying backpack is my masterpiece!"

"Indeed, the kite you designed has a lot of room for deep modification."Mason lowered his head and tightened the hex screw, saying:

"If there's a chance in the future, maybe we can collaborate. By the way, I've been wanting to ask, do you know Poison Ivy?"

"Poison Ivy?"

Kite Man was momentarily stunned, then rubbed his head awkwardly and said:

"She's a top-tier villain in Gotham. How could a small fry like me be friends with someone like her? The only big shot I'm familiar with is my former boss, the Joker. But he's too crazy and scares me. He cruelly killed Robin, Batman's sidekick. The kid named Jason Todd was only a little older than you, but he died horribly. After that, I left his gang. Maybe I'm not a good person, but hurting kids is beyond my bottom line."

"Jason Todd is dead?"

Mason raised an eyebrow and asked.

"When did it happen?"

"Uh, about a year and a half ago?"

Kite Man tilted his head and thought for a moment, saying:

"Batman almost killed the Joker. I swear, that was the first time I saw Batman so angry, like a father who lost his child."

"Uh-huh."

Mason nodded.

As he stuffed the flight backpack into Kite Man's arms with a calm expression, he also slipped a rolled-up piece of paper into the guy's hand.

Kite Man raised an eyebrow and saw Mason signal him with a gesture in the light of the bonfire. Then the two exchanged silent goodnights and left.

He didn't sleep well that night.

Especially at the darkest moment before dawn, Mason clearly heard weird howls coming from the central island of the lake.

The eerie, hoarse, and hollow voice sounded like some kind of insane and zombified giant creature. Coupled with the strange things in the black forest, Mason suddenly felt that the road ahead was not good.

"Hagrid has raised giant spiders, dragons, and three-headed dogs. I hope there won't be a zombie dragon suddenly jumping out during tomorrow's exploration..."

This was Mason's last thought before falling asleep.

Meanwhile...

Kite Man, who was sleeping in Hagrid's warm coat, opened the piece of paper in his hand and read its contents. It made him uneasy, but he ultimately tore it up and swallowed it.

A few minutes later, a warm and trembling body suddenly slipped into his coat, startling the disheveled man. Then he felt a pair of hands hug his waist.

Bombshell's voice rang in Kite Man's ear, saying:

"What did you just eat? Heh, whatever you two are planning... I want in! I don't want to die in this godforsaken place."

"That's not for me to decide."

Kite Man struggled, but in the next moment, Bombshell snorted and whispered:"So, I need to 'pay in advance', right? Lonely old man, but I don't have any money. What should we do between us?"

---

The next morning, everyone boarded a small boat and crossed the lake to the island in the center of the lake. Wind Kite flew in the sky to search and guide the direction.

Under his leadership, the boat quickly docked on the island.

Fully armed Old K walked in the front, followed closely by Bombshell, and Mason was responsible for the rear. They soon stepped onto the stairs leading to the castle.

But there was only a huge pedestal standing in place.

There should not have been an explosion here, but there was certainly an almost invincible force that swept through here, tearing everything apart like a storm.

The towering walls were only half left, and three of the four spires of the four courtyards were destroyed.

And those peculiar buildings hidden in the castle by spatial magic on weekdays were all "sprayed" out because of the destruction of the spatial system.

They were thrown around the island in a chaotic manner, like a parabolic projectile in the sky. Mason even saw a three-story wizard tower upside down and slanted into the ground.

Like a sword inserted into the ground.

The originally solemn castle gate was completely gone, leaving only a headless stone statue of a ghost sculpture standing alone on the pedestal.

All the magical wonders were destroyed, causing Mason to even see the wreckage of the school auditorium at a glance after climbing the stairs. It was the grand banquet hall used to welcome freshmen and celebrate every year.

It was also destroyed, as if it was shattered by the claws of a giant beast from the sky.

There were also deep imprints left on the ground. All the luxury and wonders have been gone with the wind, leaving only a silent and lonely desolation.

"Spread out and explore freely!"

Old K explored around with his special ability. After confirming that there was no danger in the castle ruins, he gave the order.

When Mason and Bombshell left, Old K "friendly" reminded them:

"Bring back everything you find and deal with it together. I think you two young people who are reasonable won't choose to hide things, especially you, Mason."

"We don't have a storage bag."

The young man said without looking back:

"If we take something, where can we hide it? In X's eyes?"

"Uh, vulgar jokes, I like it."

Old K laughed, turned around and disappeared with a swish, while Bombshell glanced at Mason with a complex look, then turned and disappeared on a road leading to the depths of the ruins.

Mason stayed in place and looked around the ruins of the auditorium.

"Huh!"

Sharp-eyed, he quickly found something familiar under a brick.He ran over and picked up the thing buried in the dust, only to find that it was a dusty and tattered wizard's hat.

Anyone who has seen the movie knows what this is.

The magical sorting hat.

It already looked messy, and now it was even more roughly torn open, like a torn piece of cloth, and only a little shape could be barely seen. When Mason got it, the character card immediately gave out the label:

Name: Godric Gryffindor's wizard hat/magical sorting hat

Quality: Epic item, supreme craftsmanship

Features: Animating, fairy thinking, intangible divination, danger prediction, treasure storage

Status: Seriously damaged (can be repaired, complete repair requires Tailoring Lv7, Enchantment Lv6, Alchemy Lv8, Inscription Lv7)

Use: Can try to talk to the damaged sorting hat, but may not get a response

Item description: It may have been a top-notch crazy hat before, but now it's just a crazy thing that wants to be sewn up.

"Is this the legendary opening gift?"

Mason blinked and casually put the almost completely torn sorting hat, like a piece of torn cloth, on his head and patted it, jokingly saying, "Hey, anyone there?"

No one answered him, and the young man shrugged.

He reached out to take the thing off and throw it back into his backpack, but when his fingers touched it, a piercing and eerie scream suddenly came from the torn sorting hat:

"You! The one who has returned from the dead! You belong to...no, no! You belong to...Azkaban!"

Mason was startled.

The voice of this thing is really creepy.

It's like the dying wail of a half-crazy old man in a horror movie, but it's not over yet.

The torn sorting hat shouted like crazy:

"The castle collapses, the glory disappears, death howls, despair is chaotic. Your noble blood is spilled, and the common blood mourns. It's miserable and noisy. The storm subsides, the black day is clear, the knives and guns ring, and the purgatory cries.

Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.

This grievance must be avenged, and this hatred is hard to forgive!

Mason Cooper, you have gone astray! Make a vow and determine to seek revenge! Otherwise, I will...eat you!"