Chapter 296: Is This Wade Grey?
The wizards, barely conscious, turned to flee in a panic, only to find the elevator doors wouldn't open no matter what.
"Move!"
A furious man roared, pulling out his Wand and pointing it at the door. "*Confringo! Confringo!*"
With a loud *boom*, sparks flew, and the metal door twisted and deformed, but behind it... was still solid, thick metal.
Another person tried to Apparate, spun around, and fell, still in the same spot.
"The Anti-Apparition Charm... it hasn't been lifted!" he said in despair.
A tall, red-haired wizard rushed over, grabbed Gull by the collar, and shook him violently. "Who's behind you? Let us out! Or I swear I won't let you get away with this!"
Gull smiled mechanically. "As for the price, you can discuss it with me privately. Of course, this is a unique treasure, and if others want it, then I..."
"Damn it!"
Though the red-haired wizard knew he couldn't blame Gull, who was under someone's control, he couldn't hold back his temper and simply pushed him down.
Gull was dazed for a moment, then sat up and said to the stone table beside him, "This mission to explore the ancient ruins is very dangerous. Are you sure you want to join?... Alright, I can discuss it with the others..."
Watching him act erratically, someone familiar couldn't help but cry. "Why? Why would someone do this to us? I haven't done anything wrong!"
He cried for a while, then closed his eyes and collapsed.
Alchemists were largely technical professionals, spending years in their laboratories with extremely poor adaptability.
They scurried around like headless chickens for a while before someone remembered to use the Book of Friends to notify friends outside to find a way to rescue them.
However... the words written on the parchment had disappeared, and no reply was received.
Professor Murray, whom Wade had dragged into a corner, was already drifting in and out of consciousness. He trembled, pouring a Potions down his throat, before barely managing to lift his head.
"Wade..." he said weakly.
"Professor."
Wade knelt beside him, reaching out to support the professor's body.
"Did you... contact Dumbledore..." Professor Murray asked haltingly.
"No," Wade said softly. "This room must have an Anti-Connection Charm on it; messages can't get out."
"Is that so..." Professor Murray gasped twice, struggling to speak. "Find a chance... if you... have a way to escape... then escape... don't... mind me..."
His aged arm slipped from Wade's hand. Professor Murray closed his eyes, and his neck lost the strength to support itself.
Wade gently laid him flat on the ground, then cautiously checked his breathing.
As he expected, the old man's breathing was still steady.
Professor Murray might have thought he was dying just now, but in reality, he was only unconscious.
The statues were still spraying golden sparks, and tiny golden specks splattered out, like sparklers.
While many wizards ran around in excitement, they had already spread these specks everywhere. But around Wade, when the golden specks drifted over, they were blocked by an invisible barrier.
And if someone observed carefully enough, they would notice that the first people to collapse were those closest to the statues, and their skin was covered in many specks.
When Wade activated his second vision, he discovered something strange about these seemingly decorative specks—they contained magic far exceeding magical fireworks, and it was a very strange, never-before-encountered kind of power.
Wade was only glad that he didn't like close contact with crowds and had stood at the edge from the beginning, so when the golden sparks first erupted, he didn't get any of them on him.
But not many wizards were like Wade, able to detect the problem in time, and also cast the Shield Charm silently and wandlessly, maintaining it for a long time.
Many Alchemists—including Professor Murray—carried Alchemy items that could resist magical damage.
But the golden specks floated like dust; even if they landed on the skin, they wouldn't cause immediate harm. The faint magic on each particle was even less than a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, so it naturally wouldn't "activate" the defensive mechanism of the Alchemy items.
This was also why Professor Murray had fallen victim.
Wade thought for a moment, then, amidst the chaos, he lay down nearby, pretending to be unconscious as well.
One by one, the people in the room fell until the last wizard struggling with the iron door also collapsed. After a long while, new rustling sounds began.
"They've fainted—"
"They've all fainted—"
"The plan was a success—"
"You can come in now—you can come in now—"
"Open the door—open the door—"
"Fools—the door was never latched—no need for me to bother now—"
The portraits on the wall spoke, one after another, not like lingering images left by past wizards on canvas, but like a flock of chirping sparrows.
The gold-dust-spraying statues rotated and descended underground. A humming sound filled the room again, wind appeared out of nowhere, and the golden specks floating in the air were all sucked away.
Wade quietly canceled the Shield Charm, then, under the cover of his clothes, rubbed some of the specks from Professor Murray onto his shirt.
The wind stopped, and one portrait cackled, silently sliding open. Several masked figures emerged from inside, followed by the girl who had been sitting behind the counter earlier.
"They've all collapsed." The girl kicked Gull, who was sleeping soundly while hugging the stone table, and said disdainfully, "So useless! And I spent days acting in front of him."
"Stop babbling! The boss wants all these Alchemists brought back."
A burly man bent down and picked up the scrawny old wizard, Matthias. Another person followed, supporting Matthias and dragging him out through the doorway.
Everyone orderly dragged the Alchemists along, careful not to let their bodies hit the walls.
Wade narrowed his eyes slightly, a little surprised.
Using the Levitation Charm would have been much simpler, yet these people preferred to sweat profusely rather than use an easier spell.
But to say they were Muggles… the Imperius Curse and those strange golden specks didn't seem like things Muggles would possess.
The existence of this group… they didn't appear in the original story, nor were they seen in the movie series…
No, maybe a new movie or TV series came out after I transmigrated… After all, it's a super popular IP, so another adaptation isn't impossible…
Wade thought, finding a grim amusement in the idea, and suppressed the uncertainty in his heart.
Since the other party didn't intend to harm them immediately, Wade also temporarily dispelled the thought of instantly jumping up and resisting. He rubbed the golden specks from his shirt into his palm, and soon felt his head growing heavy.
He naturally wouldn't let himself truly fall asleep, but he couldn't fake it too obviously either.
After a while, footsteps stopped beside Wade.
"Are you sure?" he heard someone say. "This boy is Wade Grey?"
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