Link didn't deny that everything Richard had said, though indeed a bit clichéd, was still quite inspirational and moving.
But for some reason, the things Richard said always gave Link a strange feeling.
It was as if Richard wasn't a wizard graduated from Hogwarts, but was instead some kind of top university student from a 985 or 211 program (elite Chinese universities), who aspired to return to his hometown and dedicate himself to rural development.
This sense of déjà vu was even more exaggerated than the fact that Richard had made the magic tower look like an office building.
"Weren't you all here to inspect matters related to magical creature breeding? Why don't I accompany you to tour this tower?"
As if he hadn't noticed Link's expression, Richard stood up with a smile on his face and made the suggestion.
Upon hearing this, Newt and Kettleburn, and even Rolf and Emily, all nodded.
Setting aside the fact that this was their actual job, they were also deeply curious about how many magical creatures Richard had created, and how he had built the Land of Miracles.
So, with Richard smiling brightly and leading the way, Link and his group once again stepped into the elevator, starting their tour of the entire tower.
Perhaps to maintain secrecy, the tower actually had only 12 floors, not particularly tall.
And all 12 floors were Richard's personal living areas.
Aside from the spacious first floor, and the 12th floor used to receive guests and handle official matters, there were also dedicated living quarters, garden levels, and even an entertainment room filled with Muggle and wizard comics, books, music, and games.
This tower was practically a super-sized mansion, specifically a custom version for reclusive nerds.
And beyond the 12 floors above ground, the tower also had a massive basement.
This was the most crucial part of the entire tower, it was where Richard usually conducted his magical research and bred magical creatures.
Under Richard's introduction, one strange magical creature after another appeared before Link and the others.
These included a creature called the "Earth Ling Beast", with a body dozens of meters long, and a giant earthworm-like head shaped somewhat like a tunnel boring machine's drill head.
It was said that this Earth Ling Beast could easily live in surrounding permafrost and rock walls, and would swallow useless rocks and dirt into its body, digest and restructure them, and then excrete the black soil that Link and the others had seen outside in the Land of Miracles.
There was also a floating creature called the "Fire Fluff".
These things looked like giant red puffballs, seemingly very ordinary.
But they inherited some characteristics from the Fire Ash Snake.
As long as their core was provided with energy, the outer fluff could continuously and efficiently radiate heat, thus raising the surrounding temperature.
In addition, Link also saw many other things here, such as the giant wolves used earlier for hunting and defense, the strange cattle and sheep beasts used for meat, and even specially cultivated versions of potatoes, melons, and fruits, and so on.
All of these were key components in the construction of both the tower and the Land of Miracles.
After the full tour, the relationship between Newt, Kettleburn, and Richard clearly improved.
The three gathered together, chatting and laughing as they discussed magical creature breeding, looking very harmonious.
On the other side, Link was touring the lab with Emily and Rolf.
"This one looks so nice!"
Emily said, looking at the giant wolf cub in a cage, still in its puppy phase.
"It is pretty cute." Link agreed.
At this age, the giant wolf was just like most pet babies, chubby, fluffy, and very adorable.
It was also the only magical creature in the entire lab that Link found likable.
The rest of the creatures, although they all seemed to have very practical functions at first glance, were in truth all chicken ribs (tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away) from a wizard's perspective, not very useful.
Link didn't deny that Richard was a talented and creative magical creature breeder, but in terms of magic spells, he was absolutely terrible.
In fact, places like the Land of Miracles were not uncommon in the magical world.
Take Fort Freeley, for example. Or Emily's mansion.
These kinds of places usually had fully equipped magical protections, such as Muggle-repelling charms, Unplottable charms, or even Fidelius Charms.
(A/N: Under so many layers of protection, not only can Muggles not discover them, even the Ministry of Magic can't detect their presence.)
But Richard's Land of Miracles was extremely basic, with no anti-detection measures at all.
That was exactly why the Ministry of Magic had been able to discover this place so easily.
Shaking his head, Link stopped overthinking and continued to accompany Emily and Rolf around the lab for a bit before going to rejoin Newt and the others.
But to his surprise, the once cheerful trio was now in a serious and heavy atmosphere.
"Professor, what's going on?"
Link instinctively asked Kettleburn, whom he was more familiar with.
At his words, Kettleburn puffed up in frustration and replied, "Go ask Mr. Scamander yourself!"
Link was stunned.
Kettleburn was so angry he called Newt 'Mr. Scamander', he was really mad.
And before Link could even turn around, Newt also shouted furiously, "Your Professor Kettleburn thinks that Mr. Richard Seler has no problems at all, and suggested we immediately stop investigating him. Link! Do you think that's possible? This concerns illegal magical creature breeding! It's a task the Ministry of Magic assigned to me! We can't ignore it!"
"Come on! We're just here on a vacation, aren't we? Why are you so fixated on going after Richard?"
Professor Kettleburn continued angrily, "We already checked everything. There's no major issue here! Can't you just let him off the hook?"
"No way! We must report the situation here truthfully to the Ministry of Magic! This is called responsibility!"
"Responsibility? It's exactly because of this so-called responsibility that you've become the public enemy of all magical creature scholars! It's because of responsibility that the Ministry throws every little chore at you! After all this time, haven't you regretted it even a little?"
"You...!"
Watching the two men's increasingly fierce argument, Link, Emily, and Rolf all stood stunned, dumbfounded.
Actually, from the start of the journey, they had already noticed that Professor Kettleburn and Newt didn't exactly get along.
But looking at them now, their conflict seemed far deeper than what 'don't get along' could describe.
And at that moment, the two arguing men suddenly turned to Link and said in unison, "Link, what do you think!?"
"Me?"
"That's right!"
Professor Kettleburn glared at Newt and said, "Do you think we should end the investigation and let your senior Richard off, or should we report truthfully and send him to Azkaban?"
Hearing this, Link blinked hard twice, feeling wrongfully dragged into this, but deep inside, he had already made his decision.
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