## 390. Rescue
"Mabel…"
A boy tugged on a girl's sleeve. "Hailey… Hailey might have…"
The girl didn't speak, only stared at Wade with stubborn, determined eyes, her fists tightly clenched, her frail body like a volcano poised to erupt.
Wade asked, "Hailey is with you too?"
"Yes," Rita Skeeter said. "She's only nine… She was taken about an hour ago."
Wade looked at their expressions, knowing they weren't lying, then asked, "Do you know where she was taken?"
"I know." Mabel nodded vigorously, her voice trembling slightly. "I know the way."
"Mihail."
Wade waved his hand, and the Firebird suddenly appeared, flying once around overhead, then tilting its head to look at Wade, letting out an affectionate cry.
"Protect Rita and these children. Don't let anyone harm them," Wade said.
Mihail nodded, then landed between the railings above, watching the children below intently.
Wade looked at Mabel and said, "Lead the way. We're going to find that child."
"Follow me."
Mabel ran without hesitation, her brown hair flying behind her.
Rita Skeeter watched the two leave longingly, wanting to call out to them, but ultimately didn't speak.
Hearing the iron gate automatically close, she suddenly felt very insecure.
Rita Skeeter's magical abilities were solely focused on being an excellent gossip reporter. When it came to combat, she was even worse than some third-year students.
Wade's gone, but Dumbledore should be here soon, right? He should, right?
After all, there are so many children here; the Headmaster certainly wouldn't abandon them.
But with so many people, how could they escape safely? No matter how powerful Dumbledore is, he couldn't conjure a ship out of thin air, could he?
If it was just the three of them, escaping would be easy…
Rita Skeeter couldn't help but have such thoughts, while at the same time profoundly realizing her own baseness.
She also thought of something she dared not admit—
In Rita Skeeter's mind, she, Wade, and Dumbledore were all wizards, and thus should be considered "on the same side."
But in the minds of those two, it was probably not so…
Even though they came to save her, if they had to make a choice, they would probably prioritize saving the younger children…
Thinking of the terrifying Muggles on this island and recalling the children's help over the past few days, Rita Skeeter anxiously bit her nails, gnawing her meticulously cared-for nails into jagged messes.
Suddenly, she heard a strange movement behind her. Rita Skeeter, who had been on edge lately, thought the guards had woken up and quickly turned her head—
*BANG!*
Blood splattered.
"Ah——"
Rita Skeeter couldn't help but scream.
The red-haired teenager, about ten years old, who had taken a club from a guard and smashed the man's head open, looked back at Rita Skeeter expressionlessly.
Rita clapped her hand over her mouth in horror.
Luke stood in front of her, saying timidly, with his usual fearful voice, "She's a witch… She's not like those people."
The children from the same cell all stood in front of Rita, their small bodies forming a not-so-sturdy wall.
Rita Skeeter couldn't help but burst into tears, whimpering softly.
She had just been hesitating about whether to get rid of these "burdens," but they had protected her once again.
The red-haired teenager averted his gaze without a word, raised the truncheon high again, and brought it down with all his might!
*THUD!*
Rita was sure she heard the sound of bones shattering. She dared not look again, turning her head and looking pleadingly at the dazzling and scorching Firebird.
Mihail preened its "feathers" with its beak.
Wade's command was only to protect the children and Rita Skeeter, not the guards.
Although Mihail wasn't human, it could distinguish who its enemies were.
This Firebird was born in a unique environment; unlike the divine phoenix, it loved destruction and ruin, with an inherent disregard for life.
Rita's pleas were fruitless, so she could only quietly huddle at the Firebird's feet, pressed tightly against the railing, helplessly watching the scene unfolding before her.
Led by the red-haired teenager, even the children who had remained in their cells came out. They swarmed forward, beginning to attack the other guards as well.
Hitting them with clubs, stabbing them with knives, punching and kicking…
Some even crouched on the ground like wild dogs, gnawing with their teeth, full of hatred.
The scene instantly turned bloody and gruesome.
Rita Skeeter barely managed to hold back her vomit. She didn't dare to look, yet she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes. An indescribable fear for these children welled up inside her.
Muggles… are these Muggles too…?
Aren't Muggles supposed to be clumsy, foolish, easily fooled, and always clueless?
What's going on on this island?
Why are these Muggles so terrifying?
...
Although Mabel had always tried to appear brave and strong, her stamina was actually very poor. After climbing only two flights of stairs from the dungeon, she was already out of breath.
But she didn't dare to stop for a single step—even a second's difference could mean the difference between life and death for Hailey.
Suddenly, she heard a voice very close by: "Come up."
Mabel turned her head to see Wade on a broomstick, extending his hand to her.
The broomstick was actually floating in the air!
Mabel was astonished, but she didn't hesitate. She grabbed Wade's hand and jumped onto the broom, sitting in front of him.
"You direct," Wade said.
"Okay." Mabel collected herself, then pointed: "Fly right!"
Wade pushed off the ground with his feet, and they soared away.
This time, he had brought the Firebolt with him, capable of speeds up to 150 miles per hour.
However, inside the building, Wade naturally couldn't fly very fast. Even so, it was much faster than Mabel running at full speed.
A flash of firelight streaked past the window, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
Only after leaving the dungeon did Mabel realize that the situation outside had completely changed. Most of the base was engulfed in flames, and many soldiers in black uniforms lay on the ground, whether dead or alive, she couldn't tell.
"Did only two of you really come?"
She yelled into the wind, unable to help herself.
"Of course."
Wade said, turning the broom according to Mabel's direction. After rounding a corner, they immediately saw several white-coated figures fleeing with computers.
Those people were also startled to see Wade, fumbling to pull out their guns.
With a wave of Wade's Wand, several people fell down in unison.
Seeing them still groaning and struggling on the ground, Mabel quickly shouted, "Don't let them go! These guys are devils! They all deserve to die!"
"Don't worry, they won't get away!"
Wade said, but the broom didn't stop.
Mabel heard a clinking sound. She twisted her head hard and saw some black marbles, the size of beans, bouncing on the ground.
—Bombs?
She thought subconsciously, hoping to see those people blown to smithereens.
Suddenly, the black marbles rapidly grew larger—
They transformed into mantises, centipedes, spiders, and scorpionflies, all taller than a human.
Mabel's mouth hung open.
Behind them, agonizing screams erupted.
The broom made a turn, and the scene was no longer visible. Mabel dazedly twisted her head, her heart pounding frantically, sweat pouring from every pore of her body, yet her hands could only stiffly grip the broom.
"Mabel, which way should we go next? Mabel?"
"Oh, oh… left, two left turns in a row, then upstairs, right turn…"
Mabel stammered, breathing heavily.
"Scared?" Wade comforted. "Don't worry, those are just insects under an Engorgement Charm. They'll shrink back soon."
"In-insects?"
Mabel thought: Aren't they some kind of prehistoric monsters?
"Yes." Wade thought she was wondering why they used insects, and explained, "Dumbledore doesn't let me kill—I promised him."
"Oh…"
Mabel responded, full of doubts, wanting to say something but not knowing where to begin.
Using insects isn't considered killing?
Wizards' logic… is it a little strange…?
Speaking of which, everything that happened today was so strange… it felt like a realistic dream, mixing her greatest fears and desires together…
Was the base really destroyed? Can they really be saved?
Is the person behind me real?
She looked at the empty corridor. Papers and debris lay scattered on the floor, left behind by people fleeing. Glass was shattered, lights were out, and there were even bloodstains on the walls and floor.
A man, shot dead, lay slumped in a corner, his glasses askew, an expression of disbelief still on his face.
Mabel remembered that man—how many times had she seen him standing behind the glass wall, saying to the researchers in a negotiating tone:
"The experimental results aren't very obvious, how about we increase the dosage?"
"The blood doesn't seem special. Can we draw bone marrow again?"
"I hope we can do a few more comparative experiments. It's fine if they fail; they're just consumables anyway, and new ones will be sent next month."
Mabel pinched herself hard, tears welling up from the pain.
It doesn't seem like a dream.
She reached out again, as if to test if Wade was real.
Though Wade was on the same broom with her, he had remained vigilant, his metallic cloak never removed.
Seeing Mabel with a dazed expression, reaching out her finger as if to pinch him, Wade immediately warned,
"If you lay a hand on me, I'll throw you off—have you forgotten we're on our way to rescue Hailey?"
"Hailey!"
Mabel snapped out of her daze, finally returning to her senses.
"The doors here require a scan of internal personnel's eyes to open. We need to find someone wearing those green surgical scrubs..."
Before Mabel could finish speaking, she saw the metal door ahead, which should have been tightly shut, ajar. A trail of bloody footprints extended messily from inside to out.
A terrible premonition instantly flooded Mabel. She jumped off the broom, rolled once on the ground, then scrambled to her feet and rushed into the room.
Wade looked at the bloody footprints on the ground. Seeing they were adult-sized, he threw out another handful of black marbles.
A dozen insects quickly grew larger. With a flick of Wade's Wand, they clattered along the direction of the footprints.
As he entered the room, he heard Mabel let out a scream that was indistinguishable between pain and terror.
Wade hurried inside, first seeing several conveyor belts, like those in an assembly line factory. After seeing the objects on them, he realized this was a "processing plant" that used humans as raw materials.
He recalled what the administrator had confessed earlier—
"Blood, organs, bone marrow, skin... anything... as long as someone can afford the price, we can provide it... there are also people specifically collecting bones and eyes... especially the sphenoid bone..."
On the conveyor belt, a head with its sphenoid bone removed lay casually. Perhaps it was about to be "disposed of," but a sudden power outage stopped it midway.
Mabel, on the verge of collapse, saw the hair on it and gasped sharply, clutching her chest. She struggled to breathe as she said,
"No... he's not Hailey... Hailey, Hailey might still be alive... I have to find her..."
She ran a couple of steps, then suddenly stumbled and fell, her body convulsing violently. She clutched at her neck, gasping like a fish out of water.
Wade quickly approached, pulled out a healing potion, and poured it down her throat. He used a Body-Bind Curse to stop the girl's convulsions, then pulled her hands away to look.
Mabel was wearing a black collar on her neck, almost embedded in her flesh. It was buzzing faintly, and he could even faintly smell the scent of burning skin.
Her neck was almost entirely covered in these bright red burns, which at first glance looked terrifying, like blood flowing out after a decapitation.
Wade frowned. He tapped the collar with his Wand, and it made a "clack" sound but didn't break, only developing a few cracks.
However, the buzzing stopped, and Mabel took a deep breath, then coughed violently.
Wade was about to continue trying to open the collar for her, but the girl pushed him away with force.
"Don't... don't mind me... go find Hailey..."
"...Alright, be careful yourself."
Wade knew there was no time to waste, so he placed two small Magic Golems beside her and then quickly ran to one end of the room.
—If one end of the conveyor belt was connected to the place where bodies were processed, then the other end would naturally be connected to the operating room.
He pushed open a door with a *CLANG*, passed through a place filled with picture books and old toys, then through an empty operating room, and finally, in the third room, he saw a person.
On a blood-stained operating table, a girl lay disemboweled, pale as a paper doll.
She looked so small, so frail, as if her soul had already gone to another world, leaving behind only a porcelain shell.
Wade froze.
Although he hadn't really held much hope, the scene before him still had a profound impact.
He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly noticed... the girl's eyelids fluttered ever so slightly.
...
"Cough, cough, cough, cough..."
Mabel lay on the ground, coughing hard. She tried to stand up, but couldn't.
She didn't understand why she had become so weak—her heart was pounding as if it would burst through her chest, she had no strength in her body, her mouth was dry, she was dizzy, and breathing was incredibly difficult.
Suddenly, Mabel stopped struggling and turned her head to look to the side.
"Ding-a-ling..."
She heard a familiar ringing sound.
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