Chapter 926
Scorching Heat and Cold Level 2
Chapter 926 The Two Extremes of Heat and Cold
Huge explosions rang out behind us one after another, and scorching blasts of air mixed with debris spewed out of the warehouse entrance, turning the night sky a shimmering orange-red.
Within seconds, the entire warehouse was engulfed in a raging inferno, swallowing all the lives inside.
Abigail's shackles had been removed, and she had been given an antidote. Her strength was slowly returning.
She leaned against a tree to steady herself, her face pale as she stared at the golden-red flames, unable to look away for a long time.
Meanwhile, the UMNO members had already begun to withdraw, taking with them Liana and the documents, equipment, medicines, and other items they had collected from other places.
Beneath the abandoned factory, three secret laboratories were discovered. The UMNO members stormed in and swiftly slaughtered everyone inside, rescuing a dozen or so people.
Abigail even recognized a familiar face in it—
He was a key member of the Purgers, fiercely loyal to the former leader Thorne, and therefore extremely dissatisfied with Brolin's usurpation of power, making several extreme remarks within the organization.
Then one day, he suddenly disappeared. The organization's explanation was that he had been sent to Africa on a secret mission by Brolin, which was essentially exile to the frontier.
Unexpectedly, this place is what is known as "Africa".
The once very strong Purger had suffered countless tortures here; he became emaciated and unable to walk on his own.
He had once been a very determined and fearless warrior, but at this moment, there was no hatred for the wizard in his eyes, only fear and gratitude for finally being rescued.
When he saw the moon overhead, the 1.9-meter-tall man even covered his face and burst into tears.
Abigail did not go out to acknowledge him; instead, she hid behind a tree and silently watched him being taken away.
As long as his identity as a purger is not exposed, according to the UMNO's custom, he will be sent to a nearby Muggle hospital for treatment, and even part of the initial medical expenses will be paid in advance.
These grim reapers, wielding their wands, understood the basic rules of Muggle society better than most Aurors and half-blood wizards.
Abigail also overheard two UMNO members saying as they passed by her:
"This time was good; we rescued five more people than last time."
"Did you film it all?"
"of course."
"By the way, that initial scene...should we play it?"
"Cut out the explosion scene; most people don't like massacres."
"What laughable mercy. Once they become test subjects themselves, they'll realize that killing them outright like this is the cheapest thing you could do for them!"
Abigail lowered her eyes and remained silent.
With supplies in hand, and since it was inconvenient for the UMNO members to Apparate, trucks drove out of the factory one by one, while the rest of the people were all crammed into two cars.
The rescued wounded and sick were taken away in a brightly colored bus.
……
Further away from the warehouse, Derain was speaking in hushed tones with the legendary heir.
"Retreat together?"
Braun shook his head, his face still bearing that enigmatic, relaxed expression:
"You guys go back first, I have some small things to take care of here."
Derain's gaze fell on Abigail, who was still in poor condition under the tree, with scrutiny and questions.
Braun said in a matter-of-fact tone, "As for this one, I'll keep her. She was a professor at Hogwarts, you know?"
“I heard that Vader once gave her some puppets and never returned them,” Derain said.
Braun shrugged: "That's true... My master can be overly generous at times."
“So you should understand,” Derain looked him in the eye and said, “that woman knew very well that puppets… could be made to look exactly like real people.” Braun’s smile faded slightly. “Keeping her was not my idea.”
The implication is that this was actually Wade's order.
So De Laine stopped questioning Abigail's ownership and instead asked:
"That one just now..."
He briefly waved his hand, making a murderous gesture.
"—Was that his decision too?"
"Well..." Braun smiled, "When you're a subordinate, sometimes you have to take the initiative to solve problems for your superiors. You should be like that too?"
De Laine nodded noncommittally, already used to Braun's self-willed style.
But before leaving, he left one last sentence:
"If you don't want to be centrally destroyed, you'd better be careful and not always make decisions on your own."
A person with their own ideas is more dangerous than a tool with its own ideas.
If things continue like this, even if Vader still trusts his puppets, Mr. Grindelwald probably won't allow some of them to continue existing.
Before Braun could say anything, De Laine turned around decisively and led a group of UMNO members to quickly leave the scene.
The truck, spewing exhaust fumes, disappeared from sight, and in the blink of an eye, only Braun, Abigail, and the still-burning ruins remained.
Braun walked toward Abigail, his eyes flickering slightly, as if he were considering how to deal with this unexpected "spoils of war".
Abigail looked up and asked, "Why go to such lengths? Shouldn't they have kept him alive for interrogation? Or locked him up in jail...?"
She didn't see it as "mercy," because even if the prisons in the magical world weren't Azkaban, they certainly wouldn't make things easy for the prisoners. For many, going to prison was more terrifying than death.
However, compared to killing someone outright, the outcome of imprisoning a criminal is more readily accepted, both psychologically and in terms of public opinion.
Braun said, "There's no need. Those people are just tools in the hands of the mind. They won't have much useful information and will only waste our time."
"Moreover, for human beings, the most terrifying and difficult thing in the world is death, and direct execution is the result I need. Imprisonment would only add more complications."
“This is the result you wanted…” Abigail murmured, then said, “So, were my and Glenwright’s actions also within your expectations?”
"Oh, this is actually an unexpected surprise."
Braun turned around and said with a half-smile:
“Lightford usually stays in her ‘turtle shell,’ surrounded by layers of guards, or she’s with a lot of Muggles. It’s hard for me to find an opportunity to strike without her noticing.”
“Only when she creates a situation where she feels ‘absolutely safe’ and has ‘important prey’ in her trap will she voluntarily step out of that shell and come within our reach.”
"Thanks to you all, my plan didn't turn out to be a botched performance."
A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"As for those burial goods... they were just for cleaning up the battlefield. Now, we've achieved our goal. The process was a bit brutal, but the result is perfect, isn't it?"
Abigail looked at him and subconsciously took a half step back, as if moving away from him would allow her to escape that suffocating indifference.
She herself was not a kind little girl; she had personally caused many deaths and witnessed all sorts of horrific scenes in the world.
But at this moment, Abigail still felt a sense of unfamiliarity and fear that came from the depths of her soul.
This ruthless pursuit of goals and disregard for human life made her acutely aware of the immense danger she was dealing with.
(End of this chapter)