#334 - Thunderbird and the Unicorn (asking for monthly ticket recommendation)

“Heh, my memory is certainly fine, but whether you say something is your business, and how I act is my business. Is there a problem?”

The hooded wizard responded with great disdain, then removed his hood, revealing a blank white mask devoid of any features.

He then glanced at Aselia, who remained on guard. “Putting on such a display won't intimidate any strong person, it will only expose the nervousness in your heart. If I wanted to attack you, you wouldn't have a chance to retaliate.”

“Besides… who gave you the courage to point your wand at me? Have you forgotten who's in charge of this branch?” Although the mysterious wizard didn't reveal his features, one could still sense his condescending aura.

“You!” Aselia choked out in anger, then reluctantly lowered her wand.

“Why did you run over here without permission? What if someone found out? Don't you know the British Ministry of Magic has already begun to suspect internal personnel?” Although Aselia put away her wand, she still complained angrily.

“Humph! Do you think I wanted to travel all this way in the middle of the night? It's all because I'm worried about you. Just stealing something, and it still takes so long. You're such a waste. I really don't know what headquarters was thinking, assigning you to me. I thought your identity could bring some convenience to the operation, but the result is the opposite.” The mysterious wizard retorted unceremoniously to Aselia, as if he had swallowed gunpowder.

“You have the nerve to say that about me?” Aselia retorted just as harshly to the person in front of her. “What kind of place do you think I went to? It's the most prosperous commercial center in the British wizarding world, not some remote corner. And do you even know what I experienced tonight?”

“Besides, don't blame your own mistakes on me. The reason for this failure is still your arrogance, and your group of useless subordinates, who were tracked down so easily.”

“Making excuses for incompetence is a common trait of the weak.” The mysterious wizard's featureless face was turned towards Aselia, and she could even feel his sharp gaze piercing her skin.

“If you were more useful, you wouldn't be stuck in the Ministry of Magic, still kept in the dark by your own people, unable to even provide a single piece of useful information. Do you know how great our losses were this time? You have to be responsible for the club's losses!”

Aselia became agitated upon hearing his words. “Thunderbird! Don't push me too far. You always push the responsibility onto others whenever there's a mistake, and take all the credit for yourself. You're shameless!”

After saying this, she suddenly felt stupid. This guy didn't have a face to begin with. Not just him, Aselia's own mask didn't have a face either.

“Besides, didn't I notify you in advance that the Ministry of Magic updated their equipment? I already reported the adverse effects of these equipment on the operation in detail. If it weren't for your arrogance, how could the club have suffered such losses?”

“Also, during the last operation, it was your people who revealed themselves ahead of time, and were almost caught by the Aurors. If I hadn't cleaned up the mess for you, do you think you could have transported the goods out so easily…”

“Enough!” The mysterious wizard didn't expect Aselia to react so strongly, and glanced at her with some surprise.

“The past is the past, I don't want to pursue any further responsibility, but you better remember this, you must serve the club wholeheartedly, otherwise, you know what the consequences will be, I don't think I need to remind you again.”

Hearing the mysterious wizard's warning, Aselia fell silent, only glaring at him again with vicious eyes from behind her mask.

“Don't look at me with those eyes.” The mysterious wizard returned to his condescending posture. “Under my perception, your every move is undisguised. A weakling demonstrating against a strong person will only bring misfortune upon themselves. This is my last warning to you.”

Hearing his blatant threat, Aselia only felt a heavy pressure on her shoulders, and a thin layer of cold sweat involuntarily broke out on her back.

“The thing, did you get it?” After warning Aselia, the mysterious wizard finally got down to business.

“Nonsense, if I didn't get it, would I have come back so easily?” Aselia used harsh language to suppress the fear in her heart.

Then she took out eight jammers from her space bag and handed them to the mysterious wizard. “Four anti-Apparition jammers and four shielding jammers.”

The mysterious wizard took a jammer from Aselia's hand, examined it carefully, then looked up at her. “Is this thing really as effective as you say?”

“Didn't you already experience their power once the day before yesterday?” Aselia couldn't help but glance at him coldly again, then explained in detail:

“I inquired with those Aurors about the tactics they used. These Aurors erected several shielding jammers before the battle, and the strength of the shielding charm was so strong that you wouldn't even be detected by your warning magic after getting close to you.”

“And even more powerful are those anti-Apparition jammers. With them, your subordinates can't escape at all.”

“They even have such methods, and that tracking technology they suddenly used, is it also brought about by similar alchemical equipment?” The mysterious wizard fiddled with the metal rod in his hand, he couldn't imagine that this thing was actually the culprit that caused him such great losses.

“That's right, these are all products of Silver Spark Company, of course, this is our nickname for it, its full name is Silver Lightning Alchemy Company. Because of the equipment supplied by this company, most Aurors were equipped with Seeker Spectacles a few months ago, and then, based on the clues left over from the last operation, plus a large-scale carpet search, they finally locked down the pickup location.” When it came to business, Aselia still maintained considerable restraint and composure.

“So that's why the sense of those trash suddenly became so sensitive, it turns out they rely on these external forces, what a group of pathetic fellows.” The mysterious wizard sneered coldly, as if venting his anger, or as if mocking from the bottom of his heart.

Aselia rolled her eyes speechlessly. What era is this already? Do they still have to rely solely on wands for everything, like those old-fashioned wizards?