#502 - Cooperation (asking for monthly ticket recommendation ticket)

"You misunderstand, I'm not saying that Pete was impersonated by the club's leader, but that he was a Silver Spear from the very beginning, and most likely the leader of this organization," Anduin said with a slight smile.

"You mean," Andre said, his eyes wide with disbelief, "this guy has been disguising his identity for over a decade? He's been treating everyone like fools all this time?"

After thinking for a moment, Andre still shook his head in denial, "That doesn't make sense. Wouldn't the leader of a transnational criminal organization be afraid of being discovered if he took such a risk? And he even entered the Ministry of Magic and got into politics in such a blatant manner."

"That's precisely what makes him so clever. You understand the principle of hiding in plain sight, right? The more dangerous the place, the safer he is. Otherwise, can you recall any specific information about Pete before he appeared more than a decade ago?" Anduin said, smiling at Andre.

Before he appeared? Andre reacted when Anduin reminded him. Yes, this Pete had almost never mentioned his life before the age of 40 to anyone, and they didn't even know which magic school he had attended.

All they knew was that Pete had appeared with the aura of a Charms expert from the beginning, and he had quickly integrated into the upper circles of the German magical world. Everyone naturally accepted this gentle, humorous wizard.

"You don't need to dwell on the past. I have investigated his past in detail. This Pete didn't publish any spell-related papers before the age of 40. Although there is some information about his previous life, it's all on paper. People who met him in his youth are either dead or missing, and there's no trace to be found. Doesn't that explain the problem?"

Anduin had done a lot of homework after coming to Germany, especially after learning that Pete's identity was not simple. He even spent a lot of money to get Feng to help investigate. But speaking of which, Feng hasn't shown his face for quite some time.

"But why would he do this? Pete has always seemed very normal all these years, except for his desire to split Germany. And besides that, he's even quite diligent, being the first to arrive and the last to leave the Ministry of Magic every day. Where does he have so much time to deal with the Silver Spears?"

Andre raised his question again. Pete had been working and living under his nose for many years.

If it weren't for political disagreements, Andre would have admired this Minister Pete.

"His time management is indeed a bit strange. I'm still investigating this, but isn't the reason obvious? I thought you could figure it out yourself," Anduin pointed to the ground beneath him. "If Minister Pete is allowed to continue like this, what do you think Germany will look like in the near future?"

"You mean… his goal from the beginning, more than a decade ago, was to split Germany?" Andre followed Anduin's train of thought and then widened his eyes. "If he really is the leader of the Silver Spears, then he wants to create a country completely controlled by a smuggling crime syndicate?"

"But what is his motive? Why would Pete and the Silver Spears waste so many years weaving such a difficult conspiracy? Do they have any special ambitions?" Andre looked at Anduin in incomprehension.

"Isn't their ambition very obvious? You might as well recall their original identities, especially sixty years ago," Anduin said persuasively.

"Sixty years ago?" Andre quickly recalled that sensitive era upon hearing this. "Right, their predecessor was indeed the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Overthrowing the Statute of Secrecy is a reasonable motive, your idea is similar to Bardot and Amelia's, but I didn't expect them to want to control a country for this."

Anduin nodded in agreement upon seeing this. He couldn't reveal the connection between magical creatures and the Elixir of Life. He didn't want to measure everyone's moral bottom line with reality.

If they knew that the club had a way to make people immortal, who knows if these wizards, who usually seem very upright on the surface, would have evil thoughts. Therefore, Anduin would always keep this secret in his heart.

As for the reason to deal with Andre and others, hasn't he already imagined it himself? For these older generation wizards, the Sacred Twenty-Eight's former glory and destructiveness are unforgettable.

As long as they associate the Silver Spears with Grindelwald and the Sacred Twenty-Eight, any conspiracy theory can be imagined.

"Your information is indeed unexpected, but do you have any specific evidence about Pete?" Although Andre, under Anduin's guidance, had self-imagined a set of behavioral logic for the club, this was, after all, just one-sided. It's important to see it with your own eyes to believe it.

"You know a person named Clermont, right?" Anduin asked rhetorically.

"Clermont, who runs the magic item shop?" Andre recalled slightly upon hearing this and nodded affirmatively. "I know this person has connections with the Silver Spears and also helps the club run a black market, but according to my previous investigations, this guy should just be a partner of the Silver Spears."

Andre was quite familiar with the Silver Spears organization. After all, both sides' lairs were in Germany. They had fought more than once over the years.

Moreover, after dealing with them for many years, Andre had also mastered a lot of inside information about the Silver Spears. He knew that there were few formal members in this organization. They usually used code names to communicate, and they didn't know each other's details. They were very hidden, and some daily tasks were completed by their partners. Clermont was one of them.

But because of this, although Andre had killed and arrested many members of the Silver Spears over the years, he had not been able to grasp more personnel information about this organization. He only knew some of their internal structure, just like when Anduin had just captured Iseron.

However, over the years, Andre had also discovered a lot of tricks about the Silver Spears, such as the fact that they were basically based on the elders of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. These people had close ties with the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

And their smuggling business was very large. The turnover of magical creatures in and out every month was very exaggerated. This also led to the fact that the Silver Spears Club was not a secret in Germany.

However, most ordinary wizards only regarded them as an organization that did gray business, just like Knockturn Alley was to Britain. Even some regular magical creature shops would deal with them.

"That's right. Through some special channels, I learned that this Clermont is not just a partner of the Silver Spears. He also manages a huge magical creature breeding farm for the club, and I'm very sure that he knows Minister Pete's identity," Anduin revealed to him, picking out what he could say.

"Oh? Clermont has such a complicated identity?" Andre heard about the breeding farm for the first time and immediately slammed the table in anger. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's arrest Clermont now and confront him with Pete on the spot!"

"Director Andre, aren't you being a little too naive?" Anduin couldn't help but roll his eyes after seeing his flustered appearance. "Since you know something about the Silver Spears, you should also know their security measures. Moreover, this so-called confession is meaningless. I bet you can't even get the location of the breeding farm from him."

After being stopped by Anduin, Andre realized that it was true. The memories of these Silver Spears were protected by specific contract magic. He had caught their people before, but he couldn't dig anything out of their heads except for some superficial things.

"Then what do you say we should do?" Andre looked at Anduin's confident look and recalled Newt's letter to him. It seemed that this kid really had something to gain to be so confident and targeted.

"Regarding this Clermont, I hope you don't take any action to avoid alerting the enemy. This guy is already under my full surveillance. Now just pretend you don't know anything," Anduin didn't care what his identity was now and directly made a request.

"Do nothing? Not even ordinary surveillance? How reliable is your so-called full surveillance?" Andre looked at Anduin with some suspicion. This young man didn't even have a hair on his face. He didn't know how reliable he was.

"No!" Anduin shook his head decisively. "I have already followed his tail and found a breeding farm that Clermont is responsible for, but the protection there is very tight. I am still looking for a way to enter without alarming the enemy. We have to catch them red-handed there!"

"So that's how it is." Andre nodded upon hearing this. Anduin's plan was indeed more appropriate. "But according to you, do you already know the location of that farm? In that case, why don't we just break in directly and wipe them out in one fell swoop? I know you have a lot of good things here, such as the kind of instrument that can cast the 'Anti-Apparition Jinx'. With that thing, I guarantee that none of them will be able to escape."

"It's easier said than done." Anduin shook his head decisively. "I have already scouted that Apparition is impossible inside the farm itself, but it also has unknown means to leave directly."

"Moreover," Anduin said, taking a special look at him, "do you know how many people are in this breeding farm?"

"How many people?"

"According to my current statistics, there are at least 220 people, including more than 100 wizards. Are you sure you can bring those Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and really have the confidence to take them down?" Anduin said, giving Andre a mocking look.