"Where is this? Why am I here?"
"Wake up, quickly wake up!"
"Where's my wand? Where are my things?"
"Damn it, who the hell locked us in this godforsaken place?"
"Help! Someone help me!"
Soon, the wizards and Muggles in each cell began to wake up, and at first, everyone was just confused about their predicament. But soon, emotions like doubt, panic, and anger gradually spread. As more and more people awoke, the warehouse stronghold instantly turned into a large marketplace, with shouts, cries for help, and curses blending into one. They didn't understand what had happened, why their entire world had changed after they woke up.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a row of bright lights illuminated the entire warehouse stronghold. It turned out that a magical lantern, scavenged from the parks, had been installed above each cell. Instantly, the previously dim warehouse was lit up. The sudden strong light also made it very difficult for those who had adapted to the dark environment, and they all covered their eyes with their hands. The previous noisy environment also quieted down considerably with the arrival of the strong light, as if a pause button had been pressed.
Once everyone gradually adjusted to the bright light, they finally saw the shocking scene before them. It turned out that they were not just with the people around them. In their view, beyond the iron bars in front, there was an entire area of cages similar to their room, all filled with people.
Among these figures, some people knew each other, colleagues who worked together in the same park. Others were completely unfamiliar, never seen before. Some were acquaintances they knew or had met a few times, but they didn't remember them working in the park. At this moment, these awakened people all gathered at the bars, close to the cages in front or on either side, asking questions to those they knew, either in surprise and uncertainty or in panic.
"Harkob, do you know what's going on? Why are we here?"
"I don't know either. I only remember returning to my dormitory to rest after curfew last night, and then I woke up in this inexplicable place."
These were wizards working in the same park, trying to understand the situation through the cages.
"Nancy? Why are you here? Aren't you from East Germany?" A West German witch saw an East German wizard she knew, and then asked in confusion.
"I don't know. I used to work in a magical beasts breeding park, but I woke up here."
"What? You also work in a breeding park?"
"What do you mean 'also'? Are you also..."
"That's right, I also work in a magical beasts park. Although I have to serve continuously for half a year, the pay is very high, but the park I'm in is clearly in West Germany!"
This was a conversation between two wizards who knew each other but didn't live in the same park. Then, through their mutual exchanges, everyone gradually realized that all the people imprisoned in these cages were employees working in breeding parks, except that some people worked in different locations than themselves.
"So, everyone here is related to the magical beasts breeding park, right?"
"That's right, I work in a park in East Germany."
"I'm in West Germany."
"I'm also in West Germany, but how come I've never seen you? Are there different parks in West Germany?"
Through continuous conversation, some people also realized that the park they worked in must be somewhat abnormal, otherwise how could they have been brought here by a silencing charm?
At this moment, a wizard shouted loudly, "The fact that we're here inexplicably must be related to the breeding park. Does anyone know what's going on?"
Then, a wizard from No. 1 Park recognized Jason in the adjacent cell, and immediately pointed at him and asked, "Jason, you're the captain of the maintenance team, do you know anything?"
"Me?" Jason had only recently woken up. The Stupefy he was hit with was not light. Hearing the question, he looked at the other person with a blank expression. "I don't know what's going on either, but unlike you guys, I was attacked by two people wearing white masks. They suddenly rushed into the dormitory. I was on the first floor at the time and was directly knocked out by them."
"Now that you mention it, I also remember. I was also knocked out from behind when I went out to relieve myself at night, but it seems like the rest of you just woke up here after falling asleep." A wizard from another park added at this moment.
After the two of them spoke, several more people in the cells spoke up, saying that they had also been attacked by others, and some also said they had seen the attackers' appearance, indeed figures wearing white masks.
"White masks? Could it be people from the Silver Spears? But that shouldn't be the case." A wizard clearly knew more than the others, and at this moment, a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
"Mark, do you know those people? The Silver Spears you mentioned, are they the smugglers who sell magical beasts in the black market?" Mark's mumbling was overheard by the person next to him, who immediately stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and asked loudly.
"I heard it too. What do you mean by 'that shouldn't be the case'? Do you know the background of these people?" Another person next to him also leaned toward Mark. "Your patrol team are all in cahoots with the leader, are you hiding something from us?"
At this moment, the shouts of these two people also spread to other cells. Suddenly, all the civilian wizards and Muggles shifted their gaze to Mark, or to the other patrol team members they knew. Mark felt uneasy under everyone's gaze, and seeing that several people seemed to want to get physical, he immediately blurted out, "It's impossible for the Silver Spears to have tied us up here, because our park was built by them. That is to say, the Silver Spears is actually our employer. There's no reason for an employer to kidnap employees!"
The civilian wizards in each cell were instantly in an uproar upon hearing Mark's words.
"What? We've always been working for the Silver Spears? Doesn't that mean we're all accomplices of a smuggling group?" In Germany, most people knew about the Silver Spear Club, but they also knew it was a criminal gang operating in a grey area. They were usually law-abiding citizens and didn't want to be associated with these people.
Meanwhile, Jason's heart sank when he heard this information. He had heard Jimmy mention before that the patrol team was connected to the Silver Spears, but being an honest person, he had been unwilling to think in that direction. But now that someone from the patrol team had admitted it, combined with the news he had heard before, it proved to be true.
Thinking of this, Jason looked around distractedly, but when he saw a figure sitting in a corner of a cell, his eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted at the other person, "Mr. Clement, you are the leader of our park, you should know what's going on, right!"
Upon hearing his shout, the surrounding people's gazes also followed Jason, and they indeed found Clement sitting dejectedly in a corner of one of the cells. At this moment, the old man had lost his former high spirits, with only dim eyes remaining.
"It's really Mr. Clement! You've also been kidnapped to this godforsaken place?" The employees who used to greatly admire and love this kind leader recognized him and called out to him with concern.
"Mr. Clement, it can't be the Silver Spears, right? Aren't we all their people?" The patrol team members from No. 1 Park also shouted to him in a panic, all hoping to hear the answer from his mouth.
But at this moment, Clement was like a living dead man, merely lowering his head and muttering to himself in the corner, oblivious to the shouts around him.
A wizard from No. 1 Park who was in the same cell as Clement thought he hadn't fully recovered, so he went to his side, gently nudged him, and softly called out a few times. But Clement still didn't react. The wizard had no choice but to lean down and put his head close, but when he clearly heard what Clement was muttering, his face suddenly changed.
"What's going on? What happened to Mr. Clement? Was he injured by the attackers?" Many people were still concerned about the old man at this moment.
"No…" The wizard who had leaned close to Clement shook his head with a grim expression. "He keeps muttering, 'It's over, it's all over, I've been abandoned by the club!'"
"What?"
Upon hearing the reply, the crowds in each cell widened their eyes in shock. The civilian wizards were shocked because Clement's words proved that they were indeed working for the Silver Spears, for a smuggling group! And the patrol team members from various parks were shocked by what the other person said. Clement was abandoned? Did that mean they were also abandoned? Was it really the Silver Spears who locked them up here? But it didn't make sense; they had always worked diligently and never provoked the club.
These several hundred people were silent for only a moment upon hearing this news, and then an even more intense clamor erupted. Some of them were confirming the accuracy of the news with members of the patrol team, some patrol team members were arguing among themselves, and even more people were venting their emotions in panic.
"Everyone, stop arguing." At this moment, a wizard shouted, his voice so loud that it even drowned out the surrounding noise. Then, everyone spontaneously turned their gaze toward him. "Let's not get bogged down here. No matter who brought us here, or who we're working for, we're all prisoners now. What we should be thinking about is how to escape, right!"
This wizard was burly, but his mind was very keen. After he spoke, the people around him suddenly sobered up.