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Vinda added from the side. "Do you think there might be a connection between the two incidents?"
"Hmm.." Grindelwald pondered for a while, then slowly shook his head.
"I've met both of those boys. While their abilities are outstanding among their peers, even able to take down adult wizards by ambush, with their skills alone, they wouldn't be able to make two adult wizards disappear silently..."
In Grindelwald's opinion, even if Wade and Tom had managed to take down his men, they wouldn't have had the capability to dispose of the bodies without a trace or to escape the search net so quietly.
Especially considering that, learning from past mistakes, this time he had made sure the squad members wouldn't stray too far from each other while searching.
Meaning that even if one team was taken down, the others would arrive within two minutes at most.
If it were those two boys, it would have been impossible for them to clean up all traces and disappear within such a short time... right?
"Could it have been Dumbledore noticing something?" Vinda asked doubtfully. But even as the words left her mouth, she realized she was wrong...
"No, it couldn't be Dumbledore. If it were him, it wouldn't have been just two people missing. If he had acted, the entire squad in the Forbidden Forest wouldn't have made it back... Besides, our contacts at the Ministry haven't sent any word about them capturing our people." Grindelwald said, looking out of the window.
"Then what should we do next?" Vinda asked.
"It's clear now that there's something very strange in that Forbidden Forest... However, the fact that our squads keep running into trouble means we're getting close to its secrets. It seems the goblins weren't lying after all..." Grindelwald smiled and continued, "Send more people to continue the search! But this time, the squad must not split up! Also, have Anne deliver that notebook to the search team. Her main task now should be to keep a close watch on those two boys—especially Wade. We must find out what he's up to."
"The notebook was already sent earlier. The search teams are operating based on the locations recorded in it." Vinda replied.
"I see... maybe that's exactly why the squad ran into trouble. Next time, be sure to report information like this to me earlier."
"Yes, sir..."
…
Somnolen Wizard Tower.
Ground-floor laboratory.
The experimental equipment Wade had asked Toby to purchase had been delivered a while ago.
Now, the laboratory on the first floor finally looked somewhat like a proper lab again.
At this moment, Wade was hunched over a desk, writing something on a piece of parchment.
Meanwhile, the two captured Alliance members had already been stripped and were soaking in two large transparent containers.
They looked like two corpses preserved in formaldehyde solution...
Of course, they were still alive, but over the past days, they had undergone multiple rounds of high-intensity experiments.
Now, although they weren't dead yet, they could only survive with the help of nutrient fluids...
[...In the same dreamscape, Subject One's heartbeat remains normal, emotional state relatively stable, and magical fluctuations show no abnormalities.]
[Subject Two, after absorbing a small portion of "residue," showed a significant increase in heart rate, both physically and mentally becoming overly excited, and the magical fluctuations also showed a corresponding rise... This situation gradually faded as the "residue" settled down.]
[When the same experiment was conducted on Subject One, the results were identical to those of Subject Two.]
[...It seems that the negative emotions contained in the "residue" stimulate the subject's magic...]
Wade put down his quill.
At this point, he had already understood how the "residue" strengthened a wizard's power.
The strength of a spell, besides depending on the wizard's focus and proficiency, also crucially depended on one other factor: emotion.
When the emotion was appropriate, the more extreme the emotion, the greater the enhancement it gave to the spell.
For example, joy could strengthen the Patronus Charm, while hatred could greatly empower the Killing Curse.
And these "residues" extracted from humans through ancient magic were primarily composed of negative emotions!
The ancient magic that extracted these negative emotions acted like a rope, binding them tightly together.
...
"Emotion... willpower... these two complement each other and together determine the strength of a spell. However, the wizard's own magical strength is also crucial, because it forms the foundation of all enhancements..."
However, Wade was not planning to study how to enhance a wizard's own magic power for now.
Because he needed to complete his research on the residue before the Senior's self-destruction occurred.
Only then could he save her.
Looking at the long-term plan, if he could rescue his Senior, it would be of tremendous benefit to both his future development and his ambition to one day become the "Dark Lord."
Wade took out his wand and lightly tapped the two test subjects.
Two dense streams of "residue" were extracted from their bodies once again.
Since these residues had stayed inside the test subjects, when extracted, they also carried part of the subjects' emotional power.
Thus, after being pulled out, the amount of residue was even slightly greater than what had been initially implanted.
Wade thought for a moment, then drew all the ancient magic power out of the two masses of residue.
The moment the ancient magic was stripped away, the two residues turned into black smoke and gradually dispersed into the air.
It was like... a plastic bag filled with black smoke.
Once the "plastic bag"—the ancient magic—was removed, the black smoke inside naturally had nowhere to stay and eventually dispersed completely...
After so many days of experimentation, Wade had already figured out most of the principles behind the "residue."
In addition to the previously mentioned fact that negative emotions could enhance the strength of spells, he now also understood why the residue would affect the "host."
It was similar to black magic—black magic often relied on extreme negative emotions, and excessive use would cause dramatic changes in the user's personality.
At its core, the "residue" was still composed of negative emotions!
Therefore, it also had similar side effects!
As long as negative emotions were placed inside a person's body, they would naturally and subtly influence them over time.
After absorbing too much, the "host" would lose interest in almost everything else.
The only remaining interest would be the collection of more "residue" and the thrill of experiencing the rapid increase in power it brought.
The Senior, even after absorbing so much residue filled with negative emotions, could still remain clear-headed.
It was entirely thanks to the cloak gifted to her by her best friend, which served as another "plastic bag."
By absorbing and containing most of the residue filled with negative emotions, the cloak had lessened the negative influence on Senior Sister.
However, while the influence was reduced, it wasn't completely eliminated.
The Senior's current indifference toward life was definitely a result of the residue's effect.
Therefore, if Wade recklessly absorbed the residue from her body, it was highly likely that he would become addicted to it and end up just like her… Which he didn't want!
This raised an important question: how could he absorb all the residue without being affected by it himself?
"Residue… cloak… plastic bag… rope… is there a way to control this power, to only use it when needed?" Wade sat in the chair, quietly pondering with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and raised his wand.
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