"In short, they're extremely nasty pests. Let's hope there's still something left inside, or Harry will be right—we'll have wasted our time tonight!"
"All right, the cooling ointment relieves pain in one minute and itching in three. Put your clothes back on. I'm going to... catch some bugs!"
Luo Bin took out an empty glass jar, along with a miniature dustpan and brush meant for laboratory use. Only after filling the jar with Bookworm Spirits did he reach out to remove the other boards.
Clack!
A heap of dark brown insects slid off the board onto his wrist and fingernails.
Clack!
Another heap of countless insects!
Luo Bin removed four boards and was rewarded with four insect attacks. Holding a glass rod, he poked through the piles.
"What are you looking for?"
Harry asked.
"Bookworm Spirits aren't particularly rare. One Sickle will buy you a jar of dried ones, but... a Booklouse Queen is very rare. Each Bookworm Spirit nest has only one queen. She's responsible for producing offspring and devising strategies for the colony. When the queen is injured or dies, a strong female Bookworm Spirit in the colony automatically mutates into a new queen!"
Hermione explained.
"We're all second-years, so why do you two know so much?"
Harry had wanted to ask that question for ages.
"Ha! Every time I drag you and Ron to the library, it's like kidnapping you!"
Just thinking about those scenes made Hermione angry.
"Everyone specializes in different things. Take playing chess with Ron—no matter how many books I read, I still can't beat him!"
"Er, Ron really is brilliant at chess. Luo Bin, there! Right there, three centimeters to the left of the glass rod! I just caught a glimpse of something white!"
Having spotted a flash of white, Hermione abruptly changed