"I'll be going, then," 'Ken Linhua' said. At the laboratory door, he pressed the button marked "Extract air in 30 minutes to create a vacuum," then opened the door and left.
Inside, the 'boy' felt his life ebbing away bit by bit. Tears spilled down his cheeks.
Terrified faces flashed through his mind, one after another. If he could turn back time, he would listen to his parents. He would never set foot in that damn magic school, and he certainly wouldn't...
But there were no second chances.
Besides, an ordinary person born with magic but no formal training would probably have been captured by Lester anyway.
After all, those people had even gotten their hands on Hogwarts' Muggle-born Student List!
Meanwhile, 'Ken Linhua' strode through the milky-white, arched corridors, tossing an invisible bead onto the floor every so often.
"Mr. Ken Linhua, shouldn't you be in the laboratory dealing with Robin Sear, the one we captured?"
Robbie, a short, stout wizard, had run into the wandering 'Ken Linhua' and stopped him with a puzzled look.
"Oh, I hit a snag in the experiment. I came out to look for inspiration!"
'Ken Linhua' started to walk around him, but Robbie looked him up and down and called out to stop him.
"Wait. You... you're not Ken Linhua. What have you done to him? Who are you?"
'Ken Linhua' turned around with a broad smile. "Oh? Tell me, what about me doesn't look like Ken Linhua?"
"Your face, voice, expressions, mannerisms—even the way you swing your arm and leg forward on the same side. They're all identical. But here's what you probably don't know: Ken Linhua cares a great deal about saving face. Whenever he meets someone of lower rank, he makes a point of walking properly. Do you see what