Hearing this name, Lin Ze frowned.
No impression.
"Tell me, what is this man's background?"
Malcolm licked his dry lips and spoke cautiously, "Elon·Carl used to be in Department of Mysteries, but was later transferred to Logistics Office because... he publicly questioned a certain research in the department."
"What research?"
"I don't know the details, but it seems to be related to alchemy. Anyway, since then he has been assigned to Supplies Classification Section of Logistics Office, dealing with confiscated contraband all day long."
Lin Ze became interested. "Is this person still at Supplies Classification Section?"
"Yes, it's in the innermost room on this floor."
Malcolm pointed and said, "But you'd better be mentally prepared. He's... a weird person."
"What?"
"He gave himself the nickname 'Sir Carl' and insisted on others calling him that."
Lin Ze:"..."
Ten minutes later, Lin Ze stood at the door of the innermost office of Logistics Office.
There was a piece of paper crookedly taped to the house number with transparent tape, which read in round letters, "Sir Carl territory, no one allowed to enter."
Lin Ze raised his hand and knocked on the door.
No one responded.
He knocked twice more.
There was a sputtering sound inside, followed by a series of indistinct curses.
The door was opened a crack.
A head poked out from the crack in the door. The gray hair was messy as if it had been kissed by a tornado. There was a pair of round-framed glasses with tape wrapped around the legs on the bridge of the nose. Behind the lenses were a pair of small, shining eyes.
"Who are you looking for?" The man looked Lin Ze up and down.
"Sir Carl?"
"That's right down there." The head tilted upward.
Lin Ze:"Auror Office Third Special Operations Team leader Lin Ze."
Elon said "Oh" and opened the door.
"Come in, be careful not to step on anything."
Lin Ze squeezed in sideways, and kicked something as soon as his foot landed. When he lowered his head, he saw that it was a crucible with a chipped opening, and there was a half-full pot of some unknown green solid object inside.
It's said to be an office, but it's actually more like a utility room.
The four walls were occupied by shelves filled with various bottles, jars, rusty ironware, sticks wrapped with cloth strips, and several glass jars filled with strange specimens.
There was an indescribable smell in the air that made people's nose sore.
"What do you want from me?" Carl sat down on his already soaked wooden chair and threw a tattered cloak hanging on the armrest aside.
"You know a lot about contraband?"
"It depends on what kind of contraband it is." Carl used one finger to push up the glasses that had slid to the tip of his nose.
"There is nothing on the market that I, Sir Carl, can't name."
"The tone is not small."
"I started collecting scraps of Dark Magic items when I was fourteen, and later worked as a consultant for Ministry of Magic in five different countries. Until I came to Britain Ministry of Magic, they called me a 'dangerous element' and kicked me here. But it's not a bad place, and I can deal with the things I like."
After Carl finished speaking, he grinned at Lin Ze, revealing a mouth of uneven teeth.
"You came to me now to choose your own people to build a team?"
Lin Ze squinted his eyes and said nothing.
"Don't look at me like that." Carl waved his hand.
"You just said that you are the team leader of Third Special Operations Team, and as far as I know, there is only one Special Operations Team in the department, and you are the deputy leader of the action team."
"Since you said it yourself Third Team just now, it means that a new group has been opened in the department, and as the leader of the new group, you are definitely not here to hang out. The most likely purpose is to poach people. Do you think I am right?" Carl said with some complacency.
"So, are you willing to come to Third Team?" Lin Ze nodded with satisfaction. At least this Carl's mind is normal.
"What's the benefit?"
"Do you want to continue working at Logistics Office until you retire, or do you want to go out and do something that interests you?"
"What am I interested in?"
"The Ministry has set up Third Special Operations Team as a team specifically responsible for Dark Magic items and dangerous creatures."
Carl was silent for a while, then nodded and agreed to Lin Ze's invitation.
Next, he talked to a few more people one after another.
The first one to talk about is Weiqi Lasghorn.
This kid was playing with his amulet at Auror Office.
When I heard that Lin Ze invited him to join Third Team, I was so excited that I almost threw a necklace of wolf teeth onto the chandelier.
"Team Leader Lin, I am willing. I have wanted to follow you for a long time. You don't know that after Yorkshire, I went back and had nightmares for half a month. Later, my mother hired a witch to summon my soul..."
"Okay, okay, stop." Lin Ze held his forehead.
"Submit the application to Scrimgeour tomorrow and I will greet you in advance."
The second one talks about a witch named Mona Currie, the recordkeeper of Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
The reason why Lin Ze came to her was because of the recommendation given by Harper, who said that this person was extremely meticulous in her work. Her only shortcoming was that she spoke too bluntly and offended many people.
"Go away Third Team, can I curse?" Mona asked.
"It depends." Lin Ze said.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure you can get away with scolding those people in the group..."
Mona stared at him for two seconds. "Okay, I'll join."
The third one is a veteran of the Department of Magical Creatures, named Burt Craddock.
He is in his fifties, with gray hair. He has worked at Ministry of Magic for twenty years. He has no hope of promotion but has a wide network of contacts.
Lin Ze invited him to drink three glasses of Firewhisky at Leaky Cauldron, chatted for four hours, and finally brought him over in the name of "Third Team needs a stable old man."
"Where did you find such a living treasure?" Ben looked at Carl brought back by Lin Ze, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Carl is squatting in the corner of the office, using a magnifying glass to study the alchemy items in his hands, mumbling something.
"Logistics Office dug it. How is it? Does it look like a capable person?" Lin Ze poured himself a glass of water and leaned against the desk.
"Like someone who can enter St. Mungo's." Ben whispered.
"I can hear that young people should know how to respect us old men." Carl said without raising his head.
Ben opened his mouth and looked at Lin Ze.
Lin Ze shrugged.
This office was a room that Lin Ze acquired from Scrimgeour through hard work, which is much larger than the original utility room.
"We Third Team have a total of ten people. Now including Ben and Carl, there are already six people." Lin Ze scratched on the paper with a pen.
"There are four spots left, I'll think about it again."
It's not that Lin Ze has high requirements, but he has only been in the job for a short time, and he hasn't been in Ministry of Magic for a few days, so he doesn't know where to find enough of these people.