"Never heard of you," one Death Eater said bluntly.
The smile on Lin Ze's face stiffened.
"Tsk, sorry. I'm new, haven't made a name for myself yet. Understandable, understandable." Lin Ze clicked his tongue.
"But that's all right. After today, you'll remember me."
The other Death Eater sneered. "Boy, do you know who you're talking to?"
"Nope," Lin Ze answered without a trace of embarrassment.
"You're wearing masks. It's not like I can see through them."
"Why don't you take your mask off so we can get acquainted? Make friends."
The two Death Eaters exchanged a glance, both thinking there might be something wrong with this boy's head.
The wizard from the Department of Magical Transportation lying on the ground also stared wide-eyed at Lin Ze, as though looking at a dead man.
He actually dared to mouth off to the esteemed Death Eaters, and had even stunned one of them?
"Enough talk. Finish him."
The moment the words fell, two spells shot toward Lin Ze simultaneously.
Lin Ze was ready. He dodged sideways, avoiding both spells, then flicked his wand upward in the same motion.
Expelliarmus.
Another Nonverbal Spell.
A dazzling jet of red light burst from his wand tip, shooting toward the wrist of the Death Eater on the right at a tricky angle.
That Death Eater clearly hadn't expected this seemingly flippant boy to react so quickly, and hurriedly drew his hand back to defend himself.
But the Disarming Charm was far faster than he had expected.
Almost the instant the red light appeared, it struck his wrist with perfect accuracy. His wand flew from his hand, bounced twice on the ground, and rolled beside a drain in Knockturn Alley.
That's one, Lin Ze counted silently.
His body never stopped moving as he performed two consecutive sideways rolls to dodge the Cruciatus Curse fired by the other Death Eater.
The spell flew past his ear and blasted a bowl-sized crater in the wall behind him.
Stone fragments showered his neck.
"Fuck!" Lin Ze climbed to his feet, swearing as he brushed the bits of stone off his neck.
"This is a new uniform! Just issued! If it gets damaged, I have to pay for a replacement myself, you know?"
The only Death Eater still holding a wand froze for a moment.
Was this boy here to fight or perform a comedy routine?
Still, he could tell that although the young Auror before him had a smart mouth, his skills were no joke.
The speed and accuracy of that Disarming Charm were definitely beyond an ordinary fresh graduate.
And that was indeed the case.
Lin Ze was secretly astonished himself.
He had clearly cast that Disarming Charm according to his memories, but its effect was more than a whole level stronger than the other person's.
The spell had flown so fast that even he had been startled.
Was this the effect of his golden finger?
[Improve spell proficiency through combat]
In other words, as long as he dared to fight, he could grow stronger.
Interesting.
Lin Ze grinned, raised his wand, and casually stunned the Death Eater who was trying to retrieve his own wand.
Then he aimed his wand at the last Death Eater still standing.
"Well? Just you left now?"
He pointed his wand at the two lying on the ground.
"I suggest you surrender now. Save me the trouble."
"Do you think that's possible?" the Death Eater asked in a low, hoarse voice.
"Avada-"
Lin Ze's pupils abruptly contracted.
Against something like the Cruciatus Curse, he might still consider trading blows, but the Killing Curse played by no rules.
One hit meant death.
Without the slightest hesitation, he jerked his wrist, reacting almost entirely on instinct.
Under the sweep of his wand, the ground rapidly changed shape, rising into a thick stone wall within a second.
The green Killing Curse slammed into the stone wall.
"Fire Serpent Entanglement!"
Three fire serpents roared out of Lin Ze's wand and charged toward the Death Eater.
The Death Eater had clearly abandoned his dismissive attitude. With a faint crack, he vanished from the spot.
Having lost their target, the three fire serpents crashed into one another with a boom.
The next second, a chill rose from deep within Lin Ze, and his arm moved almost instinctively, guiding his wand to point behind him.
"Protego!"
With a dull thud, the other man's spell struck the Shield Charm and shattered it, but it also gave Lin Ze time to react.
He rolled hard twice to his right, catching sight of his opponent's position between rolls.
Then he fired off a Petrificus Totalus.
The Death Eater likewise used a Shield Charm to block Lin Ze's spell.
He's pretty troublesome.
Lin Ze lowered his head and looked at his hand.
It was shaking.
But not from fear. From excitement.
In that instant, he had clearly felt a warm current surge from his magical core and flow once through the magical circuits throughout his body.
It was a difficult sensation to describe.
In short, one word:
Amazing.
Seeing how difficult Lin Ze was to deal with, the Death Eater began to consider retreating.
But with Lin Ze feeling so good all over, how could he possibly let him leave?
He took a deep breath and jabbed his wand repeatedly, the magic within him pouring out like floodwaters from an opened dam.
"You've already come all this way. Don't be in such a hurry to leave~" Lin Ze looked at the Death Eater with a broad smile.
"You... what have you done?" the Death Eater cried out.
"Phew... stopped you... from running away, of course... phew..." Lin Ze felt indescribably exhausted. That string of magical output had nearly drained his entire reserves.
Fortunately, his opponent looked even more panicked and didn't take the opportunity to attack him.
"Why... why isn't my Apparition working?"
"Because... I've locked you down, obviously... you little fool~" Lin Ze steadied his breathing, and that warm current appeared again, replenishing his depleted magic.
"No... impossible... how could you..."
"Avada..."
"Avada my ass! You take forever just to cast a spell." Lin Ze felt so full of magic that it was as though he had never depleted it at all.
A Nonverbal Spell shot out instantly. Before his opponent could finish the Killing Curse, he was already petrified on the spot, staring blankly at Lin Ze with his wand raised.
"You have to recite a whole menu before you fight. By the time you finish your incantations, your opponent's tea will have gone cold."
Lin Ze walked up and yanked off the Death Eater's mask, revealing the deathly pale face of a middle-aged man.
The man's face was contorted, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Tsk, tsk. You look decent enough. Why can't you act like a decent person?"
Lin Ze shook his head, deftly pulled a pair of magical handcuffs from his pocket, and snapped them around the man's wrists with a click.
Then he did the same to the other two unconscious Death Eaters, cuffing them securely as well.
Only after finishing all this did he remember there was still an unlucky fellow lying on the ground.
The wizard from the Department of Magical Transportation had already picked himself up and was now sitting against the base of the wall, wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve. His eyes stared fixedly at Lin Ze, and his lips trembled for a long while before he finally managed a sentence.
"Th... thank you... Mr. Auror..."
"Department of Magical Transportation, Records Management Office, George Harper," Lin Ze interrupted, reading the name on his badge.
"Mr. Harper, did you know I was already here when you told them, 'I can provide you with information'?"
Harper's face instantly went white.
"I... that was... that was just a stopgap measure... I was only..."
"All right, all right." Lin Ze waved a hand, not bothering to listen to his excuses.
He took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over.
"Wipe your face. When the people from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement get here, save those words for them."