Chapter 404: Arrival
Chapter 404: Arrival (Please subscribe, favorite, and vote!)
The next morning, after getting up and tidying up, Liam asked Hermione to wait for him in the hotel lobby while he went out alone. Twenty minutes later, a small white off-road vehicle with double doors arrived at the hotel entrance. The window rolled down, and Liam’s face appeared inside the vehicle. "Alright, let's go."
"Where did you get this car?" Hermione asked as she got in and fastened her seatbelt. "It looks quite rough!"
"Yesterday, on the way here, I saw a used car dealership. I just went there and bought this car for two thousand dollars. It may look a bit rough, but the Russian Lada Niva is a good car. Especially since we’re going to be driving through a lot of rough terrain. Without an off-road vehicle, it would be tough to get there. At least this is better than walking on foot", Liam said, gripping the steering wheel.
"You can take a nap for a while", Liam told Hermione. "It’s about three hundred kilometers from here to our destination. According to the information I bought from Knockturn Alley, those Giants are currently hiding in a valley in the Ural Mountains. We’ll drive north along the road to Lower Tula, and then head west into the Ural Mountains."
"Is your information reliable?" Hermione asked curiously. "Theoretically, shouldn’t the Giants’ hiding place be a secret?"
"Not entirely. We just haven’t heard about it before because many wizards don’t care where they are, as long as they’re far away. The specific location is considered general information in Diagon Alley. I only spent thirty Galleons to get this information, along with a dozen other pieces of information."
Once they reached the outskirts, Liam looked around to make sure no one was around, then stopped the car and waved his wand to open a portal, releasing two objects.
"These are, us?" Hermione immediately recognized the two 1:1 puppets Liam had placed on the back seat. They were exquisitely crafted, indistinguishable from real people.
"Exactly. I’m going to use them to create an alibi", Liam explained briefly. "These are easy to make because they don’t need a thinking circuit, which saves a lot of trouble."
"But how will they look like us? Are you going to control them remotely?" Hermione was curious about these unfamiliar objects.
"Of course not." A girl’s voice rang out, and Rose Crystal emerged from the portal. "That would be too complicated. Instead, Big Brother’s puppet will carry a backpack, and I’ll hide inside and control it. This way, I can also explore the area a bit." She waved a guidebook and a camera in her hand, which Liam realized were part of the preparations. It seemed that after he told Rose Crystal about the plan a month ago, she had already been preparing for this trip.
After saying goodbye to Rose Crystal and watching the two puppets walk away, Liam and Hermione used a Faceless charm to alter their appearances. For the rest of their time in Yekaterinburg, they would be passing as locals, with Tatar and Russian features.
By noon, the two of them braved the snow and wind to arrive in Lower Tula, a charming small town. They had been fortunate with the weather, which allowed them to travel smoothly along the road.
After getting out of the car, Liam and Hermione went to a small restaurant. In winter in Russia, especially during tough economic times, there wasn’t much to eat, so they ordered a large plate of beef-filled pelmeni and a pot of beet soup.
Sitting down and looking around, they noticed the restaurant was small and simply decorated, likely a converted residential building. Despite this, it was clean, and the owner, a friendly older woman, was very welcoming.
"Such weather, and you young people from out of town come here?" the woman asked as she brought out the dumplings.
"Compared to where we’re from, this place is quite warm", Liam pretended, acting as if he and Hermione were high school students on a winter break from Yakutsk. "We’re on winter break, so we decided to come and see the great Ural Mountains, as described in our books." Fortunately, Russia has both East Asian and Caucasian populations, so Liam’s claim that they were from the Far East was believable to the woman.
"Yakutsk? No wonder!" The woman nodded in understanding. "My son went on a business trip to Yakutsk two winters ago, and he told me it was already below minus twenty degrees. He didn’t even dare to go out when he wasn’t in a car."
"Yes." Liam chimed in. "So we came out to play. We plan to explore the mountains for the next couple of days and then head to Yekaterinburg. By the way, are there any good spots around here for a bit of fun?"
"Ah, places for young couples to enjoy." The woman's eyes darted between Liam and Hermione. "You can follow the path to the west and head a bit deeper into the mountains. There's a lake there that's quite beautiful when it freezes over in winter. From that lake, if you continue south, there's a trail. The snow isn't too thick right now, so you can still walk around, and there are a few cabins where you can spend the night. But remember, you absolutely must not go north."
The woman enthusiastically described the scenic spots, but her expression turned serious when she mentioned the north.
Liam recalled the information he had and found that the group of Giants was located about 30 kilometers north of the lake in a valley. He asked, "Why can't we go north?"
"It used to be no different from other places, but something strange happened there about a decade ago. No one can pass through that area anymore, and anyone who does ends up dead. Later, we were told that the area experienced severe geological changes, and those who died were victims of mountaineering accidents. A few months ago, when we went to the lake, we heard loud noises coming from the north at night. So, you two absolutely must not go there", the woman warned sternly.
"Of course, we won't go there", Liam said. "We'll just play by the lake and be back in two or three days."
After paying in dollars, Liam and Hermione left the restaurant. Once they were back in the car, Hermione asked, "Were you just asking the owner about the location of those Giants?"
"Yes", Liam started the car. "Combining their information with what I know, I can now confirm that the Giants are still there. We'll be able to catch them if we go."
The mountain roads were treacherous, especially with the freezing temperatures. In some places, Liam and Hermione had to use Magic to help the car get out of trouble. To minimize the risk of exposure, they used Magic from other worlds, such as manipulating shadows to lift the car out of ditches. Fortunately, the road was relatively well-traveled, so it only took them a bit over an hour to reach the lake.
"The car can only go this far. From here, we'll have to walk. Let's head out", Liam said, tucking the Suv into the Radiation World, and then he and Hermione ventured into the forest by the lake, trudging through the snow.
Fortunately, the recent snowfall hadn't been heavy, and the snow in the forest was only about a dozen centimeters deep. With the crunching sound of their boots on the snow, they each held a Staff in one hand and a Wand in the other, moving silently through the woods. Neither of them spoke much during the journey, and the only sounds were their breaths forming white mist in the cold air.
"Alright, we're almost there", Liam said as night fell and the sky turned completely dark. The air in the Ural Mountains region was incredibly fresh, with no industrial pollution. Looking up through the gaps in the branches, they could see the beautiful Milky Way and a sky full of stars. The surroundings were silent, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the treetops and the occasional fall of snow from the branches. At this moment, Liam stopped.
"Are we there?" Hermione asked, leaning on her Staff and catching her breath. Despite her consistent training and physical enhancements, the ten-hour trek through the snow had left her quite fatigued. She had only rested three or four times during the journey, totaling less than an hour.
"Yes, I feel traces of Magic nearby. We must be close", Liam nodded. Hermione noticed that Liam had summoned Little Qing, which quickly transformed into a mass of moving vines and spread out into the surrounding forest. "I'll have Little Qing scout ahead. Hagrid told us that the Dark Lord sent Death Eaters to the Giant tribe, and I don't want to walk into a trap and get ambushed."
"Three Death Eaters, not two", Liam said, closing his eyes to focus on Little Qing's reconnaissance. He suddenly opened his eyes.
"What?" Hermione looked at Liam.
"Hagrid said he saw two Death Eaters arrive at the Giant tribe, but there are actually three. One of them has been hiding in the shadows, separate from the others. It seems to be the Dark Lord's backup plan", Liam explained. "Alright, let's go. Little Qing has found a relatively safe path."
With Little Qing leading the way, the two followed a winding route to climb the final ridge.
(End of Chapter)
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