Chapter 13 See, I knew you were a villain too

Tom sketched a rough floor plan on the ground, indicating the positions of five adult men inside the building. He noted that some might have left and not yet returned. No firearms were found, but there were several weapons like machetes.

"Are there any children locked up inside?" Robert inquired.

"Yes, they're all confined on the first floor. Eight children are crammed into this small room on the left," Tom replied, pointing to the smallest room on the floor plan.

"Eight children in such a tiny space... despicable," Robert muttered, frowning.

Anxiously, Tom suggested, "I propose we release the snakes first to cause panic, then we can swiftly move in. It's getting late, and we still need to head to Diagon Alley today."

"Alright, let's proceed," Robert agreed. Together, they navigated through an alley to the back of the detached house, where they found a locked back door.

Tom handed a stone to Robert, saying, "When chaos ensues inside, we'll break the lock and rush in."

Robert discarded the stone, remarking, "Tom, we're wizards."

With a gentle motion of his right hand, the door lock clicked open silently.

Tom stared in shock, "You... you can do that?"

"I was just figuring it out," Robert replied vaguely. "Let's get started."

Tom, without further questions, issued commands in Parseltongue. Soon, rustling sounds emerged as snakes slithered from the grass, eaves, and sewers, quickly entering through door and window cracks.

Moments later, terrified screams echoed from inside.

"Now!" Robert and Tom pushed the door open and rushed in.

A few minutes later, Tom removed a grass snake from the face of a fallen man. Poking the man's hardened face, he mused, "So... how did you do it?"

Robert, who had barely made a move earlier, had somehow petrified all the men.

"I was just guessing. Maybe I accidentally used some petrifying magic?" Robert said, pulling out a handful of cash from a small box he had found.

"Can this money be exchanged for wizard currency? Wizard money is quite different from what we've seen before," Tom remarked, tying up the immobilized traffickers.

"Don't worry, it can be exchanged. Our existence proves that not all wizards come from wizard families. There must be a place for currency exchange. Besides..." Robert tilted the small box, revealing over ten small gold bars at the bottom. "Even if paper money isn't exchangeable, these certainly are. Gold is a universal currency."

Tom gave Robert a peculiar look, "You know quite a lot..."

"Ahem, I've read many books before. Anyway, let's focus on our main purpose here," Robert said, placing the cash box into a bag.

"Haha, I thought you'd forgotten," Tom retorted sarcastically.

In Tom's view, Robert was never a good person; he just acted better. This rescue mission was likely a cover for making money.

"Of course, I haven't forgotten! Move your snakes away first; we don't want to scare the other children. They're different from us," Robert responded, unfazed by Tom's sarcasm.

For Robert, besides acquiring a substantial amount of money, he could theoretically earn a significant amount of merit points.

They approached a small room at the corner of the first floor. Despite its size, the iron door looked sturdy, with an exaggeratedly large lock.

As Robert neared the door, he heard panicked voices inside, indicating the occupants were aware of the commotion outside.

Placing his hand on the lock, Tom watched intently, hoping to learn something.

However, with a simple motion, the lock clicked open.

The heavy iron door creaked open, releasing a foul odor.

Tom covered his nose in disgust, stepping aside.

Inside, seven or eight children huddled in a corner, staring at the door in terror.

"You're safe now. Let's leave quickly!" Robert announced.

The children exchanged glances but remained still.

Frowning, Robert commanded, "Everyone, get out here and line up! Otherwise, I'll beat you up!"

Immediately, the children scrambled out and lined up.

Tom observed, "See, I knew you were a villain too."

"Shut up, Tom!"

Robert handed some banknotes to the children, "Those traffickers have been defeated by my family. You're free now; leave quickly! And don't forget to report this to the police so they can arrest these guys."

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