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Levin pondered for a while, but because there were too few clues, he still had no clue. So he decided not to expose his lie for the time being and to play the long game.
However, it seems that it was right for me to use the [Detect Toxin] on each dish last night.
Even if this kind of liar didn't poison us last night, it doesn't mean he won't poison us later. We must be even more careful.
With a cautious mind, Levin held back, following the others to the open plain, passing through the pyramids, and entering the jungle opposite to begin the search.
"This jungle seems to be very large. Even if we limit the area to this, we won't be able to search it all in a short time."
Looking at the vast rainforest before him, Tonks was lost in thought.
“In that case, why don’t we split up and search separately?” Capac suggested. “We can work in pairs, our only objective being to search. We’ll signal as soon as we spot a dragon, and then fight once everyone is assembled. What do you think?”
Jaina nodded: "That is indeed a safe option."
Seeing that the other party had accepted the proposal, Capac pressed on, saying, "Chief Jaina, your magic is the most powerful among us, so please take care of my tribesmen."
So, are they planning to get rid of the strongest person?
Knowing that the old man had a problem, Levin easily saw through his plan and couldn't help but frown.
However, the other party's suggestion is also reasonable. If the search is to be carried out in groups, the most important thing is to keep each group equally strong and not let any group be too weak, so as not to give potential dragons an opportunity to take advantage.
This is an open scheme, and he can't easily stop it.
Next, Capac looked at the other three.
Seeing this, Cirira came to Levin's side and whispered in her ear, "Why don't we team up?"
Levin glanced at her, and the girl blushed, giving him a suggestive wink.
He immediately understood the other party's plan.
So he offered, "Grandpa Capac, how about I team up with you? To be honest, I'm quite interested in the jungle and hope to learn more from you."
Shireira: ? ? ?
I gave you such a hint, and you still went to see that old man?
Could it be that the old man is more attractive than me?
She subtly tugged at Levin's left hand, but Levin ignored her, continuing to look at Capac with fervent eyes.
Old Capac blinked, seemingly surprised by Levin's offer, but immediately agreed.
“Great! It just so happens that I’m also interested in learning about Hogwarts right now. I’ll go with you then.”
"In that case, we'll be on the same team."
Tonks was a little surprised to be paired with Ciri, but she quickly accepted it without much fanfare.
So the six people split into three groups and began their search of the jungle.
%
Chapter 165 The Dragon Transformed into a Mortal
How difficult is it to find something in the rainforest?
Tall trees are everywhere, their canopies lush and green. The competition among the plants is fierce; every plant is trying to grow taller and bigger, stretching out its branches and leaves to block the sunlight from its competitors.
Under this fierce competition for species, the rainforest above and below the canopy is almost divided into two separate worlds.
The sun shines brightly above, while below, only a faint ray of light filters through layers of leaves.
This prevents Levin from quickly surveying large areas by climbing to a high vantage point.
Below the tree canopy, larger individuals generally cannot fly.
Twisted tree trunks, dense branches, and countless drooping vines create a dense network of obstacles in the lower levels of the rainforest.
You might bump into something if you're not careful.
If you want to search for something here, you have to walk, traversing all sorts of haphazardly laid tree roots and shrubs and ferns of all sizes, searching on the ground.
This greatly increases the difficulty of the search.
In this respect, wizards have an advantage over Muggles—at least wizards' reveal spells are not as easily interfered with as Muggle search and rescue equipment.
Levin, who had chosen to deal with old man Capac, continued forward through the dense forest, one in front of the other.
Levin took the initiative to walk in front, leaving his back completely exposed to Capac, adopting a carefree and unguarded demeanor, chatting casually as he walked forward.
In fact, Levin's psychic abilities remained constantly on alert.
Meanwhile, the druid's abilities were particularly effective in the rainforest, with all the surrounding plants becoming Levin's eyes.
This outwardly relaxed but inwardly tense demeanor was all designed to lure old man Capac into making a move.
If he really had malicious intent.
However, even after most of the day had passed, Capac remained the perfect old man, showing no sign of his true intentions.
Even Levin almost doubted: "Could it be that I guessed wrong before?"
But in the end, he remained firm in his belief.
There's something wrong with this old man.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have fabricated a lie about the whereabouts of the Black Dragon out of nowhere, leading them to search this forest for nothing.
But where exactly does the problem lie?
Levin still couldn't figure this out on his return journey.
A full day of searching, naturally, yielded nothing.
After all, the information about the black dragon's whereabouts was just made up by old man Capac.
As agreed, the six people gathered at the foot of the pyramid and headed towards the tribe.
Needless to say, the disappointment along the way was immense.
Old Man Capak offered words of comfort: "According to the tribespeople's observations, no black dragons or similar creatures have taken off from this rainforest in the past few days, which means that the dragon either stayed where it was or left on foot. There aren't many places it can go. Let's search for another day tomorrow, and we'll find it eventually."
Capac's words cheered the others up a bit, but Levin remained noncommittal.
On the way back, the boy quietly approached Jaina and asked, "How did you get the information that the black dragon was here?"
The question came as abruptly as Jaina glanced at Levin, then at Capac, who was walking ahead, and said astutely, "You think there's something wrong with this Capac?"
Before Levin could answer, she stated directly, "In fact, we didn't know the Black Dragon had arrived here at first. We only managed to discover, through magical tracking, that it was heading towards South America. Subsequently, the Ministry of Magic of the Underworld only issued notices to the magical governments of various South American countries and the friendly forces we could contact, stating that 'a dangerous magical creature has been observed.'"
The statement read, "He went to South America," and requested that they promptly inform the Ministry of Magic of the Underworld of any relevant discoveries.
"As for what exactly this dangerous magical creature is, and where it came from, the Ministry of Magic has not revealed it. Fudge believes this is for the sake of the Ministry of Magic's reputation."
“Just as I guessed, Fudge is that kind of person.” Levin nodded.
Based on his understanding from his past life and his experiences in this one, he knew Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic, very well. He was a weak politician, a typical power-hungry animal. He had no political ideals or achievements; everything he did was simply to maintain his own power.
People like him would try to cover things up as soon as they encounter something, and would not proactively disclose their mistakes to the outside world.
"No wonder the Ministry of Magic was willing to believe that the black dragon was here. After all, Capac took the initiative to claim that he had discovered the black dragon, and his knowledge of the black dragon itself proved the authenticity of the information, even though the Ministry of Magic had not revealed the full details."
"Then the question arises: if the eyewitnesses are fake, and the so-called information about the Black Dragon is fabricated by Capac, then how exactly did Capac know about the Black Dragon?"
Thinking of this, Levin was suddenly startled.
"This means that although 'the black dragon is in that rainforest' is false, 'Capac saw the black dragon' is most likely true. So where is the black dragon really?"
This is a truly chilling thought.
Given the black dragon's size, it would be impossible for it to hide its tracks near the tribe.
However, in both D&D and WoW, adult dragons possess the ability to transform into mortal races.
Of course, if this dragon comes from other worlds like Lord of the Rings, that's a different story.
In short, taking all of these factors into account makes the whole situation even more complicated.
As Levin fell into thought, Jaina's concerned voice rang in his ears: "You look so troubled, have you discovered something?"
Levin thought for a moment and then revealed his current information and his questions to Jaina.
Of the three female companions, only Jaina understands dragons, and only Jaina can discuss this with him.
"So there's a spell as convenient as [Language Proficiency]?"
Jaina was initially surprised after hearing this, then fell silent for a long time before finally saying:
"Your approach is correct. Although Capak is indeed problematic, we must remain inactive until we obtain more information to avoid alerting him..."
"As for the idea that dragons can transform into mortal races... I've heard this rumor in Dalaran too. People have always said that Archmage Krasus, one of the former Council of Six of the Kirin Tor, was actually a red dragon. I always thought it was a joke. But now that you mention it, it's probably true. It's hard to believe that Teacher Antonidas always..."
They all smiled and remained silent upon hearing this rumor.
At this point, Jaina couldn't help but recall her days in Azeroth, and a look of nostalgia appeared on her face.
Levin did not disturb the Dalaran mage, but listened quietly as she recounted her past.
After a long pause, she said, "Sorry, I went off-topic a bit."
“It’s alright, Jaina. I’ve known about Azeroth for a long time, but I’ve never actually met anyone there. It would be interesting to hear your stories about it.”
“Thank you, Levin.” Jaina sighed. “Back to the point, since dragons can transform into mortals, we have to be careful. When we get back to the tribe tonight, we need to find a chance to scout around and see if there are any suspicious people here.”
"However, a dragon in human form is still a dragon, so we must be careful and not disturb it."
Having made their plan, the two separated again, pretending nothing had happened, and followed old man Capak back to the tribe.
%
Chapter 166 The Vampire Sisters of the Rainforest
Back in the tribe, a grand bonfire party was held that evening as usual.
Putting aside everything else, Capac was never stingy with his hospitality towards his guests.
They brought out everything they could: a variety of rainforest delicacies, tribal music and dance, and more.
The main idea is to use the resources of the tribe to win the hearts of visitors.
It would be even better if he didn't have such ulterior motives.
But then again, if Capac didn't have those ulterior motives, he probably wouldn't have used such a grand reception to lull them into a false sense of security.
At the bonfire party, Levin, just like the day before, enjoyed good food and drinks with the unsuspecting Ciri and Tonks.