Du Wei didnât know how long he was unconscious for, but as a magician, his mental control is much higher than others; as such, he already reminded himself to wake up before he fainted away.
For this reason, the night didnât even come to an end when he awoke.
Though the pain on his chest has eased by quite a bit, he still found himself suffering from immense dizziness when he tried moving his head.
âYou be smart not to move and donât try to think of whatâs going on.â Gargamelâs voice could be heard from the side.
This little mouse once again transformed into a tall demi human mouse. If he were to show off this form to the others inside the city, the onlookers would do doubt die from shock and fear.
âMy head is aching really badly.â Du Wei moaned loudly.
âThis is normal.â With a cup in hand, Gargamel slowly forced fed the content into his mouth.
Du Wei frowned: âSO BITTER! ⌠⌠What is ⌠⌠Hmm, why do I smell a hint of ice berries in this stuff? It canât be you are feeding me this stuff?â
âItâs just some drug ⌠⌠I intentionally added in some ice berries to the concoction. You know it as well that ice berries will not only help ease the pain, it can also stimulate the recovery of oneâs mental stamina. Although this stuff is heavily abusedâŚâŚ But donât worry; I diluted the concentration to a level where it wonât harm you.â
Putting down the cup, Gargamel then grabbed a towel to wipe away the dregs that was clinging to Du Weiâs mouth.
âWhen will I recover?â Du Wei impatiently asked this question immediately.
âI must warn you my Duke, my little genius magician!â Gargamelâs voice carried a tone of mockery: âFirst rule in the magiciansâ guideline: âNo magician is to ever deplete their magic under any circumstances. Otherwise, you will die a very ugly and horrible death. It canât be you donât even understand this simple rule, right?â
Du Wei gave a bitter laugh in return: âOf course I do.â
âDonât think Iâm joking around.â Gargamel seriously warned him: âFor us Mages, our mind is the very root of our powers. If you overdraw on this source and exceed your limits, then problems will arise in your brainâŚâŚ I know for a fact that in history there has been madmanâs that drew on their magic excessively to the point where their very sanity was broken, do you want to become an idiot like them?â
âBut I also heard overdrawing my powers will turn me into a human jerky.â Du Wei curled his mouth
âThat outcome is the worst result.â Gargamel angrily scolded him: âWhich would you like, become an idiot, or become a human jerky?â
Du Wei shrunk his neck in: âI donât like either option.â
âThen listen to me and donât try to overdraw your magic from now on. It was very dangerous this timeâŚ.. If not for the rainbow colored ring on youâŚ.. You would have already become a human skeleton that was wrapped in a layer of skin.
After giving out a long sigh, Gargamel stared down at Du Wei ⌠⌠This scene really was funny: not only was a giant mouse staring at you, his eyes even carried a little hint of reproach and pity.
But Du Wei could not laugh because he can sense the seriousness in Gargamelâs words.
âRight now, you are everyoneâs leader.â Gargamel shrugged: âWhether we like it or not, this is the fact: youâre our head! A lot hinges on the fate of your body, I, Hussein, Vivian, Queen Medusa⌠⌠And those men of yours ⌠⌠If something were to happen to you; the whole operation will become a mess. At least think about everyone else when you go on your little adventures even if you donât care about your life,.â
After taking in the medication infused with a hint of ice Berries, the effect was very obvious. Before long, Du Weiâs headache was already cured and as he struggled to sit upright, he was surprised by what he noticed when he touched his ribs: âMy ribs?â
âDonât worry; I didnât have you drink the water from the fountain of life.â The mouse shakes his head: âIâm quite capable in using some basic healing spells, though itâs not very powerful, but a few bones is still within my reach.â
Managing to climb down from the bed, Du Wei places his hand on the bed side to steady himself: âWhat time is it now?â
âIf you go up to the window, you will see that the sun has just risen.â
After a pause, Gargamelâs tone suddenly became low: âDu Wei, I must apologize to you ⌠⌠Even during the nativesâ siege, I couldnât do anything to help.â
Du Wei waved his hand back and forth: âI understand ⌠⌠Thereâs no way you can go outside the way you are now.â
Humans are one of the most brutal creatures in this world, especially towards extraterrestrials. If a humanoid mouse like Gargamel ran out all of a sudden, thereâs no doubt he would have been treated like a monster and caused a panicâŚ.. In the worst case scenario, he would even incur hostility from their own side!
The truth is that the only ones to know about Gargamelâs existence are the members that had participated in the Frozen Forest adventure.
In addition, there is Solskjaer and Cosette inside Anglia City that knows of Gargamelâs existence. For someone like Solskjaer that has followed him from the beginning, Du Wei already considers this magic genius a core member of his crew. As for CosetteâŚ. Du Wei already used some underhanded methods to cheat this guy out of the magic union, even if the big headed genius doesnât want to, he has no other choice but to follow him till the end at this point.
This production base may be managed by Solskjaer and Cosette on the surface, but in truth, the two must constantly seek out the opinion of this mouse. Gargamel is after all a genuine magician that has been educated in the proper format of magic. Even if the two geniuses have talent in the field of magic, experience is something that canât be replaced; moreover, Gargamelâs level is still much higher than the two in reality.
âSoon my transformation magic will advance againâŚ. At that time, I should barely be able to take on a human formâŚ.. Taking that opportunity to drink some of the water from the fountain of lifeâŚâŚâ Gargamel pulls the curtain apart. As the sunâs ray lit the room, he then turns to one side to blow out the candle: âI will be able to become a human again, but then my transformation magic will have to take a beating again.â
Du Wei sighs at the information: âEnough, letâs not talk about all this. There are 20,000 prairie wolves outside, letâs think of a plan to repel these savages away firstâŚ.. I believe it wouldnât be wrong for me to assume you have some kind of surprise waiting for me, right?â
Du Wei blinked and blinked.
Hearing this, Gargamel nodded: âYes⌠⌠That stuff is already completed and the first batch is ready to go. Solskjaer and I tested it ourselves and felt it was pretty good. But you know, this kind of stuff is very consuming on the âwater of agingâ, especially when some of the saplings would wither away before we could force it to grow. My godâŚ.. If not for the special spring water in our hands, Iâm afraid that even the richest emperor out there would not be able to afford such a thingâŚ..â
Du Wei smiled: âLet me have a look.â
Turning around, Gargamel ran over to a corner of the room and flipped over one of the floor boards to reveal a secret tunnel underneath.
Du Wei eyes widened at the scene: âMy God, when did you excavate a tunnel here? Does it lead to the secret warehouse?â
âYes, thatâs right.â Gargamel sighs: âDonât forget, I cannot go swaggering across the whole place as I like while Iâm like this. Even if I do go out, it will have to be at night with my whole bodied covered from top to toeâŚ.. This is very inconvenient and thatâs when I thought about digging a tunnel. From our lab here, I can directly head over to Solskjaer and Cosetteâs room without worry.â
Walking over to the tunnel, Du Wei looked down and gave a wry smile: âHow much time did you spend getting this large tunnel ready? Thereâs no way you could have asked the slaves to help so did you dig it yourself?â
Gargamel mysteriously smiled: âDonât forget, Iâm a mouse and the specialty of a mouse is to dig holes!â
The tunnel wasnât too wide, but as they made their way down, there are several forks and turns on the path. Not only that, it was cold, wet, and everywhere one looked are the glimmering patches of moss littered across the walls.
This here is the original governorâs mansion of Anglia City. Though it has fell into disrepair, Du Wei can tell with certainty the mouse did not dig this tunnel. Even if there were an army of mouse at his disposal, they still wouldnât be able to pull off such a big project like this tunnel!
âWhere did this secret tunnel come from?â Du Wei was surprised in a way.
Gargamel finally smiled ⌠⌠Coming from a mouse face, his smile just seemed very strange: âAlright, I admit this tunnel wasnât dug by me. I did intend to dig a tunnel, but I only intended to make it big enough to fit my small mouse body. However, when I broke through the first layer under my room, I suddenly found myself in this underground tunnel. I was also surprised like you at first over how there was such a large labyrinth underneath the Governorâs mansionâŚ. Maybe the former governor made it.â
Du Wei thought it over and decided to let it be.
This Northwest place, especially the Desa province, is the closest province to the desert prairie. All year round, this place is infested with bandits and the constant harassment of the native tribes, so itâs no wonder the locals would on a lot of occasions build secret compartments in their homes and cellars.
For this reason, itâs not that unusual to find some great houses creating some kind of secret rooms in their mansions.
Itâs just ⌠⌠Looking at all these forks and turns in this mysterious tunnelâŚ. Isnât this project a little too big for emergency use?
Du Wei also spent some time living in the old Governorâs mansion, but never in his wildest dreams did he think there would be such a place under his feet.
Walking another 10 meters, what welcomed the two is a three way intersection. Seeing this, Gargamel smiled and said: âThis place is way too big. To be honest, even Iâm not all that clear about this place because Iâve only explored about half this place. Out of the three routes here, one leads to both Solskjaer and Cosettes room, the other to the secret warehouse. As for the last route, even I donât know yetâŚ. Try to be careful as we walk, the floor isnât too safe so tread slowly.â
Du Wei stopped in his track, his gaze serious as he looked at the mouse: âYou said even you havenât completely explored this place. When did you find this place?â
âUh ⌠⌠About a month ago.â The mouse smiled like it was no big deal.
Du Wei face became a little displeased:â Why didnât you send someone to inform me?â
Gargamel reacted like he didnât care. Using a sighing tone: âMy little Duke, Iâve already had a look around and while it is quite big down here, there is nothing to be foundâŚâŚ. I assure you, if Iâve found something like a mountain of treasure, you would be the first to know. From my view, this underground tunnel is nothing but a shelter made by the previous governor, no need to make a fuss about it.â
Unlike Gargamel, Du Wei was shaking his head as he spoke in a stern voice: âGargamel, youâre wrong.â
Suddenly taking a step backward, Du Wei then lowered himself to touch the ground and then listened to the subtle air currents. With that, he got back up and rubbed the dirt in his hand: âMy mouse prime ministerâŚ.. You really donât understand! Though you may be a magician, but itâs apparent that you donât understand architect! My god, you actually thought this place was an underground shelter? Iâm telling you now. Based on the architectural knowledge I have, this place is definitely not a simple place like a shelter!â
Stamping the ground a few times, Du Wei then said: âDid you notice? The floor here is not flat; instead, itâs a subtle slope from high to lowâŚâŚ If not carefully observed, one will miss it! Whenever this is done, the intended purpose is to prevent flooding in the tunnels. As the water flow from the high ground to the lower part, the tunnel will remain dry!â Pausing, he then pointed to a far off part in the tunnel: âYou hear the sound of air moving? This shows there is an air vent somewhere, otherwise, a regular person will quickly suffocate after coming into the tunnel.â
He then points to the fork in front of them: âThe most important clue is the amount of intersections. If you were to build a shelter, would you need so many forks and turns?â
Gargamel shrugged: âMaybe the builder was worried about the enemy entering this place and had them built to confuse the intruder?â
Letting out a smile, Du Wei didnât want to keep going with Gargamel because discussing something like architecture with a mouse is not a good idea.
âHey, youâre going the wrong way; the way we should be going is the left.â When he saw Du Wei heading to the right tunnel, Gargamel called out.
âI know, Iâm just curious about this place.â Du Wei lets out a small laugh after saying this: âCome on, letâs have a look shall we?â
Sighing Gargamel can only cave in and lead Du Wei into the unknown.