Chapter 250: “Parasitic Monster”
Chapter 250: “Parasitic Monster”
In London, England.
At a famous private hospital, a man with a slightly pale face was sitting on a chair in the corridor.
He looked about thirty-six years old, and his facial features were okay. His appearance was ruined by his slightly fat body and gradually thinning the top of his head.
“Mr. Barnes?” A nurse came over from the service desk. She bent down and looked at the man on the seat with some concern. “Are you feeling okay?”
Barnes looked up slightly. He covered his stomach with one hand and smiled reluctantly, “Ma’am, I just want to know how long it will take for my examination results to come out?”
“Please be patient as the imaging department is processing it.”
Barnes nodded and finally refused the guard’s offer to take him to the lounge.
A week ago, he found some small problems in his body, such as a sudden loss of appetite, acid reflux, nausea, and other symptoms from time to time. Barnes didn’t care at the time, he was almost forty years old, and this kind of illness is normal.
He adjusted his work and rest time, thinking that his body would return to normal in a day or two, but the situation gradually became worse.
Barnes wakes up every day feeling extremely hungry as if he has not eaten for several days. This hunger can only be partially relieved after a big breakfast, and he has to keep eating throughout the morning.
The strange thing is that the hunger disappears around four o’clock in the evening, but from this time, Barnes will feel extremely tired, even though he obviously hasn’t worked for a long time.
After the hunger disappeared, his appetite suddenly disappeared, replaced by a huge sense of fatigue that made him drowsy. The faint pain in his abdomen tortured him like a thin needle, and he was often exhausted every day when he fell asleep.
In addition, Barnes also felt that his complexion was getting paler, and his whole figure seemed to be getting old all of a sudden.
Knowing that he might be suffering from some strange disease, Barnes came to the hospital. After a simple consultation, the doctor asked him to take an examination to see the situation. The specific condition will not be confirmed until the examination comes out.
Barnes stretches his neck irritably. This private hospital has a good reputation, and the service is also good, but the fees are a bit expensive.
“One for the hospital, the doctor, and the auxiliary team. What a blood-sucking private hospital.” Barnes muttered. He didn’t notice that after stretching his neck, a purple line of blood was on his chest.
He only hopes that his condition will get better soon and that his medical insurance can pay him later.
A middle-aged man who several people surrounded noticed Barnes’ abnormality, and he immediately walked up.
“Sir, are you all right?”
“Not so good. Who are you?”
“Alan Wallup, the Hospital Administrator. Is there something wrong with your chest?”
“Chest?” Barnes lowered his head in doubt and then saw the spreading purple line in horror, “What… what is this?!”
Before he finished speaking, Barnes felt a huge pain and dizziness. His body twitched slightly, his eyes rolled white, and he slid off the seat.
“Sir? Hey, get me a nurse right now!”
Several doctors held up an X-ray film in the room and fell into deep thought. In the image in front of them, there was a huge shadow on the man’s abdomen, almost occupying a huge part of the man’s stomach.
Mr. Wallup didn’t pay attention to the X-ray. With his hands behind his back, he said, “This symptom may represent a new disease. I hope we can get a solution to it.”
Thirty minutes later, two men in leather jackets arrived at the hospital.
“What can I do for you?” asked the nurse at the receptionist’s desk.
“Excuse me, do you know where Bertrand Barnes is? I’m his colleague. I heard that he has been in poor health recently and even asked for a sick leave from the company.” The leading man wore a pair of round-rimmed glasses, and his hair was soft and smooth.
“Sorry, but we can’t share any of the patient’s information as it is private.” The nurse’s eyes blurred for a moment, “Oh, you are Mr. Bertrand Barnes’ family? He is currently in Ward 404 in Area B.”
“Thank you.” The man took something back from the cuff of his shirt.
The two walked towards Area B, one after the other.
“James, isn’t it against the rules to use the Confundus Charm on Muggles?” the man behind whispered.
“It’s urgent, Jones. According to the news, it might be a parasitic monster. Otherwise, why do you think the Auror office asked me to work with you?”
“Parasitic Monster, native to France, likes to parasitize in the stomach of large creatures. It will lead to the deterioration of the physical condition of the parasitized person and has a strong ability to reproduce and spread.” Jones muttered, “The Immigration Administration checks this thing. But how did it spread on Muggles?”
James shrugged, “Your department has received a lot of work recently, right?”
“Well, there are a lot more than before. The people at the memory write-off headquarters are very busy.”
“Kingsley thinks that there may be some problems recently, hence why we’re here to investigate,” James looked at the directions above his head and turned a corner, “This kind of stuff only happens rarely, so I have to find out whether this thing came to London by accident or someone brought it here on purpose.”
“Really?” Jones frowned. He didn’t expect so much to be involved in a Muggle accident.
“We’re here to find out. There he is.” James stopped walking.
In Ward 404, Barnes had been placed on the hospital bed, and several doctors were checking his condition by the bedside.
“Sorry, gentlemen,” he opened the door and walked in, “This man’s situation is beyond your capability of handling it. We will take him to St. Mungo’s.”
“Who are you? Who let you in here?” said a doctor in a white coat.
“Jones, I leave their memory to you. I’ll take this unlucky guy to St. Mungo’s, where the doctors will take care of the parasite. I have to be careful since this guy can secretly parasitize others.”
“No problem.”
The doctor heard the strange words of these two people, and he shook the notebook in his hand angrily, “What is St. Mungo’s?! Security, where is the security?!”
Then they saw the man behind him pull out a small wooden stick, and a gentle white light enveloped them.
—–
In St. Mungo’s, a doctor came out carrying a monster like a lump of flesh. The lump of flesh was wriggling constantly, and a big mouth in the middle was unconsciously opening and closing.
“Is this Mr. Potter from the Auror’s office?” She looked at the man opposite.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
“Good news, I don’t like bad news much.”
The doctor pointed to the lump of flesh on the ground, “The parasitic monster has been safely taken out, and the Muggle only needs to rest for a few days to recover.”
“That’s good to hear. Did you cast the Stasis Charm?”
“I did. You can take him back to home later. But before you do that, I have to tell you the bad news. The Muggle had two parasites, but I only found one.”
James opened his mouth slightly and then patted his forehead in distress, “This is troublesome.”
—-
“One is missing?” In the Auror’s office, a tall wizard with dark skin and a bald head looked at James, who came back to report.
James nodded, “When I was on a mission, I cast a detection magic. When I went to St. Mungo’s, the Muggle was also well protected, which means the other one was parasitized on other people before I came and handled him.”
“This is troublesome, James. Immediately send someone to that Muggle’s house to check on his family. Also, check his company. Longbottom, take your team to that hospital. By the way, James, what’s the size of that hospital?”
James sighed helplessly, “Kingsley, it’s the largest private hospital in London.”
“Merlin’s beard. I’ll go to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and ask them to send someone to help. Longbottom, you go to the person in charge of the hospital first. Focus on checking the area where the Muggle goes.”
Everyone got busy all of a sudden. The Parasitic Monster is a magical animal that is strictly controlled. This kind of animal is lethal, and the way of the parasite other creatures was undetected.
However, this is not what Kingsley is most worried about. As head of the Auror office, he instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
The Parasitic Monster is also strictly controlled in France. The gastric juice of this creature is the raw material of some kind of potion, so in addition to the strictly guarded breeding ground, the habitat of the monster needs to be maintained with magic. After all, this is something that someone should take care of carefully.
“I hope only one escapes.” Kingsley shook his head.
—-
That night, at the Wallup villa.
The Wallups and their young daughter enjoy dinner.
Bella was shaking her short legs on the seat and cutting a steak piece, “Mommy, today’s steak is delicious. Sean will definitely like it. Can we wait for him to come home and eat this again later?”
“Of course, baby.” Mrs. Wallup dotingly wiped the sauce from the corner of her daughter’s mouth.
Mr. Wallup watched this scene with a smile. The steak in front of him didn’t move much. He just drank a little red wine.
“Honey, is there a problem with your dinner?”
“Oh, it’s just that I don’t feel an appetite.”
“Shall I ask the kitchen to make you something else? Like your favorite lamb chops?”
“No, my dear. Maybe I’m a little tired after visiting the hospital today.”
The doorbell rang suddenly.
The maid went to open the door and came back to report, “There are two gentlemen who would like to see you.”
“What do they want?”
“Something about the patient with blood on his chest in the hospital today.”
“Huh?” Mr. Wallup frowned. He is not a doctor but a businessman.
However, before he could make a decision, there was a sudden explosion outside.
Allen got up quickly, let the maid go back to his room, and walked out. As soon as he arrived at the yard, he saw three men standing outside the iron gate of his villa, one of whom was his bodyguard named Jennings.
The three were talking about something, and the other two seemed to be explaining.
“I didn’t come to write off Mr. Wallup’s memory.”
“Prove your identity, sir.”
“James Potter, I am an Auror from the Ministry of Magic, and this is my colleague, Frank Longbottom.”
“You can’t prove anything just by talking about it.”
“My God, why didn’t Dumbledore tell me that the guy he sent to protect the Wallups is such a dumbass? You’re not British, are you?”
James shook his head helplessly, just in time to see Mr. Wallup coming out. his eyes lit up, and he waved enthusiastically.
“Mr. Wallup?”
Mr. Wallup leaned over slowly, “You know me?”
“James Potter. My son Harry and Sean are good friends. Last summer he went to my house for a birthday party. The man who came to pick Sean up was my friend and also Harry’s godfather. His name is Sirius. You should have met him, right?”
Mr. Wallup took a closer look, only to find that the man named James Potter was very similar to the boy named Harry, who came to pick Sean up last summer. Moreover, he was surprised that the bodyguard he had could perform magic.
In a deep voice, Jennings glanced back and said, “Mr. Wallup, I’m sorry for concealing my identity before. But I still work for your safety.”
He took out a wooden stick, and Mr. Wallup knew that it was a magic wand. On the inside of his suit, there was a gun holster.
Jennings nodded at him. “I have to be prepared for both situations that occur.”
Suddenly, Frank Longbottom frowned.
“James, I found the second one.”