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Chapter 226 Zicomo's Tourist Trip to the Bottom of the Lake, Hibiscus Encounters Danger

Hermione slapped Harry's hand away and said, "This is an alchemical tool invented by my cousin. He calls it the Water-Repelling Bead."

Hermione explained, "He combined the principles of the Bubble Head Charm and the Ironclad Charm to create this water-repelling bead that allows people to breathe underwater and also provides some defensive capabilities."

Harry was stunned when he heard this.

How could he have forgotten about Zicomo?

He searched through half a library in his search for a way to breathe underwater.

If it weren't for Neville, he might not have been able to find this thing called Gillbaghea.

At that time, Harry was so focused on finding potion herbs that he didn't think about alchemical tools.

If he had just asked Cuomo back then, he wouldn't have spent all his time in the library flipping through those big, boring books that he wasn't really interested in.

By the time Harry came to his senses, Hermione was nowhere to be seen.

While he was still in a daze, Hermione had already swum away to start the race.

Harry realized he was in the middle of a race and quickly swam toward the depths of the Black Lake.

Hermione, who set off even earlier than Harry, reached the bottom of the Black Lake before the champions from the other two schools.

However, after Hermione traversed the underwater jungle formed by black seaweed, fought off hordes of Grindylows, and avoided numerous traps set by the mermaids, she witnessed a scene that left her speechless.

Hermione saw Ron and Fleur's sister, along with a girl she didn't recognize, floating not far from the bottom of the lake.

Their eyes were closed, and they weren't breathing at all, as if they were dead.

Of course, the three-way battle for supremacy wouldn't be so cruel as to kill a few people for the sake of the competition.

The three of them were only in a state of suspended animation due to the magic. They would wake up as soon as they returned to the surface of the water.

Everything is normal up to here; what's abnormal is the scene not far away.

Hermione saw Zicomo with his arm around Lani, sitting on the tallest building in the Merfolk territory, looking relaxed, as if they were sightseeing.

Meanwhile, in the distance, a group of mermaids were huddled together, trembling, watching in Zicomo's direction as if Zicomo and Lani were some kind of monstrous monster.

Zicomo saw Hermione and waved to her.

Hermione swam up to Zicomo and asked, "Cousin, what's going on?"

Zicomo laughed and said, "Haven't you figured it out with your clever little brain? I'm the treasure you've been looking for."

With Hermione's intelligence, she naturally couldn't fail to see that the so-called treasure was the person these warriors cherished most.

But she was still very confused, so she continued, "But if you're the baby, shouldn't you be like those three people over there? And that bastard... [unintelligible]..."

Hermione never imagined that the so-called baby would be her cousin, largely because of the misleading information she received from old Crouch.

She had breakfast with Zicomo this morning, so naturally she wouldn't connect the so-called treasure with Zicomo's disappearance.

Zicomo rolled his eyes and said, "Do you think their magic level is enough to trap me? To turn me into one of those three people over there?"

Hermione shook her head upon hearing this.

Zicomo shrugged and said, "That settles it, doesn't it? They can't do anything to me, so I can decide when to come down, right?"

Hermione pressed on, "Then why is Lani here?"

Zicomo replied, "I was worried that Lani would be bored up there by herself, so I brought her down with me."

At this point, Hermione's doubts were completely resolved.

She wondered why she didn't see her cousin in the audience!

Hermione thought her cousin hadn't come to watch her match and had gone on a date with Lani, leaving her behind.

wrong!

Hermione suddenly realized that the two of them had been on a date before she came down.

And it's in such a romantic place underwater.

Thinking of this, Hermione suddenly lowered her head in frustration.

She painstakingly navigated various obstacles in the water, only to find out that her 'baby' was actually on a date with Lani.

Then what is she? Was she there to catch her husband cheating?

The problem is that Lani is her cousin's fiancée, while she is the so-called 'other woman'.

Lani was already being very generous by accepting her, and it seemed she couldn't say anything more.

Thinking of this, Hermione's expression turned bitter, and she looked sullen.

Seeing that Hermione's mood had suddenly turned somber, Zicomo reached out and ruffled her hair.

Because of the protective shield, it has a hard, rigid feel.

Zicomo silently withdrew his hand and asked, "What's wrong with my little witch? Why is she suddenly unhappy?"

Hermes, touched by Zicomo's concern, rallied his spirits.

She looked up and said, "It's nothing, I just felt a little unbalanced thinking about how you guys are enjoying the scenery at the bottom of the lake while I have to compete."

Hermione directly stated the reason for her unhappiness.

There's nothing she and Zicomo can't say to each other.

Zicomo detected a hint of jealousy in Hermione's words.

"What's so unfair about that? If you want it to be like that too, I'll bring you here another day."

Zicomo laughed, "Besides, this Black Lake is all black and has a greenish tinge, what's so interesting about it? The only interesting thing is the architecture of these fish-men."

Hermione smiled and nodded after receiving Zicomo's promise.

He then corrected, "They're called the Merfolk."

Zicomo waved his hand and said, "I don't care, I don't agree that they are mermaids. Mermaids are so beautiful, look at them."

As he spoke, Zicomo pointed to the mermaids not far away and said, "They have utterly insulted the word 'mermaid'."

Hermione was completely amused by Zicomo.

Her cousin is great in every way, except that he occasionally shows a childish side.

Just like now, she resembles a child stubbornly sticking to her own beliefs.

However, Hermione didn't think there was anything wrong with it; she found her cousin's appearance rather cute.

Hermione agreed with Zicomo, saying, "Alright, alright, let's call them fishmen then."

She continued, "So, my darling, can we get back to the surface? If we don't get up soon, the other three will catch up with me."

Hermione emphasized the word "baby," making Zicomo momentarily embarrassed.

Zicomo nodded and said, "Let's go."

He first sent Lani back to the "Zen Garden," and then followed Hermione upstream.

Lani wasn't involved in the competition, and going up with them like that wouldn't have a good impact on Hermione.

It would be bad if someone accused Hermione of cheating.

Although they are not afraid, it's better to avoid this kind of trouble.

As they passed through the thicket of water plants, Zicomo and Hermione discovered Hibiscus, who was entangled by Grindelwald.

Grindelhos are horned, pale green water monsters with long fingers and six tentacles below their abdomen.

This amazing creature usually feeds on small fish and is extremely aggressive towards humans.

However, the Greendylo tribe beneath the Black Lake had been tamed by the mermaids, so they didn't actually harm Hibiscus; they were merely constantly hindering her progress.

Furong was helpless. She had thought that with her Veil charm, she would be able to thrive even underwater.

She never expected to encounter this group of not-so-intelligent Grindylos; her charm had absolutely no effect.

....... . ...

Fleur didn't bring her wand down because there was no place to put it in her one-piece swimsuit.

So she was defeated by this group of Grindelwalds.

At this moment, her bubble head spell had been broken by Grindelwald, and she was about to be unable to call for help from the people on the surface of the water due to lack of oxygen.

Zicomo unleashed a spell, a modified version of the Bubble Head Spell, the kind with defensive properties.

He also helped Fleur drive away the group of Grindelwalds.

Furong breathed a deep sigh of relief upon realizing she had been saved.

She then gratefully said to Zicomo, "Thank you so much!"

Zicomo waved his hand and said, "It's no trouble at all."

Furong nodded and said, "I still need to rescue my sister. Let's talk later."

She clearly knew what had been stolen from her.

It's unclear whether Madame Maxim informed Fleur in advance again, or whether Fleur realized her sister's disappearance and connected the dots herself to the truth.

Zicomo stopped her, saying, "You don't even have a wand right now, and there are many dangers ahead. Are you sure you can make it through?"