Hogwarts Summoning Guide

Seeing that he couldn't be of much help in the meeting room, Bai Lin yawned and went back to his room to rest.

After drinking coffee, Yan Nishuang and the other two were full of energy and ready to fight until dawn. Bai Lin wanted to persuade them to get some sleep, since the information they had was secondhand. If it were useful, the British would have solved the case long ago. All they could do now was let things play out. But he didn't seem to have much persuasive power; it was unlikely that they would listen to him.

When Bai Lin woke up, the waiter brought him breakfast—a purely Western style: toast, milk, bacon, and a bowl of oatmeal porridge, which left him rather helpless. Because house-elves are restricted by international magical laws and cannot be brought to China, Bai Lin, who was already used to being served by Phineas, found it quite unsettling. Moreover, he really missed a Chinese breakfast: steamed buns, soy milk, and a tea egg—that would be perfect.

As expected, when they arrived at the conference room, Yan Nishuang and Nicole already had dark circles under their eyes, while Alex was fast asleep on the conference table. It seemed that there had been no progress all night. Bai Lin took Yan Nishuang back to her room, hugged her in the corridor, and told her to rest assured. Yan Nishuang obviously realized that Bai Lin was going out for a stroll, and repeatedly told him to keep a low profile and not to cause trouble, just like an older sister telling her younger brother, or a wife telling her husband.

Bai Lin chuckled, putting on a casual short-sleeved shirt. It was a bright and sunny day outside, with the temperature soaring to 32 degrees Celsius, much hotter than London. He donned a baseball cap and sunglasses, looking just like any other tourist.

As I strolled out of the hotel, I realized that it wasn't far from Victoria Harbour, within walking distance. I asked a passerby for directions to the nearest Standard Chartered Bank, but the person didn't speak Mandarin. In the end, I had to switch to English to communicate, which was quite absurd.

Opening an account and depositing money, Bai Lin looked at the retro passbook and securities account opening documents in his hand with great emotion. He had traveled back from his original world more than 20 years in the future and was already used to using a smartphone to handle financial matters. Hearing that he had to queue at the stock exchange to buy stocks, he immediately lost interest. Anyway, the financial crisis was still a year or two away, and there was plenty of time after the case was solved.

He walked down the streets of Hong Kong, where the TV was still showing the popular drama "The Greed of Man." It was this drama that introduced young people in the East to stocks and made them fall in love with them. Some people made a fortune by betting everything, while others took risks and jumped to their deaths, all of which left people sighing with regret.

Bai Lin had traveled to Hong Kong in his original world. Back then, Hong Kong was much more modern and cleaner; now it just seems to have a retro vibe.

He strolled to Yau Ma Tei, a place with a more local feel. There was a lot of foot traffic there, and many long-established shops lined the streets, creating a lively atmosphere. He bought some dim sum, which tasted really good.

Bai Lin didn't know that such a small place as Hong Kong hadn't developed a small world specifically for monks to live in. How did monks and ordinary people live harmoniously together?

But he quickly found the answer, because he saw a very down-to-earth fortune-telling stall by the roadside. The stall owner, who had a goatee and wore retro sunglasses, was smoking a cigarette and humming a tune, looking quite content.

Bai Lin didn't know how other wizards and mages recognized their "kind," but Bai Lin easily discovered that he was a mage because the summoning encyclopedia had already shown his magic power of 54 points, which was not weak.

With Bai Lin's current strength, it would be difficult for an ordinary mage not to notice his spying. Just as Bai Lin was about to strike up a conversation to see if he could get some information, he realized that these "street performers" were usually as well-informed as bar owners.

Just as Bai Lin was walking over, a figure darted out of the alley and reached the fortune-telling stall ahead of him.

Bai Lin took a look and saw that it was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a white shirt and carrying a backpack on his shoulder, obviously a high school student.

"Damn! It's him! It was so easy to find him!" Bai Lin recognized the high school student as Edogawa Hiroyuki, the Japanese-American boy he had seen in the case files last night.

Bai Lin walked a short distance away and bought a newspaper from a roadside newsstand. He pretended to look down at the newspaper, but listened to their conversation.

Hiroyuki Edogawa: "Uncle Pasom, has there been any result regarding the matter I asked you to handle?" (Pasom is a common Thai name, similar to Ah Ming or Ah Qiang in China. Many Southeast Asians make a living in Hong Kong.) He spoke fluent Mandarin, which Bai Lin found somewhat absurd.

Stall owner Basong: "So rushed? You haven't finished school yet! I've told you so many times, if you don't study properly, you might be sent back to the orphanage!" His Mandarin was also quite fluent.

Hiroyuki Edogawa: "Uncle, I've said it many times, I'm not an orphan, I just haven't found my sister!"

The stall owner, Basong, waved his hand, indicating that he did not want to discuss the matter any further. He drew a pattern with his hand, which passersby might not know what it meant, but Bai Lin knew that he had cast a small spell so that the passersby would not hear what he was saying. But this did not stump Bai Lin.

Basong pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his inner pocket and handed it to Edogawa Hiroyuki, saying, "Is this all you've found out? Just take a look and that's it. Do you really think you're a detective? Lin Bei can tell you're up to something serious; those are big shots, people you can't afford to mess with!"

Hiroyuki Edogawa spread out the paper, glanced at it, and Bai Lin saw out of the corner of his eye that the paper was covered with dense writing. However, Hiroyuki Edogawa quickly finished reading it, tore the paper to shreds, and threw it into the sewer next to him.

Basong wasn't surprised. He leaned back, lit another cigarette, and said, "Brother Wei asked me to look after you, not so you could go off and take risks! Your priority right now is to focus on your studies..."

Before Basong could finish speaking, Hiroyuki Edogawa waved his hand and ran off, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Basong, I'm off..."

Basong exhaled a smoke ring helplessly, seemingly unable to do anything about the boy.

Once Hiroyuki Edogawa had gone some distance, a new face appeared at Basong's stall.

Bai Lin sat down on a small stool in front of his stall, and Basong felt as if he had been silently dragged into a secondary space. The people and cars flowing on the road seemed to be far away, and they could no longer see or hear his conversation with the young man in front of him.

"Wow, that's a very advanced spatial magic technique... You're no nobody..." Basong spoke in a Jianghu accent, not at all like a foreigner.

Bai Lin removed his hat and sunglasses. Welcome to the fantasy continent of fantasy novels, the entrance is here: . He had already guessed that Basong was a member of the chaotic good faction (although he himself might not know it), and with a world development level of 30, it would be easier for him to communicate with him directly.

As expected, Basong was startled when he saw Bai Lin's appearance and the faint scar on his forehead. His lips twitched, his back went cold, and his tone became somewhat fearful: "You are...you are Mr. White from England?" Because of the system's subtle global influence, people in the chaotic good camp would see news about Bai Lin intentionally or unintentionally, and then become interested. After learning about him, they would naturally develop a kind of respect for an idol.

Bai Lin put his hat and sunglasses back on. He crossed his legs and said, "Let's be friends. My real name is Bai Lin, and I am originally from the East."

Basong blinked, somewhat flattered, and said, "A person of such importance as you... I... my name is Basong, and I've been in Hong Kong for almost twenty years. How can I do anything for you?"

Bai Lin cut to the chase: "Khun Pasong (Khun is a Thai honorific before a name), I'm not some big shot, just know I mean no harm. I'm investigating a major case and wanted to ask what Edogawa Hiroyuki received from you? Is it related to this case?"

Bassong was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Have you been transferred from the British Ministry of Magic to Hong Kong?" Although he knew about the British expulsion order against Bai Lin, Bassong naturally felt that it was probably just a job transfer for such a powerful and righteous wizard.

Bai Lin shrugged and said, "I'd say I'm assisting with the investigation in my private capacity. After all, all I ever do is fight and kill criminals." He spoke casually, but Basong sensed a subtle but powerful threat in his voice.

Basong swallowed hard and said, "That kid is very smart and always interested in all sorts of bizarre cases... Sigh, he must have asked me for help because of a case this time... I hope Mr. Kelling can look after him if he runs into him again..." He paused and said, "He asked me about a dock registration form, which lists foreign private vessels registered at the Western District Cargo Terminal in the past two weeks."

Bai Lin immediately understood that Alex and his team were screening information on foreigners entering the country, which was undoubtedly like finding a needle in a haystack. Moreover, the information shown on each person's passport could not be determined to be their real name or true identity. However, the ships entering the country were a different story.

For Bai Lin, who traveled from 2020, he had already seen countless crime films and television shows. Floating entertainment centers, floating casinos, and floating ice factories were nothing new to him; there was even a movie about a battle royale game played on a cruise ship. In this era, owning a ship on the high seas meant you could practically do whatever you wanted.

Leaving aside cargo ships and passenger ships, many wealthy people own cruise ships, some with more than ten cabins. With a little modification, they can become floating laboratories. Whether it's concocting potions, cultivating viruses, or releasing potions and then quickly evacuating, it's far superior to being on land. If you were the mastermind behind it all, you would most likely choose this option.

"What's a backup?" Basong was a little confused. Bai Lin suddenly realized that this term only became popular after computers became widespread, and quickly said, "It means to make a copy. Wasn't the copy just torn up by Edogawa?"

Basong scratched his head and said, "I didn't even look at it much before giving it to him. There were so many words, some in Chinese and some in English. How could I possibly copy it all? But..." He suddenly changed his tune, pulled out an old magic wand from somewhere, waved it towards the stinking ditch, and muttered some incantations. A wad of shredded paper flew out of the ditch, then pieced itself back together in mid-air and landed on the fortune teller's tablecloth.

Bai Lin could tell that this was an improved restoration technique, a very well-made one, even reminiscent of Doctor Strange's time magic.

Bai Lin glanced at the paper and saw that it had been repaired, but the words on it were all blurred, and it seemed that the restoration technique was powerless to fix this.

Basong said somewhat embarrassedly, "I stole this from the dock manager... I'm afraid there won't be another one."

Bai Lin felt a pang of regret, but there was nothing he could do but bid farewell to Basong. Fortunately, he had just been cautious and secretly placed a magical mark on Edogawa Hiroyuki as he passed by. This mark acted like a tracking device, allowing Bai Lin to easily locate Edogawa Hiroyuki's position within a short time. He had a feeling that this child, who resembled Detective Conan in both appearance and name, possessed considerable detective talent and might be able to help him find clues.

Bai Lin bought a tourist map from the roadside, which included information about the various piers and ports. Hong Kong has nineteen piers of varying sizes, including the larger ones such as Tsim Sha Tsui Pier, GA Pier, Lamma Island Pier, and Central Pier.

It must be said that the West Ring Cargo Terminal that Hiroyuki Edogawa set his sights on was indeed a very good target. It had a large throughput and many different kinds of ships. If the mastermind behind the scenes had used a large fishing boat or a few containers on a cargo ship instead of a cruise ship, they could have easily and freely come and go. After all, the other party also had sorcerers who could control the captain and crew with Imperius Curse, or use Compound Elixir or Transfiguration to transform into the appearance of the locals.

He pushed through the crowd and sensed that Hiroyuki Edogawa was heading towards the Western District Pier. Although wizards and ordinary people in Hong Kong lived together almost indistinguishably, due to the International Wizarding Secrecy Act, wizards still had to hide themselves, especially minors who were not allowed to use magic in front of ordinary people (somewhat similar to the Muggle Isolation Charm, which is not subject to restrictions because it is designed to prevent ordinary people from seeing it). So Hiroyuki Edogawa obediently took the tram like an ordinary person, just like Harry took Mr. Weasley on the London Underground.

Bai Lin, however, was not interested in this so-called secrecy law. As times progressed, unless wizards created a new world completely isolated from ordinary people or were transported to another Earth-like planet, the role of magic would gradually decline amidst the explosive development of civilian technology. If wizards did not learn magic, suppressing their magical energy would lead to silencing. Regardless of the outcome, the truth could not be hidden forever. Such a large "superhuman" race could not remain out of the sight of ordinary people forever.

He found a secluded spot and activated Apparition. He teleported to the rooftop of a nearby high-rise building, where he easily spotted the location of the Sai Wan Cargo Terminal. He then teleported again, and when he landed, he was in a deserted area near the terminal. Not far away were stacked containers and various shelves, with many laborers working hard to move goods, including many Southeast Asians.