After the squad of wizards responsible for escorting the Thunderbirds left and she confirmed no one was around, Shalltear poked her head out and slipped into the shed along the outer weather blanket. As soon as Shalltear entered, her vision blurred. The interior had been set up to resemble the American wilderness, and the space inside this shed, where the young Thunderbirds were kept, was massive. It looked as if it had been expanded by a Traceless Stretching Spell; the ceiling was visibly almost a hundred meters high. At this time, the young Thunderbirds inside were only slightly larger than adult lions, which was sufficient for living in this compartment.
After roughly discerning the environment, Shalltear clung to the weather blanket and began to search for the young Thunderbird. Then, she felt a dark shadow flash before her eyes, and a bird's head, which was enormous in her view, appeared before her, staring intently at this "little thing" with its hawk-like eyes.
"Hi..." Shalltear hadn't expected this Thunderbird to be so fast; she was discovered before she could even react. When she met the Thunderbird's sharp gaze, Shalltear felt as if she had been targeted by a natural predator and could only stand frozen on the spot, her mind blank, before instinctively greeting it. At this moment, Shalltear, in her bat form, felt drenched in cold sweat. She couldn't guarantee that Alan had greeted the Thunderbird, nor was she sure if this Thunderbird was intelligent enough to recognize her immediately. She was truly afraid this guy would simply open its mouth and eat her as a snack.
However, although the Thunderbird's gaze was sharp as a knife, it ultimately made no dangerous moves. At the same time, after the Thunderbird clearly saw Shalltear's bat appearance, it immediately recalled the kind voice that had appeared in its mind last night. For several days, the young Thunderbird had been able to sense a faint mental connection attempting to establish contact. This connection gave it a kind and familiar feeling, as if it were from its former family. It was precisely for this reason that the young Thunderbird desperately wanted to break out of this cage. Unfortunately, the enemies it had to face were too numerous, and at that moment, it was too weak to resist the Stupefy spells they cast at it.
However, just last night, the young Thunderbird suddenly found that the vague mental connection had become clear. The owner of that connection had also explained the situation, telling it to remain as calm as possible and await rescue. At the same time, that voice told it that if it found a strangely behaving bat, it should help it as much as possible, as this was a friend—someone it could trust.
Thinking of this, the young Thunderbird tilted its head and glanced at Shalltear clinging to the weather blanket. This guy's behavior could certainly be called strange, couldn't it? The young Thunderbird nodded inwardly, then extended its front claw and scooped Shalltear into its hand. *This is a friend, one of us, so let her stay with my treasure,* the young Thunderbird thought. It carried the somewhat shaken Shalltear back to the nest the wizards had built on the rocks, then unceremoniously shoved her into a corner nearby. This corner was piled with a large quantity of clean-picked bones, now resembling a cage made of dry bones, completely trapping Shalltear inside.
"No, big brother, what are you doing?"
After realizing the Thunderbird wasn't harming her, Shalltear understood that it must have communicated with Alan. But now, after being shoved into a pile of bones, she began to question her life again. What did this mean? It looked like she was being locked up as a backup snack. In the young Thunderbird's simple mind, good friends should share their treasures, so why did this bat look unhappy? Thinking of this, it felt that it might have been too rough just now, so it extended its sharp claws and scratched a few times in her direction, seemingly wanting to convey its apology.
But from Shalltear's perspective, it wasn't like that at all; this Thunderbird looked like it was about to scratch her to death on the spot. Therefore, she had no choice but to frantically flap around in the pile of bones, trying to break free. However, seeing this, the Thunderbird became even more excited. It believed its friendly gesture must have worked, which was why the other party became so energetic. It chirped happily and scratched even more vigorously.
At this moment, Hog, who was monitoring from afar, watched this scene, as Shalltear still had a monitor attached to her forehead. "Haha, Shalltear, that stinky bat, is really too stupid. That little Thunderbird just wanted to play with her, but she was scared like an idiot." Hog watched Shalltear being played with like a toy and couldn't stop laughing.
However, after a period of familiarity, Shalltear finally understood that the young Thunderbird had no hostility; it was just that she couldn't accept its way of showing affection. But in this way, at least Shalltear's hiding problem was solved; she was safe in Shed 26 where the young Thunderbird was located. Therefore, Shalltear was finally able to take a good rest. After filling her stomach, she very simply slept in the Thunderbird's nest until night fell.
Shalltear, having fully recovered her energy, didn't forget the information she had gathered that morning. Tonight, she might be able to follow that lead wizard and find the manager here, Milan Claremont! Reinvigorated, Shalltear didn't hesitate. After bidding farewell to the young Thunderbird, she crawled out of the blanket shed again and, using the cover of night, flew directly into the sky to begin her search. Fortunately, there was no shortage of birds flying above the base at night, so her presence didn't attract attention.
Finally, after circling for half an hour, Shalltear found the wizard leader from that morning. However, his condition was somewhat different. The wizard leader, dressed in plain work clothes, now appeared disheveled, covered in dirt and grass clippings. At the same time, Shalltear saw bloodstains remaining on his chest, arms, and other areas.
"Is he injured? But his limbs seem intact, so it doesn't quite look like it." Shalltear was confused about what had happened during the day, but now was not the time to think. She had to keep a close eye on this guy and figure out Milan Claremont's movements. She swooped down, landing on the nearest eaves, and closely followed this lead wizard. The man seemed to have just finished a full day's work. Shalltear watched him dejectedly enter a bar in the residential area and watched him finish his dinner through the glass window. During the entire meal, the man had no interaction with anyone else, and the squad members who had been with him earlier were nowhere to be seen.
"It seems Milan Claremont isn't in the bar, and this guy seems to have gone through some kind of change, even his squad members are gone. Didn't they say they would meet at the bar tonight?" Shalltear was worried that the sudden change might disrupt this wizard's original plan. If this guy changed his mind, wouldn't she be wasting her time? However, just as she was frowning, the lead wizard walked out of the bar, then stood at the entrance with a melancholic expression. The man seemed to be thinking about something, his expression constantly changing within a few short minutes. Then, as if he had made up his mind, his expression suddenly became resolute, and he stepped toward the center of the residential area.
Seeing this, Shalltear followed closely. As the man meandered through the roads, he finally arrived at an unremarkable house on a street inside a dormitory area. He took two deep breaths in front of the house, then stepped onto the stairs leading to the house and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" A question came from inside.
"It's me, Jason, captain of the Maintenance Team's Second Squad!" Jason swallowed nervously when he heard the voice from inside, then responded loudly.
"Is there something?" A female voice came from inside the house again.
"Yes, it's like this, Ms. Gail, I have something I'd like to discuss with Clement, sir." Jason was clearly nervous, replying with a slight stutter. He didn't have to wait long before the door opened, and a middle-aged witch with short hair appeared before Jason, looking at him with curiosity. "Is it very urgent? Clement, sir's time is very precious."
"Uh..." When Ms. Gail asked him this, Jason immediately became even more nervous, stammering for a long time without being able to open his mouth. He didn't know how to answer. To say it was urgent didn't seem like a particularly urgent matter, but since he had already mustered the courage to come here, he didn't want to just slink back.
Gail, inside the house, saw Jason's awkwardness, and then her tone softened. "Alright, alright, don't be so nervous. Clement, sir, isn't a man-eating tiger. I remember you, Jason. You've been at the park for three years now, haven't you? This is the first time I've seen you come to Clement, sir, alone."
Then she turned sideways to make way. "You're lucky today. Clement, sir, just finished dinner. I think he should be able to spare some time to talk to you now. He's in the office in the inner room on the second floor. You should have been there before, go on up yourself."
"Uh, yes, thank you, Ms. Gail, you are always so understanding." Jason sighed in relief after hearing Gail's words, and after repeatedly thanking her, he stepped through the house door.
Meanwhile, Shalltear, who was on the eaves directly above Jason, naturally heard their conversation and learned that Clement was currently on the second floor of this house. She immediately flipped over and began searching along the windows on the second floor.