"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." Schiller leaned on his desk, holding the phone in one hand and his face in the other, and said leisurely to the other side: "You mean, did someone plagiarize my paper?" What journal is he published in? I'll write a letter to the past. ”

“…… Murder? Schiller blinked a little puzzledly, but then, he took the phone in one hand, took out a ledger from the side with the other, and said to the other side: "If it is normal, I would be happy to check it out, but lately I have been a little busy, and my bookstore is busy stocking." ”

"What? Don't you know yet? I opened a bookstore on No. 8 Street, which is the Blotted Bookstore on the corner of the alley, and today is the first day of opening, but for the sake of your busy schedule, I don't care about you not coming to the market on the first day......"

Hearing what Bruce said over there, Schiller frowned for a moment, and then said: "I have a little impression of the mysterious V you mentioned, he sent me a pig's ear and a small card with a strange pattern, but I have to finish my work first, after all, detectives are only part-time, and in Gotham, I can't fill my stomach in this business." ”

"Don't worry, I believe that in addition to going to the attraction to play the humanoid sculpture, you can also make some substantial contributions to the security of Gotham, why don't you start with this case?"

“…… Don't have time to write a thesis? It doesn't matter, your adopted son has had such a serious accident, and you can put your studies on hold for a while, you can send the fake note to the bookstore or the Rodriguez Estate, and I will send it back to you after I sign it. ”

"What? …… Oh, my God! You misunderstood me! Schiller turned sideways, propped the elbow of the hand holding the phone on the table, and said with some dissatisfaction: "In your opinion, am I so unkind?" ”

At this moment, Schiller heard the jingling of wind chimes at the door of the bookstore, and the creak of the doorshaft when the door was pushed open, he covered the receiver of the telephone and shouted, "Hallie, who's coming?" ”

"How do I know?" Hallie shouted in the same vein, responding with a "Britishman in a top hat...... What do you say your name is? Constantine? It's kind of interesting, did anyone tell you? Your personality looks weird. ”

Holding a stack of books and stuffing them into the shelves, Hallie stared at Thomas, who had just pushed the door in, and Thomas stood on end with a cold look until Schiller pushed the door and walked out.

Schiller stepped forward and shook Thomas's hand, smiled and said, "You're finally here, the first batch of books hasn't been on the shelves yet, is there any news about the second batch of books?" ”

"Yes, I've got a rare collector's edition." Thomas looked pleased, and the two of them walked through the merchandise section with many tall bookshelves to the reading area next to the stairs leading to the second floor.

It is a small space made up of a staircase and a wall, with bookshelves on the sides and walls next to it, filled with books, a warm carpet on the floor, and two single sofas and a small coffee table on the floor.

"I'm sure guests won't refuse a cup of tea here." Thomas looked at his surroundings and said, he stretched his limbs on the soft sofa, rubbed the side of his neck with his hand, and said: "The local booksellers in Europe are very difficult to deal with, and in the past few days, I have worn out my mouth to get these good goods from their hands." ”

After speaking, Thomas took out a book from the bag he was carrying and handed it to Schiller, and he took an identical one himself, opened it, touched the pages and said: "This is not those tattered goods that only have a good book cover, look at the thickness of the paper and the quality of the printing, even if it is a hardcover edition, it will not lose some complete sets of classic books." ”

Thomas looked at Schiller with a smile, and when Schiller looked at him, he found that he was very different from the rotten magician Konstantin, and the melancholy temperament in him did not come from a decadent life, but more like the sentimentality of a literary and artistic worker.

Schiller shook his head slightly, he didn't know how Konstantin did it, it seemed that after he split his soul in two, this soul of Thomas did not leave any trace of him, which was simply incredible.

Suddenly, Schiller hears a commotion coming from the door of the bookstore, and both Schiller and Thomas look over to see what is happening, when Zatana, dressed as a magician, rushes in, followed by Harley.

John ...... Oh no, I mean Thomas, get out of here! I just found traces of positioning magic in your residence, it is very likely that your former enemy has found you, come with me, and I will take you to the shelter! ”

Thomas's eyes widened, and then an angry expression appeared, he looked at Zatanna and said, "You madman, how long are you going to follow me?!" I've hid in Gotham, can't I get rid of you?! ”

Zatanna showed an extremely helpless expression, she looked at Schiller's somewhat puzzled expression, and after glancing at Thomas, she pulled Schiller to the back of the bookshelf, and said to him in a low voice: "You can help me persuade him, this is not a joke, those mages really want his life!" ”

"He thinks you're a stalker?" Schiller asked.

Not only that, he thought I was his ex-girlfriend, he was in love with him, he was chasing him all over the world, he felt that I was a crazy person who was crazy about love...... Damn John, when he comes back, I'll let him know what happened to me like this! Zatanna said through gritted teeth.

Schiller showed a smile, Zatanna sighed, but then looked at Schiller again, and said a little anxiously: "You also know how many people will be offended by John's style of acting, it is not that there were no enemies who came to the door before, but he solved it, but now, Thomas definitely can't deal with these things in the wizarding world." ”

"Fortunately, I have a shelter in the spirit world, which is quite safe, recently I tried to get him there, but he just won't go with me, that group of people has already chased very close, if he doesn't leave, his life will really be in danger!"

Hearing Zatanna's sincere words, Schiller also hesitated, after all, except for Zatana, almost no one knows anything about the wizarding world, Thomas has lost the ability to use magic, and it may be really dangerous to face those evil magicians who do everything.

In this case, it is better to let Zatana take him to hide, so that the group thinks that Konstantin has been planted, so that Thomas can have a peaceful life in the future.

Thinking of this, Schiller nodded, then turned back, intending to persuade Thomas, but before he could open his mouth, he heard a shrill "bang" from the door.

All the Gotham people were familiar with this sound, it was the sound of glass being shattered, and Zatanna, who had been through a lot of battles, reacted the fastest, and she shouted, "Get down!" ”

Instinctively, everyone bent down, and with a "bang", a huge fireball swept over everyone's heads and hit the wall of the staircase.

Zatana quickly turned around, reached out and pointed at the wall, shouting, "Extinguish the fireworks!" ”

Then, she rolled to the side, hiding behind a bookshelf, took off her top hat from her head, and with a wave of it in front of her, a swarm of bats made of magical light flew towards the doorway.

Schiller pulled Thomas and Hallie behind the sofa, and when he went out to look, he found that there were several black-robed people standing at the door, their hands all condensed with the brilliance of magic, and they were not ordinary people at first glance.

Thomas's mouth opened wide in shock, and he shouted, "What was that just now, does magic really exist?!" ”

"Do you need to ask?" Harley replied immediately, excitement in her tone.

"Northland Mage Tower!" Zatanna stepped out from behind the bookshelves, stared at the men and said, "You guys are crazy! How dare you violate the rules of the magical world and make a move at will in the human world! You're going to be sanctioned! ”

"Naive little girl, the inheritance of your Zatanna family is about to become extinct, what bullshit rules are you still talking about?!" The leading mage let out a sneer.

"The elders won't let you do such nonsense!" There was a threat in Zatanna's tone, and she glared at the crowd and said, "Aren't you afraid of being judged?" ”

Unexpectedly, the leader let out a wicked laugh, and then said, "Do you think that without the support of the Council of Elders, how could we have come all the way here?" Do you think you represent the will of the magic family? Miss by a mile! ”

"Zatana, you naïve stupid woman!" An indifferent girl came from behind the leader: "Don't look at us with that kind of eyes, we are the warriors who find a way out for the wizarding world, and you are the rebel!" ”

Before Zatana could reply, the leader spoke, "All magic families have long had enough of paying a terrible price, and we are looking for a new way out for the magicians of the human world!" As long as we can find enough powerful forces, we can get rid of those unfair prices forever! ”

"Zatana, you can't stop us! How dare you think we come to Konstantin? The Council of Elders has long issued a warrant for him, and we need his soul to go to Gabriel in exchange for a way to get rid of the price! ”

"Why don't you understand, that damn Gabriel is a dead liar!!" Zatana roared, "He's bewitched the members of the Presbyterian Church, and he doesn't really have a way to get rid of the cost, you goddamn fools!" ”

"I forgot to tell you." The woman spoke again, her voice getting colder and colder, making Zatana fall into an ice cave: "This time the wanted warrant is not only Konstantin, but also you and your father. ”

“…… What did you say?!! Zatanna asked incredulously.

"Everyone knows that there is no cost for the Zatanna family to perform magic, but you never share this method with us, and you are the worst enemy of the wizarding world when you watch us fall into pain and our wives are separated!"

By the end, the woman's voice had changed pitch, more like a crazy scream, staring at Zatanna's face and saying, "It's not fair that you can get hurt by magic, you won't grow old, you can master great power and enjoy the life of ordinary people!! ”

"You've been selfish for so many years, and enough is enough, aren't you boasting that you're going to dedicate your life to the wizarding world? Now, it's time to give your souls in exchange for the freedom of all the mages!! ”

As the words fell, the brilliance rose, and in an instant, brilliant magical light and shadow erupted in the small bookstore, filling the entire room with arcane, fire, frost, flickering, shields, magic waves, countless brilliant tricks that opened the eyes of ordinary people.

"Oh my God, did you just hear her? Wizarding world! Harley screamed, she turned her head and stared at Schiller with fiery eyes, "You still have a connection to the wizarding world!" ”

Looking at the anticipation in Halle's eyes, Schiller's head began to hurt again.

(End of chapter)