Harry Potter: I am the Legend

In the pitch-black organ storage room, Hoffa and the girl stared at each other through a glass jar containing a human heart. The longer they locked eyes, the sweatier Hoffa's palms became. He had no idea why this seemingly refined girl gave him such immense pressure, but he really didn't want to cut open the heart in front of him.

Finally, just as Hoffa was about to break under the tension, the girl chose to compromise.

"Hmph. You're no fun at all."

She withdrew her hand and grumbled in disappointment.

Hoffa let out a long sigh of relief and discreetly wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was genuinely afraid she would slice the heart in half just to search for some nonexistent stone inside.

Since she couldn't cut open the hearts, the girl lit a lighter and walked along the rows of storage cabinets, where the hearts were kept. Occasionally, she would pick up a jar, examine it from all angles, and try to find traces of magic or any sign of a mysterious stone.

However, all of the hearts appeared perfectly healthy, showing no abnormalities. Not a single trace of magic, let alone a stone—there wasn't even a stray hair inside.

After checking the entire room and finding nothing, the girl stopped, pursing her lips in thought.

Hoffa had had enough of this eerie place. In a hushed voice, he suggested, "I say, why don't we check somewhere else? This place doesn't seem magical at all."

The girl smirked. "Are you scared?"

Hoffa scoffed, "Anyone who isn't scared must be a ghost. Aren't you afraid?"

"It's just a bunch of organs. What's there to be scared of?"

She suddenly chuckled, shaking her head. "You're really useless. Want me to protect you? Just say the word, and I don't mind keeping you safe~"

Hoffa had no idea what she found so amusing. But before he could respond, footsteps sounded from behind them. His face instantly tensed, and without thinking, he blew out the girl's lighter, covered her mouth, and pressed her into the corner, keeping her still.

The moment he did so, two beams of harsh light sliced through the darkness.

Within the illuminated path, two men in white lab coats entered—one tall, one short. The taller man walked ahead, while the shorter one pushed a small cart loaded with three black waterproof bags.

As they walked, they chatted.

The tall man grumbled, "Only three? Too slow. War times were better. Back then, we could get dozens a day, and no one would care."

"Well, blame the Germans for stopping their war," the short man replied gruffly. "The market's tougher now. England's business is drying up. If we want to make real money, we need to find another way."

(With a metallic click, the heavy iron door locked behind them. The beams of light passed just inches away from where Hoffa and the girl were hiding. Hoffa instinctively pressed down on her head, and they both crouched lower, holding their breath.)

"The whole world's tired of fighting. Where else is there to start another war?"

The tall man scowled. "Who knows when the next one will come?"

"Who says we need a war?" The short man sneered. "We could do what the Germans did—round people up and slaughter them. That's where the real money is."

"Yeah… now that was satisfying."

The tall man sighed wistfully.

"But I heard rumors that someone's planning a war against wizards. Not sure if it's true. If it is, we'll be making a fortune." The short man chuckled.

"Wizards? What even are those?"

"Who knows?"

The light never hit their hiding spot—perhaps the two men never expected anyone to be there. Still chatting, they pushed the cart forward. Suddenly, the tall man reached down and opened a hidden passage in the floor. A concealed underground tunnel revealed itself, and the two men disappeared into the darkness, cart and all.

Not until the light had completely vanished did Hoffa finally relax his tense nerves.

Then—sharp pain!

He hissed and yanked his hand back, only to realize that the girl had bitten him. Hard.

"Why did you bite me?!" Hoffa whispered angrily.

"Do I look like an idiot? You didn't need to gag me like that!" she shot back in a hushed voice, clearly annoyed.

Realizing his mistake, Hoffa quickly muttered, "Sorry."

"Do it again, and I'll bite your fingers clean off," she whispered in his ear.

Her tone was fierce, but there was a hint of teasing in it—one that somehow sent a chill down Hoffa's spine. He shuddered, gripping his throbbing hand, his face pale. He dared not respond.

Luckily, the room was pitch dark, so no one could see his reaction.

The girl reignited her lighter and walked over to the iron door, but by now, it was firmly locked. They tried fiddling with the chains, but the lock was an old-fashioned iron mechanism—heavy and solid.

"What now? We're trapped," Hoffa muttered.

"Maybe we should wait for those two creeps to leave and then follow them?" the girl suggested. "I don't see any other way out."

Hoffa thought about it and found no better alternative. He nodded. They hid behind a cabinet near the door, waiting for the two men to return.

But they waited. And waited. And still, no one came back.

Instead, the temperature in the room began to drop.

At first, it was manageable, but soon, it plunged below freezing. A thin layer of frost formed on the glass jars lining the shelves.

Hoffa wasn't dressed for the cold—his clothes provided little insulation, and his ripped jeans only made things worse. He huddled into himself, shivering violently.

Beside him, the girl wasn't faring much better. She crouched in the corner, exhaling visible clouds of breath, her whole body trembling.

"W-What's… going on? W-Why is it s-so c-cold?" she stammered through chattering teeth.

"I... I... How... How would I know?"

Hoffa's teeth chattered as he stammered.

"It's all your fault... all your fault!" the girl said bitterly. "Now... now I'm done for in this place."

"Huh?"

Hoffa never expected the girl to blame him. It was clearly her idea to enter this eerie building in search of that so-called Heartstone. Otherwise, they wouldn't have ended up in this predicament.

But he had no time to argue with her. His mind was occupied with one thing—how to escape this strange place.

The temperature continued to drop, and everything in the room was rapidly freezing. Even the formalin liquid, known for its extremely low freezing point, began forming white, flocculent crystals. As the cold intensified, Hoffa's thoughts became sluggish.

Was he really going to freeze to death in this eerie building?

It felt like there was something important he hadn't done yet...

His mind moved slowly as he tried to remember.

"Hey..."

Through the biting cold, the girl pressed against him and nudged him with her elbow. "Do... do you remember anything?"

"Re... remember what?"

"Anything... anything important?"

Hoffa had no idea why she was asking that now. Instinctively, he tried to recall, but all he got was a splitting headache—nothing else.

"Sigh..."

Seeing him clutch his head in silence, the girl let out a shaky sigh.

"Looks like we have no choice but to go inside."

"In... inside?"

Hoffa mumbled.

The girl raised her trembling hand and pointed at the entrance of the secret passage where the two men had disappeared. Hoffa hesitated. He had considered entering the passage before, but from the way those men spoke, he had a bad feeling about them. He didn't want to provoke them. More importantly, if the passage was just as cold as this room, they would freeze to death anyway.

But the girl wasn't waiting for his opinion. Once she made her decision, she began crawling forward. Seeing this, Hoffa had no choice but to follow. The main door was locked, and if she got caught, he wouldn't escape his fate either.

Shivering violently, they reached the secret passage and carefully lifted the wooden plank on the floor. Beneath it was a downward-sloping tunnel. Dim white lights lined the walls, and though it was still cold, it was noticeably warmer than the sealed room.

Feeling the slight warmth, Hoffa let out a sigh of relief. Without hesitation, they climbed into the passage, still hugging themselves for warmth.

After shivering in the tunnel for a while, Hoffa slowly felt some warmth return to his body, though the passage was still freezing. This time, he didn't hesitate. He felt along the walls and took the lead, knowing that even if he didn't move forward, the girl definitely would.

The tunnel wasn't very long. Before they had gone far, the temperature gradually rose. But with the warmth came a faint, metallic scent—blood.

The smell was oddly familiar. It triggered a vague sensation in Hoffa, as if he had encountered it before. But the familiarity came from his nose, not his memory. He couldn't recall any specific event linked to it.

At the end of the passage, the temperature was still close to freezing, but it was far better than where they had come from. A set of double doors with glass panes stood before them. The glass was stained with mottled brown bloodstains.

Hoffa cautiously peered through the glass. The moment he saw what was inside, his face tensed, and he quickly turned away.

The scene was horrifying.

The two men from before had changed into black rubber coats and boots. Under the harsh glare of surgical lights, they were dissecting a man. The man was hanging from an iron hook, his abdomen slit open. His vital organs had been completely removed, and blood was splattered everywhere. He was undeniably dead.

The girl also took a glance inside. She turned back, her face pale, and whispered in a trembling voice, "Am I... dreaming?"

Hoffa couldn't help but wonder the same. After all, he still remembered waking up on the train, right after what felt like a long, long dream—one so long it had erased his memories.

Maybe he was still trapped in a nightmare.

Suddenly, cold fingers pinched Hoffa's cheek. He widened his eyes, looking at the girl in front of him.

She tightened her grip, and a sharp pain shot through his face.

To keep himself from crying out, Hoffa bit down hard on his lower lip. Then, with effort, he pried her fingers away and mouthed:

"What are you doing?"

"Does it hurt?" she mouthed back.

"What do you think?!" Hoffa's face twitched from the pain.

"Then it looks like we're not dreaming!" she mouthed.

"Why didn't you pinch yourself instead?!"

Hoffa exaggerated his mouth movements as he silently questioned her.

The girl ignored him and turned her attention back to the scene behind the glass.

The shorter man carefully placed a kidney into a rubber bag, which was then stored inside a metal container. The container had two compartments—one filled with crushed ice to keep the temperature low, and the other for storing organs.

Next, the taller man unhooked the corpse. The body, now hollowed out, slid down an icy chute and disappeared into a massive iron vat.

Then, they pulled a new black rubber bag from a cart and hung it onto the hook using a pulley system.

The tall man unzipped the bag, revealing a person inside—wrapped entirely in bandages. The man dangled from the hook, motionless, showing no signs of resistance.

The tall man asked, "How long has he been dead?"

"Not long."

"Then hurry up, or the organs will be useless."

The faint voices of the two men drifted through the door.

Standing by the glass, the girl whispered, "Oh my god... they're stealing human organs."

(End of Chapter)

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