The swirling patterns in his eyes gradually faded. Looking at the young man before him whose eyes had lost their lustre, Evans rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Just as he had previously speculated, this young man was indeed a remnant of the organisation he had destroyed in Egypt years ago.
"I didn't expect that after flattening both headquarters and branches, there would still be survivors left behind."
Casually waving his wand to bind the young man with sturdy ropes, Evans sorted through the intelligence he had just obtained through Legilimency.
It had been over two years since he destroyed that organisation called the Hunting Association. In those two years, their regrouping efforts had proved extremely difficult. The surviving remnants had scattered into various poacher organisations across multiple continents and had long lost their former glory and coordination.
Moreover, the Egyptian Ministry of Magic's Deputy Minister, who had previously provided protection for this organisation, remained imprisoned in the "Gates of Weighing Hearts", making it virtually impossible for them to recover their past influence and power.
However, those who had managed to join that organisation possessed considerable capabilities. Like this young man, he had natural talent for communicating with magical creatures, substantial magical strength, and extensive knowledge of various magical creature breeding and training methodologies. In such a poaching organisation, he represented rare and valuable expertise.
Unfortunately, his considerable talents weren't being used for legitimate purposes.
But this person maintained good connections and knew the hiding places and organisational structures of quite a few remaining members. Gathering all this information at once, Evans should be able to capture most of those scattered remnants with coordinated effort.
The rest would depend on Auror departments from various magical ministries around the world.
After considering his schedule for this period, Evans shook his head with mild regret.
Most of the remaining remnants were still operating in Egypt, and he didn't have available time to travel there recently.
He'd write detailed letters to Charlie and Bill. They hadn't been idle these past two years either, and they could definitely handle this matter with their usual efficiency.
Besides, Charlie seemed to be taking an extended vacation soon. Rather than being bored with nothing meaningful to do, why not go to Egypt to reunite with Bill and engage in some productive family bonding activities?
Like systematically eliminating a dangerous poacher faction.
Having decided on the appropriate follow-up arrangements, Evans stopped looking at the young man slumped unconsciously in the corner of the tent and departed.
He needed to observe how those young wizards were progressing with their interrogation efforts.
The moment he entered the interrogation area, Evans witnessed quite a spectacular and somewhat alarming sight.
The poacher leader had a firework tube stuffed firmly in his mouth; Fred was gripping the tube's head with obvious determination, while George held a lit stick, continuously approaching the firework's fuse with theatrical menace.
"Will you talk or not? Will you talk or not?"
Wood beside them maintained a fierce expression, continuously roaring at the bound leader with impressive volume. Seeing how violently the leader was struggling against his restraints, Evans suspected he might be ready to confess everything but simply couldn't find an opportunity to speak coherently.
Looking at the increasingly intense expressions of those three young wizards, Evans began seriously doubting his previous educational decisions.
Had he been too hasty in allowing these young wizards to encounter such morally complex situations so early in their development? Instead of providing valuable training experiences, had he inadvertently damaged their psychological well-being?
Fortunately, perhaps sensing that someone had entered the tent, the three stopped their dramatic actions and excitedly approached Evans, eagerly handing him a piece of parchment covered in neat handwriting.
Taking a careful look, the paper contained comprehensive information ranging from their organisation's complete history and outstanding bounties to the specific distribution of their organisation's remaining members. Everything had been meticulously documented on this impressive intelligence report.
Seeing such thorough and professional intelligence gathering, Evans's expression became somewhat puzzled.
"You've already obtained all this detailed information. Why are you still tormenting him?"
Wood waved his hand dismissively. "No, most of this intelligence was actually compiled by Percy and the others through cross-referencing and deduction. This big guy has proved incredibly stubborn. No matter what we ask him, he absolutely refuses to say anything useful!"
"Have you tried removing what's currently in his mouth?"
"Oh right!" Fred experienced a sudden moment of realisation and nodded sheepishly, then reached out to extract the firework from the man's mouth.
"Cough cough cough!" The moment the obstruction was removed from his mouth, the man bent over and coughed violently for an extended period before finally recovering his breath. He raised his head and glared with pure venom at this young man of unknown but clearly dangerous origin.
Although the Hunting Association had declined significantly from its former power, precisely because of this reduced status, his second brother now held a proportionally high position within the association's remaining hierarchy. He'd heard reliable reports that the association once maintained deep connections with influential figures in the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. With some careful manoeuvring and the right bribes, they might still be able to secure his eventual release.
But the absolute prerequisite was that he could never leak any of the association's sensitive information, or everything would be permanently finished.
"Hmph, no matter how creatively you torture me, I will never say anything!"
Seeing the man's defiant attitude and misplaced confidence, Evans's mouth curved slightly upward in anticipation.
"Your name is Jarl, you're forty-eight years old, and you graduated from Durmstrang Institute. During a chance trip to Egypt twelve years ago, you heard rumours about the Hunting Association organisation but never found a suitable opportunity to join until..."
A continuous stream of highly detailed intelligence flowed smoothly from Evans's mouth. The more the bound man heard, the more dazed his expression became, gradually transforming into complete incredulity and dawning horror.
Much of the information this mysteriously knowledgeable young man was revealing had been known only to him and his second brother. How could this person possibly know such intimate details so clearly?
"No, that's impossible!" the man screamed with mounting hysteria. "How could you possibly know so much classified information?"
Had his second brother somehow betrayed him and revealed everything? Then how could they ever hope to be rescued from this predicament?
Ignoring the man's increasingly desperate screaming, Evans finished his complete recitation of personal details and stood up to look down at the bound prisoner from his position of obvious authority.
"Your only remaining practical use now is to become bounty money that will improve my students' quality of life."
Having delivered this final judgement, he waved his wand with casual precision and directly rendered the still-ranting man unconscious. Then, looking at the intelligence paper in his hand once again, he felt genuine satisfaction.
The information gathering had proved quite detailed and thorough. Although some deeper details and insider knowledge hadn't been successfully extracted, it represented excellent work for these young wizards operating without formal training. He'd teach them some advanced interrogation techniques later, and this impromptu practical lesson would be perfectly concluded.
After all, the standard school curriculum didn't include Legilimency instruction. Being able to extract this comprehensive information without mind-reading abilities meant that when they encountered situations requiring interrogation in their future careers, at least they wouldn't be completely unprepared.
As members of the Magical Creatures Club, learning effective interrogation methods was absolutely essential. This profession inevitably involved regular dealings with dangerous poachers, and substantial poacher bounties represented a major source of income for career advancement in this specialised field.
"Call everyone over here. Let's tally up our total earnings. Based on your exceptional performance today, you can claim forty percent of this substantial bounty."
Although he had personally handled the final capture and subdued both organisational leaders, these young wizards' coordinated performance had been genuinely spectacular. Plus their ability to extract valuable intelligence through systematic interrogation techniques, forty percent represented fair compensation.
This arrangement, combined with their previous troll capture, would provide each participant with over six hundred Galleons. More than sufficient, whether they wanted to purchase premium wands or professional-quality racing broomsticks.
"Forty percent??"
Hearing this unexpectedly generous number, Wood remained stunned for several long moments, performed some rapid mental calculations, then displayed a somewhat dazed but blissful grin.
He couldn't calculate the exact total clearly, but it would definitely represent a massive amount!
While waiting for the remaining students to gather for their earnings distribution, Evans casually observed the sky's current position.
The sun wasn't shining as brightly now. It would probably be completely dark in less than two hours.
After properly settling all those rescued magical creatures in appropriate temporary housing, it would be time to begin their return journey to Hogwarts.
Suddenly, a somewhat strange sniffing sound reached his ears from nearby.
Turning his head with curiosity, he observed that the Demiguise had somehow approached him silently, materialised its normally invisible form, and was regarding him with obvious intelligence and gentle interest.
Smiling with genuine warmth, Evans extended his hand toward the remarkable creature in a gesture of respectful greeting.
"Hello, my name is Evans Kahn. I'm very pleased to meet you."