Guided by Golden Snidget, they soon reached a large, brightly lit reception room where a well-built figure sat calmly on a sofa in the center.
The person wore a shining silver mask and a satin robe embroidered with intricate patterns. This was clearly the Horned Basilisk himself.
Yet, Alex couldn't help but notice something strange about the figure's body.
Despite being mostly covered, some snake-like scales peeked out from the edge of the mask near the neck.
'Is this what Phoenix mentioned, the side effects of the immortal medicine? Did taking it for so many years cause his skin to take on snake-like qualities? Has the Horned Basilisk become something else entirely?'
Lost in these thoughts, Alex was interrupted when the Horned Basilisk spoke first.
"Gerald, this is your first time visiting my home. How do you find it? Not quite what you expected, I imagine."
The Horned Basilisk's tone was surprisingly warm, as if greeting an old friend after a long time apart.
"Heh, I never thought you, an old man, would enjoy all this so much. After all these years, I figured you'd be tired of these fancy things."
Gerald, sitting across from the Horned Basilisk, casually picked up a piece of silverware from a nearby shelf and began to fiddle with it.
"Do you still hate me that much?" the Horned Basilisk sighed, his voice carrying the weight of years.
"I wasn't the only one who stopped you from saving Grindelwald back then. It was a unanimous decision, remember? Since you've taken the elixir, you have to put your own life first and avoid getting tangled in dangerous affairs."
Gerald nodded quietly.
"So, I don't just hate you."
After finishing his words, Thunderbird glanced sharply at the Golden Snidget beside him.
"Don't pretend to be the loving father and dutiful son when I'm around. Sure, you're my adoptive father in name, but I don't owe you a thing after all these years."
The Horned Basilisk chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"Is that how you see it? Fine, let's cut the nonsense. What's really going on that you came to me acting so strange today? I thought I could always trust Snidget to handle the club's affairs."
Thunderbird's frustration boiled over.
"The club is finished! Because you blindly trusted Golden Snidget, and under his so-called wise leadership, our German division's strategy completely fell apart. The transport routes to North America are totally blocked, the breeding park has been shut down, and now the club's left with nothing but a bunch of cute animals outside the gate!"
The Horned Basilisk froze, stunned by the news, then turned to the Golden Snidget with clear surprise.
"Is everything Thunderbird said true?"
Golden Snidget looked down, ashamed and defeated.
"I'm sorry, Father."
"You don't just spill everything because things aren't going your way. So, what exactly happened at the club during this time?" The Horned Basilisk fixed his gaze on Golden Snidget, his eyes sharp enough to pierce through him.
"It all started about a month ago..." Golden Snidget lowered his head, adopting a humble tone as he recounted the issues at the breeding park and the troubles the club faced during that period.
He even mentioned that he and Thunderbird suspected the mastermind behind it all might be Phoenix.
Horned Basilisk's expression darkened.
"So, in just one month, the club went from being a monstrous giant with thousands of resources, controlling half of Germany, to a pitiful street rat everyone mocks, losing all its supply channels?"
Furious, he slammed his hand on the armrest, stood up, and pointed accusingly at Golden Snidget.
"You idiot! Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner? You only show up now, when the club is about to collapse?"
Before Golden Snidget could respond, Thunderbird cut in coldly.
"Maybe because you were too afraid to face how bad things were and chose to run off on your own? Isn't that just like you, always running away? After all these years, you're still the same sneaky coward!"
Thunderbird's harsh words made Horned Basilisk turn sharply toward him, his back still turned to Golden Snidget.
"You've got some nerve, mocking me now. I know you think I control you all with that elixir, but think about it, without it, would you even have nearly endless life? Would you still be calm enough to mock me? After everything, I've always treated you like my own flesh and blood."
Thunderbird scoffed, clearly annoyed by Horned Basilisk's speech.
"Oh really? You expect me to call you 'father' like some naive kid? If that's the case, why don't you show some fatherly love and share the elixir formula with your precious little children?"
Horned Basilisk's veins bulged with anger at Thunderbird's taunt, but then he realized he'd never actually won an argument against him.
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Enough of this pointless bickering!"
"Now, what we really need to focus on is the future of the club. Do we have any solution?"
Thunderbird sneered, shaking his head.
"A solution? What solution? Go out there now, and if you dare tell anyone you're from the silver wand, those wizards will drown you in their spit without a second thought."
The Horned Basilisk, usually all bravado but a bit simple-minded, grew restless facing this problem.
"So what should we do? You've been running operations for so long, you must have some plan, right?"
Thunderbird pointed back over his shoulder.
"My plan? It's simple. We pull out of Germany entirely. Forget about holding onto our European territories. We head to North America. We've got plenty of time to rebuild the club there. The environment is far better, and the magical creatures are far more abundant."
The Horned Basilisk lowered his head, thinking it over.
"But we've spent so many years building our foundation here in Europe. Just give up all those branches? Just like that? Isn't there any way to set up a direct shipping route to North America?" he asked hesitantly.
Thunderbird gave him a tired, almost annoyed look.
"Horned Basilisk, even after all these years, you're still so naive? Why do you nag like Golden Snidget? Those European branches squeeze the club dry every year. Now that Andre controls Germany, how many raw materials can we even ship out? If you don't want to leave Europe, then I'm not sharing North America with you."
The Horned Basilisk glared back, clearly frustrated at Thunderbird's mockery, but Thunderbird held his gaze without flinching.
Golden Snidget, standing behind the Horned Basilisk, noticed the tension and stepped forward, trying to mediate.
"Thunderbird, can't you just talk it out?"
But before anyone could react, something shocking happened.