"Wh... what?" Londo instinctively looked up at Leonard, but the moment he noticed Schneider standing beside him, his face turned even paler.
So if he was not going to kill him, did that mean he planned to control him instead, just like the boss standing there?
What difference was there between that and death?
The thought of being controlled and forced to do horrible things made Londo's vision swim with despair.
"Relax. I'm not going to control you either." Leonard smiled at Londo. "Your warning didn't really help, but I accepted the kindness behind it, so..."
"So you're going to let me go?" At those words, joy burst across Londo's face.
"That's right. I'll let you go. But before that, I need to plant something in you," Leonard said.
"Pl... plant something?" The moment Londo heard those words, all kinds of terrifying images flashed through his mind.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt." Leonard pinched a seed between his fingers, strengthening the Blood Grapes seed in his hand with accelerated growth and finer enhancement, then adding a whole series of special functions through plant modification.
Then, under Londo's horrified gaze, he pressed the sprouted Blood Grapes onto Londo's arm.
The roots of the Blood Grapes were like greedy leeches. The instant they touched Londo's skin, they rooted themselves in and began sucking his blood.
At the same time, those roots continued to spread into his body, forming a symbiotic connection with his muscles, nerves, and organs without damaging his bodily functions.
Londo felt uncomfortable all over.
At first, he had been in despair, convinced he was about to end up like his boss. But the constant feedback from inside his body told him something very different. His condition was steadily improving.
His muscles, reinforced by plant roots, became stronger. His organs, threaded through with roots, grew sturdier and more powerful. His bones became tougher. Even his magic, which had slowed in growth ever since adulthood, suddenly began increasing in leaps and bounds.
What was going on? This thing, whether man or monster, was not planning to kill him and was actually giving him such outrageous power?
Was he trying to fatten him up before eating him?
Londo's thoughts ran wild until his head felt like a complete mess.
"All right, stop overthinking it. This is just a little repayment for your kindness." As Leonard spoke, he continued observing Londo's condition.
Though he called it repayment, in truth this was also an experiment.
The neural experiments he had carried out on those wizards had given Leonard plenty of inspiration. For example, in terms of magical plant symbiosis, the system-based symbiosis was safe and practical, but the severe bodily distortion it caused was far too conspicuous, which made someone as stealth-conscious as Leonard deeply dissatisfied.
So he wanted to create a special kind of symbiosis that looked far more normal, then spread that symbiosis to every werewolf wizard.
What Londo had just received was one such experiment. Otherwise, even if Londo had shown him a bit of kindness before, Leonard would never have given him such an enormous gift.
"How does it feel?" Leonard asked.
"Amazing..." Londo looked at himself, bewildered. "I feel much stronger, and my magic..."
"This is a very special magical plant. Right now it's only a tender sprout, so at the moment all it can give you is a more resilient body and more magical power. Once it matures, it can become a loyal helper."
Leonard gave the explanation with great seriousness.
"Then... how do I make it grow?" Londo could not help asking.
This so-called magical plant sounded far too good. It was so perfect that Londo almost suspected it was some kind of demonic temptation.
It could strengthen the body, increase magical power, and when mature, even become a helper.
Even the most shameless magical item shop would not dare advertise something like that.
Still, he was curious how such an absurd plant was supposed to grow, if only to satisfy his own curiosity.
"What do you think?" Leonard cast him a half-smile and glanced into the distance. By now, the screams over there had died away, and figures like walking corpses were staggering back to their feet one after another.
Londo instinctively followed Leonard's gaze. Looking at those horrifying figures, he swallowed hard.
"Just kidding. In reality, all you need to do is stay hydrated every day and get plenty of sunlight." Leonard laughed.
Seeing that it was still early, and with nothing better to do, Leonard asked, "Judging by your age, you can't have been out of magical school for very long. So how did you end up mixed up with smugglers?"
Londo scratched his head. He had not expected this maybe-monster to be so approachable. It was actually chatting with him.
That left him feeling oddly flattered, so he answered honestly without holding anything back. "I like studying magical creatures, but researching magical creatures doesn't just require knowledge. It also requires wilderness survival experience... and money."
As he spoke, Londo scratched his head awkwardly. "I know smuggling isn't legal, but it lets me get more experience and more money. Once I feel like I'm ready to head into the wild and research magical creatures properly, I'll leave this place."
Leonard looked at Londo in surprise, seriously suspecting the boy had never been beaten up by reality.
Did he think smugglers were friendly merchants handing out internship certificates to fresh graduates? He thought he could just show up here and leave whenever he wanted?
Especially when Schneider had secretly been supplying funds to those so-called Grindelwald supporters and had made no effort at all to keep Londo out of it.
If Leonard had not appeared, then Londo would either have been dragged into joining that self-important little band himself, or ended up dead as some nameless corpse in a forest.
The boy was so naive that Leonard could only sigh inwardly. He also lost all interest in chatting with him.
There was no sense of achievement at all in deceiving someone this innocent.
"You can go now." Leonard looked up at the dim yellow sky.
"Huh?" Londo froze. He had never expected Leonard to actually let him leave.
He had thought the best possible outcome for himself was being forcibly kept around as a slave.
"I said you can go." Leonard glanced at him, beginning to suspect the boy had been scared stupid.
"Th... thank you..." Londo stammered out his gratitude. He stood up and was just about to Apparate away when Leonard called out to him again.
"Londo, right?" Leonard stood beneath the setting sun looking at him. The glaring sunlight before sunset made it hard for Londo to keep his eyes open.
"The plant on your arm isn't only my repayment for your kindness. It's also a warning."
"A warning?"