My name is Sasuke, from being the richest man in Naruto to dominating the world

Chapter 599: Zhou Ming steps forward and the basilisk appears

The falling passage is quite spacious, but it is almost impossible to fly down safely. Everyone can only fall freely and slide down quickly along the winding passage.

Hermione was startled and subconsciously reached out to hug Zhou Ming. Zhou Ming also sensibly reached out to hug her.

It was not until the two were about to land that he cast a levitation spell to help them land steadily.

Looking at the other professors, they all looked calm and composed.

This is normal. After all, these professors are all really capable. They are definitely not like that idiot Lockhart, who landed in an even more awkward position than the students.

Everyone had different expressions when they saw Zhou Ming hugging Hermione.

Snape had a blank expression, Professor McGonagall frowned slightly, Professor Flitwick kept blinking, and Professors Dumbledore and Sprout were smiling.

Hermione was so embarrassed that she quickly ran away from Zhou Ming's arms.

"Okay, next..."

Dumbledore turned around and looked forward. In front of them was a huge snake skin. Judging from the thickness of the skin, it was much thicker than that of an adult. Its diameter was almost as tall as a shorter student.

Someone like Professor Flitwick is so tall that he is not even as tall as the diameter of the snake's skin. He can even walk into the snake's skin easily.

"It's a really big creature. I wonder how long it has been in Hogwarts... maybe since the time when Slytherin was still in Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore sighed and reached out to touch the snake skin.

"It's still very soft. It looks like it must have fallen off not long ago. That's right, it was indeed awakened by someone."

Only at this moment did Dumbledore completely give up all his fantasies.

In fact, before he saw the snake's skin, he was unwilling to believe that there was really a basilisk in the academy.

Of course, he was not senile and turned a blind eye to the evidence in front of him. But before he got conclusive evidence, he still hoped that this was just the work of a student affected by the Horcrux.

Because the Basilisk is such an evil creature, Dumbledore absolutely does not want to see a Basilisk in Hogwarts.

But now these fantasies have been completely shattered, because this snake skin has explained everything.

Giving up his fantasy, Dumbledore had to accept reality.

"Zhou Ming, how much do you know about the basilisk?"

Dumbledore withdrew his hand and continued to look deeper, asking at the same time.

The other professors also glanced at Zhou Ming.

They were still a little confused now. Except for Snape who seemed to have guessed something, most of the other professors didn't understand.

Even Professor McGonagall knew that Zhou Ming had demonstrated fighting ability in the Dueling Club class that was no less than that of the professors. She was shocked at first, but before she could understand it further, Dumbledore stopped her.

At that time, Dumbledore told her to wait for a while. As for why, he didn't say, and Professor McGonagall didn't ask.

Now Dumbledore suddenly asked such a question, which made Professor McGonagall feel very uncomfortable.

First of all, the basilisk problem is not something that students should know about.

Okay, Zhou Ming is different, so here comes the second question.

Since he is different, he should have known about the basilisk and its background long ago. Isn't it redundant for Dumbledore to ask this now?

Whether it is redundant or not, perhaps only Dumbledore himself knows.

Zhou Ming guessed that Dumbledore wanted to see how much he had already understood about the world. After all, the basilisk was relatively unpopular knowledge for most wizards, and with Zhou Ming's special identity, it was even more unpopular among the unpopular.

However, Zhou Ming just smiled and was not afraid at all.

"Basilisk, I actually know something about it.

As far as I know, the first recorded basilisk in history was bred by Herpo the Despicable, who discovered after many experiments that if a rooster egg was placed under the body of a toad and hatched, a dangerous snake with extraordinary abilities would emerge.

The basilisk is emerald green all over and can be up to fifty feet long. The male snake has a bright red feather on its head.

Its fangs are extremely poisonous, but its most dangerous method of attack is its gaze. Any target it stares at will be killed instantly.

Even without looking directly at them, the magic in those eyes could easily petrify people, just like in the previous attacks.

Basilisks have a long lifespan, and if they have enough food, they can easily live for hundreds of years. It is said that the first basilisks lived to be around 900 years old.

Zhou Ming talked freely, some of this content was what he already knew, and some of it was what he learned after entering this world.

“That’s a very accurate answer.”

Dumbledore nodded and stepped forward, and the others followed immediately.

"In fact, creating basilisks has been considered illegal by the entire wizarding community since the Middle Ages, but the act itself is easy to hide. All you have to do is remove the rooster egg from under the toad before the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures comes to your door.

In the past, many wizards were keen on training a basilisk of their own, and they paid a huge price for this. Basilisks can only be controlled by Parseltongue, and no one can command them.

Therefore, they are not only dangerous to other people, but also extremely dangerous to the vast majority of dark wizards. No one wants to die at the hands of magical creatures they created. Therefore, in the land of Britain, after years of blockade and management by the Ministry of Magic, there have been no records of basilisks for at least four hundred years.

But now, this record has been broken.

Student Zhou Ming, I can probably guess what you are thinking, but I want to remind you that the basilisk is very dangerous. Currently, it is known that the phoenix is ​​the only one that is not afraid of that deadly gaze.

The basilisk's skin has the same armor-like properties as dragon hide, and can reflect spells fired at it. Its eyes and mouth are the only weak links in its defense.

If you ever wish to deal with the basilisk yourself, you must remember this."

Dumbledore said softly.

He could sense Remus's thoughts. This had nothing to do with Legilimency. It was simply that Zhou Ming was being too obvious.

The other professors could also see it, but no one took it to heart, because no one thought Zhou Ming could defeat the basilisk, and naturally no one thought Dumbledore would do as he wished.

However, Dumbledore knew very well that Zhou Ming should be able to deal with the basilisk, and the process would not be too difficult.

"Dumbledore, you..."

McGonagall also noticed Dumbledore's thoughts. Her face changed and she was about to speak.

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Minerva, I think you should trust me."

"What do you believe? Do you believe that you are old and confused?"

McGonagall stepped forward and confronted Dumbledore.

"But I'm not senile, am I? You should know that."

Dumbledore spread his hands and said helplessly.

"Yes, you are not senile, but you are planning to let a student deal with the basilisk, a monster that even professors like us find difficult to deal with. You let a student deal with it. You say you are not senile? Do you believe that?"

Professor McGonagall stood directly in front of Dumbledore, preventing him from going any further.

"Minerva, I thought you would have a basic level of trust in me since we have worked together for so many years."

"Of course I trust you, but I can't let you send students to deal with a basilisk. That's not a monster he should deal with."

"But he is not an ordinary student, he is a god." "He is nothing..."

Professor McGonagall subconsciously wanted to refute, but before she could finish her words, she froze in place, and then stared at Dumbledore in disbelief.

"You said he was...what?"

Starting from the previous sentence, Dumbledore used special magical techniques to compress the sound within the magic power to ensure that only Professor McGonagall could hear it.

Professor McGonagall still spoke the first half of her sentence in her throat, but for the second half, she subconsciously used the same technique.

"Spirit, yes, Minerva, you heard me right, and I didn't say anything wrong."

"God... How is this possible..."

"But that is the fact. I have verified it myself. It is not a power that a wizard can possess. But don't get me wrong. It has nothing to do with being strong or not. It is a power that is beyond our understanding. I am sure I am not wrong about this because I have never seen such a unique power.

Grindelwald couldn't do it, Tom couldn't do it, and I couldn't do it either. No one in the wizarding world that I know of can do it to this extent."

Dumbledore finally began to tell the truth.

"..."

Professor McGonagall was stunned.

She subconsciously looked at Zhou Ming, but all she got was a faint smile from him.

At this moment, Professor McGonagall's scalp felt numb. She subconsciously looked away and then looked at Dumbledore again.

"Albus, I still can't understand, if he is really a god, then what is his purpose..."

"We talked about this before, and I got some answers. I also have some guesses. After this happens, I will tell you about them... But now, let's give time and space to Zhou Ming."

In the second half of the sentence, Dumbledore switched back to his normal voice.

As a result, in the eyes of others, the two people suddenly confronted each other, and then no one spoke, and only their mouths could be seen moving slightly.

After a moment, Dumbledore suddenly spoke again.

Looking at Professor McGonagall again, she had already subconsciously made way.

"Minerva..."

Professor Sprout walked forward and looked at Professor McGonagall worriedly.

"I'm fine, Pomona."

Professor McGonagall shook her head and said nothing.

Professor Sprout nodded without asking any further questions, and then the group followed Professor Dumbledore to the last door leading to the Chamber of Secrets.

Zhou Ming stepped forward and opened the door in Parseltongue.

Behind the door, a huge space appeared in front of everyone.

The first thing you see is a long stone-paved passage with tall stone sculptures on both sides, all in the shape of poisonous snakes.

There was a lot of water on the ground, and when you stepped on it, it made a sizzling sound.

At the end of the passage was a huge human face. Everyone present, except Hermione, recognized the true identity of this big face at a glance.

Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts, the first head of Slytherin House, the builder of the Chamber of Secrets, and the master of the basilisk.

“I didn’t expect that the legendary secret room actually exists.”

Professor Flitwick looked at the scene around him and couldn't help but sigh.

"Okay, next... classmate Zhou Ming?"

Dumbledore stopped and looked at Zhou Ming, "Are you sure you want to challenge the basilisk?"

"Haha, professor, can this be called a challenge?"

Zhou Ming took a step forward and said with a chuckle.

With all this experience, the professors had actually already roughly understood this development. Except for Professor Flitwick who was a little worried, the other professors were very calm.

Hermione, on the other hand, didn't seem to have thought that Zhou Ming would face the basilisk directly. Now, when she heard his conversation with Dumbledore, her expression changed slightly.

"Zhou Ming..."

She tugged at Zhou Ming's sleeve.

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

Zhou Ming turned around, gently patted Hermione's little hand, and comforted her with a smile.

"Since you have made up your mind, I will not advise you any more. You should be careful."

"of course."

Zhou Ming nodded, then gently pushed Hermione into Professor McGonagall's arms, "Professor, Hermione will be in your hands from now on."

"Don't worry, I won't let my students get hurt."

Professor McGonagall had adjusted her mindset by now. No matter what, since Zhou Ming was still presenting himself as a student, she had no reason to expose him.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Zhou Ming suddenly remembered something, walked up to Hermione, and tapped the corner of her eye with his wand.

The next second, two red lenses appeared in front of Hermione's eyes, perfectly covering her eyes.

"This is……"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise.

"A small spell that can help you resist the basilisk's gaze. Even if you look at it, you won't be petrified. I hope you can watch the whole battle that follows."

Zhou Ming said with a smile.

As for the other professors, it is not his turn to shut them down.

The basilisk is indeed very scary, but it depends on the person. Among the professors present, there are many who can easily suppress the basilisk.

Maybe only Professor Sprout will need to put in a little more effort when facing the basilisk, but the other professors will not be exhausted at all. In front of them, the basilisk is not much scarier than other magical creatures.

After settling Hermione, Zhou Ming finally had no worries anymore. He turned around and walked towards the statue.

Behind him, Dumbledore raised his hand and set up another layer of barrier, hiding the figures of several professors and Hermione.

Professor Flitwick acted simultaneously, setting up a barrier that could temporarily block the basilisk's deadly gaze.

Then everyone focused all their attention on Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming walked forward step by step. His aura began to change, and the surrounding environment changed accordingly. The originally calm accumulated water began to become restless, and the air began to become heavy.

He came to the statue and opened its mouth in Parseltongue. The next second, a huge black shadow slowly appeared.

The basilisk finally appeared!
(End of this chapter)