"Now is not the time. My position is quite delicate, and I can't directly enter the park. You'll have to hold on for a few more days." Alan then said solemnly, "Moreover, I'll need you to complete a task next."
"Ah? So I still have to stay cooped up in this broken zoo? I feel like if I stay here any longer, I might actually turn into an animal." With that, Shalltear rubbed the young Thunderbird beneath her. After staying here for a while, Shalltear and the young Thunderbird's bond grew significantly. She felt that if things continued like this, she might even learn how to speak bird language. However, after complaining, Shalltear still asked straightforwardly, "Alright, tell me, what task do you need me to do now?"
"Don't worry. If this operation is a complete success, I'll have Kiki make you blood curd for ten days straight, so you can eat your fill." Alan knew Shalltear's difficulties, so he specifically comforted her with a couple of sentences, then continued to instruct, "The next few days are very important. I need you to keep a close eye on the residential area and carefully inventory the living situations of all the wizards. It needs to be detailed: how many dormitories there are in total, how many people live in each house, and it needs to be accurate. What Hog can see from the surveillance cameras is limited after all, so there might be discrepancies in the numbers."
"At the same time, it would be best if you could find out the internal layout of those standard houses, including how many floors, how many rooms, etc. I noticed that the designs for those standardized dormitories are completely uniform, so investigating one of them should be enough."
"Find out the internal situation of those dormitories? That's no problem. I can remotely control a surveillance spider to go deep inside, and then have Hog record it from the other side." Shalltear was quite familiar with this by now, so she readily gave her assurance, but then she thought about it carefully and felt that something wasn't quite right. So she asked with a hint of uncertainty, "Sir, judging by what you're saying, are you planning to round up all these wizards? There are over two hundred people. Is it really okay to do this? I don't want to become an international fugitive as soon as I get out."
Alan heard what Shalltear was worried about. He hadn't expected this fellow to think so deeply. "Don't worry, I've already arranged everything for the aftermath." Alan grinned coldly. "This operation will not only keep you out of trouble, but if you want, I can even make you a great hero."
"A great hero? Are you sure?" Shalltear was a bit confused by his words. We're discussing kidnapping hundreds of people at once, and to you, it sounds like something glorious?
"Don't worry, if trouble arises, I'll be the first to suffer. How could I joke with you about something like this?" Alan gently reassured her, but he didn't reveal more details.
"Alright, I understand." Shalltear had also figured it out by now. Given Alan's cunning, he definitely wouldn't trick her. She decided to leave such troublesome matters for him to ponder.
"Good, then the call is over. Complete the task as soon as possible. The faster you progress, the sooner I can act. And I've already spoken with Thor; he'll notify you when I begin the operation." Alan finally instructed carefully.
"Thor? Are you talking about this young Thunderbird?" Shalltear looked bewildered at this moment. "No, what's going on? When did you two contact each other? And you even named him? Are you serious?" However, Alan had no time to waste words with her at this moment and directly hung up the communication.
"Hello! Hello?" Shalltear called out loudly and found there was no sound, immediately getting angry. She stood up and tapped the young Thunderbird, which was Thor, on the head with her wing. "You're really disloyal, aren't you? You secretly contacted Sir and didn't tell me, and you even let him just casually name you, and you two haven't even met yet, and you trust him that much? Who did we meet first? You're just a scumbag who abandons people after getting what he wants." Thinking of this, Shalltear became even angrier and flapped her wings, smashing them hard onto Thor's head.
Meanwhile, the young Thunderbird Thor was bewildered, completely unaware of what Shalltear was doing. He thought this young bat was full again and wanted to play with him, so he happily rolled on the ground with Shalltear, and the sudden movement almost made Shalltear throw up her lunch.
After instructing Shalltear, Alan openly explored the spire. Of course, his counter-reconnaissance methods were far superior to Aseria's amateurish ones; he would eliminate all traces, including footprints and scents, along the way. The first floor of the entire spire was similar to what he had seen from Clement's perspective, mostly by-products from magical creatures. Although valuable, Alan wasn't in a hurry to plunder them now.
What interested Alan more was the spire's main door. Since no warning magic could be set up inside the spire, the door surprisingly used a physical warning system. The door alone had six locks, and these locks were all magical anti-theft locks inscribed with Alohomora countermeasures. Additionally, very simple anti-theft devices were installed inside, such as metal cables to prevent forced entry and bells specifically for warning. However, what Alan found amusing was that all these measures were designed to prevent people from outside from entering, so for those inside, it was equivalent to being completely undefended. However, dismantling these hardcore anti-theft measures would be difficult to disguise and restore, so he didn't plan to use this opportunity to explore the interior of the park.
After checking the first floor, Alan went up to the second floor, where the main array was laid out, then he crouched down to carefully study the array's structure. This study kept him busy for over two hours. Alan estimated that the time was approaching evening. Concerned that Clement might return, he cleared all lingering traces and left the park the way he came.
When Hog saw Alan again, it was already late at night. "Sir, how are things? Was everything smooth?" Hog asked, looking at the relaxed Alan.
"I've basically figured it all out. I also tested the working principle of that array in the other two parks, and the situation is ideal. The cracking work can come to an end. Next, we need to speed up the preparation of materials." Alan then instructed Hog to pay attention to the surveillance footage Shalltear sent back over the next two days, and that all information must be collected. He then sent a letter to Newt, detailing the estimated list of supplies and the number of personnel needed, and instructed him to try and complete the preparations within a week.
After completing all this, Alan once again locked himself in the alchemy laboratory. He was now like a contractor who had received a notice to complete a project in a short time, and had to transform into a ruthless production machine. Therefore, in the following days, Alan mostly stayed in his hotel room. However, even so, the actions of the other parties were still monitored by Hog, who was responsible for collecting information.
Clement continued his routine between the magic item shop, the black market, and No. 1 Park. According to Hog, the man slept less than six hours a day and was either on official business or on his way to conduct official business. Furthermore, Clement had recently received the 3,000 Galleon deposit transferred to him by Golden Knight. However, judging by his situation, it would still take some time for him to gather the remaining 2,000 Galleons, so Alan hadn't seen him come looking for him.
As for Minister Peter, through contact with Andre, Alan learned that he was still dealing with the troublesome merchants. However, Minister Peter's methods were indeed superb; he had largely resolved the current troubles using various strategies.
As for the Silver Spears headquarters, through the Ashwinder's soliloquy in the reception room, Alan learned that he had conducted promotion assessments for two other Silver Spears members in the past two days. Of course, this time it went very smoothly, basically a formality; as long as the minimum standard was met, the Ashwinder would let them pass. However, this also caused the Ashwinder to mutter to himself for a long time, clearly displeased with such overstepping.
At the same time, Golden Knight visited the Silver Spears headquarters once again during this period and took a large sum of money from the vault. Alan speculated that this was the same sum he had given to Clement. When Golden Knight appeared this time, Minister Peter was also in the Ministry of Magic and there was no unusual activity. This time, Alan even learned through Andre that Peter was in a meeting with Wizengamot wizards during that time, and Andre himself had confirmed it on site.
This confirmed that Peter and Golden Knight could indeed appear in two places at the same time. This discovery made Alan even more hesitant to act rashly. He had a premonition that if he couldn't figure out this guy's secret, he would definitely be at a disadvantage if he confronted him rashly. Now he only hoped that after destroying these breeding parks, he could disrupt the opponent's plans and make him reveal a flaw.
Meanwhile, Shalltear completed her task very smoothly, taking only three days to compile all the information on the staff dormitories, and she also controlled a surveillance spider to explore two employee dormitories. Alan's prediction was correct; these dormitories in the residential area were indeed standardized, with the exact same layout for each building.
Six days after Alan infiltrated the breeding park, he dressed neatly that night and, quite unusually, carried a briefcase as he quietly left the Duden Building. When Alan reappeared, he was miles away in an uninhabited forest in West Germany. After reaching his destination, he stood silently at the scene, as if waiting for something. After Alan had patiently waited for nearly an hour, the space not far from him suddenly flickered. Immediately after, an elderly man, also carrying a briefcase, appeared in the clearing.