Still, dismantling these tough security measures without leaving traces or causing damage was no easy task. So, he didn't plan to take advantage of this opportunity to roam the grounds freely.
After finishing his inspection of the first floor, Alex moved up to the second floor, where the main magic circle was laid out. He crouched down to study its structure carefully, spending over two hours on the research. As evening approached, worried that Claremont might return under the cover of night, Alex quietly left the park the same way he came, erasing all traces of his presence.
It was late at night when Fang, waiting back at the residence, saw Alex again. "Master, how did it go? Everything alright?" Fang asked, noting Alex's calm demeanor.
"I've basically figured it out," Alex replied. "I've also tested the magic circle's principles in two other parks. Things are looking good. We're close to finishing the cracking process. Next, we need to speed up gathering the necessary materials."
After speaking, Alex instructed Fang to keep a close eye on the surveillance footage Shalltear had sent over the past two days and make sure all the information was thoroughly gathered. Alex sent another letter to Newt, clearly outlining the list of materials needed and the number of workers required, asking him to complete the preparations within a week.
After sending the letter, Alex locked himself away in the alchemy lab, like a contractor given a tight deadline who now had to become a relentless production machine. Over the next few days, he barely left his hotel room.
Meanwhile, Fang, who was in charge of gathering information, kept a close eye on everything happening elsewhere. In Claremont, the magic supply shops, the black market, and daily life around the breeding zone continued as usual.
According to Fang, the old man there was barely sleeping more than a couple of hours a day and was constantly busy, whether on official duty or on the way to it. Claremont had recently received 3,000 Galleons from Golden Snidget, but collecting the remaining Galleons would take some time, so Alex hadn't seen him yet.
As for Pete, through their communications, Alex learned that he was still dealing with some troublesome merchants, but the situation was nearly resolved. Regarding the Silver Wand headquarters, Alex overheard from the Ashwinder in the reception room that two other Silver Wands had recently passed their promotion assessments.
The process had been smooth, almost a formality, so long as the candidates met the minimum standards, the Ashwinder would approve them. Still, this made Ashwinder think deeply, as he clearly wasn't happy about the relaxed standards.
Around the same time, Golden Snidget visited the Silver Wand headquarters again and withdrew a large sum of money, likely the exact amount he had sent to Claremont. During this visit, Minister Pete remained at the Ministry of Magic with no changes to his position. In fact, Alex learned through Andre that Pete was with a wizard from Morocco, attending a meeting, a fact Andre personally confirmed.
This confirmed that Pete and Snidget could indeed be in two places at once, and this realization made Alex even more cautious about acting impulsively. He had a strong feeling that if he couldn't uncover this man's secret, rushing into a confrontation would only put him at a disadvantage. Now, all he hoped for was that by destroying these breeding area, he could disrupt his opponent's operations and force him to reveal his weaknesses.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shalltear completed her task quite smoothly. It took her just three days to gather information on all the staff dormitories, and she even used a monitoring spider to explore two of them. Alex's guess was right, the dormitories in the residential area were standardized, with each building sharing the exact same layout.
Six days after sneaking into the breeding park, Alex was fully prepared one night. Carrying a rare suitcase, he quietly slipped out of Dudden House. When he reappeared, it was thousands of miles away, deep in an uninhabited forest in West Germany.
Upon arriving at the target location, he stood still, as if waiting for something. After nearly an hour of patient waiting, the space nearby suddenly shimmered, and an elderly man carrying a suitcase appeared out of thin air.
As soon as the figure appeared, Alex stepped forward to greet him. "Mr. Scamander, sorry to keep you running around so late," he said. The man was Newt, who smiled warmly at Alex.
"No, I should be the one apologizing for keeping you waiting," Newt replied, stretching his neck with a slight grimace.
"Honestly, I haven't used a Portkey in ages. Compared to that, I actually prefer Muggle vehicles. They take longer, sure, but they're more comfortable, and you get to enjoy the scenery along the way," he joked, glancing around. "By the way, where's Andre? Didn't you agree to meet up together?"
"I arrived a bit early," Alex explained, pulling out a pocket watch to check the time. "Just wanted to get a head start on setting up control here. There's still about ten minutes before the others show up.
Why don't you wait for them to come out first? We don't want to overwhelm them."
Newt laughed. "You underestimate them. They're probably just bored and passing the time." Then, placing his suitcase on the ground, Newt flipped it open and called out, "Here we are! Come out!" Before anyone apparated, a gruff voice shouted back, "So fast? My butt's still warm!"
Moments later, Moody's fierce face poked out from the suitcase. He scanned the surroundings, then locked eyes on Alex. "I knew I could count on you. You helped us catch a big one in just a few days."
Before Alex could respond, a sharp female voice snapped from beneath Moody, "Moody, you idiot, don't block the exit! Nobody wants to see your nasty backside!"
Moody's fierce expression instantly turned red with embarrassment as he quickly scrambled out. Amelia, who had been cramped behind him, finally climbed out too, shooting him a glare that clearly showed she hadn't enjoyed the experience.
Once the two senior officers had cleared the way, more figures began emerging from the suitcase. Leading the way was the British striker team, ready to take on whatever lay ahead.
Apart from the 12 members of the elite two-person team assigned to protect Minister Bagnold in the UK, all the other 10 members were present, including Moody and Scrimgeour.
In addition to these fighters, 12 elite Aurors arrived one after another. These were old acquaintances of Alex, veterans who had fought alongside him during the Northern Ireland conflict. The British Ministry of Magic had clearly put a lot of effort into this operation, summoning nearly half of the combatants from the Law Enforcement Department to provide support.