Most of the traps in the Magic World are activated in two ways.
One is physically activated, like Isabella stepping directly onto it; the other is magic power activated, where the trap launches an attack when it detects a wizard with a certain magic power level approaching.
Regarding the former, the Insect Poppet's weight is not even comparable to a football, completely incapable of triggering traps, otherwise, the small creatures living in the dark environment would destroy all traps before the champions even entered the Chamber of Secret.
Similarly, Insect Poppets won't trigger the latter type of traps either, the magic power they carry is similar to that of small Fairies.
Therefore, the Chamber of Secret space, full of perilous steps for the champions, is easily navigable for the Insect Poppets.
They are small and lightweight, able to easily pass through the gaps between vines and rocks, reaching places that are difficult for humans to access.
Vid sat in the corner, leaning against the cold wall, resting his chin, closing his eyes, waiting in boredom.
After a while, a scorpion-shaped puppet brought him a Golden Egg, clattering its pincers high.
Vid pocketed the Golden Egg, waved his hand, letting the Scorpion Puppet continue its work.
At this moment, he suddenly heard a "bang"—
Someone else had been transported in.
Vid raised an eyebrow, pointing his Magic Wand at an animal bone near his foot, transforming the finger-thick bone into a slender convex mirror.
Using this mirror, he saw Victor Krum appear next to the Compass. His thick brows furrowed, he looked cold, and a visible wound on his left arm stained his robe with fresh blood.
Victor ignored his injury, holding his Magic Wand, and quickly approached the wall, watchfully scanning his surroundings.
After waiting for a moment and realizing no ambush, he examined the Chamber of Secret's environment, understood he should choose a passage to find the Golden Egg, then cautiously and heavily stepped into the passage.
…
After three seemingly severe incidents occurred consecutively, the Ministry of Magic hurriedly mobilized staff and cast a sound-blocking magic spell around the arena.
This way, the contestants would no longer be disturbed by Bagman's commentating voice during the match.
But whether fortunate or unfortunate, they didn't hear Bagman's subsequent words either—
"Look, friends!" Bagman excitedly almost jumped up: "Vid Gray has already obtained the Golden Egg! He is the first champion to acquire a Golden Egg! As long as he returns to the arena with this Golden Egg, he is guaranteed to—oh, dear!"
Bagman was startled by Vid's movement in the Flow Mirror, then immediately shouted in a more excited tone:
"Merlin! Look quickly! After finding the Golden Egg, he chose not to leave—he decided to stay put—currently no one is stopping him from interacting with the Compass."
"Clearly, Vid Gray plans to ambush the contestants entering next; his is an extremely risky move! Given his younger age than most contestants, we have to say, it's very bold! The other contestants are by no means easy to handle…"
"Victor Krum has entered the Chamber of Secret! Will they face off directly? Will Victor fall into the ambush of the genius Alchemist Vid? Or will Vid get counter-attacked by the beloved Quidditch star?"
The spectators focused intensely on the scene in the Flow Mirror, almost forgetting about the champions still embroiled with a Fire Dragon "he escapes, it pursues, he's trapped".
"Oh, no… watch out, Victor!" a Hogwarts girl worriedly shouted.
Her brown-haired friend angrily said: "Whose side are you on? How can you cheer for the opponent?"
"But… but…" the girl clutched her chest and said: "That's Victor!"
Brown-haired friend: "…"
She was also a fan of Victor, but now, she more eagerly anticipated the moment when her idol, hit and bloodied, would slowly collapse, his always stern face showing disbelief, looking vulnerable and distressed.
Then, the scene fast-forwards to Victor feeling down, lying in a hospital bed in the Medical Wing, silently shedding tears under the covers as a girl enters carrying a bouquet…
The brown-haired friend clenched her fists, excitedly visualizing the scenario she crafted in her mind, secretly cheering for Vid.
"Go Vid!" cheered Theo from Hufflepuff loudly: "Take down Krum!"
"But…" a roommate beside him hesitantly said: "Won't this seem a bit despicable?"
"Despicable?" Theo retorted indignantly: "This is strategy! You'll see later, look if other contestants will play nice!"
"A match is a match, any means permitted by the rules are fair, magic spell casting is part of the competition, brainpower too."
Leian said firmly: "The match requires champions to return with Golden Eggs [safely], actually hinting that here competitors need to guard against attacks from others."
Karkaroff caressed his cane, occasionally casting a fierce glance at Vid's well-concealed location, occasionally watching with worry and expectancy at Victor.
He knew his student was quick to react and might not fall for Vid Gray's ambush.
But neither are easy to deal with; if Victor gets injured again, how will he face subsequent enemies?
Under the spotlight, Victor finally slightly lowered his Magic Wand, headed towards one of the passages.
Regretful sighs resounded neatly from the stands.
…
Vid regretfully laid down his Magic Wand.
Victor chose another passage, and the two passages were not directly opposite; once inside, hitting him with spells from Vid's spot became difficult, he couldn't simply jump out to attack from his hiding place.
In the meantime, two more Golden Eggs lined up next to him, Vid put them away too.
Actually, if he wanted, he could create more Insect Poppets, easily sweeping away all the Golden Eggs, leaving not a single eggshell fragment for others.
Nonetheless, the Ministry of Magic had prepared the match for so long, grandly inviting eleven Magic Schools, couldn't have the first project eliminate everyone with Vid directly securing victory.
Having everyone with nothing to play for would lead to referees forcibly changing the rules, disqualifying Vid from continuing based on "rule violation," or leaving no one willing to play with him anymore.
So Vid opted not to attack contestants in the other passage, but instead stay here, filtering out part of the competition himself.
Shortly followed, two contestants fell into the Chamber of Secret almost simultaneously, bouncing quickly as they landed, Magic Wand aimed at each other!