Vid walked out of the training room, glared at the two guys behind him who were whispering, and said irritably, "Ignore him, tell me what you've discovered?"
Vilan withdrew his gaze and said seriously, "The paw prints extend towards the main entrance of the municipal sewer system..."
...
In the dark underworld, viscous sewage slowly flowed, and the air was filled with the nauseating stench of rot, occasionally illuminated by a faint light streaming through the gaps in manhole covers, briefly lighting up the moss-covered and grimy pipe walls.
A plump brown rat was urgently sniffing with its nose, scratching at a moldy piece of bread with its forepaws. Its whiskers trembled lightly as it managed to pick up the meal, but suddenly heard a strange sound.
It lifted its head cautiously, its small dark eyes reflecting the scene emerging from the pipe—
A black cloud shimmering with a dim glow rolled in, resembling storm clouds, but with a strange and low hum; it also seemed like black smoke from burning trash but shimmered faintly with a metallic sheen.
As the distance closed, it turned out to be a "dense smoke" composed of countless wasps!
They filled the space densely, their wings flapping rapidly, approaching at an astonishing speed!
"Squeak, squeak!"
The rat felt an instant fear, dropped the food already in its mouth, and turned tail to run!
"Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz..."
The swarm of wasps swooshed closer, overtaking, as if they had never paused, while in the darkness, the rat emitted a piercing scream, drowned by the sound of beating wings.
Seconds later, the poppet swarm swept past this area like a tide, continuing to surge forward.
In the damp pipe, dark red liquid gradually spread out, quickly merging with the sewage, as if it had never existed.
Roaches bred in the rot and garbage, water fleas that gathered, bats hanging on rebars, and snakes swimming—all the residents living in the sewer heard the buzzing sound, some fled immediately, others raised their heads and issued menacing hisses.
However, there was no roar, no fierce struggle, only the continuous sound of flapping wings, intermittent cracking sounds, and splashing waterfalls.
As the swarm passed, the entire pipe fell completely silent.
...
On the map spread out on the table, dark red veins were also gradually extending.
Vilan took a pen and marked another cross on the map, representing the discovery of a new wolf paw print.
Finally, the large and small red crosses connected together, and after several twists and turns, pointed to a certain place.
"Did they return to Brooklyn?"
The truck driver said in surprise.
"It seems so." Vid pondered for a moment before saying, "I remember reading a report before, that there are transportation tunnels and smuggling passageways beneath Brooklyn that can be traced back to the 19th century, and subway tunnels that were excavated and abandoned in the early years?"
He turned his questioning gaze towards Victor.
Victor, the poppet who first arrived in the United States, evidently without magic, yet managed to mix into the Alchemy Competition and naturally made numerous connections up and down.
Sitting on the chair, pretending he was absent, Victor touched his hair, jumped off the chair, walked to the table, glanced at the map, and said:
"That's indeed the case. Most of those tunnels aren't marked on public city maps, connecting many abandoned warehouses, shelters, and some building basements. I know there are some shady guys active in those places; they've even established independent living areas with electricity."
"Have you been there?" Vilan asked curiously.
Victor shook his head: "I'm investigating wizards; why would I go to such places where Muggles hang out? Don't look at my fierce appearance; strangers entering these places will undoubtedly be challenged. If I get hurt and expose my identity, wouldn't that be a disaster?"
"Well, you're even more cautious than I thought."
Vilan said helplessly, looking at Vid: "If the swarm of wasps drills in on a large scale, it'll undoubtedly attract the attention of those guys. To avoid alerting them, I think we should proceed with our investigation slowly."
Vid nodded: "You all did great, your efficiency and accuracy have already far exceeded my expectations. Don't rush to succeed; concealment and safety are more important."
Suddenly the truck driver laughed: "Master doesn't need to worry; this time you almost brought all your companions, could anyone threaten us?"
They were all poppets, naturally unfearful of death.
Vid said seriously: "But once those guys are alerted, they'll disappear quickly from all kinds of crevices, like mercury infiltrating to kill the enemy, never to be found again."
"They've been able to evade capture under the American Magic Congress for so many years; their ability to conceal should not be underestimated. I don't want to leave any hidden dangers for the future and keep cleaning up after this matter."
"I understand." The truck driver lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, I was too naive in my thinking."
"Moreover..."
Vid looked at them and then at the wasps buzzing around the long table, delivering messages, and said softly:
"Encountering Voldemort was unavoidable, but now... I don't want to accept your victory in exchange for complete destruction. Even if you encounter enemies, try to bring back your core, understand?"
"Your mission is to investigate, to win with me, not to sacrifice yourself for my victory as an offering. I hope you all remember this... Little guys, don't pretend to be dumb; you're included in what I'm saying!"
After a moment of silence, the poppets all bowed and said: "Yes!"
"Buzz——"
The swarm of wasps briefly hovered, lowered their heads, as if also paying respects.
...
When Vid returned to the hotel, streaks of white had already appeared on the horizon, and the number of cars on the road gradually increased.
But for those who didn't need to wake up early for work, this time was the deepest part of sleep, with snoring penetrating through the thin wooden boards, rising one after another.
Vid was just thankful—he didn't really need to rest in the hotel bedroom, otherwise, he might not have been able to fall asleep at night.
He glanced at the "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging on the doorknob, waved his fingers, and cast a small probing spell.
After confirming that the doorknob hadn't been touched all night, Vid finally opened the door and walked inside.
In the room, on the moldy-smelling bed, stood a figure he was incredibly familiar with—
Dobby!
This house-elf was dressed precisely like a normal house-elf at the moment—with only a plaid pillowcase wrapped around him.
As for his favorite colorful hats, his vest with a reindeer motif, and the various models of children's shorts Fiona bought from the mall, they had all been replaced, so much so that Vid almost didn't recognize him when he opened the door!
As soon as Dobby saw Vid, he expressed sheer excitement and joy:
"Vid——"
Vid quickly raised his index finger, indicating him to hush, then drew out his magic wand with a wave, casting an Imperturbable Charm on the entire room.
"——Vid Gray!"
Dobby shouted sharply; the interruption hadn't affected his enthusiasm in the slightest; he jumped up and down and said:
"Dobby finally sees Vid Gray again! I heard the plane had an accident, Dobby was worried sick! But Dobby couldn't rush over because he had tasks to complete!"
"Rest assured, Dobby." Vid pulled up a chair and sat down, smiling: "The problem on the plane was resolved smoothly, I wasn't hurt... Of course, neither was Harry."
Actually, before the plane landed, Vid sent messages to reassure his parents and friends, though they couldn't help but bring it up again when they saw him.
"That's wonderful, Dobby kept praying for you, Merlin must be blessing the great Vid Gray and Harry Potter..."
Dobby grabbed the corner of the pillowcase and wiped his tears, then remembered the purpose of his visit:
"Recently, following Mr. Gray's instructions, Dobby got to know several house-elves serving the Magic Congress, like Sammy who wipes door handles and statues, Bobo who cleans the archives, Pudding in the kitchen, and Puffball who oils the door hinges and cleans the fireplace..."
He recited all the names of his new friends, then said:
"They remember the recent whereabouts of all Congress officials. Dobby asked if they'd noticed anyone's whereabouts being suspicious. They initially refused to tell me and wanted to drive me away, but..."
Dobby shook his head and laughed smugly:
"I told them if anyone helps my master uncover the spy hidden within the Magic Congress, my master will write a letter to the Congress praising how excellently their regular work is done, letting all the wizards know, and they rushed to tell me..."