"Yes, sir." Shalltear was no longer as careless as before. She hadn't expected to enter the base's alert range so quickly. Fortunately, Alan was cautious enough; otherwise, if they had just blindly rushed in, they might have truly stumbled.
"Sir, do you think there might be a second warning line? The defensive strength here seems quite high," Shalltear asked nervously after carefully exploring another section of the path.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out. Perhaps the deeper we go, the greater and more complex the defensive forces will be." Alan didn't believe this breeding base would only use ordinary intruder charms for prevention. The intruder charm is only sensitive to magical reactions and can detect strong life signs. Wizards generally use this spell at home for basic security, but it is widely criticized due to its poor effectiveness and narrow range. However, casting such a large-scale intruder charm still requires a consistent power supply. Further ahead, it is highly likely they will encounter more complex detection methods.
"Sir! Look over there." Shalltear, who was on high alert, pointed to a large tree not far away and exclaimed.
"I see it. This should be the outermost defensive node." Alan was a bit annoyed by Shalltear's volume and calmly went over to inspect it. Inside a tree hollow on the inner side of the large trunk, a palm-sized magic pattern was flickering. Alan only took two glances before identifying it as a rune that combined the intruder charm and the Muggle-Repelling Charm.
"The rune has been found. Next is to find its power source." Alan handed the tactical map in his hand to Shalltear, then took out a magnifying glass and carefully examined the area around the rune.
Soon, Alan discovered a pattern connected to this rune. This intricate line extended from the tree hollow and went down the trunk into the ground.
"A magic channel completely strung together with Agriba alloy? Centered around the breeding base, then spreading outwards like a spider web through underground pipes. Although it is not a very expensive material, extending it such a long distance is truly a grand undertaking." Alan couldn't help but sigh. He only dared to bury some magic pipes at home, and the material he used was just the lowest grade Paracelsus brass. Yet this Silver Spears organization actually laid pipes by the kilometer. Just imagining the consumables required for them to do so made him marvel at the club's wealth.
"Let's go. We will follow this magic channel. To save costs, their next node should also be installed on this pipe." Alan tilted his head and instructed, then immediately set off, leading the way.
After discovering the magic node, Alan became a bit bolder because the distance from the outer perimeter to that node was about one kilometer. Alan deduced that within the next kilometer, no new security measures would appear, so he gradually quickened his pace.
However, Shalltear, who was following behind, was even more speechless, because before, she only had to carry a launcher. Now, because Alan needed to investigate the location of the magic pipe, she also had to carry a tactical map. Sure enough, the next kilometer of the journey was very smooth, and as they continued to explore forward, Alan confirmed that no new protective magic had appeared. Finally, after following the magic pipe for another kilometer, they once again found a rune for an intruder charm. It seemed that a large outer perimeter warning area maintained this low intensity.
After exploring another kilometer further, Alan felt something was different.
"This magic fluctuation, if I am not mistaken, should be a mixed spell containing the intruder charm, the Traces Spell, and the Human-Repelling Charm. Why does this fluctuation feel so familiar to me?"
After passing the second intruder charm rune by a thousand meters, Alan cautiously probed a few steps forward, then immediately retreated. After passing through the outermost two layers of the warning circle, the defensive intensity immediately rose by one level. The intruder charm among them was an enhanced version, capable of more acutely detecting intruders and issuing warnings to security personnel, while the Traces Spell could accurately identify humanoid creatures. The Human-Repelling Charm could affect the minds of Muggles, expelling them from the area. This rune was also deployed in the outermost warning circle, so it seemed that within a twelve-kilometer radius centered around the breeding base, no Muggles would be present.
Fortunately, it was still only the outer layer of this spell, and its sensitivity was not yet that strong. If they delved deeper, Alan and Shalltear would be exposed. Because the Feedback Cloaks on him and Shalltear could only block the intruder charm and the Repelling Charm, they were not very effective against more sensitive runes like the Traces Spell. However, fortunately, Alan was prepared. He lightly tapped the brooch on his chest, and after activating it, his body was enveloped in a faint magical aura. This was equipment he had specifically prepared to mask monitoring magic like the Traces Spell, and he had enchanted it with a reinforced Shield Charm. After casting the spell on Shalltear with the brooch again, the two of them continued to delve deeper.
"Sir, this new mixed magic—why do I have a sense of déjà vu?" Shalltear asked Alan in surprise while remaining on high alert.
"You feel it too, don't you? Although I don't know if my guess is correct, the thing that cast this mixed magic might be the one we are familiar with." Alan hadn't expected Shalltear's perception to be quite keen.
"The one we are familiar with?" Shalltear was a bit confused.
"I'm just guessing. We will only get the answer when we see the next magic node." Alan didn't elaborate, just silently hurried forward.
They didn't have to wait long. After advancing another two kilometers along the magic pipe, the two of them saw the simply hidden magic node.
"Holy crap, isn't this the Anti-Theft Monitoring Device we sold?" Shalltear said with a hint of anger, looking at the metal rod hidden in the bushes.
"I was right. I didn't expect this Golden Knight to be quite adept at stealing from himself." Alan looked at the familiar alchemy tool in front of him, his face immediately showing an "I knew it" expression.
The so-called Anti-Theft Monitoring Device was actually another rod-series product launched by Silver Lightning Trading Company in the past year, following the tactical map, the Shielding Jammer, and the Anti-Apparition Jammer. This Anti-Theft Monitoring Device was specifically sold to customers with anti-theft needs, such as Gringotts, individual merchants storing important goods, and wealthy wizard families, all of whom liked this product very much. And because this product is protection-oriented, its danger rating is only XXX. Although such products cannot be purchased directly in stores, they can be ordered from Silver Lightning Trading Company after approval from the Ministry of Magic. The control intensity is not as high as the previous types of rods.
The other three types of rods are absolute non-sale items; even the British Ministry of Magic has not revealed that they possess such things. And when conducting foreign trade, such XXX-rated alchemy equipment is uniformly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. That is to say, if someone abroad wants to buy this tool, they have to order directly from the British Ministry of Magic; finding Alan is useless. The Ministry of Magic will also evaluate the buyer before deciding whether to proceed with the transaction. This is actually also to ensure that these dangerous tools do not flow directly into the civilian sector. If some criminals were to obtain these devices, the trouble would be significant.
Just like now. Presumably, Golden Knight must have used the convenience of the German Ministry of Magic to purchase directly from Britain. If official agencies buy XXX-rated equipment, the British Ministry of Magic would certainly not be suspicious. Now, however, these things have actually flowed from the Ministry of Magic into the hands of the Silver Spears.
"Damn it, what are those Ministry of Magic people doing? They actually sold our stuff to smugglers." Shalltear's face turned green with anger ever since she saw the device, and she couldn't help but curse loudly.
"Heh, there's nothing that can be done about it. They don't know the background of Minister Peter. If a Minister for Magic came to buy something from you before you came to Germany, would you refuse?" Alan found it quite ironic to see his own product here and couldn't help but laugh.
"Hmph, you still have the mood to laugh." Shalltear glared at her heartless Sir. "Since the Anti-Theft Monitoring Device appeared here, maybe the Silver Spears also has other equipment of ours. If the security personnel in the breeding base are all wearing Tactical Vests later, I won't be surprised."
"What you said makes a lot of sense." Alan also put away his smile at this point. "However, the price of these devices is not cheap. Those guys at the Ministry of Magic are quite ruthless; they basically sell them at double the original price. If the opponent's second warning line is fully equipped with Anti-Theft Monitoring Devices, that would be a considerable expense, not to mention that the club has two other breeding bases. If those also have such a scale, do they really have money to buy other things?"
"This…" Shalltear thought about it and realized it was true. Ever since the Ministry of Magic gained regulatory control over Silver Lightning Trading Company's XXX-rated products, it was equivalent to monopolizing the foreign trade of such products. Now, those high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Magic have almost all turned into unscrupulous merchants. As long as there is an opportunity to travel abroad for business, they will desperately peddle these products.
Alan, on the other hand, was happy to see this, as his product profit margins were already quite high, and given the price of those XXX-rated products, sales would not be too high. The Ministry of Magic now essentially served as Alan's free sales force, and they could also promote him abroad, which was a win-win situation no matter how he looked at it.