"Speaking of which, it seems like we're actually getting a good deal," Shalltear said, her face lighting up as if she had just realized something. "After we're done robbing this breeding base, we can also recycle these Anti-Theft Monitoring Devices, refurbish them, and sell them again. Should we ask the Ministry of Magic to sell more of them while they have the chance?"
Alan rolled his eyes at Shalltear's words, speechless. What did she mean by 'robbing'? They were doing this to rescue innocent magical creatures. And when did this girl start leaning toward becoming a shrewd merchant? What did she mean by 'refurbish and sell again'? These things were clearly new, and the energy they consumed was magic provided by the subterranean pipes. The internal stored magic hadn't been depleted much. Just wipe them clean; there was no need to refurbish them. What a wasteful woman!
"Alright, less talk, more action," Alan said, suppressing the merchant soul within him and speaking with a serious expression. "Since the security equipment here uses our products, it'll be much easier now. Let's continue deeper first."
Since this breeding base used his items as defensive equipment, it was practically courting death. Alan knew these devices best. If he could still be detected by his own products, that would truly be absurd. The detection radius of the Anti-Theft Monitoring Device was two kilometers, so its coverage area was a four-kilometer radius centered on it. The next two kilometers of travel shouldn't show any changes.
Alan and Shalltear continued forward for another two kilometers and found that there were no new detection methods in the final four-kilometer alert zone. It seemed the detection method for the inner eight-kilometer range was also the Anti-Theft Monitoring Device. Upon discovering this, Alan and Shalltear boldly headed toward their destination.
However, after traveling a short distance, Shalltear made a new discovery.
"My lord, look quickly, there's movement on the tactical map."
Since Shalltear was holding the tactical map, she was naturally responsible for constant monitoring, so she scanned the map in her hand every so often. At this moment, she discovered a small dot slowly moving on the map, about a kilometer away from them.
"Stop first, enlarge that area, and see what it is exactly." Alan pulled Shalltear down cautiously, crouching low, and instructed her to operate the tactical map. Previously, the three-dimensional map in Shalltear's hand was maximized to achieve a longer detection range, but the downside was that it wasn't very clear. Shalltear quickly operated the map as ordered, rapidly enlarging the area where the movement appeared. Then, both of them clearly saw that it was a wizard, and he was holding a Crup on a leash.
"It seems that after getting closer to the core area, in addition to magic detection methods, there are also patrolling personnel," Alan said, not too worried as the other party was still some distance away from them.
"My lord, looking at this person's route, he will cross our path later. We have a map, so we're not afraid of being run into by those trained people, but what about that dog? We haven't eliminated our scent along the way." Shalltear looked at Alan with some concern, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, right, do you think this patrolling wizard will be wearing Tracking Glasses? That equipment also seems to be on the Ministry of Magic's product list, doesn't it?"
"Hmm, it's indeed very good that you thought of that, but I had already considered this before coming," Alan said, then took out an open potion bottle from his person. "I've been eliminating my scent all this way, so there's no need to worry about that."
"So, my lord, you had already anticipated it." Shalltear found that Alan was so well-prepared and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then chuckled easily. "Then we don't need to bother with this guy ahead; we can just bypass him."
"No," Alan shook his head. "We are here to scout. Since we've discovered the other party's patrol personnel, we naturally need to observe them and gather enough intelligence, such as their patrol routes, frequency, time, equipment they carry, and so on. When we raid this place later, it won't just be the two of us."
"Then… should we get closer?" Shalltear hadn't thought that far ahead and asked, scratching her head somewhat awkwardly.
"We'll use the Disillusionment Charm to get closer and lie in ambush on their inevitable path for a close observation. Then, when you use the tactical map, mark their patrol route and movement speed on the map. This is very important for subsequent actions."
"Yes, my lord."
Shalltear responded, then cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself and followed Alan to sneak closer to the patrolling personnel. They hadn't gone far when they could see a faint light flickering not far away, and occasionally heard one or two dog barks. Alan and Shalltear immediately found a place to hide and waited for the other party. As the light in front of them moved from far to near, the patrolling wizard with the dog appeared before them. This wizard held a Crup in one hand and an oil lamp in the other, passing by the two's hiding spot as if nothing were amiss. However, neither the Crup nor the patrolling wizard showed any abnormalities, which indicated that the potion Alan used was very effective.
From the exposed face of the other party, it could be confirmed that this was not a Silver Spear, but merely a club collaborator. However, Alan was more concerned about whether Silver Spears were stationed throughout the breeding base, or if only trusted collaborators were in charge. However, this patrolling wizard in front of them was not wearing any Tracking Glasses, but he was conspicuously wearing a standard Tactical Vest sold by the Silver Lightning Trading Company.
After the wizard had walked away, Shalltear hurriedly whispered to Alan, "My lord, did you see that? That guy is wearing our Tactical Vest!"
"Hmm… that's quite surprising," Alan nodded faintly. He hadn't expected Golden Knight to be so generous, having enough money to equip these collaborators even after purchasing so many Anti-Theft Monitoring Devices.
"If we're going to raid the breeding base, how should we deal with these peripheral patrolling personnel? They're wearing Tactical Vests, so won't it be difficult to ambush them? If we're not careful, it could easily alert the enemy." Shalltear looked at Alan with some concern after discovering that these wizards were wearing Tactical Vests.
"That is indeed a problem. I think the reason they are equipped with Tactical Vests is to enable them to send an alarm to the base if they come under attack," Alan speculated simply.
"Then what should we do?" Shalltear asked curiously.
"It's alright, we don't need to do anything. We just keep moving forward," Alan chuckled, saying nonchalantly.
"What? So, we're just going to ignore these patrolling wizards then?" Shalltear pouted, somewhat displeased.
"Heh heh, once I found out they were using my stuff, I stopped worrying about them," Alan sneered. "I installed backdoors on all these Tactical Vests. When I cast spells on them, it won't trigger the reactive charms on them."
"What?" Shalltear had never heard Alan mention such a thing before and looked at him in surprise. "Do all the Tactical Vests we sell have this kind of backdoor? Why would you do that?"
"That's right, the tactical equipment sold on the market actually all have such backdoors, but I made them very subtle, and they just don't work on me." Alan smiled slightly. "As for why I do it, of course, it's for safety. Who knows when I might encounter an enemy wearing my equipment? If I were to be ambushed by my own equipment, wouldn't that be incredibly awkward?"
"I don't know if you'll be ambushed by your own equipment, but I'm very sure you are indeed cunning enough," Shalltear teased, somewhat speechless. She hadn't expected Alan to think so far ahead, even considering whether he might face his own equipment in the future. However, this consideration was not redundant; hadn't they just encountered it now?
After stopping to make a simple record of the patrolling wizard, the two continued their journey. They encountered another patrolling person on the way, whose equipment was consistent. After crossing these two patrol lines, the two finally reached their destination. After Alan and Shalltear climbed over a gentle slope, the terrain in front of them began to rapidly descend, revealing a rather large basin not far from their line of sight. However, at this moment, in the depression before them, apart from trees, there were no signs of human activity, indicating that it was clearly covered by a shielding magic.
"How is it? Can you see the situation inside on the tactical map?" Alan poked his head out to observe, then asked Shalltear behind him.
"No, on the tactical map, the area ahead is covered by a semi-circular dome," Shalltear handed the map to Alan.
Indeed, starting from a dozen meters in front of them, the entire depression appeared as a large dome on the tactical map, as if a giant bowl were covering a large area in front of them.
"Since the protective barrier here can block sound waves, that means it has a physical form," Alan said, frowning slightly as he looked at the map.
"Then what should we do? Since it's a physical shield, casually touching it could easily alert the people inside, right?" Shalltear looked at Alan with some tension.
"Don't worry, I'll go up and investigate first. If the situation isn't right, we'll retreat. Our top priority is still to ensure stealth." Alan whispered a reminder, then, still under the Disillusionment Charm, he crept forward.