With the plan in place, Shalltear exhaled and let herself drift higher into the sky. This mission was more complicated than they'd ever imagined, but with careful planning, they still had a chance.
Since joining Alex, Shalltear had taken on more than just the role of a product designer. She'd gone through intensive training in reconnaissance, counter-surveillance, stealth, and even combat.
So when she scanned the layout of the base from above, she already had a solid plan in mind. Without wasting a second, she tilted her wings and swooped down through the night sky, gliding past the patrols with practiced ease before landing softly on the rooftop of the central spire.
"No alarms," she whispered to herself with a confident grin. "Looks like they didn't bother putting any detection charms on the outside of the tower."
It was just like she'd hoped. Unlike Alex, who tended to be overly cautious, Shalltear had no problem taking risks.
If the reward was high, she wasn't about to play it safe. Leaping onto the tower without hesitation might've been reckless, but she trusted her instincts, and so far, they hadn't let her down.
Working quickly but carefully, she deployed four monitoring spiders, each aimed in a different direction to get a full view of the base. Then, slipping back into the shadows, she spent the next hour avoiding patrols and placing the rest of the spiders in key locations, exactly as she had planned.
When everything was finally in place, she circled back toward the Mooncalf stable, the same spot she had entered from earlier. Her plan had gone smoothly so far, but getting out was another matter.
She pressed her fingers to the stopwatch hanging from her belt and looked up, scanning the towering wall in front of her. She knew Alex had opened the exit by now, creating a tiny hole in the barrier just big enough to squeeze through. But even knowing it was there, she couldn't spot it.
The gap was barely twenty centimeters wide, invisible to the naked eye and nearly impossible to find unless you were right in front of it. Frustration prickled at the edge of her nerves. She had timed everything so precisely, but now she was stuck, alone inside enemy territory.
Still, Shalltear wasn't one to panic. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and started scanning the area for a safe place to hide. If she couldn't get out now, she'd have to wait for another opening. Staying out in the open wasn't an option, not with guards roaming everywhere.
Outside the barrier, Alex was growing worried. Shalltear was late. He glanced toward the gap he'd opened earlier and sighed.
Deep down, he knew she was probably struggling to locate it. The hole was so small, and the outer wall so tall, it was no surprise she hadn't found it.
From a distance, it was practically invisible. Unless you already knew exactly where to look, you could stare right at it and still miss it.
Luckily, they had prepared for this. Even if Shalltear couldn't escape right away, she wasn't completely stuck. But time was running out, and if she stayed inside the base too long, things could get dangerous fast.
'At least I managed to contact the little thunderbird before I opened the gap,' Alex thought, rubbing his temple.
"With the right signal, it should treat Shalltear like one of its own. I just hope she figured that out too." He frowned, frustrated by the magical interference clogging the air.
The barrier around the base made direct communication impossible. Even with all their preparations, they were still cut off from each other.
Alex had been watching and calculating for over an hour now, and he still wasn't sure he could break through the protective shield without drawing attention. One wrong move could trigger every defense mechanism in the base.
For the moment, he could only wait, and hope. Shalltear had to gather whatever intel she could and make it out safely. That information would be crucial for the next step.
With no time to waste, Alex made up his mind. He couldn't afford to linger.
Turning away from the base, he disappeared into the woods and headed off to check the other two breeding centers. If they were built with the same magical protections, he needed to know now. Planning their next move depended on it.
After spending the entire night out in the field, Alex finally returned to his room in Dudden Tower just as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon. His eyes stung from lack of sleep, but his mind was sharp, still turning over the details he'd gathered during his investigation.
All three breeding bases he scouted followed nearly identical blueprints. From the perimeter security wards to the thick magical barriers concealing their central operations, the layout and protections were all cut from the same cloth.
The only real difference lay in their locations, two of them were in West Germany, both large and clearly built for long-term use, while the third was in East Germany and noticeably smaller, almost like a satellite site.
"It's becoming clearer now," Alex thought, rubbing the back of his neck. "The Golden Snidget's aiming to make West Germany their stronghold. They're laying the groundwork to turn it into a permanent sanctuary, an open breeding ground and training zone for their club. Once that's locked in, they'll probably relocate the East German base."
Still deep in thought, Alex made his way to the surveillance room and found Fang, who was hunched over the console, surrounded by glowing crystal monitors showing dozens of live magical feeds. "How are things looking?" Alex asked as he stepped in. "Any leads?"
Fang didn't look up right away, eyes fixed on the streams of flickering images. "Nothing out of the ordinary at headquarters," he said.
"No strange movement from the other Silver Wand units either. But we did get something from spiders twenty-one through thirty-eight.
Shalltear showed up on the feed, bat form. She's inside one of the breeding bases. And it's... massive. Honestly, a bit terrifying."
"That's brilliant," Alex replied, a flicker of approval crossing his face as he leaned closer to the monitor. "Sounds like her infiltration went off without a hitch. Did she manage to send back anything solid?"
Without a word, Fang handed him a folded piece of parchment. "Here's her report. And yes, she pulled it off, but the base is even bigger than we thought.
The number of people inside is far beyond what we estimated." He paused, then added with a slightly raised eyebrow, "You really don't mind leaving her in there alone?"