As the poppets were busy, Vid raised his magic wand not far away, casually wielding magic with reckless abandon.
The Magic Congress of various countries can indeed detect magic fluctuations within a certain range, but the tools they use for detection are, at their core, just a kind of alchemy tool.
When Vid first encountered the Magic World, he found these means to be quite magical and worried that using magic outside of school would result in warning letters being sent to him.
Therefore, he always had to find suitable places—such as Diagon Alley, Steven's Granian Farm, or when Moody was living next door—to feel safe using magic.
But after studying alchemy for so long, the more knowledge Vid mastered, the more he realized how backward, outdated, and rigid the Ministry of Magic's detection magic was.
Perhaps the Ministry of Magic was too proud to invite excellent alchemists for enhancements; perhaps some people deliberately left loopholes for their free movement...
In short, the detection capabilities of the Ministries of Magic in all countries are similar—they cannot pinpoint specific individuals accurately and even lack sufficient sensitivity to most Dark Magic (including the Unforgivable Curses).
This type of magic is actually only useful when monitoring a specific area—such as 4 Privet Drive.
At this moment, Vid was in a place even vagabonds dared not venture, typically where the Magic Congress would not waste efforts on such barren areas.
Thus, even if some dark wizards quietly conduct some anti-human experiments here, the Magic Congress would be blind and deaf, unable to discover anything.
But just in case, Vid still marked the dense runes surrounding this room to shield against possible monitoring from the Magic Congress.
The silver light of the spell flashed by, wrapping the brown leather bag before him like flowing mercury, then disappearing from sight.
Under the effect of the Undetectable Extention Charm, the interior of this bag had been expanded to five or six cubic meters, enough to contain a considerable amount of supplies.
Vid then cast Levioso on it, making the bag immediately feel lightweight, swaying as if ready to float off the ground at any moment.
A palm-sized crab poppet immediately crawled over, using a claw to grasp the bag and move swiftly sideways, dragging the bag to Vera, who was dispensing salt.
The piled materials melted away like they disappeared, eventually transforming into rows of various sizes of bags and containers on the shelves.
Vera fastened the clasp on the last bag and said, "Material dispensing completed."
Vilan walked to Vid, who was wielding his magic wand, and gently advised, "Rest for a bit, Master. The surge won't reach the East Coast for several hours."
"Hold on."
Without looking back, Vid said as his wand glowed, suspending, decomposing, and recomposing various materials in the air, transforming them into entirely white large birds with streamlined bodies stretching out, appearing well-proportioned and lithe.
Seagulls were born from the glow, some circling above the factory, others walking on the shelves, and some using their hook-like beaks to peck at Vilan and others.
Though Vid didn't endow these seagulls with much intelligence and magic power, none appeared dull or clumsy; rather, each seemed agile and vivid.
The poppets watched in awe as Victor couldn't help but say, "Master's Life Alchemy technique is really getting more mature."
He looked at his palm, clenched his fist firmly.
Victor had also once pretended to participate in the Alchemy Competition, but as a poppet, even though Vid's magic allowed them to perform certain "extraordinary" acts, they ultimately didn't truly possess magic power and naturally couldn't do alchemy.
Vilan couldn't help but ask softly, "Are we born like this too?"
"Pretty much," Victor said, "just much more complicated than now."
When the last glow was absorbed, numerous seagulls beat their wings, seemingly filling the entire factory warehouse.
"Luckily, they don't poop or shed," Vilan pushed away a seagull that approached him, grumbling, "Otherwise, I'd definitely stew these annoying creatures!"
Unable to understand the disdain from their "predecessors," the seagull poppets tenaciously tried to peck at Vilan's ears.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
Three crisp clapping sounds echoed through the empty factory.
Seagulls instantly halted, raising their heads as one, silently gazing at Vid.
"Go on."
Vid's voice was calm and clear.
In an instant, the seagull poppets took off together, flapping their wings, filling the warehouse with their fluttering sounds.
The white birds, like drones programmed, deftly grabbed the bags expanded with the Undetectable Extention Charm from the ground with their claws, passing through the shattered windows above the factory one by one, swiftly flying towards the sky.
Vid watched the seagulls disappear into the night sky before turning toward Vilan and others.
"You should start your actions too."
Vilan raised his hand and asked, "Master, what if we encounter unforeseen circumstances?"
"...What if?" Vid looked at them and smiled: "It's not 'what if'; surprises are everywhere."
After pausing for a moment, he said softly: "So there's a saying that goes—when a general is outside, military orders are not necessarily followed."
...
"Woo—Woo—"
The night wind wasn't particularly violent, yet constantly emitted a sobbing sound.
Dirt and scraps of paper on the ground were swept up by the wind, fluttering everywhere, painting a doomsday-like desolate atmosphere.
Although the eye of the Louis hurricane was swirling over the sea hundreds of miles away, its immense power had already morphed into an invisible magic claw, stretching onto the shores of New York.
At this moment, Roosevelt Island bore the brunt, with turbid river waters violently slapping against the dikes and bridge piers, splashing ghastly white foam. Civilians tightly shut their doors and windows, worriedly listening to the distant, dull rumblings akin to the roar of a ferocious dragon.
And not far away in the Upper East Side, the mansions were brightly lit, with faint strains of music floating out from tightly closed windows.
Outside, the river surface was turning menacingly ominous; inside, people raised champagne, chatting and laughing, with beautiful girls stepping lively dance steps, laughter ringing out.
"Look!" A young girl by the window exclaimed excitedly, pointing outside: "This storm seems to be quite impactful! The slums might get flooded, right?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, we have Roosevelt Island blocking us, nothing major will happen."
Another man, with a cigarette, looked at her, smiling: "It's a rare weekend, don't let trivial matters spoil the fun. May I invite you to dance?"
"Certainly." The girl, shyly, placed her hand in his palm.
Outside, the surging tide accompanied by raging waves was rushing toward the shore.
And in the sky several kilometers above, the first snow-white seagull had already broken through the rolling clouds, with a claw swipe scattering numerous white particles like stardust.