Contrary to Alan's expectations, the Anti-Apparition Jammers had remained in Aseria's house all along, never separated from her. For a long time afterward, the location of these jammers did not change. This confused Alan; did Aseria really have no accomplices? Why keep everything in her own home?
In Alan's view, Aseria primarily served as an insider within the Ministry. In the previous smuggling operation, the field agents hadn't even interacted with her directly. Logically, these alchemical devices should have been transferred to the operatives. Yet, more than ten days had passed without any movement, and Aseria maintained a perfectly regular routine, as if nothing had happened.
Instead, it was one of the three pairs of tactical boots Alan had sold to Aseria earlier that showed long-distance displacement. A few days ago, Kiki discovered during a routine check that one of the monitored boots had moved at a very high speed. Before she could even react, the distance had exceeded the sensing range of the magic tracker. This was a tracking device Alan had upgraded multiple times, capable of covering all areas within Britain, including Ireland. Since contact was lost, it proved that either the signal was interfered with or the distance was simply too great. Alan judged it was the latter, as the tracker's last direction pointed northeast, toward the European continent.
Aseria had likely transferred that pair of boots to Europe, possibly even mailed them via owl. *Was it sent back to headquarters? Or given as a gift?* Although Alan had many conjectures, he had no concrete plan. He couldn't just head abroad to track a signal. However, just as he was troubled by that distant signal, the jammers finally showed movement.
One day, about a week before the Christmas holiday, around 8 PM, Kiki hastily Apparated into the alchemy laboratory.
"Sir, those jammers have moved!" Kiki, clutching several trackers, rushed to Alan's workbench to report.
Alan raised an eyebrow; he had finally waited long enough. He had thought they could really hold their breath forever. "Where is Aseria? Did her location move with the jammers?" Alan quickly stood up, his expression stern.
"No. After observation, Aseria's tracker is in another direction, consistent with her usual location at the Ministry. She should still be there now," Kiki pulled out a tracker and confirmed after a thorough check.
"It seems her accomplice has finally appeared." Alan nodded. "Did all the jammers move? Did Hog's surveillance outside her house observe anything unusual?"
"Reporting, Sir, only eight jammers moved, including four Anti-Apparition Jammers and four Shielding Jammers. The other two are in Aseria's direction and should be carried by her. Hog's surveillance shows no unusual activity at her house. They must have moved through Apparition or the Floo Network," Kiki reported concisely.
This was consistent with previous observations; Aseria always carried two jammers with her, a practice that had continued since they were stolen.
"Very good. Inform Hog to watch the house. I'll go with you to follow them. I want to see what these fellows are really up to," Alan narrowed his eyes and instructed Kiki.
"Yes, Sir!" Kiki quickly disappeared to convey the command to Hog. Alan also quickly put on his personal equipment, then similarly Apparated to find Kiki.
"Hog, pay attention to the situation at home and monitor Aseria. If there's any abnormal situation, contact us via the Communication Amulet." Alan glanced at Hog, who was sitting in front of the monitor, then turned to Kiki. "Let's go."
Kiki nodded obediently, then stepped forward, took Alan's hand, and led him in Apparition, leaving Diagon Alley. Kiki's Apparition mastery was even higher than Alan's; not only was the consumption lower, but her control was better, allowing her to move directly to unvisited locations. Alan had always wanted to learn this technique, but he was still not proficient, so for tracking, he relied on Kiki to lead the way.
Kiki led Alan, transforming into an invisible mist, penetrating air and solid matter alike as they moved at high speed. As time passed, Alan could feel them leaving London and heading southwest. With a clear target, Kiki's pursuit was fast, passing through several counties in just a few minutes. Just as they were about to fly out of Britain, Kiki's magic began to contract, and they materialized in a sparsely populated, open area.
Kiki took a few gentle breaths. Although she had been receiving training from Alan for a long time and her magic control had made significant progress, carrying a wizard with abundant magic while tracking was still strenuous for her.
"Sir, the tracker's pointer just showed a large deviation, indicating that we are close to, or even past, the target. However, I dare not materialize in overly complex terrain, otherwise, it's easy to cause dismemberment. I suggest we cover the remaining distance by physical movement," Kiki reported as soon as she caught her breath.
"You've worked hard." Alan nodded in approval. "Being able to roughly pinpoint the location is enough. You did very well."
After they both stably materialized, Alan confirmed their current location; they were somewhere in Dorset, in the southwest of Britain. Alan then took out a bottle of vitality tonic and handed it to Kiki. After she drank it, Alan gently picked her up. He unfurled the ink-black cloak behind him, and with a whoosh, he soared into the air.
This was a flying cloak he had developed after comprehending the mysteries of the Levitation Charm, allowing him to fly instead of using a broom. Although the cloak's top speed couldn't match a racing broom, it was more flexible. With the enhancement of his extraordinary-level Levitation Charm, it could burst out at very high speeds, no worse than the current Nimbus series.
Alan held Kiki in his arms, and both activated a Disillusionment Charm. Kiki held the tracker, discerning the direction, while Alan concentrated on heading toward the target location.