323: Chapter 316 (Anti-theft Chapter) (The main text will be updated in a few hours)

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

The withered cypress trees by the roadside sprouted green buds, and the birds that had left for winter returned to the branches to chirp.

Elderly people, concerned about their health, had not yet shed their down jackets, while youthful and beautiful boys and girls were already eager to change into cool outfits, showing them off on the streets.

None of this had anything to do with Zhang Mu.

During these three months, he had transformed into a complete shut-in, staying in his workshop and busily crafting his "army" of puppets.

The reason it took so long was not because of the large number of puppets, but mainly because the two puppets, "Immortal Xu" and "Dumbledore," occupied most of his energy.

After Zhang Mu obtained the Puppet Art, he had never considered using it for combat, so he hadn't researched it deeply or invested resources to level it up quickly.

Originally, this wasn't a major issue.

Blue Star's understanding of the supernatural was a complete blank; making a few low-level puppets was enough to handle things without easily being detected as abnormal.

But now that he needed to manufacture high-level puppets, Zhang Mu realized just how difficult it was.

The crux of the problem lay in inscribing the miniature Magic Arrays.

Inscribing a Magic Array, especially a miniature one, placed extremely demanding requirements on the stability of one's hands.

Perhaps most people haven't noticed, but their hands are actually always trembling slightly; one needs to focus intently to realize it.

This slight tremor doesn't affect daily life, of course, but if one needs to perform delicate operations, it is fatal.

For example, there are often promotional videos about surgeons—where a doctor peels an eggshell completely without piercing the membrane.

Zhang Mu's difficulty in inscribing Magic Arrays was even greater than that.

In three months, the students, parents, teachers, and so on only took up one-third of his time; the remaining two months were entirely spent on the Magic Arrays.

During this period, he also found time to visit the Saul Continent to obtain Knight Magic.

Construction of China's spaceship had already begun. With China's building speed, plus the assistance Zhang Mu provided in the name of the Mountain Gate, the day of completion would not be far off.

To ensure he could fly alongside the spaceship with his physical body on the day it launched, he had to carve out time from his already tight schedule to practice Knight Magic.

With a steady supply of potions to assist him, his progress was fairly rapid. Based on his current speed, Zhang Mu calculated that he should be able to make it in time for the spaceship's completion.

"Finally done." He straightened his back, twisted his neck, and then picked up the Core from the lathe, turning to walk toward the "Immortal Xu" puppet placed in the corner.

There was a square maintenance hatch on the puppet's chest. Zhang Mu reached his hand into the opening, installed the Core, and closed the side-opening cover.

With hands on his hips, he scanned the puppets lined up neatly against the wall: "That's about it. Hmm... let's go see how the Queen's preparations are going. If she's not ready yet, I'll have to urge her."

After putting all the puppets into "The World," Zhang Mu's figure disappeared from the spot.

...

Ying Country Palace.

The Queen was having lunch.

She seemed very busy, even going so far as to violate her principle of "no work during meals," forking a strip of steak into her mouth while her eyes were fixed on the documents spread out on the table.

"Li." She spoke only after chewing and swallowing the steak. "Do you think our security forces need to be strengthened a bit right now?"

"Your Majesty, considering that Mr. Dumbledore and the leading professors from the other three academies will be present, deploying too many Soldiers might cause them to misunderstand."

"Misunderstand that we look down on their power? Or misunderstand that we are showing off?" The Queen turned her head to look at him.

"Both." Li, standing beside her, fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Mr. Dumbledore is kind, but that doesn't mean the other academies are the same. After all, this is our first contact with them."

"How can humans care about an ant's show of force? They will only find it cute."

In self-deprecatingly calling herself an ant, the Queen's tone held no mockery, but rather a calm indifference, as if stating a fact.

Li's heart didn't waver either, because the Queen was indeed stating a fact.

"I will see to it immediately."

"Mm." The Queen nodded and added, "The Headmaster's decision to set the competition venue on Blue Star is a sign of trust and support for us. We cannot mess it up. Deploy... the Royal Guards there."

"As you command." Li bowed and backed out of the dining room.

The Queen put down her knife and fork and called for a servant to clear up.

Once the table was clean, she continued to flip through the documents, but her thoughts drifted slightly.

The Queen herself was very pleasantly surprised when Dumbledore made the sudden decision to change the competition venue.

When she first learned about the Great Magic Competition, she had intended to propose setting the location in London, Ying Country.

The reason was simple.

First, to boost Ying Country's prestige and deter those ambitious people who coveted the kingdom.

She was aware that various domestic departments had been infiltrated, and even the palace had been stuffed with spies, and she had enough power to clear them out.

She had tolerated it and refrained from acting for years only because of the master behind them—America.

After Hogwarts appeared, she was lucky enough to receive its gift and regain her youth and abundant energy. Furthermore, relying on the supernatural prestige, she had conducted a massive purge of the spies within the country.

The effect was significant, and the various departments of the kingdom became much cleaner instantly.

However, America's erosion was long-standing and deep-rooted. Some spies were extremely well-hidden. The Queen hoped for a quick resolution to root out all the hidden tumors inside at once, but in her heart, she also understood that it was not a task that could be accomplished overnight.

It was a war of attrition; she was unwilling, but helpless.

But if the magic competition were to be held in London, the predicament would have a turning point.

At that time, she only needed to release a bit of a rumor—that Hogwarts had gifted the Royal Family a magic book that Blue Star humans could also practice. She believed those figures hiding in the darkness would not be able to resist coming out on their own.

Even if they guessed that this matter was most likely a trap to lure them, the Queen was not worried that she would fail.

So what?

Ignore it?

They wouldn't. As long as there was a sliver of possibility that it was true, America would never be willing to give up.

The plan was very thorough; the only difficulty was that the Queen worried that making the request to Dumbledore would be a bit rash.

Hogwarts' support for Ying Country, aside from originating from generosity, also came from Ying Country's tactfulness.

If Ying Country became insatiable and greedy without limits, the Queen had no doubt that the Headmaster would abandon her or even take action to teach her a lesson.

The stone pit on the outskirts of London had already been developed into a scenic area, with a constant stream of tourists visiting every day.

The Queen was both delighted by the extra income and constantly reminded not to lose her sense of awe just because the supernatural was easygoing.

That would bring destruction upon herself and the kingdom.

After returning from Hogwarts, she hesitated all day about whether to tentatively make the proposal to the Headmaster.

Fortunately, her luck was explosive.

Before she could reach a conclusion in her hesitation, Dumbledore found her and stated that the other three academies hadn't been out for a long time. He hoped to take the opportunity of this competition to come to Blue Star for a tour and asked if it would be convenient for her.

Was there even a need to consider it?

Even if it wasn't convenient, it had to be made convenient!

The Queen agreed immediately and then personally prepared for it.

The location was not hard to decide; a field in the outskirts of London would suffice.

It wasn't far from the city, making it very convenient to go into town for sightseeing during the off-days of the competition.

Once the competition preparations were mostly complete, the Queen began to weave her net.

First, she spread "inside information" through the public that Hogwarts would be gifting some treasures during this visit, including but not limited to magic books, magic pets, and magic weapons.

The rumors were corroborated by the Owl on the Queen's shoulder, making their reliability increasingly solid.

The people of Ying Country, as well as tourists who had traveled thousands of miles to watch the competition, were all excitedly looking forward to seeing novel magical creatures.

"I am the luckiest of all the monarchs in the kingdom's history."

The Queen gathered her drifting thoughts, stood up, and ordered the Guards to prepare the car. She planned to go to the competition venue to inspect it and prevent any oversights.

...

In the outskirts of London, an endless field.

A place that used to be uninhabited was now bustling with activity.

The competition arena was not yet finished. Excavators rotated their buckets to load soil into trucks and compact it. Dump truck drivers stepped on the gas, driving through the crowd watching around the construction site and along the asphalt road toward the horizon.

Toby looked through the gradually closing gap in the gate at the crowd outside, who were incessantly taking pictures with their Mobile Phones: "The venue isn't even built yet. What on earth are they so excited about?"

Wino, walking from a distance, heard this and smiled: "What are they excited about... it's probably the same feeling you had when you first met Senior Brother."

After recalling seriously for a moment, Toby remembered how he had abruptly run off in the middle of the night to bother Rowling a year ago to track down an Owl. He couldn't help but be speechless.

Noticing the change in his expression, Wino shrugged: "That's just how it is.

We've been studying at Hogwarts for over half a year and have grown used to the normal. They haven't. Instead, because they often interact with the supernatural through a screen, their curiosity is even more intense."

"Alright." Toby didn't dwell on the topic and instead asked, "How is the progress on the arena?"

"The ones here are the best construction team in all of Ying Country. Don't doubt their professional ability. It's just... Misha wants to build a pink arena, uh..."

Wino showed a rare look of difficulty: "Isn't it a bit... too weird?"

More than just the two of them were in charge of the project; Leon, Klaisi, and Misha were all present.

The Queen attached great importance to this competition. In addition to using royal connections to bring in a top-tier team from the construction industry, she also sent the five of them, who were on break, to help with the project.

The students of the Magic Academy would likely find it hard to adapt to a human-style arena, and the construction team hadn't inspected Hogwarts and knew nothing about supernatural habits. Having the five of them provide advice as a reference was perfect.

"A pink arena..." Toby's expression became strange.

"Misha is also going to compete on stage. She wants her arena to be... well, you know."

Toby recalled the pink toilet he had seen in Misha's bedroom when he visited her and nodded subconsciously: "Let her be. The Headmaster dotes on her quite a bit and won't get angry over such a small matter."

"True."

"Gentlemen." The designer poked his head out from the door of the temporary office and waved to call them over.

The two stopped their chat and hurried over.

As the days went by, Toby and Wino also became increasingly busy.

As the hosts of the competition—this competition was organized by Hogwarts, and as students, the five of them could call themselves that—their concern for the venue was no less than the Queen's.

The Headmaster had mentioned it.

The overall strength of the other three magic academies was inferior to Hogwarts, but they were unwilling to be subordinate and were constantly thinking about vying for the crown of the "Number One Magic Academy."

If any part of the process had an oversight that gave the other three magic academies a handle for mockery, it would be their own faces they were losing.

As the interior of the venue was gradually completed, the workers began to dismantle the temporary iron fences on the perimeter.

There was no need to worry about the crowd of onlookers crowding in; they had all gone to check on the Owls.

About ten days ago, someone accidentally discovered Owls flying overhead in groups of twos and threes.

At first, it didn't attract much attention.

Although Owls were the representative magical creatures of Hogwarts, they also existed on Blue Star, and in large numbers. It was normal for Owls to fly overhead and not considered extraordinary.

Furthermore, when Hogwarts first started recruiting students, the crazed public had put the native Owls of Blue Star through quite an ordeal. Out of concern for animal protection and the worry of displeasing Hogwarts, the kingdom had passed laws strictly prohibiting the capture, keeping, or approaching of Owls.

Therefore, the crowd didn't chase after them.

It wasn't until later, when more and more Owls were circling above, gathering into flocks, that they felt something was wrong.

They had never heard of Owls gathering like this before.

Could it be that the Owls from Hogwarts had arrived?

People's eyes involuntarily moved upward, and they ran to the distance of the woods where the Owls were resting, observing with binoculars.

The kingdom prohibits approaching, but it shouldn't matter if I watch from a distance, right?

Everyone happily set up their cameras and lenses to record.

The Owls on the branches didn't show anything abnormal at first, just like ordinary birds. Everyone left one after another with waning interest, and the edge of the forest slowly returned to being quiet.

However, not long after, as someone captured one of the Owls spitting a fireball from its mouth while playing with its companions, the edge of the forest was once again crowded with people.

What were the tourists from out of town and abroad expecting?

Wasn't it to see the supernatural with their own eyes?

Now that the supernatural was right before their eyes, how could they remain calm?

The commotion grew louder and louder. The Royal Family, alarmed and worried that someone might rashly approach despite the ban, quickly dispatched the army to set up a cordon outside the forest.

The Queen, puzzled by the reason, made a special trip to the construction site to ask Toby and Wino.

It was just that the two of them weren't very clear about it either.

After getting no results, the Queen returned to the palace with her confusion, while the two of them felt a sense of relief.

Similar to Mr. Gao's school construction in America, the crowd gathered outside the site had brought no small obstacle to the construction. It was good that they had all left.

The two then found a few people and instructed that the arrival of the Owls likely meant the Headmaster was about to set off, and they had to speed up their actions.

They had already discarded all leisure time for the sake of the project, and now they compressed their remaining time for eating and sleeping, striving for an early completion.

With their unremitting efforts, the changes at the site were visible to the naked eye.

Half a month later, accompanied by the roar of salutes and the blooming of fireworks, the venue was successfully completed.

After the Queen cut the ribbon, the Royal Guards responsible for on-site security immediately moved in to station themselves.

At the same time, she instructed Li to observe in secret which people in the various departments of the kingdom could not hold back and showed abnormal movements, and she granted Li the power of arrest.

Once discovered, there was no need for investigation or evidence collection; arrest them first and talk later.

After the competition ended and the participating teams from Hogwarts and the three academies returned, they would then conduct interrogations and exclusions in an orderly manner.

With the arrangements made, the Queen returned to the palace to wait quietly.

Dumbledore had visited a few days ago and informed her of the specific arrival date.

The Queen first asked why the Owls were gathering and, upon learning that the little guys were out for a trip, she understood and then asked if she could arrange for reporters when the team arrived.

She wouldn't miss any opportunity to show the outside world the close relationship between Hogwarts and Ying Country, but she was only worried about whether the Headmaster would refuse.

Dumbledore did not hesitate and readily agreed.

Soon, three days later arrived. The Queen woke up at the crack of dawn and rushed to King's Cross Station.