Chapter 490

Zhang Qiu didn’t need to attend school, and her work at the embassy had no strict attendance requirements. So, while Harry shuttled between Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic, she had the time and energy to conduct a simple investigation into Donald Fontroy and try to uncover some clues.

Yet, when the Prime Minister arrived at the Ministry of Magic for a meeting on Friday afternoon, her efforts took on an odd turn, for Donald Fontroy himself was now sitting at the long table in the Ministry’s conference room, with sincere intent, discussing the Anglo-American collaboration on the floating city project with everyone else.

“We divide the entire floating city project into three phases: design, engineering, and operation,” said Donna, her eyes shadowed by heavy dark circles, as she presented the technical report to the leaders before a makeshift blackboard. “Next, I’ll briefly introduce the six stages of the engineering process, integrating technical principles—these engineering plans and challenges will also serve as constraints for the design.”

“First is the preparation and planning phase, during which the main goal is to select and construct the floating city’s foundation site. Two core technical challenges must be resolved: first, a large-scale levitation magic array, which may require spell solidification technology and ancient magical rune improvements; stability and ease of maintenance must be considered during the site’s design and construction. Second, the load-bearing structure and materials science issue—we must collaborate with Muggle experts to design a foundation capable of integrating with the magic array, ensuring it doesn’t collapse or deform while supporting the city.”

“Next is the main city construction phase, whose primary goal is to complete the city’s buildings, infrastructure, and defensive or military facilities—if any are designed. We must consider lightweight materials, wind resistance, and adaptation to high-altitude environments. Technically, all these issues have solutions, but they require joint discussion and optimization between spell masters and Muggle scholars—I believe this poses another challenge to the Statute of Secrecy. Additionally, urban planning is another issue, one that must be clearly resolved from the very beginning of design.”

“Then comes the cyclic construction phase, whose main goal is to perfect the city’s energy and ecological cycles, including water circulation, food distribution, and power systems. Ideally, the city would remain self-sufficient in water and food even after levitation. But this requires more intricate design or other technological breakthroughs. For now, the more practical solution is to construct a large teleportation array to maintain logistics after liftoff. Moreover, many wizards know nothing about electricity, and the Chinese proposal involves hellfire power generation and water recycling systems—all of which require Muggle assistance.”

“The fourth phase is human resource deployment, including the construction of military facilities and troop deployment, as well as civilian relocation. The main difficulty here lies in social management. If we invite Muggle troops to garrison, we inevitably face a conflict with the Statute of Secrecy; but if we don’t deploy Muggle troops, frankly, I believe the entire floating city concept would lose more than half its power.”

At this point, the Prime Minister interjected: “This must be assessed during the design phase.”

Donna offered a strained smile in reply, then continued: “Finally, the ascension phase: after confirming all subsystems are functioning properly, we may undergo several test runs and adjustments before final ascension. But this first ascent won’t reach high altitude—it will hover at low altitude for one to two years, ensuring the floating city operates healthily before officially ascending to greater heights.”

“From final design approval, the entire project cycle may take roughly ten to twenty years, depending largely on the floating city’s scale. Of course, the most time-consuming phase will be main construction, since we’re building an entire city from scratch,” she concluded.

“Why can’t we lift an existing city?” Arthur suggested. “I think London would work just fine.”

“Floating is actually detrimental to an administrative center,” the Prime Minister countered. “We need frequent governmental exchanges with other cities; floating would drastically reduce governance efficiency.”

“Yes,” Harry added. “The Ming Empire designated Shuntian City as its capital, but also established Yingtian City with equivalent capital functions. After Shuntian was lifted, the central government relocated to Yingtian, leaving the floating city focused primarily on military roles.”

“But we don’t intend to build a floating city focused on military use, do we?” Arthur said, concerned. “As Donna just said, inviting Muggle troops in would create numerous administrative problems due to the Statute of Secrecy.”

Donald Fontroy scoffed. “Simple—we station wizard troops instead.”

“How much use would wizard troops be?” the Prime Minister shook his head. “Combined, both nations’ wizarding forces number barely a few dozen.”

“But Donna’s other point is also correct,” Snape suddenly spoke. “If we build only a civilian floating city, even if completed, it would be meaningless.”

Donald pulled out another file from his briefcase, speaking with great confidence: “We don’t need many wizard troops—just one large strategic magical weapon, like a Ten-Thousand-Person Focused Rainbow.”

“We can embed this giant crystal orb at the tip of the floating city’s underside. When activated, only a small number of wizard troops need to stabilize the magical nodes, then summon wizard residents to charge it, enabling long-range strikes—or, as the Muggles call it, a space-based weapon: something they’ve always wanted to achieve but never could. Especially if we apply Huishi technology to the Focused Rainbow, infusing the magical torrent with physical mass, we can leverage the floating city’s altitude to amplify its destructive power—technically, it could level a medium-sized city in a single strike,” Donald pointed to Donna.

“We absolutely cannot use it lightly,” the Prime Minister said solemnly. To most people with a conscience, this proposal was far too extreme.

“Moreover, based on our research from the Law of the Sky project, there’s a strong possibility we can achieve city-scale Apparition—and such a massive teleportation should be sufficient to shatter magical barriers,” Donald produced another file. “Meaning, our floating city can appear above anyone’s head at any time… and bring down divine retribution upon them.”

“That’s an advancement beyond the Chinese technology,” Donna said, visibly moved. “They still need to fly through the air to reach their target.”

The meeting at the Ministry lasted a long time, but the conclusion was undeniable: they all approved the floating city’s construction. The Prime Minister had always wanted to accomplish a historic feat through the wizarding world; Donald wanted to use this massive project to secure his position as Chairman of the Wizarding Parliament. Thus, most of their time was spent planning design direction and allocating resources.

When Harry stepped out of the Ministry, rubbing his temples, he saw Zhang Qiu standing at the intersection waiting for him—wearing her beige plaid long skirt and short cloak. Or more accurately, waiting for both him and Donald Fontroy.

“Mr. Fontroy, I’d like to discuss a few topics with you,” she said politely, but to Donald, who harbored secrets, her detective-like appearance naturally exuded pressure.

“Shall we have dinner together?” Harry ventured, knowing this was a strategy he and Zhang Qiu had discussed to lower Donald’s guard.

“Fine by me,” Donald seemed relaxed. “Just not Hogsmeade.”

At a restaurant in Diagon Alley, the three sat down and quickly placed their orders. Then, Donald eagerly began trying to rehabilitate his image before the two young people: “I’m glad that, aside from those messy personal affairs, we still have plenty in common.”

“Yes, I’ve heard your story,” Zhang Qiu smiled flatteringly. “Let the past fade with the wind. Let’s talk about something else—like the floating city.”

Donald clearly found the topic fascinating. He excitedly said, “I’ve already mentioned it to Harry—how brilliant! I plan to name it Dalaran. Doesn’t that sound impressive?”

Harry smiled in agreement. “Is it because of the Dallas Fuel team? Ron’s a fan.”

“No,” Zhang Qiu’s expression suddenly turned very serious. “I have a question, sir—have you never considered naming it Nethereal, or Sel’garn, or Eshir, or something similar?”

“What are those?” Donald looked bewildered.

“Famous floating cities from the Dungeons & Dragons setting, with illustrious histories—far more renowned than Dalaran, which is only mentioned in passing in Warcraft,” Zhang Qiu revealed the origin of the name. “Commercially speaking, as TSR’s largest shareholder and a minor stakeholder in Blizzard, I wonder why you’d prefer promoting Dalaran over Nethereal. This counterintuitive choice puzzles me greatly.”

This was undeniably a soul-touching question. Though Donald knew Dalaran’s future popularity and legendary status, at this moment it was merely an obscure background detail. How could he explain? He had almost no answer.

“There’s that kind of consideration?” Harry rubbed his chin. “Maybe Dalaran’s setting is more novel, more interesting? It gave us more design inspiration?”

“That’s precisely another problem,” Zhang Qiu pressed further. “According to the current timeline, Dalaran should still be just an ordinary magical city—it hasn’t even floated yet.”