Chapter 506

“Mr. Potter,” the Prime Minister’s tone softened again, “consider this: even if we accept this theory—yes, for now your claims about the Focused Rainbow and the so-called conspiracy remain merely speculative, lacking concrete, credible evidence, don’t they?”

“Even if we told the Magical Congress about this theory, do you think they’d believe it? Or further still, even if they did believe it, would they halt their aerial carrier project? Step back another ten thousand paces: even if they followed your advice and suspended or stopped the plan, wouldn’t our floating city become the first target directly in the line of fire?”

Harry took several deep breaths to calm his unease. He thought the Prime Minister’s viewpoint was narrow and selfish, but the facts he stated were true: revealing the matter rashly would bring no benefit to their side, only harm.

“Yes, if we consider the possibility that your floating city is targeted by Yanayev,” the Prime Minister found another angle to persuade him, “a city full of Muggles, if struck by the Focused Rainbow—unthinkable… it might even trigger earthquakes, devastating dozens of Muggle cities; but conversely, if it’s the Magical Congress’s warship that’s hit, first, those aboard are all soldiers who entered war prepared to sacrifice, and the state has corresponding compensation systems. Moreover, warships are smaller in size, so their impact on the ground is far less severe.”

“But our floating city can link wizards to form a shield—the Chinese are already doing this,” Harry shook his head. “We can’t make this comparison.”

“Really? But China has many wizards, doesn’t it? Do we have that many wizards?” the Prime Minister immediately countered. “The Focused Rainbow can also link wizards to amplify its power—don’t they excel at exactly that?”

Harry failed to convince the Prime Minister; instead, he felt himself being persuaded. After brief thought, he decided to return to the original topic: “Alright, let’s rephrase it—do you find this theory, this inference, credible?”

“I think your analysis still holds considerable merit,” the Prime Minister nodded thoughtfully. “It explains everything that’s happened so far, and from Yanayev’s perspective, it’s indeed a clever move.”

“So we must do something, right?” Harry extended a hand. “Even if not out of humanitarianism or kindness, can’t we do something to gain more advantage for ourselves? Consider it.”

“Hmm, perhaps some appropriate warnings or hints to help the aerial carrier endure longer in future negotiations… that would give us a slight benefit,” the Prime Minister hesitated. “But a scandal involving technological leaks… I can’t launch an internal investigation!”

“You should still have ways to handle scandals,” Harry said, biting back his irritation with a touch of sarcasm. “Blame someone else—blame the EU.”

“Ah!” The Prime Minister’s eyes suddenly lit up. “You’ve given me a brilliant idea—I can blame someone else, a hated troublemaker. I’ll say the documents were leaked by the Environment Minister… but would that be credible? It’d be more plausible if it were the Defense Minister—but he’s nowhere near as disliked as Morris…”

After weighing numerous dirty little schemes, this politician confidently and firmly told Harry: “Yes, I’ve decided—we must appropriately assist our allies, at least for now they still are allies.”

“But this matter cannot be handled publicly, since it’s still only a theory. My idea is this: you and Arthur, in the name of the magical community, initiate the first round of communication with the Magical Congress—plant a seed—and I’ll back you up from here.”

When Harry left Downing Street, he felt deeply irritated. The Muggle government could accomplish almost nothing; after all that circling, they still had to rely on the Ministry of Magic. If that’s the case, it’d be better to act as a private individual. Yes, rather than going through endless bureaucratic circles with the Magical Congress, he might as well speak directly to Donald—he was at least a straightforward man.

The very next day after Harry made his decision, Donald arrived directly in Diagon Alley—he had not revealed his Super-Wizard powers, so he could Apparate freely between countries without obstruction.

“Well, I’m not particularly surprised the Soviets stole the Focused Rainbow technology,” Donald said with remarkable equanimity. “After all, the technology itself isn’t that difficult. Even without blueprints, simply reverse-engineering it wouldn’t be too hard.”

“Indeed,” Harry sighed. “But the harder problem now is—they might use the Focused Rainbow against the aerial carrier. We suspect this was all planned by Yanayev.”

Next, Harry and Zhang Qiu explained in great detail to Donald their earlier deductions regarding Yanayev’s overall aerial combat strategy. But they found it strange: Donald seemed distracted throughout, paying little attention.

“Hmm, sounds dangerous—we’ve walked into a trap,” Donald said after hearing Harry and Zhang Qiu’s analysis, but his tone was dismissive. “But we can’t stop developing the aerial carrier. Because of the Pentagon’s reckless actions, it’s now a political mission that must be completed.”

“Perhaps the Magical Congress could consider some half-hearted defensive measures, but frankly, even if the aerial carrier isn’t hit by the Focused Rainbow, it’s still going to fall eventually,” Donald said pessimistically. “When we truly began designing it, one engineering problem after another… I believe current Muggle capabilities simply can’t achieve it—even with unlimited magical assistance, the results still fall far short of expectations.”

“Due to air pressure constraints, our fighters can barely take off or land; thermal management limits the main cannon’s power; aerial resupply demands are enormous—we’re even considering landing once a week…” Donald shook his head helplessly. “Every system is compromised—the aerial carrier’s actual effectiveness may be only 20% of what the reports claim.”

“If Yanayev really plans to use the Focused Rainbow to destroy it, it might even be a good thing—he’ll help us write off a bad debt. If he uses a high-yield strategic weapon to blow it up, no one will ever know we just floated up a useless tin box.”

“We could develop specialized aerial combat aircraft using electromagnetic catapults,” Zhang Qiu offered casually. “Mount the Focused Rainbow as the main cannon, and use the Floo Network for resupply—there’s always a way.”

Donald’s expression was odd. Harry suddenly felt the aerial carrier might not have faced as many unsolvable problems as claimed—he was hiding something.

“Or think of it this way,” Donald changed his tone. “Since we know the aerial carrier will eventually fall, I can refine evacuation plans after returning. Wizards can fly or Apparate away, but the Muggle soldiers and logistics personnel aboard… we can only provide them with helicopters or parachutes.”

“Then why not keep them off the ship entirely?” Zhang Qiu grinned unethically. “Leave all the Muggle soldiers on the ground—save weight, increase safety, and you can embezzle the payroll.”

Donald shrugged. He had no objection to this sarcasm—perhaps even agreed with it.

“Moreover, if we know in advance it’ll be shot down, we can shift unavoidable costs onto the Pentagon,” Donald said with indifference. “We can even adjust the crash site and buy insurance—or I could sell this ‘Act of God Insurance’ myself. Then dump the aerial carrier into the sea—no casualties, and we collect premiums from fools.”

Harry shook his head helplessly. He’d intended to warn Donald, urging him to prepare defenses and countermeasures to avoid being struck by the Focused Rainbow. But he hadn’t expected Donald, already burdened by engineering problems, now preferred to let the aerial carrier be destroyed and instead recklessly contemplate profiting from its fall.

“Well, on the bright side, we could still use the Focused Rainbow to enhance the main cannon,” Zhang Qiu defused the tension. “Perhaps we could develop it into a ‘near-space weapon.’ Wasn’t that your original plan? Fly slowly above the enemy and fire downward—it won’t destroy the world, but the effect would still be substantial.”

“That’s another issue—if we install an Anti-Apparition ward, what if it’s hit by missiles? Wizards can’t escape. But if we don’t install it, we might not handle boarding attacks…” Donald sighed again. “My Super-Wizard forces—Air Law and Thunder Law—are Wangpai for offense, but pure clowns for defense.”

“Besides, NASA is already building real space-based weapons—I don’t need to rush to compete with them,” Donald’s gaze grew distant. “The Focused Rainbow requires wizard linkage—it’s not like we can turn it into a space station…”

“Build a lunar base,” Zhang Qiu offered another ill-advised suggestion. “Laser weapons have flight paths under two seconds, and it solves wizard housing too.”

“Let’s talk about something practical,” Donald stretched lazily. “Thanks for alerting me to the Focused Rainbow’s risks, Harry, but things are already bad enough—can’t get much worse.”

“Actually, what I said was quite practical,” Zhang Qiu shrugged. “Alright, let’s talk about something cheerful—Mr. Donald, would you like to return to your original world to see your wife?”