"What?" Fudge shuddered at the words, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "What should we do then? Does this mean this part of the rune circuit is completely broken? Will it affect the main body of the detection array?"
Minister Bagnold and Amelia also looked at Alan with tension. Although this Alchemy Room was not usually in use, it was crucial for monitoring the entire country during critical moments. If word got out that it was truly broken, it could lead to public disorder.
"It's a good thing it was discovered early," Alan said, seeing their expressions. Knowing he had overplayed his hand, he stopped scaring them. "The scope of the magic pollution I've currently inspected isn't large. Of course, until I've thoroughly checked the entire room, I can't give you the exact details of the losses."
"So how do we solve it? Since you found the problem, you must already have an idea, right?" Minister Bagnold remained calm.
"That's right. Actually, the solution isn't difficult. Replacing the worn-out materials will restore the array's operation. At the same time, I can help you inspect the entire system, restoring its efficiency to be as good as new," Alan said with a slight smile, boasting confidently.
Fudge breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that only material replacement was needed, but then he realized something was off. Hadn't Alan said earlier that the materials used to construct the array were precious?
Minister Bagnold also reacted, understanding what Alan meant by "losses." "How much material is needed to repair this part of the array?"
"Actually, not much. The magic patterns are made of goblin steel mixed with refined mithril. From what I've seen so far, only 3 ounces of goblin steel and 1 ounce of refined mithril are needed."
The two female executives didn't react immediately, but Fudge's eyes were practically bulging out of his head. "Only? Do you even know how exaggerated that quantity is? My annual salary might not even buy the materials you just mentioned!"
Alan couldn't help but chuckle. "If you find it expensive, you can also find other alchemists to help you. Perhaps their craftsmanship is better, and they'll need fewer materials."
He wasn't afraid they would actually find someone else. Alan was quite familiar with the domestic alchemy community. The rune array in this room was incredibly complex; he estimated that he and Dumbledore were the only ones in Britain who could discern the true problem. If they wanted to find an outsider, they would have to seek help from Egypt, and alchemists from Cairo would likely quote an even higher price once they arrived. This was the result of information asymmetry; it was customary in alchemy circles to overstate the necessary materials.
"We're not doubting you, Alan." Bagnold saw Alan's decisive refusal and immediately trusted his statement more, though she still spoke with some heartache. "3 ounces of goblin steel and 1 ounce of refined mithril—these materials are indeed valuable. Is there no other way?"
"Hmm..." Alan lowered his head and pondered. "I could temporarily use ordinary mithril and Agriba Alloy for the repair, but lower-grade materials would have an adverse impact on the overall efficiency of the array. Furthermore, due to the difference in quality, I cannot guarantee whether emergency malfunctions might occur later."
Alan spoke as if he were considering the Ministry's interests, but he was certain Minister Bagnold would not agree to a sub-par plan. For the vast Ministry of Magic, these materials, though valuable, were not unattainable. The inventory in the Travers family vault alone contained several times what he had quoted. The Ministry was only fussing because they were being stingy.
As Alan expected, Minister Bagnold pondered for a moment before shaking her head. She did not want to compromise the quality of the array. "Proceed with the materials you mentioned earlier. I appreciate your hard work on the maintenance. However, we will need to send someone to supervise the repair process, and you must teach our staff the maintenance methods when you are finished."
"No problem," Alan agreed immediately. Sending people to supervise was useless; it was questionable whether those second-rate employees could even understand his work.
After confirming the maintenance schedule, Alan went to the Ministry almost every day for the next week. In truth, the detection array was of such high quality that he could have fixed it with a few simple spells. However, given his exaggerations, he had to put on a show, especially under the eyes of the two Ministry supervisors. To demonstrate the value of his labor, Alan set up a large number of incomprehensible instruments and performed flashy magic with the materials, leaving the supervisors bewildered.
But Alan didn't stay there just for the performance. He used the time to study the monitoring array in depth. The system was highly sophisticated, containing a vast number of alchemy runes and patterns he had never seen before. This allowed him to absorb a wealth of knowledge related to long-distance communication, remote monitoring, energy storage, and efficiency in just one week.
During his study of the overall diagram, he also discovered runes for spatial locking and tracking, which he regarded as an invaluable treasure. He knew the threat posed by Portkeys was still a major hurdle. He had no intention of letting Thunderbird off the hook, but he was afraid that if he went after him, the man might escape using a Portkey.
Aseria had already confirmed that the Silver Spears possessed Portkey technology and could produce them themselves. But now, the spatial locking technology provided him with many ideas. He was confident he could use this to develop an interference device capable of restricting Portkeys, or even create equipment to track the trajectory when someone Apparates or uses a Portkey to flee.