In the East, there was Mr. Lu Xun who abandoned medicine for literature. In the West, there was Augustus who abandoned medicine for warfare.
Jane Yu couldn't help but feel solemn respect for his aspiration.
Augustus sat up, trembling as he grasped Jane's shoulders, tears streaming down his face:
"Attacking hospitals, kidnapping patients, torturing Healers... I've always been willing to assume the worst malice when judging You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters, yet I never expected—never believed—they could be vicious to this extent."
He seemed to awaken from a dream, returning from idealism to harsh reality, crying out:
"My dream was once so perfect—graduating from Hogwarts, healing patients' suffering, and now in wartime becoming a researcher while advancing Healers' understanding of supplementary medicine."
He sniffed, quickly wiping his face to prevent tears from staining Jane's research plan:
"But can medicine cure the wizarding world's faith in pure-blood supremacy and wizard superiority—those stubborn old fossils and diehards?"
A surge of melancholy condensed in his heart, making him grip Jane's hands tightly as he wept:
"If everyone had opened their eyes to Muggles early on, extracted that nitroglycerin—even stealing from a Muggle hospital daily, accumulating bit by bit to get a ton, then adding magical catalysis to break Death Eater magical defenses and tossing it into their mountain hideouts—wouldn't all chronic ailments be cured long ago?"
Jane opened her mouth but swallowed back the words "you probably couldn't get a ton."
In his grief and indignation, Augustus made his final, resolute cry:
"St. Mungo's wouldn't have to suffer this calamity, Aurors wouldn't have to die, and Hippocrates wouldn't be in mortal peril!"
The passionate emotion in his words, the breadth of his vision, the unique angle of his perspective—all left Jane amazed.
"...Offense is the best defense. Blow up all the Death Eaters with bombs so no one gets hurt—you've figured out this principle..."
While marveling, her mind was already racing:
The Spell-Shielding Robes and Spell-Shielding Hats were complete. The next stage would be researching and manufacturing simple military supplies to sell to the Ministry of Magic.
Better to channel than block—rather than constantly preventing workplace safety accidents, why not create better explosive environments for researchers?
Since Augustus possessed such lofty ambitions and was so enthusiastic about chemistry—
With the robust Shield Charm protection of the Spell-Shielding Robes ensuring he wouldn't be blown away to meet Merlin...
She could absolutely assign him the crucial task of improving magical explosives.
"A very grand aspiration, Augustus. If you can achieve it, you'll be the wizarding world's father of explosives, worthy of a First-Class Order of Merlin. I bet the Pye family genealogy could dedicate an entire page to you."
Jane first gave him unlimited encouragement with words, then stuffed that packed production research plan into his hands, indicating the "Weapons and Equipment" section.
Considering the wizarding world had no foundation in firearms, most items were simple, easy-to-manufacture equipment.
"Muggle weapons, magically modified version," she introduced. "The key is improving explosives—they need magical refinement to break through Death Eater magical defenses."
"Merlin..." Augustus murmured, "Indeed, this is exactly what I want to do..."
He continued reading down, discovering the parchment was packed with words he couldn't quite understand, but this didn't prevent him from sensing the advanced and sophisticated nature—weapons of styles he couldn't imagine—
"Magical landmines? Magical Grenades... wand silencers...?"
"Magical pistols? Magical artillery...?"
"Unmanned invisible reconnaissance broomsticks...?"
Augustus felt so shocked he stopped breathing!
These strange terms unfolded before him like magnificent dreams, bringing him to an entirely new world—
Taking the essence of wizarding magic and Muggle technology and combining them—that was wizardkind's beautiful future!
He'd always thought his acceptance of Muggle ideas was incompatible with this world... This often left the idealist feeling frustrated and pained...
Sometimes he even felt he shouldn't show interest in Muggle medicine, that his thinking was fundamentally wrong...
But since coming to Jane's laboratory and meeting like-minded people—
He realized it wasn't him who was wrong, but those stubborn old fossils who refused to change.
Here, he saw the future!
He saw that Jane had already gone faster and farther than any wizard locked in their own world! She was his role model, his goal!
At this moment, his admiration for her reached its peak!
Seeing Augustus unable to lift his head or speak for a long time, Jane felt somewhat uncertain.
"Well, what can you do?" she sighed. "I know they're all very backward, practically caveman equipment—Muggles wouldn't even glance at them... But who told wizards to skip the tech tree and put all points into magic? No industrial foundation, can't make bricks without straw... I'd love to make tanks, armored vehicles, airplanes, but there's no foundation... We'll have to make do."
After all, it was just for dealing with Death Eaters—these basic military supplies... she figured they should barely suffice?
But what she never expected was Augustus suddenly looking up with his mouth agape, protesting in astonishment:
"What are you saying—they're backward? No, my thinking is too backward! I failed to meet and follow your steps early enough, wasting so much time that wizardkind hasn't entered the next era! I repent for holding wizardkind back!"
He suddenly stood up, seeming to recover all vitality and energy, loudly declaring:
"Chemical substances refined by Muggles aren't inherently dangerous—many things they call hazardous materials can barely break through Shield Charms even when exploding. But if they undergo magical modification by wizards, the situation becomes completely different: their properties change dramatically. For example, magically concentrated and catalyzed nitroglycerin is far more powerful."
He paced back and forth, apparently considering a hundred ways to magically alter nitroglycerin's properties:
"We must ensure stable storage in bombs while guaranteeing violent reactions after a set time when magic is input—only then can we create qualified bombs... Perhaps I should examine Fred and George's prototype grenades. Those things only have weak small-scale blasting charms—explosives need real punch... We could try combining multiple spells with them..."
"But what if Death Eaters transfigure them? Or throw them back? So we need anti-transfiguration and anti-repulsion charms, and the power can't exceed what our Spell-Shielding Robes can handle... Merlin, though the concept seems simple, actually manufacturing them requires considering so much..."
Forgetting everything else and immersed in research, Augustus rushed toward the laboratory.
Soon, familiar explosion sounds came from within.
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