Chapter 55: Reflections on the Path of a Wizard's Ascension to Godhood

"Damn it!" In Scrimgeour's office, Kingsley Shacklebolt punched a pillar in frustration.

"How's Frank's condition?" Scrimgeour asked the Auror who came to report.

"He's physically unharmed, but he got robbed by those scoundrels in Knockturn Alley, even lost his wand. However, his memory..."

The Auror shook his head, "The healers at St. Mungo's said he's suffered a very strong memory charm, probably irreversible. He might also experience short-term amnesia or memory confusion."

"Can it improve?"

"The healers said it's not a big problem, it should get better."

"That's good," Scrimgeour sighed in relief.

"Pull back the people surveilling Supreme Potion for now."

"Why?!" Kingsley slammed his hands on Scrimgeour's desk, his voice full of anger. "Rufus, we just had a brother injured, don't you want revenge?!"

"Calm down, Shacklebolt, this isn't like you."

Kingsley took a deep breath, "For how many years have we not encountered such a situation? Our brother gets injured, and we can only sit and wait, unable to do anything."

"Patience, Shacklebolt," Scrimgeour said. "In the past, weren't you the one advising me to be patient?"

"But Frank is my team member!"

"Patience. Our enemy is very cunning! He's proven this more than once. Underestimating him, or acting rashly, will only backfire!"

Scrimgeour shook his head, "It's strange, such a person, and he wasn't from Slytherin at Hogwarts."

"Frank's hideout was destroyed, leaving no evidence," Scrimgeour sighed again. "Clearly, Frank must have found something, which Murphy noticed and then destroyed the evidence."

"If only I had asked him to report any findings immediately."

"You can't be blamed for that. The more frequent the reports, the easier it is to be discovered. The rule for regular reporting was approved by me," Kingsley's anger seemed to subside, and he spoke calmly.

"But now, our leads are cut off again. Do you have any ideas, Kingsley?"

"Maybe we should just capture him. He's only nineteen; I believe he won't last through our interrogation!"

"You sound a bit like Alastor. I wonder how his retirement is going."

Kingsley chuckled; he knew that kind of aggressive approach wouldn't work. Because of Murphy's financial influence, it would be difficult to achieve their goals through coercion.

He pondered for a while, pacing the room, "Do you remember the name of the company Murphy opened in the Muggle world that Lucius mentioned?"

"You mean Umbrella? What are you suggesting?"

"Since investigating from the potion shop's side seems unlikely now, why not start from the Muggle side? According to Lucius, that company is quite famous in the Muggle world, shouldn't be hard to find."

"Good idea!" Scrimgeour immediately understood, "Who's the Auror assigned to the Muggle Prime Minister now?"

"Gadwin Robards."

"Ah, Robards. He's a fool, completely manipulated by that lady."

"Still, he might be useful. Inform him to use the Muggle's resources discreetly for investigation. Assign another Auror to assist him; that should be enough."

"Why not inform the Muggle Prime Minister? Wouldn't that be more efficient?"

"If we use their resources, it would seem like we're incompetent, which might complicate future interactions between our worlds."

"Understood, I'll inform him right away."

...

"Mr. Murphy, here's the spell and corresponding formula for the Thief-Repelling Waterfall you requested."

In Knockturn Alley, at The Siren's Song, the fairy Locke handed Murphy a letter.

Murphy opened it and looked, "Thank you, Locke."

"You're too kind, Mr. Murphy." Locke took a sip of his beer, "Serving you is my honor."

Murphy nodded, "There's another thing I'd like your help with."

"Sure, tell me."

"Do you know where I can buy house-elves? I'm planning to buy a few."

This request was fairly common. For nouveau riche like Murphy, it was typical to want to buy house-elves. "Usually, people sell their house-elves every once in a while, typically they are either newborns or about to be abandoned."

"If you need, I'll keep an eye out for you, but usually, house-elves aren't cheap..."

"Price is not an issue, but I need a considerable number. Are there places that breed them specifically for sale?"

"This..." Locke was a bit stunned, as such a request was quite unusual, "How many do you need?"

"At least... fifty."

House-elves were magical and diligent, thus more efficient than Muggles. But the research institute was indeed large, and without dozens of house-elves, it couldn't be managed properly.

Fifty! Locke was shocked; his employer was always so unpredictable!

He wanted to ask, why do you need so many house-elves? Are you opening another magic school?!

"This might be a bit difficult, but I'll ask around for you."

...

Back at the Supreme Potion shop, Murphy had a security gate installed. All employees had to pass through it when coming and going.

The gate would automatically spray the Thief-Repelling Waterfall, preventing anyone from sneaking in.

Besides Supreme Potion, Murphy also installed this security system at the manor. From now on, everyone entering and exiting the manor and the magical research institute would pass through a Thief-Repelling Waterfall.

The four specialized laboratories, library, and meeting room at the research institute were also equipped with the Thief-Repelling Waterfall. Although it was a bit messy and inconvenient, it was treated as a sanitation measure.

After arranging all this, Laura Kruger found him, "Director, there's a presentation of research findings today. Do you want to attend?"

She was now appointed as his director assistant, responsible for controlling the research direction of the entire institute, always aligning it with Murphy's goals.

"Oh?" Murphy was interested, "Already have findings?"

It hadn't been a month since the institute opened, and Murphy didn't expect these Muggle researchers to have results so quickly.

"The paper just passed the peer review in the institute yesterday. We believe his thoughts and ideas are very valuable. But in fact, it's only theoretical value. So it's good for you to listen and evaluate."

"Okay, what's the title of the paper?"

"Reflections on the Path of a Wizard's Ascension to Godhood."

Hiss...

Starting with such a big topic?