Chapter 46: The Flying Spell and the Mansion

Murphy rubbed his sore shoulders from writing.

"Finally, he took the bait," he thought.

All that effort in writing wasn't in vain.

Deceiving Voldemort seemed quite impressive in theory.

But in reality, the diary was equivalent to a 16-year-old boy who was both deaf and blind, with a muddled concept of time, and could only interact with the outside world through information provided by others. Even if slightly mischievous, how could it stand a chance against Murphy, an actor with exceptional skills and spoiler-filled information?

In the end, Murphy was just taking advantage of the disabled, an unfair victory.

At this moment, the diary, already tricked, was desperately trying to prove its worth to survive.

Diary: "I can teach you many spells, potion-making, and crafting magical items…"

Murphy interrupted, questioning: "Why didn't you speak earlier? It's been half a year since I've been writing in you, you should have seen all of it, right? You knew I needed your help, why stay silent?"

Diary: "..."

How was I to know time passed so quickly!

I'm just a diary, I can't see the outside world, how would I know half a year has passed? Sometimes I haven't even figured out what's happening, and you're already updating the diary!

But the diary couldn't say this, it replied: "Perhaps it was a disturbance in time, my perception was affected, I've only recently awakened."

Murphy: "So you're Voldemort?"

Diary: "Yes."

Murphy: "What can you teach me? Show me a list of things you know. I want to decide what to learn."

Diary: "Magic must be learned progressively…"

Murphy: "I don't have time. Or would you prefer I turn you in?"

Diary: "..."

Suddenly, a list densely filled with words unfolded in the diary, extending over ten pages.

The list had three categories: "Spells, Potions, Magical Knowledge."

Murphy glanced briefly, noting that just the spells alone numbered over a hundred, including the three Unforgivable Curses, very comprehensive.

The potion section was diverse, with many Murphy had never heard of.

Magical knowledge covered everything from magical creatures, crafting magical items, flying techniques, to magical history.

To survive, Tom had indeed brought out his true capabilities.

Murphy was surprised; the diary had thoroughly organized its memories. Perhaps this was the special nature of a diary as a medium.

And this guy knew a lot, truly a diligent student!

He took photos of the lists with his camera, in case the diary denied it later.

Murphy: "The Flying Spell, I'll start with this."

He disliked flying brooms, and teleportation spells like Apparition had their limitations, needing prior visits to the destination. Murphy had long coveted real flight magic.

Diary: "This is a spell I created not long ago... I mean, when I was younger. It's not perfect, but it can wrap a layer of shadow material around the body, lifting the wizard and enabling flight."

Murphy marveled at the text, a self-created flying spell at 16, truly a genius.

Even though Snape's creation of spells like the Hanging Curse and Invisible Blade at 15-16 was already impressive, Tom's genius was even greater.

Looking back at himself, he hadn't even mastered the standard spells at 16.

Such was the gap between a top student and a poor one.

The diary, unaware of Murphy's reflections, continued: "To learn it, you need talent and a lot of practice. But, since it's my creation, if you follow my steps, you can master it in a week."

"We don't have that much time, I must learn it in two days!"

"Two days... that's difficult."

"I don't want to die, and I believe you don't either. If I can't learn this spell in two days to evade the company, either I turn you in, or we both die. Which do you think I'll choose?"

"Alright, let me think. Perhaps we can skip the unnecessary steps and get straight to the point, two days should be enough!"

Murphy smiled, "You're getting the hang of it, Tom."

...

In September, the Umbrella Biotech Research Base Area One was officially completed.

Murphy had bought three research institutions from Weican and Jetlicon, dismantling and reorganizing them, and moving them into the Fresh White Research Base.

The process of making Fresh White Essence had been completely demagicked.

Even Fresh White itself, a not-so-obvious magical plant, had a mundane world counterpart.

Thus, Murphy believed allowing mundane researchers to study magical Fresh White didn't need strict secrecy from the wizarding world.

After all, just because wizards discovered something first, didn't mean they could prevent Muggles from discovering and utilizing it.

Still, basic confidentiality was necessary.

Besides signing intellectual property agreements with researchers, Umbrella Corporation hired two security teams from Hazard Group for protection.

One was stationed at the base, providing 24-hour security.

And after half a year of research, the Fresh White team had achieved significant results.

The most significant was isolating one of the core active substances from Fresh White Essence, Fresh White Promoter.

Code-named BX5465-P, it could accelerate cellular metabolism and proliferation by hundreds of times.

Though still unable to be synthetically produced, researchers had found more effective production methods, applying for over twenty patents.

With Fresh White Promoter's significant acceleration of cellular biology research, Umbrella Corporation's articles caused a stir in the biological community, pre-nominated for next year's Lasker Award, and likely to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine within a year or two.

And this was just the first goldmine unearthed from Fresh White Essence.

Its secrets remained mostly veiled, with all researchers believing that a Nobel Prize was not the final goal of this base.

Outside the Fresh White Research Institute, another secret base Murphy had built was completed.

Located in Staffordshire, it was a super-luxury mansion, covering 35 acres, with a central European castle, four floors above ground, 98 rooms, and guarded round-the-clock by the second team from Hazard Group.

Below ground was the secret area.

Following Murphy's instructions, the builders excavated a hundred meters down, using 5-meter-thick concrete walls to construct a 19-floor underground fortress.

This was Murphy's home in the mundane world, and his number one spell research institute.

He named the luxurious mansion "The Mansion."

At that moment, in the grand hall of The Mansion, Murphy was welcoming his guests.