Chapter 64: Mad Scientists

"What?" Boris was somewhat confused.

"For certain reasons, my identity in the Muggle society— you'll soon understand what this means—needs to be kept secret. However, the founder of Umbrella Corporation can't always hide behind the scenes. Therefore, I need you to become me, to become Murphy Annon."

"But we don't look alike at all."

"That's not an issue. Murphy Annon is a fabricated identity, and I've never shown my face in public. I can change all the records to match your identity. From now on, you'll be the founder of Umbrella Corporation. When I appear in public, I will use your appearance."

Boris understood, "I'm your body double."

"Exactly."

This had always been Murphy's plan, but he had never found a suitable candidate.

Boris was a great choice. Murphy had seen his memories and knew he was principled and intelligent. Additionally, as a vampire, he was a misfit in the Muggle world, making him a perfect candidate to bring into Murphy's fold.

Moreover, Boris had a weakness – Marianna. As long as she was there, Murphy was confident Boris wouldn't betray him.

After a long thought, Boris nodded, "Okay."

He had prepared to give his life for Marianna's revenge. If not for Murphy, his life might have ended there, filled with regrets.

Now that Marianna was safe, his previous life, along with the true blood, was in the past.

Thus, using the extra life he got from Murphy for him seemed fair, especially since it was Murphy who gave him this chance.

...

Murphy brought Isaac Miller back to the mansion's basement, into a medical laboratory.

He called several researchers, "The experiments you've always wanted to do, you can now begin."

Turning to one of them, a man with gold-rimmed glasses, Murphy said, "Nicholas Duby, you were a surgeon, right? Your research proposal included the use of Dittany and beauty potions for plastic surgery, correct?"

"Yes, sir. I'm currently in Andrew's transformation research group. My assigned task is to study the effects of potions and spells on superficial bodily structures like skin."

Murphy nodded, then turned to the other two, "Funes Bachman, Omid Abbot, your research focus is on memory charms and soul-snatching spells, right?"

Funes Bachman, a slightly balding serious man, and Omid Abbot, a slightly overweight man with a constant smile, were both psychologists and neuroscientists, dedicated to studying the relationship between memory, the brain, and cognition.

"Yes, boss."

"Good," Murphy said. "You've all submitted proposals for human experimentation. Normally, my stance on such experiments is similar to the outside world. I don't completely forbid human trials, but they should only be conducted when animal and in vitro experiments can't provide sufficient data."

"Even when necessary, they should only be carried out after thorough safety assessments and ensuring no irreversible harm to subjects. And, they must consent."

"We can't treat humans like animals."

"This isn't just morally wrong but also reflects a lack of rigorous scientific spirit. We don't advocate for harmful human experiments or treating subjects carelessly!"

The researchers lowered their heads slightly, feeling a bit uneasy and ashamed. Unlike most researchers in the institute, they had a tendency to go to any length for scientific results.

Being in this underground lab and exposed to magic, their inner mad scientist traits were activated.

Since Murphy's experimental goals weren't noble, they thought maybe he wouldn't have much moral objection.

They wanted to try experiments not allowed in the outside world, like using death row inmates for mental magic experiments to explore the relationship between mind magic, human psychology, memory, and the brain.

But now, they felt a bit uneasy and ashamed. Murphy was right, bypassing real-life obstacles and directly resorting to extensive human trials was a simplistic approach.

"However, when necessary, I will consider your proposals seriously."

Murphy suddenly changed the tone.

"In fact, there are some people in this world who are worse than animals."

He led them into the laboratory, pointing at Isaac Miller, tied to an experiment table.

"This man is a drug lord, guilty of countless murders, drug trafficking, robbery, rape, and human trafficking. Even killing him ten times wouldn't cleanse his sins. Such a person, we don't need to see him as one of our kind. He's a beast infected by the worst virus."

"For him, human rights have no meaning. So, we needn't talk about human rights regarding him."

"You can do whatever you want with him."

"But, I have a few requests," Murphy continued. "First, don't let him die; he's still useful to me."

"Second," he handed a photo of Alexis Wood to Nicholas Duby, "You can experiment on him with Dittany and beauty potions to study their effects on the skin, but eventually, I want you to make him look like Alexis."

"Can you do it?"

Nicholas examined Isaac on the table, "He's older than Alexis, fatter, shorter, and has a different face shape. It's going to be challenging."

"I might need to break his leg bones to make them regrow, shave off some bones on his face, and almost entirely redo his facial skin... But, it should be doable with Dittany and Bone-Regrowth Potion."

"Good, he's yours for the next few days."

Then he addressed Funes Bachman and Omid Abbot, "I need to erase many of his memories and implant false ones."

"In this process, we can test the effects of hypnosis, electrical stimulation, and hallucinogenic drugs on memory spells. We can also preprocess his brain, like neuron staining, to understand the mechanism of mind-reading and memory charms on the nervous system. Do you have any questions?"

"No problems!" Both were excited.

Omid asked, "Can we open his skull? With cleaning spells and a sterile environment, we can minimize harm. This will help us implant electrodes in his brain for better monitoring of brain activity..."

Murphy admired the two men, true mad scientists with innovative ideas.

"Go ahead, make your plans. I'll coordinate with you these next few days."