Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 104 The Watcher

"A name? Let me think..."

We've decided to open a security store, but we haven't come up with a name yet. We could call it Wizard Security Store, but it doesn't seem to be very memorable.

Since the goal is to rival the Aurors, the name must be catchy and intimidating enough.

Murphy thought for a moment, "The Avengers?"

Not really...

Wizards who don't understand Marvel probably think they're a bunch of villains.

Justice League?

Never mind... it feels a bit ironic.

"Then... the Watchers, I guess."

As a future alternative to the Auror class, guarding peace in the wizarding world, what a fitting name!

……

"I've had it calculated that setting up an 8-inch 1.5-micron process chip factory would require an investment of between £30 million and £100 million, depending mainly on the number of lithography machines and chip production capacity. If we only produce one or two types of chips, £50 million should be enough."

"However, according to your idea, memory chips also need to be produced, which would require at least four or five types of chips, with an investment of at least £130 million."

"If you're also prepared to design your own IP cores and chip architecture, starting from scratch, the cost will increase at least fivefold, or it could be a bottomless pit."

"In addition, there is the development of supporting systems and basic applications. Let's say it costs 100 million pounds. This is a conservative estimate. If it takes too long, it will also be a bottomless pit."

"However, this only covers the costs of the research and development and production phases; the subsequent marketing, promotion, and other expenses will require just as much money."

"In short, don't even think about making your plans a reality without at least a billion pounds. Two billion pounds might be a pipe dream, and three billion pounds would probably be the minimum to cover it."

"But even if everything goes smoothly, we'll probably have a hard time breaking even. Do you know that the global semiconductor industry's revenue this year is only around £270 billion? If our investment accounts for more than one-tenth of the industry's global revenue, unless our product can really achieve a monopoly, we can forget about breaking even."

At the lakeside villa, Patrick immediately rattled off a string of numbers upon seeing Murphy.

Murphy's expression remained unchanged as he picked up the now-cold tea on the table and took a sip.

"Patrick, if we can't even achieve an industry monopoly, what are we talking about changing the world?"

"..."

"All right."

Patrick calmed himself down. Since partnering with Murphy, their products had always been produced by Murphy as if by magic, and each one was a product with a strong market presence. He had never really worried about problems like "research and development failure".

"I consulted several financial experts, and the market valuations of Isis Pharma and Camelot are quite good, around £4 billion and £6 billion respectively. If we go public, we can raise at least £2 billion. However, the IPO process is complicated, and we may not be able to complete the fundraising until the second half of the year at the earliest."

Murphy nodded. "Let's get started, but we won't wait. We'll invest whatever money we have, and if necessary, we can borrow some. Our cash flow is so good, borrowing money shouldn't be difficult."

"By the way, I'm planning to develop a luxury brand with Camelot. The initial products will be several perfumes, and then I'll find some designers to create some extravagant clothing and accessory designs. It should be successful."

So-called luxury brands are actually similar to tech companies in the fashion industry. They sell concepts and creativity. A bag that costs 100 yuan to make can be valued a hundred times more by adding a brand logo and some design concepts that ordinary people can't understand.

It's just storytelling, and he happens to be quite good at it.

……

While Murphy was shuttling between the research institute and the Muggle world, time quickly passed to 1989.

While the ice and snow outside melted, the underground magic research institute remained at a constant temperature and humidity, and seemed oblivious to the change.

One day in February, the Mind Magic Research Group.

Murphy came here because Funes and Omid told him that Selica had gone on strike.

"What happened?" Murphy asked.

Funes was quite embarrassed. "I'm sorry, boss. Perhaps the way we use Mind Seed on some animals has caused a misunderstanding with Teacher Selica. She thinks we are both perverts who abuse animals and refuses to use Mind Seed on animals anymore."

Murphy glanced at Celica, who was sulking, and then asked, "What experiments did you all do?"

"Most of the time, a short-term Mind Seed is used on small animals to study the changes in their brains during the process. Sometimes, a Mind Seed is administered without any release conditions, which often leads to some animals going crazy or dying."

"for example?"

"For example, they had me release a mind seed into a crow, making it think the water was poisonous and refuse to drink it, eventually causing it to die of thirst," Celica interjected.

"This magic is truly too domineering and evil. Continuing to research such dark magic is not good," Celica said. "It will distort people's minds. If a person feels that they can control the fate and thoughts of others at will, they will definitely try to do so, and become more and more accustomed to doing so, eventually becoming a demon king who habitually uses magic to enslave others, just like the mysterious man!"

Murphy looked at Selica and understood that she was trying to persuade him.

He thought for a moment and said, "You're right, but it's not magic that influences people's minds. Rather, it's people who learn and update their behavioral habits through feedback from using magic."

Celica looked confused. "What's the difference?"

"Wizards are used to attributing the fall of dark wizards to their fondness for studying dark magic, believing that dark magic corrupted their minds. But in fact, even the most common evil curses still possess such power."

"Every action a person takes in this world will have a response. When you use the Tarantella dance to make someone dance involuntarily, you will also enjoy the pleasure of forcing others to obey. When you use the petrification charm or the stun charm, you are also using a way to take the other person offline and temporarily avoid this obstacle."

"If you're used to using the Tarantella dance to prank someone, used to using the Stunning Curse instead of persuasion or other means to avoid obstacles, and your thinking becomes more and more accustomed to solving problems in a simpler and more brutal way, you've actually fallen into a self-enclosed circle, just like those dark wizards who only use the three Unforgivable Curses to achieve their goals."

"You could say you've been corrupted by the Tarantella Dance or the Stunning Curse. It's just that the three Unforgivable Curses are stronger and therefore have a wider range of uses, while these two are weaker and therefore less likely to create dependency."

"Of course, I'm not saying the three Unforgivable Curses are safe. They may have some ability to influence the caster's mind in reverse, but we haven't conducted such research yet. There's no need to worry about black magic corrupting the mind right away; that would only hinder our understanding."

“But the Seed of the Mind is too powerful,” Celica said. “It’s the second most terrifying spell I know of, after the Killing Curse. It can’t even be dispelled normally. The Imperius Curse is somewhat similar, but neither is nearly as terrifying.”

"If you get used to using this kind of magic to make others obey, won't you become dependent on it?"

Thank you Muxing for the 500 Qidian Coins donation, and thank you Lunluo_Chengmei for the 1500 Qidian Coins donation! Thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)