Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 4 Robber Logic

In a café located beneath an apartment building on Knights Street in central London.

"jingle."

A crisp doorbell rang, and David Stick immediately looked up to see the man he had been longing for walk into the store.

Murphy wore a slightly formal coat, which was appropriate for the increasingly chilly London weather, but the style seemed a bit outdated.

After exchanging names and taking their seats, Murphy took a small bottle out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

"This is the medicine you saw yesterday. It's called... cough, you can just call it Baiyao. You saw its effects yesterday, what did you think?"

"Amazing! Incredible! It's practically magic!"

David clearly lacked negotiation experience.

In fact, this was already a restrained statement from him.

He had never even seen such a treatment drug before, let alone imagined it would have such a dramatic effect.

He couldn't imagine how the wound could stop bleeding and heal in just a few seconds.

Unless... it's a scam.

"If possible, I'd like to..."

Murphy pushed the small bottle over. "Please."

David took a few deep breaths, then pulled a razor blade from his pocket and slashed his arm.

Then, while hissing and inhaling, he poured on some white savory essence.

The wound disappeared in just a few seconds.

When he looked again, his arm had stopped bleeding, and after wiping away the previous blood droplets, he found that the wound had healed.

Even knowing that this might be the case.

But after experiencing it firsthand, David's eyes widened in surprise.

Unbelievable!

It's an absolute miracle!

magic!

The healed area, apart from a faint red mark, was almost undetectable as to where he had been injured. If it weren't for the bloodstains still present, he would have thought the pain he had just felt was a hallucination.

"How is this possible? Human cells can't divide that fast..."

He was forced by his father to finish his undergraduate degree in pharmacy, so he still knew some basic physiological knowledge.

Murphy smiled but did not answer.

"Did you develop this drug yourself? Is it patented? Have you published any papers on it? Is it a biochemical preparation or a herbal formula?"

Murphy shook his head. "I developed this drug myself, but I can't give you the formula. Since you've seen its effects, you should understand its value. I won't sell the formula to anyone. I'm here to discuss cooperation with you."

David then calmed down.

Indeed, if one were to develop such a drug, there is absolutely no way one would sell it; it's a great invention that could sustain one for a lifetime, or even several lifetimes.

How would you like to collaborate?

"It's very simple. We'll jointly develop this drug. You provide the funding, and I'll provide the technology. Within a year, I'll return double your investment."

David was taken aback. "A loan? That won't do! I want to invest!"

It's incredibly foolish to only seek double the profit from such a powerful drug!

Murphy wasn't surprised. "How much can you invest?"

"Ten million!" David said immediately, then hesitated, "At least five million!"

After thinking about it again, I thought, "At least two million is no problem."

He's just a rich kid; he really doesn't know how much his wealthy father is willing to invest.

Ten million is all in, five million is a high-stakes gamble, but two million is just a normal investment. In his mind, with such an explosive project, convincing his father to put two million into it would be no problem at all.

"Two million, so how many shares do you want?"

"60%!" David blurted out.

"Heh." Murphy just laughed.

"half?"

Murphy shook his head.

"30%! No less than that!"

Murphy stood up. "Ten million pounds. I'll give you 10%, that's the limit. If you can only come up with two million, then it'll be 2%." Murphy capped the bottle of white essence and handed it to David. "Take this with you to your father."

Since the other party has no say, he should just state his own conditions; there's no need for him to waste any more time here.

"You have one day to make a decision. If you're okay with it, make this call."

After saying that, Murphy placed a card with a phone number on it on the table and left the coffee shop.

That evening, he received a call from Jim Stick in his rented Muggle hotel room.

"I can give you five million pounds, but I want at least 15% of the shares."

"Sorry, that's impossible." Murphy hung up the phone immediately.

A short while later the phone rang again, "Five million, 10%, that's my bottom line."

Murphy laughed. "Sorry, your bottom line means nothing to me."

There are so many pharmaceutical companies in the UK; if you don't want to get involved, there are plenty of others who do.

A little while later, a man in a suit knocked on Murphy's door and handed him a mobile phone.

Murphy, who has lived in the wizarding world all his life, has almost forgotten about cell phones.

Seeing this retro-style mobile phone, I couldn't help but be a little stunned.

It's 1987 now.

The Nokia Cityman, which has just been released, is essentially the world's first truly portable mobile phone.

This thing is ridiculously expensive; only the truly wealthy can afford it.

Murphy answered the phone and heard the other end say, "Give me 8%, and I can give you a pharmaceutical factory right away, and you can start producing your drugs immediately."

Murphy was intrigued. "Deal."

"Very good, my car is waiting for you outside. Come to my villa, we have many details to discuss."

A Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit was parked in front of the hotel, and the driver opened the door for him.

Murphy didn't mince words. This matter couldn't be explained in just a few words, and he did need to meet with the other party.

Half an hour later, the Rolls-Royce stopped in an empty factory building.

Murphy got out of the car and saw a chair and a small wooden table in the middle of the empty factory. A middle-aged man with blond hair and a slicked-back hairstyle was sitting in the chair, smoking a pipe. On either side of him stood a bodyguard in a black suit and sunglasses.

Murphy frowned. "This doesn't look like a villa."

Jim Stik grinned. "No, it isn't."

He casually pointed with his right hand, which was holding a pipe, "This is the factory I gave you. But it's already closed down."

"you mean?"

Jim Stik took out a check and placed it on the table.

"Here's a check for two million pounds, enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Take it and give me the recipe. Or..."

As he spoke, two more burly men walked in from the doorway and closed it.

Murphy was speechless. "Are you threatening me?"

Jim exhaled a large smoke ring. "I'm a respectable businessman; I don't usually do things like this. So I hope you can take the check."

As Jim spoke, he took another deep drag, letting the strong, pungent smoke swirl in his lungs a few times before exhaling a long breath.

"That's fucking awesome!" Jim stood up and started talking. "Everyone has one or two desires that they can't control, right? Like tobacco, or pounds. Money is a stimulant for me; it always gets me excited."

"So, I was forced into this situation. I couldn't overcome my own desires."

Murphy watched Jim's monologue and still found it somewhat comical. "What if I disagree?"

"Don't be ungrateful, kid. I don't want things to get too ugly."

"I investigated you, and you are nothing. You don't even have a registered residence; you might just be a thief who smuggled himself in from some third world."

"Guess what will happen if I kill you here?"

Jim shrugged. "The answer is nothing!"

"Nobody knows who you are, and nobody cares why you died here. The shrewd people at New Scotland Yard won't risk their lives; you'll just become another unsolved case buried in their archives."

"Maybe you think I robbed you, which is unfair, but this is a dog-eat-dog world, isn't it? The weak are born to be exploited by the strong. Think about it, kid, at least I paid."

Murphy watched speechlessly as Jim walked back and forth in front of him with an air of superiority, as if to say, "You still came out ahead."

"Survival of the fittest... okay..."

Murphy felt that this kind of robber logic was...

That makes so damn true.

So he drew his wand.

(End of this chapter)