"We should quickly return to Hogwarts and tell Professor Dumbledore about this..." Hermione thought about sharing the important information that Tom had obtained with Professor Dumbledore.
But Tom didn't share the same idea.
"Foolish, did you forget our most important goal in coming out?" Tom pulled out the rough prototype of the Philosopher's Stone, showing it to Hermione.
"We can leave this here for now; the most important thing is to inform Dumbledore," Hermione tugged at Tom's sleeve.
Tom frowned, looking somewhat annoyed.
"Whether Dumbledore finds out now or later won't make much difference," he said indifferently. "It might take time for him to make a decision, or he might be indecisive in his actions. In my opinion, even if he learns about the collaboration between the Death Eaters and the Scourers, he won't be able to take any effective action. The Order of the Phoenix has limited resources, and the British Ministry of Magic is in a state of decay..."
The frustration in Tom's voice grew with each word, but Hermione quickly stopped him.
"Alright, let's do as you say. First, let's place the Philosopher's Stone."
"As you wish, let's put the Sorcerer's Stone in its place."
Tom closed his mouth, somewhat annoyed.
What he had just said was sincere. In his view, whether Dumbledore found out now or a day later wouldn't make much difference, it was like a four-week experiment, advancing or delaying a few hours would barely have a margin of error. However, Hermione's Philosopher's Stone was different, placing it a day earlier would mean reaping its benefits a day earlier—it was a treasure for extending his life!
Once they agreed, they sought out John and told him they wanted to return to the slaughterhouse one more time. Although it seemed strange to revisit, customers were like gods, and John, the devout follower, wouldn't disappoint his gods. He agreed immediately and drove them back to the slaughterhouse in his truck.
"Is this the facility all the animals have to go through?" Tom looked with interest at a large cylinder the size of a wagon and even touched it.
"Yes, all the animals, cows, sheep, and pigs within a radius of a hundred kilometers, pass through here to ascend to heaven," John nodded. To make it more vivid, he personally restarted the production line so that Tom could see how a cow was automatically sacrificed.
Pressing a button, the production line roared to life, and the gates of the pen not too far away opened. The cows that the breeders had brought walked under the guidance of the workers toward a narrow corridor. Once they entered that corridor, it was the path to certain death.
Because the corridor was very narrow, even if the leader of the group didn't want to move forward, the animals behind it pushed it until it crossed the threshold of death.
Tom watched as a robust cow was led onto a platform, its head trapped, and two electrodes inserted into its forehead, electrocuting it instantly until it was unconscious.
The unconscious cow fell into the massive cylinder, and when it came out, it was already divided in half. Tom felt the prototype of the Philosopher's Stone in his hands warming slightly.
"Very efficient, completely automated operation, hardly requires labor," John was very satisfied with his slaughterhouse.
And most importantly, it wasn't bloody. If it were too bloody, it would attract trouble.
Tom thought the same. In his view, this fully automated slaughterhouse was the most advanced.
"Let me see the biological waste recycling pit," Tom requested with another interest.
"Of course, that's the main attraction," John had mentally prepared for this. A competent slaughterhouse owner would always be concerned about waste management.
"By the way, can I hang a cross here?" Before leaving, Tom made an apparently reasonable request.
The workers here were mostly devout followers, so hanging a cross wouldn't be a problem. If it were the symbol of another religion, it would be a different matter.
After obtaining permission, Tom hung a wooden cross on the wall of this workshop. Apart from Hermione, no one knew that inside that cross was housed the prototype of the Philosopher's Stone. It would absorb the dissipating energy from the animals sacrificed here and eventually become a Philosopher's Stone that would prolong life.
Biological waste was temporarily stored in a large pit.
The enormous pit was filled with blood and animal entrails, emitting a nauseating and unpleasant smell. Occasionally, a mixture of blood and entrails would fall from above through a tube, splashing into the pit and creating a burst of blood splatters.
"It's like a scene from hell. I've been running this factory for decades, but every time I see this, it disgusts me. Now do you understand why I don't want to eat entrails? Many unscrupulous traders get their supplies from these kinds of blood puddles." John shrugged. He didn't want to linger there for too long, so he rarely did, urging, "Can we leave now?"
"You all go first. I want to conduct a small test involving trade secrets," Tom said seriously.
"Okay, okay!" John huffed at Tom's words, but luckily, he didn't have to stay in that blood-scented room for long, so he quickly exited the place.
Once everyone was gone, Tom carefully took out a small glass vial and dropped a drop of Menes' blood into it.
Suddenly, the pit, or rather, the blood puddle, began to boil.
Menes' blood seemed to be breathing, drawing the blood from the pit towards itself. The entire pit seemed to be breathing.
The liquid level decreased rapidly to the naked eye, and the entrails submerged in the pit shrank into completely unusable waste.
When Menes' blood had finally completely absorbed the blood puddle, only withered entrails remained, and the size of the blood drop had multiplied several times.
"See? We've saved the recycling cost!" Tom pointed to the pit that had reduced in size hundreds of times and was very satisfied.
When John re-entered the room, his eyes nearly popped out in surprise. He couldn't imagine what kind of technology could make the blood from a large pit suddenly disappear.
However, he didn't dare to ask, as even a fool knew this must involve extremely valuable formulas.
"Let's go." Tom had no intention of explaining either, and with Hermione, he left the factory.
From now on, he only needed to lower the animal sacrifice price and attract more farmers to bring their animals to the slaughterhouse, then use the money obtained to expand production, and so on...
It wouldn't be long before he could refine the Philosopher's Stone for Hermione. His mission on this trip had already been fulfilled. It was time to return to Hogwarts.