Patrick scrutinized his visitor.
Seventeen or eighteen years old—too young.
Well-dressed—evidently wealthy.
Calm and composed—seeming to have full confidence in what he was about to show.
He glanced at his watch, "You have five minutes to tell me why you're here, and it better be worth breaking into someone's office without permission."
Murphy smiled, "One minute is enough."
He waited for Patrick to pour him a glass of water, not hurrying to start.
"Young man, you don't have much time," Patrick reminded.
Murphy nodded, "Mr. Patrick, journalists say you're the best in pharmaceutical sales, and you must have considerable research on medicines. So, what do you believe is the best medicine for treating external wounds?"
"Treating external wounds?"
Patrick frowned, finding the question quite amateurish.
The treatment of external wounds involves many aspects—is it about suturing wounds, joining bones, disinfection and sterilization, or stopping bleeding and pain?
The medicines or medical devices used in these steps are different, and a simple question about the best medicine for treating external wounds is like asking what food is the healthiest, leaving one at a loss for an answer.
This kid was definitely an outsider.
Still, he patiently replied: "Are you referring to antibiotics for disinfection and sterilization? For treating wound infections, penicillin is still the most commonly used medicine, and cephalosporins are also very good, with fewer side effects..."
"You misunderstand," Murphy interrupted, "I mean a medicine that can help wounds heal."
Patrick glanced at Murphy, "Young man, I don't know if you've ever taken a medical course, but if you had even basic medical knowledge, you'd understand that the main factor affecting wound healing is actually infection..."
"Isn't there any medicine that can promote cell division and accelerate wound healing?"
"No! If you're referring to something like growth factors, indeed last year's Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Stanley and Rita, but such substances are far from being used medically..."
"What if I told you that this bottle of potion in my hand could heal any wound in a few minutes or even seconds, would you believe me?"
"Impossible!"
Patrick was adamant, "Such effects cannot be achieved by any medicine. What you're talking about only exists in science fiction novels."
Murphy smiled and pulled out a pair of scissors from the pen holder on the table, "Mr. Patrick, are you ready to witness a miracle?"
"What do you want to do?" Patrick visibly tensed up seeing the scissors in Murphy's hand.
However, Murphy didn't reply and simply made a cut on his own wrist with the scissors.
Blood immediately spurted out.
"Oh no! My God! What are you doing!" Patrick exclaimed.
"Stay calm, Patrick! Just watch carefully! I don't want to cut myself again!"
As Murphy used the Essence of Dittany, the bleeding stopped and the wound disappeared within a few seconds.
Murphy wiped off the blood and then raised his arm, now only marked by a faint bloodline, in front of Patrick.
"Do you see?"
"This is impossible!" Patrick's eyes widened, "A magic trick?"
"There's more in the bottle; you can try it yourself."
A few minutes later, after cutting himself and his assistant a couple of times, Patrick was convinced.
After sending away his assistant, who was shocked by being cut twice by his boss, Patrick paced his office with a serious expression, asking several questions similar to David's, about the source of the medicine, patenting, etc.
But he asked more, including whether the medicine was registered, how it was produced, the production capacity, and if it could be mass-produced.
Murphy honestly answered, "The medicine hasn't been registered yet; I'm not too familiar with the process. As for production, its preparation method is actually very simple. As long as we have enough raw materials, mass production shouldn't be a problem."
Patrick nodded, "We need to arrange clinical trials as soon as possible to prove the medicine's safety, then patent it, and buy a factory. We can start production as long as the clinical trial results aren't too bad and the side effects are within an acceptable range. Even if the results are not ideal, there are many uses for it."
"We?"
"You came here specifically to recruit me," Patrick observed him closely.
"I know my abilities, and many people want to recruit me, but Blue Mountain has been good to me, and I have no intention of leaving. However, you are different...this...what did you call it, White Medicine? White Medicine is different!"
"Although it requires more verification, it has already convinced me. In fact, no one involved in the pharmaceutical industry could refuse such a medicine!"
"This is magic, a miracle! Just like the discovery of penicillin, it's a great invention that subverts people's understanding and changes the world!"
"I can't miss this opportunity."
Then he asked, "How much start-up capital do you have?"
Murphy thought for a moment, "About 1.5 million."
A Porsche 959 cost over $200,000, which in pounds was actually less than £150,000. After the whirlwind with the initial two million, he had about half of it left.
Jim was right; two million pounds was indeed enough for him to live comfortably for a lifetime.
Patrick was somewhat shocked, "That's not a small amount, enough for us to acquire some decent pharmaceutical factories. I have over half a million myself, which should be sufficient to cover the initial expenses."
Murphy thought for a moment, "Actually, I just want to hire you. I need to have absolute control over this medicine."
Patrick nodded, "I understand. But trust me, I'm worth giving up a portion of the equity for."
The slightly balding man looked directly at Murphy, probably having practiced such an expression deliberately.
His focused and calm gaze made it easy to feel his sincerity and trustworthiness.
"I can't promise now, but I will seriously consider it," Murphy said.
Patrick looked a bit disappointed but quickly composed himself, "I need you to roughly tell me the process of making White Medicine. You don't need to reveal the confidential parts, but I need to know what process and equipment should be used to produce this medicine, so I can find a suitable factory."
"Sure."
In truth, there wasn't much to keep secret; the production of Essence of Dittany was very simple.
Its original production method involved cauldron brewing and a purification spell.
However, after experiments, Murphy found the purification spell was unnecessary.
Using the water-solubility of Essence of Dittany, he designed extraction experiments, grinding fresh Dittany leaves, placing them in a reactor with water and glycerin, stirring, filtering, heating, controlling the temperature, then condensing, and repeating several times. The purity of Essence of Dittany obtained was far higher than that produced by traditional cauldron methods.
Even a Muggle could obtain Essence of Dittany through this simple extraction with Dittany.
This completely contradicted the basic principles Murphy learned in Potions class.
Wizards believed that the production of any potion necessarily involved the wizard's will and magic to a greater or lesser extent, intentionally or unintentionally.
It seems this might just be wishful thinking on the part of wizards.
Magic does not only exist within wizards; the effectiveness of potions still mainly depends on the reaction between substances, not the will of wizards.
After briefly explaining the experimental steps to Patrick, Murphy emphasized, "The raw material is key to White Medicine. Currently, only I can provide this material."
Patrick nodded, "It sounds like the key step in making White Medicine is extraction."
He searched his desk and pulled out a paper.
"Then the most suitable for us are not these chemical synthesis factories, but herbal manufacturers."
He crossed out most of the names on the list, leaving three or four.
"These may meet our requirements. I'll personally inspect them tomorrow and report to you by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
"Are we starting now?" Murphy was somewhat impressed by his initiative.
"Of course! I feel like I'm back to when I first started, as if the whole world is waiting for me to explore and conquer! I can't wait a moment longer!"
Murphy smiled, "I'm starting to think I really should give you some equity."
Patrick also smiled, "Motivating employees requires a promissory note; you're getting the hang of it, boss."
"So, what should I do?"
"Think of a good name, register a company, get the money ready... I'll handle the drug registration application approval, and for the rest... there's nothing for now... oh, right, you mentioned the key to White Medicine is the raw material. You might need to ensure the supply of materials."
"I have a feeling we'll soon be under order pressure."