"Wood?"
Murphy was somewhat surprised. Had this guy actually learned to use a telephone?
"What's wrong?"
"I, I, it seems..." Wood's voice sounded nervous, "I've encountered a bit of a problem."
"Hmm? Did someone rob you?"
Murphy immediately thought of his previous warning to him.
Could it be that this guy was so unlucky that he had been robbed after just a few trips to buy materials?
"Are you okay? How much money did you lose?" Murphy asked.
"No, no problem, I didn't lose money, I wasn't robbed," Wood said.
Murphy was puzzled. You're calling me and there's no problem? Were you just trying out how to use the phone?
"Then why are you calling me?"
"It's about the potion, the Beauty Potion. I want to meet you in person and talk about it."
The Beauty Potion!
Murphy immediately perked up. His future ability to make money faster and then establish a research institute more quickly depended on it.
Could it be that this kid had discovered something or made a breakthrough after brewing potions for a few days?
"Alright, where are you? The barn? I'll come to you right now."
A few days earlier, Murphy had the Muggles install a landline phone in the barn just to make it easier for Wood to contact him.
Alex was probably using Muggle technology for the first time, nervous and incoherent, making it hard for him to explain clearly over the phone. It would be better to go and see for himself.
"Okay, okay, come quickly."
After hanging up, Murphy used a Disapparate spell to arrive at the barn.
However, as soon as he entered, his expression darkened.
A bald man in a black wizard robe was sitting on a small mountain of burlap bags in the barn, while Alex Wood lay on the ground, unconscious or dead.
"Did you make Wood call?"
Murphy immediately guessed what had happened. No wonder Wood was stammering and hesitant over the phone; he had been forced to make the call.
"Who are you?"
Murphy drew his wand, his heart filled with murderous intent.
The contents of this barn were something he absolutely did not want other wizards to see. If people knew he was selling potions to Muggles, at the very least they would forcibly stop his business, and he might even end up in Azkaban.
"Peter Parker?" The bald wizard looked at him, apparently trying to confirm his identity. "Never heard of that surname. Are you of Muggle origin?"
Murphy was taken aback, then realized, "Wood told you my name?"
The bald man snorted, "Spineless guy, spilled everything after a few Cruciatus Curses."
"How did you find this place? What do you want?"
Murphy asked.
He needed to determine how much the other party knew about him and whether there were any other associates.
"Let's just say, Mr. Peter Parker, you've messed with the wrong people," the bald man said. "You had this guy disguise himself to buy potion ingredients, right? Let me guess, where did all those ingredients go? Sold to Knockturn Alley, or smuggled out of the country?"
Murphy frowned, but felt slightly relieved inside.
This guy doesn't know I'm selling potions to Muggles.
He thinks I'm selling potions to dark wizards?
At the same time, he understood the situation.
Someone—a big shot in the bald man's words—had noticed him buying large quantities of potion ingredients and then had the bald man follow Wood—Wood used a Portkey back and forth, and the bald man just needed to grab onto his coat to follow him back here.
So he probably didn't know much about Murphy.
After all, even Alex Wood himself only knew a fake name for Murphy.
"What I do with my potions is none of your business," Murphy said.
"Of course, it's none of my business. I'm just a messenger," the bald man said with a cynical demeanor, jumping down from the burlap bags. "But you're blocking someone's way to wealth. The big shot sent me to give you a message."
"Two choices: either he invests in you, and you work together, making money together. Or, he will have the Aurors chase you to the ends of the earth, sooner or later sending you to Azkaban to accompany those monsters."
"How about it, Mr. Peter Parker? It's a simple choice."
Hearing this, Murphy completely calmed down.
That's it?
I thought you had something substantial on me. I overestimated the intelligence of wizards.
He had roughly pieced together the true story: someone had observed him purchasing a large quantity of potion ingredients, but there was no mass sale of potions on the market. Therefore, the "big shot" suspected he was selling potions to dark wizards or smuggling them out of the country.
It probably never occurred to the other party that he might be selling potions to Muggles.
After all, to most wizards, Muggles are like creatures from a parallel world, barely seen a few times a year, and the idea of doing business with Muggles is completely blocked out of their minds.
"Indeed, a very simple choice," Murphy said. "But I have one question."
"What's the question?"
"That big shot, what makes him think that someone like you could threaten me?"
"What?"
In the moment the bald wizard was stunned, Murphy launched an attack, "Petrificus Totalus!"
"Protego!" The bald man reacted quickly, immediately casting a Shield Charm to block the attack.
But Murphy didn't give him a chance to breathe, "Leviosa!"
The shortened Levitation Charm is not a standard spell and cannot maintain control continuously, but it causes the object to keep floating upward until the spell's effect ends.
And more interestingly, this is not a targeted spell but affects a range, impacting all objects within the area of effect (AOE magic), even if the spell's beam doesn't directly hit the object, it will still float.
And a Shield Charm can only defend against the spell's beam.
Thus, this simplified Levitation Charm can bypass the Shield Charm's defense, making the enemy float up, thereby losing balance and becoming disoriented.
This move made Murphy almost unbeaten in wizard duels at school.
In his panic, the bald man's Shield Charm failed to maintain and was deactivated.
Murphy immediately cast a Disarming Charm, taking the opponent's wand, then followed with another Petrification Spell, to prevent him from having a backup wand.
Watching the bald man fall heavily from the air, Murphy stepped on the face that was now bleeding profusely from the nose, without any mercy.
"Crucio!"
The torture lasted for five minutes.
Murphy then lifted the Petrification Spell.
The bald man was drenched in sweat, pale, and could hardly speak.
Murphy smirked in sympathy, then cast a few more Sectumsempra spells, making several holes in his stomach.
It must be said, the two spells invented by Professor Snape are very good, Inverted Hanging Bell for effective control and Sectumsempra for high damage; Murphy liked using them.
"What's your name?" Murphy asked.
The bald man, filled with terror, opened his mouth a few times but couldn't speak.
"Never mind, I'll do it myself. Legilimens!"
A moment later, Murphy smacked his lips, "Malfoy?"
So Slughorn and Jiggers Apothecary were his properties.
"Lucius, that fool, thought he could compete with my business?" Murphy scoffed, full of mockery.
Little Malfoy is the worst, Lucius even more so.
That coward thought he could threaten me?
Got a bit of money and got carried away, huh.
Murphy no longer cared about the half-dead bald man, instead, he went to check on Wood, who was just unconscious, thankfully.
He was about to lift the spell on Wood when he noticed the bald man tremblingly reaching into his pocket for something that looked like a badge.
"You, you'll regret this! Mr. Malfoy, will, make you pay!"
After saying this, the bald man suddenly twisted and disappeared.
Murphy was stunned for a moment, "A Portkey for escape?"
"These dark wizards, not completely uncreative after all."