Chereads / Harry Potter: Using science to be IMMORTAL / Chapter 58 - Chapter 58: Lingering Shadows

Chapter 58 - Chapter 58: Lingering Shadows

"Medical experts in the lab have developed an immune enhancement therapy using Dittany promotors," Patrick said as he and Murphy descended the stairs to a display room.

Promotional scientific posters hung on the walls, accompanied by various models.

"They culture human T-cells outside the body, separate and activate them with antigen beads, and then reintroduce them into the patient. This boosts the immunity of patients who were previously immunocompromised, achieving therapeutic goals."

"In the past, this technology was limited by the proliferation speed of T-cells, making the treatment lengthy and impractical for acute infections. But now, with Dittany promotors, T-cells extracted from patients can quickly grow to a sufficient quantity."

"This therapy has a wide range of applications, not only for treating certain bacteria and viruses but potentially even for AIDS and cancer in the future."

"Besides, we've already accumulated over thirty patents related to Dittany promotors, with another twenty in the application stage."

Patrick said this as he showed Murphy the patents hanging on the walls, "One or two of these patents could bring us profits comparable to Dittany."

Murphy nodded, "Any progress on the research of mutated Dittany?"

Mutated Dittany referred to magical Dittany.

Compared to the effects of magical Dittany, Murphy was more curious about its origin.

This might be a pathway to magically modifying plants.

"So far, no. Researchers are trying to compare the genomes of the two. We've purchased several ABI 370A machines for automatic sequencing using the Sanger method. But with Dittany's genome having about twenty to thirty thousand genes, completing the full genome sequencing and comparison will take time."

"Okay."

The progress was slow, but Murphy wasn't disappointed.

Scientific research is like this, where not producing results is the norm, and breakthroughs are accidental. Moreover, the current level of technology is still far behind what he knew from his time, even the Human Genome Project hadn't started yet, and the efficiency of gene sequencing methods was low, so there was no point in rushing.

"By the way, I'm planning to lead Umbrella into the electronics and software industry. Recently, you can look for potential tech companies to acquire. I have some ideas that I need them to realize."

Murphy, a programmer in his previous life, was most familiar with the computer and internet industry. Dissatisfied with the current level of technology, he decided to accelerate its development.

In the next thirty years, computers and the internet would undoubtedly drive global technological progress.

Currently, Microsoft's window2 had just been released. Although advanced for its time, its rudimentary interface and poor user experience were still unsatisfying for Murphy.

Apple's next computer was released a few days ago but had dismal sales. At this time, Apple wasn't the future titan dominating the market.

Nvidia hadn't been born yet, and Intel had just started to take off.

The computer industry was still in its infancy.

Murphy planned to use his high-level expertise learned from the big players to make a killing.

As they discussed the company's plans and reached the first floor, they suddenly heard a "thud." A woman in business attire had collapsed to the floor.

"Ah, Jennifer has fainted!"

"What happened?" As the company's general manager, Patrick naturally went to check on the employee.

Murphy followed as well.

"She's been forgetful and disoriented these past few days. I just reprimanded her a bit..." The manager beside the fainted woman explained in panic, "I don't know what happened to her..."

Patrick, with his medical background, knelt down to check Jennifer's breathing and pulse, "Breathing and heartbeat are normal." He used a flashlight to check her pupils, "Pupil reflex is also fine. It looks like she just passed out. Call emergency services."

He then asked the manager, "What symptoms did she show before fainting?"

"She's the receptionist. These past two days, she's been very forgetful and disoriented. She even forgot the tasks I assigned her yesterday and didn't even know what day of the week it was. I just reprimanded her, and then this happened... Could she be ill?"

"It might be a stroke," Patrick suggested.

"Can the initial symptoms of a stroke last for two days?" Murphy asked.

"Usually not. Based on your description, it might be sudden head trauma causing memory confusion, but I don't see any wounds on her head."

Murphy looked at Jennifer, puzzled. Her symptoms seemed similar to those affected by a powerful memory-erasing spell.

"When did she start acting like this?" Murphy asked the manager.

"Yesterday... around two in the afternoon. I had arranged an important meeting for her to prepare some documents, but she immediately forgot and seemed very confused. I even suspected she was on drugs."

"Two o'clock, where was she then?"

"She should have been in the lobby."

Murphy glanced at the surveillance cameras in the corner of the lobby. He asked Patrick to continue taking care of Jennifer and went to the surveillance room to retrieve the footage from yesterday.

After watching for a while, he asked to pause the playback.

In the footage, a man dressed in slightly outdated clothing spoke to Jennifer, who was printing documents. Murphy saw the man take something out from his waist, and then a flash of light appeared between them, followed by a green flash.

Jennifer dropped the documents, and the man picked up one, looked at it, and put it in his pocket before leaving.

Jennifer looked confused, as if she had forgotten what she was doing.

A spell.

That man was likely a wizard!

Always a lingering shadow!

He returned to the manager, "What task did you assign Jennifer yesterday? What documents was she printing?"

"It was for the 'Camelot' upstream supplier meeting. Suppliers for the materials and packaging of our Venus series were all there. I had Jennifer print out the list of supplier contacts."

Murphy requested a copy of the list and glanced at it. There were over thirty supplier companies.

Suppliers... Was the wizard checking each upstream channel to find evidence of Murphy using a beauty potion for the Venus series cosmetics?

It was a viable plan.

Among these thirty-plus suppliers, two were shell companies registered by Murphy. They only supplied a product called 'plant essence oil,' which was, in fact, the beauty potion.

If the wizard followed this trail, he might indeed find the warehouse where Murphy stored the potions.

Although there were several layers of logistics between the warehouse and the shell companies, a chain could still be pieced together through witness accounts and logistics records.

Of course, it would be hard to convict Murphy with such indirect evidence, but it was still troublesome.

Murphy thought for a moment and called the security team of the chemical group, "An important facility might be invaded. I need you to set up some traps."