In April, rumors surfaced that Patrick, who had supposedly been the target of a bombing attack by a rival company, reappeared in the eyes of the muggles.
He remained tight-lipped about his recent disappearance, further shrouding the event in mystery.
Nonetheless, the return of the CEO immediately revitalized Umbrella Corporation, and Blue Queen computers began to be distributed globally.
Blue Queen offered three price tiers, ranging from four thousand to ten thousand dollars.
In just one month, pre-orders for Blue Queen reached an astounding one million units, generating 4.4 billion pounds in cash flow for Umbrella and covering the initial R&D costs within the same period.
Looking at the financial report on the wall and listening to his assistant's voice, excited to the point of nearly losing control, Patrick realized he wasn't as thrilled as he had imagined.
Indeed, his wish had been fulfilled.
He had brought the greatest personal consumer product of the moment to the world.
And he firmly believed that no product would surpass Blue Queen in the next two to three years.
He had helped Murphy pioneer an era in this world, an era that belonged to Blue Queen and Umbrella.
However, compared to Murphy's grand ambition, what was this achievement?
After a conversation at the research institute, he had come to fully understand Murphy's goals and aspirations.
Murphy's talk of "changing the world" was not merely rhetoric, nor was it limited to the kind of change proclaimed by giants like Apple and Microsoft.
No, what Murphy intended to do, what he wanted to do, was deeper and more profound, akin to the invention of the steam engine, transforming the entire human society into something entirely different.
Compared to such a grand vision, his current accomplishments truly seemed insignificant.
And that thing, comparable and even surpassing the steam engine, was named magic.
He now knew they had quietly launched several magic products.
From the initial White Medicine to the current Blue Queen, all were imbued with elements of magic.
But considering what he had seen and heard in the magic research institute, he deeply understood the meaning behind Murphy's words more than a year ago, when he erased his memory, saying, "White Medicine is very common in the wizarding world."
Ultimately, White Medicine, Beautiful Potion Face Masks, Love Potion Perfume… were merely means for Murphy to raise funds in the muggle world.
Only Blue Queen had a slight connection to Murphy's real goals.
But that connection was minor.
His goal was the end of magic, the secrets of all.
And as a former muggle, Patrick's understanding of Murphy's goals and the majority of the magic research institute differed.
The end of magic, wasn't it also the end of science?
Wasn't it also the end of consciousness, the end of time, the end of the starry seas?
Thus, pushing muggle society towards a higher, further future was also the inevitable path to Murphy's goals!
And on this grand path, there was so much he could do!
He had thought that after Umbrella Corporation overturned more than half of the semiconductor industry and became the world's leading technology giant, he had fulfilled his mission.
But now, he felt that his past self was too narrow-minded.
What's the point of being number one in the world?
Shouldn't Umbrella's mission be to lead humanity in its collective ascension?
...
On the other hand, the wizarding world also experienced several sensational events recently.
After various attacks, Auror's credibility hit rock bottom, and with the recent public outrage over the abduction of Peter Pettigrew—a despised dark wizard being transported to Azkaban—people's anger exploded.
As Murphy predicted, countless complaints and impeachment letters landed on Millicent's desk.
But unlike the Ministry of Magic's previous ineffective and naive responses,
This time, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Barty Crouch, seemed to be possessed by sudden inspiration, displaying the decisiveness and responsibility of his youth.
He convened a press conference on the third day after the abduction incident.
At the conference, Barty Crouch apologized for a series of events, including werewolf attacks, Dementor disturbances, and the Sirius Black case, and immediately revoked the warrants for Sirius Black and Murphy.
He also admitted that all these issues ultimately stemmed from his failure to discern people's true natures.
Barty Crouch conducted a profound analysis and reflection on the various shortcomings of the past Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the unclear separation of powers with the legislative and judicial branches, the continued excessive authority Aurors held even after the Wizarding War without adequate supervision, and more.
To address these issues, he proposed three measures.
First, he immediately relieved Gawain Robards of his position as Head of the Auror Office, assuming the role himself until a suitable candidate was appointed.
Second, he restricted Auror's discretionary powers, implementing a pre-report system similar to that of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, preventing them from independently investigating cases and individuals.
Third, he strengthened oversight mechanisms, proposing to bring in the highly trusted Watchers into the Ministry as a supervisory body under the Wizengamot to monitor all affairs of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Barty Crouch emphasized that reform was the inevitable path to safeguarding the peace and order of the wizarding world!
His determination to rectify the Department's long-standing issues was evident, and he even made a military order: if the Department of Magical Law Enforcement still failed to satisfy the wider wizarding community by the end of his term, he would retire.
Such decisiveness immediately reversed his reputation, and his reform proposals received widespread support among wizards, quickly passing through the Ministry's internal meetings and being implemented by ministerial decree.
And Barty Crouch lived up to expectations. Half a month later, he captured two Death Eaters—the Carrow siblings.
The Carrows confessed to participating in the abduction of Peter Pettigrew along with Yaxley and Avery, aiming to rescue Pettigrew, who had revealed a plan to resurrect the Dark Lord, and to find and resurrect him under Pettigrew's guidance.
A large manhunt for Yaxley and Avery began, and with Murphy's covert assistance, both were captured by the Watchers half a month later.
The four, as if struck by a great blow, confessed to their crimes without reservation and, after a strict trial, were imprisoned in Azkaban.
With this, Barty Crouch's reputation soared again, even reaching unprecedented heights since the Wizarding War.
The only regret was that Peter Pettigrew remained at large.
Some speculated that Pettigrew had gone to seek refuge with his master.
A cloud of gloom once again loomed over people's hearts.
However, due to the active involvement of the Watchers, the argument that "there aren't many dark wizards left, so Aurors don't need so much power" and the current situation paradoxically faded from people's minds.
After all, whether it was the Watchers or the Aurors, as long as they could deal with dark wizards, that was enough.
The current Watchers, younger and more approachable, were far more appealing than the crooked Aurors of the past.
Just look at their standardized black and blue wizard robes, exuding a sense of restraint, far more pleasing to the eye than the mismatched Aurors.
Moreover, since the Watchers took over, dark wizards indeed seemed to have decreased.
As for why...
"What nonsense!"
At the White Weasel Cottage, Murphy twitched the corner of his eye and tore a letter from a self-proclaimed well-known dark wizard into shreds.
The man had brazenly claimed in the letter that he was a muggle-killing fiend feared by the Aurors, specializing in using the Cruciatus Curse to torture muggles to death.
He believed his ferocity would surely contribute to Murphy's "future grand endeavors."
This infuriated Murphy.
Do they think I'm Voldemort? Accepting all sorts of monsters and ghosts?!
"Harold Nelson, huh?" Murphy thought, and thirty lightning crows received their orders, "Find this unlucky fellow for me."
"What quality, and he wants to be my subordinate!"
But soon, his mood recovered, as a lightning crow reported that over forty werewolves were gathering in a forest in Staffordshire.
Leading them was none other than Fenrir Greyback.
"Finally, I've caught you."
___________________
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