"Respectable Empress,"
"Three months have passed, and I find myself missing you. I hope this letter finds you well and does not trouble you unduly."
Sofia rolled her eyes at the formal wording. If he truly missed her, why wait three months to write a letter? What was he doing all this time?
Sure enough, after the pleasantries, Murphy immediately got to the point.
"Perhaps you've already been informed, but in accordance with our agreement, I feel it necessary to report to you that I plan to establish a magic research laboratory within Soviet territory, involving magical matters, for which I hope to have your understanding."
Sofia's eyes lit up. She had just been wanting to inquire about this laboratory, and here he was, bringing it up himself. Quite considerate, indeed.
"The so-called magic research laboratory is a national-level large-scale research institution aimed at advancing the scientific study of magic comprehensively."
"This will be the most systematic magic research institution envisioned. The laboratory will include several branches such as fundamental magic theory, transfiguration, spellcasting, potion-making, wand and magical tool crafting, magical creatures, magical plants, and more. Each branch will host numerous topics and research groups."
"Including, but not limited to, transfiguration, spellcasting, death and the soul, and the mind, among many other subjects."
"Besides these basic research areas, we have also set up some highly practical research topics. For example, we have established a laboratory specifically to study the role of werewolf feces in promoting plant growth, which has the potential to improve the food situation in the Soviet Union."
"Additionally, we have initiated an astrological magic research group. This group will study how astrological magic could mitigate the freezing conditions of ports around the Arctic Ocean. If successful, this research could potentially open up international shipping lanes through the Arctic Ocean, completely transforming the geopolitical situation of the Soviet Union."
The Arctic Ocean, directly connecting Asia, Europe, and the Americas, if a year-round navigable route through the Arctic Ocean could indeed be established, it would provide a much shorter route than the Strait of Malacca for many ocean trades, changing the geopolitical situation of the Soviet Union is no exaggeration.
Even if Sofia wasn't very clear about the international situation regarding Muggles, she could understand the significant implications for the Soviet Union.
The two examples Murphy provided were major issues concerning the life and death of the Soviet Union. Although Sofia thought they might be difficult to achieve, she was still astounded by Murphy's vision and scope.
He had mentioned that what he was doing would benefit the people of the Soviet Union. Sofia had thought it was just rhetoric, but now it seemed he had genuinely considered the well-being of the Soviet people.
"To help the Soviet Union build this project, Umbrella Corporation will enter the Soviet Union, providing financial and technical support. It is estimated that during the construction phase, nearly two billion rubles in GDP will be created, and upon completion, it will provide jobs for one hundred to two hundred thousand people."
"This is a project comparable to the Manhattan Project in scale, but unlike that weapons-making initiative, the laboratory will progressively produce technologies that can enhance societal productivity and improve the standard of living."
"For instance, we will develop cheaper and more efficient medical treatments to enhance the health and hygiene of the Soviet populace."
"We will extend the lifespans of the Soviet people, develop potions for food production to address the need for food imports, and develop levitating trains to speed up freight transport, improving the Soviet transportation situation. It is foreseeable that once we extend the Floo Network into Muggle homes, it will bring unparalleled convenience to their travel."
"Yes, the magic research laboratory is just the beginning. A greater transformation is about to unfold on this land."
"This will be the first nation in human history to apply magic technology to Muggle society. Our planet will, from here, welcome the dawn of magic."
Sofia's eyes widened in realization. So this was his plan.
Mad and terrifying, yet utterly captivating.
As a wizard, hiding from Muggle society and enjoying the secrets of magic alone was fun, but against such a grand scheme, it seemed too selfish and insignificant.
Sofia was once again shocked by Murphy's grand vision.
Indeed, Mr. Darkholme was a madman dreaming of changing the world.
Yet, in another part of her heart, she couldn't help but admire him.
Although his fantasies were like those of a madman, Mr. Darkholme seemed to be genuinely striving towards that direction.
Everything he spoke of was so incredible, the difficulties unimaginable, yet he did not shrink back or fear. Instead, he had meticulously planned and was steadily executing those plans.
What kind of mind and thoughts did this man possess? How did he cultivate such a strong and diamond-like will?
At that moment, Sofia was filled with curiosity about Murphy.
After a while, she returned to the present and continued reading the letter.
"The Magic Research Institute, being focused on magic, requires the assistance of a large number of wizards to help Muggle researchers access and understand magic."
"Arkaim has many excellent wizards, and so I wish to borrow a thousand wizards to participate in this research project."
"I will pay them wages higher than the market rate."
"The future results of magic research will naturally include a share for Arkaim..."
Sofia: "..."
What's happening? Why does this suddenly feel different?
Why is there a hint of a scam in this?
Sofia put down the letter with mixed feelings.
A thousand wizards wasn't too much.
With a wizard population close to fifty thousand in Arkaim, selecting a thousand young wizards for external work wasn't difficult.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that she was about to be swindled.
Better consult Lady Yaga first.
...
A few days later, Murphy was discussing Lucas's learning issues with her.
Murphy found Lucas's pace of absorbing knowledge astoundingly fast. She could use the diary to directly absorb the content of a book, then turn it into part of her searchable memory.
Although understanding the content still required some time to read, for some tool-like books, this trick allowed her to store the book in an external hard drive, available for use at any time.
"Does the diary have a storage limit?" Murphy asked.
"Yes, it can absorb several tens of thousands of books, but it shares capacity with my memory. If I store too many scene memories, this capacity gets squeezed."
"And the retrieval speed?"
"About half a minute to search through a book, not particularly fast," Lucas said.
A book, taking 300,000 words for example, searched in thirty seconds, averaging 10,000 words per second, equating to about 2-3kb per second processing speed in computer terms—indeed not fast, but far surpassing an ordinary person.
Hmm... This individual is becoming more and more useful as a tool.
Just as he was considering using her for some experiments to help solve his computational power issue, a wizard came in and handed him a letter.
The envelope's double-headed eagle and the bear, deer, wolf, boar crest indicated the sender's origin.
Murphy immediately opened the letter.
Inside, only two sentences were written.
"Agree to one condition, and the thousand wizards are yours."
___________________
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