Chapter 165

The wizarding world is not big, and eight or nine people died all at once. This matter simply cannot be hidden.

So the next day, a report titled "Extremely Vicious! Peter Pettigrew Bombs Eight Wizards to Death!" shocked the British wizarding world.

According to survivors, that day, they were holding a dinner party in the Runcorn family's ancient castle, when suddenly a wretched wizard broke into the party. He grabbed Runcorn and threatened everyone to join the Death Eaters, otherwise he would kill Runcorn and their friends.

Several wizards, in order to save Runcorn and their friends, had to pretend to agree to Peter Pettigrew's request and let him draw the "Dark Mark" for them.

Later, when Pettigrew was distracted drawing the Dark Mark for everyone, the Auror Captain who had been recuperating in the Runcorn family's ancient castle due to illness—Rasim Selwyn—happened to appear. Because he was not at the scene before, his wand was not confiscated. In order to save the captured wizards, he launched an attack on Peter Pettigrew, and the two sides had a great battle.

In the melee, Peter Pettigrew used his wand to create a terrible explosion, killing several upright wizards.

And Pettigrew and Runcorn were nowhere to be found.

People suspect that they might have also died in that explosion, and some suspect that Pettigrew must have escaped with hostages.

"Master, look, is it okay for me to say this?"

In the Rosier family's mansion, Murphy listened to Ansetus's report.

The latter had just finished his third interview with Rita Skeeter, and later the Watchers and Aurors would come to ask questions.

"Although it's a bit deliberate, let's just do it."

"Do we want to investigate Pettigrew's whereabouts and then kill him? Although he is a fugitive, if he is caught by Aurors and it is discovered that he has not been here, our rhetoric will not hold water."

"Pettigrew?"

Murphy shook his head, "No need, he can't be caught."

That rat has been locked in the laboratory since he was rescued. Where would the Aurors go to catch him?

"Yes, yes, I am overthinking. With the master's wisdom, you must have already thought of a way to deal with it."

Murphy glared at him. Normally, the Soul Seed he planted for these wizard nobles should be a magic contract type, not a faith loyalty type, right?

Why are they so sycophantic?

"Stop flattering. How is the work I ordered you to do?"

"Yes, the master is right," Ansetus nodded repeatedly, humbly said: "With the master's previous paving, the progress is relatively smooth. We have obtained enough votes, and counting his original part, we have an 80% chance of pushing Barty Crouch to the position of Minister."

"Hmm," Murphy stood up, "Strive for the remaining votes as well. Also, go and get a good relationship with Fudge, and pull him into our circle."

"Yes." Ansetus followed Murphy out of his mansion, "But, master, aren't you worried that Barty Crouch will rebel? He is not a character who will listen obediently."

"Rebel?" Murphy shook his head, "He doesn't dare. And, it doesn't matter."

Not to mention that he planted a Soul Seed magic contract for him, making it difficult to rebel, just Barty Crouch Jr. being in his hands, if he dared to have any unusual movements, Murphy could abolish him at any time.

Furthermore, at this point, a Crouch, so what if he rebels?

In May, the Blue Queen sold two million units, and orders are still growing.

Umbrella Company stepped on a group of semiconductor industry veterans such as Microsoft, Apple, and Intel, and jumped to become the world's premier technology giant.

Overnight, the leader of global semiconductor technology changed from the United States to the United Kingdom.

The Americans went crazy. In the past two years, they had used all kinds of dirty tricks, from anti-dumping bills to the Toshiba embargo incident, and had just hammered Japan, the little brother who tried to challenge their technological hegemony, back to his grandmother's house. As a result, the old man Britain jumped out to make trouble again!

It's endless, isn't it!

Do you still have me, the boss, in your eyes?!

Soon a group of people began to study ways to deal with Umbrella. At first, they planned to impose sanctions on Umbrella in the name of threatening national security, finding companies that provided key technologies to it, and banning their cooperation with Umbrella.

As a result, after searching around, they found that Umbrella Company did not use any technology from any American company. Even the cooperation with Seagate was limited to the field of mechanical hard drives, and it was also a technology provider. Once the cooperation was cut off, the Seagate company that lost the top hard drive technology would be the one to starve to death immediately.

And Umbrella could find an alternative company at any time, basically having no effective impact on its business.

A semiconductor high-tech enterprise, actually didn't use a bit of American technology from beginning to end?!

This is unscientific!

This is unrealistic!

Well, even if this is true, can it be fully self-developed? Without American technology, what about Japan's? What about South Korea's? What about other European countries'?

After the Department of Commerce asked around and came back, they reached a distressing conclusion.

Umbrella Company is a company with no technical shortcomings in the entire industrial chain, from chip design to production, to system R&D, to desktop terminals.

This is another Samsung, and it is a Samsung not controlled by the United States.

Americans are very puzzled, why did such an enterprise appear in the United Kingdom, which is already basically declining, instead of my great America?

The Americans on the other side of the ocean are in a mess, and on the other side, the British Ministry of Magic is also surging.

Due to Rasim Selwyn's heroic resistance to Pettigrew, he was nominated by Barty Crouch as the new Director of the Auror Office, and soon received Mi Li Sen's approval.

On the first day Rasim Selwyn took office, he fired several Aurors including Kingsley Shacklebolt.

At the same time, he accused them of abuse of power, arbitrarily implementing arrest warrants for wizards, and being involved in the former "Nameless" case, bearing direct responsibility, and requested the Wizengamot to file a case and have the Watchers investigate them.

But during the investigation, several former "notorious Aurors" refused to cooperate, clashed with the Watchers, and developed into an armed fight. Finally, Kingsley and three former Aurors escaped pursuit and were nowhere to be found.

Some say they sought help from a famous wizard, and some say they finally fled to the United States, preparing to seek asylum from the American Ministry of Magic.

But regardless, the current Auror Command no longer has the chaos of acting on its own in the past and has become peaceful.

At the end of May, the issue of the change of the Ministry of Magic, which had been delayed until now due to various chaotic events, was finally put on the agenda. After the final debriefing speech, Mi Li Sen Bagnold announced her withdrawal from the next Minister election and gave full affirmation and support to Barty Crouch's work.

And after her retirement, she was hired by the Supreme Potion chain as a senior consultant, mainly responsible for negotiation work in the global expansion of Supreme Potion's business. Due to her irreplaceable important value, Supreme Potion gives Ms. Mi Li Sen a salary treatment of no less than 1.2 times her ministerial position every year.

In June, after a series of competitions, Barty Crouch defeated Fudge and was elected Minister of the British Ministry of Magic with a high vote.

In the same month, half-blood wizard Winston Robinson was elected Watcher Commander, Alex Wood entered the Department of Magical Transportation as Director of the Floo Network Authority, and former Director Dolph was transferred to Director of the Centaur Office. Selica Wood, under the recommendation of former Director Fudge, entered the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters as Deputy Director of the Memory Obliviation Headquarters.

At the same time, several Muggle researchers who signed the Soul Seed magic contract underwent werewolf transformation. They were hired by Supreme Potion or the Wizard Security Shop and began to try to learn to live in the wizarding world.

The Magic Research Institute seems to have become an incubator, with more and more people walking out of it and having a place in the wizarding world.

Hogwarts Castle in the Scottish Highlands.

Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore opened the window and took the letter sent by the owl.

"Thank you, Pauly."

The owl gave a caw and spread its wings and flew away.

Dumbledore unfolded the letter, put on his glasses to finish reading, sighed softly, folded the letter back into the envelope, came to the table, and pulled open a small drawer.

In that drawer, tens of thousands of envelopes were neatly arranged, and he put the letter in.

"Is there anything to worry about? Dumbledore?" On the wall, the portrait of an elderly wizard wearing a hat asked.

"Shacklebolt is unwilling to accept my asylum, he decided to go to the United States to try his luck."

"Oh, Shacklebolt. An Auror, irrelevant. It's Crouch who became Minister, what do you plan to do?"

Dumbledore did not answer. He returned to the window, closed it, and stood there, looking at the setting sun in the distance, not knowing what he was thinking for a while.

Outside the window, the long night is coming.

The sky is getting darker and darker.

(End of volume)

(End of chapter)