Chapter 170: Murphy Is Waiting for You

"Hello, Mr. Murphy, what can I help you with?"

At Gringotts Bank, as soon as Murphy stepped into the hall, a goblin beside him leaned in, "Shall I call Manager Locke for you?"

Goblin Locke was already one of the most prominent figures at the British Gringotts Bank, and the story of how he rose to prominence had long been widely told among the goblins.

Murphy glanced at him, "You are... Gan Buli?"

"Gan Buli is at counter ten; I am Jin Kou, sir."

"Oh, sorry, Jin Kou, remembering your appearance is a bit difficult for a wizard."

"Of course, of course, sir."

"I need to go to my vault to withdraw some money; send someone to escort me there."

"Which vault are you planning to draw money from?"

Murphy now has several vaults; one is the Dakehum Family's Vault No. 1743, originally used only for the initial official gold exchange, and later he added several more vaults, some of which handle bulk payments for Supreme Potion Shop, the wizard Security Shop, and other stores—a service that was expanded after Locke became manager and suggested it to Gringotts Bank.

For these bulk payment settlements and reconciliations, Gringotts could charge fees, earning a lot of Gold Coins, which boosted Locke's reputation in the bank day by day.

"Vault 891, then."

Murphy chose a vault with a lower number that was closest to the target Vault 713.

"Alright, please follow me."

Goblin Jin Kou led Murphy onto a roller coaster, descending all the way.

As soon as the ride began and went underground, feathers started falling from Murphy's back one by one; within moments, hundreds of feathers drifted down, and when the coaster departed, the feathers crackled with flashes of electricity, turning into Lightning Crows that scattered, searching for the location of Vault 713 for Murphy.

The coaster kept descending for an unknown distance until it finally arrived at Vault 891.

Looking at the bottomless dark abyss below, Murphy began to suspect that these goblins might have some dwarf‑like lineage.

Jin Kou got off with him; Murphy produced a small key, opened his own vault, and told the goblin to wait outside.

After entering the vault and waiting a moment, a Lightning Crow delivered a message to his mind: Vault 713 had been found.

He cast an Illusion Body Spell on himself, then stepped out, saw Jin Kou respectfully waiting, moved behind him, raised his wand, muttered a Coma Curse, and knocked Jin Kou unconscious.

Murphy's original wand was broken, so he was using a spare wand that felt unwieldy; after a moment, he cast another Coma Curse on the goblin, retrieved his wand, and lifted the goblin up.

His vision shifted to that Lightning Crow, and the image of Vault 713 appeared before him.

"Apparition!"

These Lightning Crows are his avatars, tightly linked to him; to some extent they serve as his eyes and hands, allowing him to move via their sight.

He materialized in front of the vault door, letting the Crows watch the sides; finding no one could see the area, Murphy internally scoffed at the so‑called "safest place in the wizarding world" security system, while pulling Jin Kou's hand and pressing it against the vault's massive door.

After a series of mechanisms clanged, the door opened.

The vault was small; Murphy could see everything inside at a glance.

Yet, unsurprisingly, the unexpected occurred.

The little cloth pouch containing the Magic Stone was not here.

What's going on?

This is indeed Vault 713, and it's still before August; he recalled that in the original story Hagrid came to collect the Magic Stone on the last day of July, taking Harry to buy various school supplies and then stopping by Gringotts to take the Magic Stone.

Um… speaking of which, Harry Potter is now staying with Sirius at White Ferret Mountain.

With Sirius as his official godfather, there's no need for Hagrid to take him shopping.

So… Hagrid didn't need to pick him up on Harry's birthday, meaning he might have taken the Magic Stone from Diagon Alley even earlier?

Fine.

After all, having done so many bizarre things since arriving in this world, even the Minister of Magic is now Barty Ke Lao Qi instead of Fu Ji, so such a butterfly effect is only natural.

So, the Magic Stone is now at Hogwarts?

By the way, soon Senior Quirrell will, under Voldemort's command, come here to rob it, and like himself will end up empty‑handed, prompting an angry Voldemort to possess him and decide to personally oversee Quirrell's operation.

Voldemort, like himself, needs Immortality Potion.

But unlike Murphy, who may need to use Immortality Potion long‑term to maintain his physical condition, Voldemort needs it for resurrection, possibly only once, so his demand for the Magic Stone as a production tool is likely not as strong as Murphy's.

Perhaps, a collaboration with Voldemort?

Only, that fellow Voldemort may have little sanity left, and truly resurrecting him would probably be a huge trouble.

Murphy hesitated briefly, then abandoned the idea.

Rather than pinning hope on a repeatedly defeated, barely sane specter, he'd rather figure it out himself.

With that thought, Murphy returned to his Vault 891 and lifted the Coma Curse from the goblin.

The latter rubbed his head as he woke, "How did I…"

"You seemed to have dozed off; let's go, Jin Kou."

"Ah, okay."

When Murphy spoke, he used a Regulatory Charm.

Jin Kou readily believed his words, dared not question further, and led Murphy out of the underground.

Emerging from Gringotts, Murphy released a Lightning Crow, "Tell Lucius Malfoy to come to White Ferret Mountain to see me."

…

Malfoy Manor.

Perhaps having heard of the upheavals in the British wizarding world, the Malfoy family finally ended their Roman tour and returned half a month ago.

House‑elf Betsy was happily cleaning the room; her masters had finally returned, and she felt her life had regained purpose.

However, in the study, Lucius Malfoy could not feel joy.

Earlier, to avoid being caught in the conflict between Len Kaoen and Murphy, he had gone into hiding.

That wasn't solely an act of evading the risk of picking the wrong side, but a judgment he made after careful deliberation.

In his original expectation, both Len Kaoen and Murphy each possessed considerable advantages, making it hard to completely defeat the other; after a round of probing, they would likely return to the negotiating table.

By that time, Lucius Malfoy, being someone who could speak before both sides and remain neutral, could timely act as the link between the two parties, becoming the pivotal third party at the negotiating table.

He is not that brainless, school‑trained type who would gladly be someone else's pawn.

Joining Albert Runcorn or Murphy, losing would naturally be disastrous, winning would just be a sip of soup—what's the point?

Lucius Malfoy, on what grounds should he be beneath others?

Only… the development completely exceeded his expectations.

He didn't expect Murphy to be so strong, nor did he expect him to be so ruthless.

After being attacked by a Werewolf, he had absolutely no intention to negotiate, directly killing eight Purebloods, and the leader Albert Runcorn's fate remains unknown to this day.

Moreover, whatever Magic he used even made Barty Ke Lao Qi willingly be driven by him.

Now, the Auror is already controlled by La Xi Mu Sai Er Wen, a die‑hard follower of Murphy, and together with the Watcher and Minister Barty Ke Lao Qi, the Ministry of Magic has effectively become Murphy's puppet government!

Not to mention, the remaining Purebloods have already been thoroughly subdued by Murphy.

The establishment and the gentry are all Murphy's men; in today's United Kingdom Ministry of Magic, aside from the Headmaster, who dares to say no to Murphy?

In such a situation, his avoidance at the time appears overly short‑sighted and foolish.

To put it mildly, it's called self‑preservation; to put it strongly, it's betrayal.

Given Murphy's nature and methods, Lucius truly doesn't know what he might do.

What to do?

Lucius paced back and forth in the study—should he go to beg forgiveness?

Or just run away?

As his anxiety peaked, a pop— lit a flash outside the window, and a crow, amidst crackling electric fire, appeared on the desk lamp.

"Caw! Lucius! Lucius! Malfoy!"

In Lucius's shocked expression, the crow actually began to speak human words.

"White Ferret Mountain!"

"Lord Mo Fei! At White Ferret Mountain! Waiting for you!"

"Caw! White Ferret Mountain!"

The crow's jet‑black eyes reflected Lucius's pale, terrified face.

"Caw! Go quickly!"

"Otherwise!"

"Execute!"

Thank you Emperor Caradia, Wind Spirit Moon Shadow +999, Liao Liao Jiu Xuan for 500 point‑coin tip, thanks to Cang Shi Hong for 1000 point‑coin tip~ Thank you for the support~~ muah~

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(End of Chapter)