With the substantial financial backing of the pure-blood families, Wade could finally carry out many of his experiments without holding back.
For the remainder of the holidays, he frequently travelled between the safe house and his laboratory in Knockturn Alley.
After repairing both pairs of Vanishing Cabinets, Wade placed one in the safe house and the other in Knockturn Alley.
Naturally, he did not put it directly inside the laboratory. Instead, he placed it in a small room outside the laboratory, beyond the protection of the Fidelius Charm.
When he had originally built the laboratory, he had deliberately left this room outside the Fidelius Charm's protection.
That meant that even if someone used the Vanishing Cabinet in the safe house to arrive in that room in Knockturn Alley, they still would not be able to discover the entrance to the laboratory.
To ensure that the room itself remained hidden from the people of Knockturn Alley, Wade cast a separate Fidelius Charm over it.
The process was admittedly troublesome, but it pushed the laboratory's security to its absolute limit.
...
As Professor Slughorn's negotiations with the Ethiopian Ministry of Magic were nearing completion, Wade spent most of his time conducting biological research.
After obtaining his new funding, he once again donned Ravenclaw's Diadem and further improved his super microscope.
At present, Wade had two methods for breeding Basilisks.
The first was to hatch Basilisk hatchlings using the traditional method of incubating Basilisk eggs.
The second was to use the super microscope to analyse the Basilisk's complete genome, identify the snake species with the closest genetic match, edit that snake's genome to match the Basilisk's, and then clone it, ultimately cultivating an exact duplicate of the Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets in a laboratory culture.
Relatively speaking, the first method was much simpler.
However, the hatchlings produced by that method would not possess the thousand-year-old Basilisk's magical power, meaning the materials harvested from them might lack the extraordinary properties of the original.
The second method, on the other hand, was considerably more difficult.
But if it succeeded, the resulting Basilisk would be completely identical to the one in the Chamber of Secrets.
Once he achieved that for the first time, Wade would be able to mass-produce materials from a thousand-year-old Basilisk.
In truth, he greatly preferred the second method.
As someone from the earth of 2026, the desire for mass production seemed engraved into his very bones.
The problem was that success depended heavily on luck.
If fortune favoured him, it might take only a day or two.
If not, it could take a year or even two.
Before cloning the thousand-year-old Basilisk, he first had to identify the snake species whose genome most closely resembled the Basilisk's.
The closer the match, the fewer differing gene sequences there would be, the fewer edits required, and the less time the entire process would take.
Wade decided to pursue both methods simultaneously.
The roosters required for the first method had already been bred. All that remained was to administer the Transfiguration Potion to them.
The second method would require a long process of comparison, but there was no need to rush.
With Tom around, Wade had no shortage of live snakes for his experiments.
Tom had captured an entire sack of snakes for him in the Forbidden Forest, and Wade still hadn't finished comparing them all.
Unfortunately, progress had been disappointing.
So far, the closest genetic match was the viper, with a similarity of only eighty-nine percent.
That meant Wade would have to edit well over a hundred thousand differing gene sequences to transform a viper's genome into that of a Basilisk.
Whenever he reached this point, Wade couldn't help wishing he had a research team he could trust completely.
He could create people he trusted absolutely.
Finding people who possessed the necessary expertise in biology, however, was another matter entirely.
Even if he kidnapped a few Muggle biologists, they would be unable to perceive the unique magical characteristics hidden within a Basilisk's genes.
In that case, they would be of virtually no help at all.
Wade ran a hand through his hair in frustration as he sat in the laboratory.
"What kind of Dark Lord earns his own money? By the same logic, what kind of Dark Lord does his own research?"
Even Voldemort in the future had only invented a few potions himself. Most potion development had been left to Snape.
"Looks like I need to hurry up and cultivate my own research assistants..." Wade slumped into his chair. "Tom won't do. All he cares about is becoming stronger. He has no interest in research. And now his heart is getting brighter by the day... Seriously, who would believe it? Voldemort is turning into Dumbledore!"
Feeling as though he had completely burned himself out, Wade decided it was time to head home and rest.
After tidying up the laboratory, he Apparated to the small room, passed through the Vanishing Cabinet, and returned to the safe house.
Toby and the others had long since grown accustomed to Wade's habit of appearing and disappearing without warning.
The moment he stepped into the sitting room, Toby hurried over with dinner and the letters that had arrived that day.
Looking exhausted, Wade sat down, intending to eat first before reading the mail.
Across from him, Tom Cat and Jerry were each seated before an easel, holding brushes in both hands and feet as they frantically painted.
Toby was thoroughly pleased to see them behaving so well.
In fact, Wade had already contacted a film company in America for them.
Originally, he had expected to rely on Nightmare Magic or the Imperius Curse.
To his surprise, the Muggle company, MGM, accepted Wade's submission as soon as they saw the idea and immediately decided to move forward with it.
Wade had no choice but to send Andrews to America once again to negotiate with the company.
After several rounds of discussions, the contract was signed.
Now the two of them were hard at work producing the first draft.
Tom and Jerry would complete the initial artwork, after which the Muggle company would fill in the details frame by frame and turn it into an animated film.
Wade himself wasn't very familiar with the production process, since he wasn't directly involved.
Now that Yelena would be enrolling at Hogwarts as a transfer student, Andrews no longer needed to spend so much time tutoring her.
It was just as well to give the newly idle Andrews something to do. Otherwise, with too much free time on his hands, he might end up sneaking back to the Soviet Union to seek revenge.
After finishing dinner, Wade opened the letters.
There weren't many today. Most were simply greetings from his friends.
Professor Slughorn's letter, however, immediately lifted his spirits.
The negotiations with the Ethiopian Ministry of Magic had been concluded.
The Ethiopian Ministry would provide the necessary land and issue the legal permits for the breeding facility.
In return, Wade and his associates only needed to provide the Ministry with an annual political donation of ten thousand Galleons.
Reading this, Wade couldn't help admiring Professor Slughorn's negotiating skills.
Originally, Wade had expected they would have to give the Ethiopian Ministry a share of the profits.
Instead, Slughorn had negotiated what was effectively a complete buyout.
As long as they paid ten thousand Galleons a year, they would be free to do whatever they pleased.
Only after reaching the end of the letter did Wade understand why the Ethiopian Ministry had chosen a buyout instead of profit sharing.
Professor Slughorn had negotiated on the basis of juvenile Basilisks.
After all, raising a young Basilisk to adulthood wasn't something that could be accomplished in a year or two.
That meant it would be a very long time before the operation generated any profit.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Magic urgently needed Galleons to keep itself running, so it eagerly chose the buyout option.
As far as Wade was concerned, it was already an excellent deal. After all, he wasn't short of money at all.
Professor Slughorn, however, was somewhat dissatisfied. In his opinion, since the breeding facility wouldn't generate much income in the short term, paying ten thousand Galleons a year was far too much.
After reading the letter, Wade immediately picked up a sheet of parchment and wrote back to Professor Slughorn, updating him on the recent developments and assuring him that there was no need to worry about short-term profits because they weren't lacking funds.
Professor Slughorn would naturally understand. After all, he had personally delivered the Dragon Pox potion formula to St Mungo's.
After dinner, thoroughly exhausted, Wade returned to his room to rest.
After taking a Calming Draught, he slept for a very long time, only waking around noon the following day.
Once he had washed up and headed downstairs feeling refreshed, he discovered that Tom had arrived at some point.
Wade noticed the suitcase beside him.
"What brings you here?"
"School starts in a few days. You have a fireplace here, so it's much more convenient to get to the station," Tom explained casually.
"What about your ancestor? And Yelena?"
"Professor Dumbledore said only the two of us are allowed to know about this place," Tom replied calmly. "So I didn't bring the old man. As for Yelena, Andrews will take her to Hogwarts in his carriage. That's Professor Dumbledore's arrangement. Apparently transfer students have their own traditions too."
Wade rubbed his nose.
"Tom, you've really changed. Every other sentence out of your mouth is 'Professor Dumbledore' now."
"Professor Dumbledore has taught me a great deal. What's wrong with trusting him? Besides, he's not like someone else who keeps tricking me," Tom said seriously.
"Fair enough. Looks like you're Professor Dumbledore's favourite student now, Tom. You should remember to say that the next time you run into Grindelwald."
Tom didn't quite understand the joke. Instead, he pointed at Tom Cat and Jerry, who were still hard at work drawing.
"So... you're really treating them like workhorses?"
"The little cat and little mouse are full of energy. This is exactly the age when they should be working hard," Wade replied with a yawn as he picked up his lunch.
"Looks like you've been busy lately too. So... have you figured out how to begin your so-called revolution yet? And Hydra?"
"Tom, a revolution is about crossing the river by feeling for the stones. You don't figure out the path through imagination alone.
"There's no need to rush. You have to base it on the actual conditions of society. Have you seen Grindelwald's revolutionary slogans? They clearly weren't grounded in reality.
"They were based entirely on his own imagination. That's why they failed once they were put into practice. We can't make the same mistake and charge blindly into a left-wing adventurist approach."
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69