Chapter 134: Purchasing Alchemical Items

The trading system was once again available for use. Kahn opened the panel and tapped on the starlight he had searched for earlier.

Instantly, glimpses of the next world came into view: people in tailored suits walking down wide avenues, and a metropolis with an extremely high level of modernization. These features, however, were hardly unique.

After reviewing the preview provided by the trading system, Kahn still could not guess what kind of world lay ahead. It was a highly modernized world, seemingly populated mostly by ordinary people. Was he expected to go there to sell serums?

With too little intelligence information, Kahn was reluctant to act rashly. It might look like a modern city, but what if Satan lived there?

"Giving up is definitely out of the question. It took this long just to get three trading worlds. If there are good things inside, wouldn't I be missing out?"

Kahn ultimately decided to make the trip. His current strength was already sufficient to cope with numerous dangers. Apart from encountering formless, intangible curses or gods terrifyingly powerful beyond reason, he possessed the capability to do battle with deities on the level of Asgard.

"Speaking of curses, I need to go to the wizarding world to buy some anti-curse potions and alchemy items, as well as Felix Felicis... Orochimaru also mentioned that the dragon meat and blood are running low, and the unicorn has still not been acquired. I can also breed my own dragon in the wizarding world."

Having relaxed for only a few days, Kahn once again found a pile of tasks piling up. Because of the affairs concerning Oscorp, Kahn had been forced to decline a campus party to which Carl had invited him. Waiting for news, cooperating with General Ross, and dealing with Betty and the paperwork took nearly two months before he was officially established as the chairman of Oscorp.

Although the board of directors remained, Kahn now held absolute authority within the group and renamed the conglomerate Pentcorp, subsequently preparing to acquire the shares held by the other directors.

Kahn had delegated this task to Betty and Laura, along with the integration of the biopharmaceutical company, the biological research center, and Umbrella into Pentcorp.

Betty was responsible for managing interpersonal relations for Kahn. As the daughter of the military's rising star, Thaddeus Ross, she possessed a natural advantage in status. Meanwhile, the internal restructuring of the group was handed over to Laura. Upon hearing this appointment, Laura was so overjoyed she was practically brought to tears, feeling a sudden, intense impulse to offer herself completely to him.

Laura had originally been merely a senior executive. Although she had served as CEO of Kahn's two companies for a time, the tenure was short. Suddenly becoming the CEO of a massive conglomerate—how could she not be ecstatic?

Though Laura's capability and experience still fell somewhat short of the position, she bore a chakra curse mark, which gave Kahn peace of mind. As for corporate affairs, he could simply have a few more people assist her so that she could gradually grow accustomed to the role.

As for the Vanko father and son, Kahn intended to establish a new renewable energy division within the group, with the father and son each taking charge of the research and development of new energy weapons and clean energy respectively.

Once Oscorp was safely in his pocket, Kahn handed the Super Soldier Serum over to General Ross. Ross and the figures behind him were growing impatient; otherwise, they would never have so quickly sliced off such a massive cake as Oscorp and handed it to him.

During this period, General Ross remained somewhat unwilling to let go of the Hulk, wanting Kahn to study the reason for the Hulk's immense strength to see if a third variety of super soldier could be created. He had heard through military channels just how devastating General Slocum's losses were because of the Hulk. If that power could be utilized for human physical enhancement, it would likely surpass even the Super Soldier Serum.

Yet Kahn refused once again. A Hulk inevitably demanded his personal supervision, and even then, there remained the danger of the Hulk breaking free. Pentcorp had just been established and was precisely at the stage where it needed development.

Whether it was the recovery serum or the other three specialty drugs for terminal illnesses, they would soon be launched onto the market. For this, Kahn had HYDRA to thank; without their efforts to influence the FDA, it would have been impossible to shorten the approval time for Kahn's three specialty drugs by such a margin.

However, the profitable biopharmaceutical company would also distribute dividends to them. Once these drugs flourished, they would monopolize a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Faced with such a staggering sum, HYDRA would inevitably be tempted.

After all, they were human, not religious zealots. As long as they were human, they had selfish desires. The twenty-seven percent share of the biopharmaceutical company was enough for HYDRA to divide internally. They had originally wanted a larger share, but after Kahn's attitude turned resolute, the members of HYDRA backed down.

Shortly after cooperating with HYDRA, Kahn thought of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff from Sokovia—natural empowered individuals whose abilities could be enhanced through the Mind Stone.

Kahn had originally intended to have Betty handle this matter, but she was far too busy. Therefore, he dispatched Jene and a team of Umbrella operatives to Sokovia to track down the two children and bring them back. If Kahn remembered correctly, Wanda and Pietro should be around thirteen years old right now.

If he could recruit the two of them, Kahn would truly come out ahead: one Scarlet Witch, and the other a speedster.

Jene was Kahn's third subordinate to be injected with the Super Soldier Serum. Kahn had already begun strengthening the personnel at Umbrella, and since not all of them could be injected with the Super Soldier Serum, he would also select certain individuals to receive the Extremis virus serum mixed with magical creature DNA.

For instance, the DNA of a demiguise might grant the ability of invisibility upon injection, though it remained uncertain whether one's clothing could be rendered invisible along with the body. The initial Extremis virus serum did not grant the recipient overwhelming physical strength, but it possessed a characteristic: the potential for evolution. The Extremis virus could optimize foreign genes, and Kahn himself was a beneficiary.

However, wanting to fuse a greater variety of genes likely required DNA imbued with formidable life force, such as Hashirama cells or Phoenix genetics; otherwise, there was a high probability of failure.

With the matters in the Marvel Universe arranged more or less to his satisfaction, Kahn prepared to traverse worlds. Before heading to the third world, however, he needed to make a trip to the wizarding world to purchase some potions and alchemy items, and incidentally check on his goddaughter.

...........................

Every time Kahn left the wizarding world, he would have Phil and Katelyn record important matters for him. What Katelyn recorded, naturally, was the ledger of the potion ingredients shop.

Unfortunately, Phil was merely a house-elf and lacked the capacity for information collection, so he could only passively save the *Daily Prophet* for Kahn, while Isaac had been dispatched by Kahn to infiltrate Hogwarts and protect Hermione.

What Kahn did not know, however, was that Hogwarts house-elves had no intention of reporting a professor and the servant of a school governor, meaning Isaac was getting along quite swimmingly at Hogwarts.

Kahn had already grown weary of reading a whole year's worth of newspapers last time, as much of it consisted of tedious and useless news. Therefore, he walked straight out to visit Katelyn at the potion ingredient shop.

Kahn's potion ingredient shop had now become the largest establishment in Diagon Alley. With its exclusive dragon materials and a steadily expanding scale of business, over the span of a year it had long since established itself as the premier potion ingredient shop in the British wizarding world, and even ranked first in the European magical community.

"Welcome, esteemed sir. You need a bit—Boss, did you just get back?"

Busy as she was in the shop, Katelyn caught sight of Kahn, immediately stepped out from behind the counter to greet him, and instructed someone to bring in black tea.

Once seated, Kahn said to Katelyn, "Business in the shop seems to be doing well, Katelyn."

"Of course, Boss. The growth of the potion ingredient shop has been exceptionally rapid. Oh, and per your request, I've written down many of the events that transpired."

At this, Katelyn briskly produced an account ledger, the majority of which detailed the developmental milestones of the potion ingredient shop over the past year.

Kahn casually flipped through it. The entries were rather fragmentary and scattered, but Katelyn had already opened two more potion ingredient shops in Europe—one in France and the other in Germany.

They had seventeen employees and had signed eleven exclusive supply magic contracts. In response to these business practices by Kahn's shop, the Ministry of Magic was already drafting countermeasures. However, Katelyn frequently spent money on publications like the *Daily Prophet* and *The Quibbler* to publicize that the Ministry's actions constituted an interference with the market and an infringement upon personal freedom.

Fudge must have accepted bribes to commit such a foolish act.

Katelyn's tactic had been learned from Kahn: continuously stirring up the power of public opinion, which genuinely drew widespread criticism of the Ministry's "foolish maneuvers."

After all, within the British wizarding world, criticizing the Ministry was always politically correct, especially when Minister Fudge lacked competence yet loved to sing his own praises.

Katelyn suddenly remarked, "Oh, right, Boss. The Delacour family appears to be privately reselling our magical materials. They've increased their purchase volume recently, which has caused our business in the French wizarding world to suffer quite a bit..."

"Hire a few wizards to monitor members of the Delacour family and catch them in the act."

After saying this, Kahn pondered for a moment, then proceeded to inquire about the Delacour family's purchase volume and the state of business in the French wizarding world. Devising a scheme to trap them, he gave Katelyn a few final instructions.

Upon hearing Kahn's plan, Katelyn replayed it in her mind and instantly perceived how insidious the strategy was. If the Delacour family fell into the trap, they would likely be torn to shreds by rival wizards.

Kahn instructed, "Once you've confirmed their contract-breaching behavior, go ahead with it. If you can't catch them red-handed, then wait a bit longer."

"I understand, Boss."

Having managed the potion ingredient shop for three years, Katelyn's mindset had gradually shifted toward that of a capitalist. Moreover, she received a share of the shop's revenue, so the Delacour family's actions were directly cutting into her own profits.

Katelyn suddenly remembered another matter and said to Kahn, "By the way, Boss, Hermione seems rather fatigued. She requested a large quantity of potion ingredients for brewing Reviving Potions. Taking those for prolonged periods will only exhaust her mind even further."

She then added as an afterthought, "Though it's also possible she's using them for her classmates, seeing as she knows the side effects of taking too many Reviving Potions."

"Is that so? I'll keep an eye on this."

Kahn nodded to indicate he understood, though inwardly he suspected that Hermione was using them herself. For Kahn suddenly remembered that during her third year, Hermione had come into contact with a Time-Turner—the very alchemy item in the wizarding world that interested him the most.