Chapter 81: The Basilisk (Part 2)
"It turns out you do need the Ant-Man suit and Pym Particles," Daniel Davis thought with a sigh of relief as he observed the last surviving test subject. The initial experiments showed that it was indeed possible to bring people back and forth through the quantum realm. However, to confirm this conclusively, multiple trials were necessary.
Through these experiments, Daniel discovered that the powers of the Op-Op Fruit lost their effect in dimensional spaces. This was true for both living and non-living objects. He wasn't too surprised by this; what he couldn't determine was whether this was due to his insufficient strength or the energy within the quantum realm itself. He would need to test again once he had grown stronger.
Afterward, Daniel disposed of the remaining test subject by using the dimensional space to eliminate any traces of him. He needed to stay in the area for a while and didn't want to bother with managing the captive. As for finding new test subjects, there was never a shortage of deserving candidates in this world.
"Sigh, the magical world's suppression of technology is really severe. It's astonishing that in this day and age, there's no such thing as international telephone service," Daniel lamented. He had initially planned to notify Grindelwald but decided against it upon realizing the absence of such communication methods. Though he could easily use teleportation magic to open a portal to London, it seemed unnecessary.
The times had changed. Even if he couldn't defeat Grindelwald or Dumbledore, he could always escape. He decided to use this time to establish his businesses.
Daniel had plans for two companies. The first was a tech company, which would facilitate the launch of his smartphone and allow for the procurement of resources. The second was a gaming company, driven by his personal interest and a strategic move for future planning.
Introducing a vast array of second-dimensional culture and fostering technological advancements would lessen the disruption caused by the revelation of the magical world. Much like in the Marvel universe, where superheroes, aliens, and gods were casually discussed in passing, people might adapt to the magical world without much upheaval.
Initially, Daniel had considered launching board games. This era was the golden age of board games, with the lack of advanced technology making people less busy than in his original world and eager for entertainment. Board games were a great way to enhance this world's entertainment landscape.
During this period, Daniel had even devised several board games based on the themes of the Three Kingdoms, the Sui and Tang dynasties, Journey to the West, and Dream of the Red Chamber.
Of course, to be precise, these weren't solely Daniel's creations but were largely developed by the Red Queen through computer simulations based on his ideas.
In Harry's world, the magical community in China wasn't as conservative as the Western magical world. Interestingly, in this world's version of the USA, the country was renowned not for its technological prowess but for its magical advancements, striving to surpass the old magical order.
The magical world was theoretically divided by the seven continents, though regions like Africa and Antarctica were just nominally included.
Africa was a magical desert and the largest producer of Obscurials. Fortunately, most Obscurials didn't live past ten years old; otherwise, Africa might have been doomed.
Obscurials were incredibly powerful magical beings, though their attack methods were limited. Their magical power was immense. Grindelwald had gone through great lengths to manipulate Credence, whose Obscurus had survived past ten years, an extraordinary rarity.
The Dumbledore family's bloodline was indeed formidable. While other Obscurials rarely survived beyond ten years, Credence defied this limitation.
"I'll need to find a CEO for this world too," Daniel mused. After successfully registering his companies, he turned to a headhunting firm to find a manager. The term 'CEO' wasn't in use in this world yet.
Daniel's goal in starting these companies was to gather resources, not to spend all his time managing them. He already felt pressed for time to train and study; running a company would be an even greater time drain. Even Tony Stark rarely handled his company's affairs seriously.
Being able to travel to the Marvel universe and gaining the ability to traverse dimensional spaces from the Ancient One was a rare opportunity. Focusing on becoming stronger was his priority. With the infinite possibilities of the universe, he might even have a chance to become a true deity. However, this was a distant goal, and he needed to take things one step at a time.
Daniel spent a substantial amount of money and quickly found a suitable CEO—a woman in her thirties who had previously been a general manager for a unique foreign company. This company had begun scaling down and exiting the Chinese market due to poor performance, leading to her dismissal.
After confirming her as the right candidate, Daniel handed over a lot of tasks to her, including the gaming company and a food and beverage company.
The food business focused on snacks like chips, while the beverage side was simpler. In the Marvel universe, his company's drinks were on the verge of competing with Pepsi and Coke. In this world, neither brand had yet ventured into the domestic market.
As for the tech company, Daniel had to keep a closer eye on it initially. After recruiting some researchers, he started working. For his recent absence, his excuse was straightforward—he had been in seclusion for research. Next came negotiations with the government, as launching satellites wasn't straightforward. Daniel was confident the government wouldn't refuse, especially since even the magical world needed smartphones.
Although Daniel had learned a form of duplicating magic, the "Eikonic Figure," which could create a tangible shadow clone, its duration was still too short, useful only in combat. If he were powerful enough, he might summon a long-lasting shadow clone to handle the front-end responsibilities.
Having mastered a considerable amount of the magic taught by Doctor Strange, Daniel was convinced that lower-level mages resorted to wielding physical weapons. The more he delved into Kamar-Taj's magic, the more he doubted whether the Ancient One was truly dead. If he were in her position, he could easily have passed the title of Sorcerer Supreme to Doctor Strange and then wandered other dimensional spaces.
The Ancient One had never used many powerful spells, like the Whip of Agamotto, the Eikonic Figure, the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, the Bolts of Balthakk, or the Sword of Vishanti, during her battle with Kaecilius. Opting for close combat over such spells seemed illogical.
"All set," Daniel announced. He arrived at his London residence through a portal after arranging everything. There, he met Grindelwald.
"It's almost ready. In a little while, we'll see the results," Daniel confirmed. He had previously left instructions with Grindelwald, stating that his absence was due to his involvement in tech research. Grindelwald was to use the provided materials to teach the students.
Grindelwald, appearing somewhat excited upon receiving Daniel's confirmation, was aware of the significant changes that the introduction of smartphones would bring to this world—changes that the magical community couldn't prevent unless they wanted to go to war with the Muggle world.
"You've become a Muggle Studies teacher?" Daniel was taken aback after conversing with Grindelwald. He had expected Dumbledore or Grindelwald to pass the teaching materials to a professor instead.
Grindelwald had even lived incognito among Muggles for an extended period to better understand their way of life for teaching purposes.
For the sake of his ideals, Grindelwald's potential seemed limitless.
"That's actually good. By the way, I've brought some nice things this time," Daniel said, producing several board games he had created, along with snacks like chips and chocolate bars.
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PS: Some have compared the performance of the Op-Op Fruit in the One Piece world to the protagonist's use of it. Remember, the One Piece world is heavily centered around physical prowess and high bodily resilience.
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