Murphy met Boris in the visitor's area of the mansion.

The security level of the mansion was very high. Not only was the underground laboratory strictly off-limits, but the mansion itself was also restricted to uninvited guests and divided into several areas. Even invited guests could only stay in the visitor area and were not allowed to wander elsewhere.

It was only because Murphy had previously shown the security team Boris's picture, informing them that he might visit, that Boris was allowed inside.

"How's Marianna?" Murphy asked upon seeing Boris.

"She's recuperating in the hospital. I plan to bring her back in a few days." As he spoke, he looked at Murphy, "Does your previous offer still stand?"

"Of course," Murphy replied.

"You can let Marianna stay here," Murphy said. "It's safe here."

"Alright," Boris nodded. "About my job, what exactly do I need to do?"

"In a moment, I'll take you to the lab for some checks. This might be a regular thing, but you just need to follow their instructions."

"Your main task is to learn how to be the boss of a tech company."

"First, you need to familiarize yourself with Umbrella Corporation. I will prepare the materials for you, and once you're ready, I'll introduce you to someone. He's my collaborator in the Muggle world. He doesn't know my real identity, but he's a very capable operator. I will alter his memory, replacing his memories of me with you."

"Then, you can continue to collaborate with him to operate Umbrella Corporation. In most cases, you won't need to make any major decisions; just act as my assistant."

"Couldn't you be honest about your true identity with him? Aren't you partners? Don't you trust him?" Boris asked.

"I trust him," Murphy thought for a moment and then shook his head, "No, it would bring complications to your work in the future. It's unnecessary. Besides, Patrick has his own ideals. Telling him the truth might disappoint him."

Patrick enjoyed the process of creating a great product. If he knew that his so-called "great product" was just wizard potions repackaged, he would probably be quite disappointed.

"Alright, I understand."

Boris nodded, then suddenly remembered something, "By the way, I found these in the yard just now, and the guards seemed unable to see them."

He handed Murphy several paper cranes.

"When I saw them, these two were still flying."

Murphy was startled to see the paper cranes.

Aren't these Serika's paper cranes?

He counted five in total, three of which had wilted, and two were still fluttering their wings, apparently the most recent ones.

It seemed not that Serika hadn't written to him, but that these paper cranes couldn't enter the laboratory, so they couldn't find him. The paper cranes were probably enchanted with a Muggle-repelling spell, so the guards didn't notice them. They had been flying around the mansion until Boris, now more than a Muggle vampire, found them.

She had sent back five letters, she couldn't have already found the place and gone exploring on her own, could she?

He hurriedly opened one paper crane, which read in neat handwriting: "It's been five days, and you haven't come. I guess you might be busy with other things. I can't wait any longer, I'm going in myself. The method to enter is written on this paper crane. Just activate several runes in the correct order, and that's it. Hurry up and come!"

Uh-oh.

She really went exploring on her own!

He pocketed the paper crane with the correct activation sequence and opened the second one.

"I found Josiah's village! It's really hidden; it took me a long time to find it! It's been entirely concealed, not just with a Muggle-repelling charm but perhaps other secrecy spells. But it should be broken now. Besides, it's surrounded by a strange forest. If you don't use the runes outside the forest to break the forest's magic, you'll be trapped inside!"

"I thought for many days before figuring out how to break the forest's magic! I'm so awesome!" "Come quickly, I'll wait for you at the castle ruins."

Murphy: "..."

This paper crane was wrinkled as if it had been rained on two or three times and then dried. It seemed Serika had been waiting for him to explore together many days ago.

From the first paper crane, she had been waiting at least five days.

Why so stubborn?

Can't you take a Knight Bus back to tell me if you can't Apparate?

If I had known, I would have given her a key.

He opened the third paper crane, "It's been three days! I've written two letters! If you don't come, I'm going in! There's no Knight Bus here! Seems they can't reach everywhere. Come quickly!"

"..."

Alright.

It seems she wrote more than these five letters; there might be other paper cranes.

Sure enough, Murphy found two more paper cranes urging him to hurry up after searching the yard.

After reading the wilted paper cranes, Murphy opened the two most recent ones.

"Murphy! Come and save me! This village is terrifying! I think I can't get out! Sorry, I should have waited for you. Please read my letter soon, or I'll die!"

Murphy frowned. Sure enough, there was danger, but he couldn't blame her entirely. He should have left her a more reliable way to contact him.

He quickly opened the last paper crane.

"If you're reading this, don't come! This village is very dangerous! Anyone who enters gets cursed, and this curse might be the Heartseed. It prevents people from leaving! And there's a plague here! No living people! I think I've been infected. I might only have a few days left. The village might be sealed to prevent the plague from spreading outside. Don't come at all costs! If Alex or Mom asks, just say I went traveling..."

"I'm sorry I couldn't find the spell for you. Don't come. This disease makes you very ugly; I don't want you to see me like that."

"I..."

The rest of the words were scratched out.

"..."

A plague?

A Heartseed curse?

So, the village indeed has the magic of the Heartseed? But this magic is used on those who enter the village.

And what about the plague? Murphy thought for a moment, collected the paper cranes, and said to Boris, "Let's go, I'll take you to the lab first."