missnovel Chapter 1802 - 1800: Wreckage
Chapter 1802 - 1800: Wreckage
"Yo, good morning... Whoa!"
Early the next morning, when Saten Reiko arrived at the research institute, the first thing she saw was Leiji standing still on the second-floor steps, staring at the door, which gave her quite a scare.
"Miss Leiji? Mr. Fang Zheng let you out? Are you okay?"
However, in response to Reiko’s inquiry, Leiji naturally didn’t answer. She just glanced at the two of them and then turned and left. Reiko and Misaka Mikoto exchanged a puzzled look.
"What’s going on?"
"Just ask Mr. Fang Zheng and you’ll know."
Looking at the scene in front of them, the two were curious. Could it be related to the arrival of Miss Tokisaki Kurumi? But it’s only been a day...
If it were that simple to solve, it would indeed be a relief.
With questions in their minds, the two quickly arrived at Fang Zheng’s office.
"Mr. Fang Zheng, about Miss Leiji..."
"Yeah, it’s already sorted, Kurumi has handled it."
"Really? So what was the result?"
Hearing this, Saten Reiko and Misaka Mikoto leaned in excitedly, looking at Fang Zheng, who shrugged his shoulders.
"Nothing much, just that the two of them had a match, Leiji lost, so she won’t mention marrying me again. Now she’s serving as a guardian here."
That’s right, this was the condition Kurumi gave Leiji after defeating her. Leiji was originally a martial investigator and even an S-ranked one. After learning all the information about Leiji, Kurumi instantly came up with the best solution for this girl.
"If you want to catch Mr. Fang Zheng’s attention, just showcase your abilities. If you have the strength worthy of Mr. Fang Zheng’s admiration, he might change his mind."
With just this short sentence, Kurumi completely settled Leiji.
Fang Zheng had to admit, for such matters, women indeed handle it better. If it were him... he wouldn’t know what to say.
"Miss Tokisaki is really amazing..."
Although she didn’t know the ins and outs of the matter, upon hearing this, Saten Reiko clenched her fists, showing a look of admiration.
"By the way, where’s Miss Tokisaki?"
"She has some matters to attend to, but she should be back by the afternoon."
In this world, Kurumi’s responsibility was not just settling Leiji. In fact, Fang Zheng couldn’t stay in this world forever, and Kurumi was like Fang Zheng’s deputy, responsible for managing this coordinate point’s operations in his absence. Thus, after settling Leiji, Kurumi went through the Teleportation Gate to Lina Inverse’s world to have a "heart-to-heart" with the Priestess of the Goddess and others.
Having satisfied her curiosity, Saten Reiko turned and ran off, while Misaka Mikoto stayed behind. Watching Reiko leave, Mikoto quietly approached Fang Zheng.
"Mr. Fang Zheng, there’s something I need to talk to you about."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"It’s about before..."
At this point, Misaka Mikoto hesitated for a moment but continued.
"You defeated Accelerator in that previous experiment, right? Actually, at that time, the Tree Diagram was also destroyed..."
"Oh, I know that."
Of course, Fang Zheng knew.
"And then?"
"Recently, all the countries have been launching aerospace crafts, and Academy City’s space center has made two launches in a row. I got a bit worried, so I hacked into their system to check. It seems they..."
Looking at Fang Zheng, Misaka Mikoto swallowed.
"It seems they have retrieved the wreckage of the Tree Diagram..."
"So you’re worried they might restart the plan? Don’t worry, there’s no one in Academy City who would dare touch that thing again."
"But what if it falls into the hands of the outside world...?"
That’s right, that was exactly Misaka Mikoto’s concern. She wasn’t worried about the LV6 plan restarting, but rather about the possibility that if other countries got the data from the wreckage, they might think, "Oh, Academy City was trying to create superhumans, why don’t we do it too?" and then go on to create thousands of Little Misakas and such...
That thought alone made Misaka Mikoto want to jump into the Pacific Ocean.
"You don’t have to worry about that."
Seeing the anxious Misaka Mikoto, Fang Zheng chuckled and patted her head.
"Long before, I had already erased all your DNA profile information along with those plans, not even leaving a scrap of paper. So you don’t have to worry about anyone restarting the experiment. Trust me, I can guarantee that."
After all, writing a line in the Ratziel wouldn’t take more than a minute to settle it.
"I see..."
Hearing Fang Zheng’s assurance, Misaka Mikoto finally let out a sigh of relief. Although she still didn’t know Fang Zheng’s true identity, she knew that Fang Zheng was powerful and would not deceive her. Feeling reassured, Misaka Mikoto hummed a tune as she went out to find others to hang out with.
Fang Zheng, on the other hand, continued conducting experiments on space power users in the laboratory. Most of the problems were almost solved, except for adjusting the concentration of the divine power injection. Although this step was not difficult, it was extremely tedious. Fang Zheng had already tried several times, but none were quite successful... In short, it was just a matter of time; it was best to take it slowly.
After fussing around for half a day, the 321st experiment still ended in failure, leaving Fang Zheng quite frustrated. He packed up his things and went out to unwind.
Fang Zheng never imagined that separating divine power would be so difficult. Of course, this was also related to the nature of his divine power, which was the Primordial Fire. Such flames would turn you to charcoal directly. Even separating them, there was no way to change their nature.
If I’m pushed too hard, I’ll just imitate Anan and draw my own blood. Although drinking too much of that ancient god’s blood turns you into a big-headed doll, I’m not an ancient god... huh?
Thinking of this, Fang Zheng’s eyes lit up.
Maybe I should try it?
Lost in thought, Fang Zheng soon reached the end of the shopping street. But just as he was about to turn back, a sudden warning sensation arose in his heart. He frowned and glanced towards a nearby alley.
"Can’t be this unlucky..."
Muttering a few words, Fang Zheng started walking towards the alley.
Meanwhile, in the alley.
"Seems like you still don’t understand anything."
Sitting on a metal suitcase, a red-haired twin-tailed girl swung a flashlight and looked ahead with a grin. Not far from her, Kuroko Shirai lay on the ground, covered in blood.
What on earth is this woman talking about?
Kuroko Shirai endured the pain and tried hard to glare at her. Just a while ago, the Discipline Committee Branch received a report about a robbery spotted on surveillance. The victim hadn’t called the police, and their behavior was strange. This caught Kuroko Shirai’s attention. She intended to find out what was happening and reclaim the suitcase stolen by the robbers.
But to her surprise, a strange guy intercepted her, snatched the suitcase, and he, like her, was a space power user.
Moreover, since just now, the girl had been babbling completely incomprehensible stuff to Kuroko Shirai—terms like ’Tree Diagram’s remnants,’ ’experiments,’ and she even mentioned Misaka Mikoto... Although she didn’t know what Sister Dear was up to, Kuroko Shirai knew she absolutely couldn’t let this woman leave.
"In that case, how about I give you a hint...?"
The twin-tailed girl looked at Kuroko Shirai and grinned again, but at this moment, a hand reached out from behind her, patting her shoulder.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt."
"Hmm?"
Hearing the voice, the twin-tailed girl turned around.
"Who are you...?"
But before she could finish, she saw Fang Zheng punch her in the face, sending her flying like a ragdoll.
"Fang... Fang Zheng... Mr. Fang Zheng..."
Seeing the familiar figure appear, Kuroko Shirai finally sighed with relief.
"Tsk tsk, I must say, you’re really in a pitiful state..."
Seeing Kuroko Shirai lying in a pool of blood, Fang Zheng shook his head and crouched down.
"Honestly, you’re just too unlucky, Kuroko. With so many Discipline Committee members in Academy City, why is it always you getting hurt?"
Speaking while scanning Kuroko with his personal terminal. Frankly, Fang Zheng couldn’t figure it out. Normally, Kuroko Shirai was serious about assignments, responsible, with a good grasp of situations, reacted swiftly, and her spatial movement ability should ensure her safety.
Yet every time Fang Zheng encountered her, she’d been beaten half to death—last time with broken ribs, and this time even worse...
"Wow... This metal arrow even pierced your liver. Aren’t you headed for hypovolemic shock... Hang on, it’ll be over soon."
Fang Zheng snapped his fingers, and instantly, the metal arrows inside Kuroko Shirai disappeared. Then he used his personal terminal to apply medical gel on her. Soon, the burning pain throughout her body began to fade, and the bleeding parts felt cool, bringing relief.
"Thank you, Mr. Fang Zheng..."
"You’re welcome. I just had a bad feeling earlier, so I came by to check."
Saying this, Fang Zheng reached out a hand to Kuroko.
"Can you stand?"
"....."
Kuroko Shirai reached out her hand, trying to support herself to stand, but her arm gave way, and she found herself too weak to move.
"Probably due to blood loss, better head back to the research institute to rest. You can’t go anywhere else in your condition."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng picked up Kuroko Shirai in a princess carry. She was light, so it was easy for him.
"Please, wait a moment, Mr. Fang Zheng."
No time to feel embarrassed about being carried, Kuroko quickly spoke up.
"That... that suitcase... that woman tried to take it. She mentioned the remnants of the Tree Diagram and experiments..."
"Oh, Misaka Mikoto mentioned this to me this morning... Can’t believe someone’s actually interested in that junk."
Hearing this, Fang Zheng glanced at the suitcase, snapped his fingers, and flames suddenly appeared, instantly engulfing it.
Seeing this, Kuroko widened her eyes in surprise.
"Mr. Fang Zheng, this..."
"Such troublesome stuff, best to burn it to avoid anyone getting any crooked ideas."
Fang Zheng carried Kuroko Shirai, turning to walk out of the alley.
"Alright, anyhow, let’s head back to the research institute first."