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"So it really is…"
The words slipped softly from Fang Li's lips, so faintly that only he should have been able to hear them.
Yet Shirai Kuroko, sharp-eared as ever, caught every syllable.
Coupled with Fang Li's look of quiet, heavy contemplation, she immediately knew. The man standing before her, the low-key leader of the city's largest non-esper group, likely knew something significant.
That, in itself, wasn't surprising. Operating deep in the city's shadows, the gangs and underworld figures often managed to gather intel that the public and even the official channels missed. Since Fang Li was at the head of the largest ability-less organization in the area, it was only natural that he might have a few secrets up his sleeve.
At once, Kuroko pressed forward, her usual playful edge completely gone.
"You know something, don't you? Tell me, quickly!"
It was the first time Fang Li had ever seen that raw, genuine impatience on Kuroko's face. That look alone was enough to tell him just how deeply worried she was.
But Fang Li didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked a question of his own.
"Why are you suddenly so desperate about Railgun?"
At those words, Kuroko's delicate brows knit together again, her gaze dropping. After a brief, loaded silence, she finally sighed in resignation.
"Lately… Onee-sama's condition hasn't been very good."
Reluctantly, Kuroko began to lay out what she knew about Misaka Mikoto's recent state.
"Not only does she look utterly drained every day, but she keeps sneaking out after curfew. She doesn't come back until morning, and when she does, she just collapses on her bed and falls asleep. Then, once she wakes up, she goes out again immediately. It's been a cycle for quite some time now."
At first glance, it might have sounded like Mikoto was just buried in some incredibly busy work. But as her roommate, Kuroko knew better than anyone.
"...It's like there's some huge burden weighing on Onee-sama's heart."
Her voice dropped so low it was barely a whisper.
"It's not just confusing her or troubling her like a bad test score."
"It's something big enough to affect her whole life."
Otherwise, Onee-sama wouldn't be wearing that exhausted, sorrowful, almost hopeless expression every single day. Kuroko didn't say those final words aloud, but Fang Li could already guess. If Misaka Mikoto, the famous Tokiwadai Ace, known for her pride and unshakable strength, was looking like that, then something was profoundly wrong.
It was little wonder Kuroko was so downcast, barely acknowledging anyone, even him.
"It's been a long time since Kuroko last saw Onee-sama smile."
Raising her head, Kuroko looked straight at Fang Li, her expression dangerously serious.
"If you know anything at all… tell me. Please."
The gravity on Shirai Kuroko's face was something Fang Li had never witnessed before.
Meeting that uncharacteristic intensity, Fang Li quietly took out his cellphone. He connected to the network, tapped a few times, and then turned the screen toward Kuroko.
She instinctively glanced down, and her eyes widened in shock.
"Several research institutes destroyed by fires of unknown cause?"
That's right. Displayed on Fang Li's phone was a simple, stark news article reporting exactly that.
"According to reports, in recent days, multiple research institutions centered around School Districts 2 and 7 have been destroyed by fires of unknown origin. Among them were a pharmaceutical research facility and a brain-neural application analysis institute, among others. It is said that the incident has caused severe financial losses to several corporate entities."
Glancing at Kuroko, Fang Li spoke again, smoothly tying the two threads together.
"Don't you think the timing of these incidents lines up perfectly with when your Onee-sama started acting strangely, and sneaking out after curfew?"
The moment she heard that, Kuroko's eyes flashed with dawning, terrible realization.
"...You're suggesting these mysterious fires at the research labs… have something to do with Onee-sama?"
Her small, pretty face tensed, her gaze toward Fang Li filled with sharp irritation and a sudden, fierce denial.
"You're not seriously trying to tell me Onee-sama did all this, are you?"
"Even if I said she did, you wouldn't believe me, right?"
Fang Li shrugged lightly, then continued in his usual calm, matter-of-fact tone.
"But don't you think your Onee-sama could do it if she wanted to?"
Misaka Mikoto's ability, at its core, was the control of electricity. Whether it was current, voltage, or electromagnetic waves, the Electromaster could manipulate them as easily as moving her own limbs.
A person like that could easily conduct hacking operations using her ability alone. Without touching a single cable, she could invade computer systems directly through electrical and electronic signals, even fry electronic devices remotely by overloading their circuits.
For any facility relying on high-tech electronic defenses, she could slip in and out as if walking through an open door. The point Fang Li wanted to make was simple: If Misaka Mikoto wanted to, she could manipulate electrical signals through communication lines to make the equipment inside those research labs explode from afar.
When that happened, it would naturally look like a series of "fires of unknown cause."
Kuroko fell silent, her features locked in an internal battle.
"...Forget it."
She turned her head slightly, her voice soft and bitter.
"Kuroko must be an idiot to even ask you about this."
With that, she walked away. Whether that was because she didn't believe what Fang Li said, or because the truth was too painful to accept, only she herself knew.
As for Fang Li, he didn't bother stopping her. He simply looked back down at his cellphone.
On the screen, an unfamiliar conversation interface had appeared, indicating an incoming voice-over-IP call. Without any hint of surprise, Fang Li answered the call and said flatly, "Tapping into someone's call line without permission… You really have terrible taste."
A moment later, a mechanically filtered voice replied:
"You just happened to stumble onto something interesting, that's all."
It was the calm, utterly unchanging tone of Academy City's Superintendent.
"How about it? Why don't you go meddle in other people's business for a bit?"
Hearing that, Fang Li narrowed his eyes, a familiar spark of annoyance and calculation crossing his face.
(End Of This Chapter)