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In the middle of their tense, fast-food meal, Fang Li suddenly spoke up.
"I ran into your junior just now on the way here. She didn't seem too lively, almost like her mind was somewhere else entirely."
His casual remark made Misaka Mikoto freeze mid-bite, the hamburger halfway to her mouth.
But it only lasted for a split second.
A moment later, Mikoto acted as though nothing had happened, continuing to chew while replying with a tone of practiced nonchalance.
"Kuroko's always like that. Totally unpredictable. One moment she's being all serious, the next she's suddenly jumping at me like some kind of pervert. It's not exactly new behavior."
Honestly, there wasn't any room to argue with that description. Just what does that Shirai Kuroko get up to on a daily basis? Fang Li couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head.
"If that's the case, then good. I just thought maybe her beloved Onee-sama had been ignoring her lately and left that yuri girl feeling lonely."
"..."
This time, Mikoto didn't answer. She just kept quietly eating her hamburger, chewing slowly.
Maybe… she knew he was right.
And perhaps that was exactly why Fang Li had brought it up.
"Whatever it is you're busy with," he continued in a casual, steady tone, "you should still take care of your relationships. No matter how important your current task might be, your friends aren't something you can just brush aside. They weigh just as much, if not more, don't you think?"
"Are you seriously lecturing me right now?" Mikoto frowned, her irritation returning. "You, of all people, a self-proclaimed delinquent with zero common sense?"
"That's just prejudice," Fang Li countered without missing a beat. "There's no rule saying delinquents have to be bad students. My grades aren't top-tier, sure, but they're not terrible either."
"Really?" Mikoto eyed him suspiciously. "If your grades are that decent, then why'd you go and become a delinquent in the first place?"
Fang Li shrugged, his tone light but his words carrying quiet weight.
"Because no matter how good your grades are, they can't compete with someone who's got a high Ability Rank."
He looked up toward the dusky sky, a common Academy City sunset.
"In this city, every student goes through Ability Development. They undergo brain-region cultivation, forming a Personal Reality, a unique mental framework that conflicts with the natural laws of the outside world. The stronger the conflict, the more one can bend those laws. In a way, it's like solving an equation called 'reality' with your mind."
He paused, letting the clinical explanation sink in. The better one's development, the more advanced their calculation ability, and the more intelligent they become as a result.
"So basically, the higher your Ability Rank, the better your academic performance. The lower your rank, the more you lag behind. If someone's stuck at the bottom with no hope of improving, they'll naturally stop trying. After all, if hard work can't close the gap, then what's the point?"
He gave a wry smile.
"And that's how people end up becoming delinquents."
He was describing the origin of the Armed Ability-Less Group, the organization he led. On one side were students whose brain development succeeded easily, destined for brilliance. On the other were those who, no matter how hard they tried, could never catch up, whose Rank never improved. When that imbalance festers long enough, it curdles into resentment and self-destruction.
"As for me," Fang Li went on, idly picking up a few fries, "I don't exactly love studying, but I don't hate it either. My grades at my school aren't that bad, actually. I just never joined the Ability Development Program, so I ended up lumped in with the 'underachievers.'"
"You didn't join Ability Development?" Mikoto asked, puzzled. "Why not? Don't you want to become an esper and have your own ability?"
Fang Li gave her a challenging grin.
"If it were that easy, I wouldn't still be Level 0, would I? And besides…" He looked straight at her, his tone sharpening. "Having a high Ability Rank doesn't automatically make someone strong."
"Oh?" Mikoto raised an eyebrow, setting down her half-eaten burger. "Are you… trying to challenge me?"
As she spoke, she lifted her hand, pressing her thumb and forefinger together, the familiar gesture that heralded a spark of electricity.
"Biri biri!"
Between Misaka Mikoto's two fingers, tiny arcs of brilliant blue electricity danced and crackled.
"Even a small jolt like this," she said with a slight, teasing smile, "packs the same punch as a taser. Want to try it?"
Hearing that, Fang Li chuckled softly.
And then, something happened that Mikoto didn't expect at all.
"W…wait!"
She let out a startled cry as Fang Li suddenly extended his hand. Without hesitation, he flicked his finger toward the lightning darting between Mikoto's fingertips, as casually as if brushing away dust.
Pah!
A sharp pop echoed in the air, like a balloon bursting. The stream of electricity that had been dancing at Mikoto's fingertips dispersed instantly, shattered by that single, simple flick.
"You…"
Mikoto stared in complete disbelief.
Fang Li, on the other hand, only picked up his cola, took a sip, and smiled faintly at her stunned expression.
"An ability doesn't represent everything."
He spoke the words evenly, neither arrogant nor humble.
"Sure, maybe saying that in this city, where superpowers are valued above everything else, to the point of distortion, doesn't carry much weight. But a person's life isn't defined by their Ability."
"There are things those with powers can do, that those without can't." "But there are also things that people without powers can do, things the powerful can't."
He snapped his fingers lightly, drawing Mikoto's gaze back to him.
"Take a physical fight for example. The higher the Ability Rank, the stronger the esper. That's common sense, because both sides rely on the same kind of power, and naturally, the stronger one wins."
"But using something weaker to compete head-on against something stronger, well, that's just stupid."
"When that happens, the right move is to use something your opponent doesn't have. That's how you win."
His voice was calm and clear as it reached Mikoto's ears.
"Use what they don't have… to defeat them…"
She repeated the words under her breath. The firm, confident expression that usually defined Misaka Mikoto was gone. What replaced it was confusion, hesitation, and a faint, wrenching sense of loss.
Seeing that lost look, Fang Li spoke one last time, his tone quiet but firm.
"There are some things you can't solve by charging in alone."
"Just because you can't find a way… doesn't mean there isn't one."
"So sometimes, asking someone else for help isn't weakness. It's the smartest thing you can do."
For a long moment, Mikoto said nothing. Fang Li could see the struggle written across her face—the doubt, the pride, the guilt—all twisting together in her eyes.
And finally, she smiled.
A small, fragile, forced smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"…I see."
"I'll remember that."
Those words were quiet. But they carried unmistakable finality.
A polite, distant rejection.
A refusal to share the burden she carried. A decision to keep her despair locked inside, so that no one else she cared about would ever have to bear it.
(End Of This Chapter)