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School District 7, a certain high school student dormitory.
In the room, Fang Li sat at a low table, operating a laptop.
"Operating" was a bit of an overstatement; Fang Li was primarily managing a sprawling group chat.
"Suppression in B4 of School District 20 is complete!"
"Suppression in A7 of School District 5 is complete!"
"D1 of School District 12 is a problem, request support!"
"We've reached School District 18; next, we'll contact and engage the local armed non-esper group!"
"We have spare manpower here; once reorganized, we'll dispatch it. Brothers, wait a little longer!"
"Ha, this is going too smoothly!"
"Some places were tough, but there really is no match for Scorpius!"
"The level's totally different!"
"Compared to Boss's fists, it's like nothing!"
"We just got a batch of great weapons the other day; never thought they'd come in handy now!"
"With this, Boss doesn't even have to show up in person!"
"That's right!"
"All right! Give it another push!"
"Boss, remember to give us bonuses when this quest is completed!"
"Hahaha!"
On a private chat channel, Scorpius's armed members, active across Academy City, were fiercely trading messages. One update after another flowed into Fang Li's view.
Fang Li sat before the laptop, scrolling through the messages and issuing orders and dispatches for places that ran into trouble. Though he was just sitting at home operating a computer, he had plenty to do.
Dispatching and issuing orders were only part of it; he also had to arrange follow-up processing for districts that had been pacified and decide how to handle the armed groups they'd just taken over.
After all, Fang Li was in the business of governance, not destruction. After suppressing each group, he had to take over their territories, strongholds, and personnel, unify and arrange them, and only then move on to the next step.
Scorpius's opponents weren't limited to the various armed gangs; Anti-Skill and Judgment had also been alerted. Right now, they were thoroughly roused, taking this massive conflict extremely seriously and attempting to control the situation.
"It's probably because Aleister hasn't taken a stance; the Board's directors can't easily overrule the Superintendent's opinion and act, so they're hesitating," Fang Li calculated the situation clearly.
Because of that calculated pause, the operation was proceeding surprisingly smoothly. Under these circumstances, in just a week's time, Scorpius had successively seized the territories of several school districts around School District 7, bringing the local armed groups under their rule.
And the expansion continued.
Fang Li issued command after command, his fingers flying across the keys.
"After taking over a stronghold, leave personnel to inventory the spoils and collect usable resources, money, weapons, and equipment; take everything for now. Pay special attention to dangerous items like bombs; don't get tricked."
"After suppression ends, immediately record losses. If there are injuries, send them back; the main base has medical equipment. Leave medical-capable espers behind to tend to them. Reorganize the remaining personnel and send them to nearby areas that haven't yet been pacified."
"As for members of the groups we've taken over: those who surrender should be dispersed and evenly distributed into different units to prevent collective betrayal. Those who won't surrender should be retrained by reserve forces; if they're insubordinate, lock them up."
"Remember to follow the rotating shift system. Attack according to the pre-arranged schedule. Those who are supposed to rest, go rest; those on duty, don't slack off. That's the only way to keep efficiency high."
"Also, do not involve ordinary students. Avoid main streets during suppression operations. If you encounter Anti-Skill or Judgment, retreat immediately. I'll be keeping a list of those who get addicted to fighting or use violence on opponents who've already lost the ability to resist. If anyone loses control… you all know what will happen."
While giving out these commands, Fang Li opened the map on his computer and began making marks on it.
A closer look showed that nearly half of the map had already turned red. Those were the areas Scorpius had brought under its control. The remaining regions were marked either yellow (currently under suppression) or gray (not yet subdued).
A simple map, split into three colors, each one representing the massive unrest spreading throughout Academy City. As the mastermind behind it all, Fang Li sat leisurely at the table, drinking water, nibbling snacks, tapping on the keyboard, looking utterly relaxed.
"Hū… hū…"
On the bed beside him, Index was sleeping, hugging Sphinx tightly. Because Fang Li hadn't played with her at all in recent days, Index had thrown quite the tantrum. After leaving a fresh set of bite marks all over Fang Li, she had huffed angrily and buried herself under the covers to sleep.
Fang Li didn't mind the peace and quiet; he simply kept monitoring Scorpius's operations. Seeing how smoothly everything was progressing, he murmured to himself, almost in a whisper:
"Looks like it's about time, huh?"
After saying that, Fang Li glanced at Index, still curled up asleep on the bed, stood up, and walked out of the room.
"Hm?"
As Fang Li stepped outside, he noticed someone pacing back and forth furiously in front of his dorm room.
"There you are, finally!"
Saying that, Misaka Mikoto rushed up to him, her eyes blazing with a mixture of fatigue and fury.
"What happened?" Fang Li immediately asked. "Could it be something went wrong with the experiment?"
"No, the experiment's fine. But because of the massive clashes between the armed groups all over the city, the experiment can't continue, it's been temporarily suspended…" Misaka answered reflexively, then suddenly realized something and said in genuine surprise, "Wait, you knew about the experiment?!"
"That's not important," Fang Li replied flatly. "Since there's no problem with the experiment, then why are you looking for me?"
"Of course it's because of Scorpius!" Misaka said sharply, her tone filled with righteous indignation. "I mean, this mess is blowing up all over the place, and thanks to you, Kuroko's been out all night past curfew every single day! She comes back exhausted at dawn! So what are you planning to do about it? Kuroko keeps shouting that she's definitely not letting you off this time, you know!"
"That kind of thing… we can talk about later."
Fang Li brushed past Misaka and started walking forward, his casual demeanor infuriating.
"Wait!" Misaka immediately followed after him, desperate for an answer.
(End Of This Chapter)