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A faint series of explosions could be heard echoing from the distance.
The bursts of fire blooming one after another painted a clear picture: a fierce battle was unfolding not too far away.
"Whoa…"
Frenda pressed down the beret on her head, watching the light flare across the night sky, her voice full of wonder.
"They're really going at it. Looks like Mugino is genuinely letting loose this time, huh?"
Hearing this, Kinuhata Saiai, standing beside Frenda, lifted her head. With both hands tucked casually into the pockets at the front of her jacket, she stared toward the flashes of light and offered her assessment.
"Even for Mugino, she probably didn't expect the third-ranked to appear here of all places. Takitsubo is with her, sure, but Takitsubo's ability is purely supportive; she can't fight directly. I wonder if Mugino might actually be in danger this time."
Despite the words, Kinuhata's expression didn't change in the slightest.
It was clear she wasn't losing any sleep over Mugino Shizuri's well-being.
"Relax already. There's no way some sheltered, pampered ojou-sama could possibly be a match for Mugino." Frenda stuck out her tongue playfully and added, "Honestly, the Level 5 rankings in Academy City aren't even purely based on strength. Otherwise, there's no way Mugino would lose to a brat like that."
That much was true.
The rankings of Academy City's seven Level 5s were not determined by sheer destructive power, but by a composite evaluation of their abilities' scope and versatility.
In other words, the comparison wasn't just who was stronger or weaker, but how broadly and effectively each esper's power could be applied.
Misaka Mikoto's ability had an exceptionally wide range of applications: she could not only generate electricity, but also manipulate electromagnetic waves and electronic signals, granting her a vast number of ways to utilize her power.
Her hacking ability was just one application. Beyond that, she could use electromagnetic waves for radar-like reconnaissance, and as they'd seen earlier, she could manipulate magnetic forces to cling to the steel walls of buildings and run along them as if they were flat ground.
Compared to Misaka Mikoto's all-purpose versatility, Mugino Shizuri's ability excelled solely in destructive power, and nothing else. However, if pure destructive power was the deciding factor in a fight, then Misaka Mikoto was destined to lose in terms of sheer attack potency.
Moreover, Misaka had likely never fought in a true life-or-death battle before, whereas Mugino, who often operated on real battlefields, possessed far greater combat experience. So, even with Mikoto's higher rank, her actual fighting ability was a completely different matter.
Frenda and Kinuhata Saiai both held this belief with complete conviction. That was why they weren't worried in the slightest about the clash happening elsewhere.
As for their own situation here, there was even less cause for concern.
"Well, compared to that side, we're just dealing with a Level 0 here," Frenda said, her tone light and sing-song, but dripping with condescension. "He hasn't even drawn a weapon yet. His sense of danger is way too weak, don't you think?"
"In the end, it looks like I won't even need to team up with Kinuhata," she added cheerfully. "One person's more than enough, right?"
Kinuhata Saiai had no objection.
"According to the intel, that guy's able to form Scorpius through his exceptional fighting ability. In close combat, without using my power, I probably wouldn't have the advantage anyway." Kinuhata glanced at Fang Li and said to Frenda, "So I'll leave this one to you."
"No problem, no problem~~" Frenda grinned happily, her voice brimming with excitement. "If I can handle the target all by myself, maybe I'll even get a bigger cut of the reward! Leave it to me!"
Saying that, Frenda reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out several small objects.
They looked like miniature missiles.
Fang Li recognized them instantly.
"Portable anti-tank missile warheads?"
As the name suggested, these were small, easily carried explosive warheads, yet powerful enough to blow open a tank.
Frenda's specialty had always been using a wide variety of explosives in combat.
So it was no surprise she would carry such things with her.
"So? What's the result?" Frenda smiled sweetly at Fang Li and asked, "Don't you have anything else to say?"
"Nope." Fang Li replied crisply, "You're either sent by those Board of Directors members who finally couldn't sit still and decided to get rid of me… or by those people who don't want to see Scorpius rise as the underground ruler of Academy City. It's so obvious there's no need to even guess. So what's there to talk about?"
"You really are straightforward, huh." Frenda was slightly surprised for a moment, but quickly shrugged it off and said casually, "Well, in any case, our quest is to eliminate you, so you can only obediently accept your fate."
As soon as she finished, Frenda flung out the portable anti-tank missile warheads in her hands.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous roar, flames erupted from the tail ends of the projectiles.
In an instant, the warheads turned into small missiles, streaking through the dimly lit alley like fiery meteors, leaving trails of light as they curved toward Fang Li in unpredictable arcs.
But Fang Li didn't even flinch.
"A petite, cute, golden-haired explosives maniac, huh?"
Watching Frenda hold her throwing pose, almost as if she were deliberately staying like that, Fang Li smiled faintly.
"You really remind me of a woman I once knew… a rather nostalgic one."
As those words fell, a gun suddenly appeared in Fang Li's hand, no one could tell when he had drawn it.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gunfire erupted. Bullets shot out violently, each one precisely meeting an oncoming missile head-on.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…!"
A series of deafening explosions followed, one after another, sending shockwaves sweeping through the alley, tearing up the air like a storm.
"No way!"
Frenda's voice trembled in disbelief.
"He actually shot down anti-tank missiles with a handgun?!"
How utterly absurd was that?!
"Well," Fang Li said calmly, "these bullets are all custom-made armor-piercing rounds with reinforced penetration. Blowing up portable missiles like that isn't exactly impossible, you know?"
The moment his words ended,
"Bang!"
A single bullet pierced through the fiery blast waves and flew straight toward Frenda's forehead.
Frenda didn't even have time to react.
"Clang…!"
Just as the bullet was about to strike her, a metallic ringing sound burst out in front of her.
That sound came from the body of Kinuhata Saiai, who had suddenly dashed in front of Frenda to shield her.
The young girl had blocked the bullet with her own body.
And not just any bullet, a specially modified, high-penetration armor-piercing round.
Even so, Kinuhata stood her ground and spoke calmly to the frozen Frenda behind her.
"Looks like this opponent's a bit more capable than we thought."
Her eyes turned sharp as she stared at Fang Li, her tone serious now for the first time.
"Frenda, let's take him together."
Hearing that, Frenda quickly nodded.
The next second, Kinuhata Saiai charged forward.
(End Of This Chapter)