At the center of the stage, on the largest screen, the judges continued to watch steins;gate.
More than a minute was far from the end; with the Anime Production Machine, as long as Hua Jian, the creator, had enough story in his mind to support the production, he could continuously produce animation.
And clearly, the one thing Hua Jian never lacked was stories.
On screen, as Okabe Rintaro stated his reason for being there, a sudden vibration echoed.
"Earthquake, no, is it from above?"
Following the direction of the sound, Okabe Rintaro soon arrived at the rooftop. He turned the handle, and the scene outside the rooftop was revealed.
Daylight so bright it felt dazzling, strange machines, and a woman who, upon noticing Okabe Rintaro, crossed her arms in an X gesture towards him.
As Okabe Rintaro took out his phone, the scene changed again.
Mayuri, squatting in front of a row of gashapon machines, and Rintaro, leaning against one nearby, reappeared on screen.
"There are only a few left in this series, but Mayushii… has run out of 100-yen coins."
Listening to his childhood friend, Okabe Rintaro chuckled lightly and said:
"Don't be naive, Mayuri. Even if you're my childhood friend, I won't lend you money."
"Eh…"
But just as Shiina Mayuri showed a regretful expression, he let out two light laughs.
"Hehehehe, I'll tell you about the cruelty of life now!" he said, walking to the gashapon machine, taking out a 100-yen coin, and inserting it into the machine.
Then, he twisted the button without hesitation.
The gashapon slid out smoothly.
"Metal… metal…" Looking at the small figurine in Okabe Rintaro's hand, Mayuri's eyes lit up, and her voice gradually became excited: "It's a metal upa!"
"Is it rare?"
"Very rare!" Mayuri nodded sharply, then continued to stare at the metal upa in Rintaro's hand.
"Then it's yours."
After looking at his childhood friend for a moment, Okabe Rintaro easily gave her the upa in his hand.
"Are you sure, Okabe?"
"My name is Hououin Kyouma."
"Thank you, Okabe."
"I told you, my name is Hououin Kyouma…"
Watching the scene on the screen, the audience below couldn't help but continue their casual discussions.
— "Okabe is tsundere, right? Even though he said he wouldn't lend money, he still gave the upa to Mayuri in the end. Isn't that just too sweet?"
— "Ugh! What a cute expression Mayuri has, I'm melting!"
— "Hey, hey, hey, why are you all talking about that? Shouldn't we be thinking about that machine on the rooftop? No matter how you look at it, that must be a Time Machine, right?"
— "Although we think so too, isn't it too early? A Time Machine appearing right at the beginning of the story and all."
— "Is there a problem with that? Isn't the theme of this competition 'Time'?"
— "Hououin Kyouma… the male lead is a chuunibyou, right?"
— "The way he repeatedly corrects them is so funny."
Although the audience wanted to say more, a broadcast sound quickly drew their attention back to the anime.
— Dr. Nakabachi's presentation, mentioned at the very beginning, had started.
Sitting in his seat, Okabe Rintaro listened to Dr. Nakabachi on stage describing his theory, then took out his suddenly vibrating phone.
It was a text message from Mayuri.
'I think I lost the metal upa, I'm going to look for it.'
Rintaro sighed, put away his phone, and focused his attention on the distributed materials.
"Regarding the basic structure of the Time Machine…"
But the more he read, the more distorted his expression became. Finally, he couldn't hold it in, suddenly stood up from his seat, and then stretched out his hand, pointing high at Dr. Nakabachi who was speaking on stage.
"—Doctor!"
"What is this Time Machine theory of yours?!"
"kerr black hole, worldline—isn't this all plagiarized from John Titor?!"
Listening to Rintaro's words, Dr. Nakabachi showed an unpleasant expression, but Rintaro's words did not stop.
"Titor claimed to be a Time Traveler and published these theories online in 2000. Don't tell me you don't know!"
"Rude fellow! Of course I know!" Dr. Nakabachi roared: "Don't lump me in with such fraudulent theories!"
"Then explain the difference between your theory and Titor's Time Machine theory."
Just as Okabe Rintaro was aggressively urging Dr. Nakabachi to prove himself, suddenly, a hand reached out from beside him.
"Come here for a moment."
The red-haired girl unceremoniously pulled Okabe Rintaro away.
[Good, good, publicly criticizing a plagiarist, huh? Look at that doctor's distorted expression, he can't even say a word in rebuttal.]
[By the way, does anyone know what those kerr black hole and worldline things he mentioned are?]
[A kerr black hole usually refers to a rotating charged black hole, and a worldline refers to the path an object takes through spacetime.]
[Sounds a bit advanced, could this be Science Fiction?]
[It's Science Fiction, of course. Are you expecting it to suddenly turn into magic or supernatural combat? But I do hope his Science Fiction can at least be self-consistent. I've seen too many creators who want to write Science Fiction but have a ton of loopholes.]
[Woohoo! Black stockings are finally here! I almost thought it was going to be a pure childhood friend romance route!]
"Who are you?"
"That's what I should be asking." Just as Rintaro was confused about the girl's intentions, she suddenly said something even more baffling: "You wanted to say something earlier, didn't you? To me."
"Earlier?"
"About fifteen minutes ago."
"What are you talking about…" Just as Okabe Rintaro was completely bewildered, he suddenly noticed the girl's appearance: "Makise… Kurisu?"
"The one who published a paper in 'Science' magazine…"
"I'm impressed you know that. Which university lab are you from…"
Just as Makise Kurisu was about to follow up on Okabe Rintaro's words and inquire about his identity, suddenly, Okabe Rintaro let out an extremely loud sound.
"You fiend! Are you a spy sent by the Organization?!" he said, retreating with a strange pose.
"Organization? What's that? I just have something to ask…"
"I don't need to answer you!" Okabe Rintaro shouted, taking out his phone, holding it to his ear, and muttering: "It's me, I've been caught by an Organization agent. Yes, it's Makise Kurisu…"
"Who are you talking to?"
"Hmm, no problem, I'll find a way to escape…"
Makise Kurisu unhesitatingly reached out and took Rintaro's phone.
"Huh? It's not on?"
Okabe Rintaro first showed an expression of being exposed, but he quickly averted his gaze and burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahahaahaha— "
"I'll tell you… specially tell you, this is a special mission phone that automatically shuts off if anyone other than me touches it."
"Hahahahaahaha— "
"Is that so? Talking to yourself."
At that moment, Okabe Rintaro's expression froze.