"?! "
Okabe Rintaro immediately recalled when Hashida Itaru said the time was.
"Then, when I sent that text message, your phone must have been connected to the phone microwave (provisional), right?" Okabe Rintaro's tone held a hint of disbelief, as he tried to get a positive answer from Hashida Itaru.
"The one about 'Ms. Makise was stabbed'? Wasn't that sent a week ago?" Hashida Itaru's mind hadn't caught up, or rather, in his perception, that text message was from a week ago, completely unrelated to the time Okabe Rintaro was referring to.
If Okabe Rintaro hadn't mentioned it repeatedly, Hashida Itaru wouldn't even have realized which text message Okabe Rintaro was talking about.
"No! That was yesterday at noon…" Okabe Rintaro tried to correct him.
But halfway through his sentence, he suddenly realized that finding evidence was far more important than just saying something that couldn't convince anyone and would only be dismissed as 'misremembering'.
Whether it was human testimony or physical evidence.
"Where is it, where is it, why isn't it there?" He pulled out his phone and quickly scrolled up through his text message history.
Makise Kurisu glanced at him, then turned back to Hashida Itaru and asked:
"What was the status of the Phone Microwave during the discharge?"
"It was undergoing an operation test at the time, I think it was testing the reverse function?"
"It would be better to recreate the scene from back then." Makise Kurisu offered her advice from her relatively professional perspective.
Okabe Rintaro couldn't find any evidence to support his words; the text message had vanished as if it never existed.
He put away his phone, turned to Mayuri, and said in a deep voice:
"Mayuri! Bring the Juicy Fried Chicken No. 1 over!"
"Okay!" Mayuri happily stood up from the sofa: "Is everyone eating? There's enough for one each!"
"Here it comes, here it comes, it really is a Time Machine. Is the discharge phenomenon the principle? Since Makise Kurisu is here, there must be specific research plot, right?"
"So, sending a text message to the past changed the present?"
"Asking for a friend, how do you solve the grandfather paradox here?"
"The grandfather paradox has already been solved. I killed my grandfather, but nothing happened!"
"Then, the Time Machine?"
"Time Machine? What Time Machine?"
"Ahem, poor Mayuri doesn't know what her juicy fried chicken is about to face."
As the bullet comments floated by, the fried chicken box entered the microwave.
"Is it necessary to put it in?" Makise Kurisu tried to save the fried chicken for Mayuri.
"I want to see what reaction the contents will have when reversed." Saying this, Okabe Rintaro closed the microwave and put down his phone: "Tonz."
Hashida Itaru's hands typed on the keyboard, the warm light in the microwave turned on, and the turntable began to rotate.
Okabe Rintaro stared intently at the microwave and said as if it were the most natural thing:
"Assistant, send a text message to my phone."
"When did I become your Assistant? Besides, I don't even know your email address." Makise Kurisu's expression fell, and she said irritably.
"Such a useless Assistant." Seizing the opportunity to scold her, Okabe Rintaro turned to Hashida Itaru: "Tonz, your phone will work too."
"What should I send?"
"Right, just send 'Christina is a pervert'…"
"Didn't I say not to say 'pervert' anymore?"
"Then let's compromise and send 'Okabe is a pervert'".
Hashida Itaru's fingers quickly tapped characters on his phone, Okabe Rintaro's pupils suddenly contracted, and Makise Kurisu's face, in turn, broke into a smile.
She gave a thumbs-up, beaming:
"Mr. Hashida, well done!"
The thumb was decisively raised right next to Okabe Rintaro, making him cast a displeased sidelong glance.
"Then, I'm sending it now."
As his voice fell, Hashida Itaru pressed the send button.
"Next, we just wait for the phone to receive the text message…"
"It should be almost ready, right?" Suddenly, Mayuri leaned forward and pulled open the microwave.
"Ah, stop!"
Okabe Rintaro wanted to stop her but was too late.
Perhaps this was the price of him tricking Mayuri with the fried chicken; intense electric light suddenly flashed at the open mouth of the microwave. Makise Kurisu unhesitatingly pulled away, and Okabe Rintaro quickly hugged Mayuri, moving away with Hashida Itaru.
Mayuri was knocked to the ground, with Okabe Rintaro's body pressed against her and shielding her.
The crackling current behind them gathered like lightning and then struck downwards.
As thick smoke billowed up, electric sparks occasionally flickered on the collapsed tabletop.
"Are you okay?" Okabe Rintaro got up.
"Yes."
"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…"
Thick smoke filled the entire Laboratory, and everyone couldn't help but cough.
Hashida Itaru covered his mouth and nose, quickly running to the window: "Ventilation! Ventilation!"
As the window was opened, the smoke filling the Laboratory also found a way to escape.
"A thought, not necessarily correct: Okabe's reason for yelling at Assistant Kurisu to send him a text message was actually to find a suitable excuse to ask for her contact information, but unfortunately, he was mercilessly rejected!"
"Makise Kurisu gave you a thumbs-up."
"Emoji scheduled."
"It's over, Mayuri made her move! Okabe Rintaro, this is the price for tricking the juicy fried chicken! Savor this price, then regret it!"
"Such a brutal electric shock. Asking for a friend, would opening a microwave mid-cycle really do this?"
"How could it be that terrifying? Ah, but if you put tin foil or stainless steel in to heat it, the microwave will break. If you put eggs or unopened cans in, they will explode, so please be careful."
"What happened?" Makise Kurisu didn't understand.
"Is it the power of electromagnetic waves?" Okabe Rintaro muttered to himself in a deep voice.
Makise Kurisu unhesitatingly retorted: "Don't be silly, how could the microwave's electromagnetic waves split a table in such a short time?"
"Ah, it's all burnt, I bought it with such difficulty…" Mayuri, who had gotten up, suddenly darted out, letting out an incredibly mournful cry.
Although there was a fierce electric shock, it seemed to have only split the tabletop and caused no obvious damage to the microwave itself. However, all the fried chicken heating in the microwave had turned completely charred.
"What about the hole in the floor? If Mr. Braun finds out, it's no laughing matter."
Hashida Itaru's reminder twisted Okabe Rintaro's expression for a moment, but he quickly remembered the main point.
He reached for his phone and scrolled through his text messages.
"Got it. Received date, July 24th, 5:30 PM."