Sure, it was an accident. Sure, I magnanimously forgave her and said I wouldn't pursue responsibility… but those were just polite words! Aren't you Japanese supposed to be experts at reading the room?! Try understanding what I really mean! At the very least, change my roommate—get this lunatic far away from me!
Lin Wuming screamed internally.
Unfortunately, he was in an unfamiliar place, with no relatives or backing, and was an orphan to boot. Under these circumstances, if he didn't keep a low profile, he'd probably just invite more trouble…
Wait, hold on. I've already transmigrated; I even have superpowers now. I'm not the same humble corporate slave from before. Why am I being this cautious?
Lin Wuming suddenly realized something.
After all this, it turned out he was the one desperately reading the room!
And right now, he was only an eleven- or twelve-year-old kid. If he had something to say, he could just say it—kids got a free pass for speaking bluntly.
"Lin Wuming, do you know that girl from earlier?"
At that moment, Tiger Peak Toumi suddenly leaned down close to his ear and asked the same question again.
Lin Wuming almost felt the hair on the left side of his body stand on end instantly. His body had developed a deep, instinctive memory of just how terrifying this girl was.
Even though rationally speaking, he knew she probably wouldn't attack him again…
Probably.
Suppressing the urge to blast her away with telekinesis, Lin Wuming replied,
"That girl just now? Rather than knowing her personally, it's more accurate to say I know of her. I know her name, but she might not know me."
"She's that famous?" Tiger Peak Toumi asked casually, slipping into what sounded like normal conversation.
"Shokuhou Misaki. She's a psychological-type esper," Lin Wuming said, then added after some thought, "I've heard she has the potential to become a Level 5, so she's pretty well-known."
That much shouldn't be a secret, right?
As he spoke, Lin Wuming glanced back to observe the expressions of the doctors and Anti-Skill teachers.
Just in case, he needed a plausible explanation. Otherwise, there'd be no way to explain how an experimental subject locked away in an illegal research facility could know about someone like her.
As expected, aside from Tiger Peak Toumi, no one else showed any sign of surprise.
After all, Shokuhou Misaki was the "consultant" invited by Anti-Skill. How could they not know her basic information?
"Level 5… Is that really that amazing?" Tiger Peak Toumi also looked back at the girl who had already walked far away, snorting softly.
"She just has the potential. She shouldn't be Level 5 yet," Lin Wuming hurriedly corrected.
"I'm Level 4," Tiger Peak Toumi suddenly said.
"As expected…" Lin Wuming wasn't surprised. After all, she had beaten him without breaking a sweat—having a higher ability level was only natural.
"But," Lin Wuming then thought of something else that bothered him, "why was Shokuhou Misaki in the hospital?"
She didn't look injured or sick.
Thinking carefully, he recalled that Shokuhou Misaki had been wearing a white long coat, similar in style to a patient's hospital gown.
Could it be…
A completely ridiculous thought suddenly popped into his head—
—Don't tell me this hospital is actually the base of Talent Academy?
He immediately shook his head, tossing that unreliable speculation aside.
"Lin Wuming, you really care about that girl," Tiger Peak Toumi's voice came again from behind him.
"I'm just a little concerned. She's a psychological-type esper, after all," Lin Wuming replied. "Aren't you also paying attention to her?"
"I just find her kind of annoying," Toumi said flatly.
"Don't go attacking her!" Lin Wuming said quickly.
"How could I? I'm not someone who hurts innocent people at random…"
Perhaps feeling that this sounded a bit unconvincing coming from her, Tiger Peak Toumi sped up, pushing the wheelchair forward briskly.
"So—back to the ward, or the cafeteria?"
"The cafeteria is fine. Sorry for the trouble," Lin Wuming replied.
He rubbed his brow with telekinesis, feeling mentally exhausted. After all this distraction, it seemed he'd missed his chance to ask for a roommate change…
"'Queen'… was that how he was referring to me?"
After leaving the hospital and sitting in the car, Shokuhou Misaki recalled the moment she had crossed paths with Lin Wuming.
To be honest, Lin Wuming's internally consistent self-justifications had truly broadened her horizons.
If she hadn't confirmed it again and again, she would have thought he was deliberately performing a one-man monologue just for her benefit.
The gains from this encounter were even greater than she had expected—and the credibility was there, too.
Leaving other things aside, the fact that Lin Wuming mentioned Chairman Aleister and the Kihara family alone proved that he wasn't ordinary. Only people deeply "in the know" were even aware of their existence. Compared to them, most illegal research facilities in Academy City were insignificant—mere subcontractors at best.
From this point alone, it was clear that Lin Wuming's mind contained genuinely valuable information.
"So-called 'transmigrator'… Could his ability be time-related?" Shokuhou Misaki made a reasonable guess.
Otherwise, how could he know that she would join Talent Academy—and that she would eventually become a Level 5?
Although Lin Wuming misjudged the timing and thought she hadn't yet entered Talent Academy, it was precisely because of this discrepancy that his information seemed more trustworthy.
In the latter half of their encounter, Lin Wuming tried to muddle through by "playing dumb," but in reality, it caused no trouble at all for Mental Out.
On the contrary, he had been seen through completely.
If not for the limitations of Level 4 Mental Out, such as reading speed, then in just that brief encounter, she might have already read through A Certain Magical Index, A Certain Scientific Railgun, Astral Buddy, and a whole series of related works.
In that fleeting glance, Shokuhou Misaki had only managed to peek at the thoughts Lin Wuming was actively processing at the time.
Even so, it was more than enough to shock her—and would take time to digest.
However, due to her preconceived first impression, Lin Wuming's image as someone suffering from "delusional disorder" still lingered stubbornly in her mind.
Because of that, she couldn't completely trust the information obtained from his memories.
"First of all, according to the information he provided, Academy City will have seven Level 5s two years from now—and my Mental Out will rank fifth…" Shokuhou Misaki wasn't very satisfied with that ranking.
Or rather, she was dissatisfied with the one ranked third—Railgun.
For reasons she couldn't understand, in Lin Wuming's memory data, the other female Level 5, Railgun Misaka Mikoto, occupied an unusually large proportion.
"A year from now, that girl named Misaka Mikoto and I will both enter one of the Five Prestigious Schools—Tokiwadai Middle School. And from then on, it seems we're always being compared together, as if we're bound at the hip…"
Shokuhou Misaki pinched her chin, recalling the memory fragments she had seen.
Of course, this description was her own generous beautification.
In reality, within Lin Wuming's memories, Shokuhou Misaki was more like an add-on to Misaka Mikoto. Every time Misaka was mentioned, only then would he "incidentally" remember that Tokiwadai also had another Level 5—the so-called Queen—with a rather weak presence.
"It's like that Misaka Mikoto is the main heroine or something… She's just a girl who shoots electricity everywhere and flips coins!" Shokuhou Misaki concluded that this memory data was definitely inaccurate.
"And besides…"
She lowered her head. Flat as a board—she could see her own abdomen clearly.
Then she compared it to her grown-up appearance in Lin Wuming's memories…
"How could a normal human possibly grow like that? This is obviously just a boy's delusion!" Shokuhou Misaki couldn't help but complain.
(End of Chapter)