Three days later.
"Huh? That guy is only a Level 2 Ability User?"
Mikoto Misaka heard Shirai Kuroko's voice over the phone, sounding somewhat incredulous.
"The destructive power of that bomb—no matter how you look at it, it should be something only a Level 4 Great Ability User could pull off, right?"
Shirai Kuroko also found it hard to believe, but she still let out a slight sigh.
"Sigh, but that's the reality. His periodic tests from a few days ago recorded in the Bank still list him as an Ability User."
"Is it the Level Upper?"
Saten Ruiko, who had been listening to their conversation from the side for a while, suddenly spoke up.
Shirai Kuroko turned to look at Saten Ruiko, who had come to the branch to hang out with Uiharu Kazari, and asked in confusion, "What Level Upper?"
Saten Ruiko thought for a moment, organizing her words.
"It's an urban legend. Urban legends, like the Level Upper that can increase an Ability User's level, are one of them."
Shirai Kuroko had already put the phone on speaker, and this was the first time Mikoto Misaka had heard of such a thing.
Saten Ruiko pulled Uiharu Kazari's computer toward her, familiarly typing in a URL and hitting enter.
"There it is!"
Uiharu Kazari and Shirai Kuroko both leaned in. It was an urban legend forum with a rather bizarre UI design.
Shirai Kuroko looked through the posts one by one.
"The stripping woman, Level Upper, the man who can nullify abilities, two handsome white-haired guys fighting in the middle of the night... what is all this nonsense?"
Saten Ruiko gave an awkward smile. Although she was a Level 0, she was very interested in these strange legends.
"I don't know if the others are true or not, but those last two handsome white-haired guys sound like Luke and Accelerator no matter how you hear it, right?"
Mikoto Misaka was also somewhat speechless hearing this, but when it came to the man who could nullify abilities, she involuntarily thought of Kamijou Touma.
Could it be him? No way!
Mikoto Misaka thought about it and dismissed the idea.
Unlike Shirai Kuroko and Mikoto Misaka, Uiharu Kazari didn't completely disbelieve it.
"But lately, there really have been reports of many Ability Users using powers that exceed their current level."
Shirai Kuroko looked at Uiharu Kazari.
"You mean, the Level Upper is real?"
Uiharu Kazari shook her head.
"I don't know."
Kōdō Mii walked over at that moment holding a carton of milk.
"I think it's really possible. A few branches just received reports of several extortion cases where people wanted to buy this kind of level-boosting device and were blackmailed."
"Good! Then it's my turn to step in!"
Mikoto Misaka's momentum was high.
Shirai Kuroko hurriedly picked up the phone.
"Onee-sama, this is Judgment Member work! Hello? Honestly, she hung up on me again."
Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari looked at each other and shared a knowing smile.
Senior Misaka is just that kind of person... "Wait, crap, I forgot to message Misaka about that matter!"
Krul looked up at Luke, who had suddenly shouted, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"What matter?"
Luke rested his hands behind his head.
"It's the Level 6 Shift Project. Over five hundred experiments have already been carried out, and I forgot to tell Misaka."
Krul sat up with a face full of confusion.
"Huh? So many have been done already? I remember you only said the experiments started two or three days ago?"
Luke thought about it and was sure he hadn't remembered wrong.
"Yeah, about one or two hundred experiments a day. It's estimated the experiments will be completed in two months."
Krul found it a bit strange and tilted her head as she asked.
"Then aren't you going today? It's already past nine."
Luke picked up an orange from the table and began to peel it.
"I need to rest too. It's such a drag to go every day. We're doing a three-days-on, one-day-off schedule."
Krul intercepted a slice of orange that Luke was about to put into his mouth.
"Those researchers allowed you to interfere?"
Luke picked up another slice, threw it into his mouth, and shook his head.
"No, they refused at the time. They said the Misaka Imoutos have formed the Misaka Network, and if a previous Misaka Imouto were saved, the other'sisters' would know they wouldn't die, so the experimental results would be different."
Hearing this, Krul raised an eyebrow and took the whole peeled orange that Luke handed over.
"So?"
The corners of Luke's mouth curled up.
"So I've been saving them secretly. My Eyes of Resentment can curse a Misaka Imouto into a state of feigned death and coma, which can cut off the Misaka Network. Over at the research institute, after more than five hundred experiments, they still think the Misaka Imoutos died in battle every time."
After a pause, Luke added, "Anyway, their method of collecting experimental data is through the life-monitoring devices on the Misaka Imoutos. They can't see the actual situation on the battlefield. The Board of Directors only approved the experiments; they won't be bored enough to stare at the footage collected by 'Underline'."
Krul asked curiously, "Then what if you're discovered?"
Luke shrugged with an indifferent expression.
"If I'm discovered, then they'll just call it off. No big deal. If the experiment is frozen, in the end, we just need to let Last Order run out and find Accelerator to be adopted."
Krul didn't quite understand.
"We came to this world, why do you insist on following the original trajectory of the world?"
Luke thought for a bit and explained, "This is different. Accelerator and Last Order are like a pair; they have to be linked together. As for everything else, we can play around however we want. For example, I know a major event that's about to happen recently. How about we go straight to the final boss?"
Krul showed a look of curiosity.
"What event?"
"Level Upper!"
Krul thought about it but had no impression of it. That should be from the 'A Certain Scientific Railgun' anime, which she hadn't watched yet.
"Since we've got nothing else to do, we might as well go check it out. Speaking of which, when is Index coming to Academy City?"
Luke opened his phone to check the date.
"I remember Index and Kamijou Touma met right at the start of summer vacation. Are you more interested in magic?"
Krul nodded.
"I want to see the difference between the magic of this world and the formulas of my world."
Luke was a little surprised.
"You're an intellectual? To actually be interested in these things."
Krul felt like she was being looked down upon.
"It's my first world-crossing; naturally, everything is a bit novel."
Luke nodded and calculated the days.
"It's only a few days away. I wonder whose physical constitution is stronger, a Saint's or your Vampire constitution."
Luke opened his contacts, found Mikoto Misaka's name, and began composing a message.
"Wait for me to send a message to Misaka, and then we'll go find a perverted woman."
Luke typed with both hands and quickly sent the information about the experiment to Mikoto Misaka via message.
Luke suddenly frowned and held his phone above his head.
"No signal? Why hasn't it shown as sent successfully yet?"
Beep.
After a while, it finally showed as sent successfully. Luke put away his phone and left the apartment with Krul.
At the same time, Mikoto Misaka, who was looking for news on urban legends, suddenly felt her phone receive a new message.
Unknown Number:
Academy City is full of danger. Do you need to buy insurance? Phone:... Mikoto Misaka frowned. Why would there be an insurance advertisement?
Deleting the message, Mikoto Misaka didn't pay it much attention.
Inside the Windowless Building.
After Aleister finished tampering with the text message, his consciousness fell silent once more...
You will get 30 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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