A Scientific Urban Detective

Lin Wuming put down his phone, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What's wrong? Is it a new request?" Torafū Tōmitsu was doing sit-ups on a mat nearby. Seeing Lin Wuming answer the phone, she immediately stopped exercising and looked over.

"Yes, Artificial Manufactory (Talent Factory)." Lin Wuming nodded.

"They're finally starting to move?" Torafū Tōmitsu grabbed a towel to wipe away sweat, beginning to prepare to go out. "The voice sounded like a grown man—is he another one of Misaki Shokuhō's controlled puppets?"

"Doesn't seem like it," Lin Wuming shook his head. "I didn't detect her style. Maybe… it's just a random call."

This was also the reason for Lin Wuming's hesitation.

Three days ago, someone suspected to be controlled by Misaki Shokuhō called, asking random questions about the dark side organization "School," and then there was no further news.

Now, a strange man suddenly calls, asking him to rescue the people of "Artificial Manufactory"…

"It's all a bit suspicious," Lin Wuming said. "After all, my phone number is public, and enemies can call at will."

It was no wonder Lin Wuming was wary. Ever since learning that Teitoku Kakine might be in "Artificial Manufactory," he had been quietly preparing himself for the worst-case scenario—facing Level 5 Teitoku Kakine!

If a battle really broke out, Lin Wuming had no chance of winning.

If it was just a battle with Teitoku Kakine, it would be fine; the worst outcome would just be defeat. But with "Bullet Time" as his trump card, he could still protect his life. Moreover, this would be considered challenging a strong opponent, and even if he was defeated miserably, Lin Wuming could console himself that he had lost honorably.

However, Lin Wuming was even more worried about another scenario—the enemy, already prepared, setting a trap to lure him to his doom…

A trap ambush plus Level 5 Teitoku Kakine… this wasn't just a question of winning or losing, but a major life-or-death decision.

"What's there to hesitate about?" Torafū Tōmitsu couldn't stand his indecisiveness. "Whether it's a conspiracy or a trap, just go take a look and scout it out!"

"You're right," Lin Wuming nodded.

In the end, all his previous thoughts were just his own speculations. Apart from the two phone calls, there wasn't even a true "clue."

Just like Torafū Tōmitsu said, instead of wasting his energy here on wild thoughts, it would be better to go take a look in person.

At worst, he would just observe outside the research institute and not directly break in.

Torafū Tōmitsu quickly changed into her outdoor gear and came to the door ahead of him, urging, "Let's go, Wuming, don't waste time!"

"Why are you so eager?" Lin Wuming asked as he headed for the door.

"Stop talking nonsense. This is likely to be a real combat operation, much more interesting than those usual chores." Torafū Tōmitsu's eyes flashed. "Besides, I promised Yomikawa-sensei to keep an eye on you."

"I don't think that's what Yomikawa-sensei meant… Okay, we'll go quickly and come back quickly." Lin Wuming gave up arguing and left with the girl.

Because he wasn't sure if the earlier phone call for help was genuine, Lin Wuming didn't dare to relax his guard. After leaving the apartment building, he immediately rushed over at top speed.

For the first time in a while, he was speeding around in his wheelchair again.

Perhaps having gotten used to riding the ultra-high-speed wheelchair, Torafū Tōmitsu had also mastered the technique of hanging on to the back of the wheelchair; plus, with the psychokinetic barrier to block the airflow, the riding experience was surprisingly good.

"Turn left ahead, don't slow down, just go straight through!"

"Accelerate! Turn a little wider! Fly straight over the slope ahead!"

"…There's a car ahead! Ignore it, fly over it!"

The girl behind him screamed excitedly, occasionally tapping Lin Wuming's shoulders to "drive" the vehicle.

The biggest advantage of a psychokinesis-powered wheelchair is that it can "fly"—Lin Wuming can use a psychokinetic barrier to create invisible tracks, allowing the wheelchair to travel in the air.

Therefore, despite crashing and bumping along the way, there would never be any traffic accidents.

Torafū Tōmitsu was screaming excitedly like she was playing a racing game, occasionally patting Lin Wuming's shoulders to "drive" the vehicle.

One might suspect that the reason she was so eager to go with Lin Wuming was to experience this "real-life racing game."

Since they had to hurry anyway, and he was confident that no traffic accidents would occur, Lin Wuming simply complied with her instructions and skillfully maneuvered the wheelchair to gallop freely.

——This wasn't the first time this had happened. Although Aaho Yomikawa would lecture him every time he came home, the wheelchair didn't fall into the category of "transportation," so it perfectly avoided the restrictions of traffic regulations; the security guards could only give verbal lectures.

In public places, using superpowers for non-violent, non-destructive activities was tacitly permitted; using superpowers to get around was one of the most common phenomena, and the citizens of Academy City had long been accustomed to it.

It was just that Lin Wuming's "getting around" method was too high-profile and unique, coupled with his high profile, which led to more people paying attention.

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But after speeding around in the wheelchair many times, the pedestrians on the road were no longer so surprised—the people of this city were uniquely adaptable.

Including the security guards on duty, they would no longer call Aaho Yomikawa in alarm and report to their superiors when they saw this scene.

Because of this, Lin Wuming didn't cause too much of a commotion all the way to the vicinity of "Artificial Manufactory."

Otherwise, according to his experience from the last time he was here, there should have been a long line of police cars behind him by now.

Actively slowing down, Lin Wuming said, "Let's not alert the enemy. Next, we'll quietly approach…"

"It's too quiet here, and there are hardly any pedestrians or vehicles," Torafū Tōmitsu looked around and said, "We're already very conspicuous just being here. Have we really not been discovered?"

He had come in a hurry last time. Now, upon closer inspection, he realized that almost the entire street consisted of buildings related to "Artificial Manufactory." As a large research institution, it was not surprising to have such a scale.

Even the building they were hiding in was strictly speaking part of "Artificial Manufactory."

Considering the tight video surveillance network of modern cities, Lin Wuming and Torafū Tōmitsu's exposure was not surprising at all.

Even earlier, when they were still speeding around on the streets, Jundo Kuramochi of "Artificial Manufactory" had already received the news.

Because Jundo Kuramochi's purpose in releasing false information was to lure Lin Wuming to come, the moment he saw the relevant news, he immediately judged that Lin Wuming was coming for him!

So he immediately ordered preparations for battle.

The entire "Artificial Manufactory" entered the highest state of alert, waiting in full battle array.