A Scientific Urban Detective

At the entrance of a university auditorium in the Fifth District, Lin Wuming and his group of three met the two Level 5 girls who had finished their work and were walking out.

Seeing Lin Wuming, Misaka Mikoto subconsciously thought of the purple-haired girl with pigtails—now that she thought about it, she had been wanting to ask about that girl's whereabouts.

No, no, the one I want to find isn't that purple-haired girl, but another girl who's rumored to look a lot like me—Misaka Mikoto shook her head repeatedly, correcting her thoughts.

However, every time she met Lin Wuming, she was disrupted by various inexplicable events, so Misaka Mikoto never managed to ask that question.

As for today...

Misaka Mikoto looked at Lin Wuming's side—two Judgment girls; and beside her was Shokuhou Misaki, who inexplicably harbored hostility towards her...

It didn't seem like a good opportunity to ask.

Thinking so, Misaka Mikoto looked up and happened to meet Lin Wuming's eyes.

At this moment, she suddenly noticed that Lin Wuming's gaze towards her seemed a little strange.

—Could it be that Senior Wuming also wants to tell me something? No, no, Senior Wuming is so busy, he must have forgotten about that day long ago.

Misaka Mikoto shook her head, and then greeted the Judgment trio as usual.

Although she was a little uncomfortable with Shokuhou Misaki, Misaka Mikoto had a good impression of Lin Wuming and the other two—after all, they were comrades who had fought side by side.

"Oh no, I forgot to bring Gekota again!"

—This was Lin Wuming's true thought when he saw Misaka Mikoto for the first time.

After all, Lin Wuming himself wasn't a fan of the Gekota series, so he didn't have the habit of carrying Gekota merchandise.

Therefore, every time he met Misaka Mikoto, he couldn't give her the gift he had prepared long ago.

—How am I supposed to improve my relationship like this! I spent two months' salary... scholarship, and now it's all going to be stuck in my hands?

"Senior Wuming..." Shokuhou Misaki rolled her eyes and punched Lin Wuming's side, "Don't just stand here daydreaming."

"You're right, let's go." Lin Wuming came back to his senses and quickly said.

"Speaking of which, it's still early, are we just going back like this?" Misaka Mikoto looked up at the setting sun and casually said, "Should we find a place to hang out for a while?"

"Hang out for a while..." Lin Wuming turned to look at Himegami Aisa beside him, only to find that this girl was also looking up at him.

Although for different reasons, they were both the type who "didn't know how to have fun."

In contrast, Kiyama Harumi agreed, "Misaka is right, anyway, our mission is considered complete, and now it's free time."

"Hey..." Shokuhou Misaki looked at Misaka Mikoto speechlessly, "Why are you so naturally following us? You don't live in this direction, do you?"

"Eh?" Misaka Mikoto also looked over in surprise, "Isn't this how it is when you hang out together after school? I know a great arcade."

"Just don't get caught by the teachers." Kiyama Harumi muttered while taking off the Judgment armband.

Generally speaking, except for a few old-fashioned ones, the teachers in Academy City wouldn't forbid students from going to arcades, but Judgment members needed to set an example, and it wouldn't be good to go playing around with their armbands on.

Lin Wuming and Himegami Aisa remained noncommittal, Shokuhou Misaki's lone opposition was ineffective, so the group of five headed straight for the arcade, led by Misaka Mikoto.

Speaking of arcades, one would naturally think of the game coins inside, and those game coins were Misaka Mikoto's signature move, "Railgun's" ammunition!

Lin Wuming pondered whether to give Misaka Mikoto some inspiration so that she could comprehend this move in advance and become the real "Railgun."

—Otherwise, it would be weird for me to always call her "Railgun" subconsciously.

However, after arriving at the arcade, before he could even inspire Misaka Mikoto, Lin Wuming found the right "ammunition" for himself.

Lin Wuming's "Telekinetic Acceleration Cannon" used small steel balls as ammunition, and those small steel balls of just the right size were accidentally found at home, strictly speaking, they were Yomiikawa Aiho's private property.

Moreover, the quantity was limited, and each one used was one less.

So Lin Wuming had recently planned to order a batch of small steel balls online.

But at this time, in the arcade, Lin Wuming saw a whole row of pachinko machines... also known as "steel ball machines" or "slot machines."

The steel balls that these machines were spitting out were exactly the same as the ones Lin Wuming was currently using.

—Okay, so now I know where those steel balls at home came from.

I didn't expect Yomiikawa Aiho, with her serious personality, to actually play this.

Perhaps noticing Lin Wuming's expression, and the armband that he hadn't taken off yet, a young lady in a work uniform quickly stepped forward to explain, "Please rest assured, all the equipment in our store are game machines, only for games, not involving gambling."

"Eh? Is that so?" Lin Wuming looked over with a straight face, carefully observing the scene in the store. Although there were many normal gaming devices, the atmosphere in the area near the pachinko machines was somewhat different.

Baccarat, dice rolling, blackjack, Texas Hold'em, roulette... it was definitely a casino setup!

However, the waitress was not flustered at all, and explained with a smile, "Please observe carefully, these projects are just 'simulated casinos' and do not involve real money—the chips held by players cannot be exchanged for money."

"Really?" Lin Wuming expressed his doubts about this.

He didn't really care whether this place was a casino or not, but since the waitress had explained it, he just asked a little more.

"Of course," the waitress's smile remained unchanged, "You can't open a real casino in this Academy City. As for the reason, I think you should know."

Lin Wuming thought for a moment and immediately guessed the reason: "Superpowers!"

"Yes. Not to mention anything else, just the three major categories of superpowers: clairvoyance, mind reading, and telekinesis, are enough to kill most projects." The waitress nodded.

Kiyama Harumi, Shokuhou Misaki, and Lin Wuming also nodded.

"In addition," the waitress added, "some espers are also very good at fighting, so the casino's last resort—violence—is also ineffective. Therefore, there are only 'experience zones' like this in Academy City."

Himegami Aisa puffed out her chest—she belonged to the "very good at fighting" category.

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