A Scientific Urban Detective

Of course, Lin Wuming was well aware of what he was doing and the dangers involved, so he didn't need anyone to remind him.

But then again, even knowing the risks, Lin Wuming couldn't just give up so easily, right?

In the following days, Lin Wuming began to consciously search for 'Level Upper'.

Because he wanted to use 'Level Upper' himself.

However, perhaps because of his status as a member of Judgment and a 'suspected Level 5', Lin Wuming couldn't find any information about 'Level Upper' around him.

Even though the urban legend about 'Level Upper' had been spreading like wildfire, Lin Wuming couldn't find a single valuable clue.

Similarly, Misaki Shokuhou didn't have any decent leads at Tokiwadai Middle School either.

He had originally wanted to keep a low profile, but if there were no results after a long time, Lin Wuming didn't plan to continue wasting time.

After all, he already knew who the developer of 'Level Upper' was. If it really came down to it, he could just ask Kiyama Harumi or Saten Ruiko for a copy.

The only thing to worry about was whether these two 'heroes' would be scared if he suddenly showed up—after all, 'Level Upper' could be considered an illegal experiment.

Just as Lin Wuming was considering whether to use this final solution, a phone call brought a turning point to the whole incident.

—Saten Ruiko, an 'urban legend' expert, suddenly called for some reason.

Although they knew each other, Lin Wuming and Saten Ruiko weren't that close.

Perhaps out of awe for the title of 'hero', Saten Ruiko almost never called him proactively.

But conversely, once she took the initiative to contact him, something must have happened.

Recalling the original work, Saten Ruiko was very 'lucky' to find a secret link hidden on the website, and then directly downloaded 'Level Upper'.

So Lin Wuming had reason to believe that this time, Saten Ruiko would also be just as 'lucky'.

"What should I do, Wuming-senpai!" The moment the phone was connected, Saten Ruiko's anxious voice came from the receiver, "Please, you have to save me!"

A call for help?

Lin Wuming was stunned—could this girl have encountered some danger?

"Where are you?" Lin Wuming asked quickly, not daring to be careless, "Are you injured? What's the situation now?"

"Eh?" Saten Ruiko seemed to be taken aback for a moment, and then quickly explained, "I'm not in danger right now."

"...So what exactly is going on?" Lin Wuming sighed helplessly.

"But I might be next," Saten Ruiko continued, "No, I should say, I'll definitely be in danger, right?"

"You...never mind," Lin Wuming shook his head, feeling that it was difficult to explain clearly over the phone, "Where are you? If it's convenient, I'll come find you."

Half an hour later, the two met at the agreed location.

What confused Lin Wuming was that Saten Ruiko had chosen the hospital lobby as the meeting place.

Although this could be considered Lin Wuming's second home, he couldn't understand why Saten Ruiko would choose to meet in such a place.

"Is a friend of yours hospitalized?" Seeing Saten Ruiko's haggard face, Lin Wuming couldn't help but ask.

Although they hadn't met many times, Saten Ruiko had always given the impression of being a lively and cheerful person. It was hard to imagine what had happened to turn such an energetic girl into this state.

"Could it be..." Lin Wuming looked towards the inpatient department, "Is it Shirai Kuroko..."

"No, Kuroko is doing very well," Saten Ruiko said, "Before the summer vacation started, she was approved to become a formal member of Judgment and goes on patrol every day with high morale."

"The reason I chose to meet here is actually for myself," Saten Ruiko said with a dry laugh, "If I faint, I can be sent directly to the emergency room—isn't that convenient?"

"So what exactly is wrong with you?" Lin Wuming asked.

But he already had a guess in his mind—suddenly fainting, could it be because of 'Level Upper'?

"Wuming-senpai, have you heard of a software called 'Level Upper'?"

As expected, Saten Ruiko asked in a low voice with her head lowered.

As it turned out, things were indeed as Lin Wuming had guessed. While chasing urban legends, Saten Ruiko 'luckily' found the most popular 'Level Upper' at the time.

Then, Saten Ruiko, who had been struggling to improve her ability level, used 'Level Upper' without thinking too much, and then shared it with a few close friends in her class.

But it was also during this time that the explosive spread of 'Level Upper' attracted the attention of Anti-Skill and Judgment.

And it was soon proven that this mysterious software was directly related to the recent increase in 'student fainting' incidents.

So, unsurprisingly, 'Level Upper' was blacklisted by both organizations.

Knowing that her friend Saten Ruiko was obsessed with urban legends all day long, Shirai Kuroko, who was already working in Judgment, naturally warned her immediately.

But it was too late—Saten Ruiko was already using 'Level Upper'.

To make matters worse, some of her friends had already experienced 'unexplained fainting'.

Realizing that she had caused a great disaster, Saten Ruiko didn't know how to face Shirai Kuroko, and felt even more sorry for her friends.

Before all of that, Saten Ruiko's greatest fear was her own future.

If the price of using 'Level Upper' was to fall into a coma, then she herself was probably not far behind.

That's why she chose to stay in the hospital as much as possible.

And asked Lin Wuming for help.

Saten Ruiko was still very clear-headed when it came to matters of life and death.

She knew that if anyone could save her from this desperate situation, it would definitely be the 'hero' Lin Wuming-senpai!

Although she felt a little sorry for Shirai Kuroko, Saten Ruiko felt that even if she complained to Shirai Kuroko now, it wouldn't solve any problems, but would only make Shirai Kuroko worry for nothing.

"Have many people already fainted?" Lin Wuming frowned.

Although he had also started paying close attention to information related to 'Level Upper' in the past two days, he didn't seem to have heard of anyone fainting.

So Lin Wuming had always believed that 'Level Upper' was still in the initial stage of diffusion.

"Yes," Saten Ruiko nodded, "I heard that it's only been in the last few days. Many people have suddenly lost consciousness and fainted."

Not only from the news she heard from Shirai Kuroko, but Saten Ruiko herself had also learned about similar situations from websites and forums.

Lin Wuming quickly took out his phone and searched the internal systems of Judgment and Anti-Skill.

Sure enough, starting forty-eight hours ago, the number of students who suddenly fainted and lost consciousness for unknown reasons throughout Academy City had been rising sharply!