A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 1024 Secret observation
"This is really... troublesome," the Pope sighed softly.

The situation is spiraling out of control, sliding in the direction the right-hand fire is hoping for...

Looking at the screen that was still playing the battle replay, the Pope picked up the remote control and switched the screen back to the previous live stream.

—Although I don't like Academy City and we are indeed enemies, I don't want such a big city to be destroyed.

Putting aside political affiliations, such a vibrant city, almost entirely composed of teenagers, is indeed quite charming.

Since Touma and Index have already left, and no one has given any new instructions, the screen is currently empty...

No, instead, the pursuers who had been attacked by fire magic not long ago were lying scattered on the ground.

—It seems no one has died. How can we help them?
Just as the Pope was pondering this question, several ambulances and police cars drove into the frame.

The Pope breathed a sigh of relief, but then he saw a guard holding some kind of instrument walking towards him.

—Has this drone been spotted?
Immediately afterwards, the screen flickered violently a few times, and after a brilliant flash, it went completely black.

"What a pity." The Pope shook his head and put down the remote control in his hand.

Unlike the "Right Seat of God," who is almost completely detached from worldly affairs, the Pope, although also a high-ranking figure, is inevitably entangled in mundane matters as the manager of a huge organization.

Unlike Right Flame and Piaget, who treated the church's long-cultivated channels and connections as disposable resources, the Pope was well aware of how difficult it would be to send a drone that was not under the control of Academy City and could conduct remote real-time live broadcasts into Academy City.

This was an important asset of the Roman Catholic Church, but now... it's gone.

It will likely be even more difficult to do the same thing again in the future.

However, the Pope was wrong; the reason the drone's live stream was suddenly lost was not because of the guards' actions.

Instead, it was a sudden and strong electromagnetic interference.

In fact, the guards were only conducting a routine search of the crime scene and did not actually find anything unusual.

However, the noise caused by the drone burning up due to electromagnetic interference still alerted the guards.

"What's this?" The guard unfolded his folding shield and cautiously approached. "What exploded?"

As he spoke, he looked back and saw his companion behind him make an OK sign before rushing into the ambulance. A moment later, he poked his head out of the ambulance and made an "X" sign with both hands.

"Isn't this none of their business..." the guard muttered, continuing to raise his shield and move forward.

Upon closer inspection, a drone that was emitting smoke was visible.

"Alert lifted. It was a filming drone," the guard said into the walkie-talkie. "Send a technician over to investigate the drone..."

All I heard in the headphones was a crackling white noise.

The guard paused for a moment, then tapped the walkie-talkie and pressed the button to restart it. The problem persisted; instead, the static intensified, giving the impression that an explosion was imminent.

He dared not try again, and had some guesses in his mind about why the drone in front of him had been scrapped and burned.

A minute later, the guard finally received his companion. After confirming, they discovered that not only his, but everyone present's walkie-talkies and other electronic devices had been jammed. "What happened here?" The guards looked at each other in bewilderment.

At that moment, a figure descended from the sky and landed in front of the group of guards.

"Unnamed student, it's you!" The guard recognized the newcomer. "What's going on here...?"

The guards all recognized Lin Wuming, but this "Lin Wuming" was different from usual—his entire body emanated a faint blue light, making him seem unlike a real person…

“Don’t worry about it, you guys go back first,” Lin Wuming, or rather his “clone,” said in a strange, electronic voice. “Leave this to me.”

"Alright, then we'll retreat first." Since it was Lin Wuming who spoke, the guards had no objections and decisively withdrew.

After that, Lin Wuming's "clone" turned to look at the drone: "Mikoto, are you sure the data on this thing can be recovered?"

A crackling sound of electricity filled the air, and after several adjustments, the sound gradually transformed into the sound of human speech.

"I'm sorry, but it can now be confirmed that it cannot." As she spoke, the tone of the electrical sound became increasingly similar to that of Misaka Mikoto herself. "I just checked, this device has no memory. All data is transmitted in real time, and there is no local archiving after it is sent out."

"How cunning!" Lin Wuming exclaimed. "But it doesn't matter, anyway, the things it films are just so-so."

Lin Wuming had actually been secretly observing the battle that had taken place here not long ago. To be honest, he didn't find anything special; it was all known information.

If Misaka Mikoto hadn't accidentally discovered a drone "stealing" footage while monitoring the battlefield, Lin Wuming wouldn't have come to check it out.

Unfortunately, as a Level 5 Electrifier, Misaka Mikoto's presence was so strong that she caused strong electromagnetic interference in the area while scanning.

The drone, which was a key target of observation, was directly overloaded and burned out.

“But this is far too concerning!” Misaka Mikoto said. “I checked the drone registration number at the news center—this machine is not within the permitted number range.”

“No need to investigate further, the Roman Catholic Church is behind it,” Lin Wuming said. “As for its purpose… it’s probably to gather intelligence on Kamijou Touma’s battles?”

In fact, Lin Wuming did not know the truth about the drone, and even discovering it was just a coincidence.

However, Lin Wuming reasonably guessed that this was an arrangement made by the Roman Catholic Church to track and investigate Kamijou Touma.

Given that it's no secret that the Roman Catholic Church is targeting Touma Kamijou today, the appearance of a spy drone with an unregistered serial number near the scene of Touma Kamijou's battle with the mysterious magician... the mastermind behind it is self-evident.

Moreover, it doesn't matter if he guesses wrong, since it won't cause Lin Wuming any loss.

After a moment of silence, Misaka Mikoto seemed to understand Lin Wuming's thoughts, and thus stopped caring about this little incident.

After placing the drone wreckage back in its original location, Lin Wuming turned and flew into the sky, eventually landing on a nearby rooftop.

Misaka Mikoto's electromagnetic field was ever-present, its unique presence always accompanying Lin Wuming.

Even though it was just a clone, Lin Wuming couldn't help but reveal a helpless, bitter smile.

(End of this chapter)