A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 1029 Lin Wuming, the Meddler
Lin Wuming decided not to meddle in other people's business.

Even if Touma and the others fail to find Lidovia in time to prevent her from activating "Apostle Cross," it doesn't matter. The "light pollution" from the upcoming fireworks display will obscure the starlight, fundamentally eliminating the basic conditions for activating "Apostle Cross."

This outcome was predetermined from the start. Why did they have to choose a megacity like Academy City to activate their spirit costumes?
Even without the fireworks display, the light pollution generated by the city itself at night is enough to obscure the starry sky.

You should know that Lin Wuming has rarely seen a starry sky in the city since then.

Perhaps Sister Lidovia had little experience living in big cities, so she didn't notice this phenomenon.

Otherwise, if she really wanted to use "Apostle Cross" in Academy City, the first thing she would have to do was paralyze the city's power system and plunge the entire city into darkness.

Just like... what Misaka Mikoto is doing right now.

With another round of violent lightning strikes, a large number of lights in the surrounding area went out.

Lin Wuming looked up at the thunderclouds overhead—was the sky already this dark? When exactly would the time for the stars to align, as required by the "Apostolic Cross," be?
Lin Wuming suddenly became concerned.

He didn't know the exact time and location of the activation, but what if his duel with Misaka Mikoto inadvertently caused a large-scale power outage, and this happened to coincide with a window of opportunity before the fireworks festival began, thus fulfilling the prerequisites for activating "Apostle Cross"...

Although this possibility is unlikely, given that Touma Kamijou is involved, it is hard to guarantee that things won't get worse.

Lin Wuming felt increasingly uneasy as he thought about it. He couldn't blindly trust the original plot from his memories; it could only be used as a reference—after all, there was no intruder like himself in the original work!
Just then, Touma Kamijou had already made progress. With Index present, he had been able to calculate most of the prerequisites for activating the "Apostle Cross" based on the information he already had.

Under these circumstances, there was no point in Oriana insisting any further, and considering that the time was almost up, she simply revealed Sister Lidovia's location.

"When does the 'Apostolic Cross' activate?" Lin Wuming finally came to them and asked directly, "Give me a number that is at least accurate to the minute."

"Nameless, what brings you here?" Kamijou Touma asked in surprise.

"I happened to be passing by and noticed the commotion here," Lin Wuming said. "Index, give me a precise number."

Time was of the essence, and Lin Wuming had no time for pleasantries. He needed to confirm whether the fireworks display could be held in time for the activation of the "Apostolic Cross".

With a crack, the sky seemed to split open, and azure lightning bolts struck down from above!

Kamijou Touma and the magicians felt a sudden tightness in their chests, a strong sense of crisis washing over them.

This is the power of thunder from nature, a force that even Touma Kamijou's "Imagine Breaker" cannot eliminate.

Fortunately, the lightning bolt was resisted and countered by Lin Wuming when it was still more than ten meters above the ground, and then dissipated in all directions.

Aside from causing another large-scale power outage, there were no other side effects.

Lin Wuming had experienced many such lightning strikes along the way, and was now completely unfazed.

"Nameless, just now... was that Misaka Mikoto?" Kamijou Touma asked cautiously.

“Yes. But don’t worry,” Lin Wuming even had the composure to reassure the people around him, “She wasn’t serious, the power of her attack was limited, and it wasn’t targeted at anyone.”

Even with Lin Wuming's explanation, Touma and the others were still unwilling to approach, even pulling Index behind them for protection. The claim of "limited power" was something only a Level 5 Lin Wuming could say; for most others, this level of attack was already fatal!

“Mr. Nameless, according to my calculations, the optimal time to activate this is in twenty-six minutes!” Index showed no fear whatsoever, focusing entirely on refining Lin Wuming’s earlier question. “Twenty-six minutes? Isn’t that too little time?” Kamijou Touma exclaimed in surprise.

Orianna has already revealed the location of the "Apostle Cross," and it's really a stretch to get there in twenty-six minutes.

Unless you can fly...

Kamijou Touma suddenly remembered that Lin Wuming could fly, but when he turned around, Lin Wuming was nowhere to be seen.
“He just left,” Steele said.

As if in response to his words, another bolt of lightning struck from afar, followed by a thunderous roar.

"Oh ho, it seems like things have really turned sour in the backyard, and he's fallen into a living hell. That guy Mumei, he's finally..." Tsuchimikado Motoharu said with a hint of schadenfreude.

Bilibili!

A tiny bolt of lightning flashed, striking Tsuchimikado Motoharu squarely. Although the damage was minor, it still gave him a standard afro hairstyle.

Knowing that this was a small warning from Misaka Mikoto of "A Certain Scientific Railgun", Tsuchimikado Motoharu quickly shut up and didn't say anything more.

—What the hell? When did Misaka Mikoto become so elusive?
From the rooftop of a distant high-rise, Misaka Mikoto looked down at the city streets below. Only after spotting Lin Wuming did she turn her attention to Tsuchimikado Motoharu, who had been rambling on earlier.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu was someone I knew, a friend of a friend, so Misaka Mikoto didn't make things too difficult for him.

In a sense, what Tsuchimikado Motoharu said was true. But it is precisely because it is the truth that it is all the more hurtful.

Kamijou Touma snapped out of his daze and quickly said, "Mumei seems to be very busy too, so we can't bother him any further. We'll figure out how to handle our own situation."

Jian Gongzhai immediately said, "I'll go find a car; that will save a lot of time."

The group then set about on their own.

Meanwhile, Lin Wuming took the lead and headed towards the observatory.

The fireworks display is scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM, which is half an hour away.

In other words, there is a gap of about four minutes before the fireworks display begins.

If the enemy can seize this time, they can successfully launch the "Apostle Cross"!
Therefore, to be on the safe side, it's best to resolve the issue before the activation time arrives!
Lin Wuming wasn't going to wait for Kamijou Touma and the others; he wanted to take action himself and snatch back the "Apostle Cross" first!

Or... take some method to ensure that the Apostles' Cross cannot take effect.

This was not difficult for Lin Wuming; it was just a simple matter of lifting a finger.

The only problem is...

“Even though he was in the middle of a duel with me…” Misaka Mikoto looked down at Lin Wuming with a gloomy expression, her eyes fixed on his every move.

(End of this chapter)