A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 1069 Reaching Consensus
After leaving the "windowless building," Lin Wuming and Hufeng Toumi did not go straight home. Instead, they went to the hospital first to tell the other girls that they were about to leave Academy City.

After a suffocating silence, the girls tacitly accepted the outcome.

Although he won the duel, Lin Wuming felt that he and the girls had fallen into a new "cold war," and the atmosphere between them was quite stiff.

"Winning doesn't seem to be a good thing..." Lin Wuming couldn't help but sigh.

"So, temporarily separating and letting you all calm down might not be a bad thing," said Aiho Yomikawa. "It also lets the city calm down—everyone's been working like crazy to clean up your mess!"

Aiho Yomizuka complained that although she was allowed to rest, she was actually still busy until now before she got home.

As for the other security guards, needless to say—working through the night is a certainty.

"Nameless, don't be reckless when you get abroad," Huang Quanchuan Aihui couldn't help but remind her after complaining. "Just treat it as a publicly funded trip. As for the mission assignments... don't take them too seriously."

"Don't worry, teacher, I will prioritize protecting myself," Lin Wuming assured him. "Besides, the chairman also said that this mission is mainly about reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, and we may not even encounter any danger."

After daybreak, Huang Quanchuan Aihui personally drove Lin Wuming to the airport.

Along the way, Lin Wuming noticed that the city streets were orderly and the traffic lights were working normally, showing no signs of the major disaster that had occurred the night before.

Just as Chairman Aleister had said, Academy City was restored to its original state overnight!
Tiger Bee Tomi didn't come to see them off; instead, she went to the hospital to meet up with Misaki Shokuhou and the others.

Or rather, it was Misaki Shokuhou who took the initiative to gather them all together.

Today is the second day of the Daihasei Festival. Thanks to Academy City's comprehensive contingency plans and incredibly strong logistical support, all the competitions are proceeding as scheduled without any disruption—except for three Level 5 contestants: Lin Wuming, Misaka Mikoto, and Shokuhou Misaki, who are unable to continue participating.

The battle last night was no secret; most people knew it was between Lin Wuming and Misaka Mikoto, so no one was surprised by the absence of the other three.

Moreover, apart from a certain high school and Tokiwadai Middle School, no one else really cares about this.

As the salute signaling the start of the competition day was fired, Misaki Shokuhou turned to face everyone in the room.

At this moment, the girls were gathered in Lin Wuming's usual hospital room, and the atmosphere was still somewhat strange.

However, perhaps because Lin Wuming was not there, the atmosphere was only a little strange, but not to the point of being embarrassing.

"At this point in time," Misaki Shokuhou glanced at her phone screen, "Senpai Mumei should have already left Academy City, right?"

The girls in the room all turned their attention to that gathering, because it was Misaki Shokuhou who had organized it.

“Ahem,” Misaki Shokuhou coughed lightly, “Taking advantage of the fact that Mumei-senpai is not here, there is something we need to talk about.”

Upon hearing this, the girls showed different expressions.

Misaki Shokuhou ignored all that, not even bothering to use "Mental Control," and said directly, "We lost this duel. So we can only agree to the Crystal Palace plan of the Nameless Senpai as agreed... What are your opinions?"

The hornet, perched by the window, gazed listlessly at the scenery outside; she certainly wouldn't object, and in fact, she hadn't intended to. In fact, one could say that this outcome was most favorable to her.

Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko, however, had much more complicated expressions.

But Shirai Kuroko nodded first: "I have no objection." Seeing this, Misaka Mikoto scratched her hair in frustration, and finally could only sigh: "Well, that's the only way. Since we've lost, we have to accept the consequences."

With Misaka Mikoto's final statement, the atmosphere in the room immediately eased.

The girls reached a consensus, looked at each other, and for a moment they all felt a sense of relief.

Misaki Shokuhou clapped her hands: "Well then—let's get along well from now on!"

Misaka Mikoto frowned, suddenly realizing something: "Shokuhou, you... come to think of it, could all of this have been part of your plan?"

Misaki Shokuhou remained remarkably calm throughout, displaying an air of complete confidence, clearly indicating that she had made various preparations.

Faced with the questions, Misaki Shokuhou neither confirmed nor denied them, but simply remained silent.

—So… this counts as tacit agreement?

Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko exchanged a glance, confirming each other's suspicions.

Even if that were the case, it seems there's nothing they can do about it.

If we really want to be serious, we should probably "thank" Misaki Shokuhou for giving them a chance to "compete fairly".

After all, given the effectiveness of the "Mental Control" superpower, it's not impossible for him to monopolize the nameless senior.

"Alright, since things have come to this, let's not dwell on those pointless things anymore." Misaki Shokuhou shook her head and finally spoke. "What I'm trying to say is that neither we nor the nameless senior have the extra time and energy to deal with troublesome matters like a love triangle. That's why I've decided to act quickly and solidify our relationship."

"What will happen next..." Shirai Kuroko asked.

“Those present are all direct participants from that time,” Misaki Shokuhou said. “They shouldn’t have forgotten that water behind the scenes, right?”

“You mean…” Misaka Mikoto suddenly remembered, “I remember there are four people in the ‘Right Seat of God’!”

"There are three more guys as formidable as Rear Water?" Shirai Kuroko also looked troubled. They knew all too well how difficult Rear Water was to defeat back then.

“It’s not just the Right Seat of God, the real trouble is the Roman Catholic Church,” Misaki Shokuhou said. “Those of us in Academy City may not have a direct sense of it, but it’s a huge organization with two billion followers; unfortunately, our Academy City and the Roman Catholic Church are enemies.”

"Two billion people... that's too many to feel real," Misaka Mikoto remarked.

—Does he have 20,000 "sisters"? Is that a hundred thousand times that number? I can't even imagine!
Misaki Shokuhou continued, "Don't forget, the nameless senior is now a member of the Council of Oversight, which means he is one of the rulers of this city."

Regardless of how much real power this "ruler" actually wielded, at least his stance of "standing in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church" was established.

After figuring this out, the girls finally understood the meaning behind Misaki Shokuhou's words.

—The war is about to begin, there's no time for romance, so we need to get rid of these "trivial matters" as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)