A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 993 Who is Stronger and Who is Weaker
Faced with Accelerator's sudden attack, Slice-Ban Junba laughed loudly and threw a punch to meet it.

Lin Wuming also used his Nen ability to meet the attack.

They never let their guard down for a moment.

"Very good, very good! Now that's what you call backbone!" the tyrant shouted, swinging his fists wildly. "Let's have a good fight!"

As he spoke, Xiaoban Junba nonchalantly swung his signature "strong punch" at Lin Wuming, seemingly including both of them in the attack.

While secretly marveling at the performance, Lin Wuming also retaliated without hesitation with a "psychic acceleration cannon".

Thus began a chaotic battle among the three. They did not form alliances, nor did it involve two against one; instead, each person fought two against one, attacking the other two equally.

As a result, the battle was chaotic and disorderly from the very beginning. The only tacit understanding among the three of them was to confine the battle to this dust-covered area and to keep the dust environment from dissipating.

Thus, from the outside, it seemed that some sounds of what appeared to be a battle could be vaguely seen in the collapsing theater, but no more details could be seen; they couldn't even hear the sounds of a battle. Those on the outside were like watching a silent film, still through layers of fog, only able to vaguely see some silhouettes.

Apart from Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki, no one could see through the swirling dust to what was happening inside.

However, just as Misaka Mikoto complained earlier, even if they couldn't see the specific scene, it didn't dampen their high spirits.

More than actually witnessing a Level 5 duel in person, the atmosphere of the duel is what ordinary viewers care about more.

After all, based on past experience with "routine duels," even without dust obscuring the view, the average viewer wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

The simplest point is that the speed is too fast, and the pace of the battle between the two sides is too high, so that people's eyes cannot keep up with their movement speed, let alone see their movements.

So they really could only watch the spectacle; the atmosphere was enough. Not being able to see the actual battle didn't stop them from discussing it and sharing their feelings...

In contrast, Misaki Shokuhou and Misaka Mikoto's side was much quieter.

Misaka Mikoto can ignore the dust obstruction and see the battle situation directly through electromagnetic vision.

Even though his vision couldn't penetrate the swirling dust, under Misaki Shokuhou's "shared vision," Lin Wuming could still "witness" the battle unfold from his first-person perspective.

Lin Wuming was familiar with Misaki Shokuhou's techniques, so between battles, he shared his insights with the girls. This also served to reassure them and reassure them not to worry too much.

Ultimately, this three-way battle was merely a friendly sparring match, a test of each other's mettle, not a fight to the death.

—At least, in my opinion, neither Accelerator nor Slasher used their full strength.

Lin Wuming made this assessment, and of course, he himself felt the same way.

After all, while fighting, they also tacitly maintained the dusty environment of the battlefield, so that if any one of them lost their temper, they could easily disperse the dust.

Hearing Lin Wuming's words, the girls, who had originally wanted to ask who would win the duel, all tacitly fell silent. Since it was just a friendly exchange, the possibility of a draw was foreseeable.

"Nameless senior," after much deliberation, Shirai Kuroko couldn't help but ask the question that was on her mind most, "Which of you three is the strongest right now?"

Since it's a duel, there will always be strong and weak. The battle itself may end in a "draw," but the parties involved will definitely have their own judgment.

Not only Shirai Kuroko, but in fact, several other girls besides Shokuhou Misaki also wanted to know this.

Having spent a lot of time with the Level 5s, I have some basic understanding of Toumitsu the Tiger Bee, the Extra Individuals, Junko Hokkaido, and others.

The official ranking order of Academy City may not accurately reflect the true strength of the espers.

At least, that ranking is inaccurate for seventh-ranked Xiaoban Junba and eighth-ranked Lin Wuming.

Because of the mixed personal feelings involved, these girls felt that if ranked by strength, it would be fine to put Lin Wuming in first place.

"If we're really going to talk about it, Accelerator is definitely the strongest, right?" Lin Wuming commented, dodging an attack from Accelerator. "In the psychic power system, Accelerator is the closest to 'absolute'. If I'm not mistaken, his attacks now already have the connotation of 'absolute'."

Lin Wuming's previous worries were not entirely unfounded. Although he did not know exactly what had happened, the fact was that Accelerator was indeed evolving into an "absolute power user".

If he truly did not participate in any more experiments, then it can only mean that he is indeed the undisputed No. 1, and truly possesses unparalleled talent!
"As for Xiaoban Junba, that guy..."

Lin Wuming erected a psychic barrier to block the "powerful fist" that Xiaoban Junba was throwing at him almost nonsensically—an attack made of something that even Lin Wuming couldn't determine whether it was psychic ability.

The ability is completely incomprehensible; although it's named "Telekinesis Bullet," its effects suggest it's a Nen ability...

However, Lin Wuming can make a judgment in the name of the strongest Nen user—even if the superpower of the board-cutting army bastard conforms to the characteristics of "Nen ability" in all aspects, it is not "Nen ability".

It's at least not the "Nen ability" that Lin Wuming understands.

If we exclude the "bullet time" cheat, Lin Wuming is the most standard and authentic "psychic" user, so his judgment based on himself is naturally accurate.

“Xiao Ban Junba is definitely not a telekinetic user in the normal sense,” Lin Wuming commented. “He probably just thinks he is a telekinetic user, which is why his superpowers exhibit the characteristics of telekinesis.”

This can be considered a special case of "personal reality" interfering with the real world.

In Lin Wuming's view, Xiaoban Junba's superpower was an extremely idealistic "I think" power. Combined with his inexplicable confidence and "root theory", it actually showed the characteristic of "no limit".

As a Level 5 fighter, the "Slicer King" has a very low skill floor, often ending up covered in blood in battle—even against ordinary thugs. However, his skill ceiling is much higher; he seems to have an invincible health pool. No matter the enemy, even in the most brutal fights, he's only covered in blood, looking somewhat disheveled, but that doesn't stop him from getting back up after countless defeats and continuing to fight with renewed vigor.
As for Lin Wuming himself, he was actually the most technically skilled and capable of handling the situation among the three.

This is unavoidable. After all, if we only consider "Nen ability", Lin Wuming is only a level 4 power user. If he wants to compete with the other two genuine level 5 users, without entering the "bullet time" state, he can only rely on extremely precise operation and keen perception of the AIM diffusion field to deal with their moves and counter them.

(End of this chapter)