Temperature Control in Academy City

"Do you call that exercise? Why do I always see you eating sweets?" Shirai showed a suspicious look on her face and couldn't help but look Natsume Sonoko up and down.

Due to the power outage in the Seventh School District, the traffic lights at the intersection were out of service, and the entire traffic situation was congested and semi-paralyzed.

At this time, Shirai, wearing the discipline committee armband, was standing at the traffic platform in the middle of the road directing traffic.

She had a whistle hanging around her neck and used gestures to direct the vehicle to move forward in a normal manner.

Since it is still the club activity period, the campus bus between Tokiwadai Student Dormitory and the school has not yet started operating, so Natsume Sonoko can only walk back.

"The Discipline Committee is really all-round."

Natsume Sonoko was walking back home with difficulty, feeling sore all over. When she passed by the road, she saw Shirai-san directing traffic. Not only Shirai-san, but also other intersections had discipline committee members helping to direct traffic.

I was so exhausted after the last physical education class, so I decided to put today’s club field trip on hold and recover first.

Fortunately, there was senior Misaka, a member of the club who was going home, by my side, so the journey was not so boring. Both sides had a friendly exchange and negotiation on the issue of Quata.

"Misaka-senpai, did you know that a lot of security guards were dispatched this morning?"

As she walked, Natsume Sonoko thought of the large number of security guards that were deployed in the morning. Although she didn't pay much attention to it at the time, now she thinks that something big might have happened again.

"I do know a little bit. Kuroko told me this morning that there seemed to be some problems at the AIM Analysis Research Institute." Putting her schoolbag on her shoulder, the somewhat carefree and boyish Misaka-senpai turned around and said.

"There's a problem with the research institute again. Could it be that a weirdo like last time has appeared again?"

Natsume Sonoko was a little surprised. Ever since the last strange man appeared, every large-scale mobilization of security personnel made her a little nervous.

"I don't know about this."

Misaka-senpai slowed down her pace so that Natsume Sonoko could keep up. The two of them walked leisurely on the road, stopping from time to time to buy some snacks.

"Kuroko?"

Spatial movement is really convenient. Shirai-san always appears everywhere without anyone noticing.

Suddenly, she felt that there was someone around her. Misaka-senpai was holding takoyaki in one hand and looking at Shirai Kuroko-senpai who was falling from the sky with confusion.

"Onee-sama, something has happened. Jie Li Hatsuya suddenly fainted during the interrogation by the guards, and he is still unconscious." As soon as Shirai-san landed, he immediately said anxiously.

"Jie Li Hatsuya, the culprit of the void explosion case?" asked Misaka-senpai.

Natsume Sonoko immediately became a little nervous. Have things finally developed to this point?

"Also, the same thing happened to the girl from Sekisho Junior High School who was involved in the Tokiwadai attack. In the past few days, many unconscious prisoners have been sent to the hospital one after another," Shirai continued.

"Is it Mr. Shigefuku Shoho?" Natsume Sonoko suddenly asked.

Although Shigefuku Shoho has a somewhat weird personality, after a period of communication, Natsume Sonoko also became familiar with her.

Although she knew that using the Fantasy Hand would cause sequelae, Natsume Sonoko still felt a little at a loss when it really happened.

"Then let's go to the hospital right away. Natsume-san, you should go back to the dormitory first."

Misaka-senpai is too enthusiastic. I don't know if she was influenced by Shirai-san or if it's just her nature, but she has become obsessed with the incident of the Fantasy Hand recently.

"No, I want to go too." Natsume Sonoko shook her head firmly. Although it was a little difficult for her to walk and she had no strength in her body, how could she just sit there and do nothing when she saw something happen to her friend?

"Okay, Kuroko, you take Natsume with you." Senior Misaka looked at Natsume Sonoko with some surprise, nodded in agreement.

"Really? You just like to cause trouble for others." With a hint of reluctance on his face, Shirai reached out and pulled Natsume Sonoko's sleeve, and the two of them disappeared in an instant.

Upon seeing this scene, Senior Misaka also gathered her strength and began to sprint forward at the speed of an electromagnetic catapult, creating gusts of wind and waves along the way.

Mizuho Institution Hospital seems to be particularly busy today, with unconscious students being sent here for treatment one after another.

Although there was a power outage outside, the hospital's normal operation was not affected at all because it had a backup power supply.

"Here we are. We are here."

Two figures suddenly appeared in the space. Before Natsume Sonoko had much time to think, she was taken by Shirai to travel through space again and again. Soon they arrived near the Mizuho Institution Hospital.

The feeling of traveling through space is very strange. Before the brain can react, the sight is suddenly shifted to another place, just like watching TV, the scenes are constantly switching.

"Onee-sama will be here soon, let's wait outside." Putting down the phone, Shirai said.

In a park somewhere, Ruiko Saten is sitting on a swing.

With one hand holding the amulet and the other hand leaning on the swing chain, Saten-san's eyes were lost in thought, and no one knew what she was thinking.

"Mingmei, what's wrong with you?"

Mingmei, who was using her ability to suspend a cleaning robot in mid-air, suddenly fainted, causing an uproar among the nearby crowd.

"what happened?"

Saten felt a little dizzy and was speechless as he looked at Mingmei who suddenly fell to the ground. Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated, as if some message had been sent.

On the other side, Misaka-senpai finally arrived at the Mizuho Institution Hospital. She was still a little out of breath due to running too fast, but she still looked in much better condition than Natsume Sonoko.

"Let's go in quickly." Senior Misaka said anxiously.

"I'm the discipline committee member, Kuroko Shirai. I want to know the latest situation of the prisoner." Taking out the discipline committee member's armband, Shirai said seriously.

"We have tried our best, but he still shows no signs of waking up."

"There is no damage to his whole body, including his brain, he's just been in a coma. And similar cases have been reported to us in recent days, but we also have no clue." The doctor in charge of the comatose people explained the current situation, but could not find the cause of the coma at all and was still confused.

"The cause of the coma is unknown. Can I take a look at the patient's information?" Shirai-san thought with his chin in his hand.

"of course can."

While Shirai and Misaka were communicating with the doctor, Natsume Sonoko had already arrived at a ward where an unconscious girl with twin buns was lying on the bed.

Chapter 53: An Unabandonable Vision

In the hospital, Natsume Sonoko, who had just come out of the ward of her classmate Shigefuku Shoho, looked a little depressed and seemed to be in a bad mood.

"Is Miss Shigefuku Shoho okay?" Noticing the strangeness on Natsume Sonoko's face, Senior Misaka asked with some concern.

"Just like the doctor said, he has fallen into a coma and can't be woken up no matter what we do." Natsume Sonoko said silently.

"In fact, since the hospital's equipment and personnel are temporarily unable to handle this incident, we have specially hired an expert in brain physiology from outside. However, for some reason, this expert has not shown up since yesterday." The middle-aged doctor pushed his glasses and said with some shame.

"Expert? In the field of brain physiology?" Shirai thought thoughtfully, and suddenly remembered something.

"Is it Haruo Kiyama from the AIM Analysis Institute?"

"That's right. Even this expert, her attainments in brain physiology are obvious to all." The middle-aged doctor nodded and looked at Shirai Kuroko with some surprise, as if he had not expected that even the discipline committee member knew of the expert's reputation.

"In this case, the specialist can no longer come to the hospital. Just this morning, she has been listed as a criminal by the guards."

Shirai-san affirmed that the information between the security guard system and the discipline committee is interoperable to a certain extent, and both sides can understand the other's dynamics.

"Then this Mr. Kiyama Haruo is very likely one of the murderers who created or spread the Fantasy Hand."

Senior Misaka held her chin up and spoke solemnly, imitating the expression of Sherlock Holmes when he was judging a case, with a series of reasoning and argumentation going on in her mind.

"Onee-sama, where did you get this speculation from?" Shirai sighed helplessly, seeming to doubt Misaka-senpai's speculation.

"That's not necessarily the case. I think it makes sense." Natsume Sonoko nodded in agreement.

"How does this make sense?" Shirai seemed to think that the two people's thinking was too unconventional and quickly refuted.

"Think about it, there was a large-scale coma incident just now, and today this brain expert was convicted as a criminal. Shouldn't there be some connection between the two?" Senior Misaka said seriously, feeling that her speculation was well-founded.

"Sister, the charge for which Kimura Haruo was arrested was intentional injury, not the so-called culprit of the coma incident. It's just a coincidence, a coincidence!" Shirai said again, rubbing his head in distress.

On the contrary, Natsume Sonoko looked at Misaka-senpai in surprise. Her intuition was too powerful. She was worthy of being the railgun-senpai.

The doctors still had to make rounds, so after explaining the situation to Natsume Sonoko and the others, they left. The three of them sat on a bench in the hospital to discuss countermeasures.

"In this case, we have no clues at all, right?" Senior Misaka said helplessly.

"Actually, that's not the case. We can still track down the original publisher of the audio of Fantasy Hand, but the other party is too secretive, and there is no useful information until now." Shirai frowned, thinking hard about something.

"We can also investigate transactions between users of the Fantasy Hand. There should be some clues there."

While the few people were discussing, Natsume Sonoko went to see Shigefuku Shoho a few more times.

When I came back, I saw Misaka-senpai and Shirai-san talking to a strange-looking old man.

This old man looked very much like a toy. He was wearing a white coat and had a completely bald head with only some white hair left on the sides.

With a gentle and kind smile on his face, he looks no different from an ordinary old man.

"The real-life version of Quata." Natsume Sonoko inexplicably felt that he was somewhat funny, and his appearance was indeed extremely recognizable.

It is wrong to judge people by their appearance. Natsume Sonoko quickly corrected her thoughts and hurried forward to meet up.

"Hello, little girl." The live-action version of Quata paused and greeted Natsume Sonoko with a smile.

"Nice to meet you." Natsume Sonoko responded immediately.

"I recently checked the brain waves of all the unconscious people and found a very interesting phenomenon. It seems that under the influence of something, which is what you call the Illusion Hand, the brain waves of the people have become the same."

"In fact, everyone's brain waves are different, so it is impossible to read the same waveform on the machine. It's strange that this phenomenon happened."

"Excuse me, can we go check out the EEG images?"

After listening carefully to the old man's words, Ms. Shirai asked anxiously, it seemed that they had finally found a very valuable clue.

"Of course. I saw that you were investigating, so I wanted to provide some useful clues. It would be best if I could solve the case in advance. I was also very anxious when I saw everyone was unconscious."

This doctor, who is called the ghost chaser by many people, said that the hospital did not actually invite him to treat patients, but out of the original intention of curing diseases and saving lives and giving priority to human lives, he still took the initiative to come and help.

Several people came to an office, and the ghost-chasing doctor turned on the computer and retrieved the brain wave graphs of a large number of patients.

What is surprising is that the waveforms of these patterns are surprisingly similar, and the similarity between various ripple patterns can reach 99%.

"Is this kind of thing possible?" Shirai-san muttered to himself, seeming a little confused.

"If someone forcibly changes the brain wave model of others, it will have a great impact on others. In fact, based on the physical condition of many people, they should be able to hold on for a while, but recently it seems that someone has occupied their brains to perform high-intensity calculations, which has caused the body to be unable to hold on." The Underworld Soul-Chasing Doctor replied affirmatively.

"So they were all used as computers. What on earth made them do such a thing?" As if stimulated by the facts, Misaka-senpai opened her eyes wide in disbelief.

"It should be your job to investigate the real murderer and his motives." The Ghost Chaser Doctor turned around and said.

"These users of the Fantasy Hand all have similar brain waves, so as long as we investigate the owner of these brain waves, we should be able to find clues to the murderer." Natsume Sonoko, who had been standing nearby without moving, suddenly said, with a worried look on her face.

"What a clever little girl, but judging from your appearance, you seem to have a lot on your mind. Don't worry."

"It's okay, I'm just a little worried about my friend." Natsume Sonoko said hesitantly, and seemed to have made some decision in her heart.

Just when they were about to go back, a few students who had fainted after using the Illusion Hand were sent in. Among them was Saten Ruiko, who had rushed to the hospital, and happened to meet Natsume Sonoko and others.

"Tear, what happened?" Senior Misaka asked with concern.

"Amei...they, they...all fainted. It's all my fault. We clearly...knew that we were powerless, but...we still had illusions." There were traces of tears on Saten's face. She stuttered and her face was full of regret.

"What's going on? Tell us quickly." Shirai was also a little worried. She wiped the tears from Saten Ruiko's face and then asked.

"It's Fantasy Hand, I downloaded it from a music website..."

After getting a general understanding of what happened, Natsume Sonoko and a few others also learned the specific news.

"Hatsuharu, please block this music website immediately. It contains the download link for Fantasy Hand." After hearing what Saten said, Shirai immediately called Hatsuharu.

"It's actually hidden in these websites. Fortunately, Saten-san is fine." Senior Misaka breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked at Saten-san Ruiko with some concern.

"I'm glad that Saten-san is alright."

This meeting made Natsume Sonoko breathe a sigh of relief. It’s great that Saten-san is fine.

"No, Hatsuharu said that the holder must destroy it, but I couldn't bear to do so. Later, I heard Akemi and the others say that they wanted to fantasize about the hand..." Holding her head, Saten-san suddenly said in a somewhat collapsed tone.

"I hate myself for being powerless, but I just can't give up my dream of becoming powerful."

Chapter 54: Two Kiyama Haruo

"Is level 0 a defective product? Because he gained the ability through cheating, he was used as a tool by others? He knew there were great risks behind it, but he still acted without hesitation, and ended up hurting everyone."

Saten-san knelt on the ground, mumbling weakly.

Shirai wanted to say something, but couldn't, so she could only remain silent.

"Don't worry, leave the matters concerning your friend to me. Your task now is to investigate the Illusion Hand and end this farce as soon as possible." Doctor Ghost Chaser walked out from the corner, patted Ryoko Saotome's shoulder comfortingly, and then spoke.

"Don't worry, even if you used the Illusion Hand, just think of it as a sleep. When you wake up, your friends will have solved everything smoothly. You must believe in everyone's efforts." The Soul Chaser said seriously to Ruiko Saotome with an encouraging smile on his face.

"That's right, leave it to us." Natsume Sonoko nodded vigorously and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.