Temperature Control in Academy City

Having finally taken care of herself, Natsume Sonoko felt a little proud of herself. As expected, she would never run out of water.

Just when Natsume Sonoko was about to evaporate the water and return it to nature, she heard a series of cat meows. Upon closer inspection, she saw a black cat jumping from somewhere onto the protective window on the windowsill.

"Are you spying outside my dormitory window? Why is it you again?"

Natsume Sonoko felt that this black cat looked familiar. The last time it came here to steal frozen mice, it was discovered, so she was kind enough to feed it a can of mackerel.

“Meow, meow, meow.”

Since she couldn't understand the cat's language, Natsume Sonoko could only watch this uninvited guest silently.

By the way, maybe it saw me secretly using my ability, so just in case, should I...

Throw this inexplicable thought out of your mind. Although Academy City has endless abilities, no one should be bored enough to turn into a cat to report that they are secretly using their abilities in the dormitory.

"Wait a minute, you can't drink from this basin."

Natsume Sonoko was thinking about something else when she realized that the black cat beside her was trying to drink water from her basin, so she hurriedly brought the basin back.

Natsume Sonoko jumped up and took out a plastic bowl from the corner, and then she condensed some groundwater and put it into the bowl.

"Here, the bowl you used last time."

Last time I poured the fish from the can of mackerel into this bowl, and now that I have it again, I might as well use it.

Licking its paw silently, the black cat glanced at Natsume Sonoko, then jumped back into the darkness, leaving Natsume Sonoko with a dissatisfied look on her face.

"Really? He just left after drinking without even saying hello. Do you have any manners at all?" Natsume Sonoko said a little unhappily.

The black cat was like a familiar yet unfamiliar friend who visited someone at night and then suddenly disappeared.

After turning off the lights, Natsume Sonoko lay comfortably on the sofa and fell asleep soon.

.....Ordinary dividing line.....

Early the next morning, Natsume Sonoko got up on time and found that Misaka-senpai was already waiting at the door, helping Natsume to have breakfast together.

Classmate Shirai, who was standing by, had a droopy face and eyes full of resentment as he followed closely behind him.

"Natsume-san, I've got your bicycle back for you. It's parked outside the student dormitory."

Sitting in the seat in the restaurant, Shirai took a bite of bread and a sip of morning tea. After he finished eating, he spoke.

"Thank you, Shirai-san." Natsume Sonoko nodded vigorously, put down the cake in her hand, and replied hurriedly.

Chapter 64: Meeting Shokuhou-senpai at the Library

The joy of reunion can make people forget their sorrow. Natsume Sonoko looked at the bicycle that was lost and found with joy.

Perhaps because the thieves had taken good care of the bicycle, there were no obvious scratches on it, except that the IC chip inside the bicycle had been damaged and had lost its remote positioning function.

"Natsume-san, aren't you going to take a day off today?" asked senior Misaka, carrying her schoolbag. It was almost time to go to school.

"I do need to ask for leave, but only for physical education classes. It would be a waste to take the whole day off." Natsume Sonoko laughed and suddenly felt like she had gained something.

I have a physical education class today, but because of my injury, the physical education teacher will definitely not force me.

"Well, don't push yourself," Misaka-senpai replied hesitantly.

"Kuroko, Natsume-san is a patient. Please help take her to and from school today."

"Kuroko is very busy. She doesn't have the time to take people to and from school. And, sister, please don't look at her pitifully. The guard said that she can fly now."

Shirai said with an unhappy look on his face that ever since he met this girl with a bun, he had a lot more troubles inexplicably, and he was increasingly being treated as a tool.

"Actually, I don't want to bother Shirai-san all the time. I can do it on my own." Natsume Sonoko shook her head seriously and said with a determined look, jumping a few times on the spot on one foot.

"I really can't do anything about you. After all, I told you that you can come to me for help if you have any problem."

Shirai silently glanced at Natsume Sonoko's appearance, a helpless look appeared on her face, and she reached out and grabbed Natsume Sonoko's arm.

"Onee-sama, I'll take Natsume to school first." Shirai sighed and said, still with a hint of elegance in her tone.

"You guys go first, don't worry about me." Senior Misaka also came back to her senses and said.

The space was shattered, and no one was seen. Senior Misaka put her schoolbag on her shoulders and walked towards Tokiwadai Middle School.

As a student who never takes the school bus, Senior Misaka has long been accustomed to walking to school across half of the Seventh School District.

Occasionally, you can find something less boring on the road, which is much more interesting than sitting on the school bus and doing some boring ladylike activities.

"Kuroko actually cares about Natsume-san." As they walked down the street, senior Misaka muttered something to herself.

"Oh, it's that guy." As if she had discovered something, Senior Misaka suddenly stopped.

The two sides looked at each other, and the black hedgehog-haired boy instantly accelerated and ran into the alley, with Misaka-senpai chasing after him.

At Tokiwadai Junior High School, at the entrance to the teaching building, Shirai landed steadily and helped Natsume stabilize his body.

"Good morning, Natsume-san, Shirai-san." They heard greetings from afar. The two turned around and saw that it was Kiriramaki Megumi, a classmate in the same grade.

"Good morning, Kiri Madara-san." Natsume Sonoko greeted from afar.

"Morning." Shirai-san was obviously a little out of breath.

Time flies, and today's physical education class begins again.

Natsume Sonoko was arranged by the teacher to rest on a stone bench near the playground, which was already bustling with activity.

After staying on the playground for a while, Natsume Sonoko tiptoed outside. Instead of returning to the teaching building, she walked to the school library.

The library of Tokiwadai is very large, much more spectacular than the teaching building, and the books inside are all-encompassing, ranging from basic teaching reference books to various highly professional papers and works. It can be said that it has everything.

And as time goes by, the school will constantly update the books here.

Even a top student like Misaka-senpai often comes here to study and recharge, and is sometimes even called simple-minded by some people.

There are endless smart people in Academy City. Even though Natsume Sonoko thinks she has worked very hard, she can only be judged as someone with good comprehension ability at most.

"I remember the book about losing control of abilities is here."

When she was outputting without any regard for the consequences, Natsume Sonoko found that her computing power was being consumed too quickly. This situation was very common among people with special abilities. Although she didn't know if it could be considered as a loss of control of her abilities, it should be somewhat consistent.

However, since this kind of out-of-control ability situation is limited to Natsume Sonoko's head, it will not have any impact on the outside world. The fundamental reason is that the formula is inappropriate, so you need to study more, think more, eat less snacks and sleep more.

In fact, Natsume Sonoko doesn’t come to the library very often. Most of the time she comes only to solve some difficult problems assigned by the teacher, but she is still familiar with the general layout of the library.

Finally, he found some relevant books and papers on a bookshelf. Natsume skipped to the reading room on the first floor of the library with a few books in his hands.

Since classes were still in session, the library was empty at this time. Natsume Sonoko liked this quiet environment very much and read these obscure books with some difficulty.

"Oh, here's something you can refer to." Natsume Sonoko frowned and finally found the part she needed from a lot of messy content.

"What a radical argument. Is it really feasible to derive value from the loss of control over ability?"

I put down a very daunting paper. There wasn't much useful content in it. It was more like the beginning of a series of papers, but the library in Tokiwadai did not collect the subsequent content.

Natsume Sonoko looked at the author listed, who was a man named Kihara Gensei.

Looks familiar? I seem to have heard of him somewhere before. He sounds so familiar, so he must be a villain.

There seem to be quite a lot of people with the surname Kihara in Academy City, and their names are all kinds of weird. Natsume Sonoko is also a little confused.

Continuing to look through the remaining content, Natsume Sonoko's brows kept frowning. Sometimes, some things must be done, such as solving the bug in the formula.

Moreover, this problem similar to the loss of control of abilities does not only exist in the ice formula, but may also be true for other formulas. It’s just that the problem has not been discovered yet.

As the saying goes, once you master one thing, you will master all others. Once you have mastered the icing formula, everything else will be much easier.

"Oh my, it's Natsume-san."

She was reading the paper intently when someone suddenly patted her from behind. Natsume Sonoko just turned around and it was as if she had hit a cushion.

I smelled a faint fragrance at the tip of my nose, and when I looked up, I saw a blonde senior who didn't look like a junior high school student. There were stars in her pupils, and she looked a little special. She was bumped by Natsume Sonoko and took several steps back.

In addition to the Tokiwadai school uniform, the senior also wore white stockings with spider web patterns, pure white gloves on her hands, and a lady's shoulder bag.

"Shokuhou-senpai! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were behind me."

Natsume Sonoko stood up hurriedly, looking a little embarrassed, and stammered, not knowing what to say.

"It's okay, I'm not a petty person. But what Natsume-san is looking at is really interesting."

I picked up a paper from Natsume Sonoko's hand, and it was the one that Kihara Gensei had just read.

"Is it similar to the problem of losing control of abilities? It is indeed a very troublesome thing. I have also been troubled by this. It's just that my abilities are too powerful and therefore difficult to use." Senior Shokuhou Misaki showed a playful smile on her face, but spoke in a serious tone.

"Oh, she is worthy of being Shokuhou-senpai." Natsume Sonoko said in agreement. Others might say that she was bragging, but if it was said by this senior, then it should be the truth.

"And it's best not to read this paper. The old man who wrote it makes me feel uncomfortable just thinking about him." Shokuhou-senpai said as she sat opposite Natsume Sonoko, stretching her body lazily on the table.

"----OK"

"Shokuhou-senpai, don't you have to go to class?" Natsume Sonoko looked at the lazy Shokuhou-senpai in front of her and asked after a while. She felt restrained when talking to a senior, especially such a powerful senior.

"Same as you, I was in physical education class, but I just skipped class." Senior Shokuhou Misaki said, holding her head, her eyes unconsciously looking towards the ceiling.

"Is that so?" Natsume Sonoko nodded, a hint of understanding appearing in her eyes, indicating that she fully agreed with senior Shokuhou Misaki's approach.

Chapter 5: Thoughts on Becoming Level

Thinking back to the previous physical education classes, although there is some difference in time between the first and second grade physical education classes, it seems that Natsume Sonoko has indeed never seen this senior Shokuhou Misaki in physical education class.

The atmosphere in the library was very harmonious. There was a pile of books in front of Natsume Sonoko. She was buried in the books, thinking hard. She didn't know when a notebook appeared at her hand, and she recorded some key fragments of information.

Senior Shokuhou Misaki, who was sitting opposite her, was holding a tablet provided by the library. She supported her cheek with one hand and swiped the fingers of her other hand gently, circling some books in the virtual library on the tablet.

These books not only include research in Academy City, but also many foreign papers and works. However, according to the level of most Tokiwadai Middle School students, it is normal to know a few foreign languages.

"These books are also useful and are very suitable for developing your abilities."

Senior Shokuhou Misaki wanted to continue picking out some books, but she found that the area in front of Natsume Sonoko was already piled with all kinds of books. She put down the tablet thoughtfully and began to look at Natsume Sonoko not far away without saying a word.

As if she was a little embarrassed by this gaze, Natsume Sonoko raised her head and met the eyes of senior Shokuhou Misaki.

"Natsume-san, you must study hard. Once you have mastered these books, you will become stronger." Senior Shokuhou Misaki said gracefully, and then crossed her five fingers together, put her head on the bridge formed by her hands, and stared at Natsume Sonoko with her sharp eyes, like a strict teacher.

"Shokuhou-senpai, have you read all these books?" Natsume Sonoko said curiously.

"It's just a brief introduction. It's always good to learn more." Shokuhou-senpai said calmly, with stars twinkling in her eyes, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

Natsume Sonoko completely read through a paper on the transformation of the three states of gas, liquid and solid. The content in it was very complex, but because of her good comprehension ability, she managed to digest most of it without any hesitation. Before she knew it, more than half of the physical education class time had passed.

"Natsume-san, have you found a way to solve the problem of your uncontrolled abilities?" Senior Shokuhou Misaki asked with concern, her chin in her hand and a warm smile on her face.

"Not yet. It seems there is still a long way to go."

Natsume Sonoko said distressedly that there were inspirations in many places, but she still couldn't find the point that hit the nail on the head.

And perhaps because they have spent a long time together, Natsume Sonoko's reserved feeling when facing senior Shokuhou Misaki has been reduced a little.

"Oh, after you finish reading these books, I will help you find other information." Senior Shokuhou Misaki said.

Natsume Sonoko was about to refuse, saying that being able to help find books in the library was already a great help, but senior Shokuhou Misaki spoke up.

"Natsume-san, you are very different."

"??"

"I wonder if Natsume-san has any idea of ​​becoming level 5?" Senior Shokuhou Misaki's tone became more serious, and her eyes were full of solemnity.

"Oh, of course there is."

Although she was not sure why Shokuhou Misaki-senpai suddenly asked these questions and was a little surprised, Natsume Sonoko still answered seriously.

"I see. Come to think of it, Natsume-san still has the potential to become level 5 based on his talent." Senior Shokuhou Misaki analyzed, clasping one hand as she spoke seriously.

"But talent alone is not enough. As far as I know, some people have the talent to become superpowers, but because they are addicted to games and comics and lack effort, or simply lack intelligence, they can't even break through to level 3."

As soon as the words fell, an inexplicable blush appeared on Natsume Sonoko's face, but at this time Natsume Sonoko also noticed a word that senior Shokuhou Misaki said.

"The gift of being a superpower."

Natsume Sonoko murmured to herself curiously. This was different from the propaganda in Academy City that one could become a superpower user as long as one worked hard, but she still knew some of the inside story.

"Just like a cup of water, the water inside has a fixed content. Some people's abilities are developed to level 3, but the cup is full, and they can't improve throughout their lifetime. However, some people, even if they are only level 1, can rely on themselves to become super-powered people step by step." Senior Shokuhou Misaki said.

The obvious example of someone who has gradually improved herself to become a person with super powers is senior Misaka Mikoto. Natsume Sonoko nodded in agreement.

"Natsume is very different. Not only does he have enough talent, but he is also a hard worker. The only thing he lacks is the investment of resources. It is not just the deduction of various formulas, but also the horizontal development of abilities and the improvement of accuracy. These are all time-consuming projects. Just having level 5 computing power cannot be called level 5."