Temperature Control in Academy City

"By the way, if you don't do morning exercises, just go back to the dormitory and sleep."

The familiar voice of the dorm supervisor sounded, making someone feel a little embarrassed.

Under the gaze of the dorm supervisor, Natsume Sonoko gritted her teeth and ran to the hall, then did a set of warm-up exercises in an orderly manner.

I have made up my mind, so I just need to work hard.

"It really looks good." The dorm supervisor looked at it for a while before leaving with the lady's suit.

The door of the dormitory finally opened on time. Facing the sun which was already at six o'clock, Natsume Sonoko finally felt like she was doing morning exercise. Before that, she had just been doing indoor gymnastics.

"Remember to come back on time for breakfast, take a shower and change clothes before going to school, and don't get dirty." Before she had walked far, she heard the voice of the dorm supervisor behind her.

"understood."

"I've finished the warm-up exercises, now it's time to jog." Natsume Sonoko recalled the exercise plan she had made, which was actually just gymnastics and running, and at most some self-defense skills she learned on the Internet.

In fact, since one has the ability, it doesn't really matter whether or not to learn self-defense. However, influenced by Shirai, someone has developed a great interest in fighting and even bought a fake secret book from a street stall.

Not long after coming out of the Tokiwadai student dormitory, although he had only run a few hundred meters, Natsume was already exhausted and out of breath. He could only sit on the waiting seat at the bus stop to rest.

The Tokiwadai school uniform is actually not suitable for sports, but the school has regulations that students must wear it regardless of holidays or when going to and from school. As for the Tokiwadai gymnastics uniform that is suitable for sports, it can only be worn in school.

Therefore, whenever there is any unusual exercise, Natsume Sonoko will now wear safety pants like senior Misaka.

The sweat on my face kept dripping onto my school uniform, and there was also sweat on my body. The wet feeling made me very uncomfortable.

After recovering a little strength, Natsume stood up again. After all, he was also someone who could run two kilometers in physical education class.

But as the movement continued, the regret about school uniforms became stronger and stronger. It was really unhappy, and someone had already considered writing a letter to the school board.

He persisted for about half an hour, and his speed had long since changed from jogging to walking. Then he appeared at the door of the student dormitory, panting.

In the restaurant of the Tokiwadai student dormitory, Natsume Sonoko was obviously a little depressed.

"What? Natsume, you actually went for morning exercise! You weren't replaced by someone else, were you?"

Shirai dropped the French baguette in her hand and looked at Natsume Sonoko with an incredulous look.

It feels like a student who always sleeps in class on weekdays, not only does he not sleep today, but also actively raises his hand to answer questions.

"Kuroko! No matter who you are, there will be times when you want to change yourself. Don't speak in such a weird tone."

Senior Misaka patted Natsume Sonoko's shoulder and said encouragingly, while also glancing at Shirai-san beside her with some anger.

"When I encountered a bottleneck before, I would use up all my computing power every day just to get closer to that goal. After all, I am the kind of person who will not give up until I achieve the goal once I see it there." Senior Misaka said seriously, as if she was remembering the days when she was striving to reach level 5.

"Actually, I just want to exercise."

"Misaka-senpai, how's the investigation going over there? It's about the tree man attack case that's been a lot of buzz lately." Natsume Sonoko finished the sandwich in her hand and asked curiously.

"The criminal has been caught, but our superiors told us not to continue investigating. They said that the case will be handed over to a special person." Shirai sighed and said unwillingly.

"The criminal used a device that could sense the biological force field of trees of a certain age and compressed that force field into a special crystal. Although we don't know the value of this crystal, some people have already started buying it at extremely high prices on the black market."

"As for the tree man attack itself, it was the result of the criminals using nanorobots to control the trees in order to cover up the dehydration and death of the trees after their crystals were taken out. The purpose was to let the guards destroy the trees." Shirai said a little depressed.

"A device that can sense and compress biological force fields? What if the target is a human?" Natsume Sonoko felt a little scared when she heard this. If it could even take away the biological force field, that would be too dangerous.

"Humans are much more complex than plants, and the device is not taken away but compressed. If it is not taken out for a period of time, it will return to its original state." Shirai explained.

"But what's the use of someone designing this kind of thing? Is it just to investigate the information of a tree?" Senior Misaka frowned and thought, but she didn't have any good ideas for a while.

"Onee-sama, do you remember the monster formed by the Fantasy Hand?"

"That monster has a core that fixes the aim diffusion field. When the core is shattered by atomic collapse, the monster is completely annihilated. If in the original design of this device, the life force field is just a byproduct, and the main purpose is to compress the aim diffusion field, then can we get a similar core?"

"And the criminal just doesn't know how he got the device or even one of its components."

Ms. Shirai Kuroko has a very creative mind and in a blink of an eye she came up with a possibility that seems very strange.

"How is this possible?" Senior Misaka was a little surprised, but it seemed that this was indeed possible.

"And judging by the ambiguous attitude of the higher-ups, this device clearly has an unclear relationship with them." Shirai-san said affirmatively.

Chapter 70: Shokuhou Misaki's Gift

Natsume Sonoko could hear the heated discussion between Misaka-senpai and Shirai-san, and she listened quietly with her thoughts a little distracted.

"The holiday is coming up in two weeks. What are everyone's plans for the holiday?" Senior Misaka finally stopped focusing on that incident and started talking about the upcoming holiday with great interest.

Students in Academy City usually have three holidays: spring break, summer break, and winter break, with some short breaks in between.

The specific times of these holidays are different from those in the outside world of Neon Japan, and the start and make-up class times also vary depending on the schools in the Academy City.

It's already the end of summer and the holidays will be here soon. If you count it this way, including exams and tutoring, there is almost a month left.

Although Tokiwadai Junior High School has scheduled the exams in the first few days of the holiday, the only consolation is that there is basically no tutoring in their school, and it will not take up too much of the students' holiday time.

"If you calculate it this way, it's indeed time for the holidays." Natsume Sonoko nodded in agreement.

It was very different from when I was in school in my previous life. Holidays in Academy City always came and went very quickly.

Spring break may be longer, but other holidays are only about twenty days at most, and the holidays have to be taken into account for things like exams and tutoring, so the holidays will be even shorter.

"During the holidays, I will be even busier. On weekdays, I only need to be on duty for a few hours after class, but during the holidays, I have to be on duty for the whole day." Shirai sighed and said, maybe this is the fate of the discipline committee member.

"If possible, I would choose to go home." Natsume Sonoko frowned and said thoughtfully. If you calculate carefully, it has been three years since the last time she left Academy City to go home.

"Hey, but will the school council approve it?" Senior Misaka asked with a hint of uncertainty in her tone.

"As far as I know, in order to obtain approval to leave Academy City, not only do you need to apply to the school, the security guards, and the board of directors at the same time, you also need to implant a tracking transmitter in your body." Shirai-san thought for a moment and then explained the necessary conditions.

"It's almost there, but what Shirai-san said is not complete. In fact, we still need a guarantor." Natsume Sonoko supplemented what Shirai-san said.

"It sounds troublesome. Has Natsume Sonoko ever gone out before?" Senior Misaka asked curiously. Since entering Academy City, Senior Misaka has never gone out once.

"There was one application three years ago, but the applications in the previous two years were rejected. In fact, I don't have any confidence that I can pass this year." Natsume Sonoko said looking a little discouraged. Filling out the application form is very simple, but the difficult part is those so-called bigwigs on the board of directors.

....Dividing line....

Club activity time, at the entrance of an alley.

Natsume Sonoko, who was just hitching a ride for a while, jumped off a struggling white cylinder and watched the cleaning robot flee in panic as if nothing had happened.

Just after coming down from the white cylinder, the optical phenomenon covering the body began to disappear, and soon a somewhat short figure appeared.

After a period of studying optical formulas, the situation of phantoms running around in the past few days has disappeared. Instead, there is a twisting shadow on the ground. Although the problem has not been fundamentally solved, it is at least much more normal.

In addition, after consulting some information, it was found that if one does not refract the light from the outside world and only refracts one's own shadow, one can already create an image of oneself around him. According to the level of the ability user, this is already level 3 optical ability.

If you can control this phantom like a normal person and make it walk and move normally, then it will be almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

At the same time, Natsume Sonoko was also thinking about how to reduce the range of temperature changes when using these derivative or lateral abilities, so that the temperature changes would be limited to her surroundings, so that every time she used similar abilities, she would not be sensed by a large number of people.

"Why did senior Shokuhou Misaki ask me to come here?" At the entrance of the alley, Natsume Sonoko looked up at the sign not far away. That's right, this was the place.

Natsume Sonoko, who was standing there in a daze, suddenly heard footsteps, and a strange student with starry eyes appeared beside her.

"Natsume-san, please follow the instructions." The strange student spoke in a low voice, pointing his finger to a location not far away.

"Thank you." Although she knew what was going on, Natsume Sonoko still nodded politely and thanked him.

Just arrived at that location, an office worker stopped this time. The star pattern in his pupils was very conspicuous. He pointed in a direction to Natsume Sonoko without saying a word.

"Thank you."

Next came the discipline committee member on duty, the salesperson in the supermarket, the urban beauty with her dog, the middle-aged man with a briefcase, and the students of Misawajuku cram school...

Amidst the constant expressions of thanks, Natsume Sonoko wandered around like a headless fly for a while and finally arrived in front of an old five-story building. Standing at the door was a female researcher in a white coat.

"Here it is. Welcome to the Academy City Fourth Thermal Energy Research Institute, Natsume-san." The researcher in the white coat had a smile on his face, and the familiar star symbol was still in his pupils.

Following the researcher into the interior, unlike the simple appearance of the outside, the equipment inside was rare and high-tech. The researchers were busy in the institute, and a huge projection screen appeared on the wall, on which was all kinds of information and materials about Natsume Sonoko.

"Shokuhou-senpai, where exactly is this place?" Natsume Sonoko widened her eyes. It was only after she finally came back to her senses from all the information she had received that she looked at the researcher in a white coat beside her.

"Isn't this obvious? A research institute specially prepared for you." A faint smile appeared on the face of the researcher in the white coat, revealing a hint of inexplicable expression.

"For me? I don't quite understand." Natsume Sonoko suddenly felt a little confused.

"It's very simple. The original value of this research institute was to serve a student named Ito, but he obviously failed to live up to the expectations of Academy City. So it's time for this research institute to be abandoned unless they restart the plan." Senior Shokuhou Misaki was talking to Natsume Sonoko using someone else's body, but there was no sense of incongruity at all.

"I think so. Rather than letting the information inside be lost and buried underground, and the professionals scattered to other places, it is better to hand it over to you, Natsume. The purpose of this research institute itself is to create a level 5."

The real Shokuhou Misaki was currently sitting in the school library, which was the place where she spent the longest time in school.

She was holding a book in her hands, with a smile on her face and muttering something to herself.

"Queen, this is the freshly brewed tea." Senior sister Fanfeng Runzi walked over with a cup of steaming tea.

"Why is there no taste at all? Did you forget to add sugar, Fanfeng?" Senior Shokuhou Misaki disconnected the other side, put down the book, and looked at the curls in front of her with some anger.

"No, Queen, this is the correct taste of tea."

Natsume Sonoko looked at the stuck white-coated researcher with some curiosity, but the stars in her eyes did not disappear, indicating that she was still under the control of Shokuhou-senpai.

"I'm sorry, something happened over there. I'm really an unlovable subordinate." After a while, the female researcher, whose face became a little helpless, continued to speak.

"It's ok."

Natsume Sonoko has a strong ability to accept and understand. From the few words that senior Shokuhou Misaki said, she naturally understood what this senior was planning.

"Senior Shokuhou Misaki, do you want me to become LV5?" Although she was a little confused, Natsume Sonoko still said what was in her mind. She was the kind of person who was particularly sensitive to other people's kindness.

"Hope is the most illusory thing, and it's not enough to reach level 5 with just this. This can only be considered a gift and an investment, and the Council will intervene to abandon this place and transfer the data in half a month at most. Natsume-san, you must seize the opportunity."

With a playful smile, Shokuhou Misaki-senpai's words came to an abrupt halt.

The researcher in the white coat trembled, the stars in his pupils suddenly disappeared, and he returned to his normal appearance.

Just when Natsume Sonoko was startled to see the stars in the female researcher's pupils disappear, before she could say anything more, the researcher grabbed her hand.

"Ito, you came a little late today?" With a majestic look, the researcher in a white coat said seriously to Natsume Sonoko.

"Ito, are you talking about me?" Natsume Sonoko said a little uncertainly.

"What nonsense are you talking about."

Although he is no longer under the control of senior Shokuhou Misaki, it seems that all his memories have been modified. It is a very convenient and terrifying ability.

Chapter 71 The Feasibility of Thermodynamic Conversion

Academy City Fourth Thermal Energy Research Institute.

The female researcher who received Natsume Sonoko was called Hirosue Asuka, and she had been in Academy City for seven or eight years.

It was also three years ago that I took over this research institute under the appointment of the Academy City Council. My initial work was to cooperate with other thermal energy research institutes to analyze fire capabilities.

The fire-generating ability users are much stronger than those with the same ability. An ordinary level 3 fire-generating ability user can release high-temperature flames of over degrees.

The most powerful incendiary person in Academy City, he can even easily reach the melting point of steel.

Even though the people with the ability to rage were extremely powerful, and with the cooperation of a large number of research institutes, they still failed to successfully produce a level 5, so they turned to studying other people with the same ability.

Some research institutes turned to studying people with low-temperature abilities, some to studying people with heat preservation abilities, and still others to studying people with heat transfer abilities.

The ability of this Ito-kun is heat transfer, which is the direction of the current Fourth Research Institute and is similar to the ability of Natsume Sonoko.

He can easily transfer the heat from here to other places, which has great potential in all aspects, but the problem is also obvious, that is, the loss during the transfer process is too serious.

In a room in the research institute, Natsume Sonoko looked at a pile of documents in front of her with a little surprise. They recorded various research processes and results over the past three years, as well as speculations about people with special abilities such as Ito and Natsume Sonoko.

Although the personal reality developed through drugs and other means is created out of nothing, it is still inseparable from the real reality.

Generally speaking, energy usually refers to the sum of mechanical energy and internal energy, while temperature is a reflection of the activity level between molecules within an object.

It is speculated that the temperature increase in this type of ability is achieved by controlling the level of activity and converting kinetic energy at the molecular level into observable heat energy.

Cooling down converts the thermal energy into kinetic energy between molecules. If there is no human control over this kinetic energy, part of it will be lost in the irregular collisions between molecules.

"If these speculations are true, no wonder the temperature value I control has been difficult to increase and is still hovering around 100 degrees Celsius."

"The energy between air molecules is limited, and with the added loss, it becomes extremely difficult to increase it later on." (I am incompetent at physics, and I imagine more than I actually do. It gives me a headache to look at physics when writing novels.)

Natsume Sonoko shook her head helplessly, but it didn't matter. Natsume Sonoko had long felt that the temperature limit she could control would not increase indefinitely.

However, the following content surprised Natsume Sonoko even more. Since the development at the molecular level had reached a bottleneck, they turned to research at the atomic level, and the atomic level was completely part of the Academy City technology tree.

"Atomic-level research, is this really meaningful? It's not like it would take years to study just one starting formula."

There was a look of disbelief in Natsume Sonoko's eyes. This was different from studying substances composed of atoms such as hydrogen, but rather studying the atoms themselves.