Temperature Control in Academy City

The dormitory supervisor should be checking the dormitories at this time. Thinking of this, Natsume dared not stay in the dormitory to wash up leisurely, and hurried to the public washroom in the student dormitory. It was better to move quickly.

I must get up earlier next time and try to keep up with everyone else! Don't get caught by the dorm supervisor! Natsume thought silently.

By the way, is there some strange oath mixed in?

However, Natsume also found that he was becoming more and more sleepy. Could this be a sign of entering a growth period? Could it be that he was going to grow taller?

The student dormitory of Tokiwadai Junior High School not only has an independent bathroom, but also a public bathroom and washroom are set up in the student dormitory of the seventh school district for the convenience of students. Although it is still within the sphere of influence of the dormitory warden, you should not encounter the dormitory warden before the inspection is completed.

When Natsume Sonoko went out, there was almost no one in the corridor, but she had at least escaped the clutches of the dorm supervisor. When Natsume Sonoko rushed to the public washroom, she only saw a classmate who had finished washing and was about to go to the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Students, please hurry up. Everyone is already eating." The classmate didn't know Natsume Sonoko, but still kindly reminded her.

"Thank you for your concern. I understand." Natsume Sonoko hurriedly ran past her and responded as she ran.

Standing in front of the huge mirror in the public bathroom, Natsume Sonoko carefully checked her appearance, pushed down the collar of her short-sleeved shirt, buttoned all the buttons near the V-neck, and carefully flattened the red decorative lines on the collar.

After combing her hair into a bun and changing into a handsome school uniform, Natsume Sonoko took out the towel and toothbrush she had prepared in advance from the personal belongings locker in the public washroom and began to brush her teeth and wash her face.

When I finished washing up, a girl wearing a Tokiwadai school uniform, with a black bun on her hair, and about 1.45 meters tall appeared in the mirror.

Delicate facial features, bright eyes (forcing themselves to keep them open), skin that is too fair, faint dark circles around the eyes (which are somewhat noticeable because of the fair skin), and some toothpaste foam at the corners of the mouth.

Natsume Sonoko wiped the foam from the corner of her mouth, gritted her teeth and adjusted the constant temperature layer near her head to a few degrees below zero.

In an instant, Natsume Sonoko's eyes became round, probably because she inhaled the cold wind, and the blood vessels under her skin contracted rapidly, and she finally woke up completely.

.........

After grabbing two servings of milk and a loaf of bread in the cafeteria, Natsume Sonoko sat down and ate breakfast slowly.

It’s totally different from when I was in elementary school, when I would quickly devour the egg pancakes I bought from a roadside stall during breaks.

Although breakfast time had only been over for a dozen minutes, most of the students from Tokiwadai Junior High School had already left.

"Oh, I didn't see Misaka-senpai and Kuroko-san at all." Natsume Sonoko drank milk with a straw. Everyone had basically finished eating and left, only a few who got up late or couldn't get up were still eating breakfast leisurely.

Natsume Sonoko waited at the dormitory gate for five minutes before the campus bus drove over slowly.

Sitting on the campus bus, Natsume, who was sitting in the back seat by the window, was staring out the window absent-mindedly. She seemed a little absent-minded, but her body was straight, and her skirt was smoothed out, like a lady from a noble family.

The campus bus is shared by five schools located in the Seventh District School Garden. It has a luxurious interior with a spacious space and is divided into two floors. The lower floor is for students, and the upper floor is actually a cafe. It is also known as a double-decker parade bus by the outside world.

It is also said that this car can withstand the bombardment of artillery shells and its explosion-proof performance is even better than that of ordinary armored vehicles.

Tokiwadai Junior High School does not have a sitting class system, that is, there are no so-called class classes, but for the sake of unified management, the same grade is nominally divided into three large classes. In fact, the implementation is a mobile class system.

Natsume Sonoko followed the crowd into the school, recalling this month's class schedule while checking the school map, and soon walked into the etiquette classroom.

When she walked into the classroom, Natsume Sonoko realized that the teacher was teaching Western etiquette.

How to use the knife and fork is just the basics, and it is more about the etiquette of Western banquets and dances.

For example, how to eat different types of fish, how to drink soup, how to sober up from red wine, etc.

Looking at the various kinds of fish and caviar already placed on the desks in the classroom, it seems that this class is about teaching how to eat fish according to Western etiquette.

Natsume Sonoko couldn't help but touch her stomach and a bitter smile appeared on her face. It seemed that she couldn't eat anymore, especially since the two servings of milk had already filled her stomach.

"Let's find a secluded corner to sit." Just when Natsume Sonoko made up her mind, someone suddenly patted her on the back.

Natsume Sonoko turned around and found that it was her classmate Wannai Kinuho, who was standing tall and graceful like a lady, with her hands clasped in front of her and a warm smile on her face.

"Natsume, let's find a good seat quickly. Teacher Dicun is an expert in Western etiquette, and her classes are not easy to hear." Wannei Kinubo looked at Natsume Sonoko who was stammering and trying to explain something with some surprise, but still pulled Natsume to sit in the most conspicuous middle seat.

Natsume Sonoko's day of study life officially began. She followed her teacher to learn how to eat various types of fish like a lady and how to spread caviar delicately on bread.

"So Natsume doesn't like eating fish. No wonder he looks so weird." Wannei Kinubo looked at Natsume who was eating fish with a sad face, and seemed to understand something.

Chapter 9 Special Training on the Eve of Physical Examination

Western etiquette classes are of great help in learning how to become a lady, and are a compulsory course for students at Tokiwadai Junior High School.

Teacher Dicun is worthy of being an expert professor of etiquette in the eyes of students in the bay. He knows all the details and points of attention like the back of his hand, as if eating fish has turned into a science, with every move being subject to scrutiny.

Although Natsume's stomach was a little bloated, he did not dare to neglect what the teacher taught. He followed the teacher's techniques, carefully picking up the fish, removing the bones, and dipping the fish in sauce. He also paid attention to how to chew the fish after putting it in his mouth, how to deal with the remaining fish bones, etc.

The fulfilling class time always passes quickly. When the familiar bell rang, Natsume Sonoko finally breathed a sigh of relief, as if she heard some heavenly sound.

"Everyone's performance is very good, especially Natsume, who studies very seriously and carefully. When picking up the fish, he only takes a little, and all his movements are extremely standard. When putting it in his mouth, he chews it slowly and handles it properly." Before leaving, Teacher Dicun praised Natsume, who kept rubbing his belly, in front of the whole class.

"Natsume is so amazing. He doesn't like eating fish but he can still be praised by the teacher." Wannei thought with some surprise.

In addition to etiquette classes in the morning, there are also foreign language and mathematics classes. In the afternoon, there are tea ceremony and music. The club activity time starts around 2 pm.

Natsume Sonoko completed all the courses meticulously, then slowly and methodically organized all the materials and placed them in the black handbag of the standard Tokiwadai she had just received.

This kind of schoolbag is specially made by Tokiwadai Middle School. It is made of carefully selected precious leather materials and some special craftsmanship. It takes a long time to make and is expensive. It is said that it can defend against some small-caliber pistols head-on. It is waterproof and fireproof and beautiful. Senior Misaka says it is good.

Natsume Sonoko, a freshman at Tokiwadai in the same class, finally received her own black backpack from the school office. Each backpack has a unique student code, so the owner can be found if it is lost.

The club activity time has begun. After finishing a whole day of classes, Natsume rested for a while on a bench in the school garden, and then headed out of the school with his new schoolbag.

Since joining the Urban Legend Investigation Club, Natsume has been leaving school around this time.

Natsume was strolling on the street in high spirits, which could be understood as the daily field trip of the members of the Urban Legend Investigation Society. Wanting to see if there was any big discovery today, Natsume was investigating in the comic book store. When he went out, there were two more comic books in his bag.

Just when Natsume was about to find a corner where the sunlight was not too glaring to flip through the two comic books, the cell phone in her new schoolbag vibrated briefly.

[Academy City Great Discovery, Such a Thing Was Actually Done in Broad Daylight! ]

Attracted by the title, Natsume curiously clicked on the message, only to find out that it was a message from the 'secret investigation group hidden in the corner'.

It was a message from senior Kana Maeda. Natsume looked at the sender's nickname.

[It's Xiao Jianai, have you discovered something important again? ] Jingjing Yese also posted a group chat.

Oh, this is the nickname of Senior Amakusa Yu.

[It's a big event, guess what I found today! ] Senior Kana Maeda, who uses the nickname 'Elegant Photographer', sent a message again.

[What have you discovered? Is it a new urban legend?] Message from Natsume Sonoko.

[Natsume-san actually uses his own name as a nickname! ]--Elegant Photographer

[Send me the photos you took. Have you done any research? ] -- Quiet Moonlight

[I have investigated. Although I can only capture a blurry scene, there are many witnesses. I think they can be included on the website.] -- Elegant Photographer

[Got it. Send me the photos and I'll select them. Do you have any eyewitness recordings ready? If the information is accurate, the website will be happy to include it.] The last person in the group, a senior student nicknamed 'Miss Balance Beam', spoke up.

[We have prepared not only the recordings of witnesses, but also forum information posted by some witnesses on the Internet]

Is this the stripping woman in the A Certain Scientific Railgun plot?

Although the photo was blurry and the background was completely invisible, the outline of an exposed woman could be vaguely seen, standing with her back to the camera.

Natsume Sonoko was really surprised at this time. The thoughts in her head kept diverging, and finally she came to an extraordinary conclusion.

I always thought that level 6 updraft + script reading Saten Ruiko was the mastermind behind the entire A Certain Scientific Railgun plot, but it turns out there is a darker and deeper existence - the Script Maker!!

A small group of four people was having a heated discussion, and soon with the final decision from the president, Senior Amakusa Yu, an urban legend called "A Striptease Woman Wandering in Academy City" was born. The authorship right naturally belonged to Senior Maeda Kana, but she submitted the article in the name of the Urban Legend Investigation Society.

Natsume Sonoko became more and more certain that the other party was almost identical to the character in the plot of A Certain Scientific Railgun, but she didn't know when the urban legend of the Phantom Hand would appear.

After this group discussion, Natsume also learned something about senior Kana Maeda's ability - scene recall.

By using a special camera with this ability, you can capture what happened in front of the lens some time ago. The stronger the ability, the longer the lookback time and the clearer the photo.

It is the opposite of the ability of predictive divination, and it is the ability to see scenes from the past.

However, with the ubiquitous cameras and security robots in Academy City, the practical application of this ability has been greatly reduced.

Putting down the phone, the discussion in the group was coming to an end, and Natsume Sonoko was quietly flipping through the comics in her hand.

An advertisement on the cover of the comic caught Natsume Sonoko's attention. It was a scene of two giant robots colliding with each other.

"Everyone is looking forward to it! The next-generation competitive computer war machine "Virtual-on" is about to be successfully developed. Sign up for the internal test now and you can get a limited edition customized model."

Natsume Sonoko's eyes lit up. There were so many fun things in Academy City. Using giant robots to fight in the city sounded very interesting.

I believe that this kind of game, which basically relies on personal operation, can also allow people with abilities and people without abilities to play against each other fairly to some extent.

How could Natsume Sonoko miss such a fun thing? The only pity is that this game is still under development. It will take a long time from the completion of development to the market launch. There is definitely no hope of it being released within this year at least.

"Sign up first, we must grab an internal test number!" Natsume Sonoko picked up her mobile phone and entered the official website to sign up. Soon a notification of successful registration appeared on Natsume Sonoko's mobile phone.

...............

In a park in the seventh school district, a cup full of water was placed on a stone table fifty meters away from Natsume-san.

There was also a thermometer commonly found in Academy City inserted into the cup. The temperature detection head was already immersed in the water, but it could easily detect the temperature to two decimal places.

The quiet light shone on Natsume's somewhat solemn face. His eyes slowly looked at the water cup in the distance. Little by little, white mist began to condense, and a layer of frost climbed up the surface of the cup.

Natsume Sonoko was trying hard to change the temperature of the water, and soon the reading on the thermometer began to change.

As Natsume retracted his ability, he hurried to the stone table to check the thermometer reading.

"The actual value is 4.78 degrees Celsius, the target value is 0 degrees Celsius, and the deviation is around 4.78 degrees Celsius." This data obviously did not satisfy Natsume Sonoko, and she frowned.

Natsume Sonoko is practicing the accuracy of her abilities. It's only a few days away from her first comprehensive regular check-up, no, it's a physical check-up.

The range of control and the limit of change are limited by the computing power of the brain. There is no possibility of significant growth in a short period of time. The only thing that can be improved at this stage is accuracy.

Within ten meters, Natsume Sonoko can achieve very precise temperature control, but as the distance increases, the accuracy begins to drop significantly.

In order to enhance the long-distance accuracy of her ability, Natsume Sonoko found a small park to practice her ability.

The only difference is that unlike before, it affected a large area at once, so there is no need to deliberately avoid crowds.

The park in front of me has a lot of traffic. People come and go, and they all look curiously at the girl from Tokiwadai Junior High School who is walking back and forth beside the stone table.

"Once the distance increases, even the slightest calculation error in your head will be magnified exponentially in reality. At this time, you should try to micro-manage instead of controlling everything at once." Natsume Sonoko gave herself some advice, trying to empty her mind and suppress the sparks of thoughts colliding in her head until she lost her temper.

This time, the cup in the distance also had white mist covering the entire body. At the same time, a thin layer of ice formed on the surface of the water. The ice layer was forming very slowly, but with a peculiar rhythm, extending regularly from the outermost circle of the water surface to the inside.

Although the surface of the water in the cup has frozen, the lower layer is still in a liquid state and its temperature is higher than that of the ice layer.

"The temperature is 2.88 degrees Celsius, and the deviation is around 2.88." Seeing that the deviation value at a distance of fifty meters finally fell within three degrees Celsius, Natsume Sonoko's brows finally relaxed.

"Keep practicing, there will be room for improvement!" Natsume Sonoko was obviously not complacent. She ran fifty meters away and continued practicing.

Can such a crude experiment really measure accurately? Without someone to help read the readings or something?

Anyway, it's fine as long as Natsume-san thinks it's effective.

But this time he was not as lucky as before. The computing power went too far and accidentally froze all the water in the cup into ice.

With a bang, the cup broke in the middle and fell to the ground, breaking into scattered debris.

Chapter 10: The physical examination finally arrived and the arrogant lady

An elliptical hot air balloon was floating in the sky above the Seventh District of Academy City, moving along a fixed track and floating above the Seventh District.

This was specially raised into the sky by the Academy City's General Council so that students can more easily understand the real time.

There is an extra-large, latest-model screen on the ventral side of the hull, on which are scrolling weather forecasts, real-time news and the like.

"Notice from the Seventh School District: Today's physical examination will be conducted at the following schools: Tokiwa Private Junior High School, Zhachuan Junior High School, Asahi Junior High School..."

The somewhat nervous Natsume Sonoko woke up early, which was unusual for her. However, judging from the increasingly dark circles under her eyes, she might not have slept all night.

Mixed in with classmates who were getting up and washing up one after another, Natsume Sonoko tried hard to keep her mouth shut to prevent herself from yawning. Maintaining good manners is the daily focus of students at Tokiwadai Junior High School. They need to look like ladies even without the watchful supervision of the dorm supervisor.

"Cheer up, I'm determined to win level 4 today." Natsume Sonoko encouraged herself after once again using low temperature to wake herself up.

After washing up, Natsume Sonoko went to the cafeteria for breakfast as usual. Halfway there, she met Misaka-senpai and Kuroko-san, who was mostly hanging on Misaka-senpai.

Misaka-senpai pushed hard against Shirai Kuroko, who was hanging on her like an octopus. The dark lines on her face had become visible to the naked eye.

Fortunately, we are still in the student dormitory, otherwise Kuroko-san would not have ended up well.

"You pervert, get off me." Senior Misaka hit Kuroko's head hard with a hammer, and Kuroko reluctantly let go of his hand and began to cover his head.

The students from Tokiwadai all looked at the two unconsciously, covered their mouths and smiled softly as they walked by, which made Misaka-senpai's face almost turn red.

"Misaka-senpai, Kuroko-san." Natsume Sonoko waved and greeted the two of them. At this time, Misaka Mikoto noticed Natsume Sonoko who was looking at her strangely not far away.

"Natsume-san." The blush on Misaka Mikoto's face had not yet disappeared, and she pulled the somewhat reluctant classmate Shirai beside her and walked towards Natsume Sonoko.

"Hello, Natsume-san." Shirai looked a little unhappy that Natsume Sonoko had disturbed her and her elder sister's time alone, and the corners of her mouth seemed to be drooping.