I adopted a child demon from the Gap, and I'm a special agent for the Bureau of Supernatural Ab

Located on the outskirts of the newly built Academy City, at the entrance of the opened protective barrier, invited people are stepping into this technological city.

Looking at the towering building before him, Li Cheng couldn't help but feel a bit shocked, considering that it had been built in less than a month.

Automated robots on the streets guide visitors to different exhibition areas, while comprehensive surveillance equipment and detectors can monitor everything in the city. The real force ensuring order, heavily armored mechanical troops carrying a large number of weapons, patrol the streets to prevent any possible accidents.

They look quite impressive, but I wonder how powerful these two-meter-tall, imposing robots actually are in combat.

"Senior Li, you've been staring at those robots ever since you entered the venue. Could it be that you're a robot enthusiast or something?"

Dressed in casual clothes, Wu Ming walked out from beside Li Cheng, patted Li Cheng on the shoulder, and said.

"No, I was just wondering how strong this thing is in combat, how many punches it can take from me."

Li Cheng replied casually, his gaze sweeping over the joints of the robots.

“Don’t compare this mass-produced machine to the power of an A-level martial artist,” Wu Ming sighed, looking somewhat helpless at Li Cheng’s idea. “Besides, we are invited tourists, after all. It’s rather impolite to be thinking about how to beat up the guards who invited us, isn’t it?”

"Ahem, it's just a thought, I wouldn't actually do such a thing."

Li Cheng coughed a few times and turned his gaze to the sign at the entrance of the weapons exhibition not far away.

"In short, let's go check out the weapons exhibition area first. I heard that some new equipment will be on display this time. Nameless, this is the perfect opportunity for your abilities to come in handy."

"If I could, I really wouldn't want my abilities to be used for this kind of thing."

Of the people accompanying Li Cheng who received the invitation, Wu Ming was the one who ultimately chose to join him.

Personally, Li Cheng only wanted to invite Zi. However, the Sage refused to go out and only wanted to sleep. After the invitation failed completely, Li Cheng had no choice but to ask within the sixth group if anyone was willing to go.

After careful consideration, Kiritsugu Emiya realized that there was a high chance of problems with the opening ceremony. To ensure safety, he decided that Wuming, who was strong enough to fight and skilled in dealing with various complex environments, would accompany Li Cheng. The two grown men would come to the opening ceremony together.

I feel like thinking about it this way is a little off-putting.

"Valentine's Day is almost here, and I still have to accompany Senior Li to this kind of exhibition, and we might even have to fight at any time. To be honest, I feel like I've completely lost interest in visiting it."

Wuming, who was beside him, sighed and spoke at almost the same time.

"If you're so disgusted with me, you can go back," Li Cheng glanced at Wu Ming, "Besides, the way you and Tohsaka are always all lovey-dovey, isn't every day Valentine's Day for you two?"

Especially their open displays of affection in the office of Group Six, with all sorts of little gestures between couples—if it weren't for the fact that most of the people in Group Six are married, they might be ready to throw up.

"Isn't this just natural? Don't Senior Li and Miss Zi ever have their moments of intimacy? I personally feel that Senior Li is quite proactive, isn't he?"

Wu Ming asked nonchalantly, while Li Cheng recalled the nights recently when Zi grabbed his hands, pushed him down onto the bed, and then…

When it comes to taking initiative, I guess I really can't compete with her...

"Such a melancholy expression, I understand. It seems that Senior Li's life is quite colorful."

As if he had grasped something, Wu Ming looked at Li Cheng with admiration.

"What do you know now...?"

Feeling inexplicably exhausted, Li Cheng took the lead and quickly entered the exhibition hall.

Many people were touring the exhibition hall, while in the display cases, various new firearms were neatly arranged, along with new high-strength powered exoskeletons, armored vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other weapons and equipment that are rarely seen outside, many of which are still in the experimental stage. These weapons and equipment were quietly sleeping in this exhibition hall.

Li Cheng's attention was drawn to a massive energy cluster turret, a colossal platform over ten meters tall, said to be capable of gathering any form of energy to unleash immense power. This type of energy weapon, capable of absorbing energy and self-recharging, is a recent research project for many countries. This turret was a prototype being displayed by Academy City, and a failed one at that, clearly documented on the information board in front of it.

"Because it was a prototype designed to maximize the concentration and power of the projectiles, the charging time was too long and the materials could not withstand multiple bombardments, so it could only be fired a maximum of five times. However, its power was extremely strong and it had an extremely terrifying penetrating ability. According to calculations, it could reach the level of a transcendent being."

As Li Cheng read the text on the information board, his expression gradually became somewhat disbelieving.

"While the output of a Transcendent-level weapon can indeed be demonstrated by many weapons, and some weapons can even surpass the power of many Transcendents in terms of sheer power, can a weapon that simply gathers energy and then fires it really achieve that level of power? Does it require more than a year to gather the energy?"

"Senior Li, you seem to have some misunderstanding about clustering, don't you?"

Wuming corrected him from the side.

"Pure free energy is indeed insufficient in terms of explosive power, but the clustering effect can concentrate a large amount of energy into a very small area, thereby causing a qualitative change in the energy itself. This type of explosion will far exceed the power of energy weapons under normal circumstances."

I don't quite understand what you're saying.

Li Cheng, who lacked a deep understanding of energy science, looked bewildered.

"In short, this thing should be quite powerful when it's fired. And since it's designed for maximum power, to the point that the parts wear out so badly that it can only support a few launches, its power might be quite terrifying."

The expression on Wuming's face clearly showed that he wanted to try launching it.

If the notices posted on the bulletin board outside the exhibition hall are true, and everything inside is genuine—weapons that can be used in actual combat, not just exhibit models—then as long as you know the correct operating procedures, you should be able to activate it.

However, as the invited party, it would be a bit too much for me to do such a thing.

"Wu Ming, you know how to project, why don't you try it out when we get back?"

Noticing that Wuming had become interested, Li Cheng tried to offer a suggestion.

“My projection can only be low-cost when projecting a ‘sword’,” Wuming shook his head. “It’s obvious that this thing is not a sword, and its structure is extremely complex, involving multiple energy structures. If I were to project this thing with my abilities, the consumption would be terrifying, and even if it were projected, it might not meet the original’s structural requirements.”

"Is that so? That's a real shame. I'm actually quite curious to know just how powerful this thing really is."

Li Cheng said with great regret, turning around to leave the exhibition hall. But when he turned back, he saw a tall white man in a suit slowly walking towards him. Not far from him, a very familiar spiky-haired boy was also walking towards him while discussing something with a girl with brown hair.

"The energy cluster cannon is indeed a design that many people are obsessed with. If information about such a giant steel cannon that exudes the rich smell of ink were to spread, it might cause a sensation."

The man who walked up to Li Cheng stopped, noticed that Li Cheng was looking at him, and gave a very natural smile while introducing himself.

"Hello, Eric Lansheer, Professor of Electromagnetism at the Free Alliance Superpower Academy."

I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before.

"Li Cheng, member of the sixth team of the Special Operations Group."

Unable to recall where he had heard the name before, Li Cheng introduced himself, after which the man in front of him raised his eyebrows.

"A member of the China Alliance? The Sixth Group? How could a small special science department be able to hire someone of this caliber?"

Has your strength been recognized?

Li Cheng noticed the doubt in the other person's eyes and immediately realized that the other person had discovered his A-level martial artist power. However, it was just a simple eye contact, without sensing any detection techniques, yet the other person was able to judge his power immediately. Although it may not be completely accurate, this did not prevent Li Cheng from raising his evaluation of this man to a higher level.

"Senior Li Cheng, what are you doing here? Oh, and Senior Wuming is here too?"

At that moment, Touma Kamijou walked over and looked somewhat surprised to see Li Cheng and Wuming. Beside him, a brown-haired girl who had met Li Cheng a few times bowed politely and introduced herself. Behind them followed Index, dressed casually, muttering to herself with a melancholy expression, "Where is the food?"

After chatting for a while, Li Cheng learned that the man in front of him, Eric, had brought his student, Misaka Mikoto, to participate in the exhibition, while Kamijou Touma had brought Index to the exhibition to freeload a meal (claiming that he was there to sample high-tech cuisine). The two groups met in the venue, and since they knew each other, and the food exhibition that Kamijou Touma was going to had not yet started, the four of them simply wandered around and visited the exhibition together.

After a brief exchange, Li Chengwu bid farewell to Kamijou Touma and the others because they were heading to different destinations. Only after leaving the weapons exhibition hall did Li Chengwu turn back thoughtfully, looking into the hall and whispering:

"That man named Eric seems pretty impressive."

“Hmm, I can sense that his aura is very calm and he seems very easygoing,” Wuming added. “He’s quite different from what I’ve heard.”

"You know him?"

Li Chengfa realized the meaning behind Wuming's words and immediately pressed for an answer.

"Don't let his youthful appearance fool you; he's a survivor of the bloody era of World War III. Eric Lansheer, an A+ level ability user, possesses the superpower to manipulate magnetic fields and was once considered a powerful ability user with immense potential to become a new generation of transcendent beings. I only learned of his existence when I was reviewing those historical records."

Wuming recalled as he spoke.

"I heard that he used to be a very fanatical hegemon, always wanting to establish an empire absolutely dominated by powerful superhumans. But after the war, he seemed to have given up on such ideas and chose to live in seclusion in the Free Alliance's superhuman academy. I never expected that he would take the initiative to appear in this remote island nation this time."

"All in all, he's a pretty amazing guy, right?"

Li Cheng recalled the entire process of meeting and talking with that person. From beginning to end, he did not sense anything unusual about that person. There was no aura unconsciously emitted by a strong person, no sharpness at all. He seemed to be just an ordinary professor.

However, he did recognize his identity as a martial artist at a glance.

There are indeed many experts in this world.

Li Cheng couldn't help but think to himself, then randomly chose a direction and continued his tour.

From around 10 a.m. until about 5 p.m., the tour proceeded smoothly without incident. Li Cheng had initially thought that there might be some kind of attack or disruption to the opening ceremony, but in reality, nothing happened. The group of magicians, who were likely to take action, did not make any move, which made Li Cheng feel somewhat uneasy.

Are those guys planning something big?

With this in mind, time continued until 8 p.m., and even when the first day's tour came to an end and guests could choose to rest in a selected area of ​​the city or leave the city, nothing happened.

"It seems that, at least on the first day, those magicians don't intend to do anything. Hmph, that's a clever idea. After all, the defenses will definitely be the strongest on the first day. Trying to make trouble at this time would likely not only fail to gain any advantage, but would also result in heavy losses."

After purchasing a bunch of strange and unusual items for Rin, Wuming stored them all in his own barrier and casually remarked as he stood on the road leading into and out of Academy City.

"Whatever, whatever, it has nothing to do with us anyway," Li Cheng said with a yawn after buying a lot of food and some trinkets. "I don't plan to come back tomorrow. Coming to this kind of exhibition for one day is enough, there's no point in looking at it repeatedly."

The two talked as they walked towards the entrance, preparing to leave Academy City.

hum-

Li Cheng's cell phone suddenly started vibrating in his waist bag.

After answering the phone and exchanging a few brief words, Li Cheng's expression quickly changed from initial confusion to seriousness. After saying a few more words, he hung up the phone and turned to look at Wu Ming beside him.

"Kamijo Touma is missing."

…………

Thank you to reader Sin Demon King EX for the monthly ticket.

Thank you to readers Yu Sheng Lin Qing, Tianming Xunmeng, Zui Mo Dao Wang EX, Feng Yong Sui You Fei, Ke Kong De Tu Zi, AM Zhi Meng, Hirasaka Ryuji, Wu Sang, and Bai ● Ling Meng for their recommendation votes.

With all sorts of messy things happening at home, I probably won't have the energy to update more lately...

Section 342, Chapter Twenty-One: Invitation, Action, and Spectator

In the darkness of the Academy City, only a few dim lights shone on the streets. The silent high-rise buildings and brand-new yet empty rooms were devoid of any human presence. In the pitch-black environment, it all resembled a haunted place from a horror movie.

Li Cheng walked through an empty street and looked around, but still couldn't find any trace of Kamijou Touma.

Where did he go?

Picking up the communicator and connecting with Wuming, Li Cheng hadn't even had a chance to speak when the other party bluntly said, "Nothing was found," which made Li Cheng frown even more deeply.

Two hours earlier, Index, who had enjoyed a delicious dinner, realized that Touma Kamijou was missing and began searching for him. Misaka Mikoto joined in the search, and the two eventually found Touma Kamijou's phone on a quiet street corner, realizing that things were not as simple as they seemed.

Afterwards, Misaka Mikoto contacted Li Cheng through the name in Kamijou Touma's phone contacts, and Li Cheng and Wuming also joined the search for Kamijou Touma.

But after two hours of searching, they still hadn't found anything.

"What if that guy ran away by himself?"

Misaka Mikoto, who had been searching for a long time without success, couldn't help but complain under her breath.

"Given Aojo's personality, he wouldn't abandon Index and run away alone. Besides, his phone just fell out of nowhere on that deserted street. I'm afraid... he encountered some kind of enemy, right?"