A Scientific Urban Detective

As analyzed by Misaki Shokuhou and Lin Wuming, incidents like "Mental Out," which involve public safety, shouldn't typically fall under the jurisdiction of the dark side organizations.

Or, even if a dark side organization is ordered to act, there would usually be security forces cooperating on the surface, working together overtly and covertly to completely resolve the issue.

Of course, the publicly released information after the incident is resolved would only mention the security forces. The dark side would receive monetary rewards – an unwritten understanding.

But this time, "ITEM" acted alone, without cooperating with the security forces or Judgment; otherwise, they wouldn't have resorted to "kidnapping students."

Because, in the end, the incident they were tasked with handling wasn't "Mental Out" itself, but at most, something related to it.

Essentially, it was still the kind of thing that couldn't be exposed, falling within the traditional business scope of dark side organizations—

Twelve hours ago, the "Third District AIM Special Research Institute"—this unremarkable research facility was attacked, and according to limited intelligence, the suspect was highly likely related to "Mental Out."

It was to handle this case that the dark side "ITEM" was urgently dispatched.

Because this "Third District AIM Special Research Institute" is a facility specifically used to produce "Crystals of Esper Ability."

And the most stable user of this precious esper ability tool is currently the dark side "ITEM." Or rather, Riiko Takitsubo of "ITEM."

Under the effect of the "Crystals of Esper Ability," Riiko Takitsubo's "AIM Stalker" can be enhanced to an unbelievable level, even comparable to a Level 5!

Therefore, both publicly and privately, "ITEM" had to be dispatched to handle this incident.

The one who attacked the "Third District AIM Special Research Institute" was, of course, Saten Ruiko.

Although Haruue Erii's plan was progressing smoothly, Saten Ruiko hadn't relaxed her investigation.

Finally, she discovered this facility dedicated to producing "Crystals of Esper Ability."

The so-called "Crystals of Esper Ability," also known as "Ability Body Crystals," are special substances generated by AIM diffusion fields interfering with the real world.

The final result of the "Runaway Ability Law Analysis Induction Experiment" that Kihara Gensei deceived Haruue Erii into conducting was this.

In a sense, it could even be said that these "Crystals of Esper Ability" are the AIM diffusion fields of Haruue Erii's students.

Although the AIM diffusion field currently used to produce "Crystals of Esper Ability" is just a piece of stored and recorded information, no longer directly related to the students, Saten Ruiko decided to destroy the research institute to prevent it from affecting Haruue Erii's plan.

To avoid this one oversight leading to the students' inability to awaken in the end.

As a "Multi-Skill" user, Saten Ruiko acted very secretly, never revealing her true face throughout the entire process. The attacked research institute couldn't even determine the number of intruders. If a case were filed, it would probably be another unsolved mystery.

However, influential figures and dark side organizations don't need such rigorous chains of evidence to do things.

They had already been paying attention to what Haruue Erii was doing, so they directly locked her as the suspect.

At the same time, they also had intelligence on Saten Ruiko's cooperation with Haruue Erii, so they could naturally conclude that the one who attacked the research institute was Saten Ruiko and her subordinate Saten Faction members!

Thus, they dispatched the dark side "ITEM" to capture the wanted criminal.

Saten Ruiko was already meticulous and skilled in planning, and her true strength was by no means weak. With the enemy in the dark and her in the light, she actually managed to hold her own against the four members of "ITEM" without falling behind.

Moreover, because Saten Ruiko used the "Multi-Skill" acquired through "Mental Out," she didn't use her original ability at all.

So even Riiko Takitsubo's "AIM Stalker" couldn't lock onto her.

"ITEM" was helpless for a while, and Mugino Shizuri was almost about to lose it.

Then, under these circumstances, Wirili and another member of the Saten Faction broke into their designated "battlefield" for some reason.

Mugino Shizuri and the others decisively attacked, capturing these two "accomplices"...

But in reality, Wirili and Kiyomizu Nayuta were just worried about their leader, Saten Ruiko, who had been frequently disappearing lately, so they wanted to secretly follow her to check on the situation.

As a result, they encountered "ITEM," who were pursuing Saten Ruiko.

Similarly, Misaki Shokuhou also arranged for Yumiya Iruka to secretly monitor Saten Ruiko's whereabouts. She happened to witness the scene of Wirili and the others being kidnapped.

After capturing Wirili and Kiyomizu Nayuta, Mugino Shizuri didn't make things difficult for them. Or rather, she didn't have time to interrogate them before receiving a new mission.

——Immediately capture Haruue Erii!

It turned out that Haruue Erii had indeed launched the final "all-out attack," and nearly 20,000 people throughout Academy City simultaneously lost consciousness and fell unconscious.

Such an abnormal situation had already caused panic among other citizens.

At this time, there was no time to worry about the dark side or the security forces. The top priority was to solve the most pressing problem at hand.

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So, the "ITEM" quartet had no choice but to head to Haruue Erii's laboratory with their captives...

"Frenda, call up your sister's three underlings. We need a car," Mugino Shizuri ordered.

All four members of "ITEM" were living paycheck to paycheck. Although their reasons were different, the common denominator was that they couldn't save any money.

Due to their recent extravagant spending and the lack of job opportunities, "ITEM's" account balance was zero.

Therefore, in this mission, they couldn't mobilize their subordinate organizations to cooperate as freely as they had in the past.

Even their means of transportation was parked in the garage because it was out of gas.

But Mugino Shizuri had a way.

They had formed a good relationship with Hamazura Shiage during the "Underground Arena" incident, so they could ask him for help.

Moreover, due to the relationship with Frenda's sister, the three leaders of SKILL-OUT could be called in for support...

At the same time, in Haruue Erii's laboratory, Haruue Erii and Saten Ruiko had a falling out.

Because after learning that members of her faction had been captured, Saten Ruiko fell into a rage.

Just like Yomikawa Aiho four years ago, she was ambushed by the enemy because she was trying to rescue captured faction members...

Although she had always treated the faction as a tool to achieve her goals, Saten Ruiko ultimately made the same decision as Yomikawa Aiho.

In fact, Saten Ruiko had even less psychological baggage than Yomikawa Aiho—she didn't mind killing the enemy with her own hands!

Haruue Erii disagreed with this approach.

To stop Saten Ruiko, Haruue Erii decisively launched a surprise attack—

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