A Scientific Urban Detective

Huangquanchuan Aisui didn't elaborate on the reasons why secrecy was necessary.

Because the real pressure to keep it secret and not continue the investigation actually came from one of the twelve board members of the Academy City's governing council—the true rulers of this city.

Ideals are ideals, reality is reality. Situations like this, where power overwhelms "justice," are common in the Anti-Skill's daily work.

However, this time, the "power"'s request unexpectedly coincided with Huangquanchuan Aisui's wishes, so she readily complied.

"Then I shouldn't have to do any interviews, right?" Hōzuki Touma asked from the side.

Unlike Lin Wuming, Hōzuki Touma wasn't exactly socially inept; she just had a bad temper. Facing tricky and slippery reporters, she might not be able to resist stabbing them with her sword.

"You don't need to appear," Huangquanchuan Aisui shook her head. "In this case, you're just an insignificant passerby, like a 'hero's partner,' with no specific identity required."

Hōzuki Touma had no complaints about this arrangement. On the contrary, she felt it saved her a lot of trouble and made things much simpler.

"Also this..." After hesitating again and again, Huangquanchuan Aisui finally took out the box she had been hiding behind her.

Opening the box, inside were two milky white ring-shaped objects.

"These are electronic shackles," Huangquanchuan Aisui looked at Lin Wuming and Hōzuki Touma with some guilt. "Actually, they are real-time positioning devices used to restrict the activity areas of people on probation."

Although Lin Wuming and Hōzuki Touma weren't convicted, their actions still led to them being classified as "dangerous elements."

In addition to bi-weekly psychological therapy, they were also required to wear these electronic shackles to track and restrict their movements in real time.

"Tch!" Seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories, Hōzuki Touma showed a disgusted expression.

Huangquanchuan Aisui lowered her voice and said, "Actually, this is just a formality. The two I brought are models and don't have real monitoring functions."

This was a way to give an explanation to others.

Lin Wuming and Hōzuki Touma didn't doubt Huangquanchuan Aisui's words. Moreover, Lin Wuming knew that every student in Academy City had a positioning chip implanted in their body. If they really wanted to lock onto their location, they wouldn't need to rely on electronic shackles at all.

Seeing that they no longer refused, Huangquanchuan Aisui personally put the electronic shackles on their ankles.

"Alright," Huangquanchuan Aisui clapped her hands and said, "The disposition is considered complete. Wuming, next you just need to accept the interview and focus on healing. Hōzuki-san, don't run around either. Keep a low profile and wait for things to pass."

Seemingly feeling guilty for personally putting the electronic shackles on the two children, Huangquanchuan Aisui didn't linger and left the ward with an excuse.

Only Lin Wuming and Hōzuki Touma were left in the ward. Hōzuki Touma raised her foot and fiddled with the ring on her ankle.

"It seems quite sturdy. It doesn't seem like it can be torn off with brute force."

"After all, it's something used to restrain criminals, so of course it has to be made strong," Lin Wuming said with an indifferent look.

"What a hateful thing," Hōzuki Touma narrowed her eyes. "I can destroy and cut it off."

"It's better not to," Lin Wuming advised. "It's just for positioning anyway. We won't be running around, so let it watch."

Before transmigrating, Lin Wuming's "previous life" was already in an era of highly developed information technology, and the excessive collection of personal information was not uncommon. So he had long been accustomed to this "surveillance" environment and didn't feel offended by it.

Not to mention, Huangquanchuan Aisui had also assured them that the electronic shackles they were wearing were just models and didn't have positioning and monitoring functions.

"Lin Wuming, you're too naive," Hōzuki Touma sneered. "Do you really think this thing only has positioning and monitoring functions? According to my experience, such a device will at least have a 'punishment' function to ensure we behave."

"Like... electric shock?" While proposing his guess, Lin Wuming used his telekinesis to build a barrier between the electronic shackles and his skin.

"I bet it's explosives," Hōzuki Touma said.

It was because she had such associations that she hated the shackles so much.

However, Hōzuki Touma was just saying it casually. She still chose to believe Huangquanchuan Aisui and didn't do anything to the shackles on her feet. She just shook her pants legs to cover them up.

"I'm going to visit Sakurai-sensei. Please do your best with the upcoming interview, hero-sama~" Calculating that it was about time, Hōzuki Touma got up and left without hesitation.

Fortunately, Huangquanchuan Aisui didn't let Lin Wuming deal with the reporters alone. Seemingly worried that something might go wrong during the interview, an Anti-Skill teacher accompanied him throughout the entire process.

Under such circumstances, Lin Wuming's journey to becoming a "hero" went smoothly. He saw reports about himself on the news program the next day.

Combined with the "Black Technology Illegal Experiment" news that had been widely discussed these past few days, Lin Wuming was unsurprisingly recognized as a "hero" by the citizens of Academy City.

During the interview, Lin Wuming didn't hide the fact that he "killed the perpetrator"—of course, he didn't specify—but against the backdrop of this series of big news, this "small matter" was treated as a "footnote to the heroic tale" and didn't attract too much attention.

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Everything was as Huangquanchuan Aisui had instructed. Lin Wuming knew that he had passed this hurdle.

Next, he just needed to attend psychological counseling on time.

Just as Lin Wuming relaxed and prepared to recuperate and wait for things to calm down, the arrival of an uninvited guest broke his original peaceful life...

This day, Lin Wuming was reading a book in the ward when an Anti-Skill teacher suddenly knocked on the door and entered.

"Teacher Tetsuou Tsuzuri," Lin Wuming recognized this female Anti-Skill member. She was Huangquanchuan Aisui's colleague and friend, and also a character with a name in the original work. "Is something the matter?"

Lin Wuming had known Tetsuou Tsuzuri since he lived in the apartment. Influenced by Huangquanchuan Aisui, she also took good care of Lin Wuming and had been visiting him in the hospital frequently lately.

"Wuming-kun, it's about the psychological counseling..." Tetsuou Tsuzuri said.

"Wasn't it supposed to start next week?" Lin Wuming asked in confusion.

"They said they want to do an assessment of your psychological state first, and then decide on the time and courses for the counseling." It seemed that Tetsuou Tsuzuri was just relaying the message. She also had a puzzled look on her face.

Seeming not to know what to say, Tetsuou Tsuzuri turned her head and called out, "Shokuhou-san, you can come in..."

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