A Scientific Urban Detective

"...Unnamed-kun?" Aihō Yomikawa's voice came from beside him. "Why are you suddenly spacing out?"

Lin Wuming snapped out of his daydreaming about the future and nodded, saying, "Yeah, I was just reflecting a bit. I really shouldn't have spent all my money."

Now he only had 235 yen left in his account, not even enough to buy a bottle of juice. He had really gone overboard.

It was mainly because he bought so many limited-edition items in one go at the store, making the shopkeeper think he was a huge "Gekota" series fan, and they even introduced him to a fan forum.

After going home, Lin Wuming logged into the forum and saw even more links to limited-edition merchandise...

Over the next three days, Lin Wuming gradually placed orders for more "Gekota" items to be delivered home, and now they were all piled up in a corner of his room.

Aihō Yomikawa said helplessly, "Managing your money well is a good habit... but I'm not blaming you. It's good that you have a hobby, Wuming."

In Aihō Yomikawa's opinion, having such a cute hobby was just the thing to heal Lin Wuming's heart.

Even though the "Gekota" series was a bit childish, that was precisely the point! It was good to be a little childish and have a bit of childlike fun! If Lin Wuming's hobby was something violent or bloody, that would really be a headache.

"Don't worry about it. Don't worry about the money," Aihō Yomikawa said. "I can give you some pocket money if you're short."

"Uh, there's no need for that," Lin Wuming said, shaking his head.

At that moment, a rough kicking sound came from the door. It was Komitsu Hachitora returning.

Lin Wuming quickly opened the door to let her in.

"Lin Wuming! Just how many frogs did you buy!" Komitsu Hachitora squeezed into the room, carrying a stack of cardboard boxes that was taller than her, and immediately began to complain loudly.

"I didn't expect the boxes to be so big!" Lin Wuming quickly stepped forward to help take the boxes. "Thanks for your hard work!"

The boxes looked large, but they were light and didn't weigh much, which was why Komitsu Hachitora, a girl, was able to carry them all back by herself.

After opening them, he found that the huge boxes were filled with bubble wrap and packing peanuts. In the very center of this layered protection was the original packaging of the Gekota doll, which was only the size of a book.

"This is excessive packaging!" Komitsu Hachitora complained. "Was it really necessary to be this extravagant!"

"Being this careful, is this a very valuable type?" Lin Wuming muttered, a hint of anticipation rising in his heart.

This batch of goods was bought from other "Gekota" series fans on the forum. It seemed that in the eyes of true fans, these dolls and figures were probably really precious, right?

Thinking this, Lin Wuming also became careful, putting the doll back in its original packaging and re-protecting the box with packing peanuts before opening the next box.

Komitsu Hachitora watched with interest, also curious about what she had worked so hard to carry up.

This time it was a blue "Gekota"; then the third box contained a yellow "Gekota"...

For those who didn't understand the "Gekota" series, these were just frog dolls of different colors.

Komitsu Hachitora quickly lost interest. "Why would Wuming like these childish toys? Shouldn't boys usually like dinosaurs or robots?"

Lin Wuming opened the boxes and checked the goods while answering, "It's not that I like them, it's an investment. Didn't you see that I bought limited editions and collector's items? And I didn't even open the outer packaging."

Aihō Yomikawa understood. "You want to wait for them to increase in price in the future and then sell them off?"

Lin Wuming nodded. "Something like that."

--He couldn't exactly confess that he was using them to win over Misaka Mikoto, could he? Logically speaking, he didn't even know her yet.

Komitsu Hachitora scoffed, "Who would collect this kind of thing! It's not like they're jewels or antiques."

Lin Wuming said, "Maybe they will be. If there was really no collectible value, they wouldn't release collector's editions, would they?"

Aihō Yomikawa sized him up for a long time and decided that Lin Wuming wasn't lying—he genuinely wanted to collect them and resell them, it's just that the "investment" products he chose were a bit strange.

But thinking about it, Lin Wuming was only a fourteen-year-old boy, and before this, he had spent most of his life growing up in orphanages and research institutions, so it was normal for him to make such strange choices.

Seeing the thoughtful expression on Aihō Yomikawa's face, Lin Wuming knew that she was definitely imagining something again; but this was also one of the goals he wanted to achieve.

After taking inventory, Lin Wuming moved this batch of goods into his room as well, stacking them in the corner to build a wall.

Although his little hobby was a bit strange, it didn't cause any trouble for the other two, so this little interlude was quickly glossed over.

The Yomikawa household remained peaceful as ever.

The newest novel is first published on Liu 9 Shu Ba!

But at the same time, undercurrents were surging within "Artificial Manufactory". Without the ordinary researchers and test subjects noticing, the entire research institution had quietly undergone a major reshuffle.

The First Research Lab, which was under investigation for "illegal confinement," was abandoned. "Artificial Manufactory" actively severed ties with it and voluntarily opened the entire experimental building for the security forces to inspect.

After suspending operations for rectification, conducting internal self-examinations, accepting inquiries, and paying fines, they finally passed the test.

Among them, the Third Research Lab, where Shokuhō Misaki was located, experienced the most peaceful "internal evolution". Because Shokuhō Misaki was one of the security forces' cooperating ability users, this relationship meant that the researchers in the Third Research Lab were also regarded as partners of the security forces, naturally reducing a lot of trouble.

And due to the security forces' strict inspections, the indirect result was that the experimental children in "Artificial Manufactory" were in a better situation.

Although compared to other experimental institutions, the test subjects in "Artificial Manufactory" actually lived quite well—after all, those responsible for taking care of them were indeed a group of low-level researchers who liked and cared about the children.

But this was still a laboratory conducting multiple secret studies, and overall, the experimental subjects' range of activity was strictly restricted on weekdays.

Only Shokuhō Misaki and Miitsuari Ayu, the two mental-系 espers, could move around "freely".

But in the past few days, because the adult researchers were busy attending meetings and dealing with inspections, they couldn't spare the time to supervise the children in the institution.

So, Shokuhō Misaki seized the opportunity to run to the Second Research Lab and have a gathering with the children there.

Because she had already decided to recruit them all into her future faction, Shokuhō Misaki paid close attention to the Second Research Lab.

This time, she insisted on staying in "Artificial Manufactory", partly for this reason.

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