It had been a while since he had seen Accelerator, but why was he still so insistent on fighting him?
Lin Wuming felt a headache coming on, but looking at the door that opened and closed, he paused for a moment, then could only push the matter to the back of his mind and temporarily ignore it.
—Troublesome matters could be considered later.
A person without foresight will have immediate worries, and the most pressing headache for Lin Wuming right now was only one thing: the "Misaka Worst" in front of him.
The Misaka Worst herself was not the problem, and Lin Wuming had no issues with her.
However, the sudden appearance of the Misaka Worst, especially at this particular time, and what it implied, whether there were other deeper conspiracies behind it, were questions Lin Wuming had to consider.
The Misaka Worst herself didn't seem to think that much; her boisterous personality was quite similar to Misaka Mikoto's original.
Facing Lin Wuming, whom she should theoretically be meeting for the first time, she acted very naturally and casually.
"I'm homeless now, Senior Wuming," the Misaka Worst said, pulling a chair from beside the bed and sitting down. "So I can only stay here for the night."
"Misaka House..." Lin Wuming was interrupted as soon as he spoke.
"I'm not familiar with them, and Our relationship isn't that good," the Misaka Worst said. "So, please take me in, Senior Wuming!"
It was the first time Lin Wuming had seen such a bold and thick-skinned Misaka.
"Even if you say that..." Lin Wuming had a headache, not knowing how to deal with this suddenly appearing Misaka.
"Don't worry, I'm very obedient and easy to take care of," the Misaka Worst continued to enthusiastically promote herself, seemingly determined to latch onto Lin Wuming as a long-term meal ticket.
"Even if you say that..." Lin Wuming said, "Even if I really wanted to take you in, it's not up to me, is it?"
Lin Wuming only felt that the girl in front of him exuded an aura of "trouble" from head to toe.
So he skillfully employed the "delaying tactic": "After all, I'm currently staying at someone else's house, so I can't make decisions on behalf of the homeowner; and you are a member of the Misaka Sisters, so Misaka Mikoto's opinion must be taken into account."
"I am me, why do you have to involve Onee-sama?" the Misaka Worst said unhappily, though her address for Misaka Mikoto was consistent with the other Misaka Sisters.
"Don't worry, when it comes to taking care of the Misaka Sisters, Our team has developed a complete set of standardized procedures that fully consider the thoughts and wishes of each individual, and we will definitely not disappoint you," Lin Wuming said. "Oh, and it's getting late. If you don't mind, you can use the empty Hospital room next door to rest for the night. We can discuss anything else tomorrow."
The Misaka Worst was indeed very obedient; despite looking reluctant, she still went to the Hospital room next door to rest.
After confirming that the Misaka Worst was obediently lying down in bed, Lin Wuming returned to his own room. At this point, he had no desire to sleep and, ignoring the fact that it was already midnight, immediately called Shokuhou Misaki.
Unfortunately, Shokuhou Misaki was quite a heavy sleeper, and it was difficult for a phone call to wake her once she was asleep.
Left with no choice, Lin Wuming instead called Misaka Mikoto.
It must be admitted that Shokuhou Misaki had more room to maneuver when dealing with non-combat-related emergencies. That's why Shokuhou Misaki was Lin Wuming's first choice.
As for Misaka Mikoto... even if she knew what was happening here, it was so late, she wouldn't be able to come out, would she?
However, even without leaving the dormitory, there were things that could be done—investigating information about the "Misaka Worst"—as long as she could connect to the internet, Misaka Mikoto could show her prowess anywhere.
It's just...
"Is she also asleep?" Lin Wuming sighed, looking at his phone which remained unanswered.
He had thought that Misaka Mikoto, who enjoyed going out at night, was a night owl and wouldn't go to bed so early.
But now it seemed she did have a normal routine after all.
"Well, never mind, it's not too late to talk about it after dawn..." Just as Lin Wuming was about to hang up, the call was suddenly answered.
"Is that Senior Wuming?" The voice from the phone was Shirai Kuroko's.
"Shirai Kuroko?"
"It's me. Good evening, Senior Wuming," Shirai Kuroko said softly. "I'm sorry, Onee-sama is asleep... I'll wake her up now."
"No, you don't have to," Lin Wuming quickly said, "I apologize, it was rude of me to disturb you."
But the person on the other end seemed to be faster; Misaka Mikoto's groggy voice could already be heard through the receiver.
"...Huh? What is it, Shirai... My phone? A call... Senior Wuming's call!" Misaka Mikoto's voice instantly brightened and quickly moved closer to the phone. "Hello, hello, is that Senior Wuming? I'm sorry, I accidentally fell asleep just now..."
"What do you mean 'accidentally fell asleep'..." Lin Wuming grumbled, "It's my fault for suddenly disturbing you, but since you're awake now, I'll tell you."
Then, Lin Wuming explained the situation with the Misaka Worst.
"...No way? There's more?" Misaka Mikoto's feelings were complex, and she didn't know how to react for a moment.
Similar to Lin Wuming's thoughts, Misaka Mikoto's primary concern was not the "Misaka Worst" herself, but the people hidden behind her—if there truly was a conspiracy.
Who was still creating clones? Were there any more Misaka Sisters? Did the sudden appearance of the "Misaka Worst" at this time have any special meaning?
"I understand," Misaka Mikoto said seriously. "I will investigate as much as possible on My end! Tomorrow... uh, early this morning, I'll rush over as soon as I can!"
Not long after hanging up, Shokuhou Misaki's return call came.
"Senior Wuming, I've already heard about the matter from Misaka," Shokuhou Misaki got straight to the point. "Is it the Misaka Worst?"
"Yes, it's her."
"Tsk, what in the world is going on now?" Shokuhou Misaki also sounded like she had a headache. "I'll go to the Hospital now..."
"No, you don't have to go through all that trouble," Lin Wuming quickly said. "If you think about it carefully, the Misaka Worst herself poses no danger. What I'm worried about and concerned with isn't her personally, so we can take Our time; there's no need to rush."
"Hmph..." Shokuhou Misaki also took a deep breath. "Okay, I understand. The first thing is to investigate, right?"
Although Shokuhou Misaki resided deep within School Garden, the personnel she could mobilize extended far beyond that.
With the issuance of the "Queen's Command," the laboratory where the Misaka Worst was created was found in less than two hours.
