Entering the building, the front desk was empty, and there were no staff members on the entire floor.
"Could it be that this place has really been breached?" Lin Wuming muttered, "Tsk, how troublesome."
If it weren't for that inexplicable "threat call" just now, Lin Wuming wouldn't have personally come here to check the situation, and of course, he wouldn't have to face such a predicament.
"No choice, let's go upstairs," Lin Wuming sighed, "We can only search floor by floor."
"Perhaps," Hu Feng Toumi said, looking at the ground beneath their feet, "it's underground?"
Based on past experience, people prefer to hide illegal experiments in underground facilities.
If Study Group wanted to cause trouble, it would seem normal to hide their secrets underground.
"Good point," Lin Wuming nodded, "Then let's first find the stairs leading underground."
"Wuming," Hu Feng Toumi asked as they walked, "Are you really not worried about them?"
Because she understood Lin Wuming well, Hu Feng Toumi clearly sensed that Lin Wuming was not very anxious at this moment.
"Not worried at all," Lin Wuming said calmly, "They are two Level 5s, plus Kazakiri Hyouka and Shirai Kuroko, two Level 4s. Their theoretical strength is twice Our own."
Lin Wuming advanced while releasing his Nen for early warning.
In fact, he was almost certain that the target of that call just now was himself.
— Someone wants me to come here.
It was just unclear what the mysterious person's purpose was.
— Anonymous tip-off? Or borrowing a knife to kill?
Lin Wuming's reputation as a "hero" had long been established, and when it came to matters involving illegal experiments, he was indeed a "knife" that was easily borrowed.
Conversely, Lin Wuming's enemies could also use this point to scheme against him.
He just didn't know which situation this belonged to.
"Is that so?" Hu Feng Toumi responded absentmindedly, observing her surroundings vigilantly, "Ultimately, it's still because Wuming, you yourself want to come, isn't it? After all, you're not the type to willingly hide in the back and watch the battle."
"So that's how you see me, as someone who can't sit still?" Lin Wuming retorted.
To be honest, if he could truly follow his heart, Lin Wuming wouldn't have wanted to get involved in those troublesome matters from the beginning.
"What if," after a while, Hu Feng Toumi suddenly asked, "What if everything said in that call was true, and Misaka and Shokuhou really got into trouble, what would Wuming do?"
"..." Lin Wuming first showed a somewhat helpless expression, feeling that Hu Feng Toumi was making some baseless assumptions.
But when he turned to look, he met the girl's direct gaze.
— Ah, this girl is serious.
Lin Wuming was startled, then subconsciously began to think seriously.
"If it were true..." Lin Wuming frowned tightly, finding himself unable to imagine such a scene.
In the original plot, Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki were the heroines; they could encounter difficulties, and might even temporarily fail, but they would ultimately succeed.
Of course, as protagonists, no matter what difficult situation they encountered, their lives would not be in danger—this was a given.
So Lin Wuming had never even considered the worst-case scenario.
However... this was not some original story now, but the real world.
The cruelty of the real world was that anything was possible.
"If that were true..." Lin Wuming said blankly, murmuring, "Then it would truly be a world-shattering event..."
Hearing Lin Wuming's seemingly self-talk answer, Hu Feng Toumi seemed very satisfied, smiling as she reached out to Lin Wuming.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch Lin Wuming's face, Hu Feng Toumi's eyes sharpened, and she suddenly changed her movement, grabbing Lin Wuming's collar.
The girl's slender arms instantly tensed, outlining beautiful muscle lines, and in an instant, a huge force erupted, about to throw Lin Wuming behind her.
But Lin Wuming's reaction was even faster; he didn't bother to continue pretending to be disabled, springing from the wheelchair at the first moment, and using the force from the girl's arm, he lunged into her embrace, violently knocking Hu Feng Toumi away.
However, the girl still clung tightly to Lin Wuming's collar, refusing to let go, stubbornly wanting to pull Lin Wuming back with her.
"Electricity!" Hu Feng Toumi then shouted loudly.
At the same time, her face was illuminated by a dazzling light.
With these two hints, even without turning around, Lin Wuming knew what was happening behind him.
So Lin Wuming kicked his legs backward without hesitation, sending his wheelchair flying.
Having fought Misaka Mikoto before, Lin Wuming had specially modified his wheelchair with excellent conductivity and ensured good grounding through special tire settings.
In other words, it was a reliable "lightning rod."
At this moment, this lightning rod indeed played its role.
The crackling sound of electricity came from behind, but neither Lin Wuming nor Hu Feng Toumi suffered electric shock injuries.
"Run!" Lin Wuming shouted, "I'll cover you!"
Hu Feng Toumi didn't respond, but the stubbornness in her eyes conveyed a clear signal.
Lin Wuming felt helpless but didn't try to persuade her further.
At a critical moment of life and death, there was no time to argue about such things!
That's right, Lin Wuming was facing a genuine life-and-death crisis for the first time in a long while.
"Ability Decline"—a device specifically designed to suppress espers in Academy City.
Especially now, in important facilities, "Ability Decline" is almost standard equipment to a certain extent.
This was a given, but also a setting that was often overlooked.
After all, until the "Ability Decline" device was optimized and upgraded last year, it was a complex and massive piece of equipment, not suitable for widespread promotion. So, under normal circumstances, there was no need to consider encountering this threat.
Study Group was a supplier of equipment for Anti-Skill and was also involved in illegal experimental research, so from every angle, they had the capability and motivation to equip the new type of "Ability Decline" after its upgrade.
Upon entering the building, Lin Wuming and Hu Feng Toumi automatically entered combat mode, with their respective abilities fully prepared.
Lin Wuming even used his Nen as a radar, spreading it outwards to detect enemy movements.
Under such circumstances, when his Nen suddenly went out of control, Lin Wuming naturally detected it immediately.
Similarly, Hu Feng Toumi also noticed that her "Absolute Penetration" suddenly failed.
Thus, both made the same judgment and acted almost simultaneously—attempting to throw each other out of the "Ability Decline"'s range of influence.
However, upon calm reflection, such an action might be meaningless.
Since they had already fallen into a trap, how could the enemy let them escape so easily?
It was obvious that the coverage of "Ability Decline" could not be escaped by merely throwing each other.
Since that was the case—Lin Wuming decisively turned and shielded the girl behind him—then they could only fight.
