"What's the situation with Kihara Gensei?"
In the evening, Lin Wuming, Hu Feng Toumi, and Shokuhou Misaki were having a tea party at home.
"It feels like it's still calm."
Shokuhou Misaki picked up her teacup and took a sip, "Yes, it's another peaceful day~"
Calm meant that they hadn't found any valuable information, and their opponent, Kihara Gensei, hadn't made any move.
"He's really patient, that old guy Kihara Gensei," Lin Wuming clicked his tongue.
Cooperating with Terestina to deal with Kihara Gensei—this sort of thing couldn't be hidden from the Kihara.
Lin Wuming hadn't planned on hiding it, just as he had said from the beginning, he never relied on Terestina.
While they were called "allies," a more accurate description would be a mutually beneficial relationship.
Lin Wuming used Terestina as "bait." The reason they were making such a big fuss here was precisely to startle the snake. They were trying to lure and force Kihara Gensei to take action.
There was no other way. Kihara Gensei was usually too low-key and hid too well, making it almost impossible for Lin Wuming and Shokuhou Misaki to get his latest information.
Furthermore, Kihara Gensei held a position and influence of paramount importance in the scientific community, so on the surface, they couldn't just act against him arbitrarily.
—Even a Hero couldn't attack an old man for no reason.
That's why Lin Wuming thought of taking some initiative to startle the "prey," so he could find his hiding place and force him to reveal a weakness.
"Well, the other side is an old fox after all, they won't be caught so easily," Shokuhou Misaki said. "Now is the time to compete in endurance. As long as we stay calm and wait a little longer, we'll definitely gain something."
"I know that, of course." Lin Wuming got up and walked towards the balcony, opening the sliding door to look at the evening sunset. "I just hope the other side doesn't suddenly jump out and cause trouble in the next couple of days..."
"More accurately, you hope they don't mess around tomorrow, right?" Shokuhou Misaki said—even without using her Superpower, she could read Lin Wuming's mind. "Tomorrow is the Summer Festival."
"Yes, you know, it's that Summer Festival after all," Lin Wuming explained.
Tokiwadai Middle School's Summer Festival was a quite famous plot point in the original work. Misaka Mikoto would make a rare appearance in a dress, which was something to look forward to.
"If you really want to see her in a dress that much, why don't you just tell Misaka?" Shokuhou Misaki teased. "As long as Lin Wuming asks, she definitely won't refuse."
"She really won't refuse?"
"This..." Thinking of Misaka Mikoto's personality, Shokuhou Misaki wasn't so sure for a moment. "But it's okay, asking the Misaka Sisters is the same, they definitely won't refuse."
"Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?" Lin Wuming shook his head with a smile.
"The dress and the violin performance are just one aspect," Lin Wuming said. "Shokuhou, you should understand, right? This is a special node."
Shokuhou Misaki silently rolled her eyes. She naturally knew—in Lin Wuming's view, attending Tokiwadai Middle School's Summer Festival was more like a "sacred site pilgrimage" type of activity, which was why he was so looking forward to it.
—I don't know whether to say his intentions are impure or too pure... I also don't know whether to envy Misaka Student or sigh for her.
In any case, regardless of Lin Wuming's expectations and goals, the Summer Festival arrived as scheduled the next day.
And the weather was perfect, sunny and clear. Although there were quite a few clouds in the sky, they happened to block some of the summer sun, making the outdoor environment more comfortable.
The young ladies of Tokiwadai Middle School changed their usual attire, no longer wearing their iconic School uniforms, but instead changed into maid outfits, greeting and entertaining visiting tourists with warm smiles.
The mysterious nature of Tokiwadai Middle School itself, combined with the personal hospitality of the young ladies, created the best natural draw for tourists.
Every year, the Summer Festival uses online reservations plus private student invitations to control the number of visitors.
Otherwise, if it were open to everyone, it's not hard to imagine the Student Dormitory area being crowded with people.
Lin Wuming certainly didn't lack an invitation, and his image was already deeply ingrained in people's minds, so he could easily enter even without one.
Because Lin Wuming often took Misaka Mikoto back to her Student Dormitory, the students of the Seventh District Student Dormitory had long remembered his classic image in a wheelchair.
Moreover, the relationship between Lin Wuming and Misaka Mikoto was no secret—at least that's how it seemed to the other students. In their minds, they had long associated Lin Wuming and Misaka Mikoto together.
Therefore, the moment they saw Lin Wuming arrive, after the two girls responsible for greeting guests exchanged hellos, one of them immediately ran off...
"I'll go get Misaka Student!"
"Wuming-sama, please wait a moment, Misaka Student will be here soon!" The girl remaining at the door said with a smile. "Or, if you don't mind, I can give you a tour first."
"Thank you, but I won't disturb your work." Lin Wuming politely refused, suddenly feeling that he had thought today's event was too simple.
Lin Wuming suddenly thought of a serious problem—what kind of image did he have in the eyes of the students at Tokiwadai Middle School?
Although there were always many Tokiwadai Middle School students around Lin Wuming, those were basically specific groups, mainly centered around Misaka Mikoto and members of the Shokuhou Faction.
As for most of the other students, Lin Wuming had actually rarely interacted with them directly.
For example, the girl responsible for greeting guests at the door right now, Lin Wuming didn't know her at all.
But seeing her excited expression, Lin Wuming felt a bit troubled...
"Lin Wuming!" In the corridor in the distance, Misaka Mikoto walked quickly, holding a stack of flyers.
If it weren't for the requirements regarding demeanor, she would definitely have run over, right?
"Here she comes, here she comes!" The greeting girl seemed even more excited than Misaka Mikoto. "Go for it, Lin Wuming!"
As she spoke, she pushed the wheelchair, giving Lin Wuming a nudge towards Misaka Mikoto.
"Huh?" Lin Wuming couldn't help but look back.
"Go for it!" The girl said, clenching her fist. "We'll be cheering for you!"
"Huh?"
"Unlike the Student Dormitory on the garden side," the girl explained a little, "the students in this Student Dormitory basically support Misaka Student!"
Before Lin Wuming could react further, Misaka Mikoto had already arrived.
It shouldn't be an illusion, Lin Wuming felt that the surrounding "maids" had stopped what they were doing and were looking over, either openly or secretly.
