Chapter 819: Index's Anomaly
“I did lose my Nen, but it’s only temporary,” Lin Wuming responded calmly and composedly, as he had already prepared himself mentally. “It will return to normal.”
Accelerator stared at him for a while, then nodded: “Since you’re so sure, then it’s fine.”
“Don’t worry, it’s really fine,” Lin Wuming emphasized.
“This Big Shot wasn’t worried,” Accelerator snorted coldly, “I just came to remind you not to forget that there’s still a duel between you and me.”
“When was that decided?” Lin Wuming asked in surprise.
“There wasn’t?” Accelerator was also stunned for a moment, then waved his hand, “It’s not important, it exists now anyway.”
“Eh?” Lin Wuming was naturally very unwilling. The main storyline was about to unfold with great fanfare, and he was very busy. Where would he have time to duel him?
And it was a duel with no chance of winning.
“I heard you almost got promoted to Level 6 this time?” Accelerator suddenly asked.
“You could say that,” Lin Wuming nodded, “How did you know about this?”
According to Lin Wuming's understanding of Academy City, major events like this, which almost caused Academy City's destruction, are usually subject to information control, with efforts made to prevent the news from spreading.
“Did you forget? This Big Shot is the number one,” Accelerator said, pointing to his ear, “Even if This Big Shot doesn’t care, this kind of news will automatically reach my ears.”
If Lin Wuming had successfully advanced and become the first Level 6 in history, then the title of “Number One” in Academy City would undoubtedly fall to him.
No matter the occasion, the change of the “Number One” title is a major event that attracts attention; not to mention the title of the strongest, similar to “the greatest under the heavens,” that Accelerator carries.
Information regarding Kihara Gensei’s experiment that day was indeed sealed, but this seal was only effective for the vast majority of ordinary citizens.
The publicly released information was that Misaka Mikoto fought against an enemy to stop an illegal experiment—the battle that day involved Misaka Mikoto summoning lightning, which caused too much commotion to be concealed.
But for those who already knew the inside story, it was another matter entirely.
After all, Level 6 can be said to be the long-cherished wish of the entire Academy City, and even one of the goals for Academy City's existence.
Just as Accelerator said, he didn't need to do anything; relevant news would automatically converge on him.
Researchers he had dealt with, members of the Armed Unskilled Group he had literally “beaten,” Judgment companions, and even school classmates—it was unclear where these ordinary high school students, who were only Level 0, got their information.
In short, news converged from various channels, and although the disparate pieces of information varied greatly, making it difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.
But after compilation, some commonalities could be found—Lin Wuming, Level 6 evolution experiment, failure…
The combination of these keywords made Accelerator unable to ignore it.
Upon learning that Lin Wuming was indeed hospitalized and had been in a coma for several days, Accelerator could no longer sit still and rushed over.
“So,” Accelerator finally summarized Lin Wuming’s situation, “Because the experiment failed, you have indeed lost your Nen, but you can recover soon?”
“Something like that,” Lin Wuming said, “Saying ‘recover to normal’ might not be entirely accurate. I feel it’s more like a rebirth from ashes, a sublimation after transformation… that kind of feeling.”
“So,” unable to understand Lin Wuming’s abstract metaphor, Accelerator asked directly, “Did you get weaker or stronger?”
“Of course, I got stronger,” Lin Wuming said without hesitation, “Experience points increased, so my strength naturally increased as well!”
“Good,” Accelerator stood up, nodded with satisfaction, “When you recover, we’ll have Our duel.”
With that, without giving Lin Wuming a chance to object, Accelerator waved his hand and left the ward directly.
Lin Wuming noticed a delicately designed handbag on the nearby cabinet, which was the get-well gift Accelerator had brought.
With the familiar packaging, Lin Wuming knew at a glance that it was from the cake shop Hu Feng Homi loved.
It was unclear when it started, but the outside world seemed to believe that Lin Wuming’s favorite food was strawberry cake…
“But I don’t dislike it either,” Lin Wuming didn’t care much about this.
Such a get-well gift was good; at least it wouldn’t go to waste.
The news of Lin Wuming’s awakening was immediately learned by several girls. Not long after Accelerator left, a group of figures in Tokiwadai Middle School uniforms swarmed in.
Immediately after, Huangquanchuan Aisui also rushed over.
Seeing Lin Wuming safe and sound, and looking well, Huangquanchuan Aisui, as his Guardian, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Lin Wuming’s ward became lively until the head nurse arrived to disperse the crowd.
Like Accelerator just now, the girls were also very concerned about Lin Wuming losing his Nen.
So Lin Wuming had to repeat what he had just told Accelerator again to appease these worried girls.
In the afternoon, Kamijou Touma and Index also heard the news from somewhere and came to the ward to visit.
Accompanying them were Sakura and Ryoko, dressed as nurses—they claimed to be representing Chairman Aleister to offer condolences.
Thus, Lin Wuming repeated the same lines for the third time.
Sakura and Ryoko seemed to genuinely be there just to deliver a message, so they weren't concerned about Lin Wuming's recovery, acting as if they were simply performing a routine task.
Seeing that Lin Wuming had woken up and claimed to be recovering well with no issues, the two girls decisively said their goodbyes and left to report back.
Kamijou Touma was genuinely concerned about Lin Wuming’s injuries, and he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after learning that he hadn’t lost his Nen permanently.
Index’s behavior was a bit unusual—Kamijou Touma had also bought a strawberry cake as a get-well gift. Due to limited funds and his inherent bad luck, when it was his turn, there was only one piece of cake left.
Kamijou Touma was initially a bit worried that Index would covet this precious cake, but to his surprise, Index actually managed to hold back until she walked into the ward!
Or rather, the silver-haired nun seemed to be in a daze, not even noticing the delicious food so close by!
After arriving in the ward, Index remained silent, but her eyes were fixed intently on Lin Wuming.
“Ahem!” Even Kamijou Touma couldn’t bear to watch anymore. He reached out and shook the girl’s shoulder, “It’s almost time for us to go back, Index!”
The silver-haired nun did not react, still staring at Lin Wuming.
