Chapter 823: The Revival of Nen
The faint electrical current emanating from Kihara Kagun's fingertips acted as a pacemaker.
Misaka Mikoto, an expert in manipulating electricity, had no time to observe his operation; she merely watched Kihara Kagun's movements nervously, monitoring Lin Wuming's physical condition with full concentration.
In an instant, Misaka Mikoto suddenly felt the body in her arms come alive.
At such close proximity, she could even hear the regular rhythm of his heart.
Lin Wuming gasped violently, as if trying to make up for the breath he had just lacked.
At the same time, disregarding his disheveled state, Lin Wuming turned his head to look at the electronic clock on the wall.
"Five seconds…" Lin Wuming closed his eyes, calibrating his internal biological clock.
"Five seconds, complete unconsciousness," Lin Wuming murmured to himself. "It was terrifying, just like dying."
"It was a 'near-death experience' after all," Misaka Mikoto retorted. "Don't be so reckless again, Senior Wuming!"
Lin Wuming gently patted the girl's arm, then looked up at Kihara Kagun.
"I can confirm it now, your technique…" After a slight pause, Lin Wuming continued, "Ultimately, it really is just an 'experience.' It's still far from actual death."
This was because Lin Wuming did not enter the Bullet Time state; instead, he simply lost consciousness and fell into a coma.
Although Lin Wuming had lost his Nen, his unique passive ability, Bullet Time, had not Invalidation.
The power of a passive ability is demonstrated here—as long as the trigger conditions are met, it will inevitably take effect.
At most, without Nen, Lin Wuming would find it difficult to use Bullet Time to take effective action to resolve the crisis, so he could only watch himself die...
But at least he would be conscious when the final moment arrived, unlike just now—when he immediately lost consciousness.
So, the conclusion can be drawn...
"Kihara Kagun," Lin Wuming said, "it seems your experiments haven't actually killed anyone."
"..." Kihara Kagun showed a very complex expression. Based on his own observations just now, he had actually come to the same conclusion—the Bullet Time phenomenon did not occur in Lin Wuming.
After a long silence, he finally spoke: "Your ability… your and my definitions and understandings of death are somewhat different… Never mind, let's leave it at that."
Giving up on the struggle, Kihara Kagun seemed to have suddenly shed a heavy burden, revealing a look of relief: "There's no point in dwelling on these things now. If those experiments don't count as murder…"
Although he didn't explicitly say it, Kihara Kagun indeed let out a long sigh of relief at that moment, feeling a sense of redemption.
—Thus, the only sin of murder he carried seemed to be that one.
Kihara Kagun thought to himself—it was just a pity that Kihara Pathology, that woman, was very cunning and managed to escape.
Although the expected goal was not achieved, since it was an "experiment," failure was not entirely without gain.
Kihara Kagun showed no disappointment; on the contrary, he seemed to be in a very good mood. He no longer lingered and, after bidding farewell to Lin Wuming and the others, left with a cheerful expression.
Yun Chuan Ju Ya also hurriedly bid farewell to Lin Wuming and the others, then closely followed Kihara Kagun.
Thus, only Lin Wuming, Hu Feng Toumi, and Misaka Mikoto remained in the ward.
"Wuming," Hu Feng Toumi finally spoke, confirming there were no outsiders around, "Did you gain anything?"
As expected of someone who spent day and night with Lin Wuming, even without Mind Reading, Hu Feng Toumi still discerned that Lin Wuming had gained something.
Lin Wuming raised his hand, and immediately after, the water glass on the bedside table suddenly floated up, then steadily landed in Lin Wuming's outstretched palm.
"Is that Nen?" Both girls exclaimed in unison.
They were no strangers to similar scenes; after spending a long time with Lin Wuming, their understanding of Nen even surpassed that of most Telekinetic Users.
"Senior Wuming," Misaka Mikoto quickly asked, "Has your Nen recovered?"
Hu Feng Toumi also showed joy, moving closer and pulling Misaka Mikoto up from the hospital bed.
"Is it because of the experiment just now?" Hu Feng Toumi asked again.
Misaka Mikoto's cheeks and earlobes were somewhat flushed, so she didn't bother to protest to Hu Feng Toumi, pretending nothing had happened and continuing the conversation.
"Senior Wuming had already anticipated this outcome, which is why he agreed to cooperate with Kihara Kagun's experiment just now?"
"You can't say that," Lin Wuming said, looking down at the water glass in his hand. "But since it's an experiment, no one can be sure what the final outcome will be beforehand."
In fact, Lin Wuming's initial plan was simply to use the "near-death experience" to activate "Bullet Time," as preparation for the future.
However, unexpectedly, in the judgment of "Bullet Time," Kihara Kagun's technique did not belong to a "fatal crisis," so this passive ability could not be triggered at all…
But then again, Kihara Kagun even had the experience of being called the "most atrocious Kihara" in the past, so it's conceivable that his research field was by no means as "kind and harmless" as Lin Wuming just evaluated it.
One can only say that Lin Wuming is special.
Due to the existence of Bullet Time, Lin Wuming had long grown accustomed to "death" during these three years.
It could be said to be literally "death always by my side," so in Lin Wuming's view, Kihara Kagun's "near-death experience" technique seemed somewhat "harmless."
However, for any other normal human being, after experiencing it once firsthand, they would absolutely not react as calmly as Lin Wuming.
For example, three days ago, Ai Li and Caochi Liangzi, who were educated twice by Kihara Kagun, have had no intention of giving up their lives since then.
As intelligent beings, humans have a natural reverence and fear of death.
Therefore, Kihara Kagun, who had previously wantonly toyed with "death," was an anomaly even among the Kihara; and now Lin Wuming, in a sense, has long since deviated from the category of "normal humans"...
Now, although Lin Wuming has exceeded the scope of "normal humans," since his Level 6 promotion failed, he is still just a mortal in a biological sense.
Since he is a normal human, biological instincts will still play a role.
The "near-death experience" indeed stimulated Lin Wuming's instincts.
Bullet Time did not classify it as a "fatal crisis," but biological instinct did not agree.
Amidst the conflict between the two, a certain catalyst was produced—
Thus, Nen, which should have remained dormant, was activated by this "crisis."
