Chapter 829: A Special Thank You Gift
After watching the car leave, Lin Wuming turned around and walked directly into the target Institute with his school bag.
There was nothing particularly noteworthy, no "raid"; what Lin Wuming did was very simple: he directly revealed his identity and "requested" the Institute to cooperate with the investigation.
—If Saten Ruiko had really accompanied him, she might have been very disappointed, right?
Lin Wuming thought to himself.
With an official identity, an investigation is basically a routine matter, without much excitement or danger—unless something is actually found.
"There really is?" A moment later, Lin Wuming couldn't help but click his tongue, because the information Saten Ruiko provided was true.
The Institute's internal self-check feedback confirmed that a middle-aged female Researcher had indeed suddenly gone missing today—the very person mentioned in Saten Ruiko's intelligence.
When checking the surveillance records, it was found that this female Researcher, named Hirata Kotomi, had indeed come to the Institute today, and the access control system even had her clock-in record.
But now, she was nowhere to be found throughout the entire Institute facility, and she couldn't be reached by phone, seemingly having vanished into thin air.
The Director of the Institute immediately broke out in a cold sweat, not only worried about this "Nameless Board Member" pursuing accountability but also terrified by the thought that such a dangerous individual was hidden within his own Institute.
"Call the Anti-Skill," Lin Wuming did not blame them; instead, he reminded them, "Just compile all the information on Hirata Kotomi and hand it over to the Anti-Skill."
Regardless of whether Hirata Kotomi was related to Kihara Gensei, her sudden disappearance at this time certainly seemed very suspicious.
And even if she was indeed related to Kihara Gensei, or even one of his "stand-ins," there was no hope of catching her now.
Lin Wuming felt that it was more reliable to hand over the search to the Anti-Skill's professional team rather than searching for a needle in a haystack himself.
After dealing with the matters at the Institute, Lin Wuming immediately rushed to school, but he still ended up being late.
...
As for the other side, Saten Ruiko and Hu Feng Toumi, because they had a special car to pick them up, they were not late.
Hu Feng Toumi felt that she was half the owner of this car, so she chose to send the guest to school first and then go to School Garden.
Before getting out of the car, Saten Ruiko seemed to hesitate for a long time before speaking: "Hu Feng Tong Xue, there's something I'm not sure if I should tell Senior Wuming, so I want to tell you first and ask for your judgment."
Hu Feng Toumi showed a surprised expression; she didn't have much of a relationship with Saten Ruiko, so she really couldn't imagine what important matter Saten Ruiko would want to discuss with her, especially something related to Wuming.
However, since it involved Wuming...
"It's fine, go ahead," Hu Feng Toumi looked over with a perfect smile.
"..." Saten Ruiko subconsciously touched the skin on her arm—suddenly feeling a little prickly.
"Actually, I think I might have seen that Hirata Kotomi," Saten Ruiko then said, not thinking too much, "the person who is suspected to be Kihara Gensei."
"When?" Hu Feng Toumi immediately pressed, somewhat different from the expected development.
"Uh, about twenty minutes before you arrived..." Saten Ruiko recalled.
"You arrived really early," Hu Feng Toumi clicked her tongue.
Saten Ruiko gave a dry laugh, then explained in detail.
Since she didn't dare to act rashly, after finding the Institute, Saten Ruiko had been lingering outside, observing.
During this process, she suddenly saw a brown-haired female Researcher carrying a large cardboard box out of the Institute, and then preparing to cross the road.
Seeing her difficulty moving, Saten Ruiko kindly went forward to help, and the two of them carried the cardboard box together to the other side of the road, and then all the way to the female Researcher's private car.
"That Researcher teacher said she was leaving her job today, so she needed to take her personal belongings home," Saten Ruiko said, "When we parted, to thank me, the Researcher teacher installed an application on my phone..."
"This is already very suspicious, isn't it? A stranger's strange application," Hu Feng Toumi immediately said, "It would be better to have Haruue Erii check it for you later."
"Of course I know it's suspicious, but I don't think it's the kind of suspicious you think it is, Hu Feng Tong Xue..." After hesitating again, Saten Ruiko whispered, "It's 'Imaginary Hand'."
"Huh?" Hu Feng Toumi tilted her head to look over.
"The application the Researcher teacher installed for me is 'Imaginary Hand'," Saten Ruiko said, even taking out her phone as proof.
Theoretically, "Imaginary Hand" has been completely banned, and no copies of it should be found anywhere on the network.
However, such a useful tool could not simply disappear.
It is believed that powerful organizations would certainly acquire a copy for research or as a technical reserve.
But even so, this kind of thing is definitely not something an ordinary research institution or an ordinary Researcher could get their hands on.
Regardless of whether that female Researcher was Kihara Gensei, the mere fact that she could offer "Imaginary Hand" as a thank-you gift proved her unusual nature.
"So," Hu Feng Toumi looked over seriously, "you were bought off by this gift?"
"Of course not!" Saten Ruiko quickly waved her hands and swore, "I swear, I will never betray the Unnamed Faction! Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you to discuss this."
Hu Feng Toumi thought for a moment and said, "You want to use Imaginary Hand to improve your Level?"
Saten Ruiko nodded; the experiences of the past few days had once again reminded her that without sufficient Level, let alone participating in the Unnamed Faction's actions, even observing from the sidelines was a luxury.
Saten Ruiko had previously used the first generation of "Imaginary Hand" and knew that the system was indeed effective; she just needed to ask Kiyama Harumi to solve the side effects, and it would be perfect.
This was the only way she could think of that could truly increase her Level.
Understanding the girl's thoughts and determination, Hu Feng Toumi no longer stopped her.
Not having enough Level, worrying about not being able to keep up with Wuming's pace—didn't she also have the same problem?
"Forget it," Hu Feng Toumi shook her head, "Since you've made up your mind and know the consequences and side effects of doing so..."
"Can Hu Feng Tong Xue keep it a secret for me?" Saten Ruiko quickly asked, "I don't think Senior Wuming should know—he definitely wouldn't agree to me using this."
"You guessed right, but convincing me alone is useless," Hu Feng Toumi shook her head, "You also need to convince Shokuhou and Misaka; and it's best not to hide it from Haruue Erii either."
"Eh? Doesn't that mean everyone will know?" Saten Ruiko said in surprise.
"What else?" Hu Feng Toumi shrugged, "At least you definitely won't get past Shokuhou. To hide it from Wuming, the most important thing is to deal with Shokuhou."
