Chapter 940: Sudden Incident
At Disciplinary Committee Branch 177, the commotion caused by Lin Wuming's “revisit” gradually subsided.
The branch leader, Kogami Meiwei, walked over and handed him a box of milk. “You’ve worked hard, Wuming.”
“No, it’s nothing, really,” Lin Wuming shook his head. “It’s you who has truly worked hard.”
Of the original three-person Judgment team, only Kogami Meiwei remained diligently active on the front lines.
As for Lin Wuming and Hu Feng Toumi, they had long become “ghost members.”
However, Kogami Meiwei didn't complain about this; the situations of her two partners were special—this had been clear from the beginning.
But understanding something rationally is one thing; whether one can accept it emotionally is another.
“However, this time it’s also thanks to Shirai; otherwise, Wuming, you probably wouldn't have come back, would you?” Kogami Meiwei said, half-joking, half-serious.
Precisely because she understood Lin Wuming, Kogami Meiwei knew that this seemingly easygoing male was actually quite “heartless” in nature.
Unless others actively maintained the relationship, in Lin Wuming’s own eyes, everyone around him was probably just a “passerby” in his life.
—Don’t expect Lin Wuming to actively turn back and maintain his interpersonal relationships with others!
One must know that among the Judgment members in the activity room at this moment, several were juniors who had worked with Lin Wuming last year and could be considered his “disciples.”
At that time, Lin Wuming’s relationship with them was already very good; even Hu Feng Toumi could communicate normally with them. That’s why everyone’s reaction was so emotional just now.
They had originally thought that for the sake of these lovely juniors, Lin Wuming would continue to serve as the Chairman of One Seven Seven Branch in a senior capacity after graduating from Sakugawa Middle School, continuing to lead them.
Unexpectedly, after graduating, Lin Wuming simply left, waving his sleeves without taking a single cloud with him.
Afterward, let alone continuing to manage One Seven Seven Branch, the number of times he came back to visit was pitifully few! It was as if he had no connection to this place after leaving.
Finally, Kogami Meiwei was appointed to serve as the branch leader in a crisis. As a senior who had once teamed up with Lin Wuming and Hu Feng Toumi, Kogami Meiwei could still leverage some of Lin Wuming’s influence, which helped stabilize the situation at One Seven Seven Branch.
Now, after much effort, Lin Wuming returned to his old stomping grounds at Shirai Kuroko’s invitation, only to not even recognize his juniors, whom he had been separated from for less than a year…
No matter how much Kogami Meiwei understood Lin Wuming, she couldn't help but inwardly lament, “How cold and heartless.”
Thinking about it carefully, Lin Wuming’s “face blindness” symptom was probably caused by his indifference to others, wasn’t it?
However, Lin Wuming’s “face blindness” and “heartlessness” weren’t new; they were like his inherent attributes, fixed deep in his soul from the very beginning—thus, there was no way to be too harsh, after all, old habits die hard.
Moreover, considering Lin Wuming’s past experiences, Kogami Meiwei felt that this was a sequela from his illegal experiments during childhood.
One must know that not only with his Judgment juniors, but Lin Wuming also had the same attitude, even more indifferent, towards his companions from the illegal experimental facility.
Ever since the destruction of the “Dark May” project and the rescue of the children held in the underground laboratory, Lin Wuming had never once visited them.
Thinking of this, Kogami Meiwei silently shook her head. That’s why she would proactively contact Lin Wuming or Hu Feng Toumi every now and then to chat about Judgment work.
Kogami Meiwei knew very well that to maintain a relationship with these two, she had to be more proactive herself.
Otherwise, given Lin Wuming and Hu Feng Toumi’s increasingly reclusive personalities, severing social ties with others would be an incredibly simple and natural thing to do.
While drinking milk, Kogami Meiwei sized up the two girls beside Lin Wuming—it seems Shirai also… well, they are also working very hard.
The three on Lin Wuming’s side were all perceptive individuals, easily noticing Kogami Meiwei’s gaze.
Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko looked up. Kogami Meiwei offered a polite smile, then quickly shifted her gaze back to the computer screen in front of her.
Immediately afterward, her mood became heavy—actually, the one who should be working hard is me, right? In the end, I am the one working desperately here!
Because Disciplinary Committee Branch 177 was powerful, their assigned duties were correspondingly more arduous.
And the better they performed, the more work they received; plus, there was a rather ambitious Chairman above them, so now many procedures that should have been handled by Anti-Skill would actively request assistance from Disciplinary Committee Branch 177.
As if echoing Kogami Meiwei’s thoughts, the alarm in the activity room suddenly blared.
The Judgment members, who had been doing their own things, immediately became alert, and the atmosphere in the entire room changed.
Almost simultaneously with the alarm, the desk phone on Kogami Meiwei’s desk rang.
Without any surprise, Kogami Meiwei immediately picked up the receiver.
A moment later, Kogami Meiwei looked up at everyone present: “A large-scale theft has occurred in Academy City 5th District. At least twelve university laboratories have been infiltrated, and important experimental data and samples have been stolen. Anti-Skill needs Our assistance in searching for the thieves!”
Kogami Meiwei did not hang up the phone but continued, “Relevant information has been sent to everyone via email. Please proceed with the operation according to your assigned groups!”
The Judgment members simultaneously looked down at their phone screens.
Lin Wuming and Shirai Kuroko also opened their phone inboxes together; Misaka Mikoto was not a Judgment member, so she leaned next to Lin Wuming to look at the email with him.
“Since I’m already here, I’ll join the operation,” Lin Wuming said.
He was still a Judgment member after all, and now that an urgent mission had truly arisen, he naturally wouldn’t shirk it.
“No,” Kogami Meiwei shook her head, then directly handed him the receiver. “The Chairman has another task for you.”
Lin Wuming took the phone and heard a familiar voice from the receiver: “Wuming Student, long time no see. I heard you’ve been discharged—so your injuries have fully recovered?”
“Please get straight to the point. I have no problems here,” Lin Wuming said.
The two were old acquaintances; Lin Wuming naturally knew that the Chairman was definitely not someone who would speak without purpose.
“Recently, because of One-Side Student’s help, I’ve rarely bothered you,” the Chairman said. “However, it seems One-Side Student has also encountered trouble today, so we need you to step in.”
