Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1823 - 1821: The Outcome Is Decided (If I Stay in Bed Under the Covers, I Don’t Want to Get Up)

Shihou Souki definitely couldn’t defeat Fang Zheng; she was just venting her own impotent rage. But Fang Zheng effortlessly suppressed Shihou Souki’s resistance with just one hand, leaving her feeling frustrated and helpless.

Fortunately, Fang Zheng wasn’t a Devil; he immediately helped Shihou Souki recover to her previous state, letting her escape the embarrassment of running around in a wet skirt and somewhat comforting Shihou Souki in her impotent rage.

"...Don’t tell Misaka Mikoto about this incident."

"What incident? About being spanked and wetting her pants because of me?"

"I’m talking about Dolly’s matter!"

No sooner had Fang Zheng mentioned it that Shihou Souki again got angry enough to want to bite him.

"That brain-muscle girl’s sense of responsibility is too high. I don’t want to see her looking listless over this matter. Strictly speaking, it doesn’t concern her either."

"You have a point."

Fang Zheng could imagine Misaka Mikoto, being a person with a strong sense of responsibility, would change her attitude towards Shihou Souki if she found out about Dolly. But Shihou Souki viewed this differently; Dolly is Dolly, Misaka Mikoto is Misaka Mikoto. If Misaka Mikoto had reservations about her because of Dolly’s matter, Shihou Souki would feel annoyed.

"Alright then."

"Leave this matter to me."

Perhaps to hide her embarrassment, Shihou Souki quickly returned to normal.

"If my guess is correct, the one who previously attacked Misaka Mikoto was ’Little Mi.’ Though I’m not sure of the details, she must’ve been deceived by that nasty old guy. As long as there’s news about Dolly, I think I can persuade her. As for Misaka Mikoto, I’ll leave her to Mr. Fang Zheng."

"Got it?"

Fang Zheng glanced at Shihou Souki; one had to admit she was really weak. Her strengths were confined to her Psychological Control ability; without it, Shihou Souki couldn’t even defeat the old man Mokuhara Genki.

"Don’t worry, I have it under control..."

At this, Shihou Souki hesitated.

"Additionally, there’s one more favor I need from Mr. Fang Zheng..."

Shihou Souki’s requests weren’t many, in fact, she just asked Fang Zheng to help her solve a trouble.

"These are the Proxy Brains."

Looking at the three large glass tanks in front of him, each containing brains larger than humans, Fang Zheng squinted and spoke to himself. In fact, this was the core of Artisan Workshop. They cultivated three brand new Proxy Brains using cortices cut from Shihou Souki’s brain. The original purpose of these Proxy Brains was to let everyone use Shihou Souki’s Psychological Control ability. One could imagine if successful, what a chaotic place this would become.

But fortunately, Shihou Souki crushed the Artisan Workshop before they became aware, taking the Proxy Brains to amplify her own abilities.

However, Mokuhara Genki’s appearance today sounded an alarm for Shihou Souki.

Originally, Shihou Souki set up a series of tight locks to prevent others from using the Proxy Brains, but these were utterly ineffective against Mokuhara Genki. The reason was simple; Mokuhara Genki utilized the Fantasy Manipulator ability, directly creating a resonant wave with his AIM field and the Proxy Brain, easily seizing control of Shihou Souki’s Psychological Control.

That’s why Shihou Souki was completely powerless against Mokuhara Genki.

And the lesson this time made Shihou Souki give up on the Proxy Brains, leading her to entrust Fang Zheng with the task of destroying the Proxy Brains.

Indeed, Shihou Souki herself had no choice; the tubes containing the Proxy Brains looked fragile but were actually very sturdy, unaffected by even level ten earthquakes and tsunamis. Though Shihou Souki had a self-destruction code, she dared not use it because the Proxy Brains were strictly speaking a part of Shihou Souki’s brain. If Shihou Souki used the self-destruction code, it would be like crushing her own brain, leading to total disaster.

Originally, Shihou Souki thought of using Psychological Control to swap the self-destruct and login codes in her brain, luring Mokuhara Genki into destroying the Proxy Brains. But since Fang Zheng intervened earlier, she didn’t have to gamble her life, and instead entrusted Fang Zheng to physically destroy them.

Although Mokuhara Genki had been tormented to an unrecognizable state by Fang Zheng and couldn’t survive anymore, the theory of the Fantasy Manipulator had already spread. No one knew if another Mokuhara Genki would appear in the future.

Shihou Souki dared not gamble on such a possibility.

It was a possibility with no benefits if bet correctly but total ruin if bet wrong.

Shihou Souki only needed to experience Mokuhara Genki’s lesson once.

"Alright, enough done, I should head back."

As Fang Zheng spoke, he spun his fingers, and soon, a spark emerged from his hand, flying towards the Proxy Brains before him. In just a blink, the three Proxy Brains turned into ashes, completely disappearing.

Fang Zheng watched the Proxy Brains vanish, shook his head, and turned to leave the building.

That night, the dark side represented by the Mokuhara Clan in Academy City was utterly eliminated.

Mokuhara Genki’s soul was entirely wiped out by Fang Zheng; he didn’t even burn it as firewood. Instead, using Mokuhara Genki’s own memories, Fang Zheng weakened his soul bit by bit. In endless experimental suffering, Mokuhara Genki vanished like soul-level dismemberment, a sensation far more painful than physical torment.

But for Fang Zheng, internally he felt no disturbance. Mokuhara Genki made his choice and thus faced this outcome. In Academy City, the children suffering because of Mokuhara Genki weren’t limited to Mokuyama Haruo’s students. Even Shihou Souki and Misaka Mikoto were victims. Mokuhara Genki wanted to die early? Whether he could or not depended on whether Fang Zheng agreed.

As for the Hound Squad led by Mokuhara Kazuya, it was swept away by Kurumi and others. Mokuhara Kazuya himself got shot in the head by Reiji, dead beyond recovery.

Regarding the remaining Mokuhara Clan members and their subordinates, they became the midnight snack of Aliens, and when the Sun rose again, not even half of a Mokuhara Clan corpse could be found in Academy City.

The destruction of Mokuhara Clan symbolized the complete disappearance of the living forces in Academy City’s last dark side. Even if some remained, they were just insignificant petty criminals.

As for Shihou Souki’s side, Fang Zheng didn’t pay particular attention to the situation. But early the next morning, he received a message from Shihou Souki, containing only one word.

"Thank you."

Nothing more needed saying; from that single word, Fang Zheng already knew the situation on Shihou Souki’s side.

Only one question was left for the next.

"Knock knock knock."

Fang Zheng set down his coffee as a knock sounded at the door, followed by Rem’s voice outside.

"Lord Fang Zheng, Miss Hainara is here."

"Come in."

"Yes."

Voices accompanied the opening of the door, and Hainara Kuon stepped inside.

"Hello, Mr. Fang Zheng."

Seeing Fang Zheng, Hainara Kuon respectfully bowed to him, and Fang Zheng also nodded.

"Hello, Hainara, please have a seat."

"Alright."

As she spoke, Hainara Kuon walked over to the chair, reached out to adjust her skirt, and then sat down—the entire process was natural and seamless, filled with a uniquely feminine delicacy and charm, leaving Fang Zheng at a loss for words.

Forget it, this issue can be discussed later.

"Classmate Hainara, I asked you here today to discuss something very important."

"Something very important...?"

In response to Fang Zheng’s words, Hainara Kuon appeared somewhat surprised. Unlike Misaka Mikoto and others, she wasn’t very familiar with Fang Zheng. Her feelings towards him were more of gratitude for rescuing her friend. Of course, they would greet each other when they met, but the communication between Hainara Kuon and Fang Zheng wasn’t as frequent as with others. So she was somewhat startled that Fang Zheng had something important to discuss with her.

"That’s right, it’s about the future of Academy City. I believe you’re aware that I currently hold the position of Academy City Chairperson. In my view, the former Chairman clearly had a flawed perception of Academy City’s positioning, so I intend to re-establish its direction."

"But... what does this have to do with me?"

Hainara Kuon still didn’t understand how this related to her, while Fang Zheng just chuckled.

"I heard that you, along with your mentor, published several papers in Science?"

"Yes..."

Though puzzled internally, Hainara Kuon still nodded.

"Your current research focus is on string theory, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then, when will you be able to unify the four fundamental forces?"

"Eh... Eh?!"

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, Hainara Kuon was momentarily stunned, then her eyes widened in surprise, and she covered her mouth.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, well... I’m still in the learning phase, and the unification of the four fundamental forces is... um... still too difficult for me."

"The four fundamental forces—strong force, weak force, electromagnetic force, gravity—you and Misaka Mikoto each control one... Have you ever considered working hard in this area?"

"This... of course I’ve thought about it... but Mr. Fang Zheng, does this relate to our current topic?"

"It does."

Fang Zheng nodded.

"In the past, Academy City prioritized everything around ability development, and you see the downsides of that approach: many idiots chose shortcuts, even engaging in inhumane experiments. Ultimately, it’s the problematic development path caused by Academy City’s worship of abilities."

"......"

Hearing this, Hainara Kuon’s expression dimmed, clearly reminded of her friends who were caught up in those experiments.

"My goal is for Academy City to grow in a healthier and more comprehensive manner, with ability development being only a part of it, not the whole. We should find ways to encourage the development of theoretical science. So, I need your help..."

"But Mr. Fang Zheng, I’m just a regular student at Tokiwadai..."

This time, Hainara Kuon was even more flustered. She was just an ordinary student, so how did she become involved in the future of Academy City?

"A regular student at Tokiwadai doesn’t get to speak at a Russian mathematicians’ conference."

Fang Zheng chuckled.

"Classmate Hainara Kuon, let me be frank: I hope you can publish an outstanding paper as the first author. At the same time, I want you to reach LV5."

"LV5..."

"Exactly, once you reach LV5, I’ll move you to the top position."

"Wh-Why?"

At this moment, Hainara Kuon finally became completely flustered.

"The original LV5..."

"You don’t need to worry about that; I have my reasons for doing this. Firstly, your image is good, unlike those problematic children. Academy City needs a representative with a positive image, not an idiot prone to causing trouble. Secondly, you have excellent theoretical research capabilities, which is also what we need. Previous LV5s, including Misaka Mikoto, were not heavily invested in theoretical research. But in Academy City, we need people with a strong theoretical foundation who can achieve tangible results. Finally, we need an LV5, as one of Academy City’s goals is still ability development. Only when you ascend to LV5 can our plan be fully realized."

At this point, Fang Zheng spread his arms.

"So, what do you say, Classmate Hainara? I think this is also a growth process for you personally."

"......"

Hainara Kuon didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she placed her finger lightly on her lips as if contemplating, then looked towards Fang Zheng.

"Well... Mr. Fang Zheng, if I may speak frankly, I’m still delving deeper into string theory research. Regarding the topic, I still need to discuss it with my teacher. But about LV5... I’m sorry, I only have a faint idea so far..."

"I understand, so I plan to give you a little motivation."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng snapped his fingers.

The next moment, Hainara Kuon suddenly realized her body was completely immobilized.

"Mr. Fang Zheng?"

"Let’s conduct an experiment."

Fang Zheng smiled, crossing his hands and resting them on his chin, looking at Hainara Kuon.

"You should be able to feel that I’ve stopped time around you. Next, you need to use your ability to break free from the restrictions I’ve placed on you. If you can’t do it... hmm, let’s see."

At this point, Fang Zheng blinked.

"Every hour that passes, I’ll remove one piece of your clothing. How does that sound?"

"Eh? ... Eh?!!"

At that moment, Hainara Kuon could no longer maintain her composure.