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

”Eh, eh, eh? Isn’t the Fantasy Manipulator just an urban legend?!”

Saten was the first to jump up.

”Could it be true?”

”Indeed, it is true.”

Startled by Saten, Shigefuku quickly nodded.

”When I first heard about it, I thought it was just an urban legend. Later, I really found someone selling the Fantasy Manipulator and spent a hundred thousand yen to buy it.”

”Weren’t you afraid of being cheated?”

Misaka Mikoto looked at Shigefuku in amazement, since for students like them, a hundred thousand isn’t a small sum. Shigefuku lowered her head awkwardly and mumbled.

”At that time, I just wanted revenge against Tokiwadai, even if I got scammed it didn’t matter...”

”So you used the Fantasy Manipulator, and your Ability Level went up?”

”Yes...”

”Hmm...”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng stroked his chin and then looked towards Shigefuku again.

”Well, Miss Shigefuku, how about this? I won’t hand you over to the Guard Officer or the Discipline Committee Members, but in exchange, you need to collaborate with me.”

”Collaborate?”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s words, Shigefuku felt uneasy.

”May I ask what kind of collaboration it is?”

”I’m very interested in the Fantasy Manipulator. I want to examine its operating principle and find out if there are any side effects... Of course, I will have you sign an experiment contract. Is that acceptable?”

”Uh... This... Yes.”

After thinking it over, Shigefuku finally lowered her head and agreed. After all, she didn’t want to be caught by the Guard Officer!

”I wonder if this is really okay? After all, she attacked several Tokiwadai students.”

Even though she often breaks the rules herself, Misaka Mikoto feels a bit uneasy about this.

”Don’t worry.”

Fang Zheng waved his hand.

”I’ll report this directly to the Guard Officer, and as long as I receive permission, it’ll be fine.”

When I get back, I’ll manipulate the Tree Designer to grant myself a permit, no big deal.

”Oh, that’s good then.”

Hearing this, Misaka Mikoto and Saten Reiko both breathed a sigh of relief. Although they sympathized with Shigefuku’s situation, they still felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to let her escape directly. Since Fang Zheng said he could get permission, the two were reassured.

Encountering such a situation, continuing to go shopping clearly lost its appeal, so Fang Zheng took Shigefuku back to the research lab, with Misaka Mikoto and Saten Reiko following along. They were also curious about the Fantasy Manipulator that could enhance abilities. After all, the Fantasy Manipulator had always been a rumor, and now it turned out to be real, which piqued their interest.

Upon returning to the research lab, Fang Zheng immediately arranged for Shigefuku to undergo a series of tests and checkups and began collecting data.

Soon, Fang Zheng obtained what he wanted.

”How is it, Mr. Fang Zheng?”

When Fang Zheng returned to the office, Misaka Mikoto and Saten Reiko, who had been eagerly waiting, crowded over, along with Kuroko Shirai, who hurried to the research lab after learning about the ”Fantasy Manipulator” from Misaka Mikoto.

”Hmm, basically I have figured out the principle of this so-called Fantasy Manipulator.”

”Really?”

”That’s right.”

Fang Zheng looked at the data on the paper and pointed with his finger.

”To put it simply, the idea is not bad.”

”...?”

”Do you know why?”

Fang Zheng put down the data and cheerfully looked at Misaka Mikoto and the others.

”In fact, initially, people didn’t ban the use of stimulants at the Olympics and even advocated for their use.”

”Huh?”

Hearing Fang Zheng abruptly shift the topic to something completely unrelated, the three were momentarily stunned, but Fang Zheng quickly continued.

”In fact, since ancient times, people have been consuming various plants or drugs containing stimulant ingredients to enhance their strength. In modern times, taking stimulants wasn’t considered cheating initially and was even regarded as a scientific method of improvement. There’s even an incident where a marathon runner won an Olympic race relying on stimulant injections and whiskey consumption, which was officially recognized.”

”Really?”

The three were somewhat surprised by this because they had never heard of such things from Fang Zheng.

”Of course, it wasn’t until the 1960s that people realized the hazards of stimulants. Actually, the idea of using drugs to enhance physical abilities isn’t wrong in itself; after all, long ago, our ancestors lived by eating raw meat and drinking blood, and their bodies weren’t as agile as leopards nor as sturdy as elephants. Enhancing oneself with tools and drugs was indeed quite normal.”

At this point, Fang Zheng once again tapped the documents beside him.

”But now, it’s not that era anymore, so... the idea is good, but the method is wrong.”

”So, Mr. Fang Zheng, you mean Fantasy Manipulator is something like a stimulant?”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng speak, Kuroko Shirai’s complexion slightly changed, and Fang Zheng nodded.

”More or less. Although I don’t know how they did it, I’ve figured out the principle behind Fantasy Manipulator. It actually resonates among ability users, essentially connecting their brains together from standalone to a cloud computing network. You should know the computational power of the brain correlates with ability level, which is why Shigefuku Shouho could boost from LV2 to LV4 by acquiring surplus computational resources from other brains.”

”It sounds great, any problems?”

Saten Reiko remarked it seemed fine. In the past, she might not have understood the relationship between ability and brain computational power, but after gaining abilities, she realized how dim-witted her brain truly was.

To be honest, just memorizing all those formulas, equations, and theorems was exhausting, and if continuing, Saten Reiko feared she might one day blow her brain and become a fool.

”The problem is, it’s an uncontrollable process; like your computer CPU constantly overclocking, sure, it boosts performance, but without adequate cooling protection, the CPU will inevitably overheat and burn out.”

”Wha-what!?”

At this, the three screamed in unison, while Kuroko Shirai frowned, looking solemn.

”Could there be a threat to life?”

”Currently, it’s hard to say. After all, they use a cloud computing-like distribution method. I can only say, short-term should be okay, but long-term... who knows.”

Fang Zheng shrugged but soon changed the subject again.

”However, all of this is irrelevant; my greater curiosity is the motive behind this thing.”

”...Motive?”

”Exactly. You see, we all know athletes take stimulants to improve their bodies, achieve competitive results, and gain championships, medals, money, and status. However, they are just users, not the ones producing stimulants. So, what motive do the stimulant producers have?”

”Isn’t it about enhancing abilities? After all, that’s the policy of Academy City.”

Misaka Mikoto indicated it didn’t seem problematic, but Fang Zheng shook his head.

”That’s one way of saying it, but if so, why not submit it through proper channels instead of secretly distributing it? Is it for money? But I asked Shigefuku Shouho; she said those people seemed to just make money for themselves, meaning they’re not channels in the funding flow of the behind-the-scenes producer. That’s quite strange; logically speaking, if facing a funding crisis and selling semi-finished products to recoup funds for further research, it makes sense. Yet since funds haven’t been recouped, such clandestine wholesale and retail is problematic. The perpetrator seems unconcerned about how much it earns, just hoping for swift mass diffusion.”

Here, Fang Zheng glanced at the serious-looking Kuroko Shirai.

”Leave this aspect to your Discipline Committee Members. After recent incidents, many criminal abilities might not match library records.”

”That’s indeed the case.”

Kuroko Shirai nodded.

”Besides the Tokiwadai Hunter, during that bank robbery Mr. Fang Zheng encountered, the criminal in the library was rated only LV1, yet he demonstrated a clear LV3 level during the incident, alongside other cases...”

”I suggest you better ask these people; if their ability enhancements relate to Fantasy Manipulator, immediately apprehend those selling it and systematically trace upwards—certainly uncovering the source. After all, selling unapproved items privately is criminal activity.”

At this point, Fang Zheng shook his head. He genuinely couldn’t understand why the guards and Discipline Committee members in the anime seemed so clueless. Honestly, Fang Zheng pondered over this when watching the anime; so many had abilities differing from library records, and even Misaka Mikoto and others raised suspicions, so merely asking or having the Discipline Committee schedule interrogations would reveal the truth, right?

But instead, only when everything hit the fan did they shout, ”Wow, Fantasy Manipulator is real!”

Yet you’ve been arresting Fantasy Manipulator users for several months, haven’t you?

It’s understandable for young Discipline Committee members not to think of it, but do the guards all have mush for brains?

Oh, perhaps they really do.

”I understand, then Mr. Fang Zheng, you...”

”Rest assured, I’ll find a way to remove Fantasy Manipulator; you needn’t worry, leave it to me.”

Though Fang Zheng lacks expertise in this area, doesn’t he have Little Angel?

After all, when it comes to information manipulation, she’s top-notch.