In the hospital, having just stepped out of the ward of their comrade Juufuku Miho, Natsume Sonoko seemed rather downcast, her mood clearly not the best.
"Is Juufuku Miho going to be alright?" Noticing the unusual expression on Sonoko's face, Misaka-senpai asked with concern.
"Just as the doctors said, she's fallen into a coma and won't wake up no matter what," Sonoko replied quietly.
"Actually, since the hospital's equipment and staff aren't fully equipped to handle this situation yet, we specially brought in an expert on brain physiology from outside. But for some reason, she hasn't shown up since yesterday," the middle-aged doctor adjusted his glasses, speaking with some embarrassment.
"An expert? In brain physiology?" Shirai-san thought it over, then suddenly remembered something.
"Would that be Kiyama Harumi from the AIM Analysis Research Institute?"
"That's right, it's her. Her expertise in brain physiology is widely recognized," the doctor nodded, giving Shirai Kuroko a somewhat surprised look, as if he hadn't expected even the Judgment officers to know of this expert's reputation.
"In that case, that expert won't be coming to the hospital anymore. As of this morning, she's been classified as a criminal by the Anti-Skill squad," Shirai stated firmly. The Anti-Skill and Judgment systems shared information to some extent, each able to keep tabs on the other's activities.
"So this Kiyama Harumi is very likely one of the perpetrators behind the creation or distribution of the Level Upper," Misaka-senpai declared gravely, resting her chin on her hand and imitating Sherlock Holmes' demeanor as she pieced together a chain of reasoning in her mind.
"Where on earth are you getting that from, Onee-sama?" Shirai sighed helplessly, seeming rather skeptical of Misaka-senpai's deduction.
"Not necessarily—I think it makes sense," Sonoko nodded in agreement.
"How does that make any sense?" Shirai, feeling their logic was too far-fetched, quickly retorted.
"Think about it—right after a large-scale coma incident occurs, this brain expert is declared a criminal today. Shouldn't there be some connection between the two?" Misaka-senpai spoke with conviction, feeling her reasoning was well-founded.
"Onee-sama, Kiyama Harumi was arrested on charges of intentional assault, not for being the mastermind behind the coma incidents. It's just a coincidence, a coincidence!"
Shirai insisted, rubbing her head in frustration.
Meanwhile, Sonoko glanced at Misaka-senpai in surprise. Her intuition was truly remarkable—as expected of the Railgun.
The doctors still had their rounds to make, so after explaining the situation to Sonoko and the others, they left. The three of them sat on a bench in the hospital, discussing their next steps.
"So, does that mean we're back to having no leads?" Misaka-senpai said helplessly.
"Not exactly. We can still track down the original uploader of the Level Upper audio. It's just that they've been extremely elusive, and we haven't found any useful information so far," Shirai frowned, deep in thought.
"We can also investigate the transactions between Level Upper users. There's bound to be some clues there."
While they were discussing, Sonoko slipped away a few times to check on Juufuku Miho again.
When she returned, she saw Misaka-senpai and Shirai talking to an oddly dressed old man.
The old man resembled a certain toy figurine, wearing a white lab coat. The top of his head was completely bald, with only a few white hairs remaining on the sides. His face carried a warm, kindly smile, making him look no different from any ordinary elderly person.
"A real-life Gekota," Sonoko found it somewhat amusing—it was a truly distinctive appearance.
But it's wrong to judge people by their looks, Sonoko quickly reminded herself, hurrying over to join them.
"Hello there, young lady," the real-life Gekota paused, greeting Sonoko with a smile.
"Nice to meet you," Sonoko replied immediately.
"Lately, I've been reviewing the brainwave patterns of all the coma victims and found a very interesting phenomenon. It seems that under the influence of something—what you call the Level Upper—everyone's brainwaves have become identical."
"In reality, everyone's brainwaves are unique, so it's impossible for machines to read identical waveforms. Yet, strangely, this phenomenon has occurred."
"Could we take a look at the brainwave images?" Shirai asked urgently after listening carefully to the old man's explanation. It seemed they had finally stumbled upon a highly valuable clue.
"Of course. I saw that you were investigating and thought I could provide some useful information. It would be best if we could resolve this incident as soon as possible. Seeing everyone in a coma troubles me greatly," said the doctor, known to many as Heaven Canceller.
In truth, the hospital hadn't invited him to assist, but driven by his commitment to saving lives, he had taken the initiative to help.
The group entered an office where Heaven Canceller opened his computer and pulled up the brainwave charts of numerous patients.
Surprisingly, the waveforms of these charts were strikingly similar, with a nearly 99% resemblance between them.
"Is such a thing even possible?" Shirai muttered to herself, seemingly puzzled.
"If someone were forcibly altering others' brainwave patterns, it would have a significant impact on them. In fact, based on their physical conditions, most should be able to hold on a while longer. But recently, it seems someone has been using their brains for high-intensity calculations, which is causing their bodies to fail," Heaven Canceller confirmed.
"So they're being used as computers? What kind of person would do such a thing?" Misaka-senpai widened her eyes in disbelief, as if shocked by the revelation.
"Investigating the culprit and their motives should be your job," Heaven Canceller turned and said.
"All these Level Upper users share similar brainwaves. So if we investigate the owner of this brainwave pattern, we should be able to find clues about the perpetrator," Sonoko, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, her face clouded with worry.
"What a clever young lady. But you seem troubled—are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm just worried about my friend," Sonoko hesitated, as if she had come to some decision.
Just as they were preparing to leave, a few more students who had fallen into comas from using the Level Upper were brought in.
Among them was Saten Ruiko, who had rushed to the hospital and happened to run into Sonoko and the others.
"Saten, what's going on?" Misaka-senpai asked with concern.
"Mayumi... they... they all collapsed. It's all my fault. I knew... I was a Level Zero, but... I still clung to that hope," Saten stammered, tear tracks on her face, filled with regret.
"What exactly happened? Tell us quickly," Shirai also looked worried as she wiped the tears from Saten's face before asking.
"It's the Level Upper... I downloaded it from a music website..."
After getting a rough idea of what had happened, Sonoko and the others learned the specifics.
"Uiharu, hurry up and block that music website! It has the download link for the Level Upper," Shirai immediately called Uiharu after hearing Saten's story.
"To think it was hidden on sites like these... Thank goodness Saten is alright," Misaka-senpai breathed a sigh of relief, though she still looked at Saten with concern.
"I'm glad Saten is okay."
This encounter eased Sonoko's worries—thank goodness Saten was safe.
"No, it's not like that. Uiharu said anyone who had it needed to destroy it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Then I heard Mayumi and the others say they wanted the Level Upper..."
Clutching her head, Saten suddenly broke down. "I hate being powerless, but I just couldn't let go of my longing for an ability."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.