This was Shokuhou Misaki's second time seeing Lin Wuming.
Her first visit to the hospital yesterday was to examine Lin Wuming's memory data. At the time, Shokuhou Misaki saw him as merely an unlucky person who had suffered an accident, resulting in amnesia and delusions.
However, only one day later, upon seeing Lin Wuming again, Shokuhou Misaki discovered many interesting new entries in his memory.
"'Transmigrator', what does that mean? He knows me? Why does he perceive me as a Level 5? I'm still some time away from that rank, and I haven't leaked any information about it." By looking at Lin Wuming a bit longer, Shokuhou Misaki immediately uncovered a lot of intriguing information.
But, as per her own assessment, her "Mental Out" ability was only recently stabilized at Level 4. She couldn't yet freely read deep-seated memories in others' minds, only gaining glimpses of their current mental activities and shallow memories.
—If it's truly as this Lin Wuming perceives, once I genuinely become a Level 5, I might be able to easily read people's innermost thoughts, right?
Shokuhou Misaki was merely curious but didn't entirely trust the memory data she saw from Lin Wuming.
Academy City was inherently a place full of scheming, calculation, and conspiracy. What you saw wasn't necessarily real; even thoughts within someone else's mind could be another layer of deception.
It was precisely because of the "Mental Out" superpower that Shokuhou Misaki knew lies didn't always need to be spoken. Some people could even deceive her, who possessed mind-reading abilities—even reading their memory would only reveal the lie.
Yet, Shokuhou Misaki also felt that Lin Wuming was a victim of illegal experiments, so he shouldn't be deliberately trying to deceive her. Perhaps he had access to other sources of information.
—It's necessary to contact him again. I must figure out the source of his information... Shokuhou Misaki thought to herself.
She had always intentionally concealed her true ability level. To the researchers at "Skill-Out," she was still a Level 3, in the process of attempting the Level 4 promotion. Little did they know that her "Mental Out" had successfully advanced the previous week and was continuing its rapid progress, aiming for Level 5!
The insightful Shokuhou Misaki had long recognized the ill intentions of the researchers around her and knew from the start that "Skill-Out" was essentially an illegal experiment project.
To protect herself, while also utilizing the resources of the research facility to continue developing her superpower, Shokuhou Misaki chose to keep her true ability level a secret.
Her strategy had been successful, and her true strength had yet to be discovered by anyone.
However, the boy in front of her now directly identified her as a Level 5, which naturally piqued her interest.
—Could it be that someone or some organization unknown to me has been secretly observing me?
For Shokuhou Misaki, who practiced secrecy, this was undoubtedly a huge destabilizing factor that needed to be eliminated!
Level 4 "Mental Out" still had many limitations. To obtain more information, she needed to physically approach the target.
So, Shokuhou Misaki timed it perfectly, and as Lin Wuming was leaving the conference room, she "coincidentally" walked by the doorway corridor.
The two met face-to-face, and their eyes met again.
But this time, when Lin Wuming recognized the girl in front of him, his mind was instantly on high alert.
—Oh no! It's Shokuhou Misaki!
He quickly reconsidered, realizing that his nervousness was probably pointless.
When Lin Wuming realized he had already seen Shokuhou Misaki, he had already set a psychological expectation for this situation. As long as he wasn't exposed to Chairman Aleister or the lunatics of the "Kihara family," he, a simple Level 3 Psychic, was safe and could easily "lie flat."
—Shokuhou Misaki... no, the Queen, wouldn't harm me!
Lin Wuming firmly believed this, and besides...
Relaxing, he even had the luxury of carefully observing the girl walking toward him.
—Hmm, still the child version of the Queen, and she can move freely in an outside hospital. She probably hasn't joined "Skill-Out" yet? In that case, I can assume she's still a Level 3 Strong Ability user and isn't holding a remote control, so she probably can't read my mind yet...
Thoughts like these flashed through his mind. Lin Wuming cleared his head, showed Shokuhou Misaki an empty smile, and passed by.
"...Idiot!"
This time, the voice clearly and unmistakably came from right by his ear.
Lin Wuming acted as if he hadn't heard anything, driving his wheelchair straight ahead.
—Indeed, yesterday must have been a hallucination. She still can't transmit sound directly into my mind; she must speak normally. Although I don't know why she's calling me names... or maybe she wasn't talking to me?
Lin Wuming silently analyzed the situation. By the time he remembered to respond, he and Shokuhou Misaki had already put distance between them.
Turning back, the blonde girl was politely bowing to the doctors and Judgment officers, showing no sign of looking his way.
Lin Wuming was even more convinced that his judgment was correct.
"Lin Wuming-kun, do you know that girl?" Torami Toumi had approached from behind without him noticing and grabbed the wheelchair handles.
Lin Wuming's entire body tensed up, his psychic power went into Level 1 readiness, and the sudden tension in his muscles sent pangs of sharp pain through his wounds!
Because he had psychic power, Lin Wuming didn't need anyone to push his wheelchair, but because he was distracted thinking about Shokuhou Misaki, he moved slowly and was apparently mistaken for being tired.
"I'll push you," Torami Toumi said. "Although it's a bit late, let's still go to the cafeteria for dinner..."
She paused, seemingly thinking of something: "Or, I'll take you back to your room first, and I'll bring anything you want to eat back to the room for you."
The doctors and officers following behind also understood that the girl was trying to make amends for accidentally injuring him, hence her proactively taking responsibility for Lin Wuming's care. They didn't stop her, only informing them that they had been moved to a different room.
Lin Wuming desperately wanted to decline the girl's kindness but couldn't find a good reason.
The reason was simple—he was afraid of provoking this crazy girl and having her stab him seven more times in a fit of pique...
He had heard the doctors and officers in the conference room mention that this girl, Torami Toumi, was "mentally unstable" and possibly had hyperaggressiveness.
Lin Wuming strongly suspected that she was hospitalized to treat a mental illness.
Moreover, Torami Toumi seemed very familiar with both the doctors and the Judgment officers; the adults behind them showed no intention of stopping her.
What was more terrifying than a violently strong lunatic? A well-connected, violently strong lunatic!
At least, Lin Wuming couldn't understand, nor dared to ask, why the hospital and the Judgment forces had agreed to place Torami Toumi and himself in the same room.