The Infinite World of Weapon Girls

Then, Ruiko, Misaka, and Tina were left behind.

Since they had no clue what to do and the weather was hot outside, the three of them stayed in the cold drink shop for the time being.

“Imaginary number space…” Ruiko pondered, sipping her chilled juice through a straw. “I remember Tina-chan’s ability is called Imaginary Number Space, right?”

The words seemed to awaken them from their reverie, and the two nodded quickly.

Ruizi quickly searched for the concept of imaginary space on her phone, read out a long list of theories covering technical terms, and finally concluded: "Imaginary region may also refer to a huge imaginary space. Can those two imaginary spaces communicate with each other?"

Tina said helplessly, "No."

"but……"

After her third job advancement, Tina gains the ability to unleash a domain of imaginary space and manipulate weapons.

This is equivalent to her releasing the internal imaginary space outward, forming another phase space that overlaps with the real space.

So here's the question: Imaginary space also belongs to the imaginary space of another phase, and it seems to be of the same nature and origin as Tina's ability. So, is there any connection or repulsion between phase planes?

In fact.

meeting!

At the beginning of her third transformation, when she first released the Imaginary Space Domain, Tina could clearly feel a faint, almost imperceptible, repulsive force. Although it was weak, it was definitely there.

At this moment, Tina released her Imaginary Domain again, controlling the chilled juice on the table to float up and bring it closer to Misaka Mikoto's mouth, who was completely bewildered. Once again, she felt that feeling as if something was being repelled!

As it turns out, the thing that was rejected was the Imaginary Mathematics District, which spanned the entire Academy City!

Because compared to the imaginary space domain released by Tina, the imaginary domain can only be vast in scale, but its density is vastly different.

Afterwards, Tina told Misaka and Ruiko about her guess.

Saten Ruiko organized her thoughts and said, "Tina means that she wants to use the imaginary space domain you released to repel the power of the imaginary number region, thereby detecting Kazakiri Hyouka, or directly forcing her out of the real world, is that right?"

The girl nodded slightly.

It's a guess, but the probability and feasibility are quite high; it's much better than searching aimlessly.

“Hmm, I understand what you’ve said, and it does make a lot of sense. Even so… what does Tina plan to do?” Misaka asked.

Saten Ruiko knew what Misaka was referring to, and sighed, saying, "The Imaginary Number District is as vast as Academy City, with 23 districts, occupying one-third of the entire area of ​​Tokyo. Do you think you can find them all with your abilities alone?"

“I don’t know…” Tina shook her head, but her determined eyes never wavered. “But I have to go find it, and I have to find it.”

#

#

Where should we begin our search?

Since it is located in the imaginary mathematics zone of another phase of Academy City, its structure and distribution should be the same.

Therefore, Misaka Mikoto, who has lived in Academy City for a long time and knows it very well, gave advice on this matter.

Using a normal person's thought process, consider where Feng Zhan Binghua in the imaginary number zone usually goes, and then set the priority for searching before and after the school district.

For example, the first school district, which is full of judicial and administrative facilities, the second school district, which has explosives or weapons testing ranges and police training grounds, and the seventeenth school district, which is full of factories and sparsely populated, are all to be classified as "second priority".

The third district, lined with hotels, the fourth district, known for its restaurants, the fifth district, dominated by university campuses, the sixth district, with its concentration of entertainment facilities, and the seventh district, primarily for high school and junior high school students—all of these should be prioritized for further exploration.

In addition, other school districts, adhering to the principle of optimal efficiency, will also be classified in this way. Because even Feng Zhan Binghua in the virtual number district would not do something as foolish as ignoring the beautiful scenery and bustling streets to go and watch factories burning coal.

Since only Tina possesses the imaginary space, the only thing Misaka and Ruiko can do to help is stay by her side and offer emotional support, since they've already been rejected when it came to offering physical comfort... Sigh, it's all tears.

In the first priority category, based on the order of regional connections, we first arrived at the third school district.

The governing council, which holds sway over the fate of Academy City, is also located here, along with numerous other large meeting halls and luxury hotels.

The young girl Tina walked quietly along the green belt beside the road, without saying a word. Her gaze was as vast as the sea as she began to recklessly expand her imaginary space domain, centered on herself.

Behind her followed Ruiko and Misaka Mikoto.

Suddenly remembering something, Lei Ye asked Mikoto, "By the way, why is Tina looking for Kazakiri Hyouka?"

Mikoto hesitated for a moment, then turned her face away and whispered, "Let's not ask. You might not believe me even if I tell you."

Ruiko quickly circled halfway around her, then circled back to where Mikoto's face was, and asked curiously, "Tell me quickly, what is it that makes Tina search so hard?"

"...another Tina"

"Huh?"

"Tears, you don't know this... Tina is a robot... She sought out Kazakiri Hyouka in order to... another Tina that exists in her mind, supposedly to make that other Tina appear."

"A robot!?...And another Tina...Split personality? This isn't funny at all."

“I’ve already told you, this is hard to believe, but you insist on asking.”

The atmosphere cooled down slightly.

Ruiko suddenly remembered something, quickly pulled out her phone, showed Misaka Mikoto the news that had made it to the front page of the 7th School District that morning, and stared at her intently, asking, "Who... rejected you!?"

Mikoto was taken aback.

She abruptly turned her face away, refusing to utter a single word. Even when Ruiko circled around to her right and pressed her for an answer, she firmly denied any such thing as "rejecting A Certain Scientific Railgun's confession," insisting it was all a fabrication!

……

Tina's imaginary space ability has not been tested by the system, so it can only be vaguely determined to be Lv5.

It's just unknown what level she can reach with her new ability to release her domain and the ability to expand her domain to a radius of ten kilometers.

However, after searching through the third, fourth, and fifth school districts, Tina was exhausted to the point of near mental collapse.

[AI Tina, you can take things slowly, you're too tired today...]

The real Tina cared in her heart, but the AI ​​Tina didn't reply with a single word.

Knowing the reason, Bebe sighed inwardly and explained to the real Tina: "[Academy City is too big. We can only proceed by region and conduct a pseudo-carpet search. If we give up halfway today and don't finish the search in one go, we'll have to start all over again tomorrow... She's not willing to do that, even if it was your request this time.]"

[...] Biting her lip, her gaze was blank and speechless.

in reality.

Misaka and Ruiko couldn't bear to see her like this, but they also knew the reason behind it. They were both suppressing certain emotions to let her continue to act 'willfully'.

Fortunately, the stock of the cold drink shop that had been emptied beforehand was placed in the refrigerator in the imaginary space. These icy cold drinks could serve as a small boost to physical and mental energy.

A few hours later—

"Mikoto... I really can't walk anymore..." Ruiko suddenly squatted down, touching her ankle and groaning.

"Raiko, you should rest first. Contact Haru and the others later and meet them at Tokiwadai."

"That……"

"It's alright, I'm here with Tina." Misaka Mikoto forced a smile and pulled back her tears.

"Hmm, we've already solved over 80% of the first priority, right? We absolutely have to find it."

"We will definitely find it."

No one was sure, and they could only comfort themselves with this thought. Watching Ruiko get into a taxi and drive away, Misaka Mikoto shook her aching ankles, gritted her teeth, and chased after Tina, who was walking alone.

The scorching sun and the pain on her skin were not the only challenges Tina faced. She was also on the verge of mental collapse, yet she never uttered a single complaint.

How could I just collapse like this!

And just like that, several more hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Until dusk at Yuyuan.

Even Tina herself didn't know where the power came from that made her search the entire first-priority area and then the 20% of the second-priority area, but even so, she still couldn't find any trace of Kazakiri Hyouka.

Finally, having exhausted all her strength, she collapsed...

Misaka Mikoto was right behind her, but she was also exhausted. After catching the swaying Tina, she was also pushed to the ground by Tina, and the girl fell into her arms.

The setting sun is like blood.

On a desolate, long-neglected road, under a dark red sky, Misaka Mikoto gently pulled the girl's small and frail body into her arms, holding her silently but tightly.

She wasn't pitying her, nor was she sympathizing with her; rather, she was moved by the effort Tina had put into caring for her other self...

Faced with this indescribably immense sentiment, Misaka Mikoto felt for the first time the insignificance of her self-righteous emotions.

"Kuroko... let's start with the old school district of the 19th ward..."

Finally, Misaka Mikoto whispered into the communication terminal.

#

#

The night sky above Tokiwadai was illuminated by the dazzling stage lights, creating a scene even more beautiful than the stars.

At the singing competition, the cheers from the audience surged one wave after another, seemingly endless, so enthusiastic that they almost reached the sky.

According to the competition schedule, the first round will eliminate eight out of the sixteen contestants, and the second round will eliminate four out of the eight. The final four will be held on the evening of the second day.

Just now, Rabiea's rendition of "Renai Circulation," which perfectly captures her adorable image, captivated everyone, including the judges, making them feel like they were in love.

Although she naturally won first place in the preliminaries, after singing, Leviathan felt not a sense of accomplishment, but a deep sense of shame. After running off the stage, she threw herself into Misaki Shokuhou's arms, trying to escape those piercing gazes.

This could easily lead to misunderstandings.

Instead, Misaki Shokuhou smiled and hugged her even tighter in front of her, thinking that the more misunderstandings there were, the better!

"Leviathan-chan, what are you planning to sing next? How about 'Majestic Grandeur'?"

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[Thanks to the filthy king for the generous donations and to Modified Hibiki for the donations... Wait, why did I add "Modified"?]

[162 Meeting Again, a Dream I Don't Want to Wake From (Part 2)]

"Cao Qi, how's the matter I asked you to do this morning?"