Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

"No problem. In fact, you should eat more when you're sick, because the more you eat, the faster you'll recover..."

Does what you're saying conform to common biological sense? Yuri stared wide-eyed.

He had actually spoken aloud because he heard Mingmei's reply.

"Yes, yes, absolutely yes. Although Grandpa remained silent about it, both wild boar and bear can aid in recovery after a big meal."

...Apologize, apologize to your grandfather immediately.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Akemi quickly began her ritual. Yuri still couldn't understand it, but he could see that as Akemi spun and gestured, the spiritual energy on the clay figure was fluctuating and becoming unstable.

And eventually it dissipated, flowing entirely to Akemi.

According to Akemi, her ritual was what's called "my own style"... which is essentially unorthodox. It doesn't have any particular mystical significance; its main purpose is to help her concentrate.

Regardless, as long as it worked, that was enough. After the ritual, Yuri did not sense any residual spiritual energy on the clay figure.

The bad news is that Akemi fell ill after the ceremony. She was very strong—or rather, very stubborn—claiming that her greatest pain came from the incongruity of thinking she was sick when she had no physical problems.

Even so, Yuri still helped her to bed, since she was already walking unsteadily and her eyes were glazed over—or rather, darting around randomly—she didn't look healthy at all.

She slept for almost twelve hours straight, from noon until midnight.

Then she got up and ate some hardened rice and cold braised meat with water—she ate it quite quickly and with relish, finishing half of it in one sitting.

It seems that what I said before about her still being able to eat a lot to replenish her energy when she was sick was true... at least for her...

During this time, Yuri flipped through his biology book but didn't find any specific details. However, he always felt that if the main nutritional supply was given to the system that fights disease, then the digestive system should become relatively weak, leading to a decrease in appetite.

Akemi shattered this understanding, and this time Yuri wasn't sure if it was the behavior of an abnormal person—what if everyone in this world is actually like this?

In short, after that, Akemi tidied up her personal hygiene and went back to sleep.

According to Yuri's observation, Akemi's condition has improved from barely being able to walk to having unsteady steps, indicating that her condition has indeed improved.

Most importantly, Yuri did sense that the nameless spiritual energy around Akemi was diminishing.

That's great. It seems that a regular lifestyle really has its merits. Mingmei's daily life is very regular, with 95% of the time spent in bed. It's extremely regular.

With a sense of relief, Yuri began to do what he had always wanted to do, but had not been able to do for various reasons.

Research new capabilities.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"At the very beginning of every journey there are two questions: how to get to the starting point, and where to go." — Anonymous

Yuri had a certain understanding of his starting point, but he was completely clueless about where he was going. After this period of struggle, he gained a deeper understanding of himself, that is, he realized that he had many abilities that he did not know about.

Actually, if you think about it carefully, Yuri, this amnesiac patient, can't be said to have figured out his starting point; it's just that he wasn't completely clueless.

In short, without knowing where he was or where he was going, Yuri's exploration of his abilities remained at the level of casting a wide net, blindly stumbling around, and relying on excitement to instinctively act and then replicate those instincts.

Today, this situation will be changed—at least that's what Yuri is telling himself.

If one believes that the unknown patterns that appeared after encountering the source of the calamity represent Yuri's own power, then it means that Yuri's power encompasses both the realms of death and matter... Of course, both of these realms are incredibly vast, and Yuri's demonstrated abilities are far from worthy of such a great reputation, but at least they represent a direction for research.

Moreover, this direction aligns perfectly with the facts; Yuri has indeed demonstrated power related to these two areas. Death goes without saying, and as for matter…

Yuri stared at the light switch in the living room. Soon, with a click, the switch went from off to on, and then went back off under Yuri's gaze.

Yuri has the ability to make tiny structures move on their own. He can apply a very light force to them, enough to move even relatively small structures.

The largest thing that can be moved right now is the lock cylinder, specifically the padlock cylinder.

Although allowing the padlock cylinder to rotate means that the locking mechanism is also moved, it is not a very large thing.

Once the target reached the doorknob, Yuri felt that the doorknob did move slightly, but it was still far from "turning to open the door"—increasing energy output and duration might help, but it was by no means easy.

In ancient times, this level of ability would be enough to scare people at midnight, but in modern society, there are more and more ingenious little gadgets, and most of them have a very convenient switch.

It is not impossible to influence the delicate circuit itself, but it is easy to amplify the impact and cause it to malfunction directly. It is necessary to have a detailed understanding of its structure and intervene slowly.

Of course, this was also part of his ability. Yuri placed his hand on Minmei's old-fashioned radio and began to sense its internal structure—although he quickly withdrew due to a headache, he did "sense" part of the radio's internal structure before he became dizzy.

Well, modern society has its downsides too. Things are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it more and more difficult to understand the whole picture. Moreover, Yuri needs to know exactly what each point in the system does in order to ensure that the changes will bring about the results he desires, rather than simply causing a complete breakdown or, worse, a short circuit and an explosion.

This means more learning, research, and development of one's abilities are needed; one could say you'll be quite busy.

The best news is that, perhaps due to his hard work and training during this period (or perhaps the last bit of strength he had squeezed out in the face of life and death), Yuri discovered that the energy consumption of using his abilities had been greatly reduced. For example, in the operation just now, the part involving playing with the switch had almost no energy consumption, while sensing the internal structure of the radio did.

Whether it was due to a sudden surge in his abilities or the fact that he had finally recalled what he used to know, Yuri was temporarily kept in the dark—in any case, it was incredibly good news. Yuri eagerly anticipated the day when he could reach a state of near-zero energy consumption, although he seriously doubted whether it was truly possible.

The next test Yuri needs to do is a bit more complicated.

Yuri filled a clean basin halfway with water—this basin had previously been used to stir fuel, so cleaning it took some effort. He tried to let the sticky, dried-out substance run off on its own, but while there was some water being used, nothing happened; changing a solid was probably too much work.

Fortunately, Akemi washes her face directly with her hands, so she basically doesn't need a basin... So why did she buy this?

In short, that's not important. After using a series of items, including Akemi's laundry detergent and a brush whose purpose was unknown, Yuri managed to remove the grease stains.

Then he filled a basin halfway with water and stared intently at it. After a while, the water in the basin began to flow, forming a perfectly flat eddy.

Yuri's original intention was to make the water flow continuously, eventually revealing the bottom in the middle—to achieve this visual effect. However, this is the best he can do for now; further effort would require more resources. He has now achieved his initial goal, confirming his ability to influence the flow of amorphous matter.

The premonition while stirring the fuel seems to have come from this. If Yuri had realized his abilities and had enough energy at the time, he could have made the fuel stir itself, thus achieving his goal faster... It seems a bit wasteful, but it still has a purpose.

Attempts to utilize this ability on air have also been proven effective, but unlike liquid vortices, which are clearly visible, air is difficult to observe and is constantly interacting with other air around it, making it more difficult to achieve results or to control precisely.

The next part was more dangerous, and Yuri only began it after completing several other tests.

This part is actually one that Yuri is more confident about.

Yuri quietly went downstairs and stole a small twig. This test wouldn't require a very long one, but Yuri still made a special selection, trying to choose a relatively straight one to help reduce errors later on.

Using Akemi's knife, cut a slit roughly in the middle of the branch, then tear it open by hand, roughly dividing it into two longitudinal halves.

The original plan was to cut it into two longitudinal halves. Perhaps due to the force applied, or perhaps because it wasn't cut properly, one side quickly became thinner and eventually fell off the main stem, becoming a long, slanted strip.

"Fine, this will work too." Yuri picked up the knife again and cut off a strip of about the same size from the other side.

...Speaking of which, what's this shape called again? Yuri thought for a while but couldn't remember. What's the piece cut off from a slanted cylinder called?

In short, considering the rough edges and the fact that the two sides weren't exactly the same size, there was still room for improvement. But it was more likely that more cuts would be made on the left side and more cuts on the right side... Yuri decided not to go through all that trouble and just leave it close enough.

He then took out Mingmei's lighter and began to burn section number one.

I looked at the wall clock and noted down the time it took for the cross-section to turn black.

Then they switched to another one and began the same burning...or at least the same burning.

This time, Yuri stared intently, trying to make himself wish it would burn faster.

Record the time it took for the cross-section to turn almost black.

The second time took 20% less time than the first time.

—Very good, basically in line with Yuri's expectations, but we still need to check if the two sides of the branch are different. If the two sides of the branch are different in material due to factors such as sunlight and water, it cannot be considered a success.

Then use a knife to cut off the branches with the two corners cut off, cut them into a roughly cylindrical shape.

Then, following the same method, cut out two corners again—Yuri had already given them a name in his mind: obliquely cut irregular geometric shapes of cylinders.

The procedure is the same as before. The difference is that this time the numbering order of the two sections is reversed.

After all, as previously speculated, it is possible that one side is more flammable than the other.

The results were different. This time, the second section turned black only 10% faster than the first section. Although it was still observable, it was not very noticeable.

Yuri fell into thought. Although it didn't fundamentally change his initial judgment that, given his fervent desire, matter could become more flammable, there was a difference between the two instances.

Is it because the two sides of the branch are different, or because our expectations are different?

Perhaps we should ask Mingmei to do the third experiment... after she "recovers".

As long as it's not as effective as Akemi's expectations... As long as the branch isn't actually easier to burn on the left side of the top half and the right side of the bottom half... As long as it's not like a lighter gets better and the flame gets bigger after being lit for a while... Oh right, there's also the issue of the need for further processing of the second branch each time and the order in which it should be cut off...

Realizing that he might lose confidence if he continued to eliminate possibilities, Yuri promptly interrupted his wild thoughts.

Chapter Forty-Eight: Learning and Studying

After tidying up the wreckage, Yuri began to summarize his test.

The reason for conducting this test was simple: Yuri had reread his chemistry book and confirmed a previously overlooked issue. White phosphorus has an ignition point of approximately forty degrees Celsius, which decreases slightly in humid environments.

It was the middle of the night; the air wasn't particularly dry, but it wasn't humid either. Clearly, it wasn't 40 degrees Celsius, nor did it meet the criteria for lowering the ignition point of white phosphorus.

Indeed, the book also says that white phosphorus will slowly oxidize, causing some of it to reach its ignition point and begin to burn. This spontaneous combustion can occur as long as it comes into contact with oxygen, and Yuri undoubtedly did not evacuate the oxygen from the bottle.

But there wasn't much time in total, and Yuri was quite certain that it started burning intensely... relatively intensely, after being thrown onto the target. —It's still possible that smoldering inside the bottle raised the temperature, and then, upon contact with oxygen after being sprinkled on the target, it began to burn rapidly.

But Yuri didn't recall the bottle's temperature rising significantly, and if that were the case, it shouldn't have started sparking after it touched the shadow.

It's a pity I didn't pay attention to the flow of spiritual essence at the time; if I had, I might have known about it much earlier.

Furthermore, there was the burning of aluminum powder and other materials later on... Thinking about it carefully, when he was entangled by the shadowy figure, the powder he scattered could only barely cover his body and did not gather into a pile. Was it really that easy to ignite under such circumstances? Yuri was not sure if burning under such circumstances was normal, but it was obviously not the optimal state for combustion.

However, if we take Yuri's "urgent desire" into account, it's not surprising. Yuri can be quite certain that his desire at the time was extremely strong, after all, it was a matter of life and death.

Of course, during that period, Yuri was constantly experiencing a lack of spiritual essence. The source was already scarce, and he often spent it in a hurry. It would be strange if he had enough spiritual essence.

The reason for skipping further testing and going straight to the summary is simple: Yuri has once again exhausted his spiritual essence, and now there's nothing he can do except summarize. Of course, he could continue trying, but in this situation, the question becomes whether the failures are due to insufficient ability or a lack of energy.

On the bright side, the inherent properties of matter are written in books, which greatly reduces the workload, and these books are accessible to everyone!

Thanks to chemistry, thanks to physics, thanks to all the great scholars who have diligently increased the burden on students—Yuri couldn't help but sing praises in his heart for the great progress humanity has made over the years.

Matter is much easier to talk about than death. With countless great human beings making efforts to study matter, as long as we compare what we have changed with what matter should be like, we can understand what we have done and further master it.

Of course, he can't be considered without flaws... Material things are everywhere in life, and if Yuri doesn't have a deeper awareness of his own behavior, he might very easily exhaust himself without even realizing it.

But this price is far too low; compared to the power gained, or rather, the clear understanding of one's own power, it is insignificant.

However... this also leaves a mystery that is still very far away.

If one can change matter with hope and mind, then how is the study of matter conducted? Mingmei's knowledge proves that Yuri is not the only person/being in the world who can change things with wishes. Wouldn't this leave behind a large number of things that look the same as the original matter but are actually very different in nature, causing great damage to the establishment of the theory?

Or perhaps, the change isn't actually permanent? If this change reverts to its original state after a period of time, what remains might not be enough to confuse scholars.

probably.

Another point is that scholars either lack such abilities or have considerable control over their own abilities, sufficient to complete the study of "natural" situations, rather than being trapped by supernatural forces and unable to find the so-called truth.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Night fell again, and Akemi had been lying in bed for more than twenty-four hours.

She can't sleep now; she's in a state where her body is calling for rest but her mind is too awake.

So when there was a knock at the door, she was lying down meditating.

Is this the first time anyone else has come to this run-down place? Yuri was quite shocked.

The knocking didn't stop; it continued softly and slowly.

Yuri glanced at the room where Akemi was, but didn't see anything unusual. He then quickly put the suspicious burnt material in the corner, hid the empty lighter, and in spirit form went to the door, went out, and took a look.

Standing at the door was Chinami Kurin, who looked very nervous. She was alone; Mr. Kurin was not there.

When Yuri poked his head out, she seemed to sense something, looked up at where Yuri's head was, but probably didn't find anything... otherwise, the sight of a head coming out of the door would have been quite frightening.

She was carrying a plastic bag containing what looked like a box of snacks.

Yuri rushed back to Akemi's house and told her about it.

"What is she here for?" Mingmei didn't react for a moment.

"Just from the fact that you said that, it's clear you're still sick—of course you're here to visit."

"Then let her in. I'll go open the door," Mingmei said, getting out of bed.

"...Wait? What if she collapses on the spot after seeing you when she comes in?" Yuri suddenly remembered what happened at school before.

"It shouldn't be like that. As I understand it, what I have now is just a simple 'condition' and it won't change." Mingmei was quite certain. "And even if I'm wrong, the 'condition' has weakened considerably now, so nothing will happen—and then I can just absorb it back, right?"

Yuri wasn't so sure, but since the expert said so, he didn't know how to refute it.

Anyway, Yuri rolled out of the bedroom, and soon, Akemi, wearing her school uniform, appeared... "Can't you find any other clothes to wear?" Yuri complained as he watched Akemi open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Chinami spoke nervously, "Are you Kakizaki's...older sister? I'm here to visit her in the hospital. I'm her friend, Chinami."

Yuri, who was crouching on the stone lantern in the corner of the living room watching, was shocked... Chinami had stepped on every possible spot, either because she was extremely unlucky or because she was extremely determined.

"No, no, no, what are you talking about, Chinami? It's me." Akemi stepped aside to make way for the living room. "Come in first."

"Huh?" Chinami seemed to feel like she had missed her punch, and walked in somewhat dazedly.