One-way traffic

Facing the two people, the voice continued to speak.

“This woman’s life is now in my hands, and in return, I hope to obtain the data you just found.”

"Of course, you can choose not to care about this woman's fate, whether she lives or dies is irrelevant, I don't care anyway. But I think the more important point is, do you really want to consider becoming my enemy?"

The tone of his voice seemed to carry a hint of arrogance.

This immediately prompted the number one in Academy City to sneer.

"Hey, you don't actually think you're so great, do you? Hiding alone in some dark corner like a bedbug in the sewer, you're laughable. You think you can beat me with your lowlife status?"

"Didn't I say this before? I don't believe a human like me can defeat a monster like you."

Just as the voice said, he did not intend to confront Accelerator and Takibayashi personally.

He will only choose other options.

"I could simply hide deep within the city and watch you slowly perish due to lack of food and electricity. Even if you use your previous power to destroy the entire city, it doesn't matter. After all, I'm the only one in the world who knows how to escape from here."

"In other words, it doesn't matter whether you destroy the entire city along with me, or try to find me in the shadows and kill me. If you do that, it will be as if you cut off your own lifeline."

"I've said it this way, I think even a three-year-old should understand, right?"

The first person immediately clicked their tongue in amazement.

Even if he were to fly into a rage and destroy the entire city along with that guy, he would still never be able to find the way out of that damned city that was hidden in his mind. Moreover, even if he tried to figure out how to escape the city on his own, with limited electricity and food, it would only lead to certain death.

We must choose to negotiate with this guy no matter what.

More importantly, that pampered young lady is still in that guy's hands.

Accelerator is indeed an unparalleled villain, but villains are also graded. Top-tier villains will not allow innocent people to be implicated in their affairs.

All of this made the first person feel like they were being led by the nose by others.

That bastard is so annoying!

"How about it? I think this is a pretty good proposal. One thing can subdue another. Use the zombie virus source code in your possession to exchange for this woman's life. Isn't this much better than those extremely barbaric methods you thought of before?"

"Let me ask you this first: what is your purpose in wanting this virus code?"

"...That's none of your business."

He chuckled softly, and thus issued his final ultimatum.

"Then, as I said, you won't be able to find me unless you blow the whole city to smithereens. Of course, I don't care, as long as you don't mind being trapped in this godforsaken place forever."

"At 7 p.m., I will launch a signal flare from the sky, and then we will meet at the corresponding building."

"I look forward to meeting you all, especially you, the one with white hair and red eyes."

The sound completely disappeared.

It seems that even tracing the source of the sound won't lead to where that guy is. If Accelerator really does use plasma to blast the entire city like he did yesterday, they might actually extinguish their own lifeline.

More importantly, Hatsune Miku has also been dragged into this, and even Accelerator can't guarantee her safety now.

Only the first person and Takibayashi remained in the same spot.

"…what to do."

Takibayashi took a deep breath and looked at the white-haired figure beside him with some difficulty.

"We have to find that person no matter what, after all, Hatsune Miku is still in his hands..."

"I understand this without you having to tell me."

The first person, leaning on a cane, walked out from the stairwell.

He returned to the entrance where they had first smashed the blackboard and found that the glass window on the right had been smashed directly.

So he really did run away with that young lady?

Accelerator put the pistol back into his pocket and leaned against the wall behind him.

Stay calm.

The current situation is a threat to him, but the more this is the case, the more rational the number one in Academy City must be.

Simply venting anger is useless. Even if he used all his strength to bring the entire Earth's surface into the era of the dinosaur extinction caused by a meteorite, the situation would not improve.

Takibayashi also came out.

“I said, one side.”

He looked at Accelerator and said somewhat seriously.

"I think this will be our final battle."

For Takibayashi, he had a premonition.

After defeating the mastermind behind this, it might be the end of it all. Although he didn't know if that would actually be the case, he always had this feeling.

"Actually, I can't really be considered a good person."

Gazing at the white-haired figure before him, Takibayashi also leaned against the wall behind him.

he said slowly.

"When I first met you, my first thought was, 'At least there's hope. With the invincible number one, everything will be invincible.'"

"At that time, I was only thinking about how to use you. In essence, in this apocalyptic city, I should be the only one who knows everything about you. So at that time, my thoughts about you were simply about using you."

"...But things are different now."

He shook his head, even though it had only been less than two days.

But he has indeed changed.

"Being with you and Hatsune Miku, and everything our team of three went through completely changed my thinking. I finally understand something now."

"Human beings are more likely to form bonds with each other when they experience various hardships and rescues at the brink of life and death... Perhaps these things don't mean much to you, but they are different to me."

"Right now, I truly see you and Hatsune Miku as a team, three real partners together..."

The first person didn't interrupt, nor did he curse and mock Takibayashi as he usually did.

He simply listened quietly to what he had to say, and that was all.

"No matter what, I will definitely rescue Hatsune Miku."

It's like trying to grasp something.

Takibayashi stretched his hand toward the ceiling and clenched his fist tightly.

"Because I will always consider you my partners. I may be a weak human with no power, but if my partner is in danger, I will do my best to save him."

"Perhaps this is just how humans are. Although the dark side of humanity is indeed so numerous it's nauseating, but ah—"

"Isn't the bond that shines brightly in this darkness precisely what allows us to feel the light?"

Indeed, the malice in human society has reached unimaginable levels in this world, and Accelerator is well aware of this.

But ah.

If you struggle with all your might, there will always be a true bond behind this darkness.

The three of them had gone through life and death together. This bond might not mean much to Accelerator, but for Takibayashi, it had become a guiding light in the darkness.

The same should apply to Hatsune Miku.

Accelerator didn't think much of it.

He simply took the power bank out of his pocket and connected it directly to the electrodes around his neck.

Beep! The battery started charging instantly.

"Yifang, you..."

Takibayashi looked at Accelerator with some surprise.

This was his last power bank. If it ran out, Accelerator would be completely out of options.

But at that moment, he used this last reserve without hesitation.

The person in first place simply wore an extremely calm expression.

"Stop talking nonsense."

He spoke softly as he charged the device.

"Since you've decided to do it, you have to do it to the best of your ability."

"I'm going to rescue that annoying young lady from that bastard's clutches unharmed... so you're not allowed to make any mistakes on my end."

"Understand?"

Those were probably just the same harsh words as usual.

However, Takibayashi knew very well.

His words meant that he had completely regarded the three of them as a team.

He chuckled softly.

"I will follow all your instructions, you most powerful villain."

The standoff that begins in Chapter Eighteen

It was 6:50 p.m.

It's almost time for the agreed-upon time.

The two figures were not in a car; they were simply walking on the street.

Accelerator and Takibayashi.

The two looked around. The surroundings were eerily quiet. There were no zombies or any strange sights. It was like a ghost town.

They knew that all of this was artificially created.

This place is practically the battlefield of the final boss.

Accelerator turned on his phone and checked the time.

"Less than ten minutes left."

At the same moment, he also checked his own electrodes.

"...Is that really the case?"

"What's wrong? Is the battery low?"

Takibayashi looked at Accelerator with great concern.

"No, it's not a battery issue. The current battery level is only enough for me to use for fifteen minutes, but it's basically fine."

Most importantly, it's the feeling of touching the electrodes.

That's the feeling of being disturbed.

A unique electromagnetic wave is eroding its own electrodes.

"That bastard, he actually learned how to use electromagnetic waves for jamming tactics?"

I've already mentioned this before.

The electrodes on the neck of the first person in Academy City have many limitations, such as time limitations and computing power limitations, but more importantly, they are actually limited by interference.

The electrodes themselves are the tools that allow Accelerator to work successfully after being connected to the Misaka Network; in other words, they are a type of electromagnetic wave connector. If they are interfered with by other electromagnetic waves, the electrodes will malfunction.

Accelerator can now feel a strange crackling sensation on his electrodes.

He was able to detect it through real-time calculations; it was something similar to radio wave interference.

In this city, besides Takibayashi and Hatsune Miku, the only other human being is the mastermind hiding in the shadows, and there is no doubt that he was the one who did it.

It seems that through observation, he has realized that one-way electrodes have many limitations in their use.

"Fortunately, the ability can still be used, but it can't be used to such an exaggerated extent."

This is nothing to Accelerator; he can still use the most basic reflection, and relying solely on reflection, he is practically invincible.

However, he still needs to accomplish one thing.

"Takibayashi, I need your help with something in a bit. Take this with you."

He turned on his phone, opened an app, and handed it to Takibayashi.