"Really cute."
"Hurry and get ready. She's about to come out."
"Yes."
The girls in white lab coats began making preparations. Kiyama Harumi brought Ren here. This was the day Misaka No. 1 was born, and also the beginning of hell.
Ren understood this very well. Since more than ten thousand Misakas had already been killed in the original story, the plan must have started long ago. It was likely that multiple experiments were carried out every single day.
The girl came out. Because she still couldn't walk properly, she sat on the floor like a duck, looking around. Everything around her felt new and fascinating. With no sense of shame, she didn't care about being watched by men, leaving her important parts completely exposed.
"Next, it's my turn."
Kiyama Harumi stepped forward. Looking at the girl, she felt a trace of reluctance, but once she remembered how the girl had been created, she stopped hesitating. She placed her onto the machine and began transferring data.
Walking, running, and all kinds of basic information were transmitted, along with standard combat data, and most importantly, the mindset of a lab rat.
After the process was complete, Misaka No. 1 was still curious, but her walking already looked fairly natural.
"She can walk already. That's disgusting," one researcher muttered quietly. With her expression, it was clear she couldn't understand it. This was a clone.
Misaka No. 1 clearly didn't hear her. Now that she had thoughts, she began exploring the room. Even when she ran into Ren, she examined him from head to toe.
"Let her get familiar with the place first. The Number One will be brought here after some time."
"Alright."
The two female researchers quickly led her away.
"So, what do you think, Researcher Ren. With just a short while, a weapon can be created," Kiyama Harumi said confidently. She believed that in this field, Ren's level was inferior to hers, even if he had started earlier.
"She only has the mindset of a lab rat. She won't grow," Ren sighed. Dolly's changes were still vivid in his mind. As for No. 1, she felt like nothing more than a test mouse.
"Researcher Ren, every new individual inherits the memories and experience of the previous one. Through constant battles, they will become stronger," Kiyama Harumi felt a little disappointed in Ren. She had thought he was someone impressive, but this was all he had?
"Kiyama Harumi, you don't understand," Ren said with a smile. "When humans are trying to survive, they'll do anything. That includes summarizing failures, figuring out how not to die, rather than how to defeat others."
"How not to die?" Kiyama Harumi nodded. "I'll take your suggestion."
"I'll come back on the day of the experiment," Ren said before leaving. It wasn't that he didn't want to save her. Saving someone who had no will to survive had no meaning at all.
If Kiyama Harumi had followed his own advice and implanted in the Misaka clones a desire not to die, he would have interfered, even if it meant drawing the attention of Academy City's top figures.
On the way back, thinking about how identical the other looked to Dolly, Ren couldn't help but feel irritated. This Academy City was far too dark.
At the same time, Kiyama Harumi did indeed implant the thought of not wanting to die into Misaka Number One. She wanted to see how the clone would react when faced with a situation where death was inevitable.
Sure enough, after the new thought was implanted, Misaka Number One looked at Kiyama Harumi and asked, "Researcher, will Misaka die? Can she avoid dying?"
Seeing the obvious fear in her eyes surprised Kiyama Harumi. If she implanted normal human thinking into a clone, would it still be just a clone?
Quickly, Kiyama Harumi extracted the emotion—fear—from her.
Misaka Number One returned to her original state, but the seed had been planted. It would likely only sprout when she faced death.
Kiyama Harumi dared not implant any more human thoughts into the clone. She treated her solely as a weapon of war.
In this, she began to understand Ren a little. Perhaps Number Zero possessed human-like thinking, which is why Ren, upon seeing the clones, also treated them as human.
Meanwhile, Ren returned to his residence. Shokuhou Misaki and Dolly were already asleep. Sitting on the sofa, he began contemplating the tasks ahead.
In this world, there existed a Magic God. He didn't yet know his own strength, but he was certain he could easily defeat Accelerator.
His plan was simple and brutal: defeat him before the other could analyze his powers.
Early the next morning, Ren was informed that the first experiment with Number One would take place that evening. Accelerator would be present, and he was invited to witness it firsthand.
During the day, everything proceeded as usual. He lectured students and played around with Shokuhou Misaki. It was surprisingly enjoyable.
Yet, his unusual behavior was keenly noticed by the psychic Shokuhou Misaki on the way home.
"Ren, did something happen last night?" she asked after thinking for a moment.
"You really can't hide anything from me, huh? Dolly—is she a clone of someone?"
"Of Misaka," Shokuhou replied, recalling the student whose mind she could not read.
"Take a look at this." Ren tossed her his notebook.
"You wrote this by hand?" Shokuhou opened it and was somewhat surprised.
"Don't focus on that. Look at the content," Ren said, concentrating on driving.
Shokuhou began reading patiently. Everything Ren had recorded—the Level 6 Shift, the twenty thousand sisters, and Accelerator—she knew about this figure.
The researchers all took pride in him. He was considered the perfect esper.
But now, none of that mattered. Could the No. 1 Esper really level up to Lv6 just by massacring twenty thousand sisters?
How was that possible? Could killing really make someone stronger?
It was ridiculous. She had accessed so many people's memories and still couldn't grow stronger—so why should a calculation from a Tree Diagram determine her potential?
The more she read the information, the heavier Shokuhou Misaki's heart grew. She couldn't forgive these people, especially those who actually considered Tohori a failure.
After a long pause, Shokuhou Misaki spoke up. "Ren, what would you do?"
"Of course, I'd destroy this experiment. There's one person whose memory I need you to help alter, though it might not even be necessary." Ren thought of Kiyama Harumi. She was still a key figure, after all—a genius girl in her own right.
"Alright. But what will be the final outcome?" Shokuhou Misaki asked, though she had agreed.
Ren was a researcher; she couldn't defeat the Number One. Could the two of them really stop this experiment?
"Accelerator will give up." Ren, though he despised Accelerator's methods, understood his psychology through the original events. As long as Misaka begged for her life, he wouldn't strike again.
"Okay." Shokuhou Misaki trusted Ren. That was also why he was the only one in the artificial lab who hadn't been hypnotized.
First, Ren sent Shokuhou Misaki back home. Then he showed her a picture of Kiyama Harumi. Of course, he didn't reveal her exact location. If that old scoundrel, Kihara Gensei, saw her, he might change his plan—and that couldn't happen.
It was better for things to develop according to his plan. So first, they would understand the other side's movements, and only then would Shokuhou Misaki use her abilities. That was the safer approach.
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