Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies-Chapter 323 - 317: Assault by the Dark Side, the Board of Directors Becomes Desperate

Chapter 323 - 317: Assault by the Dark Side, the Board of Directors Becomes Desperate

Biribiri was born!

Unfortunately, Misaka Mikoto wasn't passing by at that moment.

Otherwise, knowing her temper, she would've definitely charged over and shouted: "Who are you calling Biribiri?! Don't go around giving people weird nicknames!"

After finishing their meal, Misaki pulled Haruto along to wander around Academy City.

Come to think of it, she hadn't really seen much of this city herself.

Ever since she could remember, she had basically been confined to the hospital, never going outside.

Her memories of this city were limited to images and data on a tablet, as well as what she had seen while following Haruto before.

Misaki felt it was necessary to create some memories together with Haruto.

Right here, in this city.

Haruto let Misaki drag him around without resistance.

Currently, her physical stamina was still at a normal level. She hadn't yet reached the queen-like period where walking just a few steps would leave her exhausted.

Well, maybe because she wasn't burdened by anything yet.

Looking at Misaki's unremarkable figure, Haruto thought to himself.

"Hey! You jerk, were you just thinking something rude?"

Misaki suddenly turned around and glared at Haruto.

Haruto quickly shook his head.

Weird...

He clearly had divine cognition, so his thoughts shouldn't be able to be read at all.

Could this be the legendary Girl Instinct?

Misaki gave Haruto a suspicious look before turning her head back.

As they walked, the two were soon drawn by something. A large crowd had gathered on a street.

Misaki pulled Haruto over.

They saw a big screen displaying Academy City's satellite launch.

The "Vega II" satellite.

It carried the second-generation Tree Diagram. Originally, Academy City had multiple satellites. But unfortunately, those satellites didn't transfer into the main world along with the city. So, under the direction of the Board of Directors, Academy City hastily developed a new satellite.

Along with it came the second-generation Tree Diagram.

After all, its predecessor was also on a satellite, which had lost contact with the city. Many of Academy City's core functions required the support of a supercomputer. So this urgent satellite launch was understandable.

Haruto actually knew about this.

Aleister had submitted a request to him, which he approved.

In fact, even the second-generation Tree Diagram had some involvement from the Foundation.

This was a true quantum computer—countless times more powerful than its predecessor.

Misaki glanced at the crowd and quickly lost interest.

She pulled Haruto, ready to leave.

Just then—

Haruto suddenly sensed something flying toward him.

He casually reached out and caught it.

Looking at what he caught—it was an injection.

It likely contained some kind of hallucinogen or anesthetic.

Haruto raised an eyebrow with interest and looked in the direction it had come from.

Several hundred meters away, a few figures hurriedly ducked behind a building.

"What is it?"

Misaki asked in confusion.

She hadn't noticed the flying injection at all, not to mention seeing Haruto catch it.

It was simply too fast.

Haruto casually crushed the syringe and tossed it in a trash bin, shaking his head.

"It's nothing—just a mosquito."

Misaki blinked at his words.

She looked at her winter clothes, then at the others around them similarly bundled up.

A mosquito? In this season?

"If you don't want to tell me, just say so! Where would a mosquito come from right now!?"

Misaki pouted angrily.

Haruto chuckled and said,

"Maybe some Academy City scientist found it too boring without mosquitoes in winter. So to fill that void, they developed a cold-resistant mosquito species?"

Misaki shivered unconsciously at that thought.

"Then that scientist should be executed on the spot!"

Haruto couldn't help but laugh.

The two of them joked as they left the crowd and continued their stroll.

Meanwhile, on the upper floor of a distant building—

"Uwah, so tricky! He caught it barehanded! Totally unbelievable!"

"What now? He must be on guard now."

"Would've been better if I lured him into a trap instead. Seriously."

Four girls were gathered there, three of them chattering about the recent ambush.

They were equipped with top-tier gear—

Practically the pinnacle of Academy City's science.

The one who fired the syringe had used an extremely precise sniper rifle. Among the four, at least two were Level 4 espers, and one was a Level 5.

A dazzling lineup.

As the three kept talking—

A slightly older woman snorted coldly.

The other three immediately fell silent.

"Takitsubo Rikou, can you track his signal?"

The woman asked.

The girl named Takitsubo Rikou shook her head.

"No... He doesn't have any AIM field on him... Instead, that girl beside him does. And it's really strong."

"Takitsubo, is your ability malfunctioning or something? That guy caught a dart fired from a sniper rifle barehanded!"

"How could he not have an AIM field? He's gotta be a Level 4 or higher physical enhancement esper!"

A blonde girl immediately argued.

Before she could finish, she was silenced by a glare from the woman.

The blonde girl instantly backed off with an awkward smile.

"Then track the one beside him. Tonight, Frenda, you lure him to the designated location."

The blonde girl named Frenda looked a bit nervous.

"But that guy's definitely on alert now. Won't he kill me if I go over there?"

The woman glared at her coldly.

Eventually, Frenda reluctantly nodded, looking utterly defeated.

These four girls were part of Academy City's dark side—a secret organization named ITEM.

Just like Awaki, they worked for the Board of Directors, though under a different division. And ITEM mainly took on assassination-related missions.

Their leader was a Level 5 esper named Mugino Shizuri. Ranked fourth among all Level 5s, with the ability: Meltdowner.

As the name implied, it was an ability centered on destruction.

Meanwhile, Haruto and Misaki continued their stroll.

Regarding the ambush earlier, Haruto already had a good idea of what was going on.

The Board of Directors—Academy City's top authority—

To put it plainly, they were merely Aleister's pawns.

These people could mobilize the dark side and often dabbled in shady, unspeakable activities.

In short, they were the dark side.

Treating espers as mere tools for their benefit, but Haruto's arrival may have disrupted them.

Because of something Haruto said, Aleister began purging the city's darkness.

That purge was starting from the bottom.

The Board members couldn't be removed immediately, otherwise, it would cause instability in the city.

But this bottom-up cleansing had already severely impacted their interests.

They knew the order came from Aleister. Yet they didn't have the power—nor the courage—to oppose him.

At the end of the day, they were just dogs Aleister kept on a leash.

But when wounded, even a dog bites.

They likely learned of Haruto through some channels and realized that Aleister only made his decision to clean house after meeting Haruto.

So, the dogs who couldn't bite Aleister turned their fangs toward Haruto, hoping that eliminating him would restore the city's status quo and make Aleister abandon the purge of the dark side.

Naturally, the ones who took action were the dark side organizations under the Board's control.

Haruto could guess all this with just a little thought.

Aleister hadn't mentioned anything—probably because he didn't think the dark side could harm Haruto.

But now, Haruto planned to use them...

To put on a little show.