Very soon, the sun set, and Academy City welcomed the night.
"Hmm…"
By the side of an artificial lake in School District 21, Fang Li looked as if he had just finished some kind of battle and had come to a conclusion.
"There are no obvious marks left on the surface of your body, so the likelihood of it being some kind of drug is higher."
Hearing this calm judgment from the man in front of her, Shokuhou Misaki could only grit her teeth. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she picked up the thin sweater that had been tossed aside, hurriedly and clumsily putting it on.
To this, Fang Li gave a completely composed evaluation.
"Don't worry. Even if your underwear were the dangerous white lace spiderweb style, I still wouldn't be interested in a brat who isn't fully developed."
That single sentence made something in Shokuhou Misaki's head snap, and immediately, Shokuhou Misaki slowly stood up from the ground.
Her charming face was now completely flushed with the red of humiliation and fury.
"You stripped me completely and groped me all over… and you still dare say that…?!"
In her humiliation and anger, Shokuhou Misaki reached into the handbag slung over her shoulder and pulled out a remote control.
Seeing this, Fang Li's eyes flashed slightly.
---"Mental Out."
This ability could handle all operations related to the mind and spirit, practically omnipotent like a Swiss Army Knife.
Only, while this ability possessed overwhelming utility and versatility, it also came with drawbacks that even Shokuhou Misaki herself could not fully control.
After all, if one overused such an ability, not only would the target be damaged, even the user's own mind and spirit could be destroyed.
Therefore, in order to make such an overwhelmingly powerful ability manageable, Shokuhou Misaki set many self-imposed rules that subdivided her power.
For example, so she wouldn't become complacent or corrupt due to how convenient the ability was, Shokuhou Misaki didn't forbid herself from using her ability, but she would give a certain degree of care and attention to those she had manipulated.
For another example, as someone who could freely manipulate the hearts of others, Shokuhou Misaki would also fight to protect their hearts.
And another, when using her ability, Shokuhou Misaki had to use a remote control to aim at her target.
Because of this, her shoulder bag contained all sorts of remote controls.
These self-imposed rules were part of the "knowledge" required to use her ability, so they should not have been lost.
Now, Shokuhou Misaki had taken one out and aimed it at Fang Li.
Seeing this, Fang Li's expression didn't change at all.
"What?" Fang Li said with a half-smile. "You planning to erase my memories?"
Shokuhou Misaki bit her lip, looking as if she had suffered some deep injustice.
At this, Fang Li couldn't help but laugh.
"You're a lot kinder than I imagined," he said. "That's why you won't use the ability on me, because right now, you only have 'knowledge,' but no 'experience.'"
That was the downside of memory loss.
Although Shokuhou Misaki still possessed the knowledge of how to use her ability, she no longer had the experience of actually using it. And in such a state, if she used her ability recklessly, it might cause unimaginable aftereffects on the target's mind and spirit.
It was also because of this that Shokuhou Misaki had not used her own Ability to check her own mind/energetic state. Otherwise, with Shokuhou Misaki's Ability, she might have already discovered the cause of her memory loss and perhaps even found a solution.
Of course, Shokuhou Misaki only learned, after Fang Li told her, that her Ability had reached Lv.5 Rank, that it was the strongest psychic-type Ability, and that she herself was Tokiwadai's fifth-ranked, Shokuhou Misaki.
Under such circumstances, Shokuhou Misaki hesitated again and again, but ultimately still could not bring herself to use the Ability.
However, thinking of how she had just desperately resisted, yet still ended up being stripped naked, touched all over, thoroughly examined from head to toe, and then received evaluations like "not fully developed brat" and "not interested," Shokuhou Misaki felt a surge of resentment and silently made a vow.
(Once I regain my memories, I'll definitely completely reset this man's memory!)
Thinking up to that point, Shokuhou Misaki finally forced herself to forget this matter. Then, staring at the faintly amused Fang Li, she remained silent for a while before speaking.
"It's amazing you can still act so calm around me." Hearing this, Fang Li slightly raised his brows.
And Shokuhou Misaki, as if the topic had been opened, pointed the remote control at Fang Li while showing a provocative smile.
"Normally, no one would want to be around an Ability-user like me, right?"
This wasn't something she said just to provoke Fang Li. Shokuhou Misaki genuinely believed this.
"I'm an Ability-user who can interfere with anyone's mind. If someone knows my background clearly, they definitely wouldn't want to get close to me, right?" Shokuhou Misaki smiled at Fang Li. "After all, who knows when I might peek into their heart and turn them into my popularity~☆"
Even someone with no secrets in their heart would feel uncomfortable about others freely peeking into their mind and memories, right?
This was exactly what Shokuhou Misaki was referring to.
"So what?" Fang Li glanced at Shokuhou Misaki and said without a care, "Isn't that exactly why you've been wary of me from the moment I suggested we act together, thinking I approached you with ulterior motives?"
Having such suspicions would indeed be normal.
"Because, you have no reason to help me, right?" Shokuhou Misaki said directly. "According to your explanation, we didn't even know each other before. Helping me like this brings you absolutely no benefit, does it?"
"I wouldn't say there's no benefit. It's just that it doesn't harm you either," Fang Li said. "In that case, isn't acting together the best choice?"
"Is that so?" Shokuhou Misaki gave a dismissive smile. "Aren't you afraid I'll peek into your heart and throw your inner world into chaos?"
Those words made Fang Li turn his head toward Shokuhou Misaki.
After a moment, Fang Li clicked his tongue.
"I'm saying," Fang Li said, "If even you don't believe in something, how do you expect anyone else to believe it?"
"In other words, you think I won't use my Ability on you?" Shokuhou Misaki asked, somewhat amused. "Too bad, you guessed wrong. I'm not stingy about using this Ability."
"I know," Fang Li said indifferently. "I was talking about you throwing someone's inner world into chaos."
Leaving behind those words, Fang Li turned and began walking toward Yamashita.
Only Shokuhou Misaki was left standing there, holding the remote control, staring at Fang Li's back as she fell into becomes silent.
"…What the heck…" Shokuhou Misaki muttered.
"He said it as if he understood me so well… I don't even have the strength to argue back…"
After saying that, Shokuhou Misaki sighed, put away the remote control, and followed behind Fang Li.
Neither of them noticed,
Up in the sky, a balloon was drifting past.
Beneath the balloon was a red light.
It was the indicator of a surveillance camera in operation.
(End Of This Chapter)
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