Nagai's Choice, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Sato's rate of growth did not disappoint Bai Xing.

Especially since, under his planning, he had also borrowed the research institute's resources.

Over the past few days, Bai Xing had received a great deal of nourishment, and the Ancient Tree had absorbed quite a bit as well.

Bai Xing poured all that nourishment into the Electromagnetic Branch, causing it to flash once more with dazzling white, purple, and blue currents.

Then it began condensing a fruit.

And today, the Electromagnetic Fruit had finally ripened.

Bai Xing plucked the fruit. After eating its flesh, he obtained another Fruit Core.

Back at the research institute, Bai Xing had already witnessed Nagai Kei's potential.

He decided to plant this Fruit Core within him.

Before leaving, he used electric currents to transmit knowledge related to the Magnetic Field Rotation system into Nagai's mind.

Once Nagai reached the relevant level, he would understand the principles behind it.

By the time Nagai Kei woke up, it was already evening.

The sun was setting, its afterglow like gold.

It dyed the horizon a sheet of golden light.

The distant mountains rose and fell like an unfinished melody, especially moving in the twilight.

Bai Xing was long gone.

"That guy really is... completely inexplicable."

Nagai recalled how he had clearly refused, yet the other man had still insisted on giving him some kind of Magnetic Field Seed.

It left him with an uneasy feeling.

But it was too late to say anything now. He and his Little Black had been utterly helpless before that man.

When Bai Xing made his move, they had not merely failed to resist—they had not even had time to put up a decent struggle.

They had simply been knocked unconscious.

At this moment, Nagai felt as though something strange had appeared inside his body.

Yet he could not say exactly what it was.

It was truly bizarre.

When he returned to Mountain Granny's cabin, she was not home.

Feeling a little thirsty, Nagai picked up the metal cup on the table and took a drink.

Then something that left him utterly dumbfounded happened. The cup seemed to stick to his hand, and he could not put it down.

"Huh?"

He shook it hard, and Nagai felt as though some kind of force was acting between him and the cup.

When he tried to stir that force—

Clatter!

The iron objects in the room began trembling, then all flew toward him.

They clung tightly to Nagai's body. He was like a giant magnet, drawing in every metal object.

Panic rose in Nagai's heart, and he relaxed his hold on that force.

Clatter!

The sounds of metal colliding rang out continuously as everything attached to him fell away.

Still shaken, Nagai felt over his body and looked worriedly at the mess around him. What would he do if Granny found out?

Speak of the devil.

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and Mountain Granny returned with a basket on her arm.

"Oh my, did a thief break into the house?"

"I'm sorry, Granny. It's all my fault."

"You really are as naughty as my grandson. Never mind, let me first see whether you're hurt."

Only then did Nagai realize that quite a few larger metal objects had flown over and struck his body.

Yet he had not been injured at all!

The next day.

Nagai had not slept since the previous night.

Yet he still did not feel tired. Instead, he was full of energy.

For an entire day and night, he had been testing the power he had newly acquired.

Electromagnetic force!

Just as that mysterious man had said.

He had gained the ability to manipulate magnetic fields!

Aside from that, he had not found any signs of side effects.

Even his basic physical abilities had improved considerably.

Sitting on a cushion, Nagai looked at the fountain pen on the table not far away.

He began wielding that power.

As he tugged at the magnetic field, the pen indeed moved.

But the next second—

Whoosh!

The pen shot straight at him and plunged deep into his palm.

Intense pain shot through him, making Nagai grimace.

He pulled out the pen, looked at the bloody hole in the center of his palm, and simply killed himself to reset his body's negative condition.

After cleaning away the blood, he returned to the cushion.

His gaze fixed on the pen as he cautiously raised his right hand again.

"This time, I need to slow it down."

Tap!

After being drawn over, the pen traced an arc through the air and planted itself directly into the floor.

Nagai grabbed at his hair in frustration.

"This is so hard!"

He could not help recalling the first time he saw Bai Xing. Even bullets fired from Sato's assault rifle could be casually controlled and held suspended in midair.

Later, Sato had also been able to use a single steel ball to slaughter the guards in the research institute.

"Ah! Looks like I still need a lot more practice."

Just then, a livestream popped up on the laptop beside him.

A sweet-looking female reporter stood before the camera.

"I am currently outside the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare building. There is one hour left until 3 p.m., the time scheduled for the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's destruction.

As you can see, the police and riot squads are conducting strict security operations.

No abnormalities have occurred so far. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also issued a statement this morning completely prohibiting outsiders from entering.

Under such tight security, will Sato truly act as he claimed?

Or was it merely a joke?

Please wait and see.

This has been an on-site report from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare."

Through the camera, Nagai could see that numerous heavily armed soldiers had already been deployed beneath the building.

The defenses indeed looked formidable.

Even Ajin with immortal bodies would find it virtually impossible to charge in by force.

But that did not mean Sato could not get inside!

Nagai had witnessed Sato's strength after gaining Magnetic Force!

Coupled with an Ajin's immortality, those people could not stop him at all.

And there were so many reporters and civilians watching the spectacle nearby.

"Damn it...!"

Nagai clenched his fists.

After all, he was not the Nagai Kei from the manga—the one so calm he was cold-blooded, so rational he was utterly detached.

He was merely some inexplicable fool who, after seeing Sato shoot someone, would immediately get hot-blooded and be overcome with saintly compassion, turn against the people who had come to rescue him on the spot, and run off to help the researchers who had hurt him!

Whether he wanted to or not, once he too possessed Magnetic Force, he made a decision.

He abruptly rose to his feet, threw open the door, and sprinted toward the city.

He happened to run into Mountain Granny as she returned and nearly crashed into her.

Granny was startled at first, then shouted, "You're so reckless! Slow down, slow down! Don't fall!"

Unfortunately, Nagai had already run far away and could not hear her at all.

As she pushed open the door to enter, Granny said with some confusion, "That boy... doesn't it feel like he runs awfully fast?"

That was right!

Nagai Kei was running very fast, and getting faster and faster!

Like a cheetah in the forest, he could cover dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.

Without suitable transportation, reaching the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare from this rural area in an hour was nearly impossible.

But at his current speed, even relying solely on his own two legs, he could arrive before the deadline!

The area around the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare had long been packed solid with citizens there to watch the spectacle.

Sure enough, watching a spectacle was human nature. Even if it might cost them their lives, plenty of people still came specifically to watch.

But one person had not come to watch the spectacle—he had come to stop it from happening!

"!!"

Nagai Kei took a couple of deep breaths.

He checked the time. He had made it before three o'clock.

But there were less than five minutes left, and he still had not seen any sign of Sato.

Just how was he planning to destroy the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare?