"Kuroko, move aside. This is personal now!" After seeing Saten Ruiko attacked by the criminal, Misaka Mikoto no longer intended to hold back. That bastard—she would deal with him personally.
The criminal frantically ran into a car, but who knew where he got the courage from—certainly not from Fish Leong. In the blink of an eye, he got hotheaded and, instead of fleeing, slammed on the gas and made a sharp turn, trying for a desperate counterkill. But could an LV.5 really be defeated that easily? Of course not. He had no idea what he was about to face.
Misaka Mikoto pulled out an arcade token and held it between her fingers. Powerful currents spread around her body, gathering in her right hand. The others present saw only a flash of orange light as a beam carrying terrifying kinetic force shot toward the oncoming sedan. By all rights, the car should have been destroyed or blasted away—but at that moment, something unexpected happened.
A figure suddenly appeared between the car and the coin. Facing the car, he completely ignored the Railgun already flying toward his back. Before even Misaka Mikoto could react, the Railgun slammed into his back. Amid everyone's cries of alarm, a violent explosion erupted. Misaka Mikoto's expression changed. She had never imagined someone would step into her firing path. That person probably...
What would happen when the Railgun, whose shockwave alone could gouge a deep trench through a concrete road, struck a human body? Logically speaking, this unlucky guy should not even have had a complete corpse left behind. Yet he did not move a single step, remaining firmly where he stood as the orange beam was directly deflected into the sky.
Shirai Kuroko said in shock, "How is that possible? He actually blocked Onee-sama's Railgun?" Even Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Shiori stood frozen in place. To them, Misaka Mikoto's earth-shattering attack was already a level of power they had never seen before. Yet this unknown newcomer had seemingly blocked that fatal blow with ease, as if she had fired a water gun at him rather than a Railgun.
How many people in Academy City could block the Railgun? Misaka Mikoto did not know the exact number, but she was certain it was no more than five. Even among the LV.5s, aside from the two ranked above her, perhaps no one else could take one of her attacks head-on. Yet this person had casually neutralized her trump card without even revealing his ability. A voice in Misaka Mikoto's heart warned her: this guy was dangerous!
But when the dust settled and Misaka Mikoto saw his face clearly, she froze. It was that guy—the one she had saved from some delinquents that day before he vanished without a trace. His clothes were different, but that rare white hair had left a deep impression on her!
"Who blew up the bank just now?" Luo Yifang glared darkly at the approaching car. With his back to Misaka Mikoto and the others, he had not noticed their presence. Right now, he only wanted the person who had ruined all his efforts to understand just how wonderful this world could be.
No one answered him, but when Luo Yifang saw the man in the car clearly, his memories told him everything that had happened. He sneered and walked straight toward the car. By then, the criminal was nearly scared out of his wits. He had thought that blast would turn him into a brain-damaged wreck, but after seeing the Railgun blocked, a tiny bit of hope rose in his heart. He felt like he might still be saved.
Of course, being saved was impossible. It would never happen in this lifetime. Less than a second later, the poor criminal understood just how dangerous this world truly was. To Luo Yifang, the speeding car was no different from a toy. He raised his right foot and planted it directly on the hood. The roaring steel beast instantly stalled, its rear wheels crazily scraping against the ground until white smoke rose from the rubber tires. The front hood caved in as though it had slammed into a wall.
"The car... stopped?" Saten Ruiko felt that the shocks she had received today surpassed everything from the past decade or so combined.
But what Luo Yifang did next left everyone even more stunned. He pressed down with his right foot, and the car flipped over, landing on its roof like a turtle lying belly-up. Yet it was not over. Luo Yifang reached out and flicked the car body with his index finger, tearing the vehicle cleanly in half. The criminal had not fainted yet. He could only watch his passenger seat leave him behind as he sat there, pinned down by the airbag and trembling uncontrollably. He felt that he must have forgotten to check his horoscope before leaving home today. Why were the people he encountered each more monstrous than the last?
"Without a doubt... he's an LV.5." Shirai Kuroko said solemnly. "But which of the seven is he? No. 4, or No. 2?"
Misaka Mikoto did not reply. She merely stared at Luo Yifang, her eyes filled with an urge called eagerness to fight—she wanted to battle this guy now. He looked far stronger than the people she had beaten up before. At that moment, Luo Yifang yanked the unlucky man out of the car and casually tossed him away like garbage. The criminal flew into the nearby shrubbery and completely passed out.
"So strong..." Saten Ruiko sat dumbly on the ground, not knowing what to say. But when Uiharu Shiori saw Luo Yifang's face clearly, she froze for a moment and bit her lip.
Luo Yifang finally noticed Misaka Mikoto and the others. He sighed. Seeing that familiar sequence of events, he knew what had happened. He had not wanted to come out in the first place, but he really wanted to beat the idiots who had blown up the bank entrance and caused the magic circle to explode into a pulp. But now that Misaka Mikoto and the others had seen him, this was probably going to become another headache.
"Weren't you the one who wanted to drag them into this before?" Paqi seized the opportunity, striking from a tricky angle.
"Drag them into this? Can a matter involving espers even be called dragging them into this? I'm helping them recognize reality!" Luo Yifang retorted forcefully. "Besides, now isn't the time. Yeah, I'm getting out of here first!"
While Misaka Mikoto and the others were still in shock, he needed to make a quick escape. Luo Yifang clearly remembered the miserable reality of Kamijou Touma being pestered by Misaka Mikoto. She was a troublemaker too. To keep his carefree life from being ruined—and, more importantly, to stay away from that person written as Kuroko but read as pervert—even if he was No. 1, he did not want to be pestered by that damn hentai and called an ape or something. So the best thing to do now was run!
Still, Luo Yifang was somewhat reluctant... He wanted to touch the real Misaka Mikoto too. Before this, he had only ever touched figurines! (Boy, those thoughts are dangerous!)
But just as Luo Yifang was about to make his escape, a voice called out, "Wait, you still owe me an explanation!" It nearly made him stumble and fall flat on the ground—What the hell?!
Before you continue