Chance Encounter

After taking out the trash, Luo Yifang suddenly discovered that his esper ability seemed to have a major side effect. This forced him to abandon the idea of going home and collapsing onto his bed, instead heading to a fast-food restaurant.

"So the 'side effect' you mentioned is... that you get hungry too quickly?" Paqi felt the corner of her mouth twitch.

"Ahem, get this straight. After the enhancement, I consume too much energy and get hungry again. It doesn't happen during battle..." Luo Yifang buried his head in his food, trying to ignore the waitress beside him, who was looking at him as if he were some kind of monster.

He had already eaten five set meals' worth of food. Given his less-than-bulky build, that was an astonishing amount. Some of the nearby customers had even stopped eating to stare at him. Fortunately, after wolfing down the fifth meal, Luo Yifang finally felt his hunger fade.

And so, beneath everyone's stares, Academy City's No. 1 slunk away in embarrassment. What Luo Yifang did not know was that his ravenous spending spree would actually boost the restaurant's business considerably in the future.

More or less full, Luo Yifang walked down the street while listening to Paqi mock him in his head. "Did you see that just now? That waitress was looking at you like you were a pig!"

"If I ate slowly, I could've stayed there all afternoon..." Luo Yifang said helplessly. He had instinctively overlooked the massive energy expenditure of the enhancement. Until he fully understood his ability, he could only replenish his body through basic food intake. However, Luo Yifang had noticed something: based on what he had eaten, it should have been nowhere near enough to make up for the energy consumed by the enhancement. So where had the rest of that energy come from?

As he pondered the strange phenomena surrounding his new ability, he did not forget to spread out his Vector Shield. It was this spread of his esper ability that had given him his nearly invincible reflection ability. But with Luo Yifang's current power, it was no longer mere reflection. The further increase in his esper ability had turned vectors into his "eyes," even his "ears." Even if he closed his eyes now, it would not affect his normal movements.

However, Luo Yifang had not activated the Vector Shield for any special reason. It simply had abilities similar to an air conditioner, except it was far more versatile. Temperature, humidity, and even lighting could all be maintained at levels most comfortable for the human body. After all, it seemed to be around May or June now, and the weather was getting rather hot.

After withdrawing some cash from the bank to keep on hand, Luo Yifang turned into a deep alley without even raising his head. The blazing sunlight outside was blocked by the tall buildings on either side, making the alley pleasantly cool. Still, the surroundings seemed a little too quiet. Luo Yifang remained absentminded until Paqi's voice sounded beside his ear.

"Hey, Luo Yifang, it looks like two people are coming from in front of you... Hmm, and now there are two behind you as well."

"Oh." Luo Yifang still looked utterly nonchalant. In truth, he had noticed the tails following him long ago. He had only turned into this alley to make dealing with them easier. He did not want to lead a few delinquents back to his dorm. He might have Vector Manipulation, but his house did not. A single physics Holy Sword could probably pry it open.

"Looks like they had their eyes on me since I withdrew money at the bank. Tch, what a pain!" Luo Yifang rubbed his hair, looking thoroughly annoyed. His build had nothing to do with being burly; he even looked somewhat skinny. His muscles were not like those of bodybuilders, after all. He looked exactly like a frail student, and he had gone alone to withdraw cash. It would have been strange if he had not been targeted.

Unfortunately, he definitely would not be the unlucky one today.

The two delinquents approaching Luo Yifang from the front had sleazy looks on their faces. One had a cigarette hanging from his mouth and wore an expression that screamed, "I'm king of the world," the kind that made people want to slap him on sight. "Yo, kid. You look pretty loaded. Lend your big brothers some cash, yeah?"

Luo Yifang glanced at the two behind him who were trying to cut off his retreat, then swept his gaze over the two in front as though looking at idiots. "Pretty practiced at this, aren't you?"

"Heh, you cocky little brat, your bones are a little too stiff. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll help loosen them up. Just hand over a hundred thousand." The other man sneered as he cracked his knuckles and stepped forward to punch Luo Yifang.

Just as his fist was about to enter the reflection range, a blue flash suddenly streaked through the alley entrance. Luo Yifang did not react, but the idiot charging at him convulsed as if electrocuted and collapsed limply to the ground.

"Disciplinary Committee!" The smoker jumped, dropping his cigarette. Naturally, with no concern for the environment, he did not pick it up. Instead, he snarled, "The Disciplinary Committee thinks it's so great, huh?!" With that, he stepped over Luo Yifang and charged toward the figure at the entrance with the other two delinquents, flames bursting from his hands.

Luo Yifang raised an eyebrow. He had already made out the face of the person standing at the alley entrance, along with her distinctive chestnut-brown short hair. A memory instantly surfaced in his mind, and he could not help feeling sorry for the three idiots who had rushed forward. "The one using Fire Control seems to be a Level 3... Still, they're too unlucky."

Luo Yifang nodded thoughtfully. Another matter piqued his interest, so he stopped caring about the miserable fate awaiting the three delinquents. After kicking aside the one lying on the ground as if dead, he casually strode away and vanished out the other end of the alley. "That guy's pretty lucky. If that punch had landed, getting shocked would've been the least of his problems."

Less than half a minute after Luo Yifang left, the remaining three delinquents had all collapsed to the ground, their bodies giving off a scorched smell. Even the Level 3 strong esper was no exception.

"Hmph, a Level 3 strong esper doing this sort of thing?!" Misaka Mikoto looked at the delinquent on the ground in disgust. "Seriously, has Academy City's control over espers gotten this lax?"

Misaka Mikoto dusted off her hands, blue arcs of electricity still quietly dancing through the tips of her hair. Even though the three delinquents had looked far stronger than her physically, she had dealt with all of them in less than thirty seconds. Her clothes were barely even rumpled.

"Good thing I got here in time, otherwise that guy just now... Huh? Where did that boy who was surrounded go?" Misaka Mikoto froze, seemingly quite surprised by Luo Yifang's departure. "Don't tell me that guy... quietly ran away on his own..."

Thinking that after all her hard work saving someone and fighting crime, she had not even received a single thank-you, Misaka Mikoto felt inexplicably irritated. It was not as if she worked for the Disciplinary Committee just for a word of thanks. Fine, this had happened a few times before, but those people had at least hesitated or warned her to be careful. This time, though, that guy had left without the slightest hesitation.

"Why am I so annoyed?" Looking at the delinquents lying around as if dead, Misaka Mikoto felt no sense of accomplishment at all. Instead, she complained about Luo Yifang's sneaking off.

What Misaka Mikoto did not know was that she had not actually saved the person she thought had "slipped away," but the four delinquents lying on the ground. Otherwise, getting beaten up would have been the least of their troubles. If they had not ended up being carried to the hospital to get disability certificates, they would have been lucky!

—Still, those four guys were ridiculously unlucky. First, they tried to rob Level 5 No. 1, then they got beaten senseless by the Level 5 No. 3 who arrived afterward. Well, it had to be said, that was something no one else could ever learn to do in a lifetime.