Boy or Girl?

"At 9:58 PM, two minutes remain until Experiment No. 9975 begins, Misaka confirms," reported the expressionless, emotionally blank girl who looked exactly like Misaka Mikoto. At the same time, she took off the guitar case on her back, removed a firearm from it, and silently assembled it.

Looking down at the Misaka Sister, Accelerator sneered and said nothing more.

The two minutes passed in an instant. The gun had been loaded, and the Misaka Sister put on her military goggles before reporting again.

"It is now 10:00 PM. Experiment No. 9975 begins now."

"Heh." Accelerator scoffed disdainfully, then leaped backward. He pushed off a cargo container with his foot; it was clearly a gentle motion, yet it unleashed considerable force.

The impact carried the cargo container hurtling toward the Misaka Sister.

Seeing this, the Misaka Sister formed a web of attraction with electromagnetic force and dodged to the side.

She narrowly avoided the attack, but the fierce wind from above immediately snapped her thoughts back into focus. The moment she landed, she rolled sideways to evade Accelerator's stomp.

A tremendous impact spread from beneath Accelerator's foot, leaving behind a spiderweb-like crater.

The scattering rubble turned into sharp weapons, shredding the Misaka Sister's gun to pieces. The excess debris also left wounds across her fragile body.

Blood splattered as the Misaka Sister rolled away like a rag doll. After tumbling several times, she crashed into a cargo container and came to a stop.

Ignoring the pain in her body, the Misaka Sister used the smoke and dust caused by the impact to run deeper inside, beginning to set up her plan.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong? Is that all you've got?"

Meanwhile, Accelerator hopped continuously atop the cargo containers like a cat playing with a mouse, toying with the Misaka Sister.

In less than a few minutes, a series of explosions rang out. The Misaka Sister used the principle of dust explosions to trigger a chain reaction, but Accelerator emerged slowly from the center of the blasts without a scratch.

It made the Misaka Sister instinctively retreat.

"Hehehe, run, run. After all, once I catch you, it's game over." Accelerator mocked the Misaka Sister as she fled like a mouse.

Yet no matter how desperately she ran, the Misaka Sister could not escape the pebble Accelerator casually tossed like a cannonball.

Her waist and abdomen were completely pierced through, and blood gushed out in torrents. Her consciousness blurred, and unable to keep fleeing, the Misaka Sister's forehead beaded with cold sweat as she resignedly closed her eyes.

"Hmm? Who are you?"

Just as the Misaka Sister resigned herself to death, Accelerator's puzzled question pulled her back from unconsciousness.

Feeling her body suspended in midair, held by the back of her collar as though she were a cat, the Misaka Sister instinctively looked at the newcomer. He had tousled black hair, strange black markings across his face, and eyes glowing a bloody crimson.

"Personnel who have entered the experiment unexpectedly, please leave this area immediately, Misaka kindly advises."

Despite being covered in wounds, the Misaka Sister remained as expressionless as ever.

Ignoring the Misaka Sister's warning, Rod used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal her before setting her aside.

"You can leave now. I'll take over from here."

Rod slowly stepped forward and faced Accelerator directly.

"ZXC741ASD852QWE963, Misaka attempts to match the password with the newcomer." The Misaka Sister recited a string of code to Rod.

"PC12138," Rod replied mischievously.

"Password incorrect. The newcomer is not experiment personnel. Please leave immediately, Misaka continues to advise." Hearing this, the Misaka Sister immediately urged Rod to leave again.

"What was that?" Accelerator stared in astonishment at the Misaka Sister, who had been covered in wounds and on the verge of death just moments ago. Now, her injuries had vanished, and even her pale face had regained a healthy flush.

"Hey, Number One, are you a guy or a girl?" Rod looked over the white-haired person before him. Their face was deathly pale and their features androgynous. There was no Adam's apple, but neither was there any hint of a chest. It wasn't as if he could just walk up and pull down their pants to check.

"Hah!? Don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. If you don't want to die, listen to that one and get out of here!" A vein bulged on Accelerator's forehead as he shouted.

"Yuriko Suzushina?" Rod tilted his head and casually said.

Accelerator's body stiffened, and he looked at Rod strangely.

"Don't tell me that's actually your name." Rod revealed a wicked smile, making Accelerator even more furious.

"You bastard!" Before Accelerator could continue his outburst—

A girl's shout came from behind them.

"Old man, and... my clone." Misaka Mikoto had hurried over, only to freeze in astonishment when she saw the three of them facing off.

Although she had already learned of the Railgun Cloning Project, actually facing her own clone still left Misaka Mikoto dumbfounded.

"Hmm? Is this the original?" Seeing Misaka Mikoto's intense emotional fluctuations, Accelerator realized that she was the original of these clones—the third-ranked Level 5 in Academy City, Railgun.

"Perfect timing. Take the Misaka Sister and go to some hospital. Find a doctor who looks like Gekota—his name is Heaven Canceller. He can help you."

"What does that mean? What exactly is going on?" Misaka Mikoto's mind was a mess. She had no idea what was happening.

"Huh? Didn't you investigate the Railgun Cloning Project?" Rod asked in return.

"I did, but... why is Number One here?"

"You didn't uncover the Level 6 Shift Project?" Rod was left speechless. But when he saw Misaka Mikoto's first reaction upon seeing the Misaka Sister, he understood. She had not encountered any clones yet and only knew about the project to clone her.

"What? The Level 6 Shift Project?" Misaka Mikoto pressed on.

"Hey, hey, hey, how long are you going to keep ignoring me, you lowlife!?" Seeing the situation drift further and further off course, Accelerator furiously kicked a piece of rubble wrapped in immense force toward Rod and the others.

Rod flicked several pieces of rubble out with the back of his hand. They collided with the incoming stone and all turned to powder, scattering through the air, startling both Misaka Mikoto and Accelerator.

His control over power had reached an incredibly precise level. Rod spoke to Accelerator without the slightest hurry.

"Listen, kid. What I'm about to tell you is the truth behind the Level 6 Shift Project—a truth even you don't know."

"..." Accelerator fell silent, gritting his teeth as he glared at Rod. He cursed inwardly. If this guy couldn't give him a satisfactory explanation, he would make sure he died with a very distinctive rhythm.