Escape

"Could it be that Jilan didn't die?! But I clearly saw him being swallowed whole by that whale through the 'eyeball'..." Kaminari asked excitedly, "Ueno- senpai, where is Jilan hiding now, and when will he be able to rejoin us!?"

Ueno gave him a slightly disdainful look and shrugged. "Didn't you see it with your own eyes? He was inside that fish's belly."

"... As expected, Ueno- senpai was just joking." Kaminari sat back down in silence, forcing a bitter smile. "I know that Jilan's death is not only painful for me, but also for you all, senpai, but there's really no need to deceive us with such a well-intentioned lie..."

Kaminari seemed to have moved himself with his own words, and as he spoke, he stood up, clenched his fists, and flames burned fiercely in his eyes, "We are students of U.A. High School! At this time, we will not wallow in self-pity, but carry on Jilan's legacy...!"

Ueno couldn't hold back any longer and used the mechanical arm behind him to punch Kaminari hard Kaminari the back of the head. "Idiot, can't you listen to others properly? Jilan is still alive and well inside the fish's belly, don't act like a widow! If Jilan really died, you wouldn't be the one to be sad!"

Ueno glared at Nakiri and snapped, "At a time like this, what kind of joke are you spouting? You know my equipment!"

Nakiri shrugged. "I was just trying to calm you down because you seemed so anxious, like a cat on a hot tin roof..."

"Ouch!" Kaminari rubbed the back of his head in pain.

Suddenly, Ueno threw a bulky LCD screen off the cluttered table, Kaminari caught it reflexively.

"This is..."

"Here, didn't you want to know about Jilan's condition? Before Jilan left, I had him install a heart rate monitor. Here's the display screen, take a look for yourself." Ueno said casually, starting to tidy up the various things on the table. The passengers were now gathering on the east deck, and they needed to leave as soon as possible.

Kaminari looked down at the screen, which was slightly faded and displayed various heart rate data. Both the electrocardiogram and the heart rate index indicated one thing: Jilan was breathing steadily and was doing well.

Upon hearing this news, Kaminari a sigh of relief. He looked around and noticed that neither Tsukimi-senpai, who would shyly lower her head Tsukimi Jilan, nor Jilan's female companion Shiozaki, showed any sadness on their faces. It seemed that they had known all along that Jilan was still alive.

But soon a doubt arose in his mind. "Ueno- senpai, isn't there no signal on the ship right now? How can you monitor Jilan's movements? And what about the eyeball? How did you manage to make it establish a remote data connection with the terminal...?"

With the help of Tsukimi Machi, Ueno quickly packed up her few belongings, which were her research tools and her most precious possessions.

"Are you a curious person?" Ueno sighed, tossing a black briefcase containing research tools into Kaminari's hands. "It's because of my Quirk; I can remotely link with all sorts of devices. No matter what kind of machinery it is, even completely unrelated things like 'Resident Evil' and 'Monster Hunter,' as long as I've modified them, they can work together."

"I don't quite understand..."

"That's why I don't want to explain to idiots like you from the Hero Course..." Ueno complained, somewhat reluctantly explaining, "Let's put it this way, think of my Quirk as 'Wi-Fi,' and those tools as electronic devices like cell phones, forming a local area network with me as the terminal within a certain range..."

"I understand!" Ueno interrupted Kaminari before she could finish, looking at Ueno with intense eyes. "So... Ueno- senpai, can you let us connect to the internet? What's the Wi-Fi password!?"

"That's why I don't like telling people about my Quirk..." Ueno raised an eyebrow, annoyed. "I already said this is a metaphor, fundamentally different from something like the internet!"

At this Ueno had forgotten about leaving as soon as possible. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to use physical persuasion to make Kaminari understand his Quirk. Suddenly, the door was opened from the outside, and Minoru Mineta rushed in, panicked. "Everyone, something terrible has happened! That criminal, Twice, he's escaped!"

Ueno and her group are currently in Monoma separated from the deck where the sperm whales are located by a corridor and a corner. From this safe, not-too-close, not-too-near position, they are responsible for observing the movements of the Dark Shadow through the "eyeballs." The negotiation with Twice is conditional: Jilan is responsible for rescuing Himiko Toga, but Twice must turn himself in. Jilan and her group will act as witnesses to try to get leniency for Twice's crimes.

Because there were many things that couldn't be shown to the criminals, after discussion, the group decided to have Minoru Mineta was no longer of any use there, wait in the inner cabin and keep an eye on Twice, Twice had been tied up again. Before leaving, the group was worried about Minoru Mineta, so they carefully checked the room for anything that could be used as a weapon and even tightened the rope Twice's wrists. And...

"Minoru Mineta, that person's Quirk isn't the fighting type, and he doesn't have any desire to fight. How did he manage to escape right under your nose?" Nakiri asked calmly.

Seeing the puzzled looks from the others, Minoru Mineta desperately tried to explain, "I don't know either. That guy said the ship was rocking too violently, and he has motion sickness. He asked if I had any blindfold or something to cover his face. I saw that he looked really pale, so I gave him the mask I always carry with me..."

At this point, Minoru Mineta's face contorted like the famous painting "The Scream": "Then, for some reason, after he put on the mask, he seemed like a completely different person. He kept rambling on and on nervously, and then became extremely aggressive. I don't know how, but he managed to untie the ropes! I tried to stop him, but I failed..."

Minoru Mineta was mostly telling the truth, except for the last point. When he saw Twice become hysterical, he was so frightened that he ran out of the room on all fours, only remembering to inform Kaminari and the others halfway there.

"He has no reason to run away at this time. Could it be that the damage is also transmitted to the main body after the Clones dies...?" Nakiri did not think that this change was caused by Minoru Mineta's actions, but attributed his change in mental state to the death of Little Red Riding Hood 'Clones clone.

Minoru Mineta regretted running away and said with some worry, "... Nakiri- senpai, aren't you angry with me? Won't letting him go have a big impact?"

"If it's due to your Quirk, then there's nothing we can do; it's not your fault." Nakiri didn't blame Minoru Mineta. "You've come at the right time. This ship is about to sink, and the most important thing now is that we must get to the east deck immediately and board the lifeboat."

"Okay, let's get out of here quickly, I don't want to stay here for another second!" Minoru Mineta nodded hurriedly. He looked around and spotted Little Red Riding Hood, Kaminari, Tsukimi Machi, Ibara Shiozaki, and Ueno- senpai, but he couldn't find the person who always remained calm and made him feel at ease just by seeing him.

"Where's Squad Leader Jilan? Isn't he here?"

"..." Nakiri paused for a moment, then said, "He will rejoin us, just like before."