Totsuki Research Institute

Just as the atmosphere was becoming somewhat heavy, a person dressed in a battle suit resembling knight's armor kicked up a cloud of dust and charged straight at them!

Tenya Iida stopped the car, took off his helmet, and said with a smile, "It's an honor to meet you all here!"

After saying that, Iida reprimanded Mineta and Kaminari, "Since you two accepted this job, you must live up to others' expectations and do your job well. What kind of behavior is this, talking like this here? What will others think of U.A. High School!"

It seems Iida has already met with Kaminari. Minoru Mineta retorted, unconvinced, "We've worked hard, haven't we? We're currently serving this table of distinguished guests as waiters!"

"Yo, Iida, long time no see." Jilan waved to Iida, then turned and squinted at Minoru Mineta, saying, "Don't get too cocky. Don't forget you were criticized on the ship for your attitude. If you run into trouble here, no one can help you."

"I know, I'll go to work right now!" Minoru Mineta complained, feeling guilty, but then suddenly remembered something, ran into the coffee shop, and pulled out a sealed letter, handing it to Jilan. "This was left by that Hisako Arato. She said only you can see it."

"Secretary Girl? I understand." Jilan reached out and took the letter.

"My family, being a long-established family of Pro Hero, received an invitation. My older brother is currently recovering from training, so he gave this opportunity to me." Iida looked at the table full of classmates and asked curiously, "As far as I know, invitations are quite difficult to obtain, so I'm really surprised to see everyone sitting here so neatly."

Uraraka, holding Yaoyorozu's arm, laughed and said, "It's all thanks to Momo Yaoyorozu. She even gave us two extra invitations, so we girls played rock-paper-scissors to decide who could come here. Hagakure and Asui are currently adjusting to the time difference in their hotel room."

"So, only Ashido is absent among the girls?" Iida nodded seriously, then looked at Jilan, "What about you, class representative?"

"Explaining this to me is too much trouble. Let Minoru Mineta explain it to you when he has some free time." Jilan stood up, stretched, folded the already opened letter, and stuffed it into his shorts pocket. "Excuse me, everyone, I have to leave now. I have some things to take care of."

"Jilan, I want to go with you!" As she said this, Camie Utsushimi stood up abruptly.

Jilan decisively refused. "No, the place I'm going to only invited me. You should stay here and wait for Yoarashi. After all, he's the face of your Shiketsu High School. It wouldn't be good to lose him like this."

"It's okay to lose someone with a simple mind like that," Camie Utsushimi, somewhat dissatisfied, but still obeyed Jilan's suggestion and sat down.

"Well then, I'll take my leave now."

Just as Jilan was waving goodbye and about to leave, Yaoyorozu suddenly said, "Jilan, there's a welcome party tonight, do you want to come?"

Welcome parties are generally an opportunity for invited Pro Hero to meet and discuss collaborations with various companies. However, both the Yaoyorozu and Iida sent their juniors due to family matters. Anyone with an invitation could attend, and Jilan was no exception.

Jilan had no intention of going to the party. After all, if she just wanted to get a free meal, she could do it at the hotel. There was no need to go to a place like that and attract the attention of others.

But looking at Jilan Momo Yaoyorozu's clenched hands, Yoshiran nodded almost unconsciously. "I'll go if I have time."

Momo Yaoyorozu breathed a sigh of relief, and as if she had just remembered something, she hurriedly turned around and bent down slightly. Under the obstruction of Kyoka Jiro and Uraraka, her upper body emitted colorful light.

Yaoyorozu turned around and handed the black phone to Jilan: "Jilan, didn't you lose your phone? This is a phone I made. It contains a SIM card that I disassembled and then restored. I've already entered my number into the phone, so please call me if anything happens."

Minoru Mineta, with his sharp eyes, spotted this scene and shouted enviously, "I'm so jealous! That's Yaoyorozu brand phone! I want one too!"

"Stop nagging and get to work!" Kaminari grabbed Minoru Mineta and pulled him into the shop.

I do need a phone, but there's a phone shop less than 100 meters away, so there's no need to have one made here.

Although Jilan had some doubts, he still accepted the phone. After all, he wasn't so clueless about romance.

There are tens of thousands of scientists on this island, but apart from a few who have achieved remarkable results and made many accomplishments, a large number of scientists are unable to obtain sufficient research funding.

In order to continue their research, they can only rely on funding from large companies. The research institute is registered under the company's name, and once a major breakthrough is made, although the patent belongs to the scientist, the results must be shared with the company.

Some scientists proactively approach large companies after they propose research directions, and in return, the companies invest money while the scientists produce results. This collaborative model is becoming increasingly common in the era of Quirk. The company Detnerat, known for its supernatural abilities, is a prime example of this model because they have a wide range of research interests, and a quarter of the scientists on the island have collaborated with them.

The "Totsuki Research Institute" in front of Jilan is a research institute under the Totsuki Group. Their research focuses on "Quirk Cuisine." In addition to making food delicious, they also hope to give the eater various Quirk enhancements.

Jilan tapped on the front desk and said with a smile, "Hello, Miss Nakiri should have already made an appointment for me. I'm Jilan Jiyu, her classmate."

The receptionist seemed to know about Jilan's situation. Upon hearing this, she immediately stood up and said with a smile, "Miss is currently in the laboratory on the fourth floor. Would you like me to take you there?"

"No need, I can go by myself." Jilan took the temporary pass handed to her by the receptionist and went up the elevator with several researchers who were in a hurry.

"Oh my, I really didn't expect that the eldest young lady and the second young lady would visit the research institute at the same time today. This is quite a rare occurrence."

"Don't forget this is the annual I-Island Open Day. Leaving aside the Second Miss, if the Eldest Miss is going to come, it can only be at this time. In other words, did the Second Miss come today on purpose?"

"We don't need to elaborate on the Second Miss's research capabilities; many of our institute's achievements were completed under her guidance. But the Eldest Miss is no less impressive. Every year when she comes here, she can pinpoint the errors in our research and provide accurate suggestions for improvement, allowing us to move on to the next stage of our research."

"They're both geniuses, so why do they always seem to get along?" a researcher sighed, then suddenly looked at Jilan Jiyu, who had been silently standing in the corner. "By the way, who are you? I've never seen you before."

Jilan pointed to the pass on her chest. "I'm an outsider; I'm here today on invitation."

"Oh, our institute hasn't had any strangers in ages. Who invited you?" the researcher asked enthusiastically.

As they were talking, the elevator arrived at the fourth floor, and as soon as the doors opened, they heard a heated argument.

"I've already said it, your research direction is wrong. Trying to activate taste buds with special ingredients and activate Quirk using special factors in ingredients is feasible, but it's simply not cost-effective. We need to make more affordable dishes!" Erina Nakiri said bluntly to the white-haired girl.

The white-haired girl retorted sarcastically, "Commoner? Our young lady has probably spent too much time with ordinary people and forgotten our status? Don't forget, our cuisine is for the wealthy!"

"Beep"

Upon hearing the elevator, the two girls simultaneously turned to look at the group of people inside.

"Uh, it seems we've come at the wrong time. Let's leave now." One researcher awkwardly extended his index finger to press the button to close the elevator, but Jilan pressed the button back on the elevator that had been extended.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention, it was Lady Nakiri who invited me."