In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 7

Higashino was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. He understood that he was still too weak; there were many things he was capable of doing, but he couldn't accomplish them because of his own problems.

His ability is essentially "cognitive construct." It's not about "making someone believe something doesn't exist," but rather "reconstructing something at the cognitive level." In other words... his ability briefly "defines" reality, not just distorts it. In this respect, his ability already surpasses the known concept of abilities in Academy City.

After all, Academy City's abilities are almost all based on personal observation and distortion of probabilistic phenomena at the quantum level, causing the uncertainty of the microscopic world to collapse into a specific outcome. His ability can influence this outcome, and even reconstruct it to completely nullify it.

He recalled controlling Uiharu Shiori; it must have been about altering the world's perception of their relationship. "I'm your boyfriend." This wasn't just a simple psychological suggestion; it was a direct "writing" of the relationship into her mind. Her memories, emotions, and logic were all forcibly distorted, automatically filling in all the inconsistencies, even influencing the superficial memories of those around her.

Therefore, she naturally accepted the obviously unreasonable premise of "dating for three months." Because her "perception" had been rewritten. It wasn't just "believing," but "this is the truth."

Higashino's lips curled into a slight smile. His ability was incredibly powerful, so powerful that he felt it was practically a cheat code. The only problem now was how to improve it… and where its current limits lay.

He looked out of the ward window, where his own face was reflected in the glass.

"My face is Misaka Mikoto."

The reflection in the mirror changed for a moment, but returned to normal in the blink of an eye. However, this attempt caused a sudden pain in his temples and a momentary blackout, forcing him to hold onto the bedside table for support.

Indeed, directly altering my own perception with my current power is not a good choice; the cost is disproportionate to the gain.

He then gave an order to the ward door:

"This door does not exist."

The door remained standing. However, some mental and even physical energy had indeed been depleted. Interference with inanimate objects was ineffective? No, that can't be right. I clearly managed to make that doll disappear before. So why didn't it work this time? Was it because of that domain-like thing back then?

Higashino leaned against the pillows, breathing heavily, waiting for the dizziness to subside. He noticed a bright red apple on the bedside table, a gift from Chu Chun that day.

If my abilities aren't just hypnosis... if I can truly "define" reality... then I should be able to "change" it.

He reached out and picked up the apple.

The realm… Today, at the explosion site, there seemed to be a sense of “scope.” It was as if… an invisible space had unfolded. In that space, I could “define” the existence of things.

He closed his eyes, trying to recall the feeling. His consciousness expanded outwards, as if a transparent film was spreading from his body, slowly enveloping the apple in his hand. As the area expanded, the familiar burning sensation rose again from the back of his neck, like countless fine needles pricking his nerves.

...Yes.

The space around the apple distorted slightly, enveloped by an almost invisible, transparent barrier. Maintaining this miniature domain had already caused fine beads of sweat to appear on his forehead.

Now, let's redefine it.

"This is a pear."

The apple's skin began to change; the red color gradually faded, its shape slightly elongated, and finally... it became a pear. At the same time, the intensified feeling of weakness followed.

Higashino suddenly opened his eyes, staring at the "pear" in his hand, his pupils slightly contracting. He took a bite, the sweet, crisp, and juicy flesh proving it wasn't a hallucination. It wasn't a hallucination, not hypnosis... but a real "change."

This expenditure is far less than making something disappear from the world or altering one's own perception. After all, the previous attempts had failed, but the expenditure of energy was real. And compared to modifying reality, modifying the mind is indeed much easier.

He tried to expand his "domain" again, this time extending it to the entire bedside table. The instant the invisible film spread, his vision suddenly blurred.

"This bedside table is made of metal."

The wooden surface gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen. But this modification only lasted three seconds before collapsing; he sensed that continuing it would likely consume even more energy. The larger the area and the longer the duration, the more exponentially the energy expenditure increased…

Higashino rubbed his forehead; this level of exertion was still within his acceptable range.

"This bird has red feathers."

The nightingale's feathers briefly turned reddish before returning to normal. Defining a living organism is more difficult and requires greater effort...

After trying various experiments, Higashino collapsed on his hospital bed. He had gained a basic understanding of his abilities; there were many things he could do. If he wanted, he could imitate all the abilities in Academy City without any problem. He could even strengthen or weaken them. However, the biggest problem was still himself.

However, through this period of experimentation, he felt that his abilities seemed to have improved slightly. Perhaps the improvement was too limited, and he wasn't quite sure if it was due to the continued use of his abilities; only time would tell.

Chapter 8: The Lips of a Space-Skill User Flavor Peach

After that, Higashino continued to test other uses of his abilities until he felt he had tested almost everything he could do at this stage, and then he was a little tired and prepared to rest.

But just as he reached for the light switch, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

"good evening."

She was a girl who was completely unfamiliar to Higashino, but her appearance looked very familiar to him.

Higashino's hand, which was about to turn off the light, froze, and he stared blankly at the girl.

The girl's upper body was covered only by a light pink strip of cloth wrapped around her chest, and she wore the winter uniform of Kirigaoka Girls' Academy. A decorative belt hung around her waist, and she wore black over-the-knee socks under her revealing mini-skirt.

With this outfit, you probably wouldn't even be allowed into the school gate in Xia Guo, right?

Higashino took a deep breath and turned around. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to get a good rest tonight.

The reason why the guide appeared in his hospital room is self-evident.

It seems that after observing him for the past few days, Aleister has finally decided to see him.

He never expected that his existence would be ignored by Aleister. After all, such a situation suddenly occurred in Academy City, and no one could ignore it.

Kihara Ayaki leaned against the bedside table, her legs crossed, tossing a military flashlight between her fingers. Her dark red ponytail fell over her shoulders, and a rebellious pink highlight hung down her forehead, swaying gently as she tilted her head.

"Midnight rounds?"

Higashino casually moved back a little, while noticing that Kihara's fingers were trembling slightly.

He seemed to remember that Kihara Tsurugi's abilities had suffered serious problems due to the accident.

To suddenly appear in her hospital room in the dead of night like this, heaven knows how many times she used her powers.

"I'll introduce you to someone."

Jie Biao lazily twirled the military flashlight in his hand.

"Don't ask who it is, I'm not responsible for spoilers."

"what?"

Higashino threw back the covers, revealing his hospital gown, and pointed to himself.

"If I may remind you, it is 3:12 AM Tokyo time."

He deliberately tugged at the back of his hand with the IV line inserted, and said somewhat speechlessly, "Don't people need to rest so late?"

Could it be that the peeping tom saw that I was still awake and woke me up to work overtime?

Jie Biao wanted to say something, but suddenly frowned, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Higashino keenly noticed that her breathing had become rapid.

"Are you ok?"

Higashino was now completely certain that this guy had definitely used his abilities repeatedly in order to save time.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Working overtime late at night, you definitely want to solve the problem as soon as possible and get some rest.

"The dizziness after the coordinate shift should last for 2 to 3 seconds, but your symptoms seem more severe."

Kihara Tatsuki looked astonished: "How did you know...?"

"You must feel fear after each movement, right?"

Higashino didn't answer her question, and continued:

"I'm afraid of miscalculating the coordinates again, and I'm afraid of repeating that accident."

Jie Biao's hands suddenly began to tremble violently, and the flashlight fell to the ground with a "thud".

She instinctively hugged her arms, a typical post-traumatic stress response.

"Shut up……"

Her voice trembled with suppressed emotion as she stubbornly declared, "I would never..."

"Yes, it will. Using the ability continuously will cause vomiting, mental confusion, and temporary inability to use the ability."

Higashino picked up where she left off, bending down to pick up the flashlight.

He stumbled upon this information while watching videos and never expected it would come in handy.

Kihara suddenly looked up, but the moment their eyes met, Higashino grabbed her wrist.

"Relax and breathe."

While comforting her, Higashino tried to see if his abilities could affect Kihara Ayaki's aftereffects.

"The reason your ability has such severe side effects is because you developed a fear of it, which caused irreversible consequences to your perception of reality. If you try to forget that feeling, it is possible to be cured."

Kihara was surprised to find that the persistent nausea she usually felt after moving was subsiding. Unbeknownst to her, Higashino was subtly adjusting her senses using his abilities.

"Why help me?"

She asked cautiously, her voice much calmer than before.

Higashino's lips curled up slightly: "Because you'll be carrying me around later. It would be terrible to throw up during the teleportation."

Jiebiao suddenly burst out laughing, his tense shoulders finally relaxing: "You... you're really inexplicable."

"Likewise." Higashino handed the flashlight back to her.

"Now, would you like to try movement without side effects?"

Jie Biao hesitated. Although she felt unusually good, she was still a little worried.

But when she saw Higashino's calm eyes, she nodded as if possessed.

"But before that..."

Higashino suddenly pointed to the little yellow duck charm hanging on her boot chain, somewhat curious, as he had noticed it when Kihara Ayaki first arrived.

Is this the new trend in negotiation?

"Hey!"

Jiebiao instinctively covered the ornament, her ear tips turning blush.

"This is a free gift from a convenience store promotion! Don't pay attention to anything suspicious!"

She quickly realized her mistake and, in annoyance, tucked the military flashlight into her waistband, forgetting that it had a magnetic closure, and the flashlight fell to the ground.

Both of them fell silent.

Higashino suddenly reached out and picked up the flashlight that had been shaken onto the sheet: "The latest Cr-Zo tactical coordinate device."

He looked curiously at the sticker next to the flashlight, which read, "A backup for the harbinger; lose it or I'll kill you."

"So people who care about freebies also take the time to write anti-loss tags on their gear?"

"give me back!"

Higashino's palm suddenly felt empty; the flashlight had already returned to Kihara's hand via coordinate movement.

The girl's chest heaved violently, and beads of sweat slid down her collarbone and into her collar, clearly indicating that the movement she had just made was far more strenuous than it appeared.

Even if some of the side effects were eliminated, it would still be too much of a stretch for Higashino to restore her to a state where she was unaffected, given his current abilities.

Can I ask you a question?

Higashino slowly tied his shoelaces.

"Why are you looking for me so late? How will your overtime pay be calculated? What type of medical insurance do you use?"

The mood that Jie Biao had just calmed down turned unpleasant again.

"what's wrong with you!"

She stomped her feet in frustration, completely unable to comprehend the man's thought process.

"Can't you feel a little nervous about meeting the suspected mastermind behind the scenes?!"

The tall boots of the tactician hurled a screeching sound as they rolled across the floor, while the tactical flashlight cast fluorescent coordinates on the wall.

Suddenly, Higashino rolled over to the foot of the bed, and in the instant he pulled down the IV stand, the glucose bag in mid-air suddenly disappeared and reappeared in Kibiaki's hand, crashing down on his original spot with a whistling sound!

"Hmph, I won't fall for it this time!"

The entire bed frame instantly disintegrated, and a metal support suddenly appeared above Dongye's head, shooting towards him like a rain of silver arrows.

Higashino grabbed the pillow and threw it in his face, but just as the down feathers burst out, he kicked the wall hard.

Three IV stands pierced his back and went into the tiles, one of the tips snapping the straps of his tall boots.

"asshole!"

The girl gritted her teeth and shone the flashlight at the ceiling light fixture. The fluorescent tube, sparking, suddenly appeared above Dongye's head, but he precisely blocked its fall with his medical record folder.