Chapter 61

The next day, Aeka and Saten Ruiko went to visit Misaka 10032, who was undergoing adjustments at the hospital. Although the Absolute Ability Plan had ended, the two of them still chose to stay busy for Misaka Mikoto's peaceful life and to honor the efforts of Tsukasa Shizune. Afterward, the two still needed to visit other adjustment sites in Academy City to check on the other Misaka sisters.

On the other side, Misaka Mikoto, learning that her friends were all busy today, could only sit alone and eat breakfast gloomily.

"Nothing to do, I'm so bored..."

Unable to bear it any longer, Misaka Mikoto decided to go out for a walk by herself. After browsing some free manga at a bookstore, the bored Misaka Mikoto rested on a bench by a park.

"Ah... so bored..." Her sigh was heard by a nearby child, who then pestered Misaka Mikoto to play with them. After playing with the children for a while, Misaka Mikoto noticed a Kuroko badge on a little girl.

Liking Kuroko, Misaka Mikoto asked the little girl where she got the badge. After trying the gacha machine several times at a nearby store, Misaka Mikoto finally got a Kuroko badge. However, she had no idea what to do with it.

The children then had to go home for lunch. After seeing them off, Misaka Mikoto left, planning to return to Tokiwadai for lunch. Then she sensed a power, a power that was the same as hers.

On the other side, after today's adjustments, Misaka 10032 went out for a walk. The experiment had ended, and all the Misaka sisters were now free. After necessary adjustments, Misaka 10032 went out to see the world, even though the scenes in her memory and what she saw with her own eyes were somewhat different.

Sensing the power that was the same as hers, Misaka Mikoto remembered the Mass Production Plan. Although she believed the plan had ended, the unease in her heart drove her to rush to the location she sensed. Soon, Misaka Mikoto met Misaka 10032 under a tree.

The same appearance, the same clothes, if it weren't for the night vision goggles on her head, Misaka Mikoto would have thought she was seeing her clone.

"No, could it be!"

"Who... who are you?" Fear made Misaka Mikoto's voice tremble.

"Meow..."

"Huh?"

Just as Misaka Mikoto was puzzled by Misaka 10032's words, Misaka 10032 spoke again: "A four-legged creature making such a sound is in danger."

Looking up, Misaka Mikoto finally understood that Misaka 10032 was talking about the cat. Originally, Misaka Mikoto didn't want to bother with the cat, as figuring out who this person in front of her was the priority.

But she was moved by Misaka 10032's calm words, especially the part about "Is that so, Onee-sama? Do you think it doesn't matter if the creature falls to the ground and gets seriously injured, or even dies?"

Hearing such words, the kind-hearted Misaka Mikoto couldn't do anything else.

In the end, Misaka Mikoto used herself as a stepping stone to save the kitten, but she didn't forget her original purpose: "You were just saying 'Onee-sama' and 'Misaka'... Are you... my... clone?"

"Yes." To Misaka Mikoto's surprise, Misaka 10032 admitted it directly.

"Wasn't that plan frozen? Why... why do people like you still exist..." The "Mass Production Plan" had been terminated, yet her clone appeared, leaving Misaka Mikoto very confused.

"ZXC741ASD852QWE963, beep—Misaka is verifying the password." Although the experiment had ended, it was a dark experiment sanctioned by the higher-ups, so how could it be casually revealed to outsiders?

Of course, Misaka Mikoto couldn't answer, she just pursed her lips and looked at Misaka 10032.

"It seems Onee-sama is not involved in the experiment, so Misaka cannot answer Onee-sama's questions."

"Who is behind this plan?"

"This is confidential."

"What was the purpose of creating you?"

"This is forbidden."

For a moment, Misaka Mikoto thought about using force, but she chose another way: "Forget it, you go. I'll follow you. You'll eventually return to some facility or research institute, and then I'll find your creator and ask directly."

Misaka 10032 turned and left, and Misaka Mikoto followed her.

On the way, Misaka Mikoto thought a lot about the rumors of clones, the purpose of their creation, and the "Sisters" plan. Wait... sisters?

"Hey, are there many more like you?"

But Misaka 10032 ignored Misaka Mikoto's words and just wandered around, eating ice cream and drinking tea, leaving Misaka Mikoto helpless.

The afternoon passed slowly. Seeing it was getting dark, Misaka Mikoto had no choice: "Hey, when are you going home?"

"I forgot to mention, Misaka is not returning to the facility."

"Huh?"

"Whether Onee-sama follows me is entirely up to Onee-sama, but you won't be able to see Misaka's creator."

Misaka Mikoto thought for a moment. Regardless of whether following her was meaningful, since she had the password, she could probably crack it quickly with her abilities.

"I should have my PDA."

As Misaka Mikoto took out her PDA to confirm, the Kuroko badge she got in the morning fell out. On a whim, she tried to pin it on Misaka 10032, but when she tried to take it off, Misaka 10032 slapped her hand away.

"What are you doing?"

"From the moment it was pinned on Misaka, the badge's ownership has transferred to Misaka. Misaka considers Onee-sama's behavior to be robbery, and... this is the first gift from Onee-sama."

Hearing Misaka 10032's words, Misaka Mikoto couldn't take the badge back.

"Fine, that's enough for today. I'm going back." Misaka Mikoto had decided to crack the password through the network.

"Goodbye, Onee-sama."

After parting ways, Misaka Mikoto called Shizuri and learned that the password was similar to Academy City's security level A and above. With this information, Misaka Mikoto quickly found a report through her abilities—the report on the "Absolute Ability Plan."

"What is this... using battles with 20,000 sisters to achieve Level 6? How is that possible... such a thing..." Then, Misaka Mikoto saw the experiment scheduled for today.

"Tsk..." Misaka Mikoto recalled Misaka 10032's words; "goodbye" in Japanese can also mean "farewell"!

Rushing to the experiment site, Misaka Mikoto quickly ran to today's location but saw nothing. Thinking that such a thing couldn't happen, but remembering her time with Misaka 10032, she felt a sense of fear.

"Could the experiment today have... ended?"

With this thought, Misaka Mikoto's legs gave out, and she fell to the ground.

In fact, the experiment had been terminated, but it was only the second day, and they were busy transferring the Misaka sisters for physical adjustments. Some files hadn't been transferred or deleted, and today Misaka Mikoto saw them. Fate can be cruel, but perhaps this was a good thing. For the kind-hearted Misaka Mikoto, the darkness of Academy City was gradually revealed.