Tenjou Yuu, that guy is ridiculously powerful! He actually predicted the failure of the Accelerator experiment—is he some kind of oracle too? ...Alright, that last bit was just me venting.

As for Tenjou Yuu's answer, Lin Luo figured it was based on his own experience. This is what he said: "It's already so difficult to create a single Level 5, let alone the legendary Level 6. Although the Tree Diagram creator calculated that Accelerator could advance to Level 6 after killing twenty thousand Misaka Sisters, that was merely a computer's simulation.

Since it's a simulation, there’s always a chance for errors. When I was working on the Railgun mass production project, my simulations were also perfect..." Though Lin Luo found it contemptible that Tenjou compared himself to the Tree Diagram creator, he somewhat agreed with his point. The Tree Diagram creator was a supercomputer, yes, but Level 6 was the realm of gods.

If it could be calculated so easily, it wouldn't be called the realm of gods! It might as well be called the realm of nonsense! As for the claim that Accelerator could ascend to Level 6 by killing twenty thousand Misaka Sisters, Lin Luo had always been highly skeptical.

After all, Accelerator was already Academy City’s strongest esper. If he could level up further, he should at least gain experience from individuals of a similar tier. The Misaka Sisters posed absolutely no threat to him; where would the upgrade experience come from?

It would be like a Level 99 Hero King Sword Saint needing to slay twenty thousand Level 99 Demon Lords to reach Level 100, but if he were to kill Level 1 Goblins instead—never mind killing twenty thousand, he could kill until his hair turned white and the server shut down, and his experience points would probably remain untouched! Hmm, that analogy seems rather rude towards the Misaka Sisters... Fine, replace the Goblins with harmless bunnies.

Furthermore, if the Tree Diagram creator was so brilliant, did it ever calculate that it would be instantly defeated by a certain gluttonous nun using the Dragon King's Sigh? ...It didn't calculate it, did it? It didn't calculate it!

It didn't calculate it... In fact, Lin Luo was beginning to suspect whether the Level Upper experiment was merely a play orchestrated by the Hanged Man, designed specifically to bring the Misaka Sisters into existence so his plan for an Artificial Heaven could proceed. Although it sounded a bit unreliable...

it wasn't entirely implausible. After all, that effeminate pseudo-heretic was notoriously dark, and no one dared to find him moe! Lin Luo pondered his speculations for a while, then asked, "Then what is your fallback plan?

Are you planning to bring the Prototype out, raise her to Level 5, and then use her to upgrade Accelerator?" Although this didn't happen in the original story, as the saying goes, there's always a legendary butterfly effect... "That is impossible." Tenjou Yuu's voice carried a distinct note of resentment. "Replicating a Level 5 is nearly impossible.

The Prototype consumed all my effort and only managed to approach Level 5, and that involved a significant amount of luck. Getting me to create another Prototype now is simply out of the question." There was so much bitterness in his tone. Indeed, Tenjou Yuu's greatest achievement in life was likely only copying a Level 4, yet in the end, someone else reaped the benefits.

It was inevitable he would feel unbalanced. Later, Lin Luo learned what Tenjou Yuu's supposed fallback plan was: he intended to collude with the hostile forces opposing Academy City! This was understandable.

If the Level Upper experiment failed, the sheer amount of debt Tenjou Yuu was carrying would be enough to enslave him for several lifetimes. Beyond that, he would likely have to endure the Board of Directors' wrath, and possibly even face trouble from the Railgun, who was his original model... No matter how one looked at it, if things reached that stage, Tenjou Yuu would have no standing left in Academy City.

Therefore, his only option was to escape outside, and the hostile factions arrayed against Academy City presented the perfect opportunity. However, those people weren't fools; they wouldn't accept the defection of a researcher from a rival faction for no reason. To secure their trust, Tenjou Yuu had to offer a significant price.

Regarding the technology related to psychic powers, that information could not be revealed yet, as he was still within Academy City. If the higher-ups found out, even the Emperor couldn't shield him. Thus, Tenjou Yuu set his sights on the Prototype he had previously frozen.

Handing over the Prototype to them would serve as a gesture of his sincerity... A mere Level 4 clone wouldn't cause Academy City to mobilize heavily, but it would be invaluable to the external hostile forces. One had to admit, Tenjou Yuu's scheme was well-conceived; he played the fence-sitter role perfectly.

It was just a pity that for a mere supporting character, tragedy seemed fated to repeat itself... Having grasped the general sequence of events, Lin Luo finally understood why the Prototype never appeared in the original plot—she had already been sold off by Tenjou. Lin Luo secretly congratulated himself for finding Tenjou Yuu in time.

If the Prototype had been sold to outsiders, it would have been a true catastrophe. While the Sisters’ fate in Academy City wasn't ideal, at worst it meant death. But if they fell into the hands of Academy City’s enemies, those people, desperate to research psychic powers, would certainly treat the Prototype as a lab rat, perhaps even ensuring she didn't die easily!

After asking a few more questions about the Prototype and realizing there was nothing more useful to extract, Lin Luo summoned Bai Rui and commanded it to drag the trash away for disposal. The moment Tenjou Yuu saw Bai Rui, he froze completely. His legs buckled, and a wet patch spread beneath his trousers.

As Bai Rui dragged him out, he didn't react at all. Immediately after, Lin Luo heard sounds of bones snapping and chewing from outside... Bai Rui's method of disposal was simple: eat.

If it had been anyone else, Lin Luo might have felt some psychological burden preventing such a brutal end. But Tenjou Yuu was scum, a wretch whose crimes warranted far more than death. Moreover, this eliminated a future threat to the Sisters...

It was just a shame he only got to die once; Lin Luo felt a slight twinge of regret. As for the question regarding the Sisters' self-awareness—since this wretch couldn't even resolve the Prototype’s self-awareness issue, asking him anything more would be futile. Shaking his head, Lin Luo paid no further attention to the teeth-grinding sounds outside.

He undid the restraints on the experiment table and pulled the Prototype into his arms. The instant he held her, Lin Luo frowned. Though it wasn't immediately obvious, direct contact told even an amateur like him just how fragile the Prototype’s body was...

She felt so limp, as if she possessed no bones at all, soft as a noodle. If he didn't hold her tight, Lin Luo suspected she might just slide right out of his embrace! "This body is even worse than I imagined..." Lin Luo could sense that the Prototype’s physical condition was dire.

Previously, the life support system kept her barely alive, but now, detached from it, her life energy was plummeting. In this state, she could die at any moment! Others might feel despair in this situation, but Lin Luo was different.

Though he felt unease, there was no panic. He possessed the Divine Healing spell. Even if he couldn't cure the Prototype completely, pulling her back from the brink of death wouldn't be difficult.

Holding the Prototype close, Lin Luo immediately activated Divine Healing... "Current target vitality is approaching negative value, in a state of near-death. Full restoration requires the Contractor to expend 1500 Life Force..." As expected, a complete cure was impossible!

Lin Luo had anticipated this. Restoring only Mikoto's combat capability, a Level 5, required 800 of his Life Force. Although the Prototype was weaker, she was still a peak Level 4.

Even if the required Life Force was half of Mikoto's, she was in a dying state; 1500 points wasn't excessive. Of course, Lin Luo didn't need to heal her completely; for now, just stabilizing her life force was enough. "Divine Healing, segmented treatment!" Genes, spirit, brain, muscles, organs, blood, bones, nerves...

The human body comprises countless different systems. Divine Healing could mend all these systems, and it could also treat them in batches. "Current target's genes show major defects.

Repair requires 200 Life Force. Repair?" "Current target's brain is paralyzed. Repair requires 50 Life Force.

Repair?" "Current target's mental state is extremely weak. Repair requires 50 Life Force. Repair?" "Current target's muscles are atrophied.

Repair requires 50 Life Force. Repair?" "Current target's bones are extremely loose and fragile. Repair requires 50 Life Force.

Repair?" "Current target's..." With this string of notifications, Lin Luo grew increasingly alarmed. Almost no part of the Prototype was normal; most were suffering over 80% necrosis. To use one word to describe her condition: riddled with illness.

Lin Luo quickly calculated. His current Life Force was just over 300. To avoid entering a state of weakness and maintain some ability for self-preservation, he needed to keep his Life Force above 50 points, meaning he could only use 250 points to treat the Prototype.

He could only repair a few systems. Which ones should he choose? After a moment of hesitation, Lin Luo ultimately chose to repair the brain and the genes.

This didn't mean the other parts were unimportant, but the other issues—muscles, bones, etc.—could potentially be addressed later by taking her back to Yoshikawa’s lab and placing her in a culture medium to recover slowly. The brain and genes, however, were the key components. If the brain failed to heal in time and died off mid-treatment, the Prototype would be lost forever.

Secondly, genes dictate everything about the physical body. Whether the Prototype could become normal depended entirely on the quality of her genes. If the genes could be repaired to a complete state, recovery in other areas might accelerate significantly.

"Gene Repair, consuming 200 Life Force. Confirm." A faint glow entered the Prototype's body. Lin Luo could feel seismic changes occurring within her structure; all flawed genes were rapidly becoming whole...

"Brain Repair, consuming 50 Life Force. Confirm." Just as Lin Luo clicked confirm: "...Ding! System identifies this target as a clone of Contractor's current contracted party, Misaka Mikoto.

Suggests Contractor enter a Contract State to link brainwaves with this target. The target's brain capacity will be repaired to match that of Misaka Mikoto. Confirm?" "What?!" In an instant, Lin Luo was stunned!