The main research building of Talent Workshop essentially belonged to Kodō Shunzō alone.
This included the building's security forces, all of whom answered directly to him. As the head of the Second Laboratory, Ideal Ability, which he personally operated, Kodō Shunzō had ensured that Shokuhou Misaki's influence had not yet extended into that domain.
Because of that, it was extremely difficult for them to take Dolly straight out through the front entrance.
Even if they managed to brainwash and control the guards at the door, they would immediately be noticed by the rest of the security staff and researchers inside the building—and hunted down all over again.
At this stage, Shokuhou Misaki's Mental Out had only just seemingly advanced to Level 5. It was still unstable, and she couldn't control such a large number of people all at once in a short period of time.
—On top of that, Dolly's condition had deteriorated far too suddenly. Shokuhou hadn't had time to make thorough preparations.
Left with no other choice, she had activated her contingency plan—seeking outside help and calling on Kobayashi.
"I don't get it," Keisaku Mitori pressed. "Shokuhou, aren't you already Level 5? Can't you deal with the adults in this facility the same way you handled the Internal Evolution researchers—just brainwash and control everyone?"
"Haah…" Shokuhou Misaki let out a heavy sigh. "This is exactly why I can't trust little girls like you."
Though they were actually the same age, in Shokuhou's eyes, Keisaku Mitori was still very much an immature child.
Or rather—viewed from the perspective of an eleven- or twelve-year-old, Keisaku had already done remarkably well. The abnormal one was Shokuhou herself; due to her esper power, her mind had matured far too quickly in certain aspects.
"Didn't I specifically emphasize that information about my ability level must remain confidential?" Shokuhou said sharply. "Our situation isn't safe. Even with my ability covering us, we're still deep in enemy territory. Cameras and listening devices aren't affected by Mental Out, you know!"
One of the biggest reasons Shokuhou had been able to take control of the entire Third Laboratory so smoothly was that she'd concealed her true power level, causing the researchers to let their guard down.
Of course, even if she hadn't hidden it, those researchers still wouldn't have been able to resist Mental Out.
But enemies outside the range of her ability—once they learned accurate information—would prepare countermeasures in advance. And since Shokuhou Misaki herself had no combat ability whatsoever, she could easily be placed in a situation where she couldn't fight back.
That would be fatal.
Keisaku Mitori's mistake, then, was a deadly one.
Realizing this at last, her face drained of color.
"…Haah," Shokuhou sighed again. "So, don't blame me, okay? Just be a good girl and follow the script~."
The scene before Keisaku's eyes shattered.
Her mind jolted, as if she had just awakened from a dream.
The scenery had subtly changed—researchers were performing emergency treatment on Dolly, but each of them had a silver-white spike pressed against the back of their head.
Keisaku recognized it instantly.
It was the liquid metal controlled by her own Esper ability, Liquid Shadow.
Her gaze swept the room.
There was no sign of Shokuhou Misaki anywhere.
So that entire conversation just now… had taken place inside her head?
"Congratulations, correct answer~" Shokuhou Misaki's syrupy voice echoed directly within her mind.
Keisaku tried to turn around, only to discover that her body wouldn't respond at all.
She couldn't move.
"Don't move," Shokuhou warned. "Remember your role right now
You escaped from the dark cell, discovered that Dolly was dying, used your ability to threaten the researchers into saving her, and then called Nana-senpai for help…"
"Then where are you, Shokuhou?" Keisaku asked.
"I don't know anything about any of this~ I'm over at Junko-nee-san's place playing around, so you happened to seize this opportunity."
Which meant
Everything just now had been nothing more than Keisaku Mitori's hallucination. She hadn't leaked any information at all.
A complicated mix of emotions welled up inside her—relief, tinged with deep resentment.
"Don't worry," Shokuhou said. "I'll release your control when it's time to break out. After that, I won't—and can't—keep looking after you anymore. Take this as a lesson, okay? Watch what you say."
After a moment of silence, Keisaku couldn't help muttering, "Shokuhou… you actually can control everyone, can't you?"
She had been completely deceived without realizing it. Even now, thinking back carefully, she couldn't find a single flaw.
With an ability this terrifying, Keisaku couldn't imagine anything Shokuhou Misaki couldn't do.
"I'm not lying to you," Shokuhou replied. "I know my ability is much stronger than when I first reached Level 4, but I'm still not completely sure whether I've truly become Level 5. And right now, my power is unstable—I can't precisely control that many people at the same time."
"At the end of the day, Mental Out isn't as omnipotent as you imagine."
Perhaps because they were communicating through direct mental linkage, Keisaku could feel her sincerity. Accepting her words, she nodded.
However—
Shokuhou Misaki hadn't lied… but she also hadn't told the whole truth.
In reality, her Mental Out was far more powerful than what she was currently showing Keisaku. If she truly wanted to, she could have taken Dolly and Keisaku away by force using her ability alone.
And if that still wasn't enough
She still had her exclusive piece of equipment.
Exterior.
With that, forget Talent Workshop; she could cover an entire district with her power.
The reason Shokuhou Misaki hadn't chosen to act recklessly, instead pretending to be uninvolved and continuing to lie low within Talent Workshop, was largely because she wanted to make use of this research facility.
—Until she could confirm that Mental Out had fully stabilized at Level 5, she intended to keep using the resources here to further develop her ability.
At the same time, the exterior itself was a major concern.
Exterior was a separate secret project, independent from Internal Evolution. In fact, it was the true core of the entire initiative. Internal Evolution—Shokuhou's rise to Level 5—was merely a supporting project designed to serve it.
Just as Dolly's existence served as preliminary groundwork for the Mass-Produced Esper Project.
Exterior was created by cultivating a piece of Shokuhou Misaki's cerebral cortex into a gigantic "brain." In a sense, it was essentially her second brain.
Like her original body, Exterior also possessed the Esper ability Mental Out, matching her own ability level, and in terms of raw output, it was even greater.
This meant that if she made full use of Exterior, Shokuhou Misaki's power could increase both qualitatively and quantitatively.
But conversely
If this "equipment" were to fall into someone else's hands, it would become her fatal weakness.
Which was precisely why
Shokuhou Misaki could never abandon Exterior.
(End of Chapter)
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