Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

The night has fallen.

In the car not far away, Mugino Shizuri coldly stared at the Quantum Neural Research Institute before her.

”Are you sure our target is in there?”

”That’s right, but not long ago, I lost my sensory lock on the target...”

At this point, Rihou Takitsubo hesitated, wanting to speak yet holding back, but finally opened her mouth.

”Mugino, this is... that person’s turf, maybe we should give up...”

Indeed, if at the beginning, Mugino and the others didn’t know where their target had gone, once they saw the sign of the Quantum Neural Research Institute, they instantly understood whose territory they had stepped into.

As a result, Nunotaki Saiai and Rihou Takitsubo immediately chickened out.

The pressure from Fang Zheng was simply too terrifying to them, leaving a psychological shadow. Although he had mercifully let them go once, they weren’t naive enough to believe he’d spare them a second time.

But for Mugino Shizuri...

”Just right...”

Looking at the Quantum Neural Research Institute in front of her, Mugino Shizuri grinned, revealing a crazed smile.

”So it’s that bastard; perfect, I want to see what he’s capable of!”

”Mugino, you can’t beat him, you know?”

”Shut up!”

Facing Nunotaki Saiai’s dissuasion, Mugino Shizuri angrily roared, cutting her off. If Nunotaki Saiai hadn’t mentioned it, Mugino Shizuri’s inner fire of anger wouldn’t have flared up. The humiliation she had suffered at that time was something Mugino Shizuri simply couldn’t bear. Although like the others, Fang Zheng’s Dragon Might was deeply imprinted in her heart, Mugino Shizuri wasn’t as cowardly as Nunotaki Saiai and Rihou Takitsubo.

The reason was simple. Whenever she recalled that scene and felt fear, Mugino Shizuri suppressed that instinctive fear with anger.

Anger, incomparable anger!

She was the fourth level 5 of Academy City, the ”Atomic Collapse”! To be scared shitless by a man, this humiliation was something Mugino Shizuri could never accept! She had already mentally prepared herself; the next time she encountered that man, it would be him or her who would die!

Even if I shatter into pieces, I will never kneel!

”Just right, let me properly greet him.”

Having said that, Mugino Shizuri directly opened the car door and stepped out, while Rihou Takitsubo and Nunotaki Saiai stared blankly at her back, then involuntarily swallowed their saliva.

”Takitsubo, what do you think? I’m super scared now...”

Nunotaki Saiai could see that Mugino Shizuri had completely lost it; she was like a bomb that could explode at any moment. Nunotaki Saiai was certain that if she stepped in to stop her, Mugino Shizuri might just kill her as well.

But to help Mugino Shizuri deal with that man?

Nunotaki Saiai had no confidence at all; she wanted to live a few more years!

Mugino Shizuri stepped out of the car, crossed the street, and arrived across from the institute, sneering as she looked at the research institute. Then she raised her hand, and soon, a green light orb appeared once again.

”Hehehe, consider it a greeting, I want to see how long your shitty institute can hold out.”

Mugino Shizuri no longer cared at all. She now merely desired to destroy everything related to that man, flatten this institute, kill everyone inside, find that man, and then... one of them had to die!

”Whew...”

However, at that moment, Mugino Shizuri suddenly sensed a trace of wind behind her. She turned her head to look back but saw nothing on the deserted street.

The next moment, Mugino Shizuri felt a sharp pain at the back of her head, and then she lost consciousness, falling into deep darkness.

”.......”

Meanwhile, in the car, Nunotaki Saiai and Rihou Takitsubo were still waiting anxiously. They knew, given Mugino Shizuri’s character, she wouldn’t rest until she turned the whole place upside down.

Yet... it had already been several minutes, and nothing happened?

”I’m super uneasy, I better go check...”

Nunotaki Saiai hesitated for a moment and then threw out a sentence before quietly getting out of the car. Although from what she knew about Mugino Shizuri, it was impossible for her to back out at the last moment. But just in case? What if Mugino regretted it and just couldn’t bring herself to admit it, then she might as well give her a graceful exit... wouldn’t that solve everything?

As for this mission... if it’s not completed, it’s not completed. Anyway, they didn’t even know which force wanted them to capture that brat. If they failed, they would only have to pay and refund the deposit, which couldn’t be more important than their lives, right?

However...

”Makino?”

Standing on the deserted street, Nunotaki Saiai looked left and right, but she found she couldn’t see any sign of Mugino Shizuri. The research institute in front of her looked perfectly normal, without any indication of having been attacked. What was going on? Could it be that Makino changed her mind and felt embarrassed to tell the others, so she just turned around and left?

”Makino, are you there?”

Nunotaki Saiai was completely bewildered. She circled the street outside, but still couldn’t find Mugino Shizuri. Hesitant, she decided to dial Mugino Shizuri’s number, and then...

”Beep, beep, beep...”

The sudden ringing of the phone startled Nunotaki Saiai. She turned her head towards the direction of the ringing, and soon, she discovered Mugino Shizuri’s phone on a nearby lawn.

Why did Makino throw her phone here? Where was she?

Nunotaki Saiai picked up the phone and glanced around, but all she saw was the empty street under the night sky. A cold gust of wind swept past, making Nunotaki Saiai feel as if monsters hidden in the darkness and shadows were staring at her from all directions—thinking of this, Nunotaki Saiai shivered and quickly turned to leave.

”Ooh...”

Mugino Shizuri shook her head and then opened her eyes.

What was going on?

She remembered planning to target Fang Zheng’s research institute, then suddenly felt a sharp pain at the back of her head and lost consciousness. Now... could it be she’s been captured by that bastard?

Thinking of this, Mugino Shizuri quickly raised her head and looked around. She desperately tried to struggle, but found her body seemed to be tightly wrapped by something, unable to move. Not only that, everything in front of her was pitch black, with a strange, unpleasant odor.

Did they think this would be enough to trap me?

Mugino Shizuri scoffed coldly. Soon after, several light orbs emerged around her, illuminating the previously pitch-black space, and then...

Mugino Shizuri was stunned.

Where was this?

With the help of the light orbs, Mugino Shizuri could clearly see everything around her, but this place wasn’t familiar or anything she had imagined. She thought if someone captured her, they’d likely detain her somewhere tightly secured, but here she was in what appeared to be Academy City’s sewers.

Moreover, through the illumination of the light orb, Mugino Shizuri could see layers of what looked like some kind of slimy substance attached to the sewer. That stuff made Mugino Shizuri involuntarily think of the mucus insects use to catch prey, and she herself was firmly trapped by something similar.

”What on earth is this freakish thing!?”

At this moment, even Mugino Shizuri was in a panic.

She’s not afraid of people, no matter how powerful they might be, she’s never been scared. But when faced with unknown entities, even Mugino Shizuri couldn’t fathom what she was encountering. Without hesitation, she directed Atomic Beam to blast around her, thoroughly destroying the bizarre slime, and only then did Mugino Shizuri fall heavily from the wall onto the ground.

However, the ground was equally sticky and filthy, resembling freshly coagulated blood.

Looking around, everywhere was the same, like some kind of monster’s nest.

”--------”

A faint sound came from the distance, startling Mugino Shizuri into turning her head. Then, a light beam shot out, vanishing into the darkness.

But there wasn’t any notable movement.

”What is it? Come out!!”

Standing in the monster’s nest, Mugino Shizuri was extremely tense and fearful, shouting loudly, but her voice seemed to be absorbed by the darkness, fading into the shadows shortly after.

”...”

Mugino Shizuri reached out, trying to grab her phone to contact others, but her hand grasped nothing, further irritating her.

Yet at that moment, she suddenly felt a sharp pain erupt within her body, and simultaneously, Mugino Shizuri felt something inside her slowly crawling upwards.

”Ooh... Ah...”

Instinctively, she reached out to clutch her chest, opening her mouth to shout, but right at this moment, the ”something” hidden within Mugino Shizuri’s body began to expand outward. Mugino Shizuri could clearly feel her ribs cracking one by one, blood beginning to flow in reverse, expanding air converging inside her, gradually solidifying, expanding.

And then...

”Pshh!!”

The next moment, Mugino Shizuri abruptly fell backward, lying on the ground with her head tilted back, her eyes wide open, mouth agape, but no longer able to make a sound.

Meanwhile, her chest exploded outward completely, and shortly after, a pitch-black, slender alien emerged from the blood and flesh, opening its mouth towards the surrounding darkness, letting out a spine-chilling hiss...