Miyuki Shirogane wasn't doing very well today.
His face was pale, he had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like he had been drained dry by a ghost.
Just like someone whose house was haunted.
"Shirogane, what happened to you?"
Hikigaya hadn't even started his grand organization plan yet, he hadn't even thought about what kind of position he wanted in the school. And yet, his friend Shirogane was already on the verge of collapse.
'Weren't you fine before? Why do you look like you caught some strange disease?'
"Don't be afraid of strange diseases. The medical technology in this Academy City is very advanced. I think we should get some potions for our families, they're much better than the medicine sold outside."
Now, it was Hikigaya's turn to comfort Miyuki Shirogane.
"Hikigaya, you were right! You were right! That! That woman!"
Miyuki Shirogane took out his phone, searched for a picture of Tesla, and pointed at the red-haired, twintailed woman on the screen, saying in terror, "I saw with my own eyes that she had an eyeball on her forehead! And that eyeball was emitting a strange, purple light. I just glanced at it and felt dizzy and nauseous. I was so scared that I just ran away. This Academy City is terrifying!"
Hachiman Hikigaya glanced at Doctor Tesla on the phone. This was indeed the person he had seen descend from the sky that day.
'That's not even the worst of it. I also saw a mini-sun turn into a human.'
"See, I told you. This city is full of danger, you wouldn't want to never see your little sister again, right? So we need to learn more about this city."
Hachiman Hikigaya comforted Miyuki Shirogane earnestly. He was currently secretly gathering people.
Whether or not the school's official organizations could be trusted was hard to say, but given that they were all basically conscripted, Hachiman Hikigaya didn't believe that those officials were good people.
He didn't want to one day become just a number in some report by the Japan government.
But Miyuki Shirogane wasn't an idiot either. After a long hesitation, he asked, "When we don't know anything, we might encounter unknown dangers, but if we know too much, won't there also be danger?"
Weren't all the movies like that?
Saying things like, 'you know too much,' and then killing you off.
"Probably not. When they were building those steel walls, Academy City already revealed the existence of superpowers. And they didn't even hide their mecha activities during the construction of the city. They've practically exposed themselves in front of everyone."
"And you've heard about it too, right? About how the main research here is biological. These people aren't here just to provide free healthcare. They will take as much as they have given."
"Do you think they would treat those students for free? My relatively minor skin disease can be easily treated even outside, but those girls? Don't forget that they could have HIV."
"But they've all been cured. Do you think those rich and powerful officials and their families outside would miss this opportunity?"
"Definitely not! So those people outside who don't have this opportunity will do everything they can to get in, they'll even resort to any means necessary."
Hachiman Hikigaya's words reminded Miyuki Shirogane that they were essentially trapped within Academy City.
That meant they were bound to the people in Academy City.
You say you haven't been sick? You haven't had any special viruses? You say you're completely unrelated to it?
I don't believe you, then let me take some blood and see for myself.
Miyuki Shirogane immediately understood the situation. These students would definitely be exposed to some things they didn't know.
And these things would definitely attract the attention of outsiders, and that meant…
"It seems like there's no way to avoid this."
Miyuki Shirogane rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up. He frowned, troubled by the current situation.
Hachiman Hikigaya nodded and said, "So we have to unite secretly. Or find some students who've already discovered the problems here and organize a group with them. We don't need many people, just enough to exchange information. The important thing is to be useful."
'It would be even better if they can help me escape from this place.'
Hikigaya's ideal outcome was to leave this place. But if he wanted to leave, he had to pretend like he wanted to stay here.
He couldn't leave alone. Not only would he be unable to leave, but he'd probably be caught and brought back right after leaving.
"You want to leave this place, right?"
Miyuki Shirogane wasn't stupid, and he immediately guessed Hachiman Hikigaya's thoughts, immediately stopping his friend's plan.
"Don't do anything stupid! Have you seen what happens to deserters? Can you really outrun them?"
Hachiman Hikigaya asked helplessly, "Are you talking about mandatory military service? I think we're much better off than those self-defense force members punching in and out of work every day."
Miyuki Shirogane's mind raced as he said in a low voice, "Since superpowers and biological research institutes exist here, then there's only one way for us to change our unfortunate situation."
"What is it?" Hachiman Hikigaya asked curiously.
"Getting a position in a research institute. That's the only way we won't become easily replaceable students."
This was the simplest solution that Miyuki Shirogane could think of.
"......"
'You're truly a genius! If you can't beat them, join them, and protect yourself, right?'
Hachiman Hikigaya thought that the chances of that were slim. After all, research institutes wouldn't casually hire high school students as researchers.
"Can we succeed?"
"I don't know. But we have to try. With so many students, there's no way they would just take care of them all for free and have them take normal high school classes, right? They'll teach us some other things, right?"
Miyuki Shirogane thought they would probably be selected as test subjects at that time.
"Are you seriously going to try?"
Hachiman Hikigaya wondered if he had been affected by something, why was he suddenly so motivated?
"If we rely only on our own abilities, it would be impossible for us to escape. Just one or two people guarding the exits is enough to trap us in this steel city."
Miyuki Shirogane remembered the feeling of helplessness when he was running away.
He swore that he had never felt his physical strength could be so good.
Those strange eyes made him unable to resist.
And that uncomfortable feeling of dizziness and nausea was his most vivid nightmare now.
He knew that if they relied solely on human strength, they wouldn't be able to leave no matter what.
This was the real reason he wanted to get into a research institute.