Manabu Horikita began to suspect whether he had done the right thing by contacting Noldrei.
He saw the news that Dr. Tesla was temporarily stepping down from her position in Academy City's internal newspaper. He didn't know what position she was transferred to.
'Is their efficiency really this high? So you just took away the locomotive to slow down the development speed, right? That's pretty hardcore.'
After thinking for a moment, Manabu Horikita decided to buy some stock from Dr. Tesla's former research institute.
He was certain that Noldrei had no intention of slowing down the development speed of Academy City.
That meant that Dr. Tesla would come back eventually. And this investment would definitely pay off one day.
What was most prevalent in Academy City were…
Urban legends.
Manabu Horikita suspected that these things were all real, but he hadn't been able to find any evidence.
Beep beep beep.
Hei once again called him. It seemed like there was some task that needed to be done.
"Ah, this kind of weird job again."
This gathering felt a bit more peaceful. At least Hachiman Hikigaya didn't seem to be as resistant as before. It was just…
'Why is he so nervous?' Manabu Horikita looked at Hachiman Hikigaya and thought of these brothers who had been invited to Mount Liang.
*'Make me undercover? How could I not be nervous? What are you looking at? I'm just here to make up the numbers!*'
Hachiman Hikigaya thought that this kind of thing wouldn't fall onto his head, but it had. Especially his leader, he didn't know if it was because she was reprimanded by a higher-up, but that short girl had him continue to monitor these people's activities with a very bad attitude.
'I give up. I've never been undercover before! It's my first time experiencing such an exciting thing. Maybe I'll write a book titled 'Those Years I Spent With the Evil Cultists.''
Hachiman was still able to comfort himself.
Bronya didn't explain, and Hei would certainly not explain what was happening behind the scenes.
Kiana's situation couldn't be directly told to everyone. If people knew that there was really a Mother of the Stigmata, who was controlling the direction of people's wills, then it would definitely be a huge piece of news. So Hei would absolutely not expose the truth.
Although it wasn't something that was life-threatening, everyone was nervously participating in Hei's meeting.
"Before we begin the mission, let's talk about Stigmata battlesuits."
Hei took out the original form of the Stigmata battlesuit. It was a leather garment that looked like a living organism.
"As you can see, this is what the Stigmata battlesuit looks like inside. This is how it looks when you remove that layer of leather garment."
The results he had shown immediately frightened Hachiman Hikigaya.
You see, in the promotions within Academy City, Stigmata were the ultimate masterpiece that combined biotechnology. They were said to simulate the internal structure of many of the original Stigmata bearers through a combination of biology and electronics.
This was how Stigmata battlesuits existed. But what Hachiman Hikigaya never expected was that the original form of Stigmata battlesuits would be like this…
It wasn't in line with the aesthetic preferences of normal people at all.
This made everyone become alert. Sakuta Azusagawa immediately walked over and carefully observed this strange 'leather clothing.'
He asked cautiously, "Hei, are you serious? Is this what Stigmata are?"
"Yes, or rather, it's originally called a 'living Stigmata battlesuit.'" Hei honestly explained the mysteries within it. The word 'living' was the best proof.
"Are you saying that it's 'alive?'" Fuutaro Uesugi couldn't even care about recording the meeting minutes anymore. He was shocked by these things promoted by Academy City.
"If it's alive, is it a threat to humans?" Manabu Horikita finally understood why the Identity ID was in this kind of form.
So the Identity ID was also something that was similar to a living Stigmata.
"Would you think that some earthworm, or some larva, is a threat? While living Stigmata are alive, they don't have any intelligence. Theoretically, they're similar to a living human organ that has been removed. This thing was designed by imitating the original human Stigmata."
Hei's explanation didn't calm Hachiman Hikigaya down.
He used to admire Stigmata battlesuits, but now… there was nothing to be admired about them anymore.
Suddenly, Hachiman remembered something.
He immediately asked in horror, "So that means that the things implanted inside the students to protect them are also this kind of 'organ'?"
Everyone gasped, and they subconsciously touched the back of their heads, remembering the strange organ that had been implanted in them.
This thing could indeed speed up the body's recovery and protect humans, but it also brought some problems.
Hei calmly sat in the main seat and explained, "Academy City is essentially a living organ manufacturing factory. The students here are all test subjects for the compatibility of living organs. Although these living organs were originally created based on the Valkyries who fought against the Honkai, and were either cloned or grown from cells taken from their bodies, they don't pose any harm to humans. But they also have some negative changes."
"My work is actually very simple, it's to cooperate with the directors and deal with those negative changes. Those strange urban legends might not all be fake. Rather, most of them are real."
"The Holy Mother isn't fake either, or rather…"
"She's the original Stigmata provider and the key to the entire structure of Academy City."
Hachiman Hikigaya's entire face was stiff as he digested this strange news.
He remembered it very clearly, or rather, there was a powerful, bright sun in his memories.
That sun was the existence that truly had the power to make decisions.
Thinking about this, he subconsciously looked at the people around him, his eyes landing on the calmest person among them, Manabu Horikita.
And Manabu Horikita also looked at Hachiman Hikigaya.
After a brief exchange of glances, Hachiman Hikigaya stopped observing and turned to ask Hei, "How did you know such important information?"
"Actually, only the normal students don't know about this. A lot of the research institutes, and even the directors, know about this."
Hei smiled and gave an even more horrifying answer.
"Okay! Is this how you guys are playing?!" Fuutaro Uesugi was angry, and he asked anxiously, "Then why didn't anyone come out and expose this?"
"Expose? Have you seen the Honkai beasts and the Great Honkai crisis? Do you think it's more important to find people to fight the Honkai, or to explain the situation to you? By the time the experiments begin, you'll have already tasted the benefits."
"It'll be too late for you to try and jump ship by then. You've already been tested with Stigmata battlesuits when you guys entered the school, haven't you? Did you think that you could protect your own genetic information then?"
Hei's cold retort made everyone quiet down.
The cruel reality made them have to consider what important yet insignificant things they had lost unintentionally.