"What's the situation with the boy?"
Outside the hospital emergency room, the long-haired woman in the dark blue uniform—Judgment officer Yomikawa Aiho—asked in a low voice.
Standing beside her were two other Judgment officers in the same uniform, along with two doctors in white coats.
"The bone fractures in his limbs are quite severe, and he has varying degrees of internal organ rupture, but none are critical. Other than that, everything is normal," the male doctor reported.
"Everything is normal?"
"Considering he fell from the top of a forty-story building, having only these injuries is excellent," the doctor shrugged. "It's nothing short of a miracle."
"Could it be because that other child intervened?" one of the male Judgment officers suggested. "After all, he is the strongest Level 5. His ability should be able to..."
"It wasn't him," the doctor shook his head. "If he had intervened, this boy wouldn't have been injured at all. However, his ability was involved in the subsequent injury treatment—thanks to him, this child showed no signs of blood loss whatsoever."
The female Judgment officer sighed: "But that Level 5 has a terrible personality. He completely refused to cooperate with our investigation. He's such a headache..."
"He is a Level 5, so it's normal for him to have some quirks. In this city, they naturally possess various privileges..." Yomikawa Aiho stated. "I'll figure out a way."
"As expected of Officer Yomikawa, you are so dependable!"
Through the one-way glass, they could see the hospital room where the boy involved in the "fall accident" was receiving treatment.
"Has his identity been confirmed?" Yomikawa Aiho asked again.
Her two subordinate Judgment officers exchanged a look, then uttered a single phrase: "The Refinement Group..."
"I see..." Yomikawa Aiho let out a long sigh. "I guessed as much... an abandoned child."
"The records in the 'Library' are almost completely blank," the female Judgment officer said. "Even his name is blank..."
"Blank?"
"Yes, his registered surname is Kobayashi, and the given name is blank," the female officer explained. "According to the notes, his nickname at the orphanage was Kobayashi Nana..."
"Nana? A girl?" Yomikawa Aiho wondered.
"No," the female officer shook her head. "It means the number seven—he was the seventh nameless abandoned child taken in by the orphanage. And his surname comes from a box that the baby was left in, which had the words 'Kobayashi Fruit' written on it..."
"That is... so arbitrary!" Yomikawa Aiho commented.
"According to the notes," the female officer continued, "the orphanage director planned to let them choose their own names when they grew up, so the registration names were all left blank..."
"What about that orphanage?"
"It closed down a year ago due to financial problems."
"Was he caught up in some illegal experiment, then?" the male officer speculated. "He was running away today, had nowhere else to go, and was struck down and fell—there's evidence of a heavy blow to the back of his head."
"That building..." Yomikawa Aiho asked, frowning.
"We checked. It's just a regular office building. Everything is normal," the female officer reported. "At least on the surface, we can't find any flaws."
"It seems we'll have to ask this unfortunate yet lucky little guy directly." Yomikawa Aiho looked back at the hospital room. "Also, arrange personnel to guard him. I'm concerned someone might try to silence him."
The female doctor, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke: "Regarding that, I have some unfortunate news. The child may have amnesia. He seems not to remember anything from before. There are some memory and mental issues."
"Is it because of the injury to the back of his head?"
"We can't rule that out," the female doctor replied. "But there's also good news—we detected the intensity of his AIM Diffusion Field, and we can pretty much confirm that his ability level should have reached Level 3. It's likely this strong ability that allowed him to survive the fall."
"Level 3 Strong Ability... what type is it?" Yomikawa Aiho pressed.
"We don't know yet; that requires specialized equipment," the doctor shook her head. "Based on experience, I'd judge the probability of him being a Psychokinetic user is quite high."
Yomikawa Aiho nodded: "That is indeed good news."
Level 3 is already considered a "High-Level Ability User," and in this city dedicated to "Esper Development," ability level means almost everything.
A Level 3 Strong Ability user and an abandoned child who is a Level 0 Unskilled user are treated entirely differently.
At the very least, when applying for special protection from the Judgment forces, saying they are protecting a Level 3 will save a lot of trouble.
"Well, then, I'll go in and talk to him for a bit." Yomikawa Aiho nodded.
...
It seems he really does have amnesia; it's not a pretense—Yomikawa Aiho sighed internally. As a seasoned Judgment officer, she had her own way of reading people, and it was nearly impossible for someone to lie and escape her notice.
With a light sigh, Yomikawa Aiho offered a gentle smile to the boy resting on the hospital bed: "Don't be afraid, and don't be nervous... Do you remember what your name is?"
"Hmm..." The boy frowned, seemingly trying to recall. "Code 007."
After transmigrating, Lin Wang hadn't inherited much of the original owner's memory, only vaguely recalling that others called him "007"—and even this was only retained because it related to that famous movie series from his previous life.
—Code?
Yomikawa Aiho and the two Judgment officers behind her exchanged a look, their eyes filled with pity. It seemed he was indeed a victim who escaped from an illegal research facility, stripped of his name, with only a number.
"According to your identity file, your surname is Kobayashi for the time being," Yomikawa Aiho said. "As for your given name... it is currently Wuming."
"Wuming?" Lin Wang's eyes lit up. For a Wuxia world—even a modern city Wuxia world—what name could be more fitting than "Wuming"?
He was already planning to learn the erhu once his injuries healed...
"No, I mean you don't have a name, but you can choose one for yourself," Yomikawa Aiho quickly clarified, and then explained the background to him.
"That's perfect, then I'll be called Lin Wuming!" Lin Wang—now Lin Wuming—declared immediately.
"No problem," Yomikawa Aiho nodded. "I'll handle the necessary paperwork for you. For now, please rest well."
She had intended to ask him to cooperate with her investigation, but since the boy genuinely had amnesia, Yomikawa Aiho didn't want to disturb or stimulate him further.
She decided to visit again in a couple of days, once Lin Wuming's condition stabilized enough for him to leave the special intensive care unit, to see if he might have recovered any memories.
As it turned out, two days passed, and Lin Wuming showed no signs of memory recovery whatsoever.
Yomikawa Aiho could only instruct him to continue resting and healing, before leaving with a hint of disappointment.
However, Lin Wuming felt his recovery was progressing well. Perhaps it was because of the awakened "Inner Force" that his body's self-healing ability had also been enhanced?
In any case, he was ready to be transferred to a regular ward for treatment and recuperation.
While Lin Wuming was preparing to be moved, he didn't realize that someone was observing him from behind the one-way glass.
It was an odd group: two men in white coats who didn't look like hospital doctors, and two men in black suits and sunglasses with grim expressions. Their clothes were strained over bulging muscles. One vigilantly scanned the surroundings, while the other focused his attention primarily on the little girl in front of him.
"Misaki," the older man in the white coat asked, "is this boy lying? Does he really have amnesia?"
The girl with the blonde hair and sparkling starry eyes looked bored: "He's not lying, no. But rather than amnesia... it's more like a burst of delusion, wouldn't you say? He doesn't even remember this is Academy City; he insists on believing it's a world of modern samurai and ninjas."
"His brain certainly took a hit," the younger man in the white coat nodded with satisfaction. "It seems a silencing operation won't be necessary—doing that kind of thing right under the nose of the Judgment forces is indeed a bit tricky."
The older man glared at him: "Watch your words. Your lips are so loose, to be honest, I already regret agreeing to help. Let's go back, Misaki."
The blonde girl acted as if she hadn't heard anything, obediently following the older man as they turned to leave.
At the same time, the door to the intensive care unit was pushed open, and a nurse came out, pushing a wheelchair.
Lin Wuming, seated in the wheelchair, passed by the old man and the girl head-on in the hallway.
In that situation, it was hard not to notice the exquisitely beautiful girl.
So, starry eyes really do exist in real life! Lin Wuming couldn't help but think.
Idiot! A clear, sharp reprimand came from the girl.
Lin Wuming quickly looked back but noticed that no one else seemed to have heard the voice.
He couldn't help but wonder if he was hallucinating.