Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item4 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 6===

Of course, Frenda Seivelun made full use of her “weapons”.

At 10 in the morning, a shopping center packed full of hardware, gardening, and other specialty stores was already open.

That place was like heaven to a professional bomber.

“Sigh, it’s just so easy to buy these dangerous ingredients at ordinary stores. I do love the complete lack of defenses that comes from crime not having evolved much out here.”

The blonde girl left a store with large bags in each hand.

Frenda Seivelun was a professional bomber, but that also meant she was well-versed in the use of all chemicals with explosive reactions.

Mimicking the forensic investigation techniques of Academy City’s Anti-Skill was no challenge at all.

“Now, then.”

Frenda had awoken on a station platform bench, but she doubted someone had carried an unconscious girl through the rush hour crowd and left the super dazzling blonde girl there. People would have noticed.

Which meant…

(It must’ve been before the first train, but after the last patrol by a station attendant. Who would have free access to carry in a large piece of luggage before the station opens?)

“A delivery or cargo worker, maybe? Like a truck driver?”

Then had Frenda been lying there for hours on the dark station platform bench before she awoke on her own? In the middle of all the riders and station attendants at one of Japan’s most crowded stations? Tokyo really was coldhearted.

“Ugh. In the end, I hope I didn’t catch a cold.”

That was a particular worry when she was on the run and couldn’t risk visiting a doctor.

A delivery worker was especially suspect because they would also be legally allowed inside and outside of Academy City. Transporting everything by air increased costs considerably and Academy City didn’t border the sea, so using trucks was much more profitable.

This must have been a truck driver who did work at both Academy City and Shinjuku Station.

There couldn’t be too many like that.

It was a risk, but after completing her preparations, Frenda returned to the massive Shinjuku Station. But instead of going inside, she made a circuit of the perimeter.

Shinjuku Station had some harsh height differences. It had been built partway up a slope, so the ground level exits could be as much as three floors apart.

On the lower side, near a spiraling slope, Frenda found the row of metal shutters that signified the cargo unloading entrance.

“Here we go.”

Since she had been left at the station platform before the first train, it must have happened around 4 in the morning. She doubted the truck that had taken her from Academy City was still at the station.

But traces would remain.

“In the end, should I start with tire tracks and exhaust gas?”

While speaking to herself, Frenda quickly mixed multiple chemicals using the tablespoon, teaspoon, other measuring cups she had bought at a discount store. She wasn’t melting or burning anything, so mixing a reagent like this didn’t require a special mask or goggles.

After pouring the liquid into an empty spray bottle, she began spritzing it onto the asphalt.

“Bingo☆”

Pairs of thick tire tracks, presumably from trucks, appeared in bluish-white. Tire treads were a type of technology. The truck driver must have replaced his worn-out tires in Academy City because just one track had a noticeably high-tech pattern.

(The target probably refuels in Academy City, so I was planning to follow the traces of the exhaust gas that sticks to the asphalt. But in the end, reality did me a favor here.)

That would be her sign for now.

Of course, if she kept spritzing along those tracks, she would run out of reagent quick. Not to mention that she would gather attention walking down the center of the road staring intently at the ground. So she would instead connect point to point. All she wanted to do was pursue the escaped truck, so she only needed to check with a quick spritzing at the intersections. She was only guessing based on the spacing between the tires, but such a large truck would have to stick to the major roads.

Frenda obeyed the lights and used the crosswalks while aiming the spray bottle at the ground without crouching or stopping. The range of the spray bottle? Earth has this little thing called gravity, so as long as she sprayed the mist, it would fall toward the ground on its own. Then, once she had reached the other side of the street, she would look back to check the result.

And.

When it was all going so well.

Frenda felt an unpleasant chill along her spine.

She was suddenly hesitant to take another step.



''Zvwahh!!!

A fearsome beam flew straight in, melting and scorching the sturdy asphalt.



It hit right in front of Frenda.

That was Academy City’s #4 Mugino Shizuri’s Meltdowner.

Even a modest estimate told Frenda the light source was more than 3000m away.

The blast had been fired diagonally down from above.

Mugino was either on top of a skyscraper or she had chartered a helicopter.

“!!?”

For a moment, Frenda herself wasn’t sure how she had managed to dodge that.

(In the end, was there a brief unnatural shadow on the big sign on that distant building’s roof? From someone standing in front of it? I must be a genius to notice that!!)

Psyching yourself up like that could provide a surprising amount of strength during an emergency.

When used properly, it could keep you from freezing up and being killed.

Frenda acted as her own cheerleader as she sent her gaze darting through her more immediate surroundings, but she saw no sign of Kinuhata making a secondary attack from close quarters.

Was this only a sniper attack?

That suggested this wasn’t a planned attack and they had just so happened to spot Frenda. Unexpected opportunities were like ad libbing on stage – it was a battle against mistakes.

However, Meltdowner did not require operating a bolt handle or loading the next round. If Frenda continued standing out in the open, she would waste this miracle she had been granted. If she didn’t respond right away, the next attack would be coming in less than two seconds.

(The closest light is red. In the end, none of the cars are moving!!)

More bright flashes burst out, but these did not come from Mugino.

Frenda had triggered some magnesium flashes as a distraction.

(Even if you don’t have any professional stun grenades, you can find magnesium all over the place. Like in the signs attached to power poles. In the end, they use magnesium to increase the strength of the wires made of a zinc or aluminum alloy.)

Even so, a beam of electrons tore into the asphalt less than 5m from Frenda. She didn’t have time to hesitate. She practically leaped into the space between two buildings.

“But I can’t just ignore the tire tracks. Hiding isn’t enough. In the end, I need to occasionally poke my head out to spray the reagent on the road.”

Fortunately, she had already revealed a few points of the trail.

She extrapolated from those and made her way to the next point. She wanted to to finish following this trail as quickly as possible.