Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Biohacker Chapter5 (section)

===Part 2===

Academy City District 21 was the one and only mountainous region in the city.

It only had a few relatively small mountains, but there were still plenty of things built there, such as an observatory and a dam. It was also a crucial independent water source for Academy City.

A winding mountain road was covered by a canopy of trees. The area was so dim it was easy to forget it was still morning. This place seemed like a realm of eternal night, cut off from the normal flow of time.

The low-riding red sports car looked out of place on that mountain road.

Mitsuari Ayu had been placed in the passenger seat. It was unnatural for a girl in her school uniform to be there on a weekday, but she was not bound in any way. If she was, the street corner cameras or security robots would notice something was amiss.

She could not move. If not for the seatbelt, inertia would have made her fall over.

Her body felt lethargic.

Her consciousness was fading in and out.

She could not hope to use her power like this. She had to focus her mind to avoid suffocating on her own saliva.

“Once we arrive, I will inject you with my company’s antidote for the infectious stun weapon, so you focus on arriving there safely.” The young man in the driver’s seat smiled thinly. “We are very disappointed that a miscommunication has led to this. You are a crucial resource that must not be allowed to die, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“…”

He could not allow her to die, but how long would that remain true?

She could trust that up until she had given him what he needed, but what about afterwards?

She had seen the still image of the Beginning Child in the L.S.S. HQ’s server room. The oldest modern esper could be woken using internal stimulation to her mind. That alone might sound like a praiseworthy deed, but Mitsuari had been attacked by a giant dragon and a biological weapon. Supposedly, control of the Beginning Child might give one technology on par with Board Chairman Aleister and that had to be playing a large role in this man’s decision.

The classic music playing in the car was not in line with the girl’s tastes, but she could not even reach out to adjust the car stereo.

She wobbled and her head turned toward the window.

The thick forest flowing by looked like the world of the dead to her.

(A…landmark.)

“All I need you to do is wake up the Beginning Child, who not even Aleister could control. You are free to go after that. Merely having her on standby in a ‘usable’ state will be a powerful bargaining chip with the Board Chairman.”

(I need a landmark…to tell me…where I am.)

She saw a giant tower rising vertically from the mountains.

She had heard of that before.

It was a power plant that used the heat within the earth. She searched her memory and found its name: Ground Geo.