The Evil Scientist is Too Competent

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Upon hearing the news that Liu Boss from City S had gone missing, I was finally able to put an end to my long seclusion. That she had gone missing was something I was already aware of.

I also knew that she had sneaked away under the cover of night and boarded a plane using a forged passport. Thus, I subtly hinted at this information to those who would want to capture her.

During the process of trying to capture her, I even learned that Liu Boss had lost her life. Of course, the men who caught her would not disclose that fact. It was much easier for the public to handle the image of a boss who embezzled company funds and went missing rather than that of an unfortunate boss who had lost her life.

‘It’s a pity that the divine spirit wasn’t captured along with her…’

Since I wasn’t part of the Evil Organization that directly went after her, the request to ensure the altar she was carrying was secured wasn’t fulfilled. The two who went to capture her only realized that the altar she had been holding disappeared at some point.

I sighed, trying to figure out where that altar had gone, but surprisingly, even with the use of artificial intelligence and probability manipulation, I couldn’t figure out where that guy’s divine spirit had vanished to.

Just as I contemplated retreating back to the laboratory, I belatedly recognized that the divine spirit, having lost the medium of someone like Liu Boss, couldn’t act freely. If the divine spirit had been able to operate without any conditions, it would have already taken over the world.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ve made preparations anyway.’

Of course, even if that assumption was wrong, and if the divine spirit was indeed a monster capable of unleashing its powers without conditions, it wouldn’t matter. I had completed techniques that could counter the divine spirit’s abilities. It had only been recently that I reached a level where I could operate them in a wristwatch size.

Even if the divine spirit secretly targeted Na-na or anyone from the Evil Organization, I would be able to defend against that at least once. After that, I could relax, enjoy a cup of coffee, and leisurely return to the laboratory to counterattack.

“E-excuse me, scientist?”

“Yeah, I’m here. What’s up?”

“Hehe… I have a problem I don’t know how to solve…”

At that moment, Ayle cautiously knocked on the laboratory door, peeking in while holding a book. Seeing her dressed smartly, I realized her intention was not just studying.

Now, it was a world where tutoring sessions could be easily facilitated with the help of artificial intelligence anytime and anywhere. I had even provided her with a particularly high-performance AI, so she could probably teach herself even easier than I could.

Yet she still came looking for me…

“I, I’ll sit next to you!”

However, such stray thoughts were quickly blown away by the sweet fragrance she brought along. The sweet aroma that felt like it was brewed overnight instantly clouded my senses. I had tried not to pay attention to it for some time, but Ayle was soon becoming an adult.

To be exact, it was still two months and a few days away.

As the autumn leaves turned the world red, and those colored leaves began to die one by one, the girl, just before changing into an adult, sat beside me.

“I-I can’t solve this problem…”

“Hmm, this one-.”

“Aha! Now I get it because you explained it, scientist!”

Ayle beamed with a smile, showing no interest in the problem. I chuckled at her expression, then glanced up and down at her outfit. While it was typical of what she usually wore, there were a few elements that added a touch of autumn to it.

“What’s that on your sleeves? It’s cute.”

“Oh, do you know? This is…”

Delighted that I recognized her change, Ayle’s face lit up, showcasing the charm she could only flaunt in this transitional season between summer and winter.

Ah, yes. It was that season. The month when people would pull out their secret clothes hidden away in their wardrobes all year long. I didn’t know if it applied to this world as well…

It was autumn.

The next day.

“Ah-choo!”

A sharp sneeze pierced the air. I looked at Ayle with a worried expression.

“…Are you okay?”

“I’m f-fine…”

“No, you definitely don’t seem fine. I told you to wear something thicker…”

“But, it wasn’t this cold until yesterday…”

Clad in an outfit of similar thickness to yesterday, Ayle tremblingly spoke. I sighed bitterly while gazing outside the window. The street landscape, which had been painted in red until yesterday, was now completely hidden beneath a coat of white.

A scene where visibility was nearly impossible. A snowstorm was hurling itself about.

Today, the entire world experienced an unprecedented blizzard.

Winter had arrived.

Swoosh—

Snow falls. How much snow has fallen? After stepping outside the building and returning, Six had transformed into a snowman, while the snow magical girl, who was supposed to fight against the Evil Magical Girl in City H today, had submitted a leave of absence due to the heavy snowfall.

With weather like this, it was a day when both heroes and villains chose to stay indoors. On the street, an uncompleted maglev train from Evilus Corporation was scuttling around, sliding along the road all on its own.

Given the circumstances, Regalía made a decision fitting for the MZ generation.

“All employees will work from home until further notice.”

No employees heard this directive. Regalía herself was confined within her mansion.

In such a situation, the only ones left in the company were myself and a few executives from the Evil Organization, along with a few employees who couldn’t leave due to their shifts. Of course, we had also tried to leave, but…

“Damn it. If we just step outside, we’ll freeze to death.”

“Here, a towel.”

“Thanks.”

Galm shook off the ice crystals clinging to him like wet fur and grimaced while wiping his body with the towel. Obviously, a single towel couldn’t dry his entire drenched body.

Galm, having lost his body heat, glared at me while quivering.

“Scientist. You didn’t do this, did you?”

“Me? Why would you think that?”

“Maybe not? Then forget it…”

“No, why is everything my fault? Do I have some sort of sin?”

“News always ties such weather extremes to science. And we’ve never had this much snow before.”

That was true.

Science existed in this world too, and technological advancement was naturally destructive to the environment. While it didn’t incur irreversible damage like on Earth, there was still harm caused by fossil fuel usage.

However, that harm wasn’t too significant. Unlike Earth, which only had oil or gas to rely on, this world boasted superpowers. Super energy was quite an eco-friendly energy source. One bowl of rice could produce more energy than dozens of liters of oil.

Yet there weren’t enough of those superhumans to meet the energy consumption of the entire humanity. Though slower than on Earth, environmental degradation was indeed on the rise in this world as well. Meteorologists had even discovered through reviewing records from hundreds or thousands of years ago that the planet was slowly deteriorating.

“Well, it is a bit extreme, but something like this can happen sometimes. If it were truly a climate anomaly from a collapsing planet, it wouldn’t just stop here; it would be something much worse…”

“Worse, you say?”

“No, I’m just saying it probably won’t be climate-related. And it certainly wasn’t my doing. It’s common sense that I couldn’t have caused more destruction here than humanity has in its entire history, you brute.”

“…What? What did you call me?”

“I said nothing.”

As Galm pondered if what he heard was correct, I casually ignored him and gazed outside at the building. A blizzard raged on, making it impossible to see just a step ahead. The ground and roads were frozen solid, halting all buses and taxis from operating.

To go back, I would have to walk home… through this snowstorm?

‘There’s no need for that.’

After all, there was nothing waiting for me at home. The laboratory was essentially my home. I pressed the elevator button, thinking about relaxing in the new bed I had purchased.

Once I stepped into the arriving elevator and pressed the button, the elevator jolted slightly with a deep rumble. I quickly jumped out of the elevator, letting out a scream.

“What, what’s going on!?”

As I glanced around, the inside of the building was enveloped in darkness. At first, I thought it was a blackout caused by tension, but it wasn’t that.

Galm let out a hollow laugh while looking up at the building’s ceiling.

“It’s a blackout.”

“…A blackout, you say?”

“Yeah. A blackout.”

Galm’s words made me chuckle nervously.

A blackout, in this weather?

In other words…

“We’re isolated.”

Meaning we were stranded.

In a concrete jungle no less.