I Think That's Pretty Scientific

Chapter 18: 018: Too Eager to Go to School—Something’s Wrong with His Mind

After spending two days scouring every database he was capable of hacking into, Kraft failed to find a single piece of information related to the Magia Gang’s experiments. The only thing even remotely related was a mention in intelligence reports from the police department and a few other official agencies of an attack that had occurred on the Magia Gang’s turf seven years ago; however, there was no information whatsoever on the identity of the attackers. Kraft thought it over for a long time but ultimately decided against sending Harrow to launch a brute-force attack on the databases of intelligence organizations like the FBI. Although, given Harrow’s skills, he wouldn’t leave a trace even if the hack failed, Kraft was wary of the cyber capabilities of Stark and several other mysterious factions beyond those intelligence agencies. He wasn’t sure if they might cut him off from the rear during the hack. So, after much deliberation, Kraft abandoned the idea. After all, his technical skills would continue to improve over time, and there was no need to expose himself over such a minor matter. He’d already waited seven years; a little more time wouldn’t make a difference. Having gained little from his intelligence-gathering efforts, Kraft turned his attention back to the invention he’d been working on in his dreams. Previously, to guard against Martin’s so-called business rivals, Kraft had been constantly strengthening his workshop’s defenses. Now that he had some free time, he began conducting a test he’d long wanted to figure out Could others replicate the unscientific devices from his dreams? Previously, due to the need for secrecy, Kraft had never found an opportunity to experiment. Now that he had Alice—that obedient, sweet little sister—she naturally became the most suitable candidate. The most suitable item for testing was none other than Dr. Agasa’s sound-mimicking device. It wasn’t technically sophisticated, and the operation wasn’t complicated—even the adorably clueless Alice could copy it by simply imitating what she saw. The test results left Kraft with mixed feelings. The sound-imitating device, made entirely by Alice, performed roughly as Kraft had anticipated—it wasn’t as magical as the ones Dr. Agasa or Kraft himself had created. However, as long as Kraft was involved—and to a certain degree—the final product would undergo a qualitative leap, transforming from an ordinary scientific creation into some kind of completely unscientific, magical gadget. Furthermore, if a magical gadget crafted by Kraft were taken apart and then reassembled exactly as it was, its magical effects would vanish. In such cases, at the very least, Kraft didn’t have to worry about technology leaks; however, on the flip side, the idea of mass-producing these magical gadgets was nothing more than a pipe dream for him. All in all, however, Kraft was fairly satisfied with the test results. Technology, after all, only holds value when it’s monopolized. And it’s not as if Kraft is completely unable to mass-produce these items—many of them are solid products even without their “unscientific” effects. Take, for example, the solar-powered skateboard Kraft recently learned to build from Dr. Agasa. Even if you strip away its unscientific ability to keep up with cars, the technology behind its highly efficient use of solar energy is impressive in its own right—at least two or three orders of magnitude more efficient than the solar devices currently on the market. As for Da Vinci’s solar-powered flashlight, which also uses solar energy… Who knows how that goofball managed it, but no matter how Kraft adjusted it, the electricity converted from solar power was only enough to light the flashlight’s bulb—no more, no less. I suppose this is just another example of the unscientific phenomena found in “dream technology.” As the Demon Gang’s members gradually withdrew from Hell’s Kitchen, Kraft no longer needed to hole up in his workshop every day. At Martin Lee’s urging, he reluctantly returned to school to attend classes. However, his research didn’t stop because of this. In addition to constantly absorbing newly emerging knowledge about dreams, Kraft also handed over technologies like the solar conversion technique—as mentioned earlier—to Martin Lee for development. This not only secured funding for his own research but also allowed Martin to quickly recoup the losses he’d suffered during the attack on the Magia Gang. “It’s a shame I still can’t replicate those inventions with special powers.” Kraft glanced at the magical core on his desk—yet another failure—and sighed helplessly. He hadn’t had many dreams lately, and those he had were either related to the mystical realm or involved heavy industrial products requiring massive manpower and equipment. Kraft didn’t want to attract the attention of official U. S. agencies just yet, so heavy industry was naturally off the table. Consequently, he could only keep experimenting with creations related to the Mystical Side—though, unfortunately, they had all failed. The only mechanical prosthetic technology he’d managed to master recently wasn’t particularly advanced; it was just the neural interface technology at its core that was somewhat interesting. In fact, Kraft was more interested in the “alchemy” technique used in that freely moving suit of armor. Unfortunately, the protagonist of that dream was a young woman fitting a little kid with a prosthetic limb, and there weren’t any books related to alchemy in the room at all. Kraft had tried to replicate the alchemical array drawn by the armored figure, but there was absolutely no reaction—it seemed that certain core technologies hadn’t been revealed in the dream. “If only I could dream about that armored figure or that little kid… or even that unorthodox scientist, Dr. Agasa, again.” Kraft tidied up his workshop, ran his hand through his messy hair a couple of times, and then staggered home. “I’m home~” Kraft pushed open the front door and saw Alice sitting on the living room couch, munching on snacks and laughing heartily at a soap opera on TV. “Oh, welcome back~” Alice brushed the crumbs off her hands, flashed Kraft a goofy smile, and then scampered off toward the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready! I’ll bring it out right away!” “Sigh…” Kraft sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead. Seeing Alice so carefree, who would ever guess she was a robot! “I’ll just enroll her in school next semester…” The thought of himself slogging through school while Alice stayed at home playing happily made Kraft feel incredibly resentful. He’d originally planned to have Alice start in high school, but now he’d decided to have her start in eighth grade alongside him! After all, it was only a one-year difference—it wouldn’t make much of a difference. But when Kraft told Alice about his decision, she actually seemed really happy about it. Kraft: ??? There’s definitely something wrong with this robot! She actually likes going to school! No matter how surprised Kraft was by Alice’s bizarre hobby, they still had to eat. Although Alice usually came across as cute and clueless, her talent for cooking was surprisingly excellent. She’d started out only able to follow recipes to make average meals, but now she’d evolved to the point where she could independently experiment with dishes—and her cooking was on par with the chef at Fat Liao’s house. So after all that hassle, did I just end up making myself a cooking robot? After wolfing down the delicious dinner Alice had prepared, Kraft patted his belly with satisfaction. Oh well, at least I don’t have to keep nagging Martin to find me a mom anymore. After dinner, he and Alice washed the dishes together, then sat down in front of the TV to play video games. That’s the great thing about America—there’s almost no homework. Although, as far as Kraft could remember, he’d only ever attended schools in the U. S. , his subconscious told him he’d once had a school experience with a heavy homework load. This must be his lost memories playing tricks on him—it wasn’t the first or second time Kraft had experienced a similar feeling, so he didn’t give it a second thought. They kept playing until the TV show Alice was following was about to start, at which point Kraft returned to his room to finish his pitifully small amount of homework. After washing up, he lay down on his bed. Even though tomorrow was the weekend, Kraft still went to bed early. Aside from research, gaming, and good food, his greatest passion was sleeping. After all, dreams had everything—they were far more interesting than those soap operas on TV. Plus, dreams appeared completely unpredictably, so every time he fell asleep, he felt a sense of anticipation, like scratching off a lottery ticket. As the old saying goes: What you think about constantly will eventually come true. Perhaps because Kraft had been going on about it for so long lately, Little Doctor Dongyun appeared once again in his dreams. The level of unscientific absurdity in this dream’s invention surpassed even that of the robot Mingnai. It was a simple, red, triangular scarf that Dr. Dongyun had whipped up in just a few hours. And the effect of this scarf was—it made animals talk. Are you kidding me?! No matter how you look at it, this scarf is just an ordinary cloth scarf! There are no chips inside, nor any magic or sorcery—so what on earth is the principle behind making animals talk like this, you jerk! Moreover, based on Kraft’s observations, this scarf doesn’t just make animals talk—it also seems to enhance their intelligence to some extent. Or rather, it not only gives animals the ability to speak human language but also grants them a thought process close to that of humans. This is completely unscientific! Although this invention was completely unscientific and didn’t seem to have any practical use for Kraft, the moment he woke up from his dream, he jumped out of bed and rushed to the pet store to buy a pet. No matter how it works or whether it’s useful or not, Kraft is determined to do it! Because it’s just so much fun, isn’t it? “Huh? Big brother, you’re up really early today.” Alice, who was preparing breakfast, heard the noise and poked her head out of the kitchen to say hello. “Is it okay if I have wonton soup for breakfast?” “Sure, sure. I’m just heading out for a bit!” Kraft hurriedly put on his shoes and was about to run out the door. “Brother, where are you going? Isn’t it the weekend today?” Alice looked puzzled. “I’m going to buy a pet. Alice, what kind of animal do you like?” Realizing he probably wouldn’t be able to take care of a pet himself—and that the responsibility would ultimately fall on Alice—Kraft figured it would be best to ask her first. Although the “Mei” in the dream, who shared the same origin as her, seemed to really like cats, who knew if things might change now that they were in a different world? “Huh? A pet?” Alice looked very happy. She tapped her lips lightly with her finger as she thought it over. “Cats or dogs are both fine. I like anything fluffy, but…” Alice held out her right hand, revealing the digital watch hidden on her wrist, then tilted her head and reminded Kraft, “At this time of day, the pet store probably isn’t open yet, right?” Kraft: … Thanks to [My Cousin Who Let Me Borrow His Watch] for the tip. In the main story, Mr. Sakamoto had human-like thinking even before he put on his scarf, but that setting would be a bit odd in the Marvel universe, so I tweaked the scarf’s ability slightly. If you like it, please hit “Favorite” and “Recommend”~ Performance during the promotion period is still very important.