A time traveler arrives in the Multiverse with an ability that turns confident assumptions into reality. If he believes an ordinary object should perform an impossible task, the rules of the world may simply adjust to make it happen. A bicycle can rise into the sky, common equipment can behave far beyond its normal limits, and even the human body can ignore expectations that should be absolute. The power sounds convenient, but every new idea raises a larger question: if reality keeps obeying what he thinks is “scientific,” how long will it be before no one—including him—can tell where logic ends and imagination begins?
Chapter 25: 025: And You Said You Weren’t a Pervert!
Armed with the experience of successfully finding mithril alloy, Kraft repeatedly experimented and found substitutes for other metals like serium and true silver one by one. Even if they didn’t surpass the originals like mithril alloy did, they didn’t affect the functionality of those items. It wasn’t until later, when magical materials began to take up an increasingly larger proportion, that Kraft’s progress in engineering finally stalled. Even so, Kraft was quite satisfied. Engineering was a complete technological system—something he’d rarely even dreamed of. Hmm… I suppose you could call it technology… “By the way, how’s the search for Captain America’s shield going?” Having finished his research on engineering, Kraft browsed through the memos on his computer and then asked Harlow. “We’re at an impasse—at an impasse.” As Harlow spoke, it pulled up the relevant information it had gathered online. Due to official U. S. propaganda, information about Captain America was extremely convoluted, making it very difficult to extract useful details. Among the dense pile of documents Harlow had gathered, over seventy percent were labeled “dubious.” Kraft spent a considerable amount of time sifting through this material, but unfortunately, just as Harlow’s report indicated, the intelligence gathering had reached a stalemate. This was because a mysterious faction had sealed away all the truly valuable intelligence; had it not been for two other mysterious factions that had attacked the first faction’s database, Harrow wouldn’t have been able to uncover even these few clues. Of these three factions, Kraft knew the identity of one: “High Tide,” an organization formed by a group of hackers. When Kraft had Harlow scouring the cyberworld, they had sent him an encrypted email—essentially an invitation to join High Tide—which Kraft had decisively rejected. That’s because, aside from the recruitment pitch, the email went on and on about their organization’s mission—things like breaking through the government’s information blockade and letting the public know the truth—all of which made Kraft want to laugh just reading it. “You Americans are suffering in the depths of misery—it’s none of my damn business.” However, thanks to them, Kraft did manage to gather some useful information—Captain America’s shield was crafted by Tony Stark’s father, Howard Stark, using a metal called vibranium. After assigning the task of gathering intelligence on vibranium to Harlow as a standing assignment, Kraft began preparing to address another item on the memo. Give Alice a sturdier body. When he first created Alice, Kraft wasn’t confident of success, so he used only a standard alloy. Although she later survived an attack by the Magia Gang, he felt that even a standard alloy was sufficient. Plus, at the time, Kraft figured that if Alice accidentally got damaged, he could just make a new one—so naturally, he didn’t bother upgrading her to better materials. Now, his perception of Alice had completely changed. Coupled with the existence of the Hulk—another being that defied science and was beyond control—reinforcing Alice’s body had naturally become a priority. “Brother, were you looking for me?” Since Kraft had been immersed in engineering-related research lately—which inevitably involved explosions, explosions, and more explosions—Alice and her two pets had moved back home. Today, after receiving a call from Kraft, Alice rushed over from home with Quinn and Beya. “Hmm,” Kraft beckoned to Alice, then pointed to the workbench. “Come over here and lie down.” “Wh-what’s wrong?” Alice glanced fearfully at the cold tools on the workbench and asked cautiously. “You saw that green monster on TV earlier. If you ever run into him, there’s no doubt you’d be crushed into a pile of scrap metal.” Kraft helped Alice lie down on the workbench. “Originally, I figured that even if you were damaged, we could bring you back to life at any time with the computer backup. But as you mentioned before, you’re afraid that the ‘you’ who comes back won’t be the same person.” Kraft undid Alice’s clothes and skillfully took her body apart piece by piece, then hung her head to one side as he continued to explain, “So I thought I’d replace the materials in your body with a stronger alloy. That way, even if you run into some kind of accident, you won’t be easily damaged.” “So that’s what it was—you scared me to death… I thought you were going to abandon me, big brother…” With only her head hanging in midair, Alice looked at Kraft with tear-filled eyes. She had watched helplessly as she was taken apart into a pile of parts, and had nearly fainted from the shock. “Don’t be silly!” Kraft tapped Alice’s lone head. “You’re my little sister!” “Hehe~” Alice giggled foolishly, trying to reach up to touch the back of her head, but her arm—which had been placed on the workbench—accidentally punched Kraft right between the legs. Kraft knelt on the ground, clutching his groin, too pained to even scream. “Aaaaaah!!! I’m so sorry, big brother!!!” Alice began flailing her arms and legs in a panic, then decisively swung her right foot out, smashing it right into Quinn’s face. “RUA!” “Aaaaaaah!!! I’m sorry, Quinn!” Alice grew even more frantic. “Stop moving, meow!” It was the little black cat, Beya, who, relying on her agility, darted up onto Alice’s head and slapped her on the forehead—only then did this clumsy yet adorable robot finally calm down. “Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch…” Kraft lay on the ground resting for quite a while before steadying himself against the workbench and standing up unsteadily. “I’m sorry…” Alice apologized repeatedly, her voice trembling with tears. “Don’t move around so much!” Kraft shot the idiot a scornful glare, rested for a moment longer, and then resumed replacing Alice’s body. The blow to his groin had affected Kraft’s work to some extent; it took him considerably longer than expected to completely replace Alice’s body with high-grade materials, primarily Lunar Titanium Alloy. Even the outermost layer of synthetic skin was replaced with a sturdier material that was both fire- and acid-resistant. After finishing the replacement of Alice’s synthetic skin, Kraft tossed her clothes over to her, then rubbed his still-aching groin and grimaced, saying, “Hurry up and get dressed, then make me some dinner! I’m starving!” Alice, still naked, sat up from the workbench, smiling apologetically and nodding repeatedly. “Kraft! I’m coming!” Just then, Fat Liao burst in, clutching his beloved handheld camera. Since tomorrow was the weekend, Kraft and Fat Liao had agreed that Liao would come over tonight to stay the night so they could shoot new footage for the “Skilled Hands” channel over the weekend. Kraft had figured that, at his own pace, he could finish swapping bodies with Alice before five o’clock and then have dinner or something, so they’d agreed to meet at seven o’clock that evening. But who could have predicted that kind of unexpected turn of events? “Kraft! And you said you weren’t a pervert!” Liao the Fat Guy’s chubby finger was trembling as he pointed at Kraft. Kraft: “…Ugh!” Thanks to [Day by Day, the Coolness Grows], [A Night Missing You], [Flying Wings oo], [Drifting with the Wind Li Fengmo], and [Book Friend 20191010221822976] for their donations. After finishing this chapter, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d seen this plot somewhere before. Then it hit me—the opening of *Arale*, where Senbei Tetsumaki had the exact same experience… It turns out that the joys and sorrows of scientists are sometimes all the same. A reader helped create an illustration of Kraft. To be honest, it’s quite different from what I had imagined. He is handsome, though… But Kraft is only 14—he’s still a kid! What’s with the ear piercing, tattoos, and cigarettes…? (Д≡Д) Come to think of it, I didn’t realize anyone could just upload character art like this—I thought I had to handle it through the admin panel. If any of you see some suitable images, feel free to upload a few more.
