The Evil Scientist is Too Competent

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What is luck, anyway?

Some people dismiss the existence of luck as mere superstition.

Yet, conversely, some folks are so blinded by it that they live their lives swayed by its whims.

Just like how someone can win the lottery with a one-in-ten-million chance by buying just one ticket, while another person can buy a hundred million and still not win. Luck is something that mocks the percentages.

Humanity, which has conquered its maternal nature and now swims through the vast sea of stars, couldn’t possibly resist poking that guy’s probabilities.

One of humanity’s top research priorities is manipulating luck. In other words, mastering the concept of probability.

“Failed.”

To be precise, half-failed.

So it means I can’t control probabilities as I wish, but I can still meddle with them. That alone was enough.

I confirmed the manipulation of probabilities that had spread through Evilus Corporation. As expected, someone was indeed tampering with probabilities directed at Evilus Corporation.

“Wow, they really were doing it…”

I hadn’t expected such advanced technology to pop up in this world, so I had dropped my guard. The hastily created measuring device quickly became useless.

Is this part of superpowers? Or is it the power of supernatural beings like devils or the Fairy Queen? Either way, it was glaringly clear that that guy’s supernatural abilities easily mocked humanity’s accumulated knowledge and wisdom over thousands of years.

It’s a miracle science has progressed this far. If those with supernatural powers had intervened more actively in the world, humanity would have found it impossible to develop to this point.

“Even if we work hard to develop, one superpower could yield better results…”

Well, whatever.

Now that I’ve identified the cause, all that’s left is to solve it.

I observed the fluctuating probabilities in real-time, noting that they were being adjusted to produce slightly worse outcomes, and I read the waves of movement.

I figured out who, and where, that guy was tinkering with us. The results made me chuckle incredulously.

“…Wait, they were really the culprits?”

The waves that tampered with the probabilities originated from City S. If that’s the case, regardless of traps or anything, City S was definitely the culprit. I couldn’t help but wonder what that intense intuition I’d been warning about was all about.

“Wait, my heart’s still racing…”

I furrowed my brow slightly, dismissing the instinct to warn. The certainty of the culprit being 140% right now and yet my heart still pounding confirmed that this warning wasn’t my intuition but someone else’s trickery.

Generally, those who disregard instinct and choose rational decisions are called humans.

I included myself in that definition.

“—Let’s see, you guys are in for a surprise.”

I intercepted the waves emanating from several cities away. They seemed utterly defenseless, unaware that they themselves would be on the receiving end. Not a hint of a simple firewall was felt.

As I fired the intercepted waves back at them, they probably realized their waves were stolen, because they began unleashing even stronger waves in a fit of panic.

“Foolish creatures.”

Yet still, they were defenseless.

After stealing all the incoming waves, I sent them back to City S. After a few exchanges, it seemed they decided sending waves again was pointless.

Doesn’t matter.

“Hey, there are more on this side.”

The odds had long fallen into humanity’s hands.

Let’s see what you think of that.

The power of humanity’s scientific history spanning thousands of years.

—

“Damn it, damn it—!”

Boss Liu trembled with rage but quickly began scheming to resolve the crisis at hand. If she sat idle, gathering a hundred sacrifices would be impossible, and then she would be cursed for deceiving the Divine Spirit.

Sure, one might scoff at such misfortune, thinking it might only lead to slipping on a banana peel and breaking their nose, but the Divine Spirit could lay such misfortunes upon hundreds of thousands simultaneously.

What if that curse cast on hundreds of thousands could be concentrated on just one person? It was straightforward to discern that she could easily kill a human with that! There was a reason she, as a corporation leader, believed in and followed supernatural beings like the Divine Spirit.

“First, I’ll gather those living in the slums…”

While hastily devising a plan to offer a hundred sacrifices, a subordinate rushed in to find her.

“Boss! Boss!”

“…What is it, what’s going on?”

“It’s bad! Very bad!”

The truly bad situation was the one I was in—Boss Liu thought to scream but lifted her chin, as if signaling to the subordinate to speak after seeing his expression was far from normal.

After panting for a moment, he pulled out his smartphone and showed her something. Upon seeing the screen, Liu’s expression soured as she alternated between staring at her subordinate’s face and the device.

“What is this…?”

“It seems someone has leaked our information!”

“No way, that can’t be. Our security was thorough…”

On the smartphone, the headline read: [City S: Evidence of Unethical Human Experimentation Found—]. It could’ve been a fake news concocted by AI, but astonishingly, underneath that were photos of employees moving a coffin containing clone humans.

Who even took these photos, and when did such scenes get exposed? It was perplexing. However, that was beside the point. Boss Liu’s heart sank, and she felt as though her body temperature dropped by three degrees as she spoke.

“…Quickly, quickly release a counter article! That was all AI-generated!”

“Will people believe that…?”

“Believe it or not! Just create a debate!”

“Y-Yes!”

“Damn it, who could have…!”

What bad luck could be this overwhelming?

As she pondered that and was about to resume her work directives, Liu accidentally knocked over a water bottle, which fortuitously tipped over onto her laptop that was already in use.

Normally, even a few drops of water wouldn’t harm a waterproof laptop, yet for some reason, it powered down as if it was done for.

“What the—!? Why is this happening! Seriously… bad luck comes all at once—!”

It felt like she was cursed by someone.

Yes, just like the curse she had cast on Evilus…

“Could it be—?”

Thinking she was still under the Divine Spirit’s protection; she dismissed those thoughts and jumped up to head to the storage room to grab a backup laptop.

As she stood up, her high heel broke, and she stumbled forward, slightly injuring her nose. The psychological torment of ruining a brand-new pair of shoes she’d barely owned for a month was an added bonus.

“Damn it, damn it…! What even is this!?”

What could she do? Boss Liu used her ability—telepathy—to reach out to her secretaries urgently. She told them to hurry to the storage room to bring her the laptop. Soon after relaying the message, her secretaries entered the room and gasped at the sight of her, bleeding from her nose.

“B-Boss!? Are you okay!? I’ll call 119!”

“No! Just bring the laptop!”

“B-But you’re bleeding so much…”

“I said no! The laptop!?”

However, despite her yelling, her secretaries hesitated and didn’t follow her orders. That only fueled Liu’s anger further when she heard what one secretary said next.

“T-The laptop… it’s not here…”

“What—!? What do you mean!? I told you to always keep it stocked!”

“W-Well, it seems one of the secretaries took it home…”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying!?”

“It’s been embezzled!”

Liu was enraged.

No laptop, broken heels, a bruised nose—clutching her face, she let out a sigh.

“Enough already!”

She frantically waved her hands and shooed away her secretaries.

Then she cautiously returned to her seat. Her mind was a whirlpool. If she had it her way, she would abandon everything and run far, far away…

──Ablaze! Do you have it!?

“Yes, yes!”

Called by the Divine Spirit, Liu rushed to the altar. It was something that had to take precedence over all else. As she arrived at the altar, the fervid and excited Divine Spirit urged her onward.

──Sacrifice! Are the sacrifices ready yet!?

“Th-They’re being gathered right now!”

──Hurry, hurry! Unless you wish to die!

“I’ll do my best…!”

──How dare you mock me… you human!

Thinking the Divine Spirit was referring to her, Liu squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impending wrath. However, strangely enough, the Divine Spirit merely stared at her without doing anything.

Wondering what was going on, as Liu peeked through slightly opened eyes, the Divine Spirit shouted impatiently.

──Hurry and bring the sacrifices!

“Y-Yes!”

From the brief glimpse through her half-open eyes, Liu detected hints of annoyance and anxiety on the Divine Spirit’s face.

There’s no way a being beyond human understanding would feel such emotions. She thought it was her own misunderstanding and casually brushed it off…