Chapter 914: NO.37: Contact?

NO. 37: Contact?

Hey! Four hours have passed! We can't stay on standby any longer, right?

But the school bell followed a uniform standard, and as it rang simultaneously across many schools, some people's voices also began to rise.

We still haven't heard from Aomo—do we really have to keep waiting like this? No matter what, we need to figure out how to go to that so-called higher dimension.

Since breaking up with being single, my thoughts often get caught by Earth's gravity, and I can often utter normal human speech—an alien, actually, who's on the way home staring at a phone screen crammed with six tiny windows.

That's true—if we let Guinea Pig-kun stay missing like this, even a mechanical guinea pig would inquire about the situation, let alone that troublesome secretary in green.

Ailisuzhi, who shares a window with Chazuo, approved Bi Ze's remarks; since three hours ago, her window has looked extremely dangerous—occasionally hearing muffled explosions, and sometimes strange-colored smoke drifting by.

That being the case, adding others' doubts and the occasional reminder to wear masks, it's essentially a continual experiment failure.

You just can't calm down, can you? Xin Tiao Qian teased about it two hours ago, but the person involved flatly denied it.

She said yes, that's it—everyone chose to understand, respect, and bless her, trying as much as possible to ignore the weird noises and clamor from her window afterward, up to now.

That's also true—although there are still over a hundred worlds left to explore and confirm, we still need to send a team first to try to meet up. In the fourth window, Sai Luo and the badger's combo, Sai Luo nodded.

A world that could cause him to lose contact, even if it's not the target, would surely be more suspicious than those run-of-the-mill worlds, right?

Or maybe it's just that guy's own problem, Aomo not being here but Sai Luo is, so the relatively restrained Gui She offered another possibility: "Doesn't that guy have some kind of… mark? The worlds he previously explored were also different from everyone else's situation, right?"

It's as if we were being targeted, Ten Jia added, expressing what Gui She wanted to say, and this was also Aomo's original words when he shared information with everyone back then: "Indeed, from the start we should have advised Aomo, the department head."

In the 'Monster Eugenics' ideology, he is the only one who addresses Aomo as department head, giving him a strong sense of belonging to the office.

By contrast, Chen and the badger both call him by name directly.

The former shows no sign of intending to stay here permanently, while the latter is clearly quite satisfied with the office's work content and conditions; since Aomo never requested a specific form of address, she just followed what was used at the dinner table.

Saying this now is pointless—so who is that person… uh… Gilbarisu-san?

The badger isn't yet used to that kind of Gilbarisu—a monster existence with highly mature self-awareness capable of direct communication.

Is there a contingency plan for this situation?

The mutual investigations and information exchanges of the previous teams were all organized with Gilbarisu assisting in record-keeping; even questions like 'Where should we go next?' and 'Do we need to adjust our investigation pace?' were allocated by the human brain.

【Aomo Lindon indeed considered the possibility of being limited and unable to convey information; based on current information, we can activate follow-up plans starting with code C, prioritizing the steady execution of Plan 142 by taking batched actions.】

"Batched?" Chen spoke up.

And Ma Zhongpeng quickly followed up: "What criteria are used for the ordering?"

Although he had tried dealing with real-world matters, upon hearing that manpower was needed here, Peng practically rushed over like escaping to team up with Chen; as a high schooler most adaptable to various settings, he integrated into the situation here quite quickly.

【First is the fourth team, Sai Luo and the badger taking the lead; then the second team, Ma Zhongpeng and Chen; then the first team, Ten Jia and Gui She.】

【Depending on possible unexpected variables, the specific execution process will vary.】

"Why are we last?!" Gui She keenly sensed some kind of discrimination from this team ordering.

A discrimination based on ability.

"Never mind the ordering—how do we reach a higher dimension? The space guinea pig won't conveniently open the door for us, Gilbarisu; let me go to the site to investigate and research a plan."

While Chazuo was temporarily away buying food at the cafeteria, Suzi boldly tried to persuade a machine.

【Rejected, the C142 plan has explicit clauses prohibiting Ailisuzhi from reaching the site.】

"They actually went so far as to write it into the clauses?! Guinea Pig-kun is being totally unreasonable!"

"What about me?" asked the person in window two, obviously on a bus from the background—Xin Tiao Qian: "If I use my room's computer and plug in those coordinates, shouldn't I be able to directly connect to the higher-dimension Cuckoo Platform?"

"No! Mr. Aomo specifically instructed—" the avatar of Jesutis in window five flickered, "Miss Xin Tiao Qian shouldn't set foot on the site before danger is confirmed; your power should be used externally."

【The C142 plan also has similar clauses.】

"Huh? Little Snake is being overly protective! I didn't even say I'd go directly there!"

"Well… after all, it hasn't been fully explored yet." Bi Ze mustered the courage to chime in, but couldn't finish his thought.

Saying Xin Tiao Qian's body is ultimately just that of an ordinary human girl—if she truly encountered danger, she could collapse on the spot.

By contrast, it might be tougher to beat me if I put a few magical arrays on myself with my magic staff.

"But I have a feeling that this will definitely work! I've felt this before…" Xin Tiao Qian said, seeming in a bad mood as she shifted the screen, leaving us only able to see the bus ceiling inside the frame.

"With Sai Luo and the badger around, I wouldn't be in much danger, would I?"

Such muttering echoed in the channel, yet for a moment no one dared to respond.

Only Sai Luo clapped his hands and said, "Then let me and the badger go first to have a look; everyone can study on-site how to get there, though Ten Jia and Peng, you should keep patrolling—maybe Aomo's side isn't the target either."

Ten Jia: "All right, I'm counting on you."

Peng: "Sai Luo-san, Badger-san, do your best!"

While we were encouraging each other, nobody noticed that Suzi's face was missing from the window, just like Qian's, and at that moment Gin Kuchou Niang stood by the window, head bowed, as if encountering some new disturbance.

"But it's also been four hours—I'm really curious what condition Aomo's side is in." Bi Ze said.

It involves Ultraman and the Cuckoo Platform; it's rare to get to participate in this kind of world-saving team-building, and it's also rare to be able to communicate with Peng and the badger, these 'paper people,' so he's also quite interested.

If it weren't for seeing Ailisuzhi and Xin Tiao Qian repeatedly hit walls, he'd also want to rely on the Barbarous Beast X to help him get to the site in person.

Too bad, given his understanding of Aomo, there's probably a regulation in the plan restricting him from going.

——

"Sigh, why haven't Sai Luo and them arrived yet..."

In the higher dimension, the Cuckoo Platform remains invisible to the naked eye—even touching it passes right through—while Aomo, like a guardian spirit, follows the person carrying two bags, Neihai, into his four-person household.

Neihai will have a younger brother; he's in sixth grade elementary school, and when we first met, he was even watching a recorded Dreamy Yus Ultraman in the living room.

And Neihai, without looking at the screen, just lifted his hand to rest on the earphones, excitedly asking: "Sai Luo? Is that the Sai Luo I know?!"

"Yeah, that's Sai Luo Ultraman."

"Ultraman really exists for real?! And those aliens too?!"

"You're starting to ask me now? You didn't believe any of it before, did you?"

"One thing at a time—I've seen that kind of giant Ultraman before, so naturally I'd believe there could be a light giant like Ultraman."

I can turn into a Hei'an giant, like Tregia or something.

I don't believe that.

I have a friend just like you; he's missed several chances to meet Ultraman.

Evil aliens really dare to say that.

Neihai, who are you talking to!

I'm on the phone with a classmate!

Oh, is that Xiang classmate?

Another friend!

You talk about evil aliens, yet you tell your family I'm your friend?

Just placating my family; I'm still not sure what kind of guy you are.

Even though I helped you pick out two outfits you like? You're not going to meet a girl tomorrow, are you? I guess.

You—you don't spout nonsense!

I see, don't worry, I definitely won't disturb your date, but if no one hears my voice, I'll also feel a bit lonely; I don't know if that Xiang classmate who was once chosen by Gulite can hear my voice.

Hey hey hey, you'd better not have designs on him!

Relax, relax, compared to him I'm sure I'll get along with you more pleasantly. I won't neglect you; he's still better off staying with Gulite.

What do you mean 'won't neglect'? That's disgusting.

People should learn to be more honest, Neihai classmate; show your feelings openly. I also understand the feeling of not being chosen by Gulite; I also wasn't chosen by the Ultramen, so I got a Hei'an giant's power. There are many paths in this world, right?

You're still insisting on this, saying it as if it's true.

After all, it really is true.

In short, I want to say I'm different from Gulite; I chose you, so you don't need to overthink. But… I'm doubtful you can hear my voice, perhaps because you once experienced Gulite's rescue.

... Maybe, anyway I can't touch you either.

Neihai, after staying silent for a while, flung open his room door.

But there should be others related to Gulite, right? Can you bring me to confirm, do an experiment? Being undetectable and inaudible to others is too lonely.

"... So what exactly are you?" He plopped onto the chair, then opened the computer and launched the search tool.

And that voice seemed not to mind his actions in front of him, just calmly proceeding with the belated self-introduction:

Aomo Lindun, from another universe, possessing the power to fuse with monsters and sublimate, is seeking Gulite.

What do you want with Gulite? Want to beat him? He clacked on the keyboard, looking at the completely unrelated webpages that came up in the search, Neihai asked expressionlessly.

You still treat me as an evil alien~ The voice sighed helplessly.

But then, in the next moment, as if switching moods, he murmured: 'I'm trying to save the world.'

Someone's invading this world again; I want to try to awaken those who can hear my voice.