Chapter 1: The Morning Star Is Entrusted to You

"Question: In a fire, you have six years with a dog you raised and a stranger child—only time to save one. Who do you choose?"

The phone beside the desk vibrated once; Zhihu pushed this question.

"I choose to save the fire," Qi Ming answered, then continued yawning under the desk lamp, flipping through his roommate’s notes.

It was already 2:30 a.m.

This semester he was obsessed with his side job, living a life of "mandatory classes skipped at will, elective classes always skipped."

With finals approaching, to make his grades look passable, Qi Ming chose to burn the midnight oil.

"Ding." The phone vibrated again—this time, QQ News pushed a headline.

Half-asleep, Qi Ming glanced at the content—a blue luminous entity had landed on the Pacific Ocean; the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force had been dispatched to investigate, but a deep-sea operations vessel had lost contact...

At this point, exhausted and drowsy, he finally collapsed, eyes shutting, slipping into unconsciousness.

…………………………

When Qi Ming awoke, the ceiling above him was unfamiliar.

Where was the ceiling with peeling paint and the blue ceiling fan? This wasn’t his dorm!

Where was this... a bookstore?

Wasn’t I supposed to be in my dorm? Who brought me here?

And this oddly shaped watch—when did it get on my wrist?

Qi Ming sat up, staring in shock at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Warm yellow lighting created a cozy, comfortable atmosphere; the air carried a faint ink scent, and the wooden bookshelves displayed volumes mostly bearing Japanese text on their covers.

Out of interest, Qi Ming had once worked for a translation group as a "hero"—he could read Japanese.

He pulled out a book with a striking title—*In Honor of GUTS, the Protectors of Peace*.

GUTS? Could this be the team I’m thinking of—the "Victory Team" from *Ultraman Tiga*?

He turned to the first page—it introduced Captain Moroboshi.

"Moroboshi" and "Captain"—put together, they sent a chill down his spine.

Qi Ming’s gaze dropped to the accompanying photo—it really was him!

That tyrant who struck with a staff and slapped around Hōsō, calling him "idiot" and "shut up"!

That logic genius who, after Hōsō risked his life multiple times to protect Earth, asked: "Earthlings are fighting to protect Earth—what have you, an alien, done?"

Isn’t he a UG member and MAC’s captain? How did he end up leading the Victory Team?

Qi Ming flipped to the next page—Vice Captain Nishijō Nagi.

She, too, was a "quote machine."

After seeing Nexus rescue humans from the Alien Beasts and move them to safety, she remarked: "Two Alien Beasts are just fighting over food."

After being rescued from an Alien Beast encirclement by Hoshi Jun, she gritted her teeth: "I’ll kill him myself!"

Qi Ming turned another page—Team Member Kishida.

From the photo, his rigid expression matched exactly that of Team Kishida from *Ultraman Jack*.

This guy was a stress case from the start. In the episode where Gudon and Double Tail attacked Tokyo, he spotted a rock resembling a monster egg, fired two shots, and declared it harmless.

When Gō Shūju wanted to investigate further and ignored his senior’s orders, Kishida flew into a rage.

Later, when the monster egg hatched and trapped five people underground, he supported his uncle Commander Kishida’s plan to use explosives, disregarding the five lives below.

Next page—Team Member Yamaguchi.

He was even more extreme.

In *Ultraman Ace*, he acted like he had multiple personalities—each episode began with him scolding Hokuō for one reason, then switched to the opposite reason to scold him again.

In the episode where the Hippolytans invaded, he advocated handing over Ultraman Ace to the invaders.

Captain Moroboshi, Vice Captain Nishijō Nagi, Team Members Yamaguchi and Kishida... what kind of "ultimate team" is this?

I wonder how they even got along... whatever, as long as they don’t end up on my hands.

Last page—Team Member Megumi.

Megumi from *Ultraman Blazar*?

Though she was once a hacker girl who breached national networks, compared to the others, she was already downright normal.

So Moroboshi from *Ultraman Leo*, Nishijō Nagi from *Ultraman Nexus*, Kishida from *Ultraman Jack*, Yamaguchi from *Ultraman Ace*, Megumi from *Ultraman Blazar*—all gathered in *Ultraman Tiga*’s Victory Team? What’s going on?

Am I dreaming? Am I awake?

Qi Ming pinched his cheek—the pain confirmed the horrifying truth.

He had been transported—into a world where every Ultraman character had been gathered together.

According to his kindergarten teacher, when he was a child, other kids wet the bed randomly—he wet a Ultra Rod one day, a Blue Crystal the next; others were destined for Buddha—he was destined for Ultraman.

Now it seemed clear: this was a cursed fate!

After a moment of panic, Qi Ming sat on the walnut wood floor and forced himself to think calmly.

"If reincarnation is real, then anything else that happens from now on won’t surprise me."

Soon, his gaze locked onto his right hand.

This inexplicable transportation was almost certainly tied to the watch that appeared with him—it had brought him here, so it should be able to send him back.

The watch consisted of a soft, wrist-like base and a movement. Atop the movement was a rotatable dial, with four glowing buttons arranged in a square.

But after fiddling with it for a long time, it remained completely unresponsive.

The screen showed nothing—not even the time—like it was powered off.

He tried to check the back of the watch, but couldn’t remove it at all.

Bound to me?

Qi Ming didn’t force it further. He turned on the television behind the bookstore counter, hoping to learn the world’s current news and avoid being completely blind.

The TV broadcast an emergency alert: three monsters were converging on this place called *Tiga Land*; the Victory Team had been deployed to intercept them.

No wonder the bookstore had no customers or staff—they’d all evacuated.

Qi Ming instantly recognized the three monsters: Golza and Melba from the first episode of *Ultraman Tiga*, and Garura from episode 39—all Super Ancient Monsters.

More troubling was the combination: Golza and Melba together heading to the pyramid to destroy the statue—that was the plot of *Ultraman Tiga*’s first episode.

But with Garura added, Captain Moroboshi would likely face three enemies at once... unsettling.

What should he do? The monsters were coming—should he flee to safety... or...?

Qi Ming’s father had been a drug enforcement officer who never left the front line even after being shot; under his influence, Qi Ming had never been timid.

Hesitation and passivity were no solution—he would go to the front lines and see what this world was truly like.

With that thought, Qi Ming opened the bookstore door and stepped out into the blazing sunlight.

(End of Chapter)