Chapter 115: 111 Mars Three and the Strange Hot Air Balloon

Hui Mei sighed: “Mars Three is still missing… it’s been two months.”

Mars Three—the probe ship humanity launched into space in Episode Four of “Diga,” “Goodbye Earth”?

Qi Ming: “I didn’t see this on the news.”

Hui Mei: “This is top-secret data from the Space Development Bureau; public news sites obviously won’t publish it. Being an astronaut is truly dangerous.”

Zhu Xingtuan also felt moved, praising their bravery and greatness in pioneering dangerous unknown frontiers, hoping they would return safely.

Qi Ming thought that they would probably return—but safely? That was another matter.

He asked Hui Mei how the Defense Force and TPC planned to handle Bogaoru.

“Each time we’ve measured, the energy detectors on Feiyan have shown Bogaoru’s internal energy increasing.”

“Once defeated, it will trigger a massive explosion powerful enough to sink half of Japan’s main island.”

“So after reaching an agreement, both sides plan to lure it to an uninhabited island in the Pacific, trap it with an energy barrier, then destroy it with heavy firepower.”

“The energy released when it explodes will be contained by the barrier, preventing any impact on the outside world.”

Qi Ming nodded. It seemed that, despite being full of terrorists, TPC and the Defense Force in this world still had some usefulness.

This operational plan was nearly identical to the original episode in “Mebius.”

Hui Mei frowned: “But if Bogaoru continues consuming powerful life forms, its internal energy will swell further.”

“Then the explosion might obliterate the island entirely, and the shockwave spreading from the sea could trigger massive disasters across neighboring nations.”

Qi Ming: “True.”

Bogaoru coming to Earth in this world was no different from walking into a buffet.

Though it had inadvertently helped them eliminate some troubles, it was also making its handling more difficult.

“I hope everything goes smoothly. By the way, where are Shan Zhong and the others?” Qi Ming asked.

Xitiao Ning said that before Qi Ming arrived, Radar detected intense energy being released in Zone Z, so An Tian and Shan Zhong had gone to investigate.

On the other side, on Feiyan One.

An Tian frowned: “According to the equipment’s analysis, it should be a kaiju.”

Shan Zhong disagreed: “If it were a kaiju, there would already be reports of victims.”

Soon, the object emitting intense energy appeared before them on the radar.

An Tian rubbed his eyes: “If I’m not mistaken… it’s a hot air balloon, with many children inside.”

Shan Zhong looked relaxed: “See? I told you it wasn’t a kaiju.”

An Tian: “No, we should still get closer for inspection.”

Seeing the sleek Feiyan One approach, the children in the balloon’s basket excitedly waved at it.

Shan Zhong waved back: “They seem happy enough.”

An Tian still didn’t understand: “What exactly is this intense energy?”

“Could the energy be radiating from the children themselves, detectable by our instruments?”

“But this energy level is equivalent to that of a small kaiju.”

Shan Zhong chuckled: “So according to you, children are all little kaiju?”

“These paid hot air balloon rides are everywhere. Is it really necessary to investigate so seriously?”

“I think we’ve been too tense lately—anything unusual gets linked to kaiju. We need to reflect on that.”

Hearing this, An Tian began to think he’d been jumping at shadows.

Meanwhile, Xitiao Ning inquired about the situation, asking what the intense energy was.

Shan Zhong: “Just a hot air balloon packed with kids. The instruments probably misread it—happens all the time.”

Qi Ming: “?”

What kind of “happens all the time” is that? Are TPC’s instruments really that unreliable?

Intense energy detected on a balloon full of children—something didn’t feel right.

Not just Qi Ming—Xitiao Ning also felt this couldn’t be dismissed lightly. Just as she was about to ask for more details, a new emergency arose.

Hui Mei reported:

“Radar shows a massive unidentified flying object descending at Mach 4 at an altitude of twenty thousand meters over Zone K!”

“Given its trajectory, it’s likely heading straight for the Space Development Bureau’s high-purity energy storage facility!”

Qi Ming’s heart skipped a beat.

Speak of the devil.

A massive object descending from the sky, hurtling toward the high-purity energy storage facility… it was almost certainly Mars Three—the very one Hui Mei had just mentioned!

Or rather, Mars Three had been possessed by an unknown energy entity, transforming into the kaiju—Ligadron.

“Head to the scene immediately,” Xitiao Ning said. He called for Qi Ming and Hui Mei to join him aboard Feiyan Two.

Thus, everyone’s attention was temporarily drawn to Ligadron racing toward the new energy development base.

Though Qi Ming was concerned, for now he could only set aside the strange balloon for later.

…………………………

After Shan Zhong and An Tian departed in Feiyan One, a strange blue glow suddenly flickered from the hot air balloon’s envelope.

As the light touched them, the children who had been laughing and shouting fell silent.

They stopped speaking, their gazes vacant, as if turned into human statues.

The balloon’s operator, witnessing this, smiled with sinister satisfaction.

Soon, the balloon landed, and the children stepped out, walking with hollow, unsteady steps.

“What did you see?”

“Was it fun up there?”

But the first group of children gave no reply to the others’ questions—they simply walked forward, dazed and listless.

The other children assumed they were just scared from the height and paid no mind, pushing forward eagerly to board the balloon themselves.

These children, like the first group, were lively and noisy when ascending, but returned lifeless when descending.

Their souls had been sucked away by the balloon.

“Alright, that’s enough for today—we’re done for the day,” the operator said an hour later.

Children who hadn’t gotten to ride protested: “We’ve been waiting in line for ages—why quit now?”

“Here, take these as compensation,” the operator said, handing each disappointed child a balloon as an apology.

A strange scene unfolded.

The balloons the children received began to glow blue, making them equally vacant and dazed, as if suffering from soul loss.

They released their balloons, which floated upward into the massive hot air balloon.

Its opening resembled a gaping maw, swallowing every balloon filled with children’s souls—its volume instantly swelled.

It was consuming the soul energy within these balloons to grow!

(End of Chapter)