[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ultraman-arbitrary-key-dawn":3,"chapter-ultraman-arbitrary-key-dawn-ultraman-arbitrary-key-dawn-chapter-115":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ultraman Arbitrary Key: Dawn",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2261332,4413,"Chapter 115: 111 Mars Three and the Strange Hot Air Balloon","ultraman-arbitrary-key-dawn-chapter-115",115,"\u003Cp>Hui Mei sighed: “Mars Three is still missing… it’s been two months.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mars Three—the probe ship humanity launched into space in Episode Four of “Diga,” “Goodbye Earth”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Ming: “I didn’t see this on the news.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Xingtuan also felt moved, praising their bravery and greatness in pioneering dangerous unknown frontiers, hoping they would return safely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Ming thought that they would probably return—but safely? That was another matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked Hui Mei how the Defense Force and TPC planned to handle Bogaoru.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Each time we’ve measured, the energy detectors on Feiyan have shown Bogaoru’s internal energy increasing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once defeated, it will trigger a massive explosion powerful enough to sink half of Japan’s main island.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The energy released when it explodes will be contained by the barrier, preventing any impact on the outside world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Ming nodded. It seemed that, despite being full of terrorists, TPC and the Defense Force in this world still had some usefulness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This operational plan was nearly identical to the original episode in “Mebius.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hui Mei frowned: “But if Bogaoru continues consuming powerful life forms, its internal energy will swell further.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then the explosion might obliterate the island entirely, and the shockwave spreading from the sea could trigger massive disasters across neighboring nations.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Ming: “True.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bogaoru coming to Earth in this world was no different from walking into a buffet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it had inadvertently helped them eliminate some troubles, it was also making its handling more difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hope everything goes smoothly. By the way, where are Shan Zhong and the others?” Qi Ming asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, on Feiyan One.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Tian frowned: “According to the equipment’s analysis, it should be a kaiju.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shan Zhong disagreed: “If it were a kaiju, there would already be reports of victims.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the object emitting intense energy appeared before them on the radar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Tian rubbed his eyes: “If I’m not mistaken… it’s a hot air balloon, with many children inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shan Zhong looked relaxed: “See? I told you it wasn’t a kaiju.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Tian: “No, we should still get closer for inspection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the sleek Feiyan One approach, the children in the balloon’s basket excitedly waved at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shan Zhong waved back: “They seem happy enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Tian still didn’t understand: “What exactly is this intense energy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could the energy be radiating from the children themselves, detectable by our instruments?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But this energy level is equivalent to that of a small kaiju.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shan Zhong chuckled: “So according to you, children are all little kaiju?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These paid hot air balloon rides are everywhere. Is it really necessary to investigate so seriously?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think we’ve been too tense lately—anything unusual gets linked to kaiju. We need to reflect on that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, An Tian began to think he’d been jumping at shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Xitiao Ning inquired about the situation, asking what the intense energy was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shan Zhong: “Just a hot air balloon packed with kids. The instruments probably misread it—happens all the time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Ming: “?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of “happens all the time” is that? Are TPC’s instruments really that unreliable?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intense energy detected on a balloon full of children—something didn’t feel right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hui Mei reported:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Radar shows a massive unidentified flying object descending at Mach 4 at an altitude of twenty thousand meters over Zone K!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Given its trajectory, it’s likely heading straight for the Space Development Bureau’s high-purity energy storage facility!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Ming’s heart skipped a beat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speak of the devil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, Mars Three had been possessed by an unknown energy entity, transforming into the kaiju—Ligadron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Head to the scene immediately,” Xitiao Ning said. He called for Qi Ming and Hui Mei to join him aboard Feiyan Two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, everyone’s attention was temporarily drawn to Ligadron racing toward the new energy development base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Qi Ming was concerned, for now he could only set aside the strange balloon for later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………………………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Shan Zhong and An Tian departed in Feiyan One, a strange blue glow suddenly flickered from the hot air balloon’s envelope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the light touched them, the children who had been laughing and shouting fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stopped speaking, their gazes vacant, as if turned into human statues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The balloon’s operator, witnessing this, smiled with sinister satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the balloon landed, and the children stepped out, walking with hollow, unsteady steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did you see?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was it fun up there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the first group of children gave no reply to the others’ questions—they simply walked forward, dazed and listless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other children assumed they were just scared from the height and paid no mind, pushing forward eagerly to board the balloon themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These children, like the first group, were lively and noisy when ascending, but returned lifeless when descending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their souls had been sucked away by the balloon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, that’s enough for today—we’re done for the day,” the operator said an hour later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Children who hadn’t gotten to ride protested: “We’ve been waiting in line for ages—why quit now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here, take these as compensation,” the operator said, handing each disappointed child a balloon as an apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange scene unfolded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The balloons the children received began to glow blue, making them equally vacant and dazed, as if suffering from soul loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They released their balloons, which floated upward into the massive hot air balloon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its opening resembled a gaping maw, swallowing every balloon filled with children’s souls—its volume instantly swelled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was consuming the soul energy within these balloons to grow!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1047,"2026-06-19T16:40:33.318Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b5ed51fc0b9287c6ac063b2c55950c82c650a691cdb2cdbd8dac7b071b2848ff","ultraman-arbitrary-key-dawn-chapter-116","ultraman-arbitrary-key-dawn-chapter-114",547,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fultraman-arbitrary-key-dawn-cover.jpg"]