Chapter 116: 112 Ghost Fire

“Ssh!”

[Jiade Long] plummeted straight down and plunged into the sea beside the high-purity energy storage facility.

The ground shook violently, spraying water high into the air.

Members of the high-purity energy storage facility murmured among themselves.

“What is that?”

“It looks like a monster!”

The next moment, [Jiade Long] rose to its feet—its metallic body, sharp claws, and head bearing faint Sphier traits.

It walked toward the high-purity energy storage facility, seeking to absorb its energy.

“It really is Jiade Long. This thing looks just like a ‘Sphier Synth-Beast,’” Qi Ming thought, seated in Fly Yan II.

Nishijo Nagi: “Listen carefully—circle around to its front and attack simultaneously.”

Yamana: “Understood.”

Kishida: “Understood.”

“Ssh-shh-shh!” “Bang-bang-bang!” A barrage struck—even hitting its joints—yet inflicted no effective damage on Jiade Long.

Yamana gasped: “Such strong defense!”

Qi Ming thought: Of course—it crushed Ultraman Tiga in the original series.

Jiade Long hurled aside a structure resembling a nuclear power plant and began absorbing its energy.

Blue luminescence flooded its arms; [Jiade Long] trembled violently, as if intoxicated by the energy.

The director ordered: “Activate the defense control system [DCS] immediately.”

Subordinate nodded: “Yes! Activation complete!”

Jiade Long was instantly surrounded by high-voltage currents.

Just as everyone believed [Jiade Long] was trapped, its eyes flashed suddenly—the powerful currents vanished.

“No good! The DCS defense system has malfunctioned!”

“External commands have disrupted the entire system—its functions have shut down!”

The director exclaimed: “What?!”

[Jiade Long] grew bolder, absorbing several more energy tanks, its power surging higher.

Kishida stared in disbelief: “How could this happen? Why did the defense system fail?!”

Qi Ming: “The developers planted a backdoor in the defense system.”

Emi’s face paled: “The developer of the DCS defense system… is Dr. Azumi, who vanished aboard Jupiter-3!”

Nishijo Nagi turned to Qi Ming: “Do you have information on this?”

Qi Ming paused, then recounted only the critical plot points from the original series:

“This creature, Jiade Long, is a monster formed when an unknown energy entity possessed Jupiter-3 and its crew, absorbing their emotions and knowledge.”

“It possesses Dr. Azumi’s memories and can bypass the DCS system—but that is also its weakness.”

“If you send photos of the three crew members’ families to Jupiter-3’s computer, their self-awareness will awaken.”

“They will reclaim Jiade Long’s internal energy, leaving it an empty shell.”

“At that moment, even Fly Yan II can destroy it.”

The other team members were stunned upon hearing this.

Emi: “Is this really possible?!”

Kishida: “Forced fusion and absorption? That’s terrifying.”

No one doubted Qi Ming anymore—they believed him instantly.

Nishijo Nagi decided at once: “Rather than let Jiade Long use the astronauts’ knowledge to destroy their homeworld, let them find peace. Emi, do as Qi Ming says.”

For Nishijo Nagi, defeating the monster was all that mattered.

Captain Morohoshi stopped them: “Wait—is there truly no way to restore them to their original forms? Their families and friends are still waiting for them to return.”

This was Ultraman Seven, who loved humanity.

A debate began. Qi Ming sat beside Emi and Nishijo Nagi, unable to transform.

Soon, after absorbing all the energy, the vector thrusters behind [Jiade Long] emitted white smoke and carried it into the clouds, vanishing from the scene.

The team calmed the facility personnel and returned to base.

Back at the offshore base, Kishida analyzed fragments of Jiade Long recovered from the site.

His mood was heavy: “The fragments do contain material from Jupiter-3’s outer hull.”

Emi, following Qi Ming’s clue, found a message left by Dr. Azumi in his personal computer.

He had been attacked and fused as Qi Ming described, his knowledge and abilities exploited, with barely enough time to realize he was still human.

“We hope Earth will not suffer the tragedy we caused.”

After reading it, Captain Morohoshi called Qi Ming out again and asked: “Is there truly no other way?”

Qi Ming shook his head: “I feel sorrow for their fate. If I could save them, I would. But you know, Captain—Ultraman is not a god.”

The three astronauts were now fully fused with Jiade Long. The body might be salvageable—but the soul…

Even Tiga’s cellular restoration beam would be useless.

The next morning, after breakfast, Qi Ming entered the command room and saw Emi looking uneasy.

“What’s wrong?”

Emi: “The Space Development Bureau reported that last night, the Jupiter-3 astronauts appeared before their families. But Jupiter-3 was already…”

Qi Ming: “The astronauts’ consciousness used [Jiade Long]’s power to manifest physically, to make up for their inability to be with their families.”

Exactly as in the original series.

Captain Morohoshi asked again, earnestly: “Is there truly no other way?”

Yamana: “Let it go, Captain. Space accidents happen too often—we just have to accept bad luck. Next time one appears, use Qi Ming’s method to destroy it.”

Seeing him so eager, Qi Ming decided to ask him in detail about the balloon ship he mentioned yesterday—he couldn’t ignore it.

But the next moment, the emergency alarm blared again.

“A monster has appeared along the bay industrial zone and is advancing toward the Oil Consortium—deploy immediately!”

“Why are monsters showing up every day?!” the team grumbled as they launched. At the scene, they saw a monster shaped like a rooster.

Qi Ming instantly recognized it—the ghost-fire monster [Fumiger], appearing in both Ultraman Jack and Ultraman Mebius!

It is fundamentally a ghost-fire energy entity, a cosmic monster that can only manifest physically by possessing humans.

“Don’t let it get near the oil company!” Nishijo Nagi launched the first attack.

A green spear beam struck Fumiger’s shoulder—it shrieked and vanished.

“Did it escape?”

“What a bizarre monster—no strategy at all.”

Sharp-eyed Yamana pointed: “Look—someone collapsed where the monster disappeared.”

Both Fly Yan units landed. The team approached and found a woman in a nurse’s uniform, unconscious.

“I know her—she’s Mayumi from Medical Division.”

“Why is she here? Did the monster scare her into fainting?”

Qi Ming stared at the bleeding wound on Mayumi’s shoulder—his expression darkened.

(End of Chapter)