Chapter 127: It

After exhausting immense effort, Yamada finally escaped from the ward.

On the way back, Maya remained unusually silent, no longer defending her “friend” Yuriko.

“We still got some useful information,” said Kishida, who had watched the entire exchange between Yamada and Yuriko.

Although it was dark, Yuriko hadn’t been able to tell which direction the strange bird had flown from.

But she said that night she smelled sulfur, and recalled that the sulfur mountain she’d climbed as a child had the same odor.

Kishida: “Sulfur… it’s a volcano! That strange bird, Luo Qiesi, must live at the crater—so the ‘white snow’ it spits carries sulfur.”

The Victory Team spent one night checking volcanic craters around Tokyo, eventually locking onto a place called “Oulongdao,” which had an active volcano.

But that night, they weren’t the only ones moving.

The next day, Tokyo’s temperature climbed to 45 degrees.

Everyone sweated profusely and cursed the hellish weather, yet meteorologists couldn’t explain it.

Emi: “Team member Yamada, the president of Yokogawa Industries complained that Victory Team members seduced his son’s fiancée, putting him in a difficult position.”

Clearly, Yokogawa Hiro had misunderstood after seeing Yuriko holding Yamada’s hand, and had gone to complain.

Yamada froze, then exploded: “What the hell? I wouldn’t touch her!”

Shosei Dan stepped in and said that since they’d now clarified the details of that night, they should avoid further contact with her to prevent misunderstandings.

Yamada: “I don’t want to see her—Maya is ten thousand times better.”

Just after breakfast, as Qi Ming passed by preparing to head out again for “bug hunting,” he remarked: “Good thing I didn’t get involved in this mess—if I had, I’d be the one suffering.”

Yamada suddenly realized: “No wonder you’ve stayed out of this case all along—you planned this too!”

“I belong to the wandering world,” Qi Ming said, shrugging, then revved his motorcycle and went after the monster.

He used his aimless wandering to investigate the cause of Tokyo’s abnormal high temperatures.

Neither the strange bird Luo Qiesi nor the cosmic beetle had the ability to raise temperatures.

Something else must be behind this.

Just as the others prepared to head to “Oulongdao,” a piece of news halted them.

In Tokyo, a villa had been wrapped in spiderweb-like white threads, resembling a silver castle.

When Yamada arrived at the scene, he was stunned: “Isn’t this the Yokogawa family’s villa? I was just here not long ago—how did it become like this?”

Shosei Dan immediately understood: “Luo Qiesi must have flown over this place last night—it used the villa as a base to build a nest with its threads!”

This nest was deadly to humans.

It was now rush hour, and countless cars filled the streets, belching exhaust.

As the exhaust fumes touched the white nest, thick red gas erupted and spread.

Nami Nishijo: “Danger! Pull down your masks!”

Yamada shouted to the bystanders: “Everyone, close your eyes and get away—this gas will blind you!”

But some didn’t hear him; their eyes touched the gas and they screamed in agony.

Kishida: “So that’s how Yuriko got her eyes injured—by this toxic gas.”

Shosei Dan ordered: “Seal off all traffic in this area, especially downwind zones—destroy that nest immediately!”

He decided to split into two teams.

Kishida and Yamada would stay behind to eliminate this threat for the citizens.

Kishida: “Flamethrowers might produce more toxic gas—use the thermal infrared cannon.”

Yamada: “Alright, we’ll mount the thermal infrared cannon on Feiyan One.”

Both began preparing.

Shosei Dan and Nami Nishijo headed to the crater of Oulongdao to scout for the strange bird—if present, eliminate it immediately.

Qi Ming warned: “I suggest you bring extra missiles—laser attacks probably won’t work on Luo Qiesi.”

In the original Ultraman Jack series, Luo Qiesi absorbed two Spacium Rays head-on without even flinching, completely unharmed—its magic resistance was terrifyingly high.

In the Showa era, all monster birds were top-tier threats.

Meanwhile.

Matsumoto Saburo rode a motorcycle roaring with deafening noise, speeding furiously.

This escaped criminal had stolen a motorcycle from somewhere and was breaking through police roadblocks, racing toward the hospital where Yuriko stayed.

“Stop! Stop!” the police shouted behind him.

“Zzzz…” An unremarkable black beetle suddenly appeared, flying toward Matsumoto Saburo.

It was the cosmic beetle—drawn by the motorcycle’s roar.

“Finally,” Qi Ming emerged, holding a bug net, and trapped it.

Once caught, the beetle thrashed wildly—Qi Ming immediately tossed in a lipstick, calming it instantly as it began gnawing on it.

The cosmic beetle—captured by me!

A major threat that took up an entire episode in the original series was resolved effortlessly—this is the power of intelligence.

After handling all this, Qi Ming glanced curiously at the two groups chasing each other: “That’s Matsumoto Saburo, isn’t it? What a coincidence—running into him here.”

Qi Ming had no intention of protecting Yuriko; his altruism extended only to kind, innocent common folk.

In his view, neither the man nor the woman in this love triangle was worthy.

As a child watching Star Journey, Qi Ming deeply remembered the phrase: “A promise made must be kept,” and as an adult, he remained a man of his word.

To him, if Yuriko were merely gold-digging, it wouldn’t matter—but breaking a vow made him despise her utterly.

And Matsumoto Saburo, who disregarded innocent lives for revenge, and Yokogawa Hiro, who stole a woman already betrothed—both were morally corrupt.

Let them tear each other apart.

“Still, I can’t just leave them unchecked—I should keep watch, to prevent them from harming innocents…” Qi Ming thought.

“Then again, dealing with love triangles like this is the police’s job… tch.”

He pulled out his communicator and informed the other team members his operation had succeeded.

“Good job,” Shosei Dan praised, then asked Qi Ming when he’d arrive to help.

“What? No break at all? I’m really a workhorse,” Qi Ming sighed:

“I’ll contact Professor Tongshan to arrange someone to pick up the beetle—then I’ll join you.”

Shosei Dan: “Hurry—we’re critically short-handed.”

Meanwhile, Matsumoto Saburo was closing in on the police.

The next moment, the ground cracked open, and scalding-hot “geysers” erupted onto the pursuing officers, sending them tumbling.

“Too hot! Too hot! What’s happening?!”

“First the temperature rises, now geysers spout—will Tokyo become a volcanic zone?!”

The crowd cursed loudly, giving Matsumoto Saburo the chance to rush into the hospital.

A large group of police hiding nearby burst out, aiming to apprehend him.

“Puff!” The next instant, Matsumoto Saburo shed his coat, revealing multiple loops of explosives strapped to his body.

Matsumoto Saburo sneered: “With this much explosive, I can blow up the whole hospital!”

The police froze, afraid he’d detonate the bombs—everyone inside, doctors and patients alike, would die.

(End of Chapter)