Chapter 17: 16 New Recruit Beats Veteran, Gets Younger as He Fights (Bonus Chapter 13 for Patron Zilong Yue)

Paper can’t wrap fire; even after returning from a foreign meeting, Counselor Kōtō learned of Qi Ming’s affair.

“Let an unknown foreigner join the Victory Team? Absurd!” He found it ridiculous, believing Shōseidan and Tongshan were utterly insane.

TPC is a quasi-military organization, with strict discipline upheld at every level.

The recruitment screening for the Victory Team, a key department, is extraordinarily rigorous—they take only the elite among elites.

“Here is his file,” said Saeki Rika, a subordinate of Counselor Kōtō, handing him printed documents.

Counselor Kōtō’s expression flickered slightly as he saw Qi Ming’s photo: “Was this edited later?”

Saeki Rika: “No.”

“Then… this.” After carefully examining Qi Ming’s photo several times, his doubts toward Shōseidan immediately lessened:

“He must’ve had plastic surgery, but to look this natural is a miracle.”

“Having someone with a good appearance join the Victory Team does help boost public support, but…”

Saeki Rika: “But he hasn’t undergone specialized training or the official recruitment evaluation. Sending him on missions prematurely could get him killed—that’s a major loss.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” Counselor Kōtō nodded quickly:

“He should first be transferred to the Xinwen Force, his nationality blurred—make him our press spokesperson.”

“If he still wants to join the Victory Team, we can train him during his spare time.”

“Come on, let’s go to the commander’s office and talk to Commander Shōseidan.”

…………………………

For the past few days, the atmosphere in the Victory Team’s command room had been tense.

Although Qi Ming had been called out by the commander for a talk, nothing seemed to happen, leaving Yamakasa and Kishida disappointed—they’d hoped to see him humiliated and his arrogance crushed.

Worst of all, he showed no sense of being a team member.

While they trained daily, driving through streets and alleys hunting Zuluk aliens, he stayed in his room with the air conditioning on, earning the same salary—how could anyone tolerate that?

Their resentment toward Qi Ming deepened; when they discussed him in the command room, their words grew harsh, and Shōseidan rebuked them for these “disruptive remarks.”

But if they merely muttered sarcastic comments, Shōseidan, following the principle of “better to channel than suppress,” encouraged them to voice their “opinions and suggestions.”

“What’s he so proud of? Those who know understand he’s just a mercenary; those who don’t think he’s the guy who came to accept Japan’s surrender decades ago!” Kishida complained, as Qi Ming had once again casually skipped today’s patrol.

Emi hadn’t returned yet; she was outside searching for clues about “Himeya Jun.”

“No way—I’m Xiao Feng, a true man! How could I be mentioned in the same breath as that guy?” Qi Ming, who had just walked in, overheard this and bristled.

Could the man who bowed deeply during the surrender ceremony possibly be compared to him?

“Oh, Cadet Qi Ming’s here—just in time, we’ve all finished our duties.” Yamakasa spoke dryly: “The command room’s a bit dirty—clean it up.”

Qi Ming sat down somewhere: “You leave, and it’ll be clean.”

“You—!”

Kishida, aligned with Yamakasa, stood up: “You think you’re so great, don’t you?”

Qi Ming looked puzzled: “Can’t anyone see that?”

Shōseidan wanted to stop them, but Nishijō Nagi beside him made a gesture, asking him not to give Qi Ming special treatment this time.

She stood, her cold, piercing gaze fixed on Qi Ming—her aura stronger than Yamakasa and Kishida combined:

“Last mission, your reckless behavior disrupted our deployment and nearly caused disaster.”

“And now you act as if nothing happened?”

“Don’t you realize how much the other team members resent you? They don’t want to endure another incident where a conceited fool raises the danger level and expands the damage.”

Qi Ming remained unmoved by her intimidating aura and rebutted point by point:

“Did you consult me when planning? I never agreed to your plan.” “And didn’t you notice after the debriefing that if we’d just killed those two monsters in the mountains with me, we wouldn’t have ended up with four gathering together?”

“Finally, I don’t want to be stuck with you three idiots—why don’t you quit the team?”

Nishijō Nagi’s fury intensified: “Is this how you speak to your seniors? Didn’t your parents teach you to respect local customs and etiquette?”

In Japan, “hierarchical etiquette” is deeply valued; under most circumstances, juniors must obey seniors unconditionally.

If a senior scolds you harshly for disliking you, you can’t show resentment—otherwise, getting beaten is the least of it; you’ll be isolated, ostracized, even fired.

If your senior goes drinking and doesn’t return until late, you must sit upright in the room waiting for him to come back before you can sleep.

So far, Qi Ming hasn’t even bowed or used honorifics—he openly defies senior authority. In Japan, this is “grave disrespect.”

Qi Ming felt nothing: “My teachers taught me ‘envoys of the superior nation do not bow to the ruler of an inferior one.’ But Deputy Commander Nishijō Nagi—you bark like a mad dog in public—could it be…”

Qi Ming paused. He’d been about to say, “Did your mother die early, causing you to lack proper character development?”—but then he reconsidered…

Nishijō Nagi really did lose her mother!

In the original Ultraman Nexus series, she witnessed her parents murdered by “Alien Beasts,” which shaped her reclusive and cold personality.

So attacking on that front crossed the line—better drop it.

But the label “mad dog” was enough to send Nishijō Nagi into a rage. She spun 360 degrees and launched a whip kick straight at Qi Ming’s face: “I must teach you a lesson today!”

Qi Ming beamed: “Perfect! Long overdue!”

He wasn’t a well-behaved kid like Tomonaga—he wouldn’t stand there silently after being knocked down for stopping the deputy commander from shooting Himeya Jun.

He dropped low, swept the leg, easily dodged her kick, then countered with a high roundhouse.

Nishijō Nagi’s martial arts were no slouch; she closed in, grabbed his leg, and aimed an elbow strike at his right knee to break it.

Qi Ming immediately bent his knee, bracing hard and using triangular stability to nullify the blow.

She… blocked my attack?

Disbelieving, Nishijō Nagi attacked even more ferociously, nearly going for a kill.

She spun back to create distance, then drove a downward elbow straight at Qi Ming’s crown.

Qi Ming reacted instantly, sidestepped, and used “White Ape Presents the Peach,” slamming his right palm into her chin.

The chin is packed with nerves—Nishijō Nagi collapsed instantly.

“Deputy Commander!”

“What are you doing? Mutiny?!”

Kishida and Yamakasa rushed at Qi Ming as Nishijō Nagi fell.

But only Nishijō Nagi could match Qi Ming for a few moves; against them, he delivered one high roundhouse and one left hook, effortlessly knocking Kishida and Yamakasa to the ground.

“How can we protect Earth if we’re stuck with vermin like these?” Qi Ming stared at Shōseidan, who stood stunned.

Is this what you meant by “the fastest way to resolve conflict is to intensify it”?

Everything happened in the blink of an eye; Shōseidan couldn’t stop it.

He hadn’t even noticed the command room door had silently opened for a while.

Counselor Kōtō, who had witnessed it all, stood frozen, then turned and walked away.

Saeki Rika: “Aren’t you going to discuss the new recruit’s reassignment with Commander Shōseidan?”

“No need.” Counselor Kōtō thought of Qi Ming’s swift, brutal takedown of three veteran members: “He’s already passed the evaluation.”

(End of Chapter)