Chapter 23: 22 Xiang Tenggong (Bonus Chapter 33 for Meng Zhu Yue)

“The mole—who is it?”

At these words, everyone except Qi Ming grew wary, eyeing each other around them.

Seeing Kishida’s gaze sweep over him, Qi Ming asked: “What, suspecting me again?”

“No, just looking around,” Kishida quickly denied, now slightly intimidated by Qi Ming, afraid he might use the same force that smashed the door on him.

“What’s the hurry? This is probably another of the enemy’s divide-and-conquer tricks,” Nishijo Nagi said calmly.

Shoxing Tuan: “No, Doctor is awake now.”

“I remember… I was controlled by the aliens… Be careful—no!” Doctor Tangdao’s expression twisted as he struggled against the relentless manipulation of the Pila aliens.

“Doctor Tangdao, hold on! As a human, you cannot lose to aliens!” Captain Tongshan gripped his hand to encourage him; others cheered him on.

But Qi Ming never engaged in such idealistic gestures: “The aliens aren’t here—so to remotely control the doctor, they must need a medium… Hui Mei, turn on the signal jammer.”

Hui Mei complied without hesitation, immediately maxing out the base’s signal jamming device. Instantly, the agonized Doctor Tangdao calmed down.

“I… I’m myself again.” Sweat-drenched, Doctor Tangdao looked utterly relieved.

“We still need to eliminate the Pila aliens completely to be safe,” Qi Ming said.

“Doctor Tangdao, I’m Yabu. We met before. What exactly happened?” Doctor Yabu asked Doctor Tangdao to speak slowly.

Only when he elaborated did they realize that when Doctor Tangdao said “here,” he didn’t mean this room—he meant the entire Earth.

The mole was an indigenous Earth resident—a human offshoot: the “Underground People.”

They had taken refuge underground during the Ice Age, causing their eyes to degenerate and making them extremely light-sensitive; that’s why she only appeared after Doctor Tangdao shut off the base’s lighting.

Now, these Underground People planned to replace humanity, but felt their strength insufficient, so they sought aid from beyond the stars, promising to “share Earth” once victorious.

Qi Ming understood: “Collaborators, huh.”

In the original plan, the Underground People intended to summon a monster called [Telestone] to coordinate with the Pila aliens’ fleet and crush humanity’s defensive forces in one blow.

But after being severely wounded by the Zuluuk alien’s blade, the sunglasses woman—now badly weakened—had to withdraw prematurely, temporarily exiting the operation.

Doctor Tangdao: “The Pila aliens have already assembled their fleet after I sabotaged the radar—they’re coming soon.”

Captain Tongshan nodded: “Victory Team, deploy!”

Nishijo Nagi and the others saluted and prepared to leave—only Qi Ming didn’t move.

Seeing Captain Tongshan look his way, he spread his hands: “I still haven’t learned to pilot Feiyan. Let Shan Zhong and the others handle the rest.”

Nishijo Nagi couldn’t help saying: “You never even showed up for training!”

Shan Zhong, unusually, agreed: “Alright, alright, leave the rest to us.”

He had previously resented Qi Ming’s habitual absence from training, but now he thought it didn’t matter much if Qi Ming couldn’t fly.

Otherwise, if he single-handedly handled both air and ground combat, wouldn’t the rest of them seem utterly unnecessary?

With Hui Mei and Doctor Yabu’s efforts, the radar system was quickly restored.

Nishijo Nagi and the other two piloted two Feiyan Ones, launching an assault against the approaching Pila alien fleet.

In the command room, Qi Ming sat beside the visibly anxious Doctor Tangdao: “Don’t worry—I’m here. Nothing will happen.”

Doctor Tangdao’s mind was still chaotic, but he vaguely recalled that the Pila aliens seemed deeply wary of this human named Qi Ming—and his recent astonishing performance justified that wariness.

Hearing him say this, Doctor Tangdao nodded, relaxing slightly.

Qi Ming asked in a casual tone: “By the way, I heard you’re a member of the Alchemy Star.”

Doctor Tangdao: “I barely made the cut. Compared to real young geniuses, my achievements are negligible.”

Alchemy Star was a special organization formed by the world’s most brilliant teenagers.

They collaborated online to advance each other’s research and predicted the emergence of the “Source of Annihilation,” bringing astonishing progress to human science.

Most members were under twenty-five; Doctor Tangdao was twenty-four when he joined, so he barely qualified.

Of course, if you had thick enough skin and kept applying persistently, they’d accept you if they saw your talent.

For example, Alchemy Star approved the application of the thirty-something Masaki Keigo, allowing him to use the quantum computer Crisis for private calculations.

Qi Ming asked: “Is there someone in Alchemy Star named Gao Shan Wo Meng?”

Doctor Tangdao thought: “Never heard that name. If he’s domestic, I’d definitely remember.”

Qi Ming: “What about Xiang Tenggong?”

Doctor Tangdao’s expression changed: “How do you know that name?”

Oh? So it’s become a forbidden name now?

…………………………

On the other side, two Feiyan Ones battled the Pila alien fleet in midair, successfully shooting down most of the ships.

Though their personalities were annoying, Nishijo Nagi, Kishida, and Shan Zhong’s combat skills were solid.

As defeat seemed imminent, the hidden Pila alien was forced to giantize and fired a laser at Nishijo Nagi’s fighter, which she narrowly avoided with extreme maneuvers of Feiyan One.

“The mastermind’s showing his face—take it down!” Nishijo Nagi ordered.

The next moment, another figure appeared—a giant Zuluuk alien, fifty meters tall!

Its giant form bore little resemblance to its human-sized appearance: more ferocious, with a sharp-headed silhouette, its entire body covered in gray scales, its blade-like hands transformed into bone-like weapons.

It rampaged through the city, venting its fury from the suffering it had endured at human hands.

Shan Zhong: “Damn, another one!”

Kishida: “Should we request Defense Force support?”

Nishijo Nagi ordered Kishida and Shan Zhong to distract the Zuluuk alien while she finished off the Pila alien before rejoining them.

But under the Zuluuk alien’s fierce assault, Shan Zhong and Kishida’s Feiyan Ones misstepped and were sliced down midair by the giant’s blade.

Hearing the news, Qi Ming immediately stood up, nodded to Zhuxing Tuan, then walked out. Zhuxing Tuan nodded in return, saying nothing.

In Ultraman Leo, the four battles against the Zuluuk alien were extremely brutal, with MAC suffering heavy casualties.

Back then, Zhuxing Tuan was filled with sorrow—blaming himself for being unable to transform and help Feng Yuan, knowing that even doubling the engine speed wouldn’t save his men.

Before departure, he gazed at these team members who would sacrifice their lives to buy Feng Yuan training time, his heart heavy with grief.

But here, Zhuxing Tuan had zero doubt that Qi Ming would defeat the Zuluuk alien—he only disapproved of Qi Ming’s “lack of proper attitude.”

Though a human who gained Ultraman’s immense power hadn’t lost himself or gone mad, only grown proud and arrogant, that was already impressive self-control.

But he still hoped Qi Ming could become better, strive for the best, embodying true “Ultraman Spirit” like a genuine Ultraman warrior.

(End of Chapter)