Chapter 30

Just like that, everyone except Moroboshi Dan was deployed.

Soldier Shan Zhong piloted Victory Feiyan 1, while Xitiao, Emi, Kishida, and Qi Ming boarded Feiyan 2.

The No. 1 machine was equipped with a microwave cannon, which was currently the only device the TPC had that could strike underground.

Emi hoped the electromagnetic waves it emitted could hold back the surging subterranean fire, allowing Qi Ming to evacuate safely.

"Alright, you can put me down now," Qi Ming said as they were about to reach the operation area.

He turned on the PDI communicator in his jacket pocket so the other team members could hear the movements on his end at any time, allowing them to judge the situation and make choices.

Emi: "Be careful."

Qi Ming: "Actually, I've been very careful since I arrived here, walking on thin ice."

Feiyan 2 landed, and Qi Ming jumped out of the cockpit.

After waving to the other three team members, he put on his sunglasses, feigned the appearance of someone in pursuit, and headed toward the area where the 【Underground Woman】 was located.

"Walking on thin ice, my foot. Even his walk is the stride of someone who doesn't recognize his own kin," Kishida said, unable to help himself as he watched this scene from inside Feiyan 2, which had ascended back above the clouds.

Inside Feiyan 1, which had arrived at the T7-B area first, Soldier Shan Zhong asked: "Kishida, tell me, where should I fire the microwave cannon?"

Kishida: "Wait a moment, I'm still analyzing the seismic wave dynamics... Found it. The target is the intersection in front of the radio tower. Soldier Shan Zhong, you only have one chance, so be careful."

Soldier Shan Zhong: "Leave it to me! I can't let that kid Qi Ming hog all the spotlight."

At this hour, there were already few pedestrians to be seen on the street.

Qi Ming walked along the silent street; even wearing sunglasses, he appeared imposingly heroic, attracting the gazes of many.

"If there's only one chance, shouldn't they have let Saeko Xitiao go? She's more steady, right?" he thought, listening to the exchange between the others on the communication channel.

At this moment, Saeko Xitiao, who was staring intently at the monitors, shouted: "Attention everyone, Officer Qi Ming has made contact with the target. We are now issuing the evacuation notice."

Under the dim yellow streetlights, Qi Ming took slow, powerful steps toward the Underground Woman, who was also wearing sunglasses.

The latter turned around; instead of fleeing, she walked toward Qi Ming as well.

Qi Ming got straight to the point: "Come with me. I suggest you don't resist; that way I can save some effort, and you won't have to suffer more than necessary."

The Underground Woman let out a hoarse voice: "What do you want?"

Qi Ming: "The staff officers would like to invite you to be our guest and discuss the grand plan for the coexistence of the Underground People and humanity."

Underground Woman: "Do you believe that?"

Qi Ming: "My opinion doesn't matter; it mainly depends on whether you believe it."

The Underground Woman's voice turned cold:

"Coexistence? How to coexist? Who will lead this coexistence? Stop spouting pretty words!"

"Once we give up resistance, you will definitely persecute us until our nation is destroyed and our race is extinct!"

"The fate of the Native Americans will be our end. We Underground People must hold our destiny in our own hands!"

Qi Ming: "Aren't you also spouting pretty words? 'Resistance,' you say? Wasn't the surface something you voluntarily abandoned in the first place?"

"Now, in order to invade and return, you don't hesitate to unite with 'external forces' to exterminate the people on the surface."

On Feiyan 2, Kishida listened anxiously, saying that Qi Ming usually retorted to them so sharply that they couldn't even make a sound, his tongue so glib.

Why wasn't he using that special talent of his now to stabilize the Underground Woman and trick her back to the base first?

Emi: "Perhaps Officer Qi Ming disdains doing such things."

Even Emi, who got along quite well with Qi Ming, felt that he always calmly exuded a natural sense of superiority. Below, Qi Ming listened to the footsteps in the distance shifting from dense to sparse, knowing the evacuation of the masses was about to be completed.

And as the negotiations broke down, the Underground Woman let out a shrill "Wao" scream.

"Wao your cow demon! Are Underground People so lacking in manners? Screaming like a ghost late at night and disturbing the peace!"

Qi Ming bent down, picked up a pebble from the ground, and smashed it into the Underground Woman's open mouth, cutting off her scream.

"Saved, ugh... Nice work, Qi Ming." Soldier Shan Zhong and the others, wearing stereo surround headphones, had almost been sent away by that scream just now.

At this time, the Feiyan 1 piloted by Soldier Shan Zhong had already switched to its wing-closed, highly stable cruising mode, hovering less than ten meters above the intersection.

Kishida hurriedly asked: "Officer Soldier Shan Zhong, are you still alive? The subterranean fire is about to burn up!"

Soldier Shan Zhong: "I'm alive and well! Ugh..."

Kishida: "Five seconds is the optimal attack time. Starting the countdown now. Five, four, three, wait, this fluctuation is..."

Emi also showed a look of shock: "A giant creature under the strata has also begun to move... It's right below you, Officer Soldier Shan Zhong, hurry and dodge!"

"Boom!" Just then, the ground suddenly cracked open, and a light brown monster crawled out.

Its head was flat, its entire body had clearly defined muscle contours, and behind it, starting from the neck, grew protrusions that gradually thickened. Its thick tail lashed fiercely toward Feiyan 1.

It was the monster controlled by the Underground People—【Red King】!

"Damn it! They really are in cahoots!" Soldier Shan Zhong wanted to dodge, but the maneuverability of Feiyan 1 in cruising mode was very poor; there was no way to dodge in time.

"Bang!" Feiyan 1 was hit by Red King's tail whip and, like a kite with a broken string, spiraled down onto the street, emitting black smoke.

"Officer Soldier Shan Zhong, get out of there quickly, the subterranean fire is about to burn up!" Saeko Xitiao shouted hurriedly as she watched the data fluctuations on the screen.

But there was no response from that side.

Soldier Shan Zhong had also fainted directly from the violent impact just now, losing consciousness.

"Roar!" Red King relentlessly charged toward Feiyan 1, intending to stomp Soldier Shan Zhong in the cockpit flat.

"Interrupted the ghost screaming, but still called the monster out, huh..."

Seeing this, Qi Ming ran into a public restroom and hung up the PDI communicator in his pocket.

He tapped the button, the core of the arbitrary key on his wrist rose, and he turned the dial; the silhouette of Tiga appeared on the screen.

"For an opponent like this, Tiga is enough."

The core was pressed, silver-white radiance soared into the sky, and Ultraman Tiga appeared!

Kishida: "Look, it's that Ultraman from the pyramid!"

Emi: "Ultraman has come to help us!"

In the command room, Moroboshi Dan's hanging heart slowly settled.

Saeko Xitiao: "Officer Qi Ming, Ultraman and the monster are going to fight in the city, evacuate immediately... Huh?"

No response, which made her realize that Qi Ming had already logged off the communication channel... What did this mean?

"Bang!" In the intersection, Tiga leaped into the air, his heavy fist, accumulating the strength of his entire body, striking the head of Red King as it charged toward Feiyan 1.

Vajra Fist!

This heavy blow made Red King's body go limp, nearly causing it to collapse directly.

Taking advantage of its unstable stance, Qi Ming performed a shoulder throw, tossing it into the center of the intersection, which was also the location where the subterranean fire was about to erupt.

"Bang!" The next moment, the sacred fire of the Kyrieloid erupted, and Red King, blocking the "volcanic crater," was blown into the sky on the spot.

(End of chapter)