Chapter 38: 37. Ignoring Qi Ming

“This guy… seems to be a Bardackian.”

Staring at the bizarre, butt-shaped stone statue before him, Qi Ming recalled for a long while before recognizing it.

This creature originally appeared in Episode 39 of Ultraman Jack, “Winter Mystery Series — The Snowman of the Twentieth Century,” sent as a scout by the Bardackians.

It could exhale ultra-low-temperature freezing gas, aiming to freeze all of Tokyo, until Jack melted it with an Ultra Fire Wheel formed from his bracelet.

Abbadass needed powerful soldiers capable of fighting both day and night to break the balance of Standel, and such a formidable alien held far greater appeal to him than ordinary humans.

So in this world, the Bardackian never made any move before being taken down.

The collision of multiple extraterrestrials had instead created a delicate balance.

Yamaka came over again to argue: “What makes you so sure he’s an alien? Just because he looks weird?”

Qi Ming: “Yamaka, do you think everyone thinks with their ass like you, turning their head into the shape of a butt?”

Kishida and Nagi Nishijo also came over to examine it, agreeing this unique form could never be human.

Qi Ming: “Looks like a case of black-on-black, and they accidentally solved our problem for us. This guy is a Bardackian…”

After introducing the basic details of this alien, Kishida froze: “How do you know all this?”

Yamaka: “You didn’t just make up a story to scare us, did you?”

Qi Ming: “Don’t underestimate my intel network. A friend of mine in Shenzhou told me.”

He once again invented a friend — and at this moment, his identity as a “Shenzhou person” had become a useful shield.

Nagi Nishijo snapped back to awareness: “So Abbadass’s fear of bright light isn’t your wild guess — you had solid, reliable intel all along, didn’t you?”

Qi Ming said nothing, pulled out the Victory Hyper Gun, and shattered the frozen Bardackian into fragments.

Yamaka jumped back: “What are you doing!”

Qi Ming: “Eliminating an alien invader of Earth.”

He waited a long while, but no Star Ci points appeared.

This made him recall the exact words of He Zhi, the strategist in Ultraman Seven OV, who ordered the execution of Seven in his human form:

“Generally speaking, when aliens assume forms equivalent to humans, their energy levels are not high.”

Is it because the Bardackian never giantized, failing to even reach Class C, that it earned zero Star Ci points?

“Here’s another,” Qi Ming soon spotted another extraterrestrial frozen into a statue.

This was the Kaitelien, originally appearing in Episode 11 of Ultraman Leo, “A Man Trapped in Mud.”

In Qi Ming’s memory, this creature acted like a terrorist, killing anyone he encountered on Earth.

He easily defeated several MAC members, then murdered a champion boxer who aided Hōgen, later killing the boxer’s wife at a cemetery — targeting the entire family.

The boxer’s nephew cursed Hōgen, followed by Seiji’s rebuke and beatings — the “man trapped in mud” in the title referred to Hōgen.

Clearly, Abbadass was still formidable at night — he took care of this one too.

May good people live safe and sound!

Qi Ming pulled out his gun again, ready to strike while the enemy was down.

Yamaka rushed to stop him: “What are you doing again!”

Kishida: “This one might not even be an alien!”

Compared to the bizarre, butt-headed Bardackian, the frozen Kaitelien looked remarkably human.

From its silhouette — head, torso, limbs, nose, face — Yamaka insisted: “Isn’t this just a human?”

He declared confidently: “When it comes to dealing with aliens, we’re your seniors — we’ve got more experience!”

Nagi Nishijo intervened, saying that even if it were an alien, it should be taken as a prisoner back to base for the strategists to decide its fate.

Seiji, overhearing the argument over the comms, stepped in to advise Qi Ming not to be so domineering — he should consult his teammates.

He felt Qi Ming’s relations with the team had only just begun to improve; acting alone now would only reopen rifts.

If the Kaitelien were in its normal state, Qi Ming would never agree — TPC’s security couldn’t hold it.

But in statue form, they could afford to loosen restrictions — perhaps they could even extract Star Ci points from it.

“Shhh!” At that moment, a glow flared in the distance, and a figure vanished in an instant.

“That’s the alien who claimed to be from Natan!” Yamaka, with sharp eyes, recognized the fleeing figure.

Nagi Nishijo: “He got away again!”

Qi Ming wasn’t worried at all — if anything, he’d saved them the trouble of finding an exit.

Ten minutes later, the group pried loose all the statue-like humans trapped in the pillars — twelve humans, one alien.

“Too heavy — I can’t carry this all at once,” Kishida said, lifting a human statue.

Nagi Nishijo could only carry two at a time.

Qi Ming pulled out a long rope, tied the remaining nine human statues together, and lifted them effortlessly: “No need to make it so complicated.”

Even though they’d long known of his “natural strength,” the sight left all three stunned.

Yamaka glanced at the Kaitelien statue he carried, then at Qi Ming’s calm expression: “I think this statue’s more human than you are.”

The group stood where the Natan alien had fled, leaving the alien vessel.

Back outside, Nagi Nishijo immediately called for a transport craft.

“What now? These people haven’t returned to normal after leaving the pillars,” Kishida asked.

Nagi Nishijo: “Take them back first. See if Medical Division can help — if not, we’ll have to ask Alchemy Star.”

Yamaka said: “This statue I’m carrying seems unusual — did I imagine it, or did its fingers just twitch?”

Qi Ming instantly became alert, staring at the Kaitelien statue Yamaka carried.

Like the revived Daita statue in Episode 1 of Ultraman Tiga, its arm lifted, and vibrant color returned to its body.

As a powerful alien, its life force far exceeded that of ordinary humans — freed from the pillar’s seal, it had revived!

Silver hair, a body of black and gold, and an alien face.

Seeing the Kaitelien’s true form, Yamaka and Kishida immediately realized: Qi Ming was right — this was no human!

(End of Chapter)