Chapter 394: 389. Qi Ming

At six p. m., TPC maritime base, cafeteria.

Agamus, having finished his meal, vividly described to Raelian the tense excitement of yesterday's battle in Nanjizhou.

"Monsters were everywhere, throwing themselves at your face like they had no fear of death!"

"Gagura held the front line, hacking at half-mermaids, while I shot those floating spherical bio-weapons from behind—I never knew my improvised marksmanship could be this accurate!"

"Then I rebooted the mainframe in seconds, reclaimed control of the underwater base, disabled the shield, and only then did the main force break in."

Raelian stroked the Shiba Inu beneath her feet: "My dear, you did wonderfully—you helped immensely."

Agamus took a sip of soup to moisten his throat, assuming a humble posture: "Actually, the Ultramen bore the brunt of the frontline, but we did contribute."

Here, he sighed, mentioning that during post-battle cleanup, they discovered the corpses of the underwater base personnel.

"The world is truly dangerous and cruel—we must work twice as hard."

"Director Hikari assigned me the task of modifying the Cosmic Steel Dragon. Gagura wants to turn it into a manned monster-fighting weapon."

"But I feel such a quadrupedal machine should be operated by artificial intelligence."

By the way, when transporting the Cosmic Steel Dragon back to the TPC base, Qi Ming pondered how to explain it to Counselor Kento.

Fei Niao had only recently told Kento: "Stick to our current developmental trajectory, trust in humanity's future—there's no need to covet mysterious foreign technology."

Yet now Qi Ming was about to modify the Cosmic Steel Dragon "recovered" from the aliens.

He couldn't possibly say, "This thing's too complex for you to handle—I'm the only one who can manage it," could he?

But Kento had no time to care about this—he was focused elsewhere.

After learning from returning Victory Team members that the Antarctic underwater base had hidden sixteen high-yield nuclear warheads, he and He Zhi were stunned.

What on earth was Tsuchibashi Yu old devil thinking, building a nuclear launch base underwater!

This wasn't just unconventional—it was outright madness!

Seizing the opportunity, they were now conducting a full investigation into all suspicious outposts under Tsuchibashi Yu's faction—even clothing factories weren't spared.

Don't you know how big a mess the Antarctic base caused? Anyone who tries to cover it up will be treated as an alien spy!

Raelian asked curiously: "I heard one of the mountain team members say they captured an alien this time?"

Agamus: "Yes, Captain Moroboshi said this is the first alien prisoner ever taken—previously, all aliens and monsters were killed on the spot by Mr. Qi Ming."

Raelian: "Was he brought back to the base too?"

Agamus: "Mr. Qi Ming said not to keep strange things around the base—he locked the Magmarian away somewhere else."

……………………………………

In the 【Kabari Archipelago】, where Aizen Makoto was located.

The Magmarian writhed in agony from the intense pain in his right leg.

He never imagined he'd one day become the "trophy" himself.

Aren't Ultramen supposed to be kind-hearted champions of love and justice? Why was that Ultraman so cruel!

This was deliberate torture!

Although Aizen Makoto couldn't transform into Black Uroboros now, he could still use Monster Crystals to become a monster—and guarding a Magmarian was more than enough for him.

In Qi Ming's plan, once the Magmarian fleet followed this "lost soldier" to Earth, they would exchange prisoners—first retrieving Lei Ao.

Then they could drop all pretense and slaughter every Magmarian right before Lei Ao's eyes.

"Hey, you're an alien—how did you get here?" The prisoner in the next cell, Masaki Keigo, was ecstatic to find a new cellmate.

Previously, Aizen Makoto, for amusement, had invited several Buddhist monks to "convert" him.

But when they showed no effect, he paid them off and sent them away.

For months, aside from the robot that delivered his meals, Masaki Keigo had seen no other living soul. Isolation, boredom, nothing to do—he felt his intellect being eroded by this "hell," even his language skills beginning to decay.

Now that he saw a sentient being capable of conversation, he was overjoyed.

Doesn't matter who you are—just talk to me! Let me know what's happening outside!

The Magmarian, gritting his teeth against the pain, replied: "I'm… a Magmarian. I was captured for wanting to exterminate humanity. What about you?"

Masaki Keigo snarled: "I was captured for wanting to save humanity!"

The Magmarian: "?"

……………………………………

Meanwhile, in the hidden dimension where the Dark Giants resided.

Dagorn shattered a massive rock with a casual strike: "Good. The wounds from the last battle have healed, and my strength has recovered significantly—it's time to avenge Hitram!"

That was Dagorn—a Dark Giant who deeply valued his kin.

In the original series, even after Hitram betrayed and mocked him, upon learning that Carmilla had killed Hitram, he still felt profound disappointment and declared, "I will no longer follow you."

In this world, even though Hitram abandoned them and fled first, Dagorn still believed he owed it to him to seek revenge.

"Carmilla, how are you feeling now?" He turned to look at Carmilla, who was muttering to herself.

"Trigge… Trigge… Trigge." Carmilla lowered her head.

Dagorn: "..."

Carmilla suddenly whipped out her lash and smashed a massive rock to pieces: "That guy—he's not my Trigge!"

The joy of their "long-awaited reunion" had clouded her mind; now that she'd regained her composure, she finally understood.

Qi Ming's Trigge was not her lover—so there was nothing left in this world worth staying for.

"I'm going back to find my Trigge," Carmilla declared, showing little interest in avenging Hitram.

Dagorn: "Do you have a way back?"

Carmilla: "This world must have an Eternal Core too. If I obtain its power, nothing will be impossible!"

The outsider Carmilla now had soaring ambition—what about the local Carmilla?

At this moment, she still retained her human form, visiting a bookstore. Without greeting the dozing owner, she rummaged through piles of old newspapers until she found reports on Qi Ming, then read them with delight.

She was currently reading the report by Higurashi, TPC's official journalist, detailing how Qi Ming beat up civilians with a baseball bat to protect the Metzian from the movie "The Monster Whisperer and the Boy."

"Abuse of power," "Assault on innocent citizens," "Violent monster"—Higurashi's wording was viciously malicious.

In the photo, Qi Ming held a baseball bat, smiling elegantly, while the fallen civilians looked pitifully wounded.

Back then, Higurashi had tried to portray Qi Ming as a terrifying thug; ordinary people seeing it would naturally develop negative views of Qi Ming and TPC.

Fortunately, these perceptions were later reversed after Defense Minister Kido's shocking live broadcast, where he transformed into a monster and killed civilians.

And the local Carmilla?

To ordinary people, such one-sided reports provoked disgust—but to a Dark Giant, they were perfect!

Qi Ming's domineering actions, the grace and force of his swing—perfectly matched her aesthetic!

"No wonder he's my destined one—he fascinates me." The local Carmilla continued eagerly searching through stacks of old newspapers for more reports on Qi Ming.

As for the Eternal Core? Put it off for now—more urgent matters first.

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The second update will come as soon as possible.

(End of Chapter)