Chapter 400: 395 Apeman: Violin, I Choose You!

The afternoon after the star gathering, on a large open field.

A boy named Chunfu was playing baseball with his friends, drenched in sweat, his face beaming with joy.

The next moment, he seemed to see something terrifying—his expression froze, the smile vanished.

There stood Chunfu's mother outside the field, gazing at her "unpromising" son with a disapproving stare.

"Chunfu, it's time for your violin lesson," the mother walked straight onto the field and handed him a violin: "If you keep playing baseball, your fingers will grow stiff."

Chunfu reluctantly took it and followed his mother away.

"Chunfu, are you leaving?" his friends cried out in dismay.

The mother smiled and patted Chunfu's head: "Chunfu must become a violinist."

"Liar!" one of his friends shouted: "Chunfu's going to be a professional baseball player—he's the best among us!"

At these words, Chunfu's mother's face twisted with revulsion; she said nothing and pulled him away from the field.

Chunfu kept glancing back at his teammates on the baseball field, yet his mother dragged him to the violin studio.

Midway through the lesson, Chunfu suddenly said: "Teacher, I don't want to continue. I don't have talent for the violin."

The music teacher: "The violin requires both talent and practice—you simply haven't practiced enough. Among all students, yours is the best. You must work harder."

But unable to endure it, Chunfu skipped class and returned home. He set down the violin, quietly pulled out his baseball glove and bat, and planned to return to the field.

As he turned around, he found his mother standing at the door, looking utterly disappointed.

"Chunfu, what have you done!" the mother dragged him before his father's portrait and forced him to kneel.

"Chunfu, your father was a genius violinist. Before he died, he said he wanted you to become an outstanding violinist too—have you forgotten?"

Chunfu shouted: "But I hate the violin! I have no talent!"

After school, he was forced to practice endlessly, with no time left to play with friends—all his leisure time consumed by the violin.

Being forced to do something he despised filled him with bitter resentment toward the violin.

Chunfu's mother refused to listen. She was stubborn: "Your father was a genius—how could his son have no talent? You just haven't practiced enough. Go back to school!"

She confiscated his bat and glove and locked them in her room. Chunfu slumped his head, staring at his father's portrait—then froze.

The photo of his father in the portrait had just moved—blinked at him.

Chunfu doubted his eyes. He leaned forward to look closer, but his mother shoved him out the door again.

………………………………

Why had the portrait moved?

The answer: Apeman was at work.

Having returned to Earth, it sought to gauge Earth's defenses by unleashing a Super Beast to cause chaos and see what would emerge.

After scanning, it spotted Chunfu, radiating intense resentment.

"Perfect—it's you then!" It raised a hand; a bolt of Super Beast energy struck like lightning and merged with Chunfu's violin.

"Huh?" Chunfu froze. Though he despised the violin, now that he saw it, a powerful urge to play surged within him.

He had been seduced by the Super Beast.

The next moment, he drew the bow across the strings—beautiful tones rang out, drawing the attention of passersby.

A female classmate from Chunfu's violin class happened to walk by and turned to look:

"Hey, Chunfu, don't practice here—it's disturbing people!"

"Wait, you play so beautifully—is this really the sound a kid like us can make?"

Chunfu stared blankly: "I've become a genius. With this violin, I've become a genius. Wonderful…"

The next moment, his soul's vitality drained by the Violin Super Beast, he collapsed motionless onto the ground, like a lifeless puppet.

The girl immediately sensed something was wrong: "This isn't right—I need to get Chunfu's mother."

………………………………

Meanwhile, in the Victory Team command room.

"Radar detected anomalous energy readings in Tokyo K district," said Hime, on duty. Yesterday they'd eliminated two Dark Giants; the day before, ten enemies in Antarctica—and now trouble again!

Seishiro: "Probably not serious. I recall Yamana is patrolling nearby—send him over."

Yamana received the message and immediately drove the Xia Luote toward the scene, soon noticing Chunfu sitting on the street.

"What's wrong, child? Why are you sitting on the road?" Yamana shook Chunfu, but the boy's wide eyes held no spark.

Yamana scanned the surroundings in surprise—and then saw a violin floating in midair.

"What is that?" Yamana exclaimed.

Chunfu replied dully: "My violin grew big and flew into the air. Good—I won't have to go to lessons anymore."

Yamana noticed Chunfu's odd speech: "Child, you look extremely weak."

An object growing large, floating in the air, combined with Chunfu's vacant state—Yamana immediately recalled the previous Balloon Super Beast.

That Balloon Super Beast had similarly swollen after draining children's souls, leaving them as lifeless as Chunfu now was.

The next moment, Chunfu's female classmate arrived with his mother. She looked at Chunfu on the ground and asked immediately: "What's going on? Why aren't you in class practicing?"

Chunfu said nothing—his soul energy drained, his eyes vacant.

Chunfu's mother quickly noticed the violin case was open—and empty. She panicked: "My violin! Where's my violin!"

Yamana: "Madam, the violin flew into the air."

Chunfu's mother blinked, then laughed bitterly: "You're saying the violin flew into the air? Are you dreaming?"

Yamana's expression turned grave: "I'm fully awake and not joking. That violin may be possessed by a Super Beast."

Chunfu's mother grew frantic: "Stop joking! That violin cost a fortune!"

Yamana: "This isn't the time to talk about money. I'm chasing the violin—can't let more victims be taken."

Chunfu's classmate raised her hand: "I'll come too. I heard the sound from that violin—I can help Victory Team identify it."

Yamana: "Thank you."

Chunfu's mother hurried to add: "I'm coming too—if that expensive violin gets damaged, I'll have a headache!"

Yamana: "You should take Chunfu to the hospital. Don't you see he's in bad shape?"

Chunfu's mother shook her head: "No. Chunfu will become an outstanding violinist. I won't allow his violin to be lost!"

Yamana fell silent: "…."

After a moment's thought, he agreed to bring them along—for their own protection.

The three climbed into the back of the Xia Luote. Yamana drove after the floating violin, reporting the situation to the team.

Qi Ming, summoned, instantly understood.

A boy named Chunfu. A violin floating in midair, absorbing souls.

This was Episode 51 of Ultraman Ace: "The Deadly Melody."

Qi Ming: "Yamana, your judgment is correct. A Super Beast has fused with that violin—it's now the Violin Super Beast."

"It lures nearby people to play, absorbing their souls and energy through violin music, growing larger with each note."

"Once it materializes into a giant Super Beast, it emits unbearable, piercing noise to torment enemies' hearing and brainwaves."

In the original episode, Ultraman Ace suffered terribly.

Yamana: "Then I'll stop it."

After the communication ended, Qi Ming pondered:

"Xiang Xiang Tenggong fought hard yesterday and the day before—he hasn't recovered yet. It's my turn."

"But I don't have Star Blessing. Should I waste Lei Qiu's and Max's 'free trial' uses on this thing? Feels like a bad deal."

"Wait… it's time for that guy to step in."

(End of Chapter)