Chapter 401: 396. When Dealing with a Shrew, Never Show Mercy (Second Update, Requesting Monthly Votes)

In the back seat of Charlotte's car.

Haruo's female classmate described the situation: "... Haruo picked up that violin and suddenly played it beautifully—better than the teacher."

Haruo's mother's face lit up with astonishment: "Really?"

Yamana, driving up front, said: "It wasn't him playing. That sound came from the hyper-beast. Only by destroying it can your son's strength and cognitive abilities return."

Haruo's mother's gaze flickered, but she said nothing.

Soon, the violin landed in a lakeside park. It lured a young man into drawing the bow across its strings; a beautiful melody rang out, leaving those nearby entranced, their gazes growing vacant as their soul energy was drained.

"That beast!" Yamana, who had been tracking it all along, erupted in fury: "As soon as the cello leaves the person, I'll shoot it dead!"

Standing behind Yamana, Haruo's mother immediately fixed her eyes on the Victory Hyper Gun holstered at his waist.

Soon after, the violin hyper-beast had absorbed the strength and souls of everyone nearby, grew another full size, and rose into the air, preparing to seek its next target.

"Perfect, now's the moment!" Yamana was about to act—but Haruo's mother moved faster. She lunged, yanked the Victory Hyper Gun from his waist, and pointed it at Yamana.

"What are you doing!" Yamana gasped.

Haruo's mother trembled all over: "I'll shoot! If you move again, I'll shoot!"

Yamana suppressed his rage: "Do you realize you're obstructing official duties? Don't you care about those new victims?"

He thought: Is this woman insane? Seizing a Victory team member's weapon and openly threatening a Victory officer—doesn't she know how grave a crime this is?

Haruo's mother's expression was fanatical: "With that violin, Haruo will play beautifully—he'll become a great violinist!"

Haruo's female classmate said: "No, that melody isn't played by a person—it's the violin itself. This is cheating."

Yamana: "See? Even children understand this. Give me back the gun!"

But Haruo's mother refused. She widened her eyes, gripping the gun tightly, never wavering from its aim.

Because of Haruo's mother's interference, the optimal sniping window had passed. The violin had already taken to the air—and now, having evolved this far, it could play music on its own.

A beautiful tone rang out. Centered on the violin hyper-beast, crowds of people collapsed one after another, their souls sucked away.

Yamana quickly ordered the two children to leave the area before they were affected.

Haruo's mother paid no heed to the bystanders' deaths; she looked entranced, moved: "What a beautiful melody!"

One of Yamana's team members could no longer hold back, exploding in rage: "Give me back the gun, you shrew!"

Haruo's mother shook her head violently, still pointing the gun at Yamana.

"Shh!" From afar, Qi Ming stepped down from the Dralm vehicle, holding a cage—just in time to witness this scene.

"The woman pointing the gun at Yamana... it's her."

Qi Ming remembered clearly: in the original *Ace* series, Haruo's mother had seized Beidou's sidearm and threatened him.

And although Beidou had a fiery temper, he was fundamentally kind—he ultimately saved Haruo's mother when she was nearly crushed by the hyper-beast.

But Qi Ming...

Anyone who obstructs Victory team members from carrying out their mission to eliminate hyper-beasts isn't just a troublesome civilian—they must be crushed.

He decisively pulled out a sniper rifle from the trunk and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Shh!" A bullet spun through the air, striking the woman's right wrist as she held the gun.

"Ahh!" She screamed a heart-rending cry; blood gushed from the wound like a fountain.

Her right hand severed cleanly at the wrist, flying through the air in an arc before landing with a thud on the grass three meters away.

Directly severed hand! "Qi Ming team member!" Yamana stared, stunned at the shooter.

"Are you alright?" Qi Ming walked over, holding the cage. Yamana saw a black beetle inside.

Yamana quickly retrieved his Victory Hyper Gun: "What could happen to me? If I hadn't feared the gun going off during the struggle and hurting her, I'd have taken it back already. Hah!"

Haruo's mother knelt on the ground, her face twisted, emitting inhuman wails—obviously wracked by excruciating pain.

With her left hand, she frantically slapped the bleeding stump, as if she could reattach the severed limb.

"She pointed a gun at you—what's left to hesitate about? When dealing with a shrew, never show mercy." Qi Ming watched Haruo's mother with cold eyes.

The woman who had been as shrill and bold as a Chihuahua now rolled on the ground like a wounded stray dog, howling.

Yamana forced a smile, thinking: No wonder Qi Ming's feared—he didn't hesitate. He shattered a civilian's hand on sight, dooming her to lifelong disability.

"Now isn't the time for this. We must stop the hyper-beast." Yamana quickly changed the subject.

Qi Ming: "That's why I brought this."

He raised the cage. The beetle inside made Yamana pause: "This... I think I remember..."

"Shh!" The next instant, a blue light erupted, streaking toward the sixty-meter-long violin.

It was Agul Ultraman—Xiang Xiang Tenggong, dragging his weary, wounded body into battle once more!

He unleashed a blue 【Punisher】, slamming it into the violin.

The massive violin was knocked hard to the ground. Amid blazing fire, a colossal figure emerged.

A beak-like face, a body shaped like a violin.

After being struck, the violin hyper-beast switched to combat mode!

It violently shuddered its entire body, emitting an unbearable, deafening noise.

Sonic attack—this tactic was truly rare!

Agul Ultraman, like Ace Ultraman in the original series, clapped his hands over his ears, writhing in agony.

Seizing the moment the opponent was immobilized, the violin hyper-beast lunged forward and slapped Agul away with both hands.

"After absorbing so many human souls, its power has reached Class B..." Qi Ming thought.

Yamana clapped his hands over his ears: "I can't take it—this sound is unbearable!"

Qi Ming lifted his cage: "It's not just you who can't take it. It's time for it to fight."

Long ago, a beetle from the *Jack Ultraman* universe descended to Earth. Qi Ming discovered and captured it, then imprisoned it, hoping one day it might prove useful.

This beast loved lipstick and held extreme hostility toward noise. In the original series, it absorbed the laser energy meant to execute it, grew massive, and began destroying the city.

Now was the perfect moment!

Yamana understood: "You want the monster to fight the hyper-beast?"

Qi Ming: "Exactly!"

He opened the cage. The beetle flew out. Yamana maximized the Victory Hyper Gun's output and fired—a laser struck the beetle.

In an instant, amid a cloud of smoke, the beetle rapidly expanded to fifty meters, completing its gigantification, and immediately lunged at the noise-emitting violin hyper-beast.

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Today is Children's Day. One more chapter before two o'clock—this "bonus story" will be finished.

Requesting monthly votes.

(End of chapter)