Chapter 75

Early the next morning, Iida Osamu’s three companions arrived on time, escorting him to yesterday’s fishing spot.

“Hey, this area is off-limits!” As they approached, the four realized the area had been sealed off.

Rayelos is about to land; the Victory Team issued an evacuation notice and deployed personnel to secure the zone.

“Kids, go home or find another place to play—the monster will land within an hour, and this place will be dangerous,” said the police officer guarding the road entrance.

“No choice—we’ll have to go back,” Iida Osamu said, his face drooping, but his heart leapt with quiet joy as he walked back with light steps.

But the boy named Gomi, who had looked forward to this all night, refused to give up so easily: “No, I’m seeing this today, no matter what!”

The girl: “Let’s sneak in—we’ll fish while watching the Victory Team fight the monster.”

Iida Osamu gasped: “How could they let us fish calmly? They’d kick us out the moment they spot us!”

The girl: “But we came all this way—going back now would be a waste.”

Her eyes darted, then she came up with an idea: they’d slip in quietly, Iida Osamu would just point out his fishing spot from yesterday, and they’d leave immediately.

Gomi agreed: “Just a quick peek—nothing bad will happen.”

Iida Osamu didn’t want to go at all, frantically making excuses: “What if the monster shows up right then?”

Gomi: “What are the odds?”

The other two children joined in, calling Iida Osamu a coward—a scaredy-cat afraid of monsters.

“I’m not a coward!” The bait worked; Iida Osamu agreed to lead them over.

They hid their fishing gear in the grass, using their small child-sized bodies to slip through the foliage, taking a different path and creeping silently toward the shore.

“There are so few people guarding the road—this can’t be that dangerous,” Iida Osamu thought.

…………………………

In fact, Qi Ming also felt the manpower was insufficient.

He scanned the surroundings; in the original Ultraman Tiga episodes, TPC deployed entire battalions of armored units—tanks and armored vehicles stretching far—to fight Golza beneath Mist Gate Mountain.

Here, there were only two Flyer Ones, one Flyer Two with its cannon open, one Sherlock vehicle, and his Dralm vehicle.

Personnel? Only the full Victory Team and a dozen or so from the Police Bureau.

Qi Ming: “Too few people—what if someone sneaks in?”

The old man leaning on his cane, Moroboshi Dan, said: “This is still under the Defense Force’s jurisdiction—too many troops might cause misunderstandings.”

Qi Ming: “The Kurogane hasn’t even deployed yet—this still counts as a misunderstanding?”

Kishida frowned: “The evacuation notice clearly warned of a monster attack—how can anyone still dare to come here?”

Qi Ming said gravely: “Don’t underestimate human diversity.”

At that moment, a column of over a dozen tanks rolled toward them; Yamaguchi frowned: “Defense Force troops.”

A young man in black military uniform jumped down from a tank and saluted Moroboshi Dan:

“I am Ryu Junya, commander of the Monster Elimination Weapon Development Team, ‘Carus.’”

“Colonel Nishijo sent me to thank TPC for your assistance.”

The word “assistance” revealed the Defense Force’s stance, causing Nishijo Nagi to frown.

They were here first.

These guys rushed together a force after hearing rumors—what combat value could it possibly have?

Kishida’s expression froze: “Colonel Nishijo!”

He knew this man—Nishijo was right-hand to Commander Sora, equivalent in rank to He Zhi of TPC, and an extreme hawk.

Ryu Junya, as Nishijo’s trusted aide, could indeed speak directly to Moroboshi Dan.

“So familiar… I remember now—he’s the one.” Qi Ming recognized the man’s identity.

This man appeared in Episode 33 of Ultraman Gaia, “Monster Sniper,” and his actions were beyond absurd.

The Young Elite Team had already trapped a monster with capture nets and was moments from success—when he appeared and blasted it with a cannon, severely wounding it.

Afterwards, he went to the Young Elite Team’s headquarters and declared things like: “These facilities are wasted on you,” “Your idea of protecting monsters is naive,” “Have you ever felt the pain of losing loved ones to monsters?”

In short: “My loved ones died because of monsters, so all monsters are evil, and I must destroy them all.”

When he learned the monster he shot hadn’t died and was being treated, he immediately grabbed his cannon and went to blast it again.

In the original series, Musashi argued with him, trying to make him understand coexistence with monsters.

Qi Ming’s view: “What I see isn’t tolerance—it’s enabling idiots.”

“After Masaki Keigo and Aizumi Makoto, now it’s the Defense Force’s turn to stir trouble? How long must I suppress these fools one by one…”

Kishida stepped forward to negotiate: “Thank you for your support, but too many personnel might disrupt the plan by losing control of firepower.”

Ryu Junya frowned: “Aren’t all nearby civilians already evacuated? Why control firepower at all?”

“Just concentrate fire when the monster appears and destroy it—what’s your plan?”

Kishida glanced back at Qi Ming and said: “If the monster doesn’t break through our line and enter the city, we follow the principle of minimizing killing—capture is our priority.”

“What?! You still want to hold back? Your thinking is naive!” Ryu Junya’s face darkened.

“I heard you’ve set up a monster sanctuary—laughable. Humans won’t eliminate monsters, and monsters will eliminate humans!”

“Power is everything! Only power brings peace—when did TPC become so indecisive…?”

Ryu Junya, as if out of control, spewed out a torrent of vile remarks.

Seeing him denigrate TPC, most faces turned grim.

Kishida nodded silently—if you won’t talk reasonably, then neither will I.

He stepped back behind Qi Ming: “Qi Ming, you handle him.”

Ryu Junya sneered: “It doesn’t matter who you send—step aside. This isn’t a stage for daydreamers to perform acrobatics!”

Qi Ming snapped back to attention and stared at him in disbelief: “Though this is beneath my dignity, I still want to ask… what hole did you crawl out of?”

Upon hearing this, every member of the Victory Team—except Moroboshi Dan—perked up; Megumi couldn’t help but burst into a snort of laughter.

This was exactly the feeling—it was pure music to the ears!

Ryu Junya’s face flushed crimson. He roared: “What did you say?!”

Qi Ming looked disgusted: “You dare bark at me? Does some animal protection group back you?”

“You—!” Ryu Junya trembled with rage, lunging forward as if ready to strike.

At that moment, a man in black appeared silently on the shore, watching the two conflicting groups with mocking eyes.

He was Hiroya Fujimiya.

“Humans are utterly foolish.”

(End of Chapter)